DELAINE BUS:
A QUALITY FAMILY-RUN INDEPENDENT
16 April 2023
ABOVE: Delaine Bus 163 (AD17 DBL), a Volvo B5TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 3, stops in Church Street, Market Deeping, on a route 101 service from Peterborough to Bourne. The company runs a mixture of new and second-hand vehicles. This one was bought new in 2017. All pictures in this article were taken on Monday 27th March 2023.
I'm on a brand-new bus (well, three-and-a-bit weeks old)!
I shouldn't be that surprised - about 1400 new single- and double-decker buses were registered in 2022 (source: SMMT), for example. But it's still quite rare to actually stumble across one by chance; one that is so new that it still has that new smell about it. There's nothing quite like that new feeling, as I keep hearing in those Saga Cruise adverts that are constantly playing on Classic FM*.
I've come to have a look at Delaine Bus, a family business now run, as its website proudly states, by the fifth and sixth generations of the family that introduced horse buses to the good folk of Bourne, Lincolnshire, in 1890.
The company has always had a good reputation, so I've come to find out for myself.
The front end of Delaine's brand-new (well, less than a month old anyway) ADL Enviro200 MMC, no. 175 (AD23 DBL), at Peterborough Bus Station, awaiting departure on route 201 to Bourne.
The new bus in question is number 175 in the fleet (AD23 DBL). It's an ADL Enviro200 MMC - possibly an 11.8-metre version (I can never quite tell, but the previous vehicle they bought was of that length). Delaine Bus seems to buy a new vehicle every time the registrations change - March and September. So it's no surprise that the profile of the fleet is young and modern. Still a bit of a coup for me to find the newest vehicle though!
Based on the company fleet list, vehicles have been numbered in sequence from the very first motor bus, number 1 (PW 1558), a 14-seater Ford T Economy, which was introduced in 1919 and "burnt out" in a fire at the depot in 1928.
Delaine, based in Bourne, has a core network operating between Peterborough, Stamford, Bourne and Spalding. The 101 is the quick link between Peterborough and Bourne, taking about 40 minutes. But I'm heading for the 201, which links the two towns via a slightly-longer route, taking 83 minutes. Well when did you ever know me to take the straight route anywhere?
Also parked up at Peterborough Bus Station is Delaine Bus 158 (AD15 DBL), a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2. This picture shows off both the Delaine livery and the discreet route branding between decks, which is suitable should the bus be used on any of the 101, 102, 201 or 202 services. On this occasion, BusTimes.org records that the bus was destined to form the 11.15am departure on route 102 to Market Deeping, some 20 minutes in the future as I took this picture.
It's my second visit to Peterborough's Queensgate bus station and I'm still not sure what to make of it (on my first visit I described it as "scruffy and unattractive"). The actual bus waiting area feels quite small and it's hard to imagine what it would look like if a large crowd was to congregate awaiting departure of a particular service. Not that there is a large crowd.
But it does have plenty of amenities, by virtue of being attached to a major shopping centre. Unfortunately that major shopping centre also has huge amounts of car parking - not something that will necessarily encourage people to the buses.
A view of Peterborough Bus Station from the Queensgate Shopping Centre. As well as the two Delaine buses already featured above (and this represents my best photo of the brand new E200 MMC), there's one of First Eastern Counties' Scania N250UD ADL Enviro400 City vehicles on the Excel route to Norwich. There's another set of bus stands to the left of this set, out of sight of the camera. The escalator from the shopping centre comes down between the two banks.
The friendly driver for our 1100 departure returns to his vehicle a few minutes ahead of time, to load up and enable a punctual departure, with an initial load of nine passengers and one dog. I am going to use three Delaine buses today so I buy a One Day Rover, valid on all Delaine services, for £5.70 - this would be a good deal even if single fares were being capped at £2.00 (which I don't believe they are with this operator).
As we pull out of the bus station there are two photographers, taking much better pictures of this new vehicle than I have managed to! (There are some pictures online but none that I have found of this journey.)
The bus carries a useful map of the core network, covering the 101 (and 102 variant), 201 (and 202 variant) and the 301/302, of which more later. Close analysis shows that these are not just network maps - every stop is listed.
Delaine calls this its "linear map" of the main routes of its networks. A clearer version can be found on the Delaine website (https://www.delainebuses.com/Linear%20Map%202022.pdf).
There's also a very useful summary of departures from Peterborough bus station, presumably aimed at those who have gone into town and want to know when the buses head back.
Not that this is the only source of information, of course. Every stop served by the company has full timetables, even at Spalding Bus Station, where very little information is available about other operators' services. (See my account of route 57, from Spalding to Skegness, for more thoughts on Spalding Bus Station.)
Buses also carry discreet branding covering the 101 / 102 / 201 / 202 services, so that the buses can be used on any of these.
Delaine 154 (AD63 DBL), a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, nears the end of its journey into Peterborough on route 101. This picture was taken from my 201, near the Paul Pry pub on the Lincoln Road. The bus will head out to Bourne to meet me later on.
One of the joys of the indirect 201 is that we quickly deviate from the main road and head into the surrounding villages, and they're very pretty!
At Helpston, we take a level crossing across a six-line railway - quite a sight! The four electrified lines of the East Coast Main Line are parting company at this point from the two diesel-only lines of the route from Peterborough to Leicester. There's a small refuge between the two sets of lines in case anyone gets stuck. I suspect the barriers here spend a lot of time down, but there's no delay today.
Further along, at Barnack Cottages, there's a woman sitting at the bus stop who is fully engrossed in her mobile phone. She does not react as the bus approaches. The driver stops to give her a chance to board, but she still shows no interest. Presumably she just wanted somewhere to sit down.
The major intermediate traffic objective for the 201 is Stamford. By the time we get there we have about 18 passengers on board.
Crossing the Town Bridge on the way into Stamford.
The vast majority of passengers leave the bus here, but there are plenty more to replace them for the second half of the trip.
All Saint's Church, Stamford, just off Red Lion Square.
There's a curious deviation in Stamford, as might be deduced by the route diagram. On leaving the Town Centre, buses work a loop through one of the main residential areas of the town, returning to the Town Centre, crossing the road previously covered, 17 minutes later. Buses in both directions go the same way around the route, bringing the effect of buses on the same route, but going in opposite directions, following one another round the loop.
A view through the front of the bus shows us the next-newest Delaine vehicle before mine - 174 (AD72 DBL), another ADL Enviro200MMC, is working the Peterborough direction of route 201 in the one-way loop in Stamford, at the "Danish Invader" stop on Empingham Road. Also visible in this shot is the electronic display showing the next two stops to be served.
The deviation might be costly in terms of journey time, but it's well worth it in terms of the numbers of passengers picked up or dropped off around the loop. The only difference between the 201 and the 202 - the latter runs only two trips per day - is that the 202 misses out this loop.
It's quite hilly here, and I spot one or two of what I would term "upside-down" houses, where the entrance and 'living' floor appear to be the upper floor, and residents presumably head downstairs, coming out on a different, lower-level, road, to go to bed.
As we finally leave Stamford, I see a number of school coaches that are carrying flowery names on cards in their windscreens, presumably to get the youngsters onto the correct coaches - Daffodil, Tulip and Hyacinth (no Rose, Daisy or Violet, though).
Through a few more villages - during which we pop briefly over the border into Rutland - and we're soon into Bourne. It's a small market town, located on a Roman Road and mentioned in the Domesday Book. Wikipedia notes that much of Bourne's 19th-century affluence came from the corn-trade boom that followed the mechanisation of fen drainage. The production of wheat is still important here.
My stay is very brief. Having arrived into Bourne bus station, on time, at 1223, I am heading out at 1230 on a route 101 journey to Market Deeping.
There's not much going on at the bus station. There's only one other vehicle present, parked up at the back - the one that will form the 1230 departure that I'm after. I can't see any information for prospective passengers, but it's actually on the end of the shelter that runs along one side of the bus station, aimed at people coming in on foot. Probably not many change buses here.
It's not going to be a problem finding the 101, though. It pulls in to load a few minutes before the scheduled departure time. This is a slightly-older vehicle - a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, no 154 in the fleet and acquired new.
It might be 10 years old but it's very well presented and has obviously been looked after.
Delaine 154 (AD63 DBL) again, having just dropped me off in Church Street, Market Deeping, on its way back to Peterborough.
We're out of Bourne on time with four passengers. A few more join us at the next stop, in the Town Centre. This is a curious stop, outside the Bourne Corn Exchange, and basically in the middle of a crossroads junction. Feels very strange, and you won't find a bus stop located in a spot like this in London! (Have a look at this Streetview picture, scroll round 360 degrees, and decide for yourself!)
Scenery around here is fairly typical for Lincolnshire; countrified and flat:
It's only a 20-minute drive to Market Deeping. As I have a suitcase with me, I have stayed downstairs on the 101. It's steadily picking up new passengers along the way, and the diagram showing every stop on the route is helpful for me to make sure that I don't miss mine!
St Guthlac's Church, the Church that presumably lends its name to Church Street in Market Deeping, is just visible behind the large tree in the centre background.
Market Deeping is a lovely spot. It's another of those places that I doubt I would ever call into routinely if I wasn't out on the buses. It sits on the north bank of the River Welland, and is the largest of a series of settlements known collectively as The Deepings.
River Welland, Market Deeping
The 102 variant, which does not go to Bourne, runs a loop around The Deepings, before joining the 101 on the direct route into Peterborough.
145 (AD59 DBL) is a Volvo B9TL Optare Olympus. It is working route 102 towards Peterborough, at Market Deeping Market Place. The vehicle is named "Beryl Philippa Tilley", after one of the company's former Directors, who retired in 2010 after 71 years working in the business (source: http://www.delaineheritagetrust.org/history.html).
It's here that Delaine's comprehensive bus stop information actually gives me a little wobble. I'm planning to take the 301 service into Spalding, but I'm momentarily unsure as to which side of the road I need to be on, as the full timetables, for both directions, are included in both stops.
I settle on the side that I feel more confident about, and see the next 101 service passing through en route to Peterborough:
An unidentified vehicle (looks like another Optare Olympus to me - Delaine has five) crosses onto Lincoln Road on route 101 to Peterborough.
I am in the right place! The 301 bus comes into view a couple of minutes ahead of its scheduled departure time of 1326. It's another Enviro200 MMC, with another friendly driver (three out of three - excellent)! We're on our way on the dot. The bus has come in from Stamford with a decent load and there is steady trade all the way.
The 301, and 302 variant (which comes from Bourne instead of Stamford - occasional journeys only), only run on Mondays to Fridays. There's a decent hourly service for most of the day, but frequencies widen in the afternoon, and last journeys are very early (last journey completed before 1800).
There's not so much to say about this trip. It's quite countrified again for much of the way, and passes through a settlement called Hop Pole, which is significant enough for this route to justify its own timing point, but is actually just a hamlet that doesn't even have its own disaggregated population statistic.
We've passed into the South Holland district as we reach the village of Deeping St Nicholas. Hop Pole is apparently part of Deeping St Nicholas. The population at the 2011 Census was less than 2000, and that includes the Hop Pole residents.
ADL Enviro200 MMC 167 (AD70 DBL) on route 301 in Bridge Street, Spalding.
Very quickly (in 23 minutes in fact), we've come into Spalding. The 301 doesn't quite go into the Town Centre, so I'm glad that nearly everyone is leaving the bus - that's a sign that we're somewhere significant, so I take my cue to leave as well.
It's the right call - the bus turns right, heading for the Springfield Shopping & Leisure Outlet. The Town Centre is left.
Before I go into the Town Centre, I wander across the River Welland. There are roads down each side of the river here. I cross by the Taku footbridge, which commemorates the adoption of H. M. Submarine Taku in 1942. Taku was a British T-class submarine, built by Cammell Laird of Birkenhead. Assigned to the Mediterranean in 1941, she scored numerous 'kills', before being damaged after striking a mine in 1944.
Bridge across the River Welland in Church Street, Spalding, taken from the Taku Bridge.
Also in evidence is the Church of St Mary & St Nicholas, Spalding's Parish Church. Built in 1284, the sign proudly notes how it and its community have "survived through flood, plague, famine and war".
The Church of St Mary & St Nicholas, Spalding.
On the other side of the river is the South Holland Centre, the local theatre, and The Lincolnshire Poacher pub.
And finally into the Market Place, with its traditional buildings and modern clock tower (attached to the South Holland Centre).
Spalding Market Place
So Spalding is journey's end for my day with Delaine Bus. I've had a lovely day getting to know its core network, and I've enjoyed researching this article and learning a bit about its history.
Everything has impressed - the buses (quality, cleanliness and newness), the drivers (courteous, customer-focused and friendly - and good, safe drivers), and the quality of information, both on the buses and at stops. It's a great story of a family business that has flourished by making sure that the details are right - because details matter! I need to go back some time and have another ride around their network.
The company website places a lot of emphasis on the "company ethos of quality, continuity and reliability". Does Delaine Bus achieve that? You bet it does!
* Whilst writing this article, I've heard those Saga Cruise adverts eight times - I've counted!