Date: Saturday 17 March 2012
After our first visit to the city of Nottingham in February, it was decided that we would return to further explore the city and surrounding area, this time going further afield.
I nearly don't make the trip as I suffer from eczema and a couple of days before the trip I have a bad flare up which is affecting my knees and I'm in pain when I walk, but after the tickets have been paid for I decide to give it a go, so I shuffle up to Wollaston where I catch the 07:36 National Express West Midlands Service 276 which takes me to Stourbridge Junction, I send the customary text to Mr UKBuses to tell him that the bus is on its way towards him and he boards in Norton, as I boarded the bus in Wollaston I received a text from Mr D9 stating that he won't be able to make the trip today (hope to see you soon Mr D9), so it is a good job that I did decide to come on the trip as Mr UKBuses would be on his own. Mr UKBuses and myself alight our bus at Stourbridge Junction which we arrive at the station earlier than planned. We decide to catch the earlier service and alight at The Hawthorns just in case Mr D9 can make it, but as the planned train arrives, there is no sign of Mr D9, so we board and we then alight upon arrival at Birmingham Moor Street. We have a short walk to get our next train at Birmingham New Street, and Mr UKBuses leads the way (as he will be for the rest of the day as I try and can keep up with my sore legs), and upon arrival at New Street, I spot that the CENTRO travel shop is open, so I pop in and renew my NBus pass for another month.
After popping into W H Smiths for some refreshments for the next leg of our journey, we look at where our train will be pulling up and we make our way to Platform 9A and catch our CrossCountry Train to Nottingham. As we wait for the train to depart, I have nearly eaten all of my chocolates for the journey ahead. Our journey takes us through Tamworth and Burton, where Mr UKBuses has a nap whilst passing through, he is woken by the passing refreshments trolley and the first thing that he sees when he opens his eyes is a hot water urn staring him in his face. After Mr UKBuses brush with hot water, we pull up at Derby railway station, where our train decides to have a rest for a while as we wait for a train to pass before we can leave for the rest of our journey passing through Beeston before arriving at Nottingham. Upon arrival at Nottingham, Mr UKBuses decides to take me on a "wild goose chase" as we walk up the stairs on the platform and then back down onto the platform to get out of the station. Mr UKBuses then takes us back up the stairs and we then find the exit, turning up in Station Street. We head to the top of Station Street and turn right, where we have a short walk to Broadmarsh Bus Station, where Mr UKBuses takes a few photo's before we board the Centre Link bus which will take us across Nottingham to the Victoria Bus Station, another place where Mr UKBuses gets a few more photographs.
We wait in Victoria Bus Station for about 15 minutes before our first bus of the day arrives, Trent Barton's Rainbow 3 Service which will take us to Mansfield. As we board we purchase our "Zig Zag" tickets which will cover us for our travel for the rest of the day. We make our way to the back of the bus where we get comfortable for the journey ahead which will approximately take just over an hour. The bus passes through Hucknall, Kirkby and Sutton before reaching our destination. At 12:30 we arrive in Mansfield and we alight at the bus station, which is a pull in-pull out layout so Mr UKBuses gets a few shots as we walk around the perimeter of the bus station. It is time for dinner, so we have a walk around Mansfield passing a cafe along the way called "Woody's Diner", so Mr UKBuses is enjoying his visit to Mansfield already. After a further five minutes we arrive by the outdoor market, where the J D Wetherspoons "The Court House" is situated. I hobble to the bar to purchase the drinks whilst Mr UKBuses manages to get us a table. After a quick visit to the toilet, I am then informed that "Whilst you are up, go and order the food", so after waiting at the wrong bar for a few minutes (it was the right bar, but the staff didn't seem to want to serve anybody at this end), I make my way to the other end of the bar and place our order - "Beer and Burger" for me and the BBQ Chicken Melt, without "the melt", for Mr UKBuses. The food is served quickly as it is not long after sitting down, the food arrives, not long after it arrives it also disappears into our stomachs. As we were right by the door, we could not take a cheers photo, see picture left.
We have a few minutes to let the food go down properly before having a walk around Mansfield to find W H Smiths and Mr UKBuses leads the way again and finds it a few streets away from the outdoor market. As we arrive outside, Mr UKBuses enters, where he purchases his latest copy of Buses Magazine, at least I put a smile on his face by saving him one penny and giving him a W H Smiths bag before he entered the shop. We now make our way through town and back to the bus station. We have around a quarter of an hour before our next bus arrives, so Mr UKBuses gets his camera out and adds more photographs to his tally today and our next bus pulls up, Service 9.3 which will takes us to Alfreton, passing through Sutton and Kirkby Cross along the way. For this journey we miss out on the views as we both nod off only waking just in time to see Tesco at Alfreton and the bus station opposite. We wake up fast and alight, we hang around the bus station where Mr UKBuses adds even more photographs to his tally today and at 15:00 our Rainbow 1 Service turns up and takes us back from Alfreton to Nottingham, a journey which takes approximately 1 hour twenty minutes, something that Mr D9 might have enjoyed! As we make our way to Nottingham we pass through places such as Underwood, Eastwood, Newthorpe and Kimberley, and I am kept awake with Mr UKBuses asking "How much to Alfreton?", "How much to Alfreton?" and "How much to Alfreton?" after the TV advert filmed in the area in the 1980's.
We arrive back at Victoria Bus Station in Nottingham, where there is a Centre Link bus waiting to take us across the city to Broadmarsh Bus Station. As we arrive back in Nottingham and me not feeling my normal self, we decide to catch an earlier train back to Birmingham, so we get some refreshments ready for the journey back from the newsagents in the bus station, with Mr UKBuses having a panic attack as he has to pay two pence for his carrier bag. We take the short walk back to the station to see what time the next train back to the station is, and we have a little time to spare so we decide to have a quick drink in the pub situated opposite to the main station entrance, The Bentinck Hotel. We walk in and the pub is quite busy, but I spot a table in a corner and take my seat whilst Mr UKBuses gets the drinks. He decides to have a Guinness to celebrate St Patricks Day, my drink has been served but whilst the Guinness is being left to settle, the barman serves other people. After five minutes of standing at the bar, Mr UKBuses has to ask another barman for his drink. With drink in hand he sits at the table and enjoys his Guinness - well worth the wait. Due to the some of the clientele in the pub, it is decided not to take a cheers photograph, see picture right.
After our drink we walk across the road and into the station to catch our 17:11 CrossCountry train back to Birmingham New Street. After walking through the carriages we manage to get a table seat so that we can put our feet out and have a good rest on our journey back. The table was reserved from Birmingham New Street to Cardiff, obviously other passengers did not read the tickets, thus managing to sit at the table. The journey runs to time, but we do have a wait in Derby again for a late train to pass through. We arrive back in Birmingham New Street where we change platforms to catch a local London Midland train to Smethwick Galton Bridge, where we alight and change platforms to connect with the Snow Hill line train. We have a wait of about twenty minutes, so this gives me time to leave the station for a "fresh air break", after finishing we return back to the platform where after a wait of about ten minutes our train arrives. We board and stop at all stations along the way where upon arrival at Stourbridge Junction, we again change platforms to a waiting "Dodger" taking us back to the Stourbridge interchange. Even though the interchange looks complete and ready for service, we still have another month of using the stops situated in Parkfield Road and Birmingham Street, so we have a quick walk down to Birmingham Street where after a couple of minutes wait, our Black Diamond Service 276A turns up to take us back home. Instead of alighting at my normal stop in Wollaston just outside of my Chinese takeaway, I surprise Mr UKBuses and alight further along the route at South Road Playing Fields leaving me with a short walk back home where I can rest my aching limbs.
After popping into W H Smiths for some refreshments for the next leg of our journey, we look at where our train will be pulling up and we make our way to Platform 9A and catch our CrossCountry Train to Nottingham. As we wait for the train to depart, I have nearly eaten all of my chocolates for the journey ahead. Our journey takes us through Tamworth and Burton, where Mr UKBuses has a nap whilst passing through, he is woken by the passing refreshments trolley and the first thing that he sees when he opens his eyes is a hot water urn staring him in his face. After Mr UKBuses brush with hot water, we pull up at Derby railway station, where our train decides to have a rest for a while as we wait for a train to pass before we can leave for the rest of our journey passing through Beeston before arriving at Nottingham. Upon arrival at Nottingham, Mr UKBuses decides to take me on a "wild goose chase" as we walk up the stairs on the platform and then back down onto the platform to get out of the station. Mr UKBuses then takes us back up the stairs and we then find the exit, turning up in Station Street. We head to the top of Station Street and turn right, where we have a short walk to Broadmarsh Bus Station, where Mr UKBuses takes a few photo's before we board the Centre Link bus which will take us across Nottingham to the Victoria Bus Station, another place where Mr UKBuses gets a few more photographs.
We have a few minutes to let the food go down properly before having a walk around Mansfield to find W H Smiths and Mr UKBuses leads the way again and finds it a few streets away from the outdoor market. As we arrive outside, Mr UKBuses enters, where he purchases his latest copy of Buses Magazine, at least I put a smile on his face by saving him one penny and giving him a W H Smiths bag before he entered the shop. We now make our way through town and back to the bus station. We have around a quarter of an hour before our next bus arrives, so Mr UKBuses gets his camera out and adds more photographs to his tally today and our next bus pulls up, Service 9.3 which will takes us to Alfreton, passing through Sutton and Kirkby Cross along the way. For this journey we miss out on the views as we both nod off only waking just in time to see Tesco at Alfreton and the bus station opposite. We wake up fast and alight, we hang around the bus station where Mr UKBuses adds even more photographs to his tally today and at 15:00 our Rainbow 1 Service turns up and takes us back from Alfreton to Nottingham, a journey which takes approximately 1 hour twenty minutes, something that Mr D9 might have enjoyed! As we make our way to Nottingham we pass through places such as Underwood, Eastwood, Newthorpe and Kimberley, and I am kept awake with Mr UKBuses asking "How much to Alfreton?", "How much to Alfreton?" and "How much to Alfreton?" after the TV advert filmed in the area in the 1980's.
After our drink we walk across the road and into the station to catch our 17:11 CrossCountry train back to Birmingham New Street. After walking through the carriages we manage to get a table seat so that we can put our feet out and have a good rest on our journey back. The table was reserved from Birmingham New Street to Cardiff, obviously other passengers did not read the tickets, thus managing to sit at the table. The journey runs to time, but we do have a wait in Derby again for a late train to pass through. We arrive back in Birmingham New Street where we change platforms to catch a local London Midland train to Smethwick Galton Bridge, where we alight and change platforms to connect with the Snow Hill line train. We have a wait of about twenty minutes, so this gives me time to leave the station for a "fresh air break", after finishing we return back to the platform where after a wait of about ten minutes our train arrives. We board and stop at all stations along the way where upon arrival at Stourbridge Junction, we again change platforms to a waiting "Dodger" taking us back to the Stourbridge interchange. Even though the interchange looks complete and ready for service, we still have another month of using the stops situated in Parkfield Road and Birmingham Street, so we have a quick walk down to Birmingham Street where after a couple of minutes wait, our Black Diamond Service 276A turns up to take us back home. Instead of alighting at my normal stop in Wollaston just outside of my Chinese takeaway, I surprise Mr UKBuses and alight further along the route at South Road Playing Fields leaving me with a short walk back home where I can rest my aching limbs.
Another good day out exploring more of the Nottinghamshire area, good company with Mr UKBuses who planned the day out perfectly, it was a shame that I was not well enough to enjoy it more - rest is now being undertaken to get better for our next trip.
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