No Plans for Easter
27 April 2024
ABOVE: Bath Bus Company A515 (YT09 BJY), a Scania N230UD OmniCity, is in Callington Road, south of Bristol City Centre, en route for Bristol Airport on route A4 from Bath. All photos in this article taken on Easter Day, 31 March 2024.
Hooray! The clocks have gone forward and it's Easter Day. Two very reliable signs that it's officially Spring. I'm staying for the holiday weekend in the Hengrove area of South Bristol. There's a First depot nearby, although the nearest bus is actually run by the Bath Bus Company, a part of RATP.
As I leave my hotel, I have only the vaguest of plans for the day, and only the first journey is clear-cut; you have to start somewhere, after all!
I'm taking the A4 "Air Decker" service into Bath. This is a near-24/7 service from Bristol Airport, run by the aforementioned Bath Bus Company. Better known for running tourist routes in Bath, and for being the 'lead' operator of the annual Imberbus network, the A4 is the company's only 'normal' bus route.
My bus arrives on the dot of the scheduled time of 0849 (and I have seen it standing at the previous stop, down the road, for three minutes prior). We head through South Bristol, but this bus does not actually go into the city centre.
There are a handful of passengers but it's quiet, as one would expect at this time on a Sunday morning. There's not much traffic on the road either, of course, but it's still worth keeping an eye on what is out...
A 1971 Bristol RE, new to Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight, has just pulled onto the main road in front of us. It was converted to Open Top in 1986. Single-decker open-toppers are quite unusual, I fancy. There was a Bristol Owners' Spring Gathering at Wythall Museum in the West Midlands that day. I wonder if that's where it was heading?
ABOVE: Bristol RE TDL 564K passes the Tesco Extra entrance on Callington Road in Brislington.
Back to reality, and the A4 bus is decidedly slow. Not due to traffic, but just because the timetable seems to be far too generous. We stop for nearly five minutes near the Brislington Park-and-Ride site (the delay is just long enough that I wonder if there is a problem), and we endure at least a couple more extended waits during the journey. You would think that a pre-10am Sunday morning journey could be timed to run briskly, given that the roads are usually going to be quiet.
This run feels as though it has at least 10 minutes padding in it. The journey is getting steadily busier as we go, but this isn't impacting the timetable at all.
We come to the town of Keynsham, about five miles from Bristol, as the crow flies, and six from Bath. Believed to have been a settlement since prehistoric times, two Roman villas and 15 other Roman buildings have been either excavated or detected in the area. It may also be the site of the lost Roman settlement of Trajectus.
ABOVE: A Sunday morning view (hence the deserted streets) of the Town Centre of Keynsham. The imposing and impressive St John's Church dominates the vista.
It appears that the official allocation on this route, including the bus I am travelling on, is made up of Volvo B5TL MCV EvoSetis. But a number of other types are also used. There are only three buses out for this hourly service this morning, and each one happens to be a different type. I have already seen a Scania Omnicity in South Bristol (see title picture), and now I find a Volvo B9TL completing the set.
ABOVE: Bath Bus Company A508 (WA64 GXW) is a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2. It is seen near Newton St Loe, about three miles from Bath.
The A4 route number does not just represent the Airport, but also recognises that we traverse on and off the A4 road, on the way from Brislington to Bath. The main road becomes the A36 a mile east of Newton St Loe, but we branch off and stay with the A4 as we head towards the city centre. This is Newbridge Road, named because of the existence here of the "New Bridge" across the River Avon. Part of the A4, the New Bridge was built in 1734 to replace a ford that was, according to Wikipedia, "one of the last impediments to navigation between Bristol and Bath".
It's a lovely sight as we cross the River Avon here.
ABOVE: Crossing the River Avon via the New Bridge
Also here, just past the bridge, is the Newbridge Park & Ride. We don't go in but we pick up seven passengers on the main road who may have parked there. (It's 0931 and the first dedicated Sunday Park & Ride bus - on route 21 - is only due around now.)
We reach Bath at 0943, on time despite all that hanging around en route. The A4 doesn't go into the Bus Station, but stops on the main road opposite, near the railway station.
Bath is a lovely city. The soothing waters have been sought after since Roman times. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised for its significant cultural and architectural importance, and Bath Abbey is amazing. People head here from all over the world, and it is certainly worth spending some time in.
But not for me today. I'm crossing the road to the Bus Station in search of my next bus ride, and I find it instantly. The 0945 departure on route 19 to Bristol Parkway is loading, and I'm boarding. I have spent less than two minutes on the streets of Bath and I'm on my way out again!
ABOVE: Dorchester Street, Bath, with Bath Bus Station on the left. In front of my bus is First Bristol, Bath & the West 36802 (YT67 XJV), a dual-doored Scania N250UD ADL Enviro400 MMC. It is working route X39 which offers a "Direct" link between Bath & Bristol. To the left is a First Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini, probably on route 4 (Odd Down Park & Ride to Weston). On the right, First 33949 (YX66 WFB), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, is on route U1 to the University of Bath.
I know route 19 already. In fact, it is one of my 100 British Bus Routes. Since my last visit in August 2022, the service has been cut back from Cribbs Causeway (the vast out-of-town shopping centre near Patchway) to Bristol Parkway, in recognition of the introduction of metrobus service m4, of which more anon.
The rolling stock has been updated though. ADL Enviro400s, and even, in my case, Enviro400 MMCs, have replaced the older Volvos that were on the route last time I visited.
ABOVE: A young deer takes its chance to nip across the road at Swineford, in South Gloucestershire.
ADDENDUM: I'm told that the animal crossing the road (above) is more likely to be an adult Muntjac than a young deer. They like to be close to a water source, according to Wikipedia, so living in Britain feels like a good move as there's always plenty of water available! Those in this country are descendants of escapees from Woburn Abbey 100 years ago. From that one escape, Wikipedia says that they are present "in most English counties and also in Wales".
ABOVE: First Bristol, Bath & the West 39326 (YN68 DXP) leads stablemate 39466 (YN20 CDO) along the Stoke Gifford Bypass, across the Great Western Main Line near Bristol Parkway. Both vehicles are Scania N280UD ADL Enviro400 City CBGs.
We arrive into Bristol Parkway, on time, at 1109. I climb 40-odd steps to visit the buffet in the station for a snack. It seems to be open, but there's no-one serving. After waiting a moment and calling out, I spot a young man sitting in the side room, adjacent to the counter. He has headphones in and is totally engrossed in his phone. I give up, reflecting that the young man will never even realise that he has lost a customer.
I don't have a specific plan from this point. I ponder boarding the Stagecoach route 12 for Severn Beach that is sitting on the stand in the bus station, but it drives off before I can get to it.
I decide to ride the m4 metrobus service into Bristol city centre. metrobus, with a small m, is a network of express services that has sprung up over the last few years around Bristol. I visited the network a couple of years ago, but the m4 route wasn't in place then.
The service appears to have taken over the Cribbs Causeway leg of the 73 service (now Whitchurch to Bristol Parkway), and the 19 was similarly cut back, even though it followed a more convoluted routing than the m4 does.
The bus turns up on time (1124), but the return journey on route 19, due at 1125, has arrived first so my bus has to squeeze in behind as best as it can. It's a dual-door Scania N280UD ADL Enviro400 City CBG, and is a quiet and generally unremarkable journey.
ABOVE: Traditional Britain meets Modern Britain on the Stoke Gifford Bypass, as two horses and their riders negotiate the crossing.
Routes m1 & m4 both link Cribbs Causeway with central Bristol, but via different routings to the north of Bristol. The routes come together to serve the University of the West of England's Frenchay Campus before taking the quick route together down the M32 motorway into the centre of the city.
ABOVE: A Scania N280UD ADL Enviro400 City CBG passes along the M32 motorway on route m4 to Cribbs Causeway.
The journey into the city centre takes about 20 minutes. I take a moment to look at a bus stop (The Haymarket, B7) that I featured in a 2022 article on bus information in Bristol. I was critical at the time about its poor state of repair and the inaccurate bus route numbers on the stop. Two years on, and someone has removed the monster face that was next to the 3X number, but nothing else has changed...
For the record, and according to BusTimes.org, the buses currently serving this stop are routes 17, 70, 73, 74, 75, 76 & 77. No 3, no 3X, no 71 and no X73. I wonder if anything will have improved the next time I visit the area? I have raised a complaint by email to TravelWest so let's see what happens.
I head for the Bus Station, with a vague notion of trying out the X7 to Clevedon, due out in 40 minutes, unless I find a more immediate option that appeals.
One that does appeal is the T7 Traws Cymru service to Chepstow, but I see it circuiting the St James Barton roundabout (also known as "the Bearpit"). I assume this to mean that I have missed it, as, last time I came here, it picked up from Marlborough Street, from where it would circumnavigate this roundabout and head off on its way.
ABOVE: Newport Bus 354 (CE72 YRM), a Yutong E12, circumnavigates "The Bearpit" in central Bristol.
But I haven't missed it! The service has been 'promoted' to the Bus Station, meaning that I was seeing the bus at the end of the incoming journey rather than the start of the outward one.
But I do need to check that I can get back easily, as this isn't a frequent service. In fact, the Sunday service is clearly designed for one bus and one driver duty. There are four round trips from Chepstow (journey time about 50 minutes each way), and an hour's break of service in the middle of the day. This makes the frequency every 120-180 minutes. It works in my favour, however, as the 1200 departure will give me just over an hour in Chepstow. An ideal lunch stop, in fact, if anything is open...
And I say that because, on Easter Day, normal Sunday trading laws do not apply in England and Wales, and large shops that are normally bound by the six-hour rule are not allowed to open. This means that there's no passenger (or other) traffic for Cribbs Causeway, and only five of us leave Bristol on the T7, all of whom stay for more-or-less the full trip.
Not everyone is aware of this once-a-year shopping rule. At Cribbs Causeway, as the bus navigates the bus station (open as normal for interchange), a family is standing outside the entrance to the shopping centre. Finding the shutters down, they really don't seem to know what to do now. One of them is making a phone call - for instructions, perhaps?
The T7 has gone electric since my previous visit. The bus now is a Yutong E12. It's a very smooth ride, but some of the interior fittings are extremely rattly - not good for a bus that was only registered in December 2022 (curiously, it has already been re-liveried once in its short life, having started out with a green frontage - see this picture of the original livery, by Steve Green, on Flickr).
The best bit of this route is of course the crossing of the River Severn. We use the more northerly of the two bridges; this is the original Severn Bridge, opened in 1966 and now part of the M48 motorway. The second crossing, opened in 1996 and now the Prince of Wales Bridge, is about three miles to the south and carries the M4 motorway over into Wales.
ABOVE: A view south from the Severn Bridge to the Prince of Wales Bridge.
We arrive at Chepstow, bang on time at 1251. I've only stopped here once before, and on that occasion I never left the bus station. This time, I am venturing into the town to see what's here.
The easternmost settlement in Wales, Chepstow is close to the southern point of Offa's Dyke, the earthwork that broadly follows the border between England and Wales. It is named after the Anglo-Saxon King of Mercia, who is believed to have ordered its construction. I suddenly feel the need to make a trip roughly along its lines by bus one day...
Entry to the High Street is through the Town Gate. It was originally a Toll Gate and the current structure, which is Grade-I listed (understandably) broadly dates back to the 16th Century. The town was once surrounded by a semi-circular Port Wall, built in the late 13th Century, and parts of it can still be seen today.
ABOVE: Chepstow Town Gate
There's a special market on and the town is heaving with people - this is the liveliest spot I will encounter today!
Chepstow sits on the River Wye, and its 11th Century castle overlooks the water. It fell into decay after the (English) Civil War. The remnants, which still look pretty imposing to me, are also Grade-I listed.
ABOVE: Chepstow Castle. The River Wye is to the right, just out of sight.
All too soon, I need to navigate my way back to the Bus Station. I have a moment to look at the Priory Church of St Mary, yet another Grade-I listed building. It was founded around 1072 as a Benedictine priory.
ABOVE: The Priory Church of St Mary in Chepstow.
I pass a woman beside the car park. She is on the phone and is giving directions to help the person on the other end to find her. She's talking about "the car park beside the main road" (we're close to the A48, which runs to Gloucester) but I don't hear her say "beside the huge church", which would probably be a bigger clue...
I return to the Bus Station, which is pretty deserted. The bus I got off is still there. There are no other buses around. Sunday.
ABOVE: Newport Bus 354 (CE72 YRM) stands out of service in Chepstow Bus Station. The display alternates between Welsh and English versions of "Not in Service". I suspect that the Welsh version, shown here, actually says "Bus Not in Service"!
People are waiting in various places along the five bus stands in this cramped Bus Station. The bus is advertised as leaving from stand 3, but is parked on stand 5 - the same point I saw it load up from when I was here two years ago.
Sure enough, the bus loads up and leaves from stand 5, and all of the people who have been hanging around the Bus Station board this bus. The 1400 departure leaves with 10 passengers on board, although one of these doesn't even cross into England. There's a bit more churn in this direction and one person leaves at Cribbs Causeway - hopefully not intending to go shopping! Again, there are some people at the shopping centre entrance trying to figure out what to do - hopefully not the same people I saw from the earlier bus, two hours before?
We're back into Bristol, on time, at 1450, where the bus does the circumnavigation of "The Bearpit" that would have come at the start of the trip in olden times (2022).
I'm heading back to my hotel now on the m1 metrobus service. This gives me a bit of a tour of the centre of Bristol and its Sunday buses. There are more here than there were in Chepstow.
ABOVE: Eight buses can be viewed in Broad Quay, headed up (right) by First Bristol, Bath & the West 37317 (WX57 HJV), a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini on the last Sunday of local route 36's operation. It was absorbed into a new route 5 from 7th April. Behind is fellow First vehicle 39445 (YN69 EHX), a Scania N280UD ADL Enviro400 City CBG, on route 6 to Kingswood. An m1 metrobus service to Cribbs Causeway follows. This area is referred to as "The Centre".
ABOVE: The northerly view from the Redcliffe Bascule Bridge, in the city centre.
The run on the m1 is straight-forward, and, once out of the city centre, the service feels like an express - especially on the one mile non-stop section between Parson Street Station and Novers Lane.
First Bristol, Bath & the West 39326 (YN68 DXP) calls at Inns Court, South Bristol. The additional length of the bus stop fixtures and fittings, applied to dual-door metrobus routes, are apparent here.
Although feeling brisk, it has taken some 42 minutes to reach journey's end. But we arrive at last at Hengrove Park, where buses terminate outside the South Bristol Community Hospital. There's a Leisure Centre next door - the Hengrove Park Leisure Centre, not to be confused with the Hengrove Leisure Park, a few minutes' walk away via Hengrove Park itself.
So it's been a pretty random day's travels, and it only becomes clear exactly how random when one tries to map it, as I have done below...
There's not been much 'new' for me on this trip either - the only completely new bit was the A4 from Keynsham to Bath - but I have enjoyed the day immensely!