Unforgettable Bus Rides
Route X15: Berwick-upon-Tweed to Newcastle
2 June 2022
ABOVE: Arriva ‘Max’-liveried 7529 (NK64 EFM), an Enviro400, nearing the end of its incoming journey to Berwick-upon-Tweed.
All photos in this article were taken on Saturday 7th May 2022
All photos in this article were taken on Saturday 7th May 2022
A bus ride south from Berwick-upon-Tweed has got to be one of the best rides you could wish for, hasn’t it? Absolutely!
It’s twenty to ten. I’ve spent 45 minutes getting from Newcastle to Berwick by train, and I’m now going to spend more than three times as long going back the other way by bus.
Berwick is the most northerly town in England, and was for more than 400 years central to historic border wars between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland. Possession of the town has changed hands between the two kingdoms several times, most recently in 1482.
Apparently many residents feel an affinity towards Scotland even now – I wonder if that’s the reason why the local WH Smith's stocks the Scottish Daily Mail alongside the south-of-the-border edition? I gather that pubs here were popular as well in 2020 when England unlocked its Covid drinking restrictions ahead of Scotland, with lots of people heading across the border for a pint.
ABOVE: Marygate, Berwick, with the 18th Century Town & Guild Hall prominent.
Arriva’s X15 runs every two hours, and I have about one-and-a-half hours to pass before it arrives, which won’t be problematic as there’s plenty to look at to pass the time, including seeking opportunities to photograph the Royal Border Bridge, a stone railway bridge with 28 arches, which was completed in 1850.
Coming into Berwick by train from the south takes one over this bridge, and provides the most stunning views across the River Tweed, showing of course the two equally-impressive road bridges.
ABOVE: A view of the Royal Tweed Bridge, with the ‘Old’ Bridge behind it, as seen from the train when approaching Berwick from the south.
On the river bank, a quick check of Real-Time Trains confirms that a Plymouth service is due imminently. Funny to think how long it will take that train to get all the way; it won’t get to Plymouth until nearly 6pm. And it’s already been on the go for over two hours on its run from Glasgow Central.
ABOVE: A CrossCountry train, heading for South-West England, crosses the Royal Border Bridge in Berwick-upon-Tweed
Whilst my planning has identified the X15, it has not highlighted that there is also an X18 service linking Berwick to Newcastle, which I discover as I spot it pulling off for the journey south.
A rarer beast, run by Arriva three times a day (with a further two trips provided by Travelsure), it would nevertheless have allowed me to leave Berwick an hour earlier. It’s a double-decker as well, and I’ve not been expecting one of those on this trip (for some reason).
The unlikely presence of the double-decker is reinforced by the fact that it’s branded for routes X21/22, so is clearly an interloper here. Frustrating, but it’s gone and that’s all there is to it.
An examination of the timetables in the bus stop at Golden Square presents a motley collection of local and slightly longer-distance services. The most striking of these is the 477 service to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
This is a tidal service, as the road to the island is inaccessible at high tide, so times vary from day-to-day and week-to-week. The timetable is therefore very complex, with a number of journeys shown and a calendar to confirm which journeys run on which days.
The problem is, the timetable in the stop only shows timings for October to December 2021, and it is now May 2022. This is likely to be a service that would be attractive to tourists, so this information needs to be up-to-date. Maybe I would have been tempted myself if the service was due imminently? We shall never know, but I do note that buses only run twice-a-day on Wednesdays and Saturdays anyway.
ABOVE: Four months out of date: The route 477 timetable in the Golden Square stop in Berwick in May 2022
Back to the X15. When it turns up, it is a double-decker, which is fantastic news. It’s MAX-branded for route X18. I’ve often wondered about MAX styling. I can understand the idea of a quality brand – Arriva’s version is called Sapphire, but I don’t get the idea of a second tier brand.
MAX is for those Arriva routes that are deemed to need a ‘superior’ brand, but are not considered important enough to qualify for Sapphire. A bit like ITV2 – the channel that brings you the stuff that isn’t considered good enough for the channel that brought us “This Dog Can Dance” a few years ago!
Can’t help wondering what people think about routes that don’t even qualify for MAX standards?
I nearly buy the wrong ticket – I want a North East Regionwide ticket but the driver is initially looking at a different ticket (not sure which one). Mind you, there are 60 ticket zones listed on Arriva’s North-East page, so I’m not surprised if there is a bit of confusion.
It’s going to be 140 minutes on this bus so I am delighted to bag the front seat. Less delightful is that the bus is filthy. There’s a big crack right across the front window, there is grime, peeling / faded paint on the front ‘shelf’ and an accumulation of dust and dirt right at my feet. The overall impression is of a neglected and unloved vehicle, which the heightened and improved Covid-cleaning regimes seem to have passed by, and not worthy of even second-tier.
ABOVE: Crack across the front windscreen
ABOVE and BELOW: Grime, dirt and dust
We’re soon on our way and immediate cross the ‘new’ road bridge into the very logically-named Tweedmouth.
ABOVE: The view just to the west side of the Royal Tweed Bridge, looking over the Berwick War Memorial
My constant companion throughout this journey will be the A1 – we’ll never be far from it and we start with a quick burst, through Scremerston and Haggerston (not likely to be confused with the one in East London).
We reach The Lindisfarne Inn. An amiable lady on the other front seat tells me that this is where you would turn left to drive down to Holy Island itself (presumably this is the route of the 477). It looks full of promise, but I won’t be going today.
The best views of Holy Island from the main road, though, come a little bit further along. I point my camera phone in the general direction, click a few times and hope for the best. Lindisfarne Castle is the most significant attraction on the island. It’s a National Trust property described as “a castle (that’s not a castle), on an island (that’s not an island)”.
ABOVE: Not bad for a picture taken from a bus moving at speed! We’re looking across the water to Lindisfarne Castle (that structure on the right) and the rest of Holy Island. Based on maps and Google Streetview pictures, this was probably taken somewhere near Buckton, although I’m not 100% certain.
The bus takes a detour from the A1 to serve the villages of Middleton and Belford. In the former we pass one of the Travelsure workings on route X18.
ABOVE:Travelsure Enviro 200 SN65 OHC in MIddleton, heading for Berwick-upon-Tweed on route X18
Just yards further down, I discover a cottage with the most striking entrance gate.
My picture isn’t perfect but there’s a better one on Google Streetview (of course there is).
Another detour from the A1 brings us into Alnwick (pronounced by my companion, just before she leaves, as “Annick”), the first settlement of any size since leaving Berwick. We’re already an hour into the journey. It’s gone very quickly.
Alnwick Castle provides a spectacular backdrop. It’s another symbol of the border disputes of this neck of the woods, apparently. The website notes that it “was built in the 11th Century to control and protect the border, symbolising status and power for the new Norman barons across the country … [it’s defences include] two metre thick walls, a seven metre deep moat, two baileys and thick oak gates”. Oh and it’s featured in 41 movies and TV shows, including two Harry Potter movies.
Another detour from the A1 brings us into Alnwick (pronounced by my companion, just before she leaves, as “Annick”), the first settlement of any size since leaving Berwick. We’re already an hour into the journey. It’s gone very quickly.
Alnwick Castle provides a spectacular backdrop. It’s another symbol of the border disputes of this neck of the woods, apparently. The website notes that it “was built in the 11th Century to control and protect the border, symbolising status and power for the new Norman barons across the country … [it’s defences include] two metre thick walls, a seven metre deep moat, two baileys and thick oak gates”. Oh and it’s featured in 41 movies and TV shows, including two Harry Potter movies.
ABOVE: Alnwick Castle
When I make a long bus journey like this, it’s rare for the driver to stay with me all the way, and this trip is no exception. We reach Alnwick Bus Station and he departs. There’s a Sapphire-liveried vehicle on one of the stands, branded for routes X21/22. I can’t recall what route it’s actually on, but it’s neither of those as they don’t come here.
I think it’s fair to say that getting branded buses onto the right routes isn’t working very well here – a sign, alongside the neglected standards of the vehicle, of a lack of care on the part of the operator.
ABOVE: Arriva Sapphire E400 7526 (NK14 GFX) at Alnwick Bus Station whilst NOT working on either route X21 or X22
From this point south the X15 runs hourly, and there are other services to and from Newcastle as well although, given that we’re in Arriva territory, it’s not easy to ascertain exactly what’s available.
As we leave town, I would love to go down the main street (Market Street, which becomes Bondgate Within), but we take a detour around it. The reason soon becomes obvious – the far exit is capped by the Hotspur Tower, an historical landmark which only allows vehicles in one direction at a time, and only vehicles up to 9′ 3” high.
ABOVE: The Hotspur Tower, Alnwick - NO way would we get a double-decker through here!
There are a few more dwellings south of Alnwick, and we call into Felton, 12 miles north of Morpeth, our next major stop.
ABOVE: Felton Village, just at the crossing of the River Coquet
It’s disappointing to note the poor information in some of the bus stops in this area.
ABOVE: Just a website and a selection of phone numbers at this stop somewhere near Hebron
We’re soon coming into Morpeth. There are several bays in the Bus Station but there’s only one other service in.
ABOVE: Morpeth Bus Station: Arriva 7552 (YX17 NOU), a Sapphire (but non-route specific) branded Enviro400 MMC is working route 35 (Newbiggin to Morpeth).
There’s now just over half an hour to go. The territory is changing rapidly and the A1 has moved into full dual-carriageway mode. Between Clifton and Gosforth there’s a non-stop 13-minute run. At the end of it we are very distinctly into the suburbs of Newcastle. It wasn’t supposed to be a hot day today but it is now feeling like one as the sunshine provides a greenhouse effect straight in through the south-facing front window.
On the dot of the scheduled arrival time of 1331, we pull into the Haymarket Bus Station in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, one of two-and-a-half bus stations in the City Centre. Arriva seems to be dominant in this bus station, whilst Go North East mainly occupies the one next door, Eldon Square. Just along from that is a cluster of bus stops on Blackett Street. Not quite a bus station, but a focal point for Stagecoach services.
ABOVE: Journey’s end: Haymarket Bus Station. The bus, 7529 (NK64 EFM), is already prepared for the return journey to Morpeth and Alnwick, and is due out again in seven minutes.
It’s 63.1 miles down the A1 from Berwick to Newcastle. I usually add 10% to get an estimate of the bus mileage, to reflect the various twists and turns, which brings us almost to 70 miles. That’s a long bus ride! But not one I will ever forget!