2016 - Day Out 02: Llandudno

Due to being made redundant in January (I have now got further employment at another company), the trips have been a bit light for the start of 2016. It's time to fix that and we are going back on the coaches and to the North Wales coast. Today we visit Llandudno courtesy of Greenline Coaches.

It is 7.15am and Mr UKBuses gets a lift and on the way to the coach pick up point, I grab a lift with him and after getting in the car, we make our way to Birmingham Street in Stourbridge (opposite the tip) where we alight and wait for our coach to turn up. A quick breath of "fresh air" is had whilst waiting and a number of passengers are already turning up for our Greenline coach of today which turns up on time at 7.45am. We board and take our seats which are directly behind the driver, who introduces himself as John and we set off for a tour of the Black Country. As John is a new driver, he is following the coach company owner in his Mercedes which Mr UKBuses as christened "The Safety Car" so we have to hurry around the pickup points so the "Safety Car" can take its spot on the grid for the Russian Grand Prix later today.

We follow the "Safety Car" and head towards pickup points, firstly at Netherton, then Old Hill, Blackheath, Lapal and then we have a break as we wait for passengers before leaving and finding out that they decided to go the next pickup point with out informing the coach company. We then make our way to Oldbury, Langley before getting to our final pick up point outside Dudley Zoo (a bit late thanks to our "lost" passengers), where Mr UKBuses hides so he doesn't get mistaken for a loose monkey. The "Safety Car" has now pitted and after the final passengers are aboard and the safety notices have been given by John, it is time to hit the road and make our way through Coseley to get onto the motorway. We finally get onto the M6 motorway, where we shortly head onto the M54 motorway. Because of the times of the pickups, the driver legally needs to have a break, so approximately half hour after leaving Dudley and after approximately twenty-seven miles, we leave the M54 at Junction 4 and stop at Telford Services, see picture right.

We have about forty-five minutes break here, so decide to have breakfast. After some "fresh air", we make our way indoors and decide to use the facilities of Burger King. After our slow member of staff decides to make an appearance, I opt for a Bacon Butty (basically bacon on a burger bun!) and Hash Browns whilst Mr UKBuses is glad that he can order a Chicken Royale meal complete with fries (the Burger King employee was not so happy as he had to cook some fresh fries!). My order is done, so I take a seat and start my breakfast, which I have nearly consumed by the time Mr UKBuses gets his order and freshly cooked fries. After breakfast is consumed, we get some "fresh air" and take a couple of pictures of the coaches parked up but Mr UKBuses has a problem with his camera as the battery seems to be dead. After changing to his spare battery, he starts snapping away. After the photograph opportunities, we still have a bit of time to kill, so we decide to get some supplies for the rest of the journey. I opt for some "Fish and Chips" and a twirl. The staff at W H Smiths decide to overcharge me as the "Fish and Chips" were on offer and decided to charge me the full price. With the discrepancy sorted out, we make our way back to the coach.

We board our coach and take our seats where our supplies are consumed and I wish that I never purchased the "Pickled Onion" variety of "Fish and Chips" as the taste was very strong. We make our way back onto the M54 and head towards our destination, passing by Shrewsbury, Wrexham, Prestatyn and Rhyl before arriving at Llandudno just before 1.00pm. We alight the coach and I grab some "fresh air" whilst Mr UKBuses is roaming the coach park taking some photographs. We make our way around the corner to Vaughan Street, which is where we can catch the free shuttle buses (operated by preserved buses) to the Llandudno Transport Festival, See picture left. After boarding, we head down the seafront to the showground alighting at Bodafon Fields.

We make our way onto the fields and having paid the admission fee, we are "stamped" to show that we have paid. I can understand this as it saves producing paper tickets, but if you follow the advice shown to wash your hands before eating, how are you supposed to get back in if you wash off your admission stamp? We make our way to the classic buses section across muddy fields. Time is spent looking at the vehicles, such as an old WMPTE Fleetline, see picture right and taking photographs of them before meeting up again. After perusing the stalls we make our way to the entrance and find out that the beer tent is at the other end of the field where we have just come from. We do venture to the far end of the field and enter the beer tent to rest our legs, so a pint of ale is had (and I somehow manage to get the expensive first round!) and have a break before finishing our drinks and leaving. We find a tarmac path so we decide to head out of the showground via that, so after getting all the mud off our shoes, Mr UKBuses decides that he needs to pay a visit to the facilities which we have to venture back onto the mud. After his visit, we head back out of the showground and get rid of even more mud before taking a final few photographs and boarding the shuttle bus back into the town.

We arrive back and alight at Vaughan Street and decide to walk past the wrestling ring and take a couple of pictures of the Arriva Sapphire's operating on Route 12 and other Arriva buses, see picture left, before making our way past the railway station and into Albert Street, where we decide to have a pit stop at "The Albert", with Mr UKBuses getting the round in this time. I find a seat and rest my legs whilst Mr UKBuses is at the bar. We still have time left before we have to get back to the coach, so we decide to get something to eat and we make our way around to one of the best J D Wetherspoons we have ever visited and head into "The Palladium". There is no sign of Bradley Walsh, so whilst Mr UKBuses finds a seat, it is time for me to head to the bar and we opt for a pint of "Orme", a local brew celebrating the nearby Great Orme. This was a nice drink and after choosing our food, I go back to the bar to order again and am disappointed as the "Orme" runs out.

Mr UKBuses decides to use the free Wi-Fi to watch the Snooker on the BBC and surprisingly quicker than we thought, our food arrives even though the waitress decides to go to the wrong table first and once the waitress gets the correct table, Mr UKBuses decides to tuck into his BBQ Chicken Melt without the "Melt" and I tuck into my Chicken Burger and chips. Whilst eating and Mr UKBuses watching his snooker, he starts moaning as the snooker starts buffering and tells me to stop looking at my phone even though I was replying to a post of a Hansons driver who was sitting elsewhere in The Palladium. We finish our food and the snooker has stopped for an interval, so we leave our drinks (the replacement for the sold out "Orme") as it didn't taste very nice and make our way back to the coach. We walk through the crowds of the closed main street in Llandudno and make our way back to the coach park. We decide we need to make a visit before we board, but as we get near the toilet on the coach park, there is a long queue which we wont be able to wait in before we leave. After a little walk around the area, we cannot find alternative toilets so board our coach, but before we take our seats, Mr UKBuses  makes use of the on-board facilities.

Just after 5.00pm, we start our return journey and we go a slightly different route this time and follow the North Welsh coast and join the M6, where after a while on the Motorway, we have our service station break at Sandbach Services. We have a quick look around and after the returning Leicester City fans return from Manchester start to get a bit noisy, we make our way back to the coach for a rest whilst waiting for the rest of the passengers, we make our way back onto the M6 and at approximately 8.30pm we arrive back in Dudley for the first drop off. We then spend just over an hour having another tour of The Black Country, before arriving back in Stourbridge where we alight. After some "fresh air", we make our way back to Stourbridge Interchange and having just missed a bus, we decide to catch a taxi back home. Mr UKBuses is dropped off first, so I decide to get out of the taxi after in Wollaston, where a nightcap is had in The Unicorn before heading home to rest my legs.

A good day out was had and after the barren of trips, it was a welcome change. Despite what we thought would be a wet day, the rain stopped falling as we arrived at Llandudno and stayed dry until we left. Thanks to Greenline Coaches and our driver John and also to Mr UKBuses, speaking of Mr UKBuses, did you know that he transports a bald spot around with him:

Bald Spot 1: The Bald Spot is having battery trouble at Telford Services.

Bald Spot 2: The Bald Spot at The Llandudno Transport Festival.

Bald Spot 3: The Bald Spot is trying to hide behind a Leyland National.

Bald Spot 4: The Bald Spot is trying to take a picture of that other blokes bald spot!

Bald Spot 5: The Bald Spot may have been caught!

Bald Spot 6: The Bald Spot before leaving the Llandudno Transport Festival.

Bald Spot 7: The Bald Spot seen in Llandundo town.

2015 - Day Out 04: Llandudno

Date: Saturday 23 May 2015

Its time for another coach trip, but instead of our usual operator, we are giving Greenline Coaches, based in Stourbridge a trial and book a trip back to Wales and to the seaside resort of Llandudno.

I make my way into Wollaston, so that I can catch National Express West Midlands service 276 into Stourbridge, picking up Mr UKBuses along the way. The bus arrives at 07.05am and makes it way into Stourbridge where we arrive at Stourbridge Interchange at 07.19am, which means we have about twenty minutes before we have to catch our coach. We make the short walk from the Interchange to the bus stop in Birmingham Street, where just after 07.30am, a Greenline coach pulls up. Mr UKBuses tries to board, but it is not our coach and the one he was trying to catch was going on a mystery tour. Not long after, our coach turns up and we board and make ourselves comfortable for the journey ahead. We do have some pick ups first before going on the motorway and after nearly an hour and a half and picking up in Halesowen, Blackheath, Bilston and Dudley (plus a few more inbetween!), we finally make our way on the open road, where our coach driver Mark informs us that there is an air show taking place in Llandudno today.

After travelling through Wolverhampton, we make our way onto the M6 heading north to our destination. Along the way we do stop off at the Sandbach Services (along with the Mystery Coach Tour vehicle), so we have chance to get a bite to eat. Mr UKBuses decides on a McDonalds breakfast, but seeing the queue, I decide to get a sandwich from next door, which was a nice Chicken, Bacon and stuffing affair. Mr UKBuses finally joins me as I'm halfway through my food. With our bellies filled, we head outside where I get a "Fresh Air" break before we board our coach (not the mystery tour one again!) and continue on our journey to Llandudno. We do get off to a good start from the services and after we pass Chester, disaster strikes, there is a traffic jam on the road ahead. We put this down to Bank Holiday Weekend traffic, but I do think the air show at Llandudno has something to do with it. After a couple of hours in the traffic jam, we finally arrive in Llandudno just shy of 01.30pm, see picture right. The driver does give us an extra half an hour in Llandudno to make up for our late arrival, but due to driving laws, he couldn't give us any more time after that. We alight the coach at the coach park and whilst Mr UKBuses gets a few photographs, I opt for an overdue "Fresh Air" break.

We take to the streets of Llandudno now, and due to the Air Show taking place, the streets are very very busy. We make our way down Moyston Street, passing Gerrard's The Bakers which impressed Mr UKBuses and turn left into Market Street, where we decide to get some refreshments at J D Wetherspoons, "The Palladium", see picture left,. Mr UKBuses decides to get the first round in (Ah yes, it's a Wetherspoons!), so whilst he was waiting to get served at the bar, I try to find a table. Because the Air Show is on the pub is jam packed and after doing a couple of laps, I do eventually find a table. Mr UKBuses returns with the drinks and he must have been thirsty as it only takes one big gulp and about 5 - 10 seconds for him to finish. Before I get a sip of mine I have to go back to the bar to get another round in and whilst waiting at the bar, the couple next to me were ordering food and the barman informed them that there is a 45 minute wait for food to be served. Once I return to the table and inform Mr UKBuses about the wait we decide to look for food elsewhere. With drinks finished we make our way back into the main street of Llandudno and we look for a Fish and Chip Shop.

After passing a few with big queues, we do find the "Pebbles" Fish and Chip Shop and decide to wait in the queue, that is until we find out that they do a restaurant service and we take a seat and get served straight away and tuck into our food whilst the people in the queue are still waiting. We tuck in and the fish and chips were beautiful. Once consumed, we decide to stay a while to let our dinners go down properly, that is until we look at the time and find out that the Red Arrows are coming on in a couple of minutes. We quickly jump out of our seats and make our way out of the restaurant and onto the sea front, just in time to see the aerial display being put on by the pilots of The Red Arrows, see picture above. With the display over, Mr UKBuses fancies a trip to The Great Orme. Considering that the crowds are making there way towards us, we decide not to go with the flow and walk in the opposite direction, so after about ten minutes of jostling with the oncoming crowds, we reach the North Parade and The Grand Hotel, where we have a walk up the hill to where the cable cars are. We make our way to the back of the queue, and seeing how slow the cable car queue is moving and realise that when we get to The Great Orme, we will have to wait roughly the same time when we want to get back down. We decide not to pursue the cable cars, so we head back down by the cliff, where Mr UKBuses has an ice cream, see picture right, and we take a seat and admire the views.

After having a break and overlooking the pier, we decide to make our way back downhill and we get by The Grand Hotel and Mr UKBuses decides to use his map allowance (well it his phone), and we decide to look for a pub that was recommended by Phil Tonks. With the phone giving us orders about where to go, we do eventually end up in Madoc Street and arrive at our destination, "The Albert". Mr UKBuses dodges the round, even though it is his turn and takes a seat outside. Whilst I wait inside at the bar, I do eventually get served and once the drinks have been poured, I join Mr UKBuses outside and soak up the sun and sea air and enjoy a rest whilst having a sup. With the pints finished, we still have a bit of time to kill before we have to get our coach back, so we decide to have a walk a few streets away and head back into "The Palladium".

We arrive back and "The Palladium" , see picture left, is still as busy as it was when we first arrived. Mr UKBuses says he will get this round (Now I know why he skipped that last round!), and I do a couple of circuits of the pub again and spot someone leaving their table so quickly go in for the kill and grab the seats. Mr UKBuses does eventually return and we have a slow drink to pass the time, and it is nearly our pick up time, so we make our way out of "The Palladium" and back onto the main street of Llandudno, where after ten minutes we arrive back at the Coach Park. We still have a few minutes left so I grab some "Fresh Air", whilst Mr UKBuses takes the opportunity to take some more photographs of the coaches parked up. We board and with everyone on board we set off back to the Midlands. About five minutes into the journey, Mr UKBuses does have to make use of the facilities on board after realising that he must have loaned the use of Mr D9's bladder that day!

The traffic isn't so bad now and we are moving along at more than a snails pace. We head back along the same route as we came and we do get a break again at Sandbach Services before carrying on along our way and Mr UKBuses having a snooze. We do arrive back in the Midlands and as we are heading towards Dudley we realise that we will have to go on a tour of the Black Country to drop every one else off first. That is until we arrive back in Dudley when a few of us are told to alight and get on the Greenline coach in front of us, which enabled those who were picked up first thing this morning to be dropped off quicker. So we are greeted by our driver Andy, who takes us to back to Stourbridge and we are dropped off in Birmingham Street. We walk back up to Stourbridge Interchange, where upon discovering that we have just missed a National Express West Midlands Service 276, we decide to pop over the road and get a taxi back home. I get dropped off at "The Gigmill" where I say my goodbyes to Mr UKBuses as he decides to stay aboard and get a lift straight to his door. I do have a nightcap in "The Gigmill" before heading home and resting my feet.

Another good day out was had with thanks to Mark, Andy and Greenline Coaches (especially splitting the drop offs on the return journey) and also Mr UKBuses for the company, speaking of Mr UKBuses, here are his bald spots:

Bald Spot 1: The Bald Spot enjoys the Red Arrows!

Bald Spot 2: The Bald Spot makes his way back to The Paladium.