Careful What You Wish For...
19 February 2023
ABOVE: Arriva Midlands North 4106 (YJ08 EEG), a Volvo B9TL Optare Olympus on route X5 in Barker Street, Shrewsbury, after the run from Telford. All photos in this article were taken on Thursday 9th February 2023.
It's Wednesday evening, and I'm sitting in a hotel room in Telford. In 24 hours, I am due to be in Cardiff. I would love to make the whole journey tomorrow by bus, but I'm struggling to find an acceptable link into Hereford - which seems to be a key link on the route. I would be happy to approach from any of Ludlow, Kidderminster or Worcester, but I can't find an appropriate route.
I am due into Ludlow at 1010. There is a potential service at 1110, which would take me to Leominster. But the connection time to the Hereford service from Leominster is only six minutes. If I miss that connection, I will be delayed by two hours. Feels too tight.
Or I could travel from Kidderminster, which I am due to reach at 1126. But the first option from there, at 1130, is to retrace my steps to Ludlow and make the same journey as above, with the same tight connections via Leominster. The other option, starting an hour after that, goes via Worcester and Ledbury, where I would have a one hour and fifty minute wait for a service that would get me to Hereford at 1740.
From there, the 1820 bus on route X3 would reach Cwmbran at 2005. I can then reach Cardiff by 2200, via Newport. But I wasn't intending to be that late, and it's February so the last five or six hours of travel would be in the dark.
So I know part of the journey is going to be by train, but my itinerary currently runs out at 1310 / 1340 (depending on lunch breaks) in Great Malvern. I would like to continue a little further by bus, for as long as the daylight lasts. But the next bus from Great Malvern to Ledbury is at 1625, with another tight connection to Hereford getting me in at 1740; again those last two rides would be in the dark.
So I'm setting out with half an itinerary, wishing for many more hours on the buses before the light runs out. Careful what you wish for...
I am due into Ludlow at 1010. There is a potential service at 1110, which would take me to Leominster. But the connection time to the Hereford service from Leominster is only six minutes. If I miss that connection, I will be delayed by two hours. Feels too tight.
Or I could travel from Kidderminster, which I am due to reach at 1126. But the first option from there, at 1130, is to retrace my steps to Ludlow and make the same journey as above, with the same tight connections via Leominster. The other option, starting an hour after that, goes via Worcester and Ledbury, where I would have a one hour and fifty minute wait for a service that would get me to Hereford at 1740.
From there, the 1820 bus on route X3 would reach Cwmbran at 2005. I can then reach Cardiff by 2200, via Newport. But I wasn't intending to be that late, and it's February so the last five or six hours of travel would be in the dark.
So I know part of the journey is going to be by train, but my itinerary currently runs out at 1310 / 1340 (depending on lunch breaks) in Great Malvern. I would like to continue a little further by bus, for as long as the daylight lasts. But the next bus from Great Malvern to Ledbury is at 1625, with another tight connection to Hereford getting me in at 1740; again those last two rides would be in the dark.
So I'm setting out with half an itinerary, wishing for many more hours on the buses before the light runs out. Careful what you wish for...
Telford Bus Station, adjacent to the Telford Centre; the main shopping area of the town. Four Arriva buses are in evidence.
There are already a significant number of people standing around at Telford Bus Station as I arrive at 0750. Today's trip is through very unfamiliar territory. A host of new discoveries awaits.
But first, the school run (or I think that should be college run in this case, as most of the services round here run as college, rather than school, variations).
I had previously only uncovered an 0940 service to Shrewsbury, but, as regular readers will know, I like to start a lot earlier. I have now found an 0805 departure on Arriva Midlands North route X5. On College Days there are two departures within five minutes of each other, at 0805 and 0810, on what is generally an hourly service. I’m starting to appreciate why.
The number of students hanging around is becoming significant. Several of them are gathering at the front of the bus stand and, as more arrive, they join their friends; my ‘place’ near the front of the queue is becoming less and less assured.
The Cavalry rides in in the form of service 809, a “Rodaston College Service”. This completely anonymous vehicle, which turns out to belong to Select Bus Services, takes a fair few people away. But more keep on arriving, in even greater numbers it seems.
It’s not just people who are arriving here. There are buses rolling in and out all the time, nearly all of which belong to Arriva. In fact, a wide selection of services is available. Excluding the X5, which is conspicuous by it’s absence.
I have a 12-minute connection at Shrewsbury Bus Station, which had felt comfortable when I planned it but is now feeling tight. As 0810 comes and goes, a double-decker bus arrives. A huge throng of students now blocks the entrance to the vehicle, but a path opens up for the equally busy load leaving the incoming service.
Any semblance of a queue has long since faded; it’s everyone for themselves. Fortunately, the fact that we have a double-decker means that everyone can be accommodated, but few seats are spare. Loading 50 or more people has taken time, of course. We pull out at 0817, 12 minutes behind schedule. As I pull out on my first ride of the day, I’ve already lost an hour.
The X5 journey is disappointing for me as all of the windows are steamed up – there’s a residual grime which means that even wiping them does not have much effect.
It’s what one would expect of a service loaded with college students; lots of chatter, some of it quite graphic, plenty of swear words peppering the conversations and the sweet sickly smell emanating from people using vapes.
The bus itself is a Volvo B9TL Optare Olympus of 2008 vintage. I manage to establish, via BusTimes.org, that the second service, a single-decker, is behind us, although I see no sign of it at either end of the journey or anywhere in between.
A little way into the journey we join the M54 motorway, which quickly becomes the A5, for a non-stop run to Emstrey, about 10 miles distant. How I wish that I had been patient enough to wait for the 0940 service on route 96, which would have bypassed the motorway and avoided the crush of a college run!
The college that everyone is heading for is not far from Shrewsbury itself. The last few minutes of the journey are considerably quieter and I get off in the town centre at 0900, 17 minutes late. My quick connection is long-gone.
Perhaps I could have delayed my trip south, and added some daylight riding hours, by taking a detour on the X5 to Oswestry and back. This service may carry the same route number as the one I have just left, but it runs as a separate operation, and a change in Shrewsbury is necessary. As it is, though, I am an hour behind where I had expected to be at this point.
The Old Market Hall in Shrewsbury - now a cinema!
After a wander through Shrewsbury Town Centre, I come to the Bus Station. As in Telford, Arriva is very much the dominant operator here.
Six Arriva buses (look closely - there really are six) in the main part of Shrewsbury Bus Station at 0928. 2517 (YJ09 MLX) is nearest the camera, on local route 24 to Harlescott. Next to it is 2975 (YJ09 MKN), an Optare Versa on route 11 to Bicton Heath, then 3698 (YJ12 PLO), another Optare Versa on another local route, the 27 to Bayston Hill.
I had been aiming for the 0855 departure on route 435 to Ludlow, but the delay on the X5 means that I'll now be boarding the 0955 service. The 435 is operated by Minsterley Motors of Shrewsbury, an independent operator that I have not come across before (the name is presumably based on the Shropshire village of Minsterley 10 miles south-west of here).
I need bus stand N, but the bus station seems to finish at stand M. I discover a further group of stands on the opposite side to the main bus station, although I don’t see any signage pointing to it from the main bus station.
Bus stands N (sign is behind the tree), P, R & S in Shrewsbury Bus Station. The main part of the bus station, as shown above, is just out of view to the right. My bus is listed for stand N, but won't pick up there - it will pick up at an unmarked stop behind this row of stands - to the middle of the picture, behind the shelters for stands N & P.
It’s reassuring to see the bus already parked up in a little side parking area away from the main site.
My 435 is on the stand at Shrewsbury Bus Station in good time for a punctual departure (which is not achieved), accompanied by a fellow Minsterley Motors vehicle on route 552 to Stiperstones, a village south-west of Shrewsbury and only three miles from the Welsh border.
I position myself at the front of the (empty) shelter for stop N. After a few minutes, a woman joins me at the stop. “Are you waiting for the Bishop's Castle bus”, she asks? “No, the Ludlow one,” I reply. “Ah,” she says, “that one picks up behind the stop. It’s not very well signposted “.
It certainly isn't! Despite being at the stop indicated in both the Minsterley website and on Traveline, and with a timetable stuck on the shelter, I am in the wrong place! Behind the row of stops N, P, R and S, is another pick-up point. The road is marked as a Bus Stop but there’s no other marking. A simple sign to designate ‘Stop T’ would do!
About five minutes before the due time, another Minsterley vehicle pulls into stop N as a 552. The bus is branded for the 435 so I could easily have expected it to become a 435, and I think I could easily have missed my bus if I had not been tipped off about where to wait.
Celtic Travel 1 (BV18 YCC), a Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora, is picking up at the 'unofficial', un-named bus stop in Shrewsbury Bus Station, at the start of a run to Llangurig, deep into Powys in mid-Wales (a route now on my to-do list). This is where my 435 will pick up shortly. The back of the shelter for stop N is to the right in the foreground.
My bus pulls off the stand and over to what I am calling Stop T, at 0957, two minutes after the scheduled departure time. Loading up takes another couple of minutes so we pull out four minutes late, with five passengers on board.
This is a long Optare Solo. The floor could do with a sweep and there’s an abandoned face mask on the seat in front of mine. A couple of men who have boarded are talking about the (slight) late running; “they race the journey to make up the time”, apparently. They think he’s going pretty fast but it feels fine to me.
We have doubled our numbers on the outskirts of town and now head into the beautiful Shropshire Hills. The bus is climbing as though in the Swiss countryside, with houses built into the hillsides. The bright winter sun and clear blue skies add a sparkle. It's a beautiful area.
The major traffic objective en route is the town of Church Stretton, but it’s the surrounding area that really captures the imagination. We're in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and less than eight miles from the Welsh border (in fact this whole route is never much more than 10 miles from the border at most).
Church Stretton
We reach the town of Ludlow at 1114, still four minutes late as we had started. We have reached a peak of around 20 passengers during the journey, showing that there is still a market for buses in these deeply-rural areas.
Unfortunately, the fact that I have caught the 0955 service, rather than the 0855, means a less-than-optimal connection into my next bus, which only runs every two hours. I should have arrived at 1010, to get the 1035 out, but it will now be the 1235, meaning that my late X5 has now put me two hours behind schedule.
At least Ludlow is a lovely town to walk round. It’s market day and is feeling like a summer’s afternoon, rather than early February, in the bright sunlight.
Ludlow Town Centre, with the spire of St Laurence's Church in the centre background. An unidentified Minsterley Motors vehicle is just passing through.
Ye Old Bull Ring Tavern dominates this view of King Street, Ludlow
Castle Square on Market Day, with Ludlow Castle in the background.
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My next service is the Diamond Bus 292 to Kidderminster. It picks up at a stop called "Cooperative Store”, which appears to be on Upper Galdeford. With the aid of a map, I have found the stop, but I can’t see a Co-op. There is a boarded-up building that looks like it might once have been a Co-op but, if it was, it has long since ceased to be. That’s the problem with naming bus stops after shops or pubs! Why not call the stop "Upper Galdeford"? A man with a dog comes over from the pet shop opposite. He tells me that he would normally walk home, but his bag is full of Winalot so he’s taking the bus. It’s due in about 12 minutes at 1235. 1235 comes and goes, but the bus does not. A few more people have gathered now but nothing is happening. |
Was this derelict building once the Co-Op store that the bus stop is named after?
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Minsterley Motors 13 (YD63 VEU), an Optare Solo, passes the "Cooperative Store" bus stop in Ludlow on the town Park & Ride service.
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At 1240, with the bus five minutes overdue, I sneak a look at BusTimes.org to see if I can ascertain where it is. It's bad news... The bus is in Doddington, on the inward journey, and still about 15 minutes away. I'm going to be here for a while yet! The man with the dog gives up at 1247 and starts trudging home with his ...erm... dog’s dinner. "Dog’s dinner" might describe my predicament as well. I have, or rather had, a tight connection at Kidderminster which is now completely unattainable. So I have lost a third hour! |
Oh dear...
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Diamond Bus 30051 (YJ66 APO), an Optare Solo M9950 SR, is arriving into Ludlow on the incoming journey on route 292 from Kidderminster. The front display on this vehicle isn't working.
The bus arrives at 1255, 20 minutes late. Loading of 11 passengers takes a couple of minutes so we’re on the way at 1257. My impression is that several of those passengers were not at the stop at 1235, so is this bus always late?
Diamond Bus is of course not taking part in the £2.00 maximum single fare scheme, but, notwithstanding that scheme, the £3.90 fare doesn’t feel too bad. Not so good is that the outside of the bus is filthy (despite the dry weather today) and the front display isn’t working.
This is another delightful ride, well worth the wait. Although I am going to end up in Wales today, I'm actually heading away from the border now. We’re crossing from Shropshire into Worcestershire and the views are stunning.
A passing view of St Mary the Virgin church in Cleobury Mortimer, about half-way along route 292. Please excuse the reflection of the bus's strip lighting across the middle of the picture!
Crossing the River Severn in Load Street, Bewdley
The bus itself does reasonable trade, although only six of us are left for the final stretch into Kidderminster.
Arrival time is 1348 - about 22 minutes late; at least we haven’t lost any more time. A relief driver is waiting to start the return journey, scheduled for 1330. Surely they could have found another vehicle for him to use to get that journey out on time?
A passenger asks the exiting driver if the service will be running late all day. The driver says it will depend on "the roadworks", so it sounds as though the minor works that we have passed without incident have been having a knock-on effect all day.
There is only one bus for this service so, given that the 1330 departure to Ludlow is going to be at least 20 minutes late leaving Kidderminster, I can't see how the later departures today are going to be able to get out on time - unless the vehicle is subbed.
Diamond Bus 30952 (AE59 EHR) is a Plaxton Centro Volvo B7 RLE. It's at Kidderminster Bus Station on local route 3 to Areley Kings.
For me, I am now awaiting the 1430 departure on route 303 to Worcester; my itinerary says I should have been on the 1130. It's another Diamond Bus service, so is artificially expensive at £4.40! I have used this route before (about eight years ago). My recollection of the previous trip is of a very long Dennis Dart. Today it's an 8.8m Optare Solo.
Diamond Bus 20913 (MX57 UPS), an Optare Solo M880 SL, pulling into the stop at Kidderminster Bus Station at the start of a run on route 303 to Worcester. The destination display is working, but has not photographed well.
It's parked on the bus station stand, with the engine running, for more than 10 minutes.
The driver brings the bus round to the stop about one minute before the scheduled departure time of 1430, but we leave on time, with seven passengers on board. We pick two more up in the town.
It's quite a tatty little vehicle, in need of some interior TLC. The engine on this bus has a number of distinctive whines, almost "sing-song". For some reason I am reminded of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind...
Just outside Kidderminster is the spectacular Hoobrook Viaduct, carrying the main railway line to Worcester.
On a map, the 303 looks like a very straight route, but the devil is in the detail - or, more specifically, in the village of Ombersley, near Droitwich Spa. Although we are heading south, a double-run means a drive of half a mile due north, before we circumnavigate the village and return the way we have just come. I do like these deviations - these are places I would never see if I was driving this way!
As I am three hours later than expected at this point, I have decided to abandon the ride to Great Malvern for today - a shame as it's been on the list for some time, but I still have a couple of hours of (train) travel in front of me to get to Cardiff. I don't want to use CrossCountry from Worcestershire Parkway, so I'm going via Hereford.
My recollection from my previous ride on route 303 is that Worcester Bus Station is directly opposite Worcester Foregate Street station. Just as well, as I have another tight connection - the bus is due in at 1522 and the train, for which I need to buy a ticket first, is at 1531.
As people familiar with Worcester will know, my recollection is incorrect. I ignore the bus stop right outside the station as I want to finish the route. But the bus station is a little further away than I recall. So it's very fortunate that the bus has arrived on time (the only bus on my journey today to run on time). It's a brisk walk back to the station, but I just make it to the train.
I wanted a full day on the buses, and I've (more-or-less) had one - but only because delays have knocked my schedule out by a full three hours. I've had a lovely day, but who knows where I might have ended up if I had arrived in Worcester at 1222 instead of 1522?
Oh, and for good measure, the train from Hereford to Cardiff decides to turn up 22 minutes late as well. But the Delay Repay claim to Transport for Wales is signed off within 60 seconds - that's right, 60 seconds - of submission!