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25 September 2022
Above: The View from the Top Deck - Upstairs interior of one of the 'high spec' BYD ADL Enviro400EV buses first introduced by
Abellio London onto Transport for London route 63 (Honor Oak to King's Cross)
Abellio London onto Transport for London route 63 (Honor Oak to King's Cross)
High Peak Optare Solo 286 (YJ15 AYB) heads past the Market Place in Buxton on a local service on Saturday 24th September 2022
If you haven't previously discovered The View from the Top Deck, you won't know that I've been writing about the buses of Britain for almost a year.
My early blogs recounted travels that I had undertaken without knowing that I was one day going to be writing about them. (In May 2021, just after lockdown was lifted, I had a lovely day on the buses in Norfolk. I’ll write about it one day, but I don’t have a single photo to accompany the story - not one!)
Nowadays, I look at every ride I undertake as a potential story, and I try to make sure that I take appropriate pictures to accompany whatever I might write about. And I also take random pictures in the hope that they will come in handy to illustrate my articles.
Abellio London 8216 (YX16 OBE), a short ADL E200 MMC, approaches East Croydon station whilst working route 367 from Bromley, on Thursday 28th July 2022.
It feels like a good time to reflect on the story so far, as I re-launch the blog with a new address and a new internet service provider (ISP). My previous ISP (let’s call it Greenproprietor - not its real name) decided to develop a fault that it couldn’t fix, that prevented me from updating my home page. And that was only the start of it. We have now parted company.
My first article explained why I had decided to start the blog. Since then, I have written more than 70 articles, and added at least another 2,500 miles' worth of travels to the tally of 3,300 that I claimed then.
This Go-Ahead London vehicle is a BYD ADL Enviro400EV with roof-charging rails for 'opportunity' charging through pantographs. The first of these for London have entered service on route 132 (North Greenwich to Bexleyheath), and this one is seen on Thursday 28th July 2022.
London is my home, but many of the routes across the capital are very familiar to me now. Getting out into less-familiar areas, to ride new routes, is my escape. To use modern parlance, it’s how I look after my wellbeing!
The blog was something that had been at the back of my mind for a few years, but I had never really had the time to look into the idea until a devastating bereavement at the beginning of 2021 suddenly left me with a lot of extra time on my hands. The rest, as they say, is history.
Stagecoach Manchester 10472 (SN65 OBE), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, reaches East Didsbury whilst working route 42 from Manchester City Centre (Piccadilly Gardens) to Stockport. It's Tuesday 20th September 2022.
I've just returned from my latest trip, centred on Greater Manchester (and calling in to Fleetwood, Warrington and Buxton along the way)! That's one feature of my trips; no sooner have I arrived somewhere than I'm off out of town again!
Sometimes, my trips focus on one specific town, or one specific network where an appropriate day ticket will allow me to access all areas. That’s why my first trip after lockdown was lifted was to Reading – the nearest non-London town to me with a decent network. Two weeks later I was in Swindon because of much the same reasoning.
Sometimes I may be planning a ride on one particular service and will just build an itinerary around that. On the day I finished a stay in Bristol, I wanted to get to Coleford in Gloucestershire to try out route 23 (Coleford to Gloucester). In looking for an interesting way to get to Coleford that I had not done before, I took a train to Newport, South Wales, and travelled on by bus via Monmouth. That particular journey led to one of my less-positive articles.
The ride on route 23 itself was lovely and, after reaching Gloucester, I went on by bus to Cheltenham and Oxford for good measure!
Stagecoach North East 28030 (YR14 CGV) is a Scania K270UB ADL Enviro 300SG (gas-powered - you can see the tank on the roof). It is operating a local Sunderland service and is about to cross the Wearmouth Bridge on Thursday 5th May 2022. Two of its stablemates are visible behind.
The journey from Gloucester to Cheltenham, which I have yet to write up, is an example of another trait of mine, which is - why go on the most direct route (the 94 in this case) when there are slower, less direct routes available instead? (The ones that journey planners don't offer - you just find them when you reach the stop.)
Sometimes I may simply be trying to travel a long distance in a broadly straight line. I have already recounted my three trips between West London and Southampton; the first of which was my first long-distance bus ride.
One problem with a long, straight line is that there is unlikely to be a single multi-journey ticket that will cover the whole day. I may need to buy different tickets or even pay individual fares. The highest number of valid all-day tickets I have ever held at any one moment is three.
I am rarely to be found heading by train straight for where I am intending to be. When I went to Harrogate in January, I only took the train as far as Sheffield, and went on from there by bus. On the return trip I didn't join the railway until Nottingham.
When I went to Liverpool, again my railhead was Sheffield, followed by buses to Manchester (the erstwhile X57 across the Snake Pass), Leigh and St Helens. When I visited Leeds, my railhead was Sheffield. So, when I was staying in Sheffield, my railhead was, of course, ... Leicester!
First Kernow 32636 (WX05 UAF) on Market Jew Street in Penzance, with local service 19 to Madron and Heamoor, on Friday 26th August 2022.
If I can’t find a good long-distance route, I will get closer to where I want to be and then just take the long way round. From Trowbridge to Bristol, for example, on five buses instead of one train - but at least the buses got me right into the City Centre!
And that’s the beauty of doing what I do. In the normal course of life, how would I ever end up somewhere like Pontypool, as I did on a recent run through South Wales that I'm looking forward to telling you about? (And, having been to Pontypool, why would I ever want to go back...?)
There is one other way that I do things - these are the trips where I don't plan anything at all, but just board whatever bus turns up and see where I land! This is only advisable in areas where there are lots of services, or an obvious onward way out, and it’s not something I would do late in the day for fear of getting stranded somewhere (I am quite risk-averse).
Go Cornwall 2420 (WA20 DWX) is an ADL Enviro E200. On a drizzly Monday 22nd August 2022, it is pulling in to Bodmin Parkway station prior to starting another run on route 10 to Padstow. This route 10 no longer exists, having been subsumed into route 11 (Plymouth to Bodmin Parkway) at the beginning of September 2022.
But doing an unplanned trip can be rewarding. I have already recounted how I randomly jumped onto a bus in Rhyl that was ultimately heading for Wrexham (from where I knew I could get a bus back to Chester - the test of realism)! It turned out to be a most stunning and memorable ride!
During lockdown, I got the idea of creating a list of 100 British Bus Routes from across the country, showcasing the diverse range of operations. The idea pre-dated the blog, but of course the blog became the obvious place to publish my selection.
I have so far published 15 of those articles, and I have another 11 routes that I have visited and just need to write up. So that just leaves 74 more and that series will be done!
I love writing about my travel experiences, but I do sometimes jump onto my high horse to put forward more general opinions about the industry. None more so than my comments on the TfL Central London Bus Review that was hurriedly pushed out just before the Jubilee Weekend festivities. I did enjoy writing the articles, even though I was simultaneously seething about the fact that I felt they needed writing!
I also enjoyed putting together my recent article about the "Tap On, Tap Off" method of fare collection, which focused on Cornwall. I'm sure there will be more of these general opinion pieces soon!
But doing an unplanned trip can be rewarding. I have already recounted how I randomly jumped onto a bus in Rhyl that was ultimately heading for Wrexham (from where I knew I could get a bus back to Chester - the test of realism)! It turned out to be a most stunning and memorable ride!
During lockdown, I got the idea of creating a list of 100 British Bus Routes from across the country, showcasing the diverse range of operations. The idea pre-dated the blog, but of course the blog became the obvious place to publish my selection.
I have so far published 15 of those articles, and I have another 11 routes that I have visited and just need to write up. So that just leaves 74 more and that series will be done!
I love writing about my travel experiences, but I do sometimes jump onto my high horse to put forward more general opinions about the industry. None more so than my comments on the TfL Central London Bus Review that was hurriedly pushed out just before the Jubilee Weekend festivities. I did enjoy writing the articles, even though I was simultaneously seething about the fact that I felt they needed writing!
I also enjoyed putting together my recent article about the "Tap On, Tap Off" method of fare collection, which focused on Cornwall. I'm sure there will be more of these general opinion pieces soon!
This unidentified Connexions Scania N230UD OmniCity is a former London United vehicle. You can just make out the "FW" code of London United's Fulwell bus garage on the side above the front wheel. This is Harrogate Bus Station at twilight (half past four!) on Saturday 8th January 2022.
There are many more stories to come, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you. I haven't yet told you about my visit to Barnard Castle, which was far more low-key than that of a certain other individual! And I need to share with you a ride I took along the A537, past a famous pub called the Cat and Fiddle.
And just a health warning: I write about what I see, and my experiences. Some of the bus routes I describe will have changed since my visits, and many more will do so. Always check before you travel!
Compass Bus 4110 (GX13 FSS), an ADL Enviro200, is in South Road, Haywards Heath working circular town service 30 on Friday 24th September 2021.
I have taken the opportunity of this re-launch to create an easier web address, BusesTopDeck.co.uk. The old address (view-from-the-top-deck.blog) didn't mention the magic word "bus" and was very difficult to say to people in a way in which they would remember. Try saying it out loud and you’ll understand!
The articles from the old site should be accessible via the View-from-the-Top-Deck archive link above (you may need to press F5 to refresh). I'm also learning how to use my new provider's web building tools, so bear with me whilst I get to grips with all of that!
So, please hold on tight - I hope you enjoy the ride!