100 British Bus Routes: Route 14
Reading – Woodley – Bulmershe Circular
6 February 2022
ABOVE: Reading Buses 903, a Wright Streetdeck, opposite Reading station, about to start a run on route 14. All pictures in this article were taken on Saturday 5th February 2022
Operator: Reading Buses
Peak Vehicle Requirement: 5 buses, including associated route 13
Off-peak journey time: 63 minutes
(20 minutes Reading to Woodley Town Centre; a further 43 minutes back to Reading)
Weekday frequency: Every 30 minutes
Peak Vehicle Requirement: 5 buses, including associated route 13
Off-peak journey time: 63 minutes
(20 minutes Reading to Woodley Town Centre; a further 43 minutes back to Reading)
Weekday frequency: Every 30 minutes
Four miles east of Reading is the town of Woodley, and it is the role of Reading Buses’ routes 13 & 14 to link the two. This they do by operating a huge circular service that reaches deep into the residential area of Woodley, a smart and (what I think an Estate Agent would describe as) ‘desirable’ part of town.
This is a ‘frying pan’ service – a circular. Along the handle, round the pan and back down the handle to the starting point. There’s a short route into Woodley (20 minutes from Reading) and a long one, which takes 43 minutes.
Route 13 runs around the anti-clockwise loop, longer way out and shorter way back; the 14 does the clockwise loop.
I find the 14 more interesting for some reason; perhaps it’s the quick route into Woodley with the anticipation of what is still to come.
Both routes load from a stop right outside Reading Station. On weekdays there is a combined 15-minute frequency, and it’s only marginally quicker to catch the 14 to Woodley Centre if the 13 is due out first (43-minute ride, versus a 20-minute ride plus a 15-minute wait). The further into deepest Woodley you want, the less difference it will make which way you need to go round.
The buses are smart and modern, Wright Streetdeck diesels, with one table seat on the top deck, and a small ‘sofa’. There are audio “next stop” announcements (although those on the top deck aren’t working on one of my buses) and clear “next stop” displays. I’ve not travelled on many Streetdecks; both of the ones I use today have a distinct whine when moving, and they’re not the smoothest when stationery. But they still exude quality.
ABOVE: High quality seating on the top deck of one of the Wright Streetdecks used on route 14. There’s a ‘sofa’ on the left-hand side behind the stairs, and a table on the right. Also notable are only two bell pushes, at either end of the stairwell.
It’s Saturday so the run out of town on the 1000 departure is quiet. Reading is quite a complicated town for buses. Despite now being recognised as a bus-friendly town, the planners a generation ago had different ideas. The bus station was closed and demolished and the main street, Broad Street, was closed to traffic at around the same time.
Buses have to work their way around various side streets to meet their traffic objectives. (To be fair, there are numerous bus priority measures in the town centre nowadays, and several Park & Ride services to bring people in without their cars. But the town centre lacks that essential traffic-free focal point.)
We soon come to the appropriately-named Cemetery Junction; quite literally a triangular junction with the striking archway entrance of Reading Old Cemetery dividing the London and Wokingham roads.
Ours is the London Road and we’re soon heading up Shepherd’s Hill. At the top is a large roundabout (almost big enough to class as a one-way system) from which we turn sharp right, and we’re already into the outskirts of Woodley. A few minutes later, we reach the centre, known as “Chequers” because of the Chequers Inn. It has taken 20 minutes.
I will be leaving the bus here, because the driver might wonder what I’m up to if I do the whole loop! But this is when I discover that there isn’t a bell push in reach of my front seat – the nearest is just behind the stairs. In fact there seems to be a general shortage of bell pushes on the top deck. Quite unusual on a modern bus – have the University students been misusing them, I wonder?
This is the heart of the town and it’s bustling – even at twenty past ten on a Saturday morning. Market stall owners shout out their wares and a piercing alarm goes off in Boots, ignored by staff and customers alike.
I’m soon back at the bus stop for the 1050 departure back to Reading. Buses still show “Woodley” as the destination here, as they still have to loop around the residential areas.
Buses have to work their way around various side streets to meet their traffic objectives. (To be fair, there are numerous bus priority measures in the town centre nowadays, and several Park & Ride services to bring people in without their cars. But the town centre lacks that essential traffic-free focal point.)
We soon come to the appropriately-named Cemetery Junction; quite literally a triangular junction with the striking archway entrance of Reading Old Cemetery dividing the London and Wokingham roads.
Ours is the London Road and we’re soon heading up Shepherd’s Hill. At the top is a large roundabout (almost big enough to class as a one-way system) from which we turn sharp right, and we’re already into the outskirts of Woodley. A few minutes later, we reach the centre, known as “Chequers” because of the Chequers Inn. It has taken 20 minutes.
I will be leaving the bus here, because the driver might wonder what I’m up to if I do the whole loop! But this is when I discover that there isn’t a bell push in reach of my front seat – the nearest is just behind the stairs. In fact there seems to be a general shortage of bell pushes on the top deck. Quite unusual on a modern bus – have the University students been misusing them, I wonder?
This is the heart of the town and it’s bustling – even at twenty past ten on a Saturday morning. Market stall owners shout out their wares and a piercing alarm goes off in Boots, ignored by staff and customers alike.
I’m soon back at the bus stop for the 1050 departure back to Reading. Buses still show “Woodley” as the destination here, as they still have to loop around the residential areas.
ABOVE: Going the opposite way, on route 13, is an unidentified Streetdeck heading for Reading. This is Headley Road Circle, just east of Woodley Town Centre. The 13 will have left Reading at 10.15am, 15 minutes before the 14 that I am on. It should get back to Reading for 11.18am, about 20 minutes from now, where it will form the service 14 departure at 11.30. My bus will take the long way round and get in 15 minutes behind the 13. My bus will then become a 13, departing again at 11.45am. Confusing, isn’t it!
And what a loop. The 14 really gets to the heart of the lovely houses that exist around here. We turn one corner after another, and more and more lovely residences come into view. I would happily live here but for the devastating impact it would have on my commute time.
I’m not sure where the point is that the bus becomes the Reading service. Maybe it’s the bus stop at Woodley Piazza, which has a completely blank flag! (This is an exception to the rule; most stops along the route have very clear branding that matches the ‘orange’ theme of the buses themselves.)
ABOVE: Unusually blank bus stop signpost at Woodley Piazza. Most bus stops on this route are brightly branded in line with the buses themselves.
We pass into a suburb called Sandford. We’re quite close to Winnersh Triangle station, on the Reading to London Waterloo route. The old Airfield, once the centre of a thriving aircraft industry, is now a Museum dedicated to Berkshire Aviation. Many of the roads in the vicinity are named after aircraft – Comet Way, Viscount Way, Mohawk Way, Sopwith Close and Harrier Close.
At the Bulmershe Leisure Centre, we’re actually only half a mile, as the crow flies, from the Chequers stop that we left 25 minutes earlier (and even closer to the Beaufield Close stop that is served a couple of minutes before that). A few people are joining at each stop now as we head firmly back towards Reading. We re-join London Road near the Sutton Seeds roundabout, back onto the ‘handle’ of this frying pan.
A few minutes later we’re back at Reading station, and I’m amazed to discover that there are at least 25 people on the top deck with me – no idea where there all came from! The bus will now become a 13, and run round the loop the other way.
The best feature is the audible announcement of the route and destination of the service. Ask yourself where you would rather hear what bus this is and where it’s going, if you’re visually impaired. These messages are not broadcast around the bus; rather they are broadcast to the people outside as they board. The “14, Woodley” message sounds a bit like a dog barking from inside, but is perfectly clear on the street. It is also broadcast twice, just to make sure. A great initiative by Reading Buses; one of many reasons why this operator is so highly regarded.
All in all, it’s a quality operation, providing a very enjoyable ride around one particular suburb of Reading. Well worth a ride if, like me, you like looking at properties where the grass seems to be greener!