Twenty-Two Reflections on '22
31 December 2022
ABOVE: Seeing the back of '22: Go-Ahead London MHV 97 (LF67 EWW), a Volvo B5LH MCV eVoSeti, arrives at Oxford Circus at the end of its run from Putney Common on route 22, in the drizzle at around 8am on Wednesday 28th December 2022.
And so, another year is drawing to a close. It’s been a momentous year in so many ways, with the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the horrific war in Ukraine, record-breaking heat, and the shenanigans in Westminster, amongst other things.
For me, it’s been the year that I shared my travels more widely than ever before – with you, dear reader. This blog is obviously the modern equivalent of the old “first day of school term” essay favourite, “Where I went on my Holidays,” but I’ve really enjoyed sharing my experiences.
In 2021 my blog was just starting out, but this year I have published 74 articles in all (and, considering that I aim for one a week, I seem to have had more weeks in 2022 than most people)!
Some Statistics
In 2022, my travels have taken me:
In 2022, my travels have taken me:
- As far north as Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland;
- As far south as The Lizard in Cornwall;
- As far east as Broadstairs in Kent; and
- As far west as Newlyn (near Penzance in Cornwall) - technically, the junction of Alverton Road and The Ropewalk in Penzance, marked the actual western extremity!
Less than 20 miles (as the crow flies) separate my southern extremity of 2022 from my western one. This is The Green in Lizard Village, the furthest point south that buses in mainland Britain serve (Lizard Point itself is about a mile's walk straight ahead as we look at the picture). On Friday 26th August 2022, Go Cornwall's ADL Enviro200 MMC 2428 (WA20 DXG) is about to start its next journey on route 34 to Redruth.
Not counting vintage running days or London-based day trips, I have:
- Dedicated 40 days to bus riding;
- Undertaken 220 individual rides;
- Notched up around 200.5 hours of travelling (that does not include waiting times);
- Travelled an estimated 3,196 miles on those buses; and
- Spent 32 nights away from home.
Of those 220 rides:
I hope you don’t mind, therefore, if I look back on my travels and articles with 22 reflections on 2022.
- Individual journeys have taken anything from four minutes (a ‘positioning’ journey of less than a mile in Bristol) to two hours and 25 minutes (the 36 from King’s Lynn to Fakenham).
- The longest journey in terms of mileage has been the X15 (Berwick-upon-Tweed to Newcastle-upon-Tyne), at an estimated 68 miles; also the second-longest trip in terms of journey time, at two hours and 20 minutes.
- There have been 45 operators involved (I count subsidiaries as separate operators, so that includes six First, six Transdev, seven Go-Ahead and eight Stagecoach companies, for example).
- The average ride has been 54½ minutes long, covering an estimated 14.5 miles.
I hope you don’t mind, therefore, if I look back on my travels and articles with 22 reflections on 2022.
1. Most buses run!
In my experience, most of the advertised buses do actually turn up. They don’t always come on time, and you do sometimes wonder whether they are going to appear, but, if you persevere, they usually do come.
I can only recall a couple of no-shows in the whole year’s travels – a departure from Seaham on Go North East route 60 to Sunderland, and a Connexions X52 from Harrogate to Ilkley. In both cases, they changed the shape of my day as I went somewhere else instead!
And my X12 from Middlesbrough to Newcastle-upon-Tyne looked like becoming driver-less at Durham, but did eventually leave, after I had already jumped ship (please excuse the mixed metaphor).
In my experience, most of the advertised buses do actually turn up. They don’t always come on time, and you do sometimes wonder whether they are going to appear, but, if you persevere, they usually do come.
I can only recall a couple of no-shows in the whole year’s travels – a departure from Seaham on Go North East route 60 to Sunderland, and a Connexions X52 from Harrogate to Ilkley. In both cases, they changed the shape of my day as I went somewhere else instead!
And my X12 from Middlesbrough to Newcastle-upon-Tyne looked like becoming driver-less at Durham, but did eventually leave, after I had already jumped ship (please excuse the mixed metaphor).
2. Some journeys, nice as they are, just don't make a story
Sometimes, there just isn't much to say about a journey. Try as I might, I've found very little of interest to say about Stagecoach South route 54, from Chichester to Petersfield. It runs five times a day and is mainly out in the sticks, running through small villages and past lots of fields. My notes say that 15 people boarded my late morning journey, four of whom went end-to-end. The bus, an Optare Solo, was "very rattly". And that's all I can come up with! It was a nice day out, and a nice ride, but I can't make an article out of it.
Sometimes, there just isn't much to say about a journey. Try as I might, I've found very little of interest to say about Stagecoach South route 54, from Chichester to Petersfield. It runs five times a day and is mainly out in the sticks, running through small villages and past lots of fields. My notes say that 15 people boarded my late morning journey, four of whom went end-to-end. The bus, an Optare Solo, was "very rattly". And that's all I can come up with! It was a nice day out, and a nice ride, but I can't make an article out of it.
Stagecoach South Optare Solo 47932 (YJ14 BVH) has just arrived at The Square in Petersfield, at the end of a journey from Chichester. The "not via Westbourne" statement on the destination display, making a clear point about where the bus is NOT going, is quite unusual. Only one of the five buses per day actually does go to Westbourne, which is just outside Emsworth. This was Friday 2nd September 2022.
3. Routes and Networks change very quickly
Several of the journeys I have taken this year, including a few that I have not yet written about, have already changed their routings, or have been dropped since I wrote about them. One of the saddest losses was the 126 Weston-super-Mare to Wells service, which First decided to drop this year. Fortunately, Libra Travel stepped in to save part of the route, from Axbridge to Wells.
One of the more 'annoying' changes for me personally was the restructuring of the 92 route from Chippenham to Malmesbury, which has been extended to Swindon and renumbered 99. Why annoying? Because it featured as my choice for route 92 in my 100 British Bus Routes series, and I now have to decide whether to leave it as a representation of the route that I rode or replace it with another 92 later on. That may depend on whether I find another route 92 that I consider worthy of inclusion!
Special mention in this category too for route 83 from Monmouth to Abergavenny, which was renumbered 69 - after my decision to include it in my 100, but before I published! (I have another route 69, already ‘researched’, to publish one day.)
4. Wet days are not good for photography
Sadly, some days will turn out wet, and, with the best will in the world, photos taken through a wet window will never be as good and will often be unusable. Travelling to, and waiting at, Bristol Airport in the pouring rain wasn’t the best moment I’ve ever had on the buses.
Sadly, some days will turn out wet, and, with the best will in the world, photos taken through a wet window will never be as good and will often be unusable. Travelling to, and waiting at, Bristol Airport in the pouring rain wasn’t the best moment I’ve ever had on the buses.
A very wet view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, taken from the X5 (Bristol to Portishead) bus on Friday 11th March 2022.
5. I need to contrive a way to use the good photos that aren't related to anything I'm writing about...
Sometimes I take random pictures of buses that I see, that don't have much to do with the overall story that I am telling - other than "I saw / passed this one on the way". So here are four examples of pictures that I thought were too good to ignore, but didn't really fit in anywhere.
LEFT: I can't quite make out the fleet number of this Stagecoach ADL E200MMC on route 23 (Leigh Park to Southsea), but the 11.8m length of the vehicle is obvious in this side shot. This is Havant bus station on Thursday 14th July 2022.
RIGHT: An early evening view of Stagecoach North East 11292 (SN69 ZPW), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, working an early-evening run on route 40 from Wallsend Interchange to Chapel House via Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Centre. It's Friday 6th May 2022, and I have taken the picture from the platform of the Tyne & Wear Metro station at Wallsend, which overlooks the Interchange. Question for me: Why did I not go back to the City Centre on this bus, rather than on the Metro?
RIGHT: An early evening view of Stagecoach North East 11292 (SN69 ZPW), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, working an early-evening run on route 40 from Wallsend Interchange to Chapel House via Newcastle-upon-Tyne City Centre. It's Friday 6th May 2022, and I have taken the picture from the platform of the Tyne & Wear Metro station at Wallsend, which overlooks the Interchange. Question for me: Why did I not go back to the City Centre on this bus, rather than on the Metro?
LEFT: Also at Wallsend Interchange on Friday 6th May 2022 is 0315 (YX20 OCJ), an ADL Enviro200 MMC - in Nexus colours but actually operated by Gateshead Central Taxis. It is setting out on route 342, which serves the northern suburbs of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and terminates at Westerhope, although evening services such as this one turn short of Westerhope, at Kingston Park.
RIGHT: Somewhere between Claverham and Yatton, in North Somerset, HCT Group 1327 (YX19 ONP), an ADL Enviro200 MMC, works route 54 (Bristol Airport to Clevedon. This picture was taken from the top deck of a First West of England X2 service from Bristol to Weston-super-Mare, on Thursday 10th March 2022. HCT, and routes 54 & X2, are all now history. The vehicle is now with Transpora.
RIGHT: Somewhere between Claverham and Yatton, in North Somerset, HCT Group 1327 (YX19 ONP), an ADL Enviro200 MMC, works route 54 (Bristol Airport to Clevedon. This picture was taken from the top deck of a First West of England X2 service from Bristol to Weston-super-Mare, on Thursday 10th March 2022. HCT, and routes 54 & X2, are all now history. The vehicle is now with Transpora.
6. Six of the best...
Six of the best rides this year, that I hadn’t done before, have been:
Six of the best rides this year, that I hadn’t done before, have been:
- 7 Leeds to Harrogate (operator: Transdev – The Harrogate Bus Company) - lovely countryside, delightful scenery and a great pizza restaurant in Wetherby.
- 36 King’s Lynn to Fakenham (Lynx) - a two hour-plus exploration of a region I had never travelled through before
- 73 Liskeard to Polperro (Go Cornwall) - another new area for me. Lovely views of Looe Harbour en route and Polperro itself is a revelation. No trams now, though. (I'll be writing up this trip soon!)
- 152 Preston to Burnley (Transdev – The Blackburn Bus Company) - Ninety eight minutes on the top deck, west to east across Lancashire. What's not to like?
- T1 Truro to Penzance (First Kernow) - a delightful trip of nearly 30 miles that passes all the well-known Great Western Railway towns along the way - Redruth, Cambourne, Hayle & St Erth.
- X15 Berwick-upon-Tweed to Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Arriva North East) - a southerly drive of nearly 70 miles along the stunning coast of North-East England, starting just a few miles from the Scottish border.
The Harrogate Bus Company's 1861 (FJ58 LTF), a Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2, is seen in Wetherby whilst working route 7 from Leeds to Harrogate. It's Saturday 8th January 2022. The glass-fronted building behind is Ask Pizza, which I highly recommend. There's a good view of the main road, Market Place, and all of the buses as they go past!
7. Highly-regarded operators can still disappoint
A sad fact, but my first experience with Newport Bus was very disappointing. I suppose even a good operator (as Newport Bus is purported to be) can’t get it right every time.
8. Details of ticket validity need to be double-checked
It has to be said that Stagecoach West’s Gold DayRider ticket is extremely good value in terms of the area covered. But it’s not actually quite as good as it looks, as you can’t use it on the 853 from Cheltenham to Oxford. I found that out by chance before I boarded the 853. This non-validity is not mentioned in the Terms & Conditions on the Stagecoach website, and the map should be updated as well, as there’s no other bus between Cheltenham and Oxford.
It has to be said that Stagecoach West’s Gold DayRider ticket is extremely good value in terms of the area covered. But it’s not actually quite as good as it looks, as you can’t use it on the 853 from Cheltenham to Oxford. I found that out by chance before I boarded the 853. This non-validity is not mentioned in the Terms & Conditions on the Stagecoach website, and the map should be updated as well, as there’s no other bus between Cheltenham and Oxford.
9. What should be a hugely busy tourist route can be anything but
I had a lovely ride on Go North East’s tourist bus AD122, along the Hadrian’s Wall in Cumbria (spoiler alert – it doesn’t drive along the actual wall). But only two other passengers joined me, and they bailed out half-way.
Admittedly it was term time (May) and a bit damp, but I would have expected a few more people even so. Hopefully, it gets much busier in peak holiday season. It’s the kind of route that should encourage modal shift and it deserves to do well.
10. The direct route can be just a good as the long way round
I love a bus route that will get from A to B by going the long way round. That’s how I found the 74 route from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Hexham. A couple of days later I had an unplanned trip on the direct route 10, and it was equally stunning! Both made their way into my 100 British Bus Routes series.
I love a bus route that will get from A to B by going the long way round. That’s how I found the 74 route from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Hexham. A couple of days later I had an unplanned trip on the direct route 10, and it was equally stunning! Both made their way into my 100 British Bus Routes series.
11. Some photos don't turn out as well as expected
Have a look at the photograph below, showing off the livery of Go North East's "Country Ranger" route 78. Good, isn't it?
Have a look at the photograph below, showing off the livery of Go North East's "Country Ranger" route 78. Good, isn't it?
Go North East 5402 (NK15 ENP), a Wrightbus StreetLite Max, is heading for Castleside on the lengthy route 78 from Sunderland. This is Consett Bus Station on Thursday 5th May 2022. Route 78 now terminates at Consett and no longer serves Castleside. I wonder whether the darling schoolchildren at the back have to walk home from school now?
Well, no, it isn't. Have a look at the children at the back of the bus. They're making rude gestures! I decided to publish anyway!
Incidentally, I stopped using my (ancient) digital camera in the Spring, in favour of a redundant smartphone. In my opinion, the quality and sharpness of my pictures has improved significantly.
12. The further one gets from Newcastle, the less likely that the driver will recognise the Explorer North East ticket
The Explorer North East is another day ticket that offers exceptional value, being valid for all operators across a huge region (even if the “from £5.70 a day” claim is disingenuous; this being the Child rate (Adults £10.90 at the time of writing).
But I found that, the further south I went, the less certain drivers were about the ticket and whether it was valid or not, with one even muttering that it was a “train ticket” (although no-one actually said in so many words that it wasn't valid). As I headed north again, the ticket was accepted with familiarity!
13. I will never run out of things to talk about as long as Transport for London exists!
And TfL has kept me busy this year, particularly with the Central London Bus Review (articles here, here and here), which was proven to be just one big political stunt when a load of money was suddenly found down the back of a sofa in City Hall, enabling most of the changes to be shelved.
And TfL has kept me busy this year, particularly with the Central London Bus Review (articles here, here and here), which was proven to be just one big political stunt when a load of money was suddenly found down the back of a sofa in City Hall, enabling most of the changes to be shelved.
This is the same bus that features in my title picture above - MHV 97 (LF67 EWW) of Go-Ahead London, on the same occasion. It's mere seconds before the title picture was taken (I'm sure you can work out the sequence of events between the two). We're on Regent Street, looking south across the Oxford Circus junction, at about 8am on Wednesday 28th December 2022. Incidentally, I've come into town via the Elizabeth Line at Bond Street. The eastern entrance to the station is only a couple of minutes' walk from Oxford Circus. After I took this picture, a short bus ride took me for a day's work in the office!
14. Some operators seem incapable of keeping branded buses on the correct routes!
My feature on Hayling Island route 31 (operated by Stagecoach South), features two photographs of buses on the route carrying route 39 (Havant to Waterlooville, Wecock Farm) branding, and one unbranded double-decker in Stagecoach’s dull all-yellow livery. The only buses in Hayling Island branding that I found on the day of my visit were working route 39. My late partner used to term it as a means of "advertising other routes".
On Thursday 14th July 2022, it was impossible to find a Hayling Island-branded bus on the Hayling Island services (30/31), so here instead is Hayling Island branded Stagecoach South 37278 (SL64 HXO), an ADL Enviro200, on route 39 at Havant Bus Station. The name on the bus, "The Coppist", presumably commemorates the Combined Operations Assault Pilotage Parties, who risked their lives to gather information about proposed landing beaches and in-shore waters during the Second World War. They were initially based in Hayling Island.
15. It is possible to track down rare services without hanging around for hours
By their very nature, one is far less likely to catch up with infrequent bus routes without a degree of planning. But I managed four such services, either by chance or with very minimal planning:
16. Getting on the wrong bus can lead to great discoveries...
...as I found out when I got on a bus going in the wrong direction from Maesteg in South Wales, and ended up in Cymmer, which is stunning. As long as I am sure of the way out of a place before I go in, I don’t mind ending up somewhere off the beaten track. Somerton in Somerset is also a lovely spot, which I passed through during a day on the Buses of Somerset.
...as I found out when I got on a bus going in the wrong direction from Maesteg in South Wales, and ended up in Cymmer, which is stunning. As long as I am sure of the way out of a place before I go in, I don’t mind ending up somewhere off the beaten track. Somerton in Somerset is also a lovely spot, which I passed through during a day on the Buses of Somerset.
First Cymru 47685 (SL15 XXA), a Wright StreetLite DF, has just dropped me off at the Cymmer Turning Circle, in the blistering heat of Thursday 11th August 2022. The bus has been operating route 70 from Bridgend and the mercury is at around 32 degrees Celsius, and will get even higher the next day.
17. Tap-on, Tap-off needs more work
The idea of tap-on, tap-off (or TOTO as I call it, but that name hasn’t caught on yet – perhaps the Wizard of Oz owns the copyright?) is that you tap-on at the start of the journey and tap-off at the end, in order to pay the correct fare. It’s a promising idea, but it will only work if all of the tap-off readers work. My experience in Cornwall was that the majority did not.
18. I'm amazed at the tight roads that it's possible to squeeze a double-decker bus down!
I haven’t reported yet on all of my Cornish adventures. I took a trip on First Kernow’s service to Mousehole, near Penzance. The route, which doesn’t carry a number but is just known as The Mousehole, is normally an Optare Solo, and there are some really tight corners (and a tricky reversing manoeuvre at the terminus). And yet, a couple of days before my trip, someone had put a double-decker out on the route.
I had a similar experience squeezing through some tight corners in a place called Mullion in West Cornwall, and thought I understood why the bus through there (Go Cornwall route 34, story coming soon) was a single-decker. And yet, rival First Kernow route L1 was not only a double—decker, but an open-top one. Clearances were so tight that I could have reached out and touched the buildings!
I haven’t reported yet on all of my Cornish adventures. I took a trip on First Kernow’s service to Mousehole, near Penzance. The route, which doesn’t carry a number but is just known as The Mousehole, is normally an Optare Solo, and there are some really tight corners (and a tricky reversing manoeuvre at the terminus). And yet, a couple of days before my trip, someone had put a double-decker out on the route.
I had a similar experience squeezing through some tight corners in a place called Mullion in West Cornwall, and thought I understood why the bus through there (Go Cornwall route 34, story coming soon) was a single-decker. And yet, rival First Kernow route L1 was not only a double—decker, but an open-top one. Clearances were so tight that I could have reached out and touched the buildings!
From the open-top deck of First Kernow 33601 (SN09 CFV), an ADL Enviro400, the walls in Mullion village really are within touching distance.
19. A base in the centre of town is always going to work best
I’ve had a couple of trips where I have stayed out of town – in Liskeard, in Manchester and in Hull. This means that I have to ‘commute’ to the starting point of my day, costing me valuable time. This was quite pronounced in Liskeard in particular, where every day started and ended with a drive from the hotel into town.
Less of an issue in Manchester, as commuting up and down the Winslow Road for four days gave me a whole story that I wouldn't otherwise have had. At the other end of the scale, Newcastle-upon-Tyne was the absolute best central location - less than five minutes' walk from Eldon Square and Haymarket bus stations!
20. Some places I land don't seem to have many interesting ways out
I do sometimes end up somewhere that doesn’t seem to have many interesting ways out. I felt it in Keynsham, near Bristol. Broadstairs was another one (but I haven’t told that story yet).
But one of the strangest was Bury, in Greater Manchester. I had already previously completed a circuit around the City, which had passed through Bury. There only seemed to be:
I do sometimes end up somewhere that doesn’t seem to have many interesting ways out. I felt it in Keynsham, near Bristol. Broadstairs was another one (but I haven’t told that story yet).
But one of the strangest was Bury, in Greater Manchester. I had already previously completed a circuit around the City, which had passed through Bury. There only seemed to be:
- Routes into the City Centre that I had already done;
- Peripheral routes that I had already done (eg, to Rochdale or Bolton); or
- Routes leaving the City region entirely.
21. An upper deck always adds value
I travelled on a single-decker on Stagecoach route 11 from Stockport to Altrincham in 2021 and didn’t find it interesting. Swapped for a double-decker from Wythenshaw to Stockport, the journey was far more enjoyable.
A double-decker bus is always going to be better, which is why I am always disappointed when a single-decker turns up on a double-decker route. My Stagecoach X17 from Barnsley was one I had to stomach, and the Faresaver X31 from Bath to Chippenham was another. But I drew the line at the single-decker on the Pronto service out of Chesterfield and waited half an hour for a more suitable vehicle.
Of course, the reverse can happen as well. A ride on route 31 out of Hayling Island, for example, gained an extra dimension with an extra deck!
I travelled on a single-decker on Stagecoach route 11 from Stockport to Altrincham in 2021 and didn’t find it interesting. Swapped for a double-decker from Wythenshaw to Stockport, the journey was far more enjoyable.
A double-decker bus is always going to be better, which is why I am always disappointed when a single-decker turns up on a double-decker route. My Stagecoach X17 from Barnsley was one I had to stomach, and the Faresaver X31 from Bath to Chippenham was another. But I drew the line at the single-decker on the Pronto service out of Chesterfield and waited half an hour for a more suitable vehicle.
Of course, the reverse can happen as well. A ride on route 31 out of Hayling Island, for example, gained an extra dimension with an extra deck!
22. There’s lots I haven’t written up yet, and lots more to go and discover!
As you will have gathered, I don’t decide what I want to write about and then go and ‘research’ for it. No, I make a trip and see what I find! That means I have a backlog of experiences to share from 2022 (and 2021!), whilst I hope to soon be out starting my 2023 adventures...
As you will have gathered, I don’t decide what I want to write about and then go and ‘research’ for it. No, I make a trip and see what I find! That means I have a backlog of experiences to share from 2022 (and 2021!), whilst I hope to soon be out starting my 2023 adventures...
And here comes '23!
Stagecoach Manchester 19390 (MX58 FSD), an ADL Enviro400, passes Alderfield Road in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, on Tuesday 20th September 2022. It is working route 23 from The Trafford Centre to Stockport.
As long as I can stay well, and use my weekends and my annual leave allowance wisely (ie, 'researching'), my travels, and my articles, will continue in 2023.
I have many more places to visit; many more routes to experience, and the whole of Great Britain's buses to choose from.
Also, I have only written 19 of my 100 British Bus Route articles (another half-dozen have been researched but not yet written up), so lots more to do there as well.
So there’s plenty to keep me on the streets in 2023, and I look forward to sharing my adventures with you!
I hope you have enjoyed reading this year about my experiences as much as I have enjoyed writing about them. Happy New Year!