2013 - Day Out 01: London

Date: Saturday 02 February 2013

It is time to kick off 2013 with our trips and our first outing is back to where we left off in 2012, the City of London, so with Mr D9 and Mr UKBuses assembled it is time to get 2013 under way.

I get up early to get our first trip of 2013 underway, after getting washed and ready, I make my way to Wollaston, and read the posters on the butchers door before the first bus at Wollaston arrives. The bus arrives early and the kind driver lets me on and lets me get warmed up even though he is not due out for a further ten minutes. I get the standard text ready for Mr UKBuses to receive. Mr UKBuses replies to say "let me know when you are close", and thanks to my new mobile phone network, Vodafone (Good network if you don't need to use your phone) which is rubbish, I get the text just about when I need to send it. I reply just as I'm about a minute away from Mr UKBuses bus stop, so I hope he is there and does receive the text before the bus arrives. I don't have to panic as when we turn the corner he is standing at the bus stop. Mr UKBuses boards and as he sits down he passes me an envelope, it is my spending money for today and payment for the train tickets for Mr UKBuses and Mr D9. Mr UKBuses must have been the last to put his payment in the envelope as it is full of loose change making his ever bulging wallet a bit lighter. We don't have long on National Express West Midlands service 276 before we alight at Stourbridge Interchange where we change our mode of transport to the "Stourbridge Dodger".

On ticket checking duty this morning on the "Dodger" is Phil Tonks, who informs us that if we had purchased him a bacon sandwich we would be upgraded to First Class and could have sat next to the driver. Mr UKBuses wallet is mentioned, and he ensures that security is not broken by ensuring his inside pocket is closed firmly. We arrive at Stourbridge Junction and instead of waiting for our planned train, we jump on a London Midland train which is waiting for us at Platform 2, we decide to keep warm by catching this train and do a sneak attack on Mr D9 by alighting at the Hawthorns. We have time for a "Fresh Air" break as when we get on our next train there is no change of train until we get into London Marylebone Station, so we make our way to the back entrance of The Hawthorns and we keep an eye out on the passing Midland Metro's to see if we can ambush Mr D9. With the "Fresh Air" break over, we make our way back onto the Platform to get our Chiltern Railways train, and we can still keep an eye on the Midland Metro platforms for Mr D9. There is a couple of minutes to go before our train is due and there is still no sign of him, a Midland Metro arrives and we keep an eye out but still no Mr D9, it looks as if we have to go off plan already, but a minute before our train is due, we hear a shout from behind us and as we turn round it seems that we have been the ones ambushed by Mr D9 and we see him walk down the platform towards us and as he gets closer, the Bald Spot comes into view.

Our Chiltern Railway train arrives and it is one of their posh Mainline trains, we board and try and find a table seat, but we do not have to worry as every group of 4 seats has a table, so we choose the closest free table, see picture above right, and get ourselves comfortable for the two hour journey ahead of us to take us back to London for our first time in 2013, but not before Mr D9 and myself are in shock as Mr UKBuses informs us that he has a new camera and he spent more than £10 on it. Before I get comfortable, the first port of call for me is for a bladder stop, and I am impressed as they have Dyson hand dryers in the toilets. As I make my way back to get myself comfortable I get the first sneaky shot of a bald spot (these can be seen at the bottom of the post), and as we make our calls at Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street, the driver picks up speed and we are on our way passing through Solihull and High Wycombe before we will reach our final destination. At 08:40 Mr D9 makes a bladder stop, and as he is away at 08:44 he misses the Cash Counter reporting in! Before I did get comfortable I did have a walk all the way down the train to see if there was a shop on board, I couldn't find one, but as we were getting ever closer to London, people were walking past us with food, so I take a walk to the next carriage (the way I didn't go previously) and find out that the next carriage has the shop but unfortunately there are no bacon rolls on offer so I have to settle on a "grab bag" of crisps. We are nearly in London as we start to see Underground trains so Mr UKBuses and Mr D9 decide a bladder stop is needed before the train arrives at London Marylebone Station, not long after we arrive and I make a bee-line to the outside of the station, see picture left, so that I can get a "Fresh Air" break and Mr D9 rewards my break by spitting on my leg, but he does wipe it off, so I forgive him.

It is time to travel around London and the first couple of places we visit are TV filming locations, so with the "Fresh Air" break over and our Oystercards (or a London One Day Travelcard in Mr D9's case) at the ready, we make our way underground and head back inside London Marylebone station and "tap in" as we go to the underground platforms, and as I tap in I finally get my big refund of £2.60 back onto my card from our previous visit in November 2012, and as we make our way down the escalators I see a poster advertising my favourite musical "We Will Rock You", which I will be watching again in April, and we make our way onto the platform where we only have a few minutes wait before our Bakerloo Line Underground train arrives but we are only on the underground for a few minutes as we only have to go one stop and we alight at Paddington Underground Station, where we make our way back to ground and wait for a bus to arrive. After a few minutes of waiting, our first London bus of the day turns up and we board First London's Service 23 for a journey of just under half an hour and we alight at Alderson Street, where we try and find the location of the scrapyard used in Steptoe and Son, it looks as if the area has been redeveloped since filming, but we do find where we think it was located thanks to the help of a nearby canal and pub. After a few photographs are taken, we head back to the bus stop and retrace our previous bus journey by catching First London's Service 23 again but we are only going half the distance and we alight just outside the Ladbroke Grove Underground Station. It's time to get onto the Hammersmith and City Line, and we board our train after a few minutes wait and Mr UKBuses decides to take a seat under a poster , see picture right, describing him quite well "Even I've been accused of penny-pinching" - I wouldn't accuse him, he is an expert at it.

We arrive at Hammersmith where we change platforms and onto the Piccadilly Line where after boarding we go a few stops and alight at Acton Town Underground Station, where we go for a little walk, or so we thought, after ten minutes of walking, we arrive at our next destination, the original exterior location for "Only Fools and Horses" and the residence of Le Trotter's - the original "Nelson Mandela House", which since filming has had a refurbishment. We spend a few minutes here taking pictures and Mr D9 and Mr UKBuses seems to have been on some kind of drugs as they say that can see low flying planes, I may need to go to Specsavers as I couldn't see any. We have a little  walk to get us to the bus stop to get us to our next location, luckily it is only a short walk and we wait for our next bus, which turns out to be quite a few minutes, but eventually, with Mr D9 complaining he needs to have a bladder stop, London United's Service 440 turns up and takes us for a short journey to West Acton Underground Station. We alight service 440 and we again head underground and make our way onto the Central Line which will take us to our next location and refuelling stop, just over ten minutes of travelling we arrive at Shepherds Bush Underground Station.

As we make our way out of the station we can see our J D Wetherspoons across the road, but we have trouble getting there as when the little man turns green, a maniac driving a Range Rover decides to keep on moving slowly though the barrage of pedestrians crossing. We eventually make it across in one piece and to get to the food we have to enter the Wetherspoons through a shopping centre, I get confused and didn't know that the pub chain had branched out into a sports division as before we get the escalator we walk past a J D Sports shop. Upon arrival at the top of the escalator we enter "The Central Bar" and something weird happens, Mr UKBuses makes a bee-line straight to the bar and gets his wallet out first, Mr D9 and myself order our drinks and then find a table, well Mr D9 does, I head straight for a bladder stop. Drinks are carried over to the table, with Mr UKBuses a bit sad as the zip has just broken on his wallet (causing a full scale security alert) and we decide to order our food, Mr D9 and myself forget to make the usual bet, but we did end up having the usual, Mr D9 had his gourmet burger (gas brewing up along the way), Beer and Burger for myself and Mr UKBuses opted for his BBQ Chicken Melt without the Melt. As we waited for our grub to arrive we admired the views over Shepherds Bush and also the views of the long legs of the Wetherspoons waitress as she kept going past us taking the food orders to other people. Our food promptly arrived, delivered by the long legged waitress and after we stopped drooling we consumed our food and took a few minutes after to finish our drinks before making our way back out into the bush. Photographs were taken and Mr D9 had a special interest with the underground toilets opposite the pub, which has been turned into a nightclub. Pictures taken, we head back into Shepherds Bush Underground Station and back onto the Central Line and we only went one station before arriving at our next destination.

We arrive at White City Underground Station and as we leave the station, we have to go past the BBC Television Centre, see picture at the top of this post, but we couldn't see anyone famous apart from the Prank Patrol Van parked outside the building. After the photographs of the famous building, which is due to be closed during the latter part of this year, we have a short walk around the corner and into White City Bus Station, I couldn't take no photographs as the cold weather seemed to have upset my camera and the battery had stopped working. Mr UKBuses had a good walk around taking a few shots, whilst Mr D9 decided to have a ride on the "Boris Bikes", he would have gone for a proper ride until he saw the prices. We make our way around back to the White City Underground Station and onto the Central Line, until we lose Mr D9, but we soon know where he is when we spot the toilet doors, and after a few minutes, he appears and we are on our way. We arrive at Oxford Circus, where we change onto the Victoria Line and make our way to Victoria Station, where we leave the railway station and start to take a few photo's around the bus station outside, we see the next vehicle we are going to catch, the first time that Mr D9 will catch it, the "Borismaster". We board the bus which is operating on Arriva London's Service 38 and we enjoy sitting upstairs at the front, spending just under half an hour aboard, and as we see our next stop, we run down the back off the bus alighting off the open rear platform. We are now in Bloomsbury Square, and we see a couple of First London's service 25's go past and as they are every few minutes it is not long before another one comes, but in our case it was more like fifteen minutes, and as it eventually pulls up, we board the bus which will take us to the next destination and after a journey of thirty minutes, we arrive and alight at Whitechapel.

It is now time for a visit to our London Regular "The Blind Beggar", and a first visit inside this time for Mr D9, seeing as our last visit, the place was shut. We all take Courage and I need it when the barmaid asks me to hand over £12 for the round. I need to take a seat sharpish and have gone a bit pale, but there is one round left to buy and as Mr UKBuses schemed his way to buying the first round at Wetherspoons, we know where it will be and who has to pay for it, the last laugh will be on Mr D9. We relax for a bit looking at The Krays Memorabilia and watching the scores on the television, see picture right, but we finish our drinks and we make our way to the next bus stop to get Arriva London's Service 254 which takes us from Whitechapel and after ten minutes we arrive at The Krays stomping ground, Bethnal Green. As soon as we arrive we head back Underground and onto the Central Line back to Oxford Circus, where we change lines once again and we head onto the Bakerloo line which takes us all the way back to London Marylebone. As we make our way from the Underground for the final time today we see that there is a train ready to depart, but with only a minute to spare we get some supplies and have a final round in "The Victoria and Albert" and it is Mr D9's round. As he makes his way to the bar and orders the drinks, Mr UKBuses and myself rub our hands with glee, especially after Mr UKBuses last visit here, and we are shocked when the price Mr D9 has to pay is £11.25, much cheaper than the last visit and much cheaper than the round I had to pay for at The Blind Beggar!

To get over the shock, I have a final "Fresh Air" break before we board the 17:06 Chiltern Railway train back to Birmingham, and it is a posh train again so don't have to worry about getting a table seat. We make our way and get comfortable and relax, with Mr UKBuses having a nap and keeping the rest of the carriage awake with his snoring, and after passing through High Wycombe and Solihull, we arrive at Birmingham Moor Street at 19:35. I have fifteen minutes to enjoy some "Fresh Air" outside of Moor Street Station, and at 19:51 our London Midland train arrives and takes us back to Stourbridge Junction, with Mr D9 alighting at The Hawthorns along the way. Upon arrival at Stourbridge Junction, a quick "Fresh Air" break is taken before making our way to Platform 1 and catching "The Dodger" back into Stourbridge Interchange, where we interchange onto a National Express West Midlands service 276, which takes us back home to relax (with my Chinese supper) after another good day out.

A successful start to our trips in 2013, which is down to the good company of Mr D9 and Mr UKBuses, the day wouldn't have been possible without the good planning of Mr UKBuses, here is to more successful outings in 2013, plus it wouldn't be as good without Mr D9 providing us with some laughter throughout the day (and for the endless "Bald Spot" opportunities seen below). With no surprise, Mr UKBuses picked up the cheapest round of the day and myself ended up picking up the expensive round of the day at The Blind Beggar.

Andy's Bald Cranium (ABC)

Bald Spot 1: The Bald Spot is seen travelling on a Chiltern Mainline Train.

Bald Spot 2: The Bald Spot is seen "Fool"ing around at the original Nelson Mandela House..

Bald Spot 3: The Bald Spot is beating about the bush in Shepherds Bush.

Bald Spot 4: The Bald Spot is trying to get fame outside the BBC TV Centre.

Bald Spot 5: The Bald Spot goes all "Boris" at White City.

Bald Spot 6: The Bald Spot is let loose in Bloomsbury Square.

Bald Spot 7: The Bald Spot is having a ride on Service 25.

Bald Spot 8: The Bald Spot is escaping from Service 254.

Bald Spot 9: The Bald Spot is causing havoc in Bethnal Green.

2012 - Day Out 20: London - Remembrance Day Parade

Date: Sunday 11 November 2012

It is our last day in the City of London and we hope to get back on TV this year when we spend the morning at the Remembrance Day Parade at Whitehall, it is an early start so after the bags are packed, we make an early start to get the prime spot in front of the BBC TV cameras.

I wake up and after getting ready, make sure that everything is packed before I go downstairs for some "fresh air" and check out before Mr UKBuses rises from his pit. My stomach feels loads better today but we haven't got time for breakfast this morning before we have to leave Travelodge Docklands for the last time this year (I will be back here in April 2013 to watch the WWE at the 02 Arena again). Mr UKBuses said to meet him in reception at about 08:30am, but I think he needs a new alarm clock as he is twenty minutes late again. He checks out and we are on our way to our last London destination for this weekend and we are off to see The Queen - not "We Will Rock You", the real Queen, we are off to Whitehall to see the Remembrance Day Parade. We say goodbye to the hotel for the final time this weekend and we take the short walk to the Docklands Light Railway station at East India for the final time this year. I get my Oystercard out ready and tap in on the point that I have grown to hate this weekend, but at least it lets me tap in. We don't have long to wait before our train pulls up and we go one stop to Canning Town and thankfully, Mr UKBuses decides not to do any singing as we walk to the London Underground platform, which means that the current blue skies will stay that way. Our train arrives and we are on the Jubilee Line, and are on the train for eight stations before we arrive at Westminster Underground Station.

As we make our way outside of the station we see Big Ben in front of us opposite the station entrance and as I get a "fresh air" break and make our way around to Whitehall, the crowds are gathering in big numbers already. As we turn the corner, the police are ready for the security and bag checks which I failed last year due to leaving my Asthma Inhaler in my pocket. This year I leave nothing to chance and take all things out of my coat and trouser pockets including my cigarettes, the policewoman who was checking my stuff turned round and told me "those are mine I'm afraid, I'm going to have to confiscate them for myself!", little did she know that when she was searching in my bag that she would be going through my dirty underwear! Now its time to go through the security metal detectors and this year I pass the test and am able to collect my things and put everything back in my pockets, Mr UKBuses is still being checked, perhaps they were having trouble getting into his wallet. After passing security we head up towards the Cenotaph to get a prime spot for watching the Remembrance service, the location can be seen in the picture above. 

To ensure that we get a good spot, we had to get here early so there is just over another hour to go before the event starts, so we just wait around looking to see if there is anyone famous lurking about. The time soon passes by, even with the help of a jolly gentleman behind us by keeping our spirits up with his jokes. It is nearly eleven and the start of the parade. The bands have started to make their way down Whitehall and are taking there places, we have a band wearing large bearskin hats on their heads which sort of limits our view towards the Cenotaph. As soon as the bands have taken their places, the dignitaries start taking their places with Prime Ministers past and present as they appear from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Once the dignitaries take their places, Her Royal Highness, The Queen makes her appearance, with the press photographers starting to click away, taking over the sound of silence and as Big Ben strikes 11, a shot is heard starting the two minute silence and is ended by another shot being heard. The main service is underway with Hymns being sung and prayers being spoken. After the service is over, the parade starts and we start to make our way back to Westminster Underground Station to get some food before we have to board our train back to the Midlands. Everything is going fine, even passing Jeremy Paxman along the route and as we pass The Red Lion, disaster strikes. Everyone who has watched the parade seems to want to get out at the same time and we hit a bottleneck, we are stuck in the middle of the crowd and we cannot move anywhere backwards or forwards, and I make sure that the person behind me who keeps pushing my spine into all different directions trying to get past when no-one else in front is moving anywhere by calmly SHOUTING at her to stop trying to break my back. Mr UKBuses is quite a way behind me (and he heard me!) and after nearly an hour and a half being stuck, the parade has finished and the police start releasing the crowd by moving the barriers. With a bit of space, I have a well deserved "fresh air" break whilst quickly making our way to the Westminster Underground Station.

Our First Class train is due to depart at 13:20 so we don't have long to get to London Euston Railway Station, we enter Westminster Underground Station and rush down to the correct platform and we don't have to wait long before a train arrives. Somehow after we board, we arrive at London Euston Underground Station and rush up to the main concourse of the railway station to find out what platform we are on. We run down to the train and board with a few minutes to spare. We board our Virgin Train and find our seats in first class and decide that it will only be tea and biscuits for our free food, whilst Mr UKBuses gets himself comfortable I make my way all the way down to the other side of the train to get to the shop and get some sandwiches and crisps. I spot a bacon Ciabatta bread sandwich, so opt for a warm one of those and a couple of liquid refreshments for the journey back. I get back to our carriage after walking a mile back down the train and Mr UKBuses is enjoying biscuits and drink, nice of him to save mine - but at least I get my own back when I pass him his sandwich and I pull out my hot bacon sandwich. After we devour our much needed food we get comfortable for the rest of the journey.

We arrive in Coventry and are surprised how quick it has taken us to get there, it may seem only a few minutes for Mr UKBuses as he has had a kip for half of the journey. We are near Birmingham and we can tell as the train slows down to nearly a standstill just outside of Birmingham New Street, but we eventually arrive and we get our belongings and alight the train and catch our connecting London Midland train to Smethwick Galton Bridge. We arrive at Smethwick Galton Bridge and have the arduous task of walking up a few flights of steps to get to the right platform for our Stourbridge bound train. We have a few minutes to wait even if the minutes on the time estimated board keep changing up and down and we eventually board our train which takes us on the faster journey back to Stourbridge Junction, only stopping at Rowley Regis and Cradley Heath on the way back. We have a bit of time to spare and I am able to have a well deserved "fresh air break" outside of the station before getting the "Stourbridge Dodger" back into Stourbridge Interchange where we go to our stand and catch National Express West Midlands Service 276 back home after a brilliant, if not exhausting, weekend.

Another successful weekend break was had in London again this year, this was due to the good company of Mr UKBuses and also down to the fact that he came up with good plans for each day spent in the Capital, the weekend would not be possible with the good planning of Mr UKBuses (Big Thank you!). Plus when we got home I checked on BBC i-Player and we were on the BBC coverage again, about 2 minutes 30 seconds in.

2012 - Day Out 14: Torquay

Date: Friday 31 August 2012

After our successful trip to Weymouth in June, it is time for another mini break down to Torquay which will also be where the Torquay Vintage Bus Running Day will be taking place on Sunday. We will be staying at The Corbyn Head Hotel, which we used last year and hopefully experience a good weekends accommodation again this year.

It is an early start and with the case already packed weeks beforehand I do my first task of the day and send Mr UKBuses a text to say that I am on the way, but I won't be on the bus, I have saved Mr UKBuses some money by saving some shoe leather and Mom SBI picks him up in the car and drops us off at Stourbridge Interchange where we make our first journey of the day on public transport and we board the Stourbridge Dodger, but Mr Tonks is not driving this morning, but Roger is, luckily they didn't let me lose behind the wheel. Safely delivered, we alight at Stourbridge Junction where we board our London Midland train to Birmingham Snow Hill where we alight at 08:45 and make our way to the barriers. We don't even attempt to try and use the barriers and show the attendant our tickets who duly let us threw explaining that they wouldn't  have worked. We have a bit of time to spare, so we decide to go to J D Wetherspoons "The Square Peg" where we feed ourselves with bacon (making sure Mr Tonks was not around), and after finishing our breakfast we make our way to Birmingham New Street to get our next train to take us to the coast. Before we enter the station, I decide to have my last "fresh air" break in the Midlands (and have to wait three and a half hours for the next one!!!) and we also get some refreshments from W H Smiths before boarding our train operated by Arriva CrossCountry and departing at 09:42. We take our seats and have some rest, passing through Bristol Temple Meads, Weston-Super-Mare and following the coast around Dawlish before arriving at Torquay just after 13:00.

The first thing I do when I get off the train is leave Mr UKBuses for dust as I run out to the front of the station to get some "fresh air", with my break over we make our way along the seafront and after a five minute walk we arrive at our accommodation for the weekend, The Corbyn Head Hotel. We book in and the receptionist remembers us from last year and after our keys are handed to us, we make our way to our rooms and have a rest and freshen up before meeting in reception to get our first bus. We only have to take a few steps as the bus stop is virtually outside the hotel. We don't have to wait long before our bus turns up and we catch the Stagecoach South West Service 12 which takes us to the town centre in Torquay, which is where we alight and walk down The Strand to our next stop and after about ten minutes wait Stagecoach South West's Service 11 arrives which will take us to our first destination of the day. We pass through Shaldon and after forty minutes we arrive.

We pass through the railway station at Teignmouth and as we head into the road opposite we hit a problem, the bus in front cannot move as there is a car parked (with a disabled badge) in the road which means that the buses cannot get round the corner see picture right, so we alight and make our way into The Triangle. On the way we decide to pop into "The Brass Monkey" for a quick drink. Mr UKBuses decides to have a quick look outside to see if the buses have moved, I can clearly see what he is up to as I can see him on the pub's CCTV and after we finish our drinks we make our way back round to The Triangle where we catch our next bus, Stagecoach South West service 2 which passes through Dawlish and Dawlish Warren before reaching our next destination, the City of Exeter, as we left Teignmouth the buses were still stuck, but the police were in attendance. After arriving at Exeter, we alight our bus and take a few photographs around the bus station and coach park and also the bus depot opposite. We make our way back to the bus station to get our bus, even though we do see a First X53 service to Weymouth about to pull in, but our stuff is at the hotel so we decide to wait a few minutes when our next bus turns up, Stagecoach South West's service X46 which leaves Exeter just after 17:20 and takes us back to Torquay and drops us right outside our hotel. We go back to our rooms for a rest and refresh before our evening out.

We both meet up about and hour later and have a drink in the hotel bar to decide where we would go tonight (See picture left), eventually we decided to visit Brixham so we finish our drinks off and cross the road outside the hotel, where we waited a while for Stagecoach South West service 12 to turn up, but it did and we catch it and after a journey time of just over half an hour we arrive in Brixham. The first stop is J D Wetherspoon's "The Vigilance" where it did take a while to be served but we eventually did and sampled Weymouth Bitter. We were going to have food here but it was quite busy and looked like we would be in for a long wait if we ordered. It did quieten down so we thought we'd give it a chance and ordered our food, Mr UKBuses opts for his Chicken Tikka Masala with Poppadoms and I opt for the Beefburger and Beer. I arrived at the table and Mr UKBuses enquired how long the food would be, I must admit I did joke and say "40 minutes", but we were quite shocked when it arrived just after ten minutes. We eat our food and decide to try a pub that we liked last year, so we walk through the town working our food off to get to the next pub.

After a ten minute walk we arrive at "The Hole In The Wall", see picture right,  a pub that we tried twice last year and it deserved a welcome return this year due to the friendliness of the place last year. After ordering our drinks, we decided to sit at the bar, but the atmosphere felt different this year and it seemed that it must have been weirdo's night judging by the few people in our area of the pub. We soon drink up and before we catch the bus, we spot another pub over the harbour so decide to have one last drink in Brixham and sample "The Rising Sun", a nice pub with the people seeming more friendlier than they were in The Hole In The Wall tonight. We have a quick drink here and walk back to the bus stop and as we arrive the bus is waiting for us, so we board and take the ride back through Paignton before reaching our hotel. A quick nightcap in the hotel bar is sampled before getting rest for the day ahead tomorrow.

A perfect start to the weekend with perfect weather and perfect company, a welcome return to the coast.

2012 - Day Out 09: Hereford and Hay-On-Wye

Date: Saturday 28 April 2012

It was time for another day out, and this time we were going to visit a couple of new locations, being Hay-On-Wye and Ross-On-Wye, the first location being a destination of the 1989 ITV series, The Interceptor .

It is an early start and just before 6.30am, I make my way to Wollaston. As I make my way up towards the village, the rain starts coming down, luckily I haven't long to wait and can wait under cover. I suffer from some more good luck as the first National Express West Midlands service 276 arrives a few minutes early and the driver lets me board so I can stay dry. At 06.36am, the bus pulls away, and after a couple of minutes, I send a text to Mr UKBuses, sorry Mikey, to let him know that I am on the way. As we arrive in Norton, Mikey boards and this will be the first trip that we actually use the new Stourbridge Interchange. As we arrive at the interchange, we have a break with tradition and alight, changing onto the "Stourbridge Dodger" to takes us to Stourbridge Junction. As we arrive at the junction, we change platforms and I realise why I don't wear "The Interceptor coat" that often when I nearly trip up the steps up to Platform 3. Mikey has a little warm in the waiting room as I spend a few minutes having some "fresh air" before our London Midland train arrives at 0735am. We are on our way and out of the rain and as we make our way through Kidderminster and Droitwich Spa, it doesn't take us long before we arrive at Worcester Foregate Street. We have a bit of time to spare, so Mikey makes use of Tesco Express next door to the station, and he also gets the wallet out to take some "Map Allowance" out of the cash machine.

The first leg of the journey is out of the way and we make our way back into Worcester Foregate Street where we catch 0830am London Midland service, which takes us to our first proper destination of the day, Hereford, where we arrive at 0919am. As we arrive the rain has got worse, so we have a little walk up to the town but on our way we find a J D Wetherspoons, "The Kings Fee", pictured right, where we decide to have a break for a bit and stay dry. After a couple of drinks, we decide to brave the elements and have a walk around the town centre, stopping off at the bus station by the Tesco store and also we pay a quick visit to the First in Worcester and Herefordshire depot in Friar Street. We have a walk back through the town centre, but have a quick bladder break at the Shire Hall, before making our way back across town to the Country Bus Station round the corner from the Railway Station. There are not a lot of vehicles currently at the bus station, so we decide to take shelter once more at "The Kings Fee" for a quick drink before we make our way back to the Country Bus Station to catch our bus to Interceptor country at Hay-On-Wye. At 11.40 our bus arrives and we board the Stagecoach South Wales Service 39 bus which will take us to our next destination, the blue course, and after passing through Kingstone and Peterchurch with the journey taking us just under an hour we arrive at Hay-On-Wye.

We alight in Hay-On-Wye and as we alight, the heavens start to burst again, so we have a little scout around and find the Kilverts Hotel, where we take cover. It is my round and we decide to have an Interceptor drink, a pint of Guinness, and I get stung at £4.00 a pint (I know who is buying at The Pulpit in Portland Bill this year), I decide to cut my losses and tell the barmaid to keep the change. We spend a while at the hotel whilst we sup our Guinness, see picture left, but the rain dies down a bit so we finish our drinks and we go in search of a famous bridge, the bridge that The Interceptor once stood, see picture below. After a short walk we find the famous bridge, and whilst Mikey stands on the bridge, I get into Interceptor mode and run down the path at the side pretending to zap one of "Annabel's rabbits". Zapping over, we decide to find somewhere to eat (we did think about a meal at The Kilverts, until we saw the prices in the menu). Mikey has spent his map allowance wisely and he spots a chip shop. We decide to stay indoors and eat them inside the shop and as Mikey finishes his fish and chips, I go outside for a "fresh air" break. As I'm walking up the street, this man turns round to me and says "Who do you think you are, The Interceptor?", at this point I wanted to put my arms out and squeal, but I let him carry on walking down the street whilst I wander if he actually saw the real one all them years ago (twenty years to be correct). Mikey has finished his lunch and comes outside, we decide to find our way back to the bus stop so that we can get our bus back to Hereford enabling us to get to our second "Wye" location of the day.  As we make our way back to the bus stop Mikey points out where Annabel was guiding her "rabbits" around the course for them to get their keys. We arrive at the bus stop and have about ten minutes to wait, but we have to take shelter as the rain is starting to fall again. Our Stagecoach South Wales Service 39 eventually turns up and we get comfortable towards the back as we make our way back to Hereford. As we continue on our journey, the rain starts to fall faster and harder, so when we arrive at Hereford, we decide to get off at the railway station and abandon the trip. Luckily as we walk onto the platform, a First Great Western train is waiting to depart, so we board and takes our seats, after about ten minutes the train departs and we arrive back in Worcester and alight at Worcester Foregate Street Station.

We have a few minutes to spare so we make our way back to ground level so that I can have a "fresh air" break. We make our way back to the platform and decide to wait in the waiting room. Apart from the seating, it seemed like we went back in time, but at least we are in the warmth as the temperature outside has taken a nosedive. Our London Midland train arrives on time and we board and get ready for the second leg of the train journey back home. We pass through Droitwich Spa and Kidderminster before we arrive at Stourbridge Junction. We alight and are straight onto the "Stourbridge Dodger", which takes us back to Stourbridge Town. Upon arrival we decide to have a drink in another Wetherspoons, "The Chequers Inn", before we go back home. We finish our drinks, I say goodbye to Mikey as I decide to use the facilities and then do a bit of shopping, which means that I don't have to come into town the next day as the weather looks like it won't give up. Shopping done, it is back to the Stourbridge Interchange so that I can catch National Express West Midlands Service 276 back home.

Despite the awful weather, the day out was good because of the good company. We didn't get as far as Ross-On-Wye, but I am sure that we will visit Herefordshire again and complete the rest of the trip in the future.