Got a Ticket to Ryde… Part 1
24 July 2022
ABOVE: Southern Vectis 1145 (HW09 BBZ), a Scania N230UD OmniCity, is at Ryde Bus Station, awaiting departure on the 1940 service on route 9 to Newport. The advert highlights that Capital FM is now far more widely available than its traditional London reach! All pictures in this article taken on Thursday 14th July 2022, unless otherwise stated.
I’m sure it needs no introduction from me, but, nestling in the English Channel, a few miles from the Hampshire coast, lies the Isle of Wight. Roughly rhomboid in shape, it covers an area of about 150 square miles, with Newport, the county town, at its centre.
It’s a beautiful place. Miles and miles of beaches, delightful country lanes, pretty towns and villages, and, in my view, one of Britain’s most forward-thinking bus companies: Southern Vectis, part of the Go-Ahead Group.
Why do I say that? Well, it’s a largely rural operating territory, and yet bus services are plentiful, running seven days a week at decent frequencies, through to the late evening. Recognising the potential of the top-deck in a tourist area, virtually all services on the island are run by double-deckers, including some that you really wouldn’t expect to be! Have a look at the network map.
I’ve been visiting the island regularly for many years, although, curiously, the number of nights I have actually stayed over on it can be counted on my fingers. Circumstances mean that I haven’t visited for three years, though.
It’s an island of two halves. The western side is more rural and less-provisioned than the eastern. I shall write about the western side in Part 2, but today I want to recommend a circular trip around the eastern side of the island.
And that’s one of the joys of the Isle of Wight. I’ve arrived on the island, for a one-night stay, at near 4pm. By the time I have found a late lunch / early dinner, and travelled to my hotel, it’s nearly 6pm. But such is the provision of decent evening services here that I can still contemplate an evening excursion from my hotel, near Sandown, to Ryde and Newport.
So I’m standing at a deserted bus stop on the Newport Road, near Lake, awaiting the 1815 service on route 8 (Newport to Ryde). I say deserted, but actually there’s a car parked at the stop, and the couple inside seem to be indulging in what Allo Allo’s Herr Flick would have called a “quick canoodle”.
But it seems to be a bit of a love-hate relationship, as a moment later (I have my back to them), I hear slamming car doors and raised voices. Sounds like she has accused him of seeing someone else! Eventually they drive off (together), just in time to make room for my number 8 to pull in, bang on time.
ABOVE: Enviro 400 1595 (HF64 BSV), somewhere near Bembridge Airport
It’s an Enviro 400, and carries its green Best Impressions livery very well. Since my last visit, Southern Vectis has introduced a touch-in, touch-out contactless payment facility, so it’s an easy boarding process.
Touching out slows down the exit of passengers slightly, but it’s the only way one can have contactless payments and graduated fares. It’s probably the future of bus ticketing, I suspect, although, as I board, I am certain that, over the course of the 24 hours that I am going to be on the island, I will forget to touch out at least once…
If you’re travelling from Newport to Ryde, and you’re in a hurry, you use the number 9. If you want to see the Island, you can use the 2, 3 or 8, all of which link Newport and Ryde via Sandown. If you’re in Sandown, and you need the quick run to Ryde, you use the 2 or the 3, as the 8 goes the long way round. But if you’re in Sandown and you want Newport, it’s the 2 and the 3 that go the long way and the 8 that is the quickest! Still with me?
So I’m on the number 8, heading the long way round into Ryde. After Sandown, the 8 clings to the north-east coast of the island, along the seafront into Yaverland, before taking a slight inward turn to serve Bembridge Airport (which is not quite as busy as Heathrow).
ABOVE: Yaverland Beach, just north of Sandown
ABOVE: Bembridge Airport
Around the corner, at a bus stop called simply “Duck Pond”, a group of about 15 people are waiting. Many carry beer bottles, but the driver politely explains that open containers of alcohol are not permitted, leading to a swift swigging of said bottles, and plenty of empties for the litter picker to find in the bushes in the morning. We’re in a really rural spot here, but there’s a holiday village nearby so perhaps they have come from there?
(Incidentally, you might think that a group like that sounds troublesome, but they’re not. Sounds like they’re on some sort of annual visit, as one of them didn’t make it “last year”.)
Into Bembridge itself and there’s a beautiful view of the Marina and Harbour, albeit the low tide has left most of the boats grounded.
ABOVE: Bembridge Harbour
Through St Helens (nothing like Merseyside) and on past the Nodes Point Holiday Village, where I stayed for a weekend about 12 years ago, and somehow got dragged out of the audience to participate in the goings-on there on two consecutive nights. I believe that all of the footage of the latter event, called Dance Nation, has been ‘lost’ – I lost most of it myself!
ABOVE: The appropriately-named Seaview, on the outskirts of Ryde, gives top deck passengers a view across the Solent to Portsmouth Harbour and Southsea front. You might just be able to make out the Spinnaker Tower (across the water on the left).
Soon we are into the environs of Ryde, and we pull into the bus station on schedule at 1920. My driver isn’t hanging around; he’s forming the 1925 service on route 9 to Newport, so is gone within minutes.
Southern Vectis produces a comprehensive timetable book and, on previous visits, they have been readily available everywhere. In fact there have usually been crates full of them left in the open, both at the Pier Head (where the catamaran from Portsmouth lands) and at the Esplanade bus / railway station.
But today there are none of these. There may be some in the Information Office, but that closes at 1500. That’s a deterioration compared to what has previously been offered, and something of a disappointment. Surely they could leave a few copies out in a rack?
Over to Newport the quick way now, on route 9. This is a Scania N230UD OmniCity. There’s a quarter-hourly service for most of the evening and the journey only takes 25 minutes. Route 9 is one of three routes (the others being the 1 and the 7) that has two distinct intermediate routings, one of which you would think should merit a suffix.
My 1940 departure is running through Staplers; not sure whether Staplers should be said as in “app” or as in “ape”. We pass the road to Fishbourne , from where one of the ferry services to the mainland operates. There’s currently some work going on at Portsmouth Harbour, and those with restricted mobility are being asked to travel via Fishbourne instead. But there’s no bus to meet people at Fishbourne…
ADDENDUM: Following publication, someone got in touch via Twitter and told me that Staplers should be said as in “app” - much obliged!
ABOVE: Enviro 400 1520 (HW62 CEJ) in Kite Hill, Fishbourne, having come from Newport on the alternative routing of the 9, via Fairlee and Binfield
An evening out in Newport is on the agenda for many of my fellow travellers on route 9, and it’s quite a boisterous journey - and one where I think my presence is single-handedly raising the average age profile of the passengers.
One lad is calling someone that he is about to meet, to instruct them to “dress the business,” as he has failed to do so (dark top with light trousers, apparently – argh)!
ABOVE: The Cedars pub, in Wootton, is where the two variations of route 9 go their separate ways
We are about to turn left to head through Staplers; alternate buses go straight on through Binfield and Fairlee. The two routes do not come together again until Newport Bus Station.
At Newport I’m surprised that we’re not dropped off at the bus station, but at a random point that I don’t recognise. I remember to touch out but the reader doesn’t respond. As it’s the terminus, that’s probably OK, as those who don’t touch out are charged to the terminus anyway. But it’s a little off-putting.
We’re at the back of a row of three buses, all out of service. The bus stop flag at the head of the line does not carry any information and the timetable panel is blank. Where is my next bus going to leave from if the bus station is closed?
I have deliberately not looked at timetables until now, but my belief is that the number 3 that I want to get back to Lake with only runs hourly in the evening, so I need to find out where it’s running from, and when.
My rule for situations like this is to follow the crowd, as they are presumably heading into town. After about 27 steps, the bus station comes into view on my left. And it’s open! There’s just one bit that has been coned off for some reason so that’s probably why buses are dropping off outside. Not such good news is that I can see a number 3 pulling away…
ABOVE: Many of Britain’s bus stations would be deserted at 8.05pm, but there are five buses at Newport Bus Station at this hour on this particular Thursday evening. The coned-off area is presumably why my bus dropped me off elsewhere. Scania 1130 (HF58 KCJ) is at the route 9 stand on the left, whilst 1618 (HJ16 HSK) is parked up on the extreme right.
So it looks like I have an hour to kill in Newport. As it’s evening, and I’ve eaten, there isn’t a lot that I want to do here – not even in the county town. But good news reveals that the 3 runs half-hourly until 2130, so my wait will actually only be half what I had just resigned myself to.
So, at 2035, I’m on my way again, back towards Lake, on route 3. This is another Enviro 400 and, relatively unusually for me, I am going to be leaving it mid-journey. This is where I am most likely to forget to touch out!
The driver is having trouble with his cab window, which won’t open. This delays us a few minutes whilst someone has a look at it. Clearly it’s been a hot day, and will be a bright sunset, so an opening window should not be too much to ask for.
ABOVE: Enviro 400 1592 (HW63 FHO) is about to serve the double-run on route 3 to Newport Asda, on the edge of town
I said earlier that the 3 takes the long way round from Newport to Sandown. We’re heading broadly south-east and the first place of significance is the pretty village of Godshill. This is described by the Visit Isle of Wight website as “the quintessential English Village”, which “boasts some of the oldest architecture on the Isle of Wight. With its delightful medieval church, charming thatched-roofed cottages and a winding main-street lined with traditional tearooms, Godshill is as picturesque as it is popular”.
It’s a lovely spot that is well worth a visit. I love the Model Village, which includes a model replica of the main Godshill village street. And because the village street has a model village, so the model village replica has a model village of its own. And that one has a model village replica too, although the detail becomes less granular by this stage. A great wheeze though!
ABOVE: In fading light, as it’s now almost 9pm, this is the Griffin Family Inn in Godshill. And yes, the cyclist has stopped across the middle of a road junction to check his phone!
We then head into Ventnor, which has some of the most dramatic scenery on the island – and some very steep hills (these two facts are connected). Pictures in Part 2!
There are a couple of ladies on the other front seat who are also enjoying going the long way round. They happen to mention someone they know who has bought a new oven, but has not then been able to afford to get it fitted, so it’s been sitting in the kitchen, next to the old one, for months!
We come into Shanklin, and call in at the “bus station”. This doesn’t meet my definition of a bus station, to be honest, being just three stops side-by-side on a road that cars can use. There are no facilities to speak of, unless you count the Co-Op supermarket alongside.
ABOVE: Shanklin “Bus Station” on Friday 15th July 2022
We pick up a large number of young people here, clearly eyeing up an evening in Ryde. The last bus from there tonight will be at 2340, which will give people about an hour-and-a-half, but, on Friday and Saturday nights, the last departure from Ryde is at 0255!
I do recognise my stop in time, and even remember to touch out. There are a large number of people on the bus now – probably about 40. Pretty impressive for a rural weeknight late-evening service!
It’s now 2145, and I’ve spent three-and-a-half-hours on this round trip – I’ve loved it! There’s actually something quite special about an evening bus ride through the country when it’s still light. The light has only really faded on this last section since Shanklin.
I have a 10-minute walk back to my hotel. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be exploring the western side of the island, which I will write about in Part 2 of this article…