Date: Saturday 03 September 2011
Day two of our weekend in Torquay, and I am awake early, so just after 7.00am, I have a little walk around the area close to the hotel, and after spotting a shop open, I get some supplies and head back to the hotel. On the way back I see this strange bloke in the distance coming towards me, but it turns out to be Mr WME who has the same idea before breakfast, so I leave him to it. I get back to the hotel and go back to my room to have a read of the paper. It is just before 08.30am, I make my way downstairs for a quick cigarette before heading to the breakfast room for our first fuel of the day. I meet up with Mr UKBuses and Mr WME, and we take our seat, and we order our English grill, and the food portions do not disappoint, this will keep us going for the morning. Breakfast over, and a quick freshen up in the room before we catch our first bus of the day, and we make our way to the stop opposite and just as we arrive, so does our bus, Stagecoach South West's service 12. After we make another purchase of the £6.90 Explorer day ticket, we have a short ride before we arrive in Paignton.
Upon arrival, in Paignton, we have a short wait for our next bus, so we have a little look around, Mr WME has a walk to the library, whilst Mr UKBuses and myself find a shop to get some refreshments. We make our way back to the bus station, enabling us to take a few photographs, a good photographing location, but watch out for stange people lurking, see right. We see a queue forming at our stand, so we make sure that we guarantee ourselves a spot by joining the queue. Our bus arrives and is operated by the Dartmouth Steam Railway and River Boat Company, operating the 100 service to Totnes. Our vehicle is called Molly, an open topper, so upon boarding we make our way upstairs and get our seat. The bus is getting quite full, and a stranger gives birthday greetings, but I'm not sure it was meant for the birthday boy, Mr UKBuses. We leave the bus station and as soon as we get on the open road, there seems to be movement in Mr UKBuses hair, it looks like he hasn't got the strong hold Brylcreem this weekend, a bit of touching up will need to be done after this journey. Mr WME is quiet as he is sitting to someone who looks like F1 pundit Eddie Jordan, and I'm using the fresh air to wake me up. We arrive close to Totnes, and meet up with the river boat waiting for passengers that are on this bus, and we have a short ride into the town centre. It looks like Mr UKBuses seems to be attracting the plants again, a fetish that started on our Leamington Spa trip, as he suddenly gets a face full of tree along the journey, which messes his hair up even further.
After Mr UKBuses brush with the plant life, we arrive in Totnes town centre, and we have a little wander along the main High Street, with Mr UKBuses feeling the strain today as he is pinched on the bottom by an old woman, but be assured, she came away with her arm intact and not lost in Mr UKBuses orifice. We decide to search for the railway station, which is roughly about a third of a mile out of town. We find the station with no problems, and after a few photographs, we head back into town, where Mr UKBuses has earned a drink so we pop into The King William, where Mr UKBuses gets yet another shock, when his pint of coke cost £3. He makes sure that he drinks every last drop, and I make sure that I am okay bladder wise by having a trip to the toilet before we leave. I'm in mid flow and this women accidentally pops into the gents mistaking it for the ladies, but to make matters worse, instead of going straight out, she stays and enquires where the ladies are! It is nearly time for us to catch our next bus, and we walk back through the town centre, with no sign of Totnes pounds, and we soon arrive at our stop.
Our next bus arrives and it is Stagecoach South West's service 88, which we rest our feet at the back of the bus. This journey takes approximately fifty plus minutes, but it feels like ten minutes, and also the driver seems to have morphed into a different person, this is only because I catch up with a little sleep by having a little nap. We arrive at Newton Abbot, home to the horse racing course. We have a bit of time to spare, and we decide to have a few minutes at the bus station taking some photographs, and we have a little walk around the corner, where we decide to pop into The Jolly Farmer, a splendid pub with friendly staff, this is also where I purchase a birthday drink for Mr UKBuses, he is looking good for an old 'un (only joking Mr UKBuses) - See picture left. After a relaxing time in the pub, we make our way around the corner back to the bus station, where we only have to wait a few minutes for our next bus, Stagecoach South West's Service 2, which, after a journey of just over thirty minutes, we arrive in Teignmouth.
We are still feeling the effects of our big breakfast, so instead of a pub lunch, we decide to have a snack, and we find located close to the bus stop, the "Central Fish and Chips" shop, where a portion of chips are ordered and with tables laid on outside, we consume them in the fresh air. We finish our chips in time, as we put our wrappers in the bin, our Stagecoach South West Service 2 pulls up, which takes us on a journey of approximately 15 minutes to our next destination, Dawlish. We have a bit of extra time here, so as we alight our bus, we spot an amusement arcade, Mr UKBuses has a "Need for Speed", but rest assured, his real driving is not as bad as he demonstrated on this video game. Mr WME took the opportunity to take a few photographs of Dawlish Railway Station, but as he returned we moved onto another video game, Guitar Hero. We all had a go, Mr UKBuses came last with 26 percent, Mr WME came a well deserved second with 41 percent of the song completed, and myself came first and was the guitar hero of the day with 52 percent completed. With my guitar skills put to one side, we popped next door so we could all have an ice cream, which is acceptable when you are by the sea, and it was now time to go the bus stop so we could go to our next destination.
After a little wait, our Stagecoach South West Service 2 arrives and takes us onto the last leg of this route, and just under an hour later, we arrive in Exeter. We spend a bit of time hanging around the coach and bus station, where we can take some photographs, and after these are taken, we have a little walk around the town. Along one of the main streets, we see what we can come up with by playing a game of "Bus Spelling". Exeter operate a number of routes with a letter in place of a service number. We came up with some "long" words and the best we came up with was "Bad" or "Dads". Also I wasn't left out as there is a service "F1", but panic over as it was operated by a normal bus, driven at normal speeds. We have a bit of time before we can catch our next bus, so we decide to have some food, luckily we spot a KFC, and we all order a Zinger Meal, and we sit down and enjoy our spicy chicken burgers, and quench the fire with a Pepsi. After our food, we head back towards the bus station, we make sure we are alright for the journey by using the station toilets, and we find the stand we need to catch our bus from. I decide to have a little treat for the journey back, so get some white chocolate buttons from the vending machine, and please Mr UKBuses when it looks like my snack may get stuck in the machine, but panic over as it does eventually pop into the tray at the bottom. Mr WME decides to purchase some chocolate for the journey ahead, and as he goes to get his snack from the tray, he seems to get his hand stuck, or does he attempt to try and get a few freebies from the bottom row, he does eventually free himself. We have a bit longer to wait as it seems as our bus is running late, so a local man spots Mr WME's attire to enquire about the cricket score, and it also looks like he has had a few to drink when he does a little dance for us, our wait is over, as the bus does eventually arrive.
Stagecoach South West Service X46 turns up to take us back to Torquay, but we also spot that this bus goes past the hotel, which saves us having to swap buses in Torquay. The bus is running about twenty minutes late, but it looks like the driver of the "F1" service in Exeter is driving our bus, as when it gets onto the main dual carriageway along the route, he opens the throttle to try and claw back some time. After about an hour we arrive back in Torquay and eventually arrive at our stop, with the bus only running a couple of minutes later than the allotted time, so the driver has done well with his impersonation of Jenson Button. We head back to our rooms so that we can have a little rest and freshen up before we go out for the evening, and we all meet back up in the reception an hour later.
We decide that tonight we would go back to Brixham, and have a look at how "The Hole In The Wall" is on a night time, we do have to wait a while for our Stagecoach South West Service 12 to turn up, but eventually it does and for the time of night, the bus is packed, which is not bad considering that this bus service has a twenty minute frequency during the evening. Stagecoach South West must be doing something right for this to be a popular route. After about forty minutes, we arrive in Brixham, and we make our way through the town to get us back to our pub that we visited the day before. We enter "The Hole In The Wall", see picture right, and considering this pub is small inside, the pub is filled just right, and it looks like there may be some live entertainment happening in the corner in a while. Pints ordered, but Mr WME's pint has to be changed as it looks like it is at the end of the barrel, and with the friendly staff in this establishment, they swap it over with no problem for another ale of Mr WME's choice. Mr UKBuses wants some music on the jukebox, so I put a pound in, and I seem to time it right as the live entertainment is about to start, but at least the landlord is kind enough to reimburse the pound from the jukebox. We spend a while listening to the live entertainment, and after a handful of songs, we decide to head back.
We walk back towards the bus stop to get our bus back to the hotel, but it looks like someone has it in for me, as I slide and then nearly trip in two separate incidents along the way, but we time it right as a bus is about to pull off. We make our way to the top deck, and start our journey back. We arrive in Paignton, where a few youngsters get on, and as we head back to Torquay, they decide to sing happy birthday, all these strangers seem to know it is Mr UKBuses birthday, but alas it is one of their gang who are celebrating. It is dark outside now, and we misjudge the stop so we get off a stop earlier than planned, but at least it is all down hill. We arrive back at the hotel, and it seems that either age is setting in for Mr UKBuses, or he is still trying to get over his near decapitation on this morning's open topper service, as he makes his way to bed. Mr WME and myself decide to catch a little bit of the hotel entertainment, a singing husband and wife entitled "G and T" or "Gin and Tonic" for their proper stage name, who aren't too bad, but we find out why Mr UKBuses has gone to bed early, as it seems to us that he has written the terrible jokes that the pair are coming out with. After a handful of songs, we decide to go outside for a last cigarette before saying our good nights and going to the land of nod.
Another cracking day out, and we look forward to another big breakfast in the morning and a visit to the Torbay Bus Rally on day three of our trip. The weather did us proud today, will it stay for the most important day of the weekend?
After Mr UKBuses brush with the plant life, we arrive in Totnes town centre, and we have a little wander along the main High Street, with Mr UKBuses feeling the strain today as he is pinched on the bottom by an old woman, but be assured, she came away with her arm intact and not lost in Mr UKBuses orifice. We decide to search for the railway station, which is roughly about a third of a mile out of town. We find the station with no problems, and after a few photographs, we head back into town, where Mr UKBuses has earned a drink so we pop into The King William, where Mr UKBuses gets yet another shock, when his pint of coke cost £3. He makes sure that he drinks every last drop, and I make sure that I am okay bladder wise by having a trip to the toilet before we leave. I'm in mid flow and this women accidentally pops into the gents mistaking it for the ladies, but to make matters worse, instead of going straight out, she stays and enquires where the ladies are! It is nearly time for us to catch our next bus, and we walk back through the town centre, with no sign of Totnes pounds, and we soon arrive at our stop.
We are still feeling the effects of our big breakfast, so instead of a pub lunch, we decide to have a snack, and we find located close to the bus stop, the "Central Fish and Chips" shop, where a portion of chips are ordered and with tables laid on outside, we consume them in the fresh air. We finish our chips in time, as we put our wrappers in the bin, our Stagecoach South West Service 2 pulls up, which takes us on a journey of approximately 15 minutes to our next destination, Dawlish. We have a bit of extra time here, so as we alight our bus, we spot an amusement arcade, Mr UKBuses has a "Need for Speed", but rest assured, his real driving is not as bad as he demonstrated on this video game. Mr WME took the opportunity to take a few photographs of Dawlish Railway Station, but as he returned we moved onto another video game, Guitar Hero. We all had a go, Mr UKBuses came last with 26 percent, Mr WME came a well deserved second with 41 percent of the song completed, and myself came first and was the guitar hero of the day with 52 percent completed. With my guitar skills put to one side, we popped next door so we could all have an ice cream, which is acceptable when you are by the sea, and it was now time to go the bus stop so we could go to our next destination.
After a little wait, our Stagecoach South West Service 2 arrives and takes us onto the last leg of this route, and just under an hour later, we arrive in Exeter. We spend a bit of time hanging around the coach and bus station, where we can take some photographs, and after these are taken, we have a little walk around the town. Along one of the main streets, we see what we can come up with by playing a game of "Bus Spelling". Exeter operate a number of routes with a letter in place of a service number. We came up with some "long" words and the best we came up with was "Bad" or "Dads". Also I wasn't left out as there is a service "F1", but panic over as it was operated by a normal bus, driven at normal speeds. We have a bit of time before we can catch our next bus, so we decide to have some food, luckily we spot a KFC, and we all order a Zinger Meal, and we sit down and enjoy our spicy chicken burgers, and quench the fire with a Pepsi. After our food, we head back towards the bus station, we make sure we are alright for the journey by using the station toilets, and we find the stand we need to catch our bus from. I decide to have a little treat for the journey back, so get some white chocolate buttons from the vending machine, and please Mr UKBuses when it looks like my snack may get stuck in the machine, but panic over as it does eventually pop into the tray at the bottom. Mr WME decides to purchase some chocolate for the journey ahead, and as he goes to get his snack from the tray, he seems to get his hand stuck, or does he attempt to try and get a few freebies from the bottom row, he does eventually free himself. We have a bit longer to wait as it seems as our bus is running late, so a local man spots Mr WME's attire to enquire about the cricket score, and it also looks like he has had a few to drink when he does a little dance for us, our wait is over, as the bus does eventually arrive.
Stagecoach South West Service X46 turns up to take us back to Torquay, but we also spot that this bus goes past the hotel, which saves us having to swap buses in Torquay. The bus is running about twenty minutes late, but it looks like the driver of the "F1" service in Exeter is driving our bus, as when it gets onto the main dual carriageway along the route, he opens the throttle to try and claw back some time. After about an hour we arrive back in Torquay and eventually arrive at our stop, with the bus only running a couple of minutes later than the allotted time, so the driver has done well with his impersonation of Jenson Button. We head back to our rooms so that we can have a little rest and freshen up before we go out for the evening, and we all meet back up in the reception an hour later.
We walk back towards the bus stop to get our bus back to the hotel, but it looks like someone has it in for me, as I slide and then nearly trip in two separate incidents along the way, but we time it right as a bus is about to pull off. We make our way to the top deck, and start our journey back. We arrive in Paignton, where a few youngsters get on, and as we head back to Torquay, they decide to sing happy birthday, all these strangers seem to know it is Mr UKBuses birthday, but alas it is one of their gang who are celebrating. It is dark outside now, and we misjudge the stop so we get off a stop earlier than planned, but at least it is all down hill. We arrive back at the hotel, and it seems that either age is setting in for Mr UKBuses, or he is still trying to get over his near decapitation on this morning's open topper service, as he makes his way to bed. Mr WME and myself decide to catch a little bit of the hotel entertainment, a singing husband and wife entitled "G and T" or "Gin and Tonic" for their proper stage name, who aren't too bad, but we find out why Mr UKBuses has gone to bed early, as it seems to us that he has written the terrible jokes that the pair are coming out with. After a handful of songs, we decide to go outside for a last cigarette before saying our good nights and going to the land of nod.
Another cracking day out, and we look forward to another big breakfast in the morning and a visit to the Torbay Bus Rally on day three of our trip. The weather did us proud today, will it stay for the most important day of the weekend?
No comments :
Post a Comment