Lost in the Moment
Part Two
23 February 2025
ABOVE: Arriva Merseyside 4641 (CX15 BXS), an ADL Enviro400, on the Albert Road in Southport, crosses the junction of Park Road / Park Road West, whilst working route 47 towards Crossens. All photos in this article were taken on Friday 28 June, unless otherwise stated. This bus has just transferred from Arriva Wales (the previous weekend according to BusTimes.org), which may explain the Welsh Language message "Teithio mewn steil gydag Arriva" ("Travel in style with Arriva") on the side of the vehicle.
When I say "lost" in the title of this article, I am not implying that I am physically lost. I know where I am and I know how to get back to my hotel in Blackburn (or indeed, how to get to my home in West London). "Lost" in this instance is the more spiritual idea of being so engrossed in what I am doing that I'm not conscious of anything that is happening beyond my immediate surroundings. A bit like many people on their mobile phones, in fact!
A few weeks ago, in Part One of this article, I described how I came to a moment where I was completely taken in by my surroundings and by the ride I was undertaking, such that all my thoughts about day-to-day life, work, health, loss and the forthcoming General Election, just disappeared - hence I was completely lost in the moment.
And that ride (route 2 from Preston) has brought me into the lovely Merseyside town of Southport.
Chef Marcus Wareing and comedian / actor Lee Mack were both born here. Southport has many unique buildings and features, including many Victorian villas and houses. Even the town centre shops are of architectural interest.
ABOVE: An Arriva Merseyside VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2 navigates the roundabout at the top end of Lord Street, Southport's main thoroughfare, working route 49, a local service through Southport, from Ainsdale to Crossens
I've decided that the logical way to progress from here (as I don't have a plan) is to catch Arriva Merseyside's route 47 into Liverpool. This is a busy service that largely follows the coastline of Merseyside as it heads south (but just slightly inland so sea views are limited). I have boarded the 1118 departure from Lord Street, although the driver holds the bus here until 1121.
I am using Arriva Merseyside's "Tap and Go" facility, so I only need to tap on for a journey in the "Liverpool City Region", and I do not need to tap off. There's a daily cap if you use several services in the City Region, a point which will have some significance later in my story...
This service is busy. The bus, an ADL Enviro400, has just been transferred from Arriva Wales (the previous weekend), and still carries messages on its display screen in both English and Welsh - not a legal requirement as far as I know for a Merseyside operation!
The bus has two-plus-one seating across the upper deck, and appears to be a former Arriva Sapphire branded-vehicle for 'superior' service standards. With the non-availability of the front seat, a single seat on the right-hand side of the top deck is a decent alternative.
A few miles out from Southport is Formby, where interesting architecture is still the order of the day. The Embassy Building on Green Lane opened in 1928 as a skating rink, before being converted into a cinema in 1932. The forecourt was originally used as a petrol station:
ABOVE: The Embassy Building in Formby
One of the most striking buildings on route 47 is the Cross House Inn in Formby. This is an old Victorian House that sits on the site of a local market where, in 1799, it is alleged that a local man sold his wife for 15 shillings (75p) and a bowl of punch...
On the roundabout outside the Inn is a Stone Cross, Grade-II listed. It appears to have been erected in 1879, but there is little other information about it online.
ABOVE: The 1879 Stone Cross (left) and the Cross House Inn (right) in Formby
As we head through Bootle, the service is becoming really busy. On the final approach into Liverpool, the bus passes the entrance to the Kingsway Tunnel, one of the two tunnels across to Birkenhead, on the other side of the River Mersey. The Queensway Tunnel, just under a mile further south, is more central to both Liverpool and Birkenhead, with the Kingsway coming out in the district of Seacombe, Wallasey.
We reach the centre of Liverpool at 1247, around seven minutes late. Might a punctual departure from Southport have enabled a more punctual arrival, I wonder?
ABOVE: The St John's Beacon Tower dominates the skyline in this view from just before the entrance to Old Haymarket (centre, left). The route to the right, where the blue/black car is heading, leads straight to the Queensway Tunnel.
I am soon once again in the now-familiar surroundings of Queen Square Bus Station:
ABOVE: Liverpool Queen Square Bus Station
I take a trip out to Huyton and back, to review route 15. I return, and take a tea and muffin break in the nearby Shopping Centre!
It's now mid-afternoon, and I'm pondering what to do next. I need to be pointing back towards Blackburn, but I don't fancy catching a train - well not yet, anyway. How far back can I get by bus?
I head out on the number 7 to Warrington. This service is anohter provided by Arriva Merseyside, but passes out of the Liverpool City Region. And that is significant from the point of view of my ticket for this journey.
The Arriva website makes it clear that "if your journey takes you outside of the Liverpool CIty Region zone you will need to purchase your ticket in the normal way...". And route 7 is clearly identified as one of these routes:
The driver should therefore issue me with a ticket, but he just tells me to tap in. Presumably he reasons that it doesn't matter, as the fare is the same whether staying in the city or not (£2.00). However, because I have already used three Arriva buses in the city today, my fare for the day has been capped. So tapping in costs me nothing, but I should have paid an extra £2.00 because I am leaving the region. That's why it matters.
The 7 is a very rattly VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2. Most seats are taken as we head out of the city centre. The back window is covered with a contravision advert.
It's a long old journey to Warrington (scheduled at one hour and 47 minutes at this time of day). We're leaving Queen Square at 1530. I have only waited a couple of minutes, but I have a distinct feeling that this is the service that should have departed at 1506, as the next one is due at 1540...
Almost half-way through, and I'm back in Huyton:
ABOVE: Huyton Bus Station. A Wright Streetdeck has just pulled out on route 10B towards Liverpool.
I suppose I could have cut out the return from Huyton into Liverpool and back out here and saved a couple of hours. But of course I didn't know I was going to set out for Warrington when I was here earlier (no plan...)!
Having set off 24 minutes late, we're 'only' 18 minutes late from Huyton. And thankfully, we're not in London, so there's every chance that the bus will complete the whole trip! As indeed, it does.
We reach Warrington Bus Station at 1710, 17 minutes late. The bus loads up and leaves straight away on the return service, which should have left at 1658. The bus will probably be chasing its tail, timetable-wise, for the rest of the day.
Warrington in June 2024 is just seeing the start of its forthcoming electric bus revolution. It was announced a couple of years before that the entire Warrington's Own Buses fleet would be replaced with new electric vehicles, in a yellow livery. At this point, though, the bus station is still full of Warrington diesel blue buses, showing a livery that will be lost, alongside, presumably, the Cheshire Cat that has adorned its vehicles.
ABOVE: Warrington's Own 208 (CH62 CAT), a 2018 ADL Enviro200 MMC, stands in Warrington Bus Station. The smiling Cheshire Cat logo (below right) will presumably disappear as the new Electrics take over. This vehicle has since been withdrawn.
ABOVE: More Warrington's Own vehicles are in evidence as I leave the bus station. Nearest the camera is 241 (GX58 GKY), an ADL Enviro200, followed by 207 (CH59 CAT), an ADL Enviro200 MMC that is actually of 2018 vintage. Then we have Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2 233 (BD12 TEO), the only one of this trio to still be in service with Warrington's as of February 2025. Two more unidentified vehicles can be seen beyond these.
From Warrington I plan to catch the 360 to Wigan - another Arriva Merseyside service. This is due out at 1805, but there's such a crowd at the stand that I wonder whether the previous (1703) service is still outstanding. However, the stand is also shared with route 329 (Warrington to St Helens), and a service on that route is / was due at 1711, so the crowd could be waiting for that...
Nothing much happens, though - it's just a long wait for eveyone. I take a wander into the nearby Shopping Centre. I can't tell if it's the same people queuing when I get back, but there are still plenty of them!
There's been a 329 due at 1741, and this (a double-decker) turns up at 1753. By the time it has unloaded one crowd and loaded another one, it's 1759. Another incoming 329 (a single-decker) turns up immediately afterwards, and then becomes my 360!
It's clearly the 329 that everyone has been after. My 360, another of the VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2s that are so prevalent in this region, is fairly quiet, if distinctly untidy... It looks as though someone has emptied out the "used ticket" box (if there is one) onto the floor.
ABOVE: Could do with a sweep-through... An Arriva VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2 on route 360.
The bus leaves on time, which is just as well as I have a three-minute connection at Wigan Bus Station into my next bus, the 632 to Chorley. This connection becomes tighter than I would like, and the 360 pulls into the 'apron' of Wigan Bus Station at 1859, to start making its way to its stand. I can see the 632, on stand T towards the very end of the bus station. If I miss this one, it's an hour to the next one, or more likely a finish to the day by train, which I don't want to do.
Bus stations in Greater Manchester (where we are now, just) have a 5mph speed limit across the apron that is rigidly observed by drivers. So I'm in the situation where I am progressing at walking pace across the apron, wondering whether the 632 will pull off the stand before I can get to it... It's loaded, ready for the off and due out in moments!
The upside is that we're getting closer to the 632. A drop at stand A or B might have been too far away, but we're getting closer... Past Stand C... Past E... Past H... Past even L and M...
We pull into stand N, and I sprint down towards the 632... Is it to be the 632 or a train...?
It's a curious train ride from Wigan to Blackburn. Board at North Western station and, by changing at Preston, you can do the trip in about 41 minutes. Take a through train from Wallgate station and it will take an hour and 50 minutes. That's because the through train goes three sides of an enormous square through central Manchester, Rochdale, Burnley and Accrington! Oh and the fare is the same via either route!
But none of this matters because I have made it to the bus! Less than a minute after entering the bus station apron, I am on the way to Chorley!
This is an almost new ADL Enviro200 MMC from Go North West, operating as part of the Greater Manchester Bee Network. It's smart and presentable, but has one of these screens for people in the wheelchair space that makes forward vision tricky from the raised seats at the back of the bus. Surely these signs should be at eye level, or on the side?
The main display for the rest of us shows the Bee Network logo and contact details, interspersed with adverts for two events - one of which was two weeks ago and the other back in April. When someone presses the bell to alight, the display changes, and jams for the rest of the trip.
I also find myself wondering why the electronic display shows the "Bus Stopping" information when there's a separate, traditional display available...
The 632 is a cross-border service and I am reminded further along of Lancashire County Council's offer of £1 single fares on any bus journey wholly in Lancashire, in the evenings after 1900, and all day on Sundays - a bargain. (I don't qualify as I boarded the 632 outside Lancashire, and anyway my ticket says it was 1859 when I paid.)
This is a busy journey with plenty of churn along the way. We arrive into Chorley, on time, at 1935. I leave one stop before the Bus Station. The bus must drive right around the Bus Station before it can get into it, so that gives me opportunities for pictures.
ABOVE: Go North West 4117 (SK73 CSO) approaches journey's end in Chorley Bus Station. Three almost-new ADL Enviro400 MMCs belonging to Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire are also present, including 11638 (YX23 OVL), nearest the camera
But, after that lucky connection in Wigan, my luck has run out now. The bus back to Blackburn doesn't leave until 2030. I use the 55 minutes I have to go exploring the town and foraging for food...
I stumble across the Chorley Pals Memorial, unveiled in 2010. This monument, with a seven foot-high statue of a soldier in World War I uniform, is dedicated to the memory of the soldiers of the Chorley Pals Y Company 11th (Service) Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment, who left the town in February 1915 to fight in World War One; many were killed and wounded during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
ABOVE: The Chorley Pals Memorial (centre) on Union Street, with the offices of Chorley Council behind
I return to the Bus Station a few minutes before the scheduled departure of the 2030 route 2 departure to Blackburn. The Bus Station is a decent facility (even if the toilets have been locked for the evening), and the departure board also includes trains from the station (on the other side of the road).
ABOVE: Blackburn Bus Station
The daytime service on route 2 is operated by The Blackburn Bus Company - part of Transdev. But the evening (and all day Sunday) service is provided by Stagecoach Merseyside and South Lancashire. This company has three route 2s on its books, and I have done two of them today (Chester to Runcorn is the third).
Well, I will have done two of them when this one turns up. The due time comes and goes and there's no bus. A man in the queue (there are three of us at this point), declares at 2033, to no-one in particular, that "it's not coming", and wanders off, never to be seen again (in my narrative). Two minutes later, an ADL/Transbus Enviro300 turns up. This time, I do qualify for the £1.00 Lancashire offer, and we leave at 2039 with five passengers on board.
ABOVE: Blackburn Bus Company 2763 (PJ05 ZWL), a Volvo B7TL Wright Eclipse Gemini, shows the Transdev Weekday daytime element of route 2 as it sets off from Chorley Bus Station on Thursday 27 June 2024.
This is a lovely ride through the countryside of Lancashire. I have already sampled this route (the previous afternoon), and my pictures below are from that earlier trip. For this evening run, it's getting dark now, and the single-decker limits the photo opportunities.
Not far out of town is a distant view of the Temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This stunning white building was only opened in 1998. There's a better picture, and some of the history of how the building came about, on the Lancs Live website.
ABOVE: A view of the Temple, on Thursday 27 June 2024
We pass through the village of Brinscall, which lends its name to an important geological feature, the Brinscall Fault, which runs north-to-south and borders the western edge of Anglezarke Moor (two-and-a-half miles to the south). Then the village of Withnell marks the half-way point between Chorley and Blackburn, as the crow flies.
ABOVE: On Thursday 27 June 2024, on a section of Dole Lane between Withnell and Abbey Village, we find Atlantic Travel 141 (YX71 OHA), an ADL Enviro200 MMC. Given the time of day (late afternoon), it may have been operating a school service.
We pass through Abbey Village (the "Village" being part of the name rather than a descriptor), and enter the unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen. We come to the village of Feniscowles. In 1800 this was a village of 60 people; nowadays it's a suburb of Blackburn, and it's hard to see where one suburb ends and another begins as we make our way into the town itself.
On the outskirts of Blackburn is the Wainwright Bridge, comprising of a single-span steel bowstring arch with a steel/concrete composite deck carrying a dual carriageway across the railway line. Opened in 2008, it was named after A. Wainwright MBE (Alfred, 1907-1991), fellwalker, author, illustrator and TV personality.
ABOVE: The Wainwright Bridge, on Thursday 28 June 2024.
We reach Blackburn Bus Station at 2120, eight minutes late and delaying the next departure back to Chorley by at least five minutes. We have carried 10 people in total, most of whom have either boarded or alighted midway along the route, which shows the value in services like this that are presumably supported by the local authority.
ABOVE: Blackburn Bus Company 225 (YJ16 DVO, front) and 221 (YJ16 DVK, behind) are Optare Versas allocated to busy routes 6 & 7 (Blackburn to Accrington circulars). They are seen at Blackburn Bus Station on Thursday 27 June 2024
I suppose my "lost in the moment" could equally have been badged as "lost in time", as I have been travelling since 0800 - almost 13-and-a-half hours. I certainly didn't envisage being out for that long when I left my hotel.
But what a remarkable day, with an estimated 132 miles traversed! I just have a moment to look at Blackburn Cathedral, which sits almost next to my hotel, before I head in for the night, and sleep very well!
ABOVE: Blackburn Cathedral, on Thursday 27 June 2024
BELOW: An approximation of the journey described in this article (including Part One). The trips between Liverpool and Huyton for the Route 15 article are not shown.
