2011 - Day Out 27: Pensnett Garage

Date: Wednesday 02 November 2011

I am sadly at work, toiling away, and at about 11.30, an email desktop alert appears. I have an email from Mr UKBuses, asking me "If I want to come down to his workplace, National Express West Midlands Pensnett Garage, to have my picture taken?". I reply with no hesitation, "Yes, I'll be down in a bit."

There is a reason for this impromptu visit to Pensnett Garage. On 2 August, I helped out with traffic marshaling on a charity walk that was organised by National Express West Midlands Pensnett Garage driver Dave Gerrard. The walk followed the National Express West Midlands 246 route from Dudley to Stourbridge, and just after the two hour mark, the walk was completed when the Pensnett Garage drivers who took part arrived at the temporary stands in Birmingham Street. The money which was raised would be going to the Children's Unit at Russell's Hall Hospital. I did volunteer to assist the walkers across busy road junctions with Mr UKBuses and we would be going ahead on a supporting bus, ready for the walkers to arrive, for some reason I ended up walking the whole distance of the 246 route, and I cannot complain as I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Back to today, the reason Mr UKBuses has got in touch with me was because Dave Gerrard would be officially handing over the cheque to The Children's Unit, and it is also being covered with a story and a photograph in the local media, The Express and Star (as can be seen left, click on the picture for a larger view) and also The Stourbridge News. Mr UKBuses kindly asked me if I could pop along so that I could appear. Luckily, I work on the Pensnett Trading Estate and my workplace is just a couple of minutes walk to the garage. I inform my work colleagues that I will be having an early lunch break, so at 11:50am, I walk through my office door, and walk the short distance down Second Avenue. As I arrive at Pensnett Garage, I ring Mr UKBuses and tell him that I am just about to arrive, so that he can come and meet me, and also means that he can help me follow the Health and Safety Regulations by bringing me down an HI-Viz Jacket to wear whilst on the premises.

I spot Dave talking to his manager, so I give a quick hello to him, when his manager asks me "Where is your Hi-Viz?", at that point Mr UKBuses appears out of the garage building to save the day, and he gives me a Hi-Viz, which I quickly put on. It is a bit windy, so Mr UKBuses invites me into the traffic office, where I spot Dave's long suffering wife, Carol, so I have a little chat, it is through Carol that I know Dave, as I used to work with her years ago and he used to meet her out of work and also giving me earache with his barrage of jokes whilst he waited for her. We still have a few minutes to wait for the member of staff from the Children's Unit to arrive, so after being introduced to Mr UKBuses work colleagues, he decides to give me a tour of Pensnett Garage.

First off, he shows me the travel office, and I take note of the Health and Safety notice board, spotting the Health and Safety Policy, which is a bit ironic, as I have just been working on the policy for the company I work for at my place of work. We go round the corner and we arrive in the engineering area, and there are are a couple of vehicles in the pits having work done on them, at least I can vouch for the garage if anyone thinks that no works are done to their vehicles, this place looked busy to me, at this point Mr UKBuses thinks that I'm strange as I love the smell of oil. We go around another corner and Mr UKBuses takes me upstairs and into the administration office, this is also his office where he keeps the garage ticking over during the day. I spot his desk before he tells me, it is the one where there is absolutely no paperwork on and a few scuff marks on the corner from where he puts his feet up for most of the day (only joking Mr UKBuses!!). It is by the window, so he can keep an eye out over the estate. We now go back downstairs, but not before he shows me where the garage manager's office is, something which he has his eyes on in the future. We are back downstairs in the travel office, and it isn't long before we are called out into the yard.

The nurse, Karen, who is accepting the cheque has arrived, and the photographer is ready to take our picture. We all line up alongside the bus which has the destination blind showing "246 Charity Walk". We are told that we have to recreate the cover off the Madness album "One Step Beyond", the cover showing the band members doing a strange kind of walk. So we take our places, and after we are sorted out by height, which means that Mr UKBuses and myself are towards the back, we put our left legs out and our left arms in the air. At this point, the wind starts to blow, so I am struggling to keep my hair out of my face and wish that the photographer would get his picture. Dave and Karen are at the front with Dave kneeling on the ground. Whilst we are in place, a couple of Mr UKBuses work colleagues decide to use the pose to their advantage and with their arms stretched outwards, decide that they can just swing around and Mr UKBuses could be hit, the photographer notices this behaviour and it is Mr UKBuses that gets the telling off!

The photographer from the Stourbridge News is also present, and luckily, she decides to take a picture to the same style, with Dave and Karen doing a different pose at the front. This photograph only takes a couple of minutes to shoot, and luckily the wind has died down, so my hair behaves itself. Dave's wife, Carol notices that the door on the bus is closed and that her handbag is inside, so I get the opportunity to do something that I have wanted to do for years, and that is press the outside button to open them. Another driver closes them from the inside and jumping out before the doors are shut. After a brief thank you speech from Dave, Mr UKBuses decides to get on the bus and change the destination display to show the next destination for the next charity walk, if things go to plan this will be taking place at the end of November. After he has come out of the drivers cab, he leaves the doors open, so he gives me the chance to fulfil another dream, that is to stand on the platform, press the button inside the bus above the door, and then jump off whilst dodging the closing doors. I've only been waiting 30 years to do that!!

It is time for me to go back to work, so I thank Mr UKBuses and Dave for inviting me along, hand my hi-viz back and walk back along Second Avenue back to my desk in my office. The final total raised by the walk in August and handed over today to the Children's Unit at Russell's Hall Hospital was £1250. Another charity walk is planned for the final Sunday in November, weather permitting. We are still going to be walking the National Express West Midlands 246 route, but we are going the reverse way of the route we did in August, and that is from Stourbridge Bus Station to Dudley Bus Station. This will be harder as it will be colder and also it will be mainly uphill. I have already been volunteered to help out on the day, and I will be with Mr UKBuses on the support bus helping out doing the marshaling and helping the participants across the roads safely, lets hope that my road crossing skills have been passed down to me from my mom.

I would like to thank Dave Gerrard, Mr UKBuses and other staff at National Express West Midlands for inviting me "down the road", and letting me have my picture taken for the newspapers and also extra thanks to Mr UKBuses for kindly showing me around a bus depot for the first time, so at least I know how things work in bus land. If the walk goes ahead as planned, you will read about it here first.

2011 - Day Out 26: Liverpool

Date: Saturday 22 October 2011

It is our second trip of October, and whilst we still have the natural daylight to go further afield, we have decided to go back up north to one of our favourite destinations, the city of Liverpool.

It is an early start, and I walk into Stourbridge, where I will meet Mr UKBuses, who is catching the bus to the ring road stop. As I make my way into Stourbridge, it is still very dark, the British Summertime is fading, and so is the temperature, I button my coat to keep my body heat in, and finally make my way to the bus stop located on Stourbridge Ring Road. I wait a few minutes, and Mr UKBuses bus is running early and just after 07:15, he turns up. We have to wait a while for our next bus, so we take a seat in the bus shelter and just after ten minutes, our National Express West Midlands Service 246 turns up and we are on our way to Dudley to make our way to Wolverhampton as there is no direct bus to Wolverhampton from Stourbridge until 08:35. After passing through Brierley Hill and Russell's Hall Hospital, we arrive at Dudley Bus Station, and we make a change to the plan already as we catch National Express West Midlands Service 1 which will take us into Wolverhampton. 

After making our way through Sedgley we arrive in Wolverhampton, and we alight outside of the Central Library, and we walk past The Midland Metro terminus and past the new bus station. We have a while before our train arrives, and we head to our first J D Wetherspoons of the day, "The Moon Under Water", where we have breakfast, and a few minutes after ordering our bacon rolls arrive and we fuel ourselves up for the journey ahead. We let our breakfast go down for a few minutes before heading out into the autumn cold air and a quick walk down Railway Drive, we arrive at Wolverhampton Railway Station ready for our service to arrive at 09:19. Our train is on time and we board our London Midland train. We make our way through the carriages where we find a table seat to relax in, but after we take our seats, a gang of woman board and from the noise, it seems that they are going to Liverpool for a hen do. Even though the hens make a bit of noise on our journey, Mr UKBuses is able to rest his eyes for half of the journey, and despite the hens noise and Mr UKBuses snoring, I am able to catch forty winks as well. After nearly one and a half hours, we arrive in Liverpool and we alight our train at Liverpool Lime Street. Whilst at the station, we get our All Areas Saveaway tickets for use on the bus and ferry around Liverpool today. 

We make our way out onto the Liverpool streets and we pass our usual boarding place, The Hood Street "Hub", and make our way around the corner to St Thomas Street, where we will catch our first bus of the day. We have a few minutes to wait, so we decide to get a few photographs. Our first bus arrives, Arriva North West's Service 433, which will take us under the River Mersey to New Brighton. We take our seats, and we head towards The Kingway Tunnel, and this is our first time in using this tunnel. This is the newer of the Mersey Tunnels, and was opened in 1971. We are only under the tunnel for a few minutes and then after a journey of just under thirty minutes, we arrive at our destination, New Brighton. A few photographs are taken before we decide to pop into Morrison's to get ourselves a drink. I introduce Mr UKBuses to self service by using the self-service tills to pay for our drinks. We take a walk around the back of the supermarket and sit on the banks of the Mersey and have a rest whilst supping our drinks. After enjoying the views we decide to make our way out of the wind and back to the bus stop. Our Arriva North West Service 411 turns up to take us to our next destination, Seacombe, where will catch the ferry back into the city. En route and Mr UKBuses is panicking as the bus is running slightly late due to traffic. We arrive at the Seacombe ferry terminal and as we make our way to the bus stops area I can see the ferry making its way to moor and load, we alight and walk fast to the terminal building where we get our tickets and make our way down to the loading area. We make it in time and board.

Mr UKBuses has to make a bladder stop and after pointing him in the wrong direction nearly making him go down below to the engine area, he finally finds the correct area and after making his visit, we make our way to the top of the ferry and take our seats. Within a minute of sitting on top deck, the wind obliterates Mr UKBuses hair, obviously he did not use the string hold Brylcreem this morning. A first for me again today, as this is my first time of catching the ferry this way round, and after we make a visit to the Woodside / Birkenhead ferry terminal, we eventually are on the ferry 'cross the Mersey back to the main city. We arrive on the right side of the Mersey, and we make our way out of the Pier Head terminal a different way from previous visits and luckily at the entrance is a bus stop in which our next bus will visit, so after a couple of minutes wait, our Cumfybus Service C2 arrives and takes us back to main shopping area, where we will stop for lunch. We alight, and Mr UKBuses gets the wrong stop, so we have to follow the C2 on foot, but it is too quick and we are searching for our Wetherspoons. We pass The Cavern Club, and luckily it is a Wetherspoons that I tried before and we find "The Welkin", we enter the building and before purchasing our drinks we try and find a table, but the pub is jam packed, upstairs and downstairs, so we vacate the premises and I get my bearings and we decide to go to another Wetherspoons, "The Fall Well", see picture right. It seems that we may have the same problem, but I order the drinks and Mr UKBuses does find a table, he pounces on a table whilst the previous occupants are just getting up! We have a little rest before ordering, and after perusing the menu, Mr UKBuses opts for his BBQ Chicken Melt "without the cheese", and I opt for my usual Beer and Burger. It doesn't take long before the food arrives and we consume the food. We let the food settle and after vacating our table for the next customers to use straight away, we make our way towards the bus stop, which we have to pass the Hood Street "Hub" again and we eventually find Victoria Street, where we wait for a couple of minutes before our Arriva North West Service 464 arrives to take us to Birkenhead.

We board and we make our way through the streets to go under water again, but this time we are using the older Mersey Tunnel, The Queensway Tunnel, which was opened in 1934. This is also a first again on this trip, as this is the first time that I have used the tunnel in this direction. After a few minutes underground we arrive in Birkenhead and we alight at the bus station. After a few photographs, we take a walk down Claughton Road and past the new Asda which I have seen being built on all my visits to Liverpool, it looks like it will be ready for business soon. After we pass the new Asda, we arrive at our now Birkenhead regular pub, The Mackenzie, see picture left. It is Mr UKBuses round, and after our drinks are purchased we take a seat at our normal table. I must say that this is one of my favourite pubs in the Liverpool area, the visits to this place made more pleasant with the friendly staff and customers. Time for a quick cheers photo, see right, and we make our way back to the bus station. We make our way back, and we make our way round to Stand 7, and we deviate from the plan and we catch our first First bus, with First in Chester & Wirral service 72 doing the honours of taking us back to Liverpool through The Queensway Tunnel. It is not long before we are back Liverpool side of the Mersey, and we alight at Whitechapel, and take a short walk to Elliot Street, nearly getting lost along the way as we decide to take a short cut, but we don't get lost as we find our stop and we take a short ride on Arriva North West's service 86, to sample a couple of pubs that were spotted on our last visit.

We are only on the bus for a few minutes before we arrive in Hardman Street, and we alight the bus just outside our next refreshment stop, a place called "The Flute". We make our way indoors and whilst Mr UKBuses finds a table, I wait at the bar and wait and wait. The service in this pub is poor, with the woman who is serving being overtaken by a snail as she serves other customers, and a man who thinks it is more important to restock the fridges, despite looking around a couple of times to see people waiting. I do eventually get served and it looks like I make in time as when I get to Mr UKBuses he looks like he is about to pass out from a dry throat. The pub looks like it used mainly by students, as can be seen by the age of the people using this pub. It is time to take a cheers photo and disaster strikes, the battery in my camera has gone, and I forgot to charge my spare battery. I think it is time to move on, and we decide to take a few steps closer towards the city and visit the pub virtually next door, "The Fly in the Loaf". The pub looks amazing before we have set foot inside due to the exterior decor, which gives the pub a traditional feel. We step inside and you can tell that this is one of the real ale connoisseur favourites, and the pub seems so much better than The Flute, with loads of space due to the large sized of the pub. Mr UKBuses comes to the rescue and lends me his camera so that I can take a cheers photo, he simply pops my memory card into his camera so I can make this possible, as can be seen right, - cheers! After supping our drinks it is time to catch the bus back into the city, and it is quite a few minutes we have to wait before one turns up. We jump back on service 86, and decide to go to the Liverpool One Bus Station, remembering to alight at the bus stop rather than being dropped off in the staff only lay by area, like we did on our last visit. Photographs are taken around the station, and we make our way to stand 10, where our Arriva North West Service 82 bus takes us back into the main city. 

We have about forty five minutes left before we have to catch our train and we are back at the station, so Mr UKBuses opts for a Burger King, whilst I visit Marks and Spencer's to eat on the train back. Mr UKBuses finishes his burger and we head outside so that I can have some "fresh air" before boarding our train. It is starting to get cold now, so we head back indoors and to Platform 7, where our Virgin Train is waiting. We find our seats and we get comfortable for the journey back, with the train heating warming us up. We depart Liverpool Lime Street and make our way back to the West Midlands. Mr UKBuses decides to have a nap and I tuck into my food. We pass through Crewe, and it isn't long before we arrive at Stafford where we have to alight so that we can catch our London Midland train to take us back to Wolverhampton. We move over to Platform 4, and we only have to wait a few minutes before our train arrives. Whilst we wait, we notice that Stafford Railway Station does not have a Platform 2.

We only have a short journey to make and it doesn't take long before we arrive back in Wolverhampton. We make our way from the Wolverhampton Railway Station and across the new footbridge to take us to the new Wolverhampton Bus Station. We arrive at our stand and the bus turns up early, with the driver kindly letting us on so that we can warm up, and it isn't long before we slowly make our way back to Stourbridge passing through Wombourne and Kingswinford along the way. We arrive back in Stourbridge just a few minutes late to catch our bus back home, so we kill a bit of time by walking past the building site of the new Stourbridge Interchange to see how it is progressing and back to our stop where Black Diamond's Service 276C will take us back home and into the warmth.

I've had another fun day out, and have noticed that I have really enjoyed the last couple of outings, which is a good way to see the end of the year out. I am sure that our last few trips in 2011 will be to the same standard of today's trip to Liverpool. A big thank you to Mr UKBuses for making the day a success.

2011 - Day Out 25: West Midlands

Date: Saturday 01 October 2011

It is the first day of October, but it doesn't feel like it, with leaves on the ground it looks as if it is autumn, but the temperature is 29 degrees celcius, and the sun is shining with no sign of cloud or wind, it looks like it is going to be a good day out, and today we will be having a local trip around the West Midlands.

As it is so hot, I decide not to put a coat on, so I walk from Wollaston in just a t-shirt, and make my way to Norton to meet up with Mr UKBuses. After about ten minutes, I end up on the junction of Shenstone Avenue and Westwood Avenue, and it is not long before Mr UKBuses makes an appearance. Mr UKBuses had purchased our DayTripper tickets yesterday, so I briskly pay my debts, and I receive my ticket, and just in time too, as from around the corner our first bus of the day arrives, a National Express West Midlands service 276. We board and we make our way through Stourbridge, passing the new interchange which is looking like it won't be too long before it will be finished, and along Red Hill where we alight outside The Labour In Vain public house, and it is just a short walk to Stourbridge Junction. One of Mr UKBuses aims today is to catch a #shinynewtrain (as Mr Phil Tonks puts it on Twitter), and we make our way to the Birmingham platform to see if one will turn up. On Platform 3 (The Kidderminster/Worcester Platform), there is a Class 150 waiting, and upon inspection of the departure board it turns out that the #dulloldtrain on Platform 3 is our first train of the day, bad luck Mr UKBUses. We make our way to the other platform, and we soon depart after boarding. So London Midland is running our first train, and we make our way through Cradley Heath and Rowley Regis, before alighting at Smethwick Galton Bridge.

We make our way to the lower platforms where we wait for our next train, there seems to be a hold up towards Birmingham on the line as there is a problem with one of the trains, this also seems to be holding up the Walsall train, the one that we could do with catching as we are on our way to Aston and this will go straight through Birmingham New Street, which means that we don't have to change. A bit of luck happens to be on our side as the trains seems to be swapping over on the track, as our Walsall train seems to have past the stricken train and is moving to the top line of the departure board. The Walsall train arrives and we board, this is a relatively new train on this line, but it is not a #shineynewtrain that Mr UKBuses wants to catch. The trains departs Galton Bridge, and we pass through Smethwick Rolfe Street, Birmingham New Street and Duddeston before we arrive at our destination, Aston. We make our way down to street level, and cross the main road outside the station, and Mr UKBuses leads the way, and after a 5 minute walk up Holbourn Hill, we arrive at Rotola headquarters, and also home to Central Connect. We take a few photographs from the top of the ramp, using the zoom on our cameras to get a few photo's of vehicles that are parked up in the depot. Photographs over, we decide to make our way back into Birmingham, and Mr UKBuses leads the way again, and we walk up one of the roads situated opposite Rotola HQ, and we soon arrive at a bus stop and as soon as we arrive, our bus arrives, National Express West Midlands Service 66, which takes us through the Aston streets back into the City Centre. We take a seat on the bus towards the back, and as we make ourselves comfortable, a young woman decides to make a phone call, which in the end will last for the entire journey. It seems that she doesn't need her mobile as the volume she is causing, the person on the end of the phone should be able to hear without their phone switched on.

We arrive in Birmingham, where we alight in Morris Way, around the corner from our first refreshment stop of the day, and the old faithful J D Wetherspoons. Before we whet our thirst, we take a few photo's of the buses in service along Morris Way. I leave Mr UKBuses as I need to get some cash, and spot the Tesco Express, so I go the cashpoint, and it is out of order, I inform Mr UKBuses that it is broken, and we go to our Wetherspoons, "The Square Peg", where as I have no cash on me it turns out to be Mr UKBuses round, and as it is hot we both decide to have a quenching pint of Pepsi, see picture right, and the ice makes it more refreshing and cools us down on this unusual hot October day. We get down our pints in record time, and Mr UKBuses recommends that we catch Arriva Midland's new service the X31 to take us to our next destination. We have to find Carrs Lane, and I know where it is, so we make our way there. As we arrive at the stop, we have near enough 30 minutes to wait, so we make our way down Birmingham High Street, where I find a Barclays to get some cash, I try and get out of buying the next round by informing Mr UKBuses that I have to use a Santander cash machine as it is my bank, but he doesn't fall for it and states that I can use any cash point - it was worth a try! Cash machine used, we make our way back to the bus stop, stopping off at WH Smiths along the way so that I can top up my phone. We still have to wait and a couple of National Express West Midlands X51's pull up which take a few passengers away from the stop, but even though there is more room, we both get pushed and shoved as people make their way past. Our Arriva Midland X31 is next to arrive, and we board ready for our journey to Willenhall. We make our way back through Aston, and through the Spaghetti Junction where we end up on the M6. We end up at Junction 10, and as soon as we are off the motorway, we alight at the nearest bus stop. Only a few minutes to wait and we decide to catch National Express West Midlands service 529, which takes us through Willenhall, past The Malthouse that we have come to like in Willenhall Town Centre, and onwards to Wolverhampton.

We arrive in the new bus station, I admit that I like the look of the building, but I just don't like the atmosphere, it seems to have been lost when the old bus station was torn down. We make our way to Lichfield Street, and as we make our way out of the station we notice that they already have the floor up insdie the station building to do some repair works. We decide that it is time for food, and we head into the second Wetherspoons of the day, "The Moon Under Water", and the place seems to be packed with people wearing orange shirts, Wolves must be playing at home today, the sign on the door gives it away, saying "no away supporters". We do find a table towards the back of the pub, and we opt for the ususal, Mr UKBuses has his BBQ Chicken Melt (without the cheese), myself the Beer and Burger, and I save a pound by having a coke with mine (I don't save a pound at the end of the day as Mr UKBuses stills owes it me from his change!). The food doesn't take long to arrive after we order it, and it goes down quickly, and washed down after with our drinks which have been served in plastic glasses, something that Mr UKBuses doesn't like. After our food has gone down, we make our way to St Georges and the Midland Metro terminus. As we arrive a tram is waiting to go, and we board "Sister Dora" and make our way through Bilston and West Bromwich before arriving at The Hawthorns. 

The Metro was my choice as I wanted to use all three modes of transport that we can use on the DayTripper tickets, and we make our way from the Metro platforms, accross to platform one to catch hopefully a #shinynewtrain back to Stourbridge. A train is soon due as we arrive on the platform, but it doesn't seem to be Mr UKBuses lucky day, as another Class 150 #dulloldtrain turns up. I persuade Mr UKBuses to wait another ten minutes for the next train, just as I did at Birmingham Snow Hill the other week in the hope that a #shinynewtrain would turn up, for me it worked, will the same principle work again today for Mr UKBuses, we will wait and see. As the station announcement blares out that the next Stourbridge train is on its way, Mr UKBuses has a smile on his face, as it seems that in the distance heading towards us, is a Class 172 (172338 to be exact) or in Mr Tonks' words a #shinynewtrain. We make our way towards the back of the train so that when we arrive at Stourbridge Junction, we can take a few steps and get some photgraphs before it leaves the station. As we boarded, we notice that the new train smell is still in the air, and we take our seats, which seem to be more comfortable and more spacious. As it is still record temperatures outside, we feel the benefit of the air conditioning cooling us down on our journey, the only thing that was not working today was the computerised announcements, and the guard seems to be doing these today. After a pleasant trip, we arrive back in Stourbridge Junction and we get our #shinynewtrain picture before the train carries on towards Great Malvern. With a thumbs up from Mr UKBuses after his maiden voyage on a Class 172, we make our way to Platform one, where we sample the Class 139, otherwise known as the Parry's People Mover, a journey which is not as smooth as the #shinynewtrain as we arrive back at Stourbridge Town. 

We have a bit of time before our next destination, so I take a few photographs of the construction works of the new interchange for the website, before making our way to Birmingham Street and Temporary Stand F to wait for our next bus to Kinver. We have just over ten minutes to wait and The Balmes (David and his wife Emma) make their way towards us. Mr UKBuses is spotted first and David says his hello's before greeting me. Our next bus turns up, Hanson's service 228, which we catch as we thought we would take advantage of the sun. It seems that everyone else has the same idea, including David and Emma, as the bus is packed before we even leave Stourbridge. We start our journey and as we make our way towads Wollaston a few more people board, as they also do in Wollaston itself. We make our way down to Stourton and a first is taking place as the bus stops at the stop just after Stourbridge Rugby Club, a stop that I have never before seen this service use. We make our way through Stourton and Dunsley and arrive soon after in Kinver. We make our way to the front of the bus and Mr UKBuses spots an Arriva bus, which is working on the 588 Service to Perton. Before we make our way to The Olde White Harte, we check the timetable and see that it is due out in a couple of minutes, so we decide to abort sunny Kinver and catch this service as far as Wombourne. After confirming with the driver that we can use our DayTripper tickets, we take a seat, and we head off. We pass through Potters Cross and up towards Enville. At this moment I'm having bad flashbacks as this is the start of the route of the Kinver 10K run that I ran in last week, luckily we head straight on and pass through Enville. The next part of the route is from Enville to Bobbington, and the Dennis Dart that we are on has to go through some small country lanes, I'm surprised that the bus didn't get stuck as some of the corners were very tight, there were no cars coming the other way so there wasn't a fight as there wouldn't be room for the both of them, there was nearly a tractor though.

After the tight lanes between Enville and Bobbington, the bus passes through Bobbington Village, where Mr UKBuses starts thinking as he has seen an old WMPTE bus stop, and he spends the next few minutes wondering what WMPTE route would have used this stop, as he is thinking I am also wonderiong whether the bus is on fire as I can smell burning, but it is Mr UKBuses still thinking. After passing through Bobbington, we nearly drive through Swindon, but the bus bypasses the village and we come through the back end of Wombourne past the new Sainsburys and Waggon and Horses before ending up on the 256 route into Wombourne village. We alight outside the cricket pitch, and Mr UKBuses is thirsty, so I tell him to walk to the corner and he spots The Vine, so we walk a bit further to the pub where we have a well deserved rest. We decide to sit outside in the sun, see picture right, after we order our drinks and spot an opportunity for a cheers photo, I am a bit wary as I use a chair to get the desired shot, the camera seems a bit wobbly, but the photograph is taken with no problems. Mr UKBuses wants one too, and so I have to set up his camera on a wobbly chair, and his camera has not got a flat bottom, so it makes the expereince more nerve shattering, after his photograph was taken, I can confirm that his camera was not harmed. We are refreshed, and Mr UKBuses spots The Old Bush right next door to The Vine, but we take the short walk back to the bus stop, and as we turn the corner, we can hear a bus, and it is a National Express West Midlands 256 that we have missed by seconds. We still decide to wait at the bus stop thinking that a National Express West Midlands service 255 bus will turn up and take us to Kingswinford. After waiting half an hour in the sun, we find out that the 255 does not use this stop as a National Express West Midlands 256 turns up, we wish that we popped next door to The Old Bush now. The 256 pulls up and we board and we head back to Stourbridge. After passing through Wall Heath, Kingswinford and Wordsley, we arrive back at the temporary stops along Birmingham Street. The sun and the heat has got to us, so we decide to call it a day and after walking up to Stand F, we have a little wait before National Express West Midlands service 276 pulls up to take us back home.

Another good day out was had, especially with the unusually hot October sun making a surprised appearance and with us going around in circles a couple of times with the places we visited in specific order. We will be out again in a few weeks further afield in Liverpool, but will the weather surprise us again this time with snow!

2011 - Day Out 24: Kinver

Date: Sunday 25 September 2011

Back in August, I noticed that a race was being held in Kinver, and teased John, a colleague at work, he didn't take the bait, then I did something mad......I entered myself for it, all this to get John to take part.

Back to today, I wake up and prepare for the run ahead, I dig out my gear I wore when I did the Dudley Action Heart 5 in February this year, and get dressed. I go downstairs ready for the off, and trying to calm my nerves, I turn the television on, what's on? Only the Berlin Marathon. Mr UKBuses kindly gets up early on a Sunday morning, and just after 08.30am, he picks me up and drives the few miles to get to Kinver, we park up at Kinver Leisure Centre getting a prime spot on the car park.

We take a walk to the finish line, and I feel a bit out of place as I am the only runner dressed up ready to go, there is just under an hour to go yet. I prepare myself by having a bottle of energy drink, and we have a walk back up to the leisure centre, so that I can have a pre-race bladder stop. As I make my way outside, I bump into John, who has the same idea. Mr UKBuses and myself wait in the corridor for John to appear.  After he comes out, we hang around as we know that we will have to visit the toilet again before we make our way to the start line. Our predictions were right, we needed to go again, it must be the nerves or psychological. Bladders emptied, we all make our way down to the starting area, and Mr UKBuses does me and John a favour by looking after some of our belongings, I'm a bit nervous by now as I pass him my BlackBerry, which he hates, and John is even more daring, by giving him the keys to his car (Well the company car really), will we see Mr UKBuses at the finish line later? We are near the start line and me and John both have a dreaded sensation, we both need to use the loo again, so a quick jog to the toilets and back before the race gets underway is needed.

It is nearly time and John and myself make our way to the start, and Mr UKBuses crosses the road and takes a few photographs, and I'm sure I saw him looking at John's keys to find out how to work them. Last minute warnings from the race organiser, and then the klaxxon goes, it is time to run. John was a bit ahead of me in the line up, and as we run, he moves further forward, after about 1/2 a kilometre, I lose sight of him. It is now a left turn into Wigley Bank Road, this is where I see the 1Km marker, I'm sure it is further than the 1 Mile marker when I did the Dudley run, it doesn't put my mind at ease. I get to the end of Wigley Bank Road, and it is a left and virtually after, a sharp right turn, a turn I am dreading.......

It is just under the 2Km mark and I have turned into a lane called Sheepwalks Lane, and I've also heard a bit about this part of the route, so as I carry on running, the road becomes steep, and then I turn a corner along the lane, and it gets even steeper (see the gradient by clicking on the course route, right), and this is where my legs tell me to run no further, even though I try my hardest, it feels like someone has hit my legs with a cricket bat, so I have to walk the next 1Km or so due to the sheer gradient. I do have a little try as I carry on along Sheepwalks Lane, as I think I have got to the top, but as soon as I start a gentle jog, another bank appears, and my legs just aren't having any of it. As I "walk" along a bit further, one of the runners states that this is the last bank and it is mainly downhill from then on, so I decide to not even try running as I see the size of the gradient ahead, I tell myself to just walk this bit and then once I'm at the top, it gets easier, so I walk even further, and once I get to the top, I prepare myself for the run ahead with a big gulp of energy drink. Gulp taken its time to run, and as I pass Hollies Lane, I turn into No Man's Green, and I'm loving this bit as it is downhill. I run for about a kilometre and I'm at the end of No Man's Green Lane and it is also at this point that as I turn into Heron's Gate Road, I see the 5Km marker, which means that I am at the halfway point, just under 3 Miles done.

I look at my watch and I have done about 35 - 40 minutes, so I think I need to do a bit of catching up if I want to beat my time limit of an hour, something that has been compromised due to "The Sheepwalks". I carry on along Heron's Gate Road, a nice bit of this route as it is a flat road, and I pass Pigeonhouse Farm, which means as I reach the next corner, it is also the four mile mark, after another half a mile, I get to a crossroads, which means that it is the end of Heron's Gate Road, and the marshall informs me I have to turn left, and left I go into Bannuttree Lane, this road has a slight gradient but nothing as bad as "The Sheepwalks", and as I head up to the next turning, it is the five mile mark, which means there is a mile left and just under one and a half kilometres left, and I am starting to feel it now, with my ankle deciding to start to go to sleep on me....

At just under the 8.5 km mark, I turn right into Bath Lane, and I'm glad I did, as if I went straight on, this would bring me back to the beginning of my now worse nightmare, "The Sheepwalks", and I prefer Bath Lane as it is nice and even as I go along, I reach the 9Km mark, and it is a left turn into Rocky Wall, well a little part of it, as I reach the next corner, which brings me to the top of White Hill, I know that I haven't got too far to go now, even though my ankle does not agree. As I run down towards Potters Cross, there are residents on their driveways, and marshalls along this last kilometre, all clapping and egging me on (I think they are or they are just telling me to hurry up as they want to go home), and as I continue further down White Hill, a welcome sight is approaching, Potters Cross and the finish line. I'm near enough at the bottom of White Hill, and as I reach the bottom, my ankle has totally seized up, and everyone must think that I am doing an impression of Quasimodo as it feels like I am dragging it along. I'm turning the final corner and Mr UKBuses is there and as I cross Enville Road, into the local playing fields I can see the finish line, and I get closer and closer, my smile gets wider and wider, and the photographer is there ready to take a picture. At this point, John and family are waiting there and give me a final shout of encouragement, at which point I get a final burst of energy and go faster, and I think as I cross the finish line, I am sticking my tongue out at John just at the moment my photograph is being taken!

My run over, I come back down to a walking pace, and get a fresh bottle of much needed water, and collect my race t-shirt, and off I go to find John and Mr UKBuses, albeit with a slight limp. As I find them, I enquire as to what my time was, and it was just over one hour and seven minutes - (John completed his run in 56 minutes), a shame about the seven minutes, but I'm happy with that, and I think if it wasn't for "The Sheepwalks" gradient that slowed me down to a crawl, I might have been under the hour mark. We all make our way back to the leisure centre, but not with the same pace as I had earlier, it is here that John says his goodbyes, and it looks like Mr UKBuses has given him the right set of keys. I take this opportunity to have a quick change inside the facilities and then it is back to Mr UKBuses car. We make our way out of the car park, with John passing us just before we move, and Mr UKBuses drives back to Stourbridge, whilst I rest my legs. We decide to have a quick one in The Gigmill, a drink that refreshes me as I have definitely earned this one. I also find out that while I was mountain climbing, Mr UKBuses had returned to his car and had a nap. Drink finished, we make our way out and off home I go. Mr UKBuses then kindly tells me to get in the car and he gives me a lift to the front door, even though it is in the opposite direction from the way he was going, but I'm glad he did, my legs were now starting to seize up.

A lovely energetic day was had by myself and am happy with what I achieved. A big thank you to Mr UKBuses for the lift there and back (very much appreciated), and also to John for the encouragement, and a big thank you to them both for the support throughout the morning .... Cheers guys!

More information on Action Heart can be found at their website: http://www.actionheart.com/, Photographs from the event can be seen by clicking here.

2011 - DayOut 23: Worcestershire

Date: Saturday 17 September 2011

It is our second time out in September, and it is a welcome return for Mr D9, who has not been seen on a SBI day out since July. Today's day out will be a Whittle's Day covering Worcestershire and a little bit of Shropshire.

Fist of all, I meet up with Mr UKBuses outside the shops along The Broadway in Norton. From there we have a little walk up to the main Stourbridge to Kidderminster Road, known locally as Norton Road, where we get to our bus stop for the first journey of the day, after seeing two National Express West Midlands Service 276 buses nearly having a fight as they come out / enter the nearby Whittington Road, our bus is behind and pulls up to our stop and we board. We catch Whittle's Service 125 from Stourbridge to Bridgnorth which operates via Norton and Broadwaters, we are only catching this journey as far as Kidderminster and our section follows Midland Red's old service 305 route between Stourbridge and Kidderminster, a bit of route that Mr UKBuses is relishing. We arrive in Kidderminster at around 0945, so as we alight in Kidderminster Bus Station, we have the opportunity to take a few photographs, mainly Whittle's vehicles, before we decide to have a quick look around the town centre before the arrival of Mr D9. We make our way back to the bus station and Mr D9 duly arrives on a service 192 bus, also operated by Whittle's, albeit about ten minutes late, and as we walk around the bus station to greet him, he is nowhere to be seen as we near the bus, he has walked around the bus station to greet us, in the opposite direction, but as we turn around he is at the other end of the bus station and he duly puts his arms in the air. The ARM (Andy, Roger and Mark) gang is now complete, and we have a little time to wait for our next journey, so we go to a nearby Cafe Nero, where I opt for the standard coke and a "Portuguese Custard", basically a normal British egg custard which has been hit by an hammer! Mr D9 opts for a normal black coffee, and Mr UKBuses seems to have gone upmarket and opts for a Muffin with a Cappichino. A quick visit to the toilet before we set off (which seems to be located in the Stourbridge branch!), we head back to the bus station for our next bus. We have time for a quick cigarette before our bus arrives and Mr D9 asks me for a light, before I look up and realise he is smoking on a plastic cigarette, loaded with a supply of nicotine!!

It is now just before 1045am, and our next bus arrives, Whittle's Service 125, which will take us to Bridgnorth, which means we have covered the whole of the route today. We head through Bewdley, Button Oak, Highley and Eardington before arriving at our destination of Bridgnorth. As we head into the main town, we pass the Severn Valley Railway station, where we also see one of their trains heading out of the station towards Kidderminster. The journey has taken just over one hour and also a spot of D9 driving has been shown my Mr D9 himself. Mr D9 has also broken the rules on the bus along the way by having a "plastic" cigarette, but has he, as there is no smoke! We alight just before the main high street in Bridgnorth High Town, and we decide it is time for dinner, and we head to our first J D Wetherspoons of the day, and we duly head to Bridgnorth's "Jewel of The Severn", see picture left. We get a round in first, and it is indeed a first as Mr UKBuses decides to purchase the first round, I hope he isn't coming down with anything. Drinks purchased by Mr UKBuses, we find a seat and peruse the menu. Mr D9 and myself have a little wager that Mr UKBuses will have his Chicken Tikka Masala, and he proves us wrong when he opts for his now standard BBQ Chicken Melt (without the cheese!), whilst Mr D9 fuels himself for the rest of the day opting for the Gourmet Burger, and I have my now standard Beer and Burger. We don't have to wait too long before our food arrives and we tuck in. We are now fed for the rest of the day, and Mr D9 has eaten his onions, so his gas tank is full for the rest of the day, which is bad news for us. We make our way down toward The Bear public house, which is where we have to catch our next bus. As we wait, the sky goes dark and it duly starts to rain. There is no shelter nearby so we have to wait in the rain, but Mr UKBuses seems to be standing in someones doorway, and as it rains faster he further edges towards the front door, which means I can take a little shelter from the rain, but Mr D9 is still stuck in the downpour, but as he waits he looks in the front window, and is surprised that Mr UKBuses isn't comfy sitting in the unfortunates house owner's armchair, with his feet up in front of the fire, whilst puffing away on a pipe, as I look round he is virtually in their hallway!

Ten minutes later than planned, our return bus arrives and we board Whittle's service 125 again, but this time we will only be travelling as far as Bewdley. The bus makes his way out of Bridgnorth, with Mr D9 deciding to wave at someone out of the window as we leave. We make our way back through Eardington, with the driver trying to catch up time and doing his impression of Jenson Button along the way. We reach Highley, where the sun is now shining away and as we arrive we decide to stop on the bus as we don't find the village "Highley" interesting, the only good thing about Highley during our time on the bus as we pass through it is the smell from the chip shop, but this is quickly masked by Mr D9's "gourmet gas", which has started pumping from his body. We make our way out of Highley passing through Button Oak before arriving back in Bewdley. We have a quick browse around whilst making our way up Load Street, where we arrive outside our second J D Wetherspoons location "The George Hotel", and as we arrive at the bar, Mr D9 decides it is time for him to buy a round, and I'm not complaining. We head towards the front of the pub and we find a nice comfy settee to rest our legs, which is situated between the entrance to the hotel and the hotel reception. Before we get comfortable, Mr UKBuses decides to move the empty coffee cups off our table and places them amongst the display advertising the Christmas Fayre that will be available over the coming months in the run up to the main event. Before we get comfortable, I try and get a "Cheers!" photograph, but I have the wrong setting on my camera and duly get a video instead, results which can be seen below. Mr D9 and Mr UKBuses reminisce about their time at National Express West Midlands before we have to make our way to the bus stop, Mr D9 removes the empty coffee cups out of the Christmas display before we leave. Mr UKBuses must have a vision from his previous life and the explanation on the sign says it all, see picture above right. We make our way down Load Street to the bus stop for our next journey. We wait and wait, and it looks like we will be missing our connecting trip in Kidderminster, but our bus finally turns up, twenty minutes late.

We board Whittles Service 125 again and it takes us the short distance between Bewdley and Kidderminster, as we arrive in Kidderminster, the bus takes us to the stops situated outside of the Swan Centre, so I come up "with a interesting plan..." It is just before 1500 hours, and our next bus is due to leave the bus station at 1500 hours, we decide to have a little gamble and get off Whittle's service 125 at the Swan Centre, and after looking at the timetable on the stop, our next bus visits here, and after a minute our next bus, Whittle's Service 7 arrives, which takes us to Wolverley via Huscott and Sion Hill. As we pass through the little estates en route, Mr UKBuses decides to point out a few of the old Midland Red clay bus stops, and when we are around the Sion Hill area, I notice a block of flats that I think was residence to my auntie when I was a little toddler all of them years ago. We make our way through Sion Hill, and arrive just outside of Wolverley, and we alight outside of The Lock, a pub which is situated right next to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal and as the name says a big lock. My round now and the barmaid has to wait as Mr D9 and Mr UKBuses decide to visit the toilet at the same time and the choices are made after they made their visit, Mr UKBuses opts for the Boondoggle and Mr D9, Banks's Bitter. The weather is good at the moment, so we decide to sit outside of the pub, which is a pleasant choice as we have the canal boats going by and the traffic on the main road. We finish our drinks and decide to use the emergency plan and spend more time in Wolverley. We walk around to the other Wolverley pub, The Queens Head, see picture left, Mr D9's gas is coming through aplenty en route. Mr UKBuses recovers from buying his first round today, and then tries to make me pay for this round, even though I have just brought a round in, it seems Mr UKBuses is back to his normal self! We have a bit of time to spend in Wolverley, so we decide that a few games of pool are needed. Mr UKBuses and myself go first, and after a game full of snookers thanks to Mr UKBuses, I win. I head outside the back door after this for a cigarette break and find out that there is a lovely beer garden towards the rear of the pub, something that I have not noticed before. Whilst I have my cigarette, Mr D9 plays Mr UKBuses at pool, and Mr D9 is victorious despite Mr UKBuses using "tactics" by snookering him - well he did have an easy attempt of doing this as most of his balls were still on the table, Mr D9 decided to use tactics of his own and the help of his bottom with the gourmet gas causing a stink. I finally get to play Mr D9, and after a game where Mr UKBuses is creeping around with his camera, Mr D9 beats me. Pool over, a further round of drinks are purchased and with still time left, we swap the pool cues for darts, where Mr UKBuses and Mr D9 play against each other, due to my lack of darting skills, I opt to keep the scores. Mr D9 wins again. We have a few minutes to spare, so we have a quick "bullseye" game of trying to score 101 in six darts or less. I'm afraid none of us were able to manage it, so we were awarded with our "BFH - Bus Fare Home". And as we collect our BFH, we make our way to the bus stop, where more gourmet gas is escaping and our Whittle's Service 7 arrives to take us back into Kidderminster. We pass through the estates on this newly operated route, with Mr UKBuses playing "spot the clay post" along the way, and this starts me D9 thinking about a new hobby and looking at researching the old routes of Kidderminster, to see where these clay stops would have been located. We arrive back in Kidderminster with a few minutes to spare before catching our Service 125 back to Stourbridge, Mr UKBuses and myself try and get off the bus quickly as Mr D9 has "dropped one" and smelt the back of the bus out.

We use the time waiting for our next bus, by taking some more photographs around the bus station in the dying light, with Mr D9 having a little run to the nearby Tesco's to relieve his bladder for the journey ahead. Considering that the Whittle Service 125 has been behind time for most of the day, Mr D9 should have plenty of time, but disaster nearly strikes and our bus turns up on time. After a little plea with the driver (and contacting Mr D9 on his phone at the same time), the driver helpfully waits, and the passengers keep an eye out to see why the bus is waiting at the station, and Mr D9 emerges from the Tesco car park and into the bus station, doing a bit of limbo underneath a fence along the way, and he bounds across the bus station and onto the waiting service 125 to a howl of cheers from the other passengers as he boards. After Mr D9's jaunt across the car park, he takes a few minutes to get his breath back, and we make our way towards Stourbridge, and there are a few people aboard this bus, which must be one of Whittle's main earners considering the number of people that have been aboard the service throughout the day. We make our way past Broadwaters, and along to Norton passing The Old Waggon and Horses, and also The Crown at Iverley along the way. As we head towards Norton, Mr UKBuses points out one more clay post, this time in Stourbridge, hidden in a bush behind the Norton sign. We pass The Old White Horse and down Worcester Street and onto the ring road, where we alight and make our way to The Bell, see picture right. Drinks purchased we make our way into the old pool room, and take our seats. Mr D9 and myself seem to choose the correct sofa, whilst Mr UKBuses decides to opt for one that likes to eat him as we see his legs in the air and being pulled towards the back. Mr UKBuses and myself have another reminisce about our time working in The Bell years previously, deciding the layout of the present Bell seems to have been improved since our time, but the decor has lost it's traditional feel with current bright wallpaper / paint on the walls. It is nearly time for us to head back home, but we decide to have one last drink and something to eat, so we walk up Stourbridge High Street, before finally ending up in our last Wetherspoons of the Day, "The Chequers Inn", where we order drinks and Mr UKBuses and myself opt for the beer and burger deal with us both having the Chicken Burger variety. As Mr D9 orders at the bar, his "gourmet gas" is still pumping which makes me head quickly towards our seats, the bar is a no-go area for the next five minutes. Our meals arrive and as they do, Mr D9's taxi has arrived and so we say goodnight to him. Not long after we have finished our meals, Mr UKBuses and myself head towards the temporary stops in Birmingham Street, stopping along the way to look at the progression in construction of the new Stourbridge Interchange. After a ten minute wait, our final bus of the day, Black Diamond's service 276A arrives and takes us home to rest our feet.

Another good day out has been had which is due to the good company of Mr D9 and Mr UKBuses (Thanks!!), and who have made the day go by with the funny antics, stories and laughter throughout the day. We will all meet again in October, where we hope to make a visit to the capital of England, London, and if today's trip is anything to go by, it will be a stonker.

Before I go, it is time for one last thing.........

Andy's Bald Cranium (ABC)

Bald Spot One: This is taken in Bridgnorth, this would have been a classic shot, but the rain stopped play.

Bald Spot Two: This is taken in Bewdley, a shot taken with the help of Mr UKBuses, who kept Mr D9 talking.

Bald Spot Three: This is taken in Wolverley as we make our way from the bus to The Lock.

Bald Spot Four: Here we are in The Queens Head, Wolverley, where Mr D9 seems to have grown another head and treats us to two bald spots, in which his skin on top of his head(s) seeming to appear a lot smoother, oh hang on I've just realised where this is, I must have been slightly knocked out whilst taking a picture of Mr D9's bald spot and about to hit the ground when he gassed us with his "gourmet gas".

2011 - Day Out 22: Torbay Bus Rally

Date: Sunday 04 September 2011

It is our third day in Torquay, and as I wake up and decide to pop down for a cigarette, to see what the weather is doing and as I head out of the front of the hotel, it looks like it will be a glorious day. Today is the Third Annual Torbay Vintage Bus Running Day, and it looks like I will be able to take some photographs today, something I didn't do in June when I visited the Weymouth Running Day, an event which is organised by the same group who has organised today's event, The Devon and Dorset Group. First though, I meet up with Mr WME and Mr UKBuses to have our breakfast. I opt for the English grill again, washed down by Cranberry Juice, but Mr UKBuses seems to be having a problem this weekend and cause more problems at the breakfast table. He asks for coffee, and ends up with tea, and also he doesn't get what he asks for in his English grill. Mr WME and myself have no such problems. After consuming our first meal of the day, we have a quick freshen up in our rooms, and then make our way to Torquay, and the car park at Shedden Hill, acting today as rally HQ.

We arrive just before the start time of 10.00am, so we take this opportunity to have a look around the stalls, before the crowds appear and make it hard to get to look at the photographs. We also make this an opportunity to get photographs of the exhibit buses on show today, just in case the heavens start to come down during the day. It is now just before 10.30am, and the rides today will be boarding along the sea front, so we make our way to see what we can catch. Below is a summary of the trips we caught:

Journey One: 10.40am - Service 28A Torquay Seafront - Hesketh Crescent.
This is being operated by a Ex-Stagecoach Volvo B6LE Alexander ALX200 bodied (P701 BTA - Owned by James Pratt), one of the first low buses to be preserved for future generations.

Journey Two: 11:10am - Service 28A Torquay Seafront - Hesketh Crsecent.
Another visit to Hesketh Crescent but this time in a smaller vehicle. This is being operated by a BayLine Liveried Ford Transit / Carlyle (C526FFJ - Owned by Adam Shuttle). This bus is not a stranger to Torquay streets, as these used to operate in the town as late as 1996.

Journey Three: 12:05 - Service 50 Torquay Seafront - St Marychurch.
This is being operated by the ex-Stagecoach Volvo B6LE Alexander ALX200 bodied bus that we caught for our first journey. As we take our seats, we are told that the owner has to come down from rally HQ to inspect a leak. Upon arrival and a quick engine check, we are told that this journey would be cancelled, due to a problem with the bus, a fair decision as this would have to be repaired by the owner at his own expense, keeping it in service may make the problem worse and more expensive to repair.

Journey Four: 12:10 - Service 109 Torquay Seafront - Preston Down Road (Occombe Farm).
This service is being operated by a Leyland National 2 (FDV 829V - Owned by Graeme Selway). I am no stranger to this bus, as this picked us up at a wet Weymouth bus stop, saving us from getting drenched even further, and it was a pleasure to catch this bus again today. Even the spare tyre is still on the bus by the back seat. This was also a pleasant service it was operating on, going up the Paignton hills enabling us to view splendid views across Tor Bay before reaching Occombe Farm.

We arrive back at Torquay, and the driver informs us that he is going back to rally HQ, and that we could stay on if we wished. We took this opportunity to stay on the bus and take some more photographs around the Sheddon Hill Car Park - it also meant that we saved some shoe leather walking the distance from the sea front bus stop. We do indeed take more photographs, and it was a good decision as there are more vehicles available to photograph since more have turned up since this morning. The sun is still shining and we are also a bit thirsty, so before we make our way down to the sea front, we decide to use the short cut on the car park to the Beefeater pub, "The Belgrave" situated next door to wet our whistles, see picture right. We all order a coke which is more refreshing than alcohol, and was much needed as the sun was now shining away. There is a service due out at 14:05, which we want to catch, but this morning were unable to as the bus operating was jam packed with no room left for us, so we decide to make our way down to the seafront to ensure that we get this journey. It looks like everyone else has the same idea as there is quite a few people gathering. When we were at rally HQ, we found out which bus would be operating, so we keep a look out for the vehicle to come down to the stop. We are standing right at kerbside, and we spot the bus coming, so we ensure that we are at the front, and it works out that the bus pulls up with the door right in front of us. There are quite a few people on board already upstairs, they shouldn't really have been let on at rally HQ, and this means that there are less seats available. Everyone else has noticed this too, and as we are about to board, we are push and shoved around, but the trio manage to get on and find a seat, even though it is a bit of a squash. The behaviour of some people trying to get on has put a little bit of a downer on a good day so far, and cannot believe that people will resort to that kind of behaviour. This was also the same type of behaviour of an open top vehicle a few minutes previously, which could have turned out badly and ended in an injury as a woman had tried to get on the bus by trying to jump onto the open platform before the vehicle had stopped, she nearly ended up flat on her face. After ensuring that all the places were filled, the bus departed:

Journey Five: 14:05 - Service 118 Torquay Seafront - Kingswear
This popular service is being operated by a Bristol VRT / ECW Bodied vehicle (ATA 563L - Owned by Terry Bennett). This is another vehicle that is no stranger to Torquay streets, as it has operated stints with Devon General whilst in passenger service.

We arrive at Kingswear, and after having being squashed in for a while, we take the opportunity to have a breather off the bus before we have to make our way back to Torquay. At this point Mr WME decides that he wants to spend a bit more time at Kingswear to have a further look around the town and get a few more photographs. So, Mr UKBuses and myself say goodbye to him for a bit and will meet up with him upon his return to Torquay. Kingswear is a distance from Torquay, so we head back through the country lanes offering splendid views as we go, and after approximately forty minutes, we arrive back at Torquay, where after alighting, we head back to the stop at the seafront, and we decide to catch the next bus that turns up.

Journey Six: 15:45 - Service 135 Torquay Seafront - Broadsands

Considering that this is a Vintage running day, what turns out to be our last journey of the day, the bus running on this service turns out to be one that has been supplied by the rally sponsors, Stagecoach South West, and is a MAN 18.360 / Alexander Dennis Enviro 300 (WA59 FWW) which entered service in 2009, this bus is currently sporting a park-and-ride livery for Exeter, and after stopping at Broadsands, where a photograph is taken, the bus returns back to Torquay, it is just after 16.30pm, and the rain has started (which has held off whilst the rally has been taking place), so as we pass the hotel, the driver kindly drops us off and we have a little sprint to avoid the drops and arrive back at the hotel. We decide to have a drink in the bar, see picture left, and at about 17.20pm, Mr WME returns from Kingswear and joins us as we finish off our drinks. We decide to go back to our rooms to freshen up before we meet up again and visit Torquay for some food.

We meet up back in reception, and we head outside to the bus stop, with the bus arriving shortly after, we board and Mr UKBuses and myself purchase a Stagecoach NightRider ticket, which turns out to be cheaper than buying a return ticket from the hotel to Torquay. With the tickets purchased, we expect to see KITT and Michael. We arrive in Torquay and first on the agenda is food, so a curry is decided and we have a look at a restaurant that I spotted earlier in the day when we caught one of the rally buses, and decide to have tea in Curry Ocean. The restaurant is situated by the harbour in Victoria Parade, so we have splendid views whilst eating. After taking our seats, we all order and Mr UKBuses ensures that he gets his poppadoms tonight. Food finished, we head a few steps down along the harbour and into a pub recommended by Claire at the hotel, Seamus O'Donnell's. This pub is an Irish themed pub, with memorabilia placed all over the pub, and also seems a popular place. We find a seat in what seems to be an alcove / snug, and looks like it is being redecorated seeing as there is no carpet on the floor in this area of the pub. We finish our drinks and have a walk around to the other side of the harbour. The temperature has dropped and as we make our way back to The Strand, we decide that it is a good time to head back to the hotel, so we wait at the bus stop for our last Stagecoach South West Service 12 bus on this holiday. Whilst waiting, the Bristol VRT we had caught to Kingswear earlier, decides to pull up, where the driver and a few people on the bus decide to alight and take a few pictures of the bus parked up in the stop, and it is a good sight to see this bus in the dark illuminated by the interior lights. Our bus turns up, and we head back to the hotel, where we decide to have a few drinks in the hotel bar before heading up to bed. Before I go to sleep, I decide to pack my suitcase, so that I don't have to rush around last thing in the morning.

After a good night's sleep, I wake up to have my morning cigarette outside the hotel, a view that I have liked over the last few days, looking over Tor Bay, and we all meet up to have our last breakfast, another thing which I am going to miss. Mr UKBuses doesn't have any problems with his last breakfast, after eating our breakfasts we all head off back to our rooms to finish packing and we all meet up in reception, passing our keys to Claire for the last time. We head out of the hotel for the last time, and we make our way to Torquay railway station where a lot of people must be heading back home as there are quite a few passengers waiting to board. I ensure that I am okay for the journey, by having my last cigarette outside the station. It is 10.12am and our train arrives and we board and our seats reserved are the same seats that we came down on. There are people in our seats but we let them off as they are getting off at the next station, and after they have alighted we jump into our seats for the journey back. After a few hours we arrive at Birmingham New Street, where we say our goodbyes to Mr WME who is staying on the train to Wolverhampton. Mr UKBuses and myself alight and luckily, we only have to walk a few stops to the next platform where a London Midland train will take us to Smethwick Galton Bridge. Upon arrival at Galton Bridge, we head to the upper platforms, and wait for our connecting train to Stourbridge Junction. The new Class 172 trains start operating today, but as we see our train pull in it is sadly a Class 150, so our shiny new train experience will have to wait. We arrive at Stourbridge Junction where mommy SBI pulls up and gives us a lift back home.

I've had a lovely weekend with glorious weather, glorious hotel (and staff), glorious settings, glorious area and lastly glorious company. I will definitely be coming back to Torquay in years to come, it is just sad that we have to come back at all.