Day1: First steps
Well, they say even the longest journey starts with the first step. In our case it starts with the first 2,000 or so steps up to the bus station. That's 2,000 carefully timed steps as we get to the bus stop at 09:29, one minute before we can use our bus pass. We use the wait for a selfy.
Bus #1, literally, is exactly on time 11 minutes later.
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Despite being the 'bus pass special', first bus after 09:30, stopping at almost every stop to pick up pensioners along with the usual students and shoppers, as well as the road works en route it makes excellent time and gets to Southampton 2 minutes early.
And what a great 2 minutes! We make the connection to the X7 one hour earlier than expected! Oh, an auspicious start indeed!
Well one route sidetrack I wasn't expecting was going into the car park of Peppa Pig World!!!
Next bit of excitement - the bus pulls in for an elongated stop at Romsey bus station and on his return the driver announces that there are road works ahead and he believes the road is closed. Are all the passengers OK with an alternative route if need be? But he's gonna give the original route a try. Road works, but the road is still passable. Thought for a moment we were going to get our first unscheduled diversion. We don't care too much, we're already an hour up on schedule and have an hour wait in Salisbury so that's quite a buffer. Am I tempting fate?
There's a fair bit of flood water on the fields as we approach Salisbury. I'm sure we'll (unfortunately) see far worse today though.
Coffee and the, oh so important 'comfort break' in Salisbury. And even enough time to shop for lunch. I decided on one of Pritchett's 'small' pork pies.
They assured me this two-lunch jobbie, was indeed their small version. Still at £2.50 it's cracking value and will probably do tomorrow's lunch too.
Next bus is a bit of a worry, we want to go to Swindon but it's only signed to Pewsey.
Still, we've been assured by the driver that the bus continues (although he doesn't). Pleasant scenery to Pewsey as the bus meanders through the Wiltshire villages resplendent with far more thatched cottages than the main road route would lead you to expect. Drivers change just outside the pretty village/town of Pewsey but from Marlborough onward the route is the same boring main road we've travelled so many times in the car. Even the elevation of a double-decker doesn't make it exciting. Although we do get to see Swindon's sites - all together no "do do du do-doo.. 'time for bed' said Zebedee"
This morning's auspicious start fails to maintain itself, the hour earlier than we'd planned Chippenham bus is pulling out at we pull into Swindon Bus Station. Still that would have made us two hours up, we're still one hour up so can't complain. And last week's trip to Swindon train station means I know where a Costa is for coffee and 'comfort break'.
The Cotswolds are pretty. Initially the houses look old, oatmeal grey stone but as we approach Cirencester the golden honey Cotswold stone of new builds becomes more in evidence.
A nice clock in Criklade.
(A bit of a blurry snap from a moving bus)
Despite picking up half a bus load of students at Cirencester and horribly slow traffic on the approaches to Cheltenham the bus still manages to keep to it's timetable, allowing enough time to snap a local landmark, despite only having an 8 minute bus change and not being exactly sure of where it stops.
And the Tewkesbury bus leaves on time too. Slow out of Cheltenham but it makes good time and arrives at it's destination bang on schedule. Sadly it's the only single-decker of the day and it's fairy full, so we can't snap the horrendous flooding as we come in to Tewkesbury.
Remember I said there was a short turn around at Cheltenham. No time to snap Liz boarding so here's her ending the day at Tewkesbury.
Now the more astute reader will have realised ALL THE BUSES RAN ON TIME! Not only that but the first bus, being 2 minutes ahead of schedule enabled us to claw back an hour. Add that to the really pleasant weather all day (just one short shower as we left Cirencester) and I think we have to pronounce it a VERY GOOD DAY!
Here's the map
Just under 118 miles from leaving our house at 09:00 to arriving, 5 buses later at Tewkesbury at 17:55