ABOVE: Brylaine Travel 181 (YJ09 MHZ), an Optare Tempo, stands in Boston Bus Station. It has brought me into Boston as a route B5X service from Lincoln, and is continuing to Spilsby on route B4. Like many buses at this time of day in this region, this 17:15 departure is the last service of the day. All photos in this article were taken on Tuesday 19 August 2025, except where stated.
A Bus Ride to New York and Boston
9 May 2026
"You're from New York? You've come a long way!"
This is apparently a common reaction when the approximately 150 residents of New York are asked where they come from. New York is a tiny hamlet with very few amenities, but local residents can enjoy events together at New York Village Hall, where there is a regular bike night and classic car meeting as well as indoor bowls clubs, archery, dog training and taekwondo.
Oh no, I'm not talking about that New York! Not the one in the United States!
And you have probably deduced from the title picture that this article has not taken the blog away from its core purpose of talking about buses in Britain. You probably already knew that there's a Boston in Lincolnshire, as well as the one in Massachusetts. But did you know there was a New York in Lincolnshire as well?
Rewinding for now, and, although several bus operators use Lincoln Bus Station, it seems to be dominated by Stagecoach buses in a range of liveries:
ABOVE: Three variants of the Stagecoach livery are on show at Lincoln Bus Station, on Thursday 21 August 2025.
I published this picture on X a few months ago, and someone replied (thank you!) with a view from Swindon, with buses in four or five different liveries - all Stagecoach though. I think the company is having an identity crisis!
Anyway, my previous article bemoaned the early finish times of buses in Lincolnshire. It's nobody's fault in particular. It's wild, unpopulated land in a lot of places, and buses in this region do not appear to have much of a commuting / leisure purpose. Therefore, inter-urban services stop early, and the only evening services are local ones in the big towns and cities.
So my quest for the first 'taster' of my visit based in Lincoln is restricted to a small number of options, and I have decided to head out to Boston. But even here, to get there in time for a journey back, I need to leave on the 15:30 departure. This means a rush to find and check-in to my hotel (check-in opens at 15:00), check the room is OK (it is) drop my bag and get out again, back down the road for the few minutes' walk to Lincoln Bus Station, which I make with five minutes to spare. As I head down the road, my forthcoming bus passes on the incoming journey:
ABOVE: Brylaine Travel 181 again, heading along Broadgate in Lincoln. Note the subtle branding that covers all of the key places the company serves, without being route-specific.
I'm with an independent operator today - Brylaine Travel of Boston. Established in 1981, the company name comes from the first names of the husband-and-wife founders, Bryan and Elaine Gregg.
The curiously-titled service I am using is the B5X. The core service is the B5, but this journey will cut out certain parts of the main route to provide a quicker journey, hence the "X". The bus arrives on time and leaves with about 15 passengers on board.
The bus is a very smooth runner; the interior is smart but very anonymous. There are no posters or signs, or any clues that this is a Brylaine service. But the company has a strong presence in the region, so its passengers probably already know!
Given the rural nature of Lincolnshire, it's no surprise that we are quickly out into the countryside. We're already nine miles out at 15:48 when we reach Metheringham. Believed to have started life as Medrichesham (meaning the homestead of Medrich), there is a reference to the settlement in the Domesday Book of 1086, and it probably dates from Saxon times. Unfortunately, I am only offering a picture of the Co-op!
ABOVE: Metheringham High Street
This is a notoriously flat part of the country, as is apparent everywhere. This is despite the fact that we are only a few miles from the Lincoln Cliff escarpment. This is Martin Moor, for example - there's no-one around:
We come to Woodhall Spa, a former spa town. The discovery of the spa water here, an iodine and bromine containing mineral spring, was accidental. In 1812, John Parkinson of Old Bolingbroke sank a shaft 280 feet deep, and bored 120 feet deeper, in an attempt to locate coal. The shaft started filling with water and the water was later found to have medicinal qualities. In 1834, the-then Lord of the Manor, Thomas Hotchkin, sank a well and built the spa baths and the local Victoria Hotel.
According to the Post Office Directory of 1868, the water was...
... a remedy for diseases of the joints, palsy and loss of muscular power, rheumatism and gouty affections ... indigestion, and disorders of the stomach ... glandular complaints ... and diseases of the skin.
Pretty comprehensive!
The main Broadway area looks inviting:
This is one of those occasions where I wonder if I am missing out by not stopping off. I always focus on going end-to-end on these sampler trips. Although it's late in the day, there are many attractions that might still be available.
There's a memorial to the RAF 617 Squadron, for example. On the night of 16-17 May 1943, the RAF's 617 Squadron carried out an audacious bombing raid attacking dams serving the Ruhr valley, leaving German factories and mines badly damaged. This was the famous "Dam Busters Raid", immortalised by the 1955 film of the same name. The squadron was based in the area, and sadly, 204 men were killed in the raid.
Woodhall Spa also has the historic "Kinema in the Woods". A cinema since 1922, The Kinema in the Woods started life as a sports and entertainment pavilion dating from the late 19th Century. The pavilion sat in the grounds of The Victoria Hotel, looking over tennis courts, croquet lawns and gardens, until The Victoria Hotel burnt down in 1920.
Clearly a spot I need to visit properly one day.
ABOVE: Although the B5 route is mainly operated by Optare Tempos, other vehicles do venture out as well, such as 110 (YJ05 JXG), an Optare Solo, is seen near Nocton.
Tattershall has a history dating back to Roman times. In 1201, Robert Eudo gifted a "well-trained" bird of prey to King Richard II to obtain a grant to hold a weekly market here (nowadays I think you just apply to the Council).
And it's the Market Place where the buses in both directions meet.
Adjoining Tattershall is Coningsby - the two are separated by the River Bain. The highest temperature ever recorded in the UK, 40.3° centigrade, was recorded here on 19 July 2022.
Half a mile to the south of the town is RAF Coningsby, one of the Royal Air Force's most important stations. The airfield also houses the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which was formed in 1957 to commemorate the Royal Air Force's major battle honours, with a Lancaster, five Spitfires, two Hurricanes and a Dakota housed here.
And so we come to the aforementioned New York. There's no connection between this hamlet and the city on the other side of the Atlantic. I was quoting earlier from an article on the Lincolnshire Live website.
The Lincolnshire hamlet and the US city could scarcely be more different, although, as is pointed out in the comments on the Lincolnshire Live article, "there must be a Big Apple in someone’s garden"!
A former Wesleyan Chapel stands here. Dating from 1872, it was sold in 2011 for conversion to residential use.
The B5X actually saves a full 30 minutes (on paper) compared to the standard B5 service, and the 15:30 departure from Lincoln on route B5X is due into Boston at the same time as the 15:00 B5 service. The two routes separate at Langrick, and I wonder whether that's the earlier B5 that can be seen hurtling down the road to the left in front of us (although it should be 11 minutes ahead at this point)?
The B5X goes straight on, but here's what you find if you do turn left and use the regular B5 service:
There's only one B5X service in each direction each day - a morning journey into Lincoln and this afternoon return. We cross the River Witham at Langrick Bridge:
Traffic is heavy on the approaches to Boston. We're losing time here and the comfortable 27 minute interchange that I was expecting is going to be eroded.
We pass the West Street Junction signal box. Built in 1875 for the Great Northern Railway (GNR), it controls the northern junction of the main line with the goods line near the West Street level crossing. It's the oldest GNR signal box that is still in use.
By the time we reach Boston Bus Station, we are 14 minutes late, arriving at 17:02. There are five passengers alighting here - all of whom have been on board all the way from Lincoln.
The Bus Station is a basic drive-through facility:
ABOVE: A Brylaine Optare Tempo (left) shares space in Boston Bus Station with an ADL Enviro400 MMC (centre) and an ADL Enviro400 (right). The latter is in the Lincolnshire Interconnect livery, a sparsely-used livery for the rural bus network in the county.
Early settlers from north Nottinghamshire and the Lincolnshire area were the first to establish English settlements in America, with Boston, Massachusetts being heavily settled by men from Boston, Lincolnshire, in 1630. Many of the emigrants were Protestants who wanted the Church of England to be further reformed, less controlled by the King and aligned with Protestant beliefs. Others went to explore economic opportunities, such as the sale of furs (source: Lincolnshire Live).
On this occasion, my view of the Town Centre is a brief one:
The later than scheduled arrival has left me with only 13 minutes to the next bus. The 17:15 departure on route B5A is the last back to Lincoln (although there is a later 18:15 as far as Woodhall Spa). The B5A is another variant, although far less significant a variant the the B5X.
This journey, which leaves three minutes late at 17:18, is scheduled to take just under two hours. Some brisk running along the fast, quiet roads gets us back into Lincoln on time, at 19:12.
I have enjoyed the run to Boston and back. I have managed to ride two different variants of the B5 without catching the B5 itself!
The B5 group only run on Mondays to Fridays. On Saturdays, the same ground is covered by PC Coaches route 55 which ironically, would offer me a much later departure from Boston, at 18:45!
Early finishes have led me to be careful, and that will have to apply all week if I want to complete my days out by bus. Three days later, I will have to catch a train from Worksop back into Lincoln because, at 17:00, I will have missed the last bus back (by an hour)! As far as I can tell, that particular bus from Worksop no longer runs at all.
But the B5 / 55 services do, and are a good way of seeing how rural this county is, and why buses are always going to be marginal here - there just isn't anyone living in major parts of the catchment area... Nice ride though!
BELOW: An approximation of the routes taken by the B5A and B5X
