Not Getting to Whitby
29 November 2025
ABOVE: Arriva North East 1379 (MX59 AAU), a VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2, is in Church Street, Guisborough, approaching the Market Square, with a journey towards Middlesbrough on route 5 from Easington. All photographs in this article were taken on Thursday 18 September 2025, unless otherwise stated.
I'm in Middlesbrough. There's a limited bus service that I would like to try out from Whitby, which requires me to get there for 1330. The quickest route is the Arriva North East X93, which takes around 69 minutes. But, as it's not yet 0800, I can have some fun getting to Whitby, travelling the long way around.
But (spoiler alert!), I'm not going to make it, as a series of circumstances will conspire to prevent me... My limited service will leave without me, and I will discover something quite different instead...
It's 0755. Middlesbrough Bus Station is more functional than attractive. There are 21 bus bays spread around both sides of a U-shaped building, with a bus parking area in the middle. The passenger entrances are not inspiring:
I'm in Middlesbrough. There's a limited bus service that I would like to try out from Whitby, which requires me to get there for 1330. The quickest route is the Arriva North East X93, which takes around 69 minutes. But, as it's not yet 0800, I can have some fun getting to Whitby, travelling the long way around.
But (spoiler alert!), I'm not going to make it, as a series of circumstances will conspire to prevent me... My limited service will leave without me, and I will discover something quite different instead...
It's 0755. Middlesbrough Bus Station is more functional than attractive. There are 21 bus bays spread around both sides of a U-shaped building, with a bus parking area in the middle. The passenger entrances are not inspiring:
The individual bus stands might be described as 'pens', as there is a small catchment area for passengers for each one. My photo is a bit blurred but you will get the general idea:
ABOVE: The 'pen' for stand 8 at Middlesbrough Bus Station is that little metal fence in the centre of the picture. There are more bus stands to the right.
It's quiet enough at this hour (even on a schoolday) but it does get very crowded and busy at certain times.
I have come to catch the 0800 departure on Arriva North East route 63 to Redcar - a journey that should take an hour. But there's no sign of it. At 0803, I notice a bus on an adjacent stand on Arriva North East route 62, which is also heading to Redcar. I decide to catch this one instead. It's a shorter ride by two minutes!
This is one of Arriva's many VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2 single-deckers; sturdy and smooth, but coming up to 14 or so years old now. This is the 0805 departure and, as we pull out, I notice that the 63 has just turned up!
I am the only passenger from the bus station, but the bus picks up another six passengers before leaving town, and then gets steadily busier as it goes - mainly with college students heading for another day's studies. Though significant in number, this particular group is not especially unruly.
The North East of England is well known for its industrial heritage. The region has moved beyond its historical association with traditional industries like coal mining to become a hub for automotive manufacturing, the chemical industry, production of plastics and cleaning products, and as a global leader in offshore renewables. This industrial heritage stands out in the sights to be seen along the way.
ABOVE: Typical of the area is this structure; part of the Wilton International complex near Grangetown, North Yorkshire, a "prime location for the future of decarbonised power" (https://www.wiltoninternational.com/)
A few minutes short of Redcar, the bus, which is now pretty full, empties out at Redcar & Cleveland College.
Just opposite is the Mo Mowlam Academy for students with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (1949 – 2005) was the Member of Parliament for Redcar from 1987 until 2001, and served in the Cabinet of Tony Blair in several roles. As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, she oversaw the signing of the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
After just a few more minutes, we arrive into Redcar, on time at 0903, and the 63 that I could have got on if I had waited a little longer is just in front!
Redcar occupies a low-lying site by the sea. The town originated as a fishing hamlet in the 14th century and, like so many, came to more prominence after the arrival of the railways in the 19th century, and with the discovery of iron ore deposits nearby in 1850.
There is refurbishment work underway in the High Street, with the shops on one side cut off from those on the other for part of its length. Fortunately, the fine Grade-II listed clock tower, a memorial to King Edward VII, is still visible in front of the chaos.
ABOVE: Arriva North East 1446 (NK10 CFL), a VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2, stands on West Terrace, beside the Clock Tower on the High Street, awaiting the next departure on route 62 to Middlesbrough.
Also prominent in the town is the Redcar Beacon, construction of which started in 2011. In 2013, it came third in the Building Design Carbuncle Cup, a national competition for the worst new building. As a beacon is supposed to be "a device or object that attracts attention" (definition from Google AI), it seems to do what it says on the tin...?
From Redcar I am catching the 0941 departure on route 81 to Guisborough. This has already ventured from nearby Marske-by-the-Sea and is now heading inland. Another Arriva North East service, this is operated by a very rattly Optare Solo. It's quite a busy run, with 12 passengers, and one dog, making the journey.
We pass through Kirkleatham. Listed in the Domesday Book, the village has "one of the best collections" of Georgian-style buildings in England. The area has a number of buildings that formed the Turner Estate, named after the Turner family who lived in the area from 1661. The village also has a Walled Garden which can also be traced back to the Turners.
The 81 arrives into Guisborough at 1008, three minutes early.
ABOVE: Arriva North East 3053 (YD63 VDK), an Optare Solo SR, stands at Market Place, Guisborough.
Some archaeologists date the town of Guisborough to the Roman occupation, when it may have been a military fortification. The discoveries of Roman artefacts such as the elaborate ceremonial Guisborough Helmet, support this, but proof is still lacking.
Gisborough Priory (so-spelt) was founded in about 1119 by the powerful Norman Lord Robert I de Brus, ancestor of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland. The community prospered, rebuilding the priory on a grand scale at the end of the 12th century and again after a catastrophic fire in 1289. At the time of its suppression by Henry VIII in 1539, Gisborough was the fourth richest religious house in Yorkshire. Sadly, nowadays it is just a ruin.
ABOVE: Taken on Friday 19 September 2025
The bus stops here carry electronic information. These should be accurate, although I doubt that there are really two buses coming on route 18, as, with only three trips per day, there is never more than one bus on the route:
ABOVE: Taken on Friday 19 September 2025
There isn't much sign of care for the timetable displays. So much for the "shop window" for local bus services:
Unfortunately, the need for me to find essential facilities, the discovery that the town facilities are locked shut due to vandalism, and a subsequent traipse round the nearby Morrison's result in me just missing the 1015 departure (at 1025) of the number 5 bus to Loftus (where I am heading) and Easington. A 20-minute wait is now necessary for the next one.
The 1045 bus is on the electronic bus stop displays, but shows the time of departure rather than a countdown in minutes - a sign that the bus is not tracking, even though it should have left Middlesbrough at 1005. It's a warning sign that something might not be right.
1045 comes and goes. There's no bus. The departure disappears from the display. Noting that the previous one left 10 minutes late keeps me hopeful that this one might yet turn up. But a check on BusTimes (which you can set to show how things looked at a specific time - in this case an hour earlier) confirms the worst:
ABOVE: The discreet crossing-out of the 1045 departure is BusTimes.org's way of saying that this bus has been cancelled.
The entry is crossed through. The bus has been cancelled. I wonder what the point is of an electronic display at the bus stop if it can't even receive and convey a basic piece of information like that?
As the cancellation of the bus becomes apparent, discussion by the dozen or so people at the stop turns to the use of "old crock" vehicles by Arriva, and driver shortages - "they're leaving because other companies pay more". It doesn't sound like there's much sympathy for the operator's predicament, and it doesn't sound like this cancellation is an isolated incident either.
I could jump to an alternative route (the X93 passes through), but I still have time in hand to get to Whitby via Loftus. So I persevere and await the 1115 service, which arrives four minutes late at 1119. It's a busy service, although there are plenty of people getting off and so plenty of room for the 15 - 20 people who have now gathered.
After almost 55 minutes at this stop, I am finally on my way again!
Most of this run is open countryside, showing the region at its finest.
The village of Brotton includes this rather lovely miniature wheel - a 2023 memorial to commemorate the village's history as an ironstone mining village. It is made from timber, iron and sandstone, key materials related to the village's history:
The journey from Guisborough to Loftus takes 35 minutes (should be 37), meaning I am only two minutes late arriving, at 1154. Unfortunately my next bus, the X4 has just gone, at 1150. With the next one nearly half-an-hour away, I buy myself a sandwich (plans for lunch in Whitby having now gone out of the window).
I have a nice spot to while away these few minutes, though... The building in the background in the picture below, that looks like a church, is actually Loftus Town Hall. It was built by the Earl of Zetland and opened in 1879. It remained in the Zetland family's ownership until 1948 when it was purchased by the Loftus Urban District Council for £2,000.
ABOVE: High Street, Loftus sees almost-new Arriva North East 4505 (BU25 ZDO), a Volvo B8RLE MCV eVoRa, on a route X4 service from Whitby to Middlesbrough.
1220 comes and goes. There's no bus. Rumours start to circulate at the stop that it has broken down (where are they getting their information from)?! Unlike most Arriva buses round here, the X4 has been stocked up with new Volvo B8RLE MCV eVoRas, so should be less prone to breaking down.
It's interesting to hear the conversations here reflect on broken-down buses rather than staff shortages and "old crocks" - quite a contrast from Guisborough earlier! This time BusTimes.org can't help me - it does ominously show that the bus that should be the 1220 has been standing in the same place for at least the last 15 minutes, giving credence to the story.
The driver of a bus passing through a little later confirms that the X4 has indeed broken down.
The next one will be at 1250 and is due into Whitby at 1328 - right on the dot of the latest time I can get there and still undertake my planned ride.
1250 comes and goes. There's no bus. A check on BusTimes.org suggests that it is still at least 10 minutes away. That is going to be too late for what I wanted to do in Whitby, so I reluctantly abandon my plans.
Having seen a new Stagecoach North East electric heading for Easington on route 1 from Saltburn, I decide to cross the road and intercept it on the return journey. It's due at 1301, and comes along at almost exactly the same time as the X4 finally turns up - now too late to get me to Whitby for 1330.
This Stagecoach vehicle is a new Yutong E12. It has all the mod cons, including audio announcements and customer information screens, but presents a rather cluttered interior as a result. There's an annoying chime before each stop is announced, which only serves to highlight that the announcements themselves are completely soul-less, with no emotion or intonation - either they used AI or the person was told to "sound bored".
The service only runs every two hours, and we're out in the middle of nowhere. There are no other customers on the bus, and nowhere much to find any...
ABOVE: Liverton Road End, Liverton Moor... probably.
We take a double-run into the village of Moorsholm, but there are still no passengers for us.
Arrival into Saltburn is on time, at 1348. Whilst I have been the only passenger the whole way, there is at least an encouraging collection of people to board for the return journey.
ABOVE: Stagecoach North East 73158 (NL25 FFX), a Yutong E12, outside Saltburn station between trips on route 1 to/from Easington
The development of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, to give it its full name, was driven by the discovery of ironstone in the Cleveland Hills, and the building of railways to transport the minerals.
The town is essentially on two different levels, like that famous resort further down the North Yorkshire Coast - Scarborough. It's only a short walk to the sea - straight down! A one-in-four descent, in fact, and three hairpin bends await anyone who wants to explore the sea front. But the views on the way down are stunning of course!
Finally, I reach the ground / sea level!
Of course, having clambered all the way down to the front, I need to get back up into town again! But there's more than one way back. There's a cliff-top railway somewhere, although I manage not to discover it! But there's another way that I know...
ABOVE: Arriva North East 1418 (NK09 EJG), a VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar 2, would once have been a regular on route X4 before the influx of eVoRas. It is representing the old guard on the seafront in Saltburn, heading for Loftus and Whitby.
There is actually an X4 to Middlesbrough approaching my stop, about four minutes ahead of the scheduled 1508 departure time. And it's very busy!
It's quickly apparent that problems from earlier in the day have caught up with me again. This is the 1438 service, not the 1508. And the 1408 has not run, as that was the return journey for the bus that failed to show up at 1220 in Loftus. With this bus now 26 minutes late, and the previous one cancelled, there probably hasn't been one through in this direction for the best part of an hour-and-a-half...
An outside seat, with poor legroom, means that I only stay on board until we reach the top of the hill (I have a day ticket so can jump around like this). The 1508 departure has come up behind so I make a beeline for that. I'm not the only one, but it's a trick that works as there's plenty of room on this bus!
Before I leave Saltburn, though, I take a quick look at the railway station building, which was opened by the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1861. In its heyday, the station had four platforms, but now there are only two, and these are pushed away from the stunning main station building which is now used for restaurants and retail.
ABOVE: Saltburn Station, with the surviving platforms just visible to the far left, where a train is in. It's early afternoon, despite what is implied by the clock!
So I never made it to Whitby that day, and the ride I had been planning didn't happen (and still hasn't). What was that ride, I hear you ask? That is an adventure yet to be had, and a story that will have to wait for another time.
A bit of a shame. buses fail to turn up sometimes, but two cancellations in one day is quite a blow. As Oscar Wilde didn't quite say in "The Importance of Being Earnest":
"To lose one bus ... may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness."
But despite all that waiting around (about an hour-and-three-quarters for those two buses alone), there are silver linings - such as the ride on route 1 which I would not otherwise have experienced!
BELOW: Approximation of the route described above - and showing Whitby!
