BUS, CROSS THE MERSEY
14 May 2023
ABOVE: Arriva Merseyside 2671 (CX58 EUN), a VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar, is just arriving at Queen Square Bus Station in Liverpool City Centre at the end of a long haul from Murdishaw, near Runcorn. It's Sunday 6th June 2021.
All eyes are on Liverpool as I write this, so I thought I'd get in on the act, so to speak, by recalling a trip I made to Liverpool in June 2021. Although, truth be told, a fair bit of this is not in Liverpool itself.
This is one of my first jaunts since Covid restrictions began to be lifted. We're still in compulsory mask-wearing times and a lot of people are still very nervous about the virus (I see one person during this trip who brings a fresh paper tissue out of a pack specifically in order to ring the bell on the bus. When she leaves the bus, she throws the tissue into the bus stop bin).
The blog that you are reading is, at this point in 2021, just a dormant idea at the back of my mind. So there's no thinking, while I'm travelling, about the articles that I might write, or about which local routes might fit into my 100 British Bus Routes series.
But some things are the same as they are two years on. I was never just going to take the train straight through from London to Liverpool, for example, and that's why I'm waiting at the Sheffield Interchange...
I'm taking the 'Snake' X57 service, provided by Hulley's of Baslow, which will take me right across the heart of the Peak District, over the Snake Pass (hence the name).
This is one of my first jaunts since Covid restrictions began to be lifted. We're still in compulsory mask-wearing times and a lot of people are still very nervous about the virus (I see one person during this trip who brings a fresh paper tissue out of a pack specifically in order to ring the bell on the bus. When she leaves the bus, she throws the tissue into the bus stop bin).
The blog that you are reading is, at this point in 2021, just a dormant idea at the back of my mind. So there's no thinking, while I'm travelling, about the articles that I might write, or about which local routes might fit into my 100 British Bus Routes series.
But some things are the same as they are two years on. I was never just going to take the train straight through from London to Liverpool, for example, and that's why I'm waiting at the Sheffield Interchange...
I'm taking the 'Snake' X57 service, provided by Hulley's of Baslow, which will take me right across the heart of the Peak District, over the Snake Pass (hence the name).
It's not the most auspicious of starts. The driver has welcomed a couple of people that he knows on board. The fact that they have decided to sit at the back of this single-decker is not going to stop him having a chat with them throughout the journey. So it's not the most peaceful of rides. At least the scenery makes up for it.
It becomes quite a slow drag into the city centre of Manchester. We're 15 minutes late due to roadworks, and the last part of the journey - where the driver's friends have at least moved to the front of the bus - has been punctuated by someone using a hairspray in the confines of the vehicle). I'm dropped off in Chorlton Street, from where the X57 will continue to Manchester Airport.
The X57, which was only introduced in the Autumn of 2020, may have been a little ambitious, both in terms of mileage covered - in very difficult operating territory - and the time available to do it. My only other trip on the route, from Glossop back to Sheffield, turned up 35 minutes late because of traffic delays.
The route was dropped in January 2022, and the only way by bus to get from Sheffield to Glossop nowadays appears to be via the likes of Bakewell and Buxton. If you look at a map, you will see that this is not ideal or direct.
I now follow a carefully pre-planned walk from Chorlton Street, via China Town, to a pick-up point for First Greater Manchester's 'Vantage' V1 service (Manchester Royal Infirmary to Leigh Bus Station).
This is an unusual service that I have been wanting to have a ride on for some time. It starts off normally enough, navigating its way out of Manchester to the north-west, via Salford and Irlams o' th' Height, which is on top of the Irwell Valley (hence the "Height" name), and is named after the Irlam family that ran the Pack Horse Inn in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sadly, the Pack Horse Inn was demolished in 1975 for a road scheme.
First Greater Manchester 39259 (BT66 MRV), a Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 3, is at work on the V1 service towards Greater Manchester, somewhere on the East Lancashire Road on Tuesday 1st June 2021.
After the V1 crosses underneath the M60 Manchester Orbital Motorway, it joins the start of a four-and-a-half mile guided busway between Ellenbrook and Leigh. Apparently this was known by its detractors, before it was built in 2016, as the misguided busway, but it appears to have proved its worth now.
It may be difficult to get a sense of scale here, so imagine that the bus wheels just touch the sides of the tracks at this entrance to a section of the Guided Busway between Ellenbrook and Leigh. The deep sections have been dug out to prevent a car driver from entering - either accidentally or otherwise, as they would be too narrow to avoid the deep sections and would be grounded or worse.
In fact, more than proved its worth, if an article I have found on the Manchester World website is anything to go by. As well as the V1 service, which runs every 10-20 minutes on weekdays, there is also a V2, from the Manchester Royal Infirmary to Atherton; it leaves the Guided Busway at Tyldesley (half-way along).
But the V2 was cut back during the pandemic, and has never been fully restored (according to Manchester World). Checking the timetable, it is clear that a lot of off-peak V2 journeys just run from Tyldesley to Atherton (every 40-45 minutes), meaning a change of bus if you're travelling into the city centre, and a risky and unattractive connection if heading in the other direction.
First 39261 (BT66 MRX) on route V2, on the Guided Busway, on Tuesday 1st June 2021.
More significantly, the article (dated January 2023) says that buses "fly past, full of people"; that drivers operate a "one-off, one-on" policy because the services are so busy; and that passengers are "huddled around the driver like cattle".
A telling quote is provided from a Transport for Greater Manchester official, who told Manchester World that “Quite a lot of passengers on the Vantage services don’t get on the bus when they think it’s full ... or because they just want a seat and don’t want to get on a crowded bus". No way, Sherlock - surely that's how you attract new customers, by offering them a bus with a seat?
On a visit to Manchester in September 2022 I did see some very busy Vantage buses. It's such a pity if crowding is occurring regularly, because it will push people away. Apparently journey times are significantly quicker (when the bus comes) and this should be persuading people to leave their cars behind.
The Busway runs for four-and-a-half miles. Here, looking towards Leigh, it stretches out as far as one can see.
My journey towards Liverpool continued from Leigh with an Arriva Merseyside route 34 to St Helens, a busy but unremarkable journey as I recall, and a route 10 service from there into Liverpool. The driver of the 10 is in a hurry, for no obvious reason. He doesn't want me to register the weekly ticket I have bought on the 34, and just waves me on with a "hurry up" gesture. During the journey, he drives straight past at least a couple of intending passengers, again for no obvious reason.
Arriva Merseyside 4442 (MX61 AYU), a VDL DB300 Wright Gemini 2, is arriving at Queen Square Bus Station on Sunday 6th June 2021, on route 10A from St Helens. I emphasise that this is NOT the bus / driver that brought me from St Helens as described in the text.
Anyway, I end up in the City Centre at 1736, six hours and six minutes after leaving Sheffield.
This isn't quite journey's end for me. I have not been able to get my preferred choice of hotel in Liverpool so have gone for the one just across the river, in Birkenhead. There are various buses that cross the river via the Queensway Tunnel, and the pick-up point is easy to find.
Arriva Merseyside 4535 (MX13 AAF), a Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, is seen in Liverpool City Centre on Sunday 6th June 2021 at the end of a run from West Kirby (see below).
The bulk of these services are operated by Arriva, and they are branded as "Cross-River". There seem to be plenty of routes, and they're frequent, but there are a couple of occasions where I arrive at the bus stop mid-evening and find so many people waiting that I decide to catch the train instead...
Birkenhead Bus Station, Tuesday 1st June 2021
It takes about four minutes to drive through the tunnel. There's one bus stop between the western exit of the tunnel and Birkenhead Bus Station. On my first trip, I realise (too late) that the stop is right opposite my hotel. Still, probably no harm in learning the walking route between there and the bus station...
Some of the best views of Liverpool are to be found from this side of the river:
The iconic Liver Building, as seen from 'cross the Mersey in Birkenhead, on Thursday 3rd June 2021.
As are some of the loveliest territories, such as the coastal Wirral town of West Kirby.
West Kirby, at twilight on Tuesday 1st June 2021.
And of course, I just have to ride the ferry 'cross the Mersey, as immortalised by Gerry Marsden, of Gerry and the Pacemakers fame. There's a beautiful classical recording of this song, which often comes to my mind whenever I hear anyone mention Liverpool.
The MV Snowdrop (known until 2003 as the MV Woodchurch), is performing cross-river duties on the Mersey Ferry on Friday 4th June 2021. This is the Liverpool side. Ferries only run during weekday peak hours.
And, when you get off the boat, you never know who you might bump into on the Liverpool Waterfront:
My original plan to stay fairly local, and explore the City's bus services, has been superseded because I have discovered the Arriva North West and Wales weekly ticket. The validity of this ticket, across Arriva services only of course, stretches from Manchester / Stockport / Bury to Southport, Wrexham and Holyhead. As a result, I'm travelling far and wide across the region this week, including to Rhyl and Denbigh (see my accounts of that trip here and here), and, with additional fares, to Morecambe. I also venture out to Crewe, but that's no longer do-able with Arriva.
Another icon of Liverpool is the Radio Tower - officially St John's Beacon. Its construction began in 1965, with its main purpose being to provide a ventilation shaft for the shopping complex below. It stands 400 feet tall, and is open for visitors to go up and have a look. Some fairly significant roadworks are underway on Sunday 6th June 2021 as Stagecoach Merseyside 10550 (SN16 ONS), an ADL Enviro400 MMC passes down Lime Street, on route 19 to Kirkby.
A few moments after the picture at the head of this article was taken, on Sunday 6th June 2021, Arriva Merseyside Wright Pulsar 2671 (CX58 EUN) has dropped its passengers off at Queen Square bus station. Opposite is 4593 (SL64 JDZ), an ADL Enviro400, on route 12 , a circular from Liverpool to Stockbridge Village. The lettering above the destination display is incomplete - see below for what it should say.
The Queen's Square bus station, in the centre of Liverpool, is just around the corner from where the 'Cross-River' buses drop off. I board a 79C service from here to Runcorn. It starts as a very quiet run; my recollection is that there are only two of us on board at the start. But it does start to get extremely busy as we venture into the residential suburbs around Netherley and Upton. There are very few seats left on this single-decker, until a substantial number leave at the Widnes Shopping Park.
Runcorn has two things of interest to me - one of which I already know about and one that I don't.
The Silver Jubilee Bridge (built in 1961 and renamed after having been widened in 1977 - Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee year) is one of two bridges across the river here, and is spectacular.
I drove across this bridge in the early 2000s, when I was staying in St Helen's. On that occasion I had no idea that anything so spectacular was coming! The neighbouring Mersey Gateway Bridge, just over a mile to the east, was opened in 2017.
But then the unexpected bit, as we head into the Runcorn Busway. I was vaguely aware of this, having seen photos without really appreciating where it was or what it was about.
As summed up by Freewheeling.info, Runcorn built itself a 12-mile long dedicated busway that swept round the new town in a figure of eight. The busway was exclusively for the use of buses, with an elevated section through the new shopping centre; ‘stations’ at all the key amenities; and links to residential suburbs. Where the busway met conventional roads, it either crossed them on a bridge or was provided with traffic lights that automatically prioritised the bus through using transponders. (There's a lovely picture of it in that article as well.)
And Roger French wrote about it as well, with excellent insight as always, and some great pictures too. Roger describes the busway as "an irregular circle with two spindly legs and an isolated stretch of road to the north". His article includes a map of the busway (although "the bus numbers are way out of date"), from Halton Borough Council's website, but I haven't even been able to access the website, never mind the map!
I took but one photo of the Busway:
Arriva North West 5002 (MX13 AAJ), an MAN Ecocity powered by Compressed Natural Gas, is working route 110 from Mudishaw (here, on the Runcorn Busway) to Warrington. It's Friday 4th June 2021.
Think I need to go back and spend more time there...
Back in Liverpool, there is strong competition evident between Arriva and Stagecoach, and this results in both operators plastering publicity material all over their upstairs front windows, which doesn't leave much for the passengers to see out of:
HOW DO YOU SEE OUT? Stagecoach Merseyside 10825 (SM66 VBN), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, is working route 10A to "Mandatory", or possibly St Helens, on Tuesday 1st June 2021. This is near to Hawkins Street, in Kensington; Kensington gives its name both to the locale and to the main road that passes through it. We're east of the City Centre.
Arriva Merseyside 4805 (BT66 MTU) is a Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 3. There's so much advertising across the front window that it must be almost impossible to see out. It's Sunday 6th June 2021, and the bus is on route 14 (Liverpool to Croxteth).
I definitely need to go back to this region some day. There's so much more to see, and there are so many more bus rides to do, on both sides of the Mersey.
Stagecoach Merseyside 10842 (SN17 MHV) is an ADL Enviro400 MMC. It is entering Queen Square bus station, in the shadow of the magnificent St George's Hall. It's another bus on route 10A from St Helens, which has journeys provided by both Arriva and Stagecoach, on Sunday 6th June 2021.
But I will leave you on this occasion, with two murals that I found in the City Centre, dedicated to another icon of this great city. I don't think any further explanation is needed.
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"Did any of us in our wildest dreams ever think we'd live long enough to see the end of the DFS sale?"
Sir Ken Dodd, 1927-2018
Sir Ken Dodd, 1927-2018