A Day Out in Nottingham (ish)
11 June 2023
ABOVE: Nottingham City Transport 307 (YX69 NRO, Gary Parr), an ADL Enviro200 MMC, is seen at Gamston (Morrison's) in the early morning sunshine, on route 5 to Nottingham City Centre. All photos in this article were taken on Thursday 30th March 2023, unless otherwise stated.
It was intended to be a day out on Nottingham City Transport's (NCT's) extensive, award-winning bus network. A day of relatively local journeys around the city and its suburbs. An in-depth exploration and appraisal of the NCT network.
But it didn't work out that way...
An Optare Solo is seen outside Nottingham station, on NCT route 11 to Lady Bay, a southern suburb of the city, on Wednesday 29th March 2023
It's a big place, Nottingham. The 2021 Census recorded over 320,000 living here; not even counting the 'wider conurbation'. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin Hood and to the lace-making, bicycle and tobacco industries. It became a city in 1897, as part of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The railway station (above) makes for a grand entrance to or exit from the city.
My day starts off as intended, as I board an NCT service on route 5 to Gamston (Morrison's). Gamston is about three miles south-east of the City Centre in the West Bridgford suburb.
A succession of routes to the south and south-east of the city are marketed as the "Green Line", and indeed it's a green-liveried ADL Enviro200 MMC that turns up on Angel Row to whisk me out of the city.
At this early hour (it's not yet 8am), there is limited demand for a bus out of town, and there are never more than eight people onboard at any given time, although there is a fair bit of churn along the way.
We leave the city via Trent Bridge, with a decent view of the Nottingham Forest football ground.
Trent Bridge
The bus has next stop audio announcements and visual information showing the next three stops. By the time I reach Gamston Morrison's 25 minutes later, I am the last passenger aboard (the penultimate passenger having left at the stop before, Lings Bar Hospital), although there are a few people waiting for the inbound journey, which is shown on the destination display as "City Loop".
I want to go back into town on route 7, which also links the city with Gamston, but via a partially-different route. The two services each run every half-hour, so I need to wait 15 minutes or so for the 7. While I'm waiting, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Mellor Strata passes through on Nottinghamshire County Council service 33 (Nottingham to Radcliffe or Sutton).
Nottinghamshire County Council Fleet Services number 0089 (LN66 EXG) is a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Mellor Strata. It is passing Gamston (Morrison's) on route 33 from Nottingham to Radcliffe
The 7 turns up on time and we're soon on our way. It's a marginally-longer route (by about five minutes), but is much busier, with most seats taken by the time we get towards Trent Bridge and the city centre.
There's an impressive map showing routes 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9, which make up the bulk of the "Green Line" routes - the map shows every stop on all five routes. (There are other Green Line route available.)
All too soon, I'm back in the City Centre.
NCT 302 (YX69 NRF) is another ADL Enviro200 MMC. It is seen in Lower Parliament Street in the centre of Nottingham.
It's at this point that I find myself drawn to the Victoria Bus Station, and onto a bus that can, in no way, be described as an NCT or a local service. My objective for the day is changing - I want a longer ride!
The Victoria bus station seems to be reserved for longer-distance services, and it's curious that hardly a single one of the routes that serves it carries a conventional route number:
This is Trent Barton land. Trent Barton is part of the Wellglade Group, and doesn't believe in using conventional route numbers; it uses brand names instead, including many of the above.
So I am boarding a "[B] the threes" service to Mansfield. It will take about 70 minutes, after which I am just intending to return to Nottingham and resume my NCT quest.
A young lady boarding in front of me doesn't seem very sure about where she is going. She wants the Derby Road but, as the driver points out, there is quite a lot of it; some of which the bus serves and some of which it doesn't. The driver is incredibly patient and helpful as they try to work out together exactly where it is that she wants to get to. He does his best, but whether he ultimately drops her at the right stop or not is entirely down to the vagaries of the patchy information she sems to have herself!
The bus is a full-length Optare Versa. The saloon clock is still on Greenwich Mean Time, nearly a week after we have moved forward to British Summer Time.
Unfortunately, single-decker buses are not especially conducive to bus photography on any day of the week - doubly so when the heavens open and we get the first of a series of heavy showers that have been promised for today.
"the threes" are a complicated set of routes. There are essentially three separate services - A, B & C - each running half-hourly to give a 10-minute interval over the common stretches.
Each route has a different journey time, with the B being the quickest (one hour and 11 minutes); the C taking one hour and 21 minutes, and the A one hour and 31 minutes (off-peak times). The result is that buses leave Nottingham in the order A, B, C, but arrive in Mansfield in the order B, A, C!
Apart from the rain, mine is an uneventful journey. In Mansfield, I spot buses working the Stagecoach route 1 from Woodhouse to Alfreton, marketed as "Mansfield Miler". What I notice particularly is the use of characters from "Camberwick Green" and "Trumpton" - children's stop-animation television from the 1960s (my generation)!
Stagecoach East Midlands 27185 (SL64 HXU, left), and 27761 (FX61 HGG, right) are ADL/TransBus Enviro300s, and carry the "Mansfield Miller" branding (the character on the right-hand vehicle is Windy Miller, resident of Colly's Mill, a windmill set atop a hill near the village of Camberwick Green). Both buses at seen at Mansfield Bus Station.
These are the only two that I see, but bustimes.org lists at least six vehicles so adorned. I wonder whether any of the other buses have been branded using characters from the third, and least-remembered, of the trilogy*?
At Mansfield, I am planning to head swiftly back to Nottingham - either on another of "the threes" or via Stagecoach's "Pronto" service. But what's that? There's a bus on stand labelled as a route 29 service to Newark. That sounds like a nice run...
So, at 1045, I am pulling out of Mansfield Bus Station on a Dennis Trident Alexander ALX-400, a vehicle of some 18 years, but still going strong. I am also heading away from the area I am supposed to be visiting!
It's a lovely ride, punctuated by more heavy showers. The villages pass by - Blidworth, Farnsfield and Edingley.
The Lion at Farnsfield, opposite St Michaels Church
The most significant place on this largely rural exploration of Nottinghamshire villages is the town of Southwell, which I believe is pronounced "Suth-all".
(That may explain why some people pronounce the name of my home town, Southall, as Suth-all - mine is pronounced as spelt, unless you're the cockney bus driver who used to drive the 607 bus, who used to call out "Souf-faw".)
Stagecoach East Midlands 17730 (MK02 EGZ) - 21 years old (!) - is a Dennis Trident Alexander ALX400. It is seen here in Easthorpe, Southwell, working route 29 towards Mansfield. It has started raining again!
Anyway, Southwell is a market town with its own Minster, and the remains of a Roman villa was found here. King Charles I spent his last night as a free man in Southwell in 1646, before surrendering to the Scottish Army during the England Civil War. It's also where the first Bramley apples were seeded by Mary Ann Brailsford in 1809 (the local community newspaper is called "The Bramley").
I also get a reminder that we're still in reach of NCT, as its route 26 comes out here (one of its longer routes) - it even has a night service.
NCT 660 (YN65 XFW) is a Scania N230UD ADL Enviro400, seen in Easthorpe, Southwell. The wording above the destination display says "1926-2022 In honour of HM Queen Elizabeth II"
Another downpour coincides with the next part of the journey, through the villages of Upton, Averham and Kelham, but there's bright sunshine again as we reach Newark.
We get a fine view of Newark Castle, which was founded in the mid-12th century by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln. It was dismantled in the 17th Century but restored in the 19th.
Newark Castle
We arrive in Newark five minutes early, but there have been very few passengers on this trip to notice.
My plan now is to resume my NCT quest, so I need to get back to Nottingham. However, I notice a service to Retford, route 37, operated by Marshalls of Sutton, and wonder whether that would be an interesting ride (of course it would)! So instead of heading back to Nottingham, I am now going even further out in another direction!
What will I find in Retford to bring me on track – or push me in another random direction? It’s barely lunchtime so I’m not unduly bothered!
I take a break in Newark as the bus isn’t due for three-quarters of an hour, before returning to the bus station for the 1255 departure.
It’s quite a small bus station – five stands - but the waiting area is sizeable and completely under cover. There are the essential ‘facilities’, an information desk, and electronic departure screens. So it does what it needs to do, and is a comfortable place to wait (especially as it has started raining again).
The atmosphere in the middle of the day reminds me of a hospital waiting area; lots of people sitting in near-silence waiting for something to happen. Those who do speak do so in hushed tones, and there's a bit of an echo.
Each time a bus calls in there is a bit of a hubbub, but it soon dies down again. I’m sure it will sound different when the schools empty out!
My intended service pulls into the stop, but it doesn’t saw “Retford” on the front; it says "Tuxford". It transpires that there has been an accident on the A1 somewhere, and the bus will only be undertaking a part-journey.
I have no idea what is at Tuxford, or whether there are any other useful bus routes in or out (especially if there's a problem out that way), so I opt not to board. Going to a midsize town is one thing, but going to a smaller town that I have never heard of, which may or may not have an interesting alternative way out, feels like a gamble too far. Maybe another time.
So it’s back to Plan... er ... D. I’m taking route 90 back into Nottingham. At the time of my journey, this is operated by Marshalls of Sutton, but there are signs all over the bus station, and on the vehicle itself, to confirm that the service is to be withdrawn a few weeks' hence. At this stage there is no word on a replacement service, but Vectare subsequently steps in to take over.
Marshalls of Sutton OP 102 (YJ65 ERY), an Optare MetroCity, has just reached journey's end in Nottingham, on route 90 from Newark. This is Wednesday 29th March 2023.
This is my second trip on the 90 in as many days (I have used the route the day before as part of an untold journey from Skegness to Nottingham). There’s no talk amongst passengers about the loss of the service, but it is noticeable that both services (yesterday's and today's) have been pretty busy, so I’m quite surprised to hear that it doesn’t seem to be making money. The vehicle is an Optare MetroCity, smart and clean, despite being pounded again by drizzle.
The journey itself takes about 45 minutes and we arrive in Nottingham on time. I am dropped off in Friar Lane, which is handy as the bus I want next is just around the corner, on Angel Row.
I have already written about route 35 (Nottingham to Bulwell), so will jump to the other end of that route now. Bulwell Bus Station is closed for redevelopment, so I’m waiting on the street around the corner, at a temporary pick-up point, for NCT route 71 back into the City Centre.
To be honest, I need to take reassurance that this is the correct stop from the timetable display, as it feels to me to be in completely the wrong place. We seem to be on a road pointing north (Main Street), and the City Centre is south! I see a bus on companion route 70 heading to its outer terminus, Bulwell (Morrison's), heading up the road towards me and then branching off at a fork in the road. How can I be at the right stop?
Well it is the right stop, and it’s a loop around the block, via the closed bus station, that puts me back on the straight-and-narrow (or at least a south-facing road)!
This is an Optare Solo – small, and not especially practical for what turns out to be a very busy service. This is not the direct route from here to the City Centre, and we deviate to Cinderhill and Basford. This seems to be a college or university area, as the service is getting busier and busier with students. It ends up with a capacity load, and leaves a few intending people behind along the way.
NCT 342 (YJ61 CFZ), an Optare Solo SR, has reached the end of its busy journey from Bulwell, as it offloads outside the Victoria Centre in Mansfield Road, Nottingham. The 71B display relates to the next trip - my ride in has been a plain 71.
We pull into Nottingham, at a stop adjacent to the Victoria Centre, with most of that capacity load still in place. This is the last stop so getting off is easier than it would have been at any of the preceding dozen or so stops. I’ve not quite done the whole route, but I’ve not also seen anything that suggests the need for such a small bus. A bigger vehicle might make a difference.
It might be nearly 1630, but I'm drawn back to the Victoria bus station for one last trip out of town. I'm taking the Trent Barton route "two" - using the word means it appears alphabetically on the Trent Baron website immediately after "the threes".
Trent Barton 714 (FJ58 KKF), a Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse Urban, approaches the stand in Victoria Bus Station in Nottingham, prior to commencing a run on route "two" to Ilkeston. The "Mango" branding relates to a Trent Barton app, a mobile phone journey payment system where "every aspect of your account is managed within the app,
from your balance to your journey history". The destination display alternates between "Ilkeston" and "two". I imagine that the screen on the right is designed to present slightly more useful information than it is currently doing!
I'm taking a run up to Ilkeston, on a Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse Urban. It is noticeable, amongst the predominantly youthful age group using this service, how many are using their phones to pay for the journey, possibly using the Mango app that this bus is advertising externally.
This rush hour journey is busy throughout, and should only take about 40 minutes, but there's been an accident somewhere (second one today - must be something in the air), so we crawl into Ilkeston.
The driver treats it all with good humour - "don't ring the bell too early," he says, "I might have forgotten by the time we get there as I'll be a year older"!
And as for my day in Nottingham City... I'm not even now in Nottinghamshire county, having crossed the border into Derbyshire!
The Parish Church Of St Mary The Virgin dominates this view of Ilkeston, taken from the Market Place bus stops. on Wharncliffe Road
Maybe not quite a year older, but we are 20 minutes down when we get into Ilkeston, which will play havoc with services later.
I'm now moving to the "Ilkeston Flyer", which will take me into Derby. It's just across the road at the Market Place and has come into view, so I dash across to catch it. Another busy service (another Wright Eclipse), and the driver is taking instructions via his phone as to when, and whether, to proceed. The accident is affecting the whole town, and the driver is very apologetic about the delays.
After a few minutes, we're on our way, but it's slow progress. The accident has pushed buses, and all other traffic, down residential roads that really aren't suited to the amount of traffic that they are seeing.
Two views of residential roads in Ilkeston, taken through the window of my bus. These roads have suddenly found themselves full of traffic due to an accident on one of the main routes out of town.
Eventually we get out of town and back onto the normal route, after which things proceed as normal, albeit later than scheduled. A couple of passengers ask whether a service has been "cut out", suggesting that the bus in front made quicker progress than we have.
A screenshot of the Ilkeston area from BusTimes.org (accurately) shows buses off-route on the "Ilkeston Flyer" on the evening of my travels. I'm on the blue one heading broadly west (pointing to the left).
A journey that should have taken 25 minutes has taken exactly twice that. Again, the schedule is going to be up the creek for a while. But this isn't London, so late journeys tend to run, even if late. The bus is pulling off the stand at Derby, for the return to Ilkeston, within three minutes of its arrival.
A journey that should have taken 25 minutes has taken exactly twice that. Again, the schedule is going to be up the creek for a while. But this isn't London, so late journeys tend to run, even if late. The bus is pulling off the stand at Derby, for the return to Ilkeston, within three minutes of its arrival.
This is what was my "Ilkeston Flyer", a Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse Urban, heading out of Derby Bus Station within minutes of its late arrival as the incoming service. Not a great photograph (taken from another bus and with reflections of other vehicles apparent), but it's the best I have!
Now I just need to get back to Nottingham. As far as I can make out, there are three Trent Barton services between Derby and Nottingham. I'm ruling out the "Red Arrow", which is a non-stop coach service, for which I have very little interest. So I have to choose between the "i4" and the "indigo" routes.
It's a no-brainer; the "indigo" service is loading up on an adjacent stand and is due out imminently. It's an ADL Enviro200 MMC, smart-looking and comfortable. The journey will take an hour and 20 minutes - a fact immediately gleaned from the display screen in the vehicle, telling us that the Nottingham terminus is about 81 minutes away.
The three services from Derby to Nottingham are lined up side-by-side in Derby Bus Station. The "Red Arrow" on the left is a Volvo B11RT Plaxton Elite coach for the near non-stop city-to-city run along the trunk A52. The blue bus represents the "i4" service via Borrowash, Sandiacre and Stapleford, whilst the purple "indigo" runs via Long Eaton. Both the "i4" and the "indigo" services are ADL Enviro200 MMCs of the full 11.8-metre length.
Now that I'm clear of the Ilkeston area, I'm back to services that are running like clockwork. Again, there's a good load aboard for this 1830 departure, but it starts to thin out as we progress, as one would expect on a route setting out from a city centre in the evening peak.
Trent Barton 135 (YX68 ULG), an ADL Enviro200 MMC, is seen on the Derby Road, near Canning Circus and less than a mile from the centre of Nottingham. It is working route i4 from Derby, although the "i" seems to have gone missing!
There's one oddity on this service, though. In addition to the through Derby to Nottingham service, there's an additional Indigo service from Briar Gate, Long Eaton (about half-way, and off the main route) to Nottingham. A service starts from Briar Gate at 1858 and arrives at Long Eaton at 1909, one minute behind us.
But we're scheduled to stand for six minutes here, whilst the other bus will continue straight on, five minutes in front of us. But there's no risk of us losing out. Our driver informs us that the bus that has pulled in behind will be leaving first, and that we'll be another five minutes. We're welcome to join the other service if we wish.
To reinforce the point, the driver from the bus behind comes aboard to invite us to join him. It's all incredibly friendly, and a number of people do switch. I decide to stay put - I'm comfortable and it's a nice evening (at last, the rain has stopped).
After a few minutes, we're on our way again. It's a much quieter journey now, with the other service only a few minutes in front of us.
During the day, buses run every 20 minutes on each route, and every 10 minutes over the common section. It's something to do with the switch to the evening schedule (30 minutes, 15 over the common section) that produces this anomaly; this seems to be the only service that is overtaken en route.
I'm back into Nottingham at 1951, bang on time.
My day in Nottingham has ended with me only having done a fraction of what I intended to with NCT, although I have had a really lovely day exploring the wider county and beyond. I need to return to Nottingham and the surrounding areas at some point, to look more closely at both NCT and Trent Barton!
Trent Barton 210 (YY18 TPX), another ADL Enviro200 MMC, is seen at the junction of Derby Road and Albert Grove, on the last lap of its journey on the "indigo" service from Derby.
* If you're trying to remember what the third stop-animation programme was alongside "Trumpton" and "Camberwick Green", or if you have no idea but want to know, it was called "Chigley", and it featured a steam train!