100 British Bus Routes: Route 56
Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Sunderland (Cityrider)
31 July 2022
ABOVE: Go North East 6098 (NL63 YJB), a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, crosses the Wearmouth Bridge out of Sunderland, en route for Newcastle. Pictures in this article taken on Thursday 5th May 2022 unless otherwise stated.
Operator: Go North East
Runs: Daily, with full evening service and night journeys seven nights a week until 2am
Weekday frequency: Every 15 minutes
Estimated Vehicle Requirement: 12 buses
Off-peak journey time: 77-82 minutes
Estimated route length: 17-18 miles
Runs: Daily, with full evening service and night journeys seven nights a week until 2am
Weekday frequency: Every 15 minutes
Estimated Vehicle Requirement: 12 buses
Off-peak journey time: 77-82 minutes
Estimated route length: 17-18 miles
I first made my potential list of "100 British Bus Routes" at the start of Lockdown One. When I revisited the list after my first substantial trip to the north east, I found the 56 was already on it! How could that be?
It’s because, in that early lockdown despair, I found a full-route video online. Would it be as interesting in reality?
It certainly is. I am joining from the second stop in Market Street, in Newcastle city centre, and it’s noticeable how there is an actual queue at the bus stop, as opposed to a random collection of people gathering in the general vicinity, which is what I am accustomed to in, say, Shepherds Bush.
Route 56 is operated by Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2s from 2013/14. My initial thought is that these could be London cast-offs, as a lot of these vehicles were delivered to London around that time, but they carry Newcastle registrations so I suspect they have been here since new.
The first part of the journey takes us across the Tyne. Before we cross, there is a spectacular view of the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas, Grade I listed and over 900 years old.
ABOVE: The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas in Newcastle-upon-Tyne dwarfs an unidentified Wright Streetdeck working route X21 to Durham
The actual river crossing is worth the ticket price on it’s own! We’re going across the High Level Bridge, which is so exclusive that even Google Streetview hasn’t been allowed across (there’s a railway line above us as well). It’s a one-way bridge, and buses back use the nearby Tyne Bridge.
ABOVE: The Tyne Bridge (background) and Swing Bridge (foreground) across the River Tyne in the centre of Newcastle. Taken from the High Level Bridge on Monday 9th May 2022. It’s impossible to get a decent picture like this from a moving bus, so this was a foot crossing for me!
There seem to be about 23 bus routes that follow this course from Newcastle into Gateshead Interchange, just over the river. I can’t help wondering whether they’re all needed, or whether some could start from Gateshead. Clearly Go North East has decided that the convenience of a through trip is better than forcing lots of changes on passengers. (TfL, take note!)
As we come off the bridge and turn into Askew Road, there’s a pedestrian crossing over a two-way cycle lane, where the instruction is to “Look Left” – and therefore away from the direction the cyclists are going to be coming from. I really should report that one.
ABOVE: Two-way cycle lane on Askew Road in Gateshead. You can just see the end of the “LOOK LEFT” marking, where it is obvious that one should be looking right! It’s Monday 9th May 2022.
And you can see a road where a former Bus and Cycle Lane has been turned into a Cycle-only Lane, showing the local authority’s sense of priorities.
This particular bus carries audible warnings of height restrictions ahead, but the alerts seem to be random and not directly connected to any specific height limits coming up. Having said that, the High Level Bridge is tight, as are some of the roads leading off it!
ABOVE - TIGHT SPACE: Volvo 6089 (NL63 YHS) squeezes its way out of Wellington Street and onto Askew Road, Gateshead, having just crossed the High Level Bridge, on Monday 9th May 2022. This picture was taken moments after the one above, from the same spot.
We call in at Gateshead Interchange. It’s a large site with plenty of room for buses, and a Metro station below. Like many bus stations, there’s a large turning circle for buses; unlike most bus stations of this type, the signs to “not cross” the turning circle are being ignored by many. When I visit a few days later the toilets are closed.
We have picked up a lot of customers here, on what had started as a quiet run. The man who has now sat in the other front seat is on the phone. Every fifth word he uses starts with an F, and I’m not talking fun, filibuster or even furlough.
There are two things on his mind. One is that he desperately needs a comfort break and has been suffering all through the shift that he has just finished. He says his employer only allows him eight minutes for such things in the whole day, which sounds awful (I don’t learn where he works, but there is an Amazon depot in the region – just saying). He says he might have to relieve himself on the bus; thankfully, he doesn’t.
The man is also very concerned about someone he knows who has been having a relationship with a woman who was believed to be a cousin, but it has now transpired that they have the same father. Despite this discovery, they are apparently continuing with their relationship.
We have slightly differing views when the bus stops down the road to let a running passenger board who would otherwise have missed it. My view is that this is good customer service. This man’s view is: “Swipe me!” (or words to that effect), “he’s stopped in the middle of the road for some reason”.
Back to the ride, and we start down the Old Durham Road (not to be confused with the Durham Road, which is a mile to the west); our trajectory is broadly south / south-east, but we are also ascending notably, and the views to the west are already becoming scenic.
ABOVE: 6087 (NL63 YHP) is accompanied by an unidentified Optare Versa on the Old Durham Road, just south of Gateshead
At Wrekenton we turn left into a residential area, but that comes to a swift end and we’re momentarily into the country. A right turn and we officially enter the City of Sunderland, even though we’re still about 50 minutes from our destination.
ABOVE: Becoming countrified, but a right turn here in Wrekenton will take us into the City of Sunderland!
As we enter Springwell Village, we pass the Bowes Railway, one of the very earliest modern railways, opened between 1826 & 1855 to carry coal from the local pits to the Tyne. The coal mining heritage is very apparent right across this region, from old miners’ cottages to pit buildings.
Springwell is more of a small town than its official designation of village. But despite the village / small town feel, we’re in the suburbs of a major city, only yards from a major road, the A194(M), and only a couple of miles from the A1(M). We turn into Peareth Hall Road, which has very traditional cottages – miners’ cottages perhaps?
ABOVE: Peareth Hall Road, Springwell
Across the A194(M), and we’re into Usworth, where more of those stone-built bus shelters that are prevalent in the region can be found. It’s becoming very residential as we undertake a short double-run into Concord’s town centre bus station. By chance, the bus station is almost exactly half-way along the route.
I’m not quite sure where Concord ends and Washington (to the south) begins. We run down the Washington Road, and several of the businesses around here are the Washington branches, but we don’t seem to quite hit the town itself.
At George Washington Primary School, on the Well Bank Road in Concord, there’s a bus-only stretch of road. An examination of a map suggests quite a long detour if a car driver wants to get across this stretch…
ABOVE: Circa 1.4 miles for a car driver to get to the other side of this Bus Gate in Concord…
Out of town, and the Washington Road is just open fields on one side. On the other side, rows of trees disguise the fact that there is a major industrial landscape behind. There’s a Nissan factory here, which would appear to be the major employer in this area; its footprint is huge – just look at a map!
ABOVE: Washington Road, as an unidentified 56 heads for Newcastle
We cross over the major A19 road and run down a parallel side road.
ABOVE: The side road used by the 56 that runs parallel to the A19. Taken on a Newcastle-bound service on Tuesday 3rd May 2022.
From this point we’re in the suburbs of Gateshead, and, though still quite green at this point, it is becoming more built up.
ABOVE: 6095 (NL63 YHY) on the North Hylton Road, on the outskirts of Sunderland. It’s Tuesday 3rd May 2022.
As we wait at a traffic light, a couple of miles outside the City Centre, there are two men having a heated conversation at the roadside. Let’s just say that, if social distancing rules were still in force, the distance between their faces would have breached them. One is clearly provoking the other, but I’m grateful that we pull away before they come to blows.
There are still some treats to come – there’s a partial view of the Stadium of Light, the home ground of Sunderland AFC.
And then, the spectacular Wearmouth Bridge, which has five tightly-packed lanes of traffic across it. The structure of the bridge is such that double-decker buses cannot use the inside lanes on either side, as they’re too tall.
Those cross-bridge beams make the left-hand lane perilous for double-decker buses. And there are beams at both ends of the bridge of course…
ABOVE: The Wearmouth road bridge (right), and the Metro bridge (left). You might just make out St Peters Metro station in the background. Incidentally, if you want the bus station in Sunderland, alight at Park Lane station, not at Sunderland. I found this out the hard way!
Over the bridge and we make the final run to Sunderland’s Park Lane bus station.
Route 56 gives a lovely tour of the environs of Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland, as well as the suburbs and countryside in between. I wonder how many British bus routes have spectacular river crossings at both ends of their journeys?