TheGrandWazoo
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830 in 2017 began and finished in Boro’
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Most Scenic Bus Route
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830 in 2017 began and finished in Boro’
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According to the Dalesbus website (https://www.dalesbus.org/northerndalesman-ne.html), it does. They list two service 830s, the other the one starting from Preston. Given the options, you would think they could think of another number.
Jordan Adam
Established Member
First Aberdeen's Platinum 19 is quite nice from the top deck of a Gemini out towards the Culter end of the route while remaining inside the city, areas like Peterculter, Milltimber and Cults have a more small town like feel rather than a suburb. Another city route from First i quite like is the 20 which travels through the historic Old Aberdeen area, some tight street and a real feel for what life was like in the past with narrow pavements and low windows and doors on the houses.
Stagecoach CoastRider services (X6,7,7A,7B & X7) between Aberdeen and Stonehaven are quite nice too, Curving down the A90, favourite locations on those for me is the Muchalls bend where the road slowly curves round a valley with a railway bridge from the Aberdeen - Dundee line crossing over and the North Sea in the background, the slip road from the A90 in to Stonehaven also gives lovely views of the town and North Sea.
The 35 (Aberdeen - Elgin) also has some nice views between Macduff and Elgin. While in that area the 273 in Gardenstown is quite nice too.
Stagecoach CoastRider services (X6,7,7A,7B & X7) between Aberdeen and Stonehaven are quite nice too, Curving down the A90, favourite locations on those for me is the Muchalls bend where the road slowly curves round a valley with a railway bridge from the Aberdeen - Dundee line crossing over and the North Sea in the background, the slip road from the A90 in to Stonehaven also gives lovely views of the town and North Sea.
The 35 (Aberdeen - Elgin) also has some nice views between Macduff and Elgin. While in that area the 273 in Gardenstown is quite nice too.
Swr28
Member
The S2 Sherpa bus from Llanberis to Betws-y-Coed. And a close 2nd was the then 94 service from Barmouth to Wrexham with one of Dolgellau's Bristol VRs. Now the T3 and has a couple of E400 Scania deckers.
I miss the old Canterbury to Walmer route 14, via Littlebourne, Wingham, Staple, Ash, Sandwich, Eastry, Northbourne and Deal. It was a lovely scenic route.
So do I! Especially as it was a double-deck route! You got to see some very rural Kent on the 14. The 43 (previously numbered 13), which goes on the main roads, is still scenic, but the 14 ventured to Staple and Northbourne which are all narrow lanes. Greatly missed!
On that list, I don't think there are any Kent routes - there are many scenic routes in Kent. The Wave 100/101/102 is excellent (Dover - Hastings in E. Sussex), 155 (Chatham - Maidstone), the 18 (Canterbury-Hythe), and also the 541/542/544 shoppers routes, to name but a few. I wrote down the Wave in the add-your-own section.
Another tick for the old 14, much better than the 43 (especially as it stops being the 43 at Sandwich, unless you fancy a visit to Pfizer or Westwood Cross, pity Richborough Power Station was knocked down). From the top deck you could also see the imminent arrival at speed of vehicles from the other direction, which would then have to retreat, rather more slowly.
I too like the 18, but only when worked by double decker - its surprising how far you can see across towards Thanet. You also have the satisfaction of being able to say that you have been through Wheelbarrow Town. I have never been on it, but the school days only 18A must be pretty good as it covers most of the good bits of the 18 and adds more rural bits on the end.
Again, the Wave (100/1/2) is a good choice. Unfortunately the version that I would prefer (Dover - Lydd-on-Sea - Lydd - Camber -Rye - Winchelsea Beach - Hastings) does not currently exist. I would also add The Wave 99 (Hastings to Eastbourne, in that direction) in neighbouring East Sussex.
Checking the route, it certainly would be. What about their 516? Its been some years but I seem to remember that being pretty good.
The 18 is sadly no longer allocated double-deckers. However, they do occasionally appear. I still really enjoy the route even with single deckers. Its brilliant in the spring - most of the route, there are lambs everywhere. Just don't get caught out on schooldays for the journeys which stop at the Simon Langton school - they literally pull into the school playground, wait there for about 10 minutes until the bus is rammed with very noisy (but generally well behaved) school kids. It certainly brings you down after the relaxing countryside ride!
I have considered travelling on the 18A, although always a bit weary on travelling on schoolday-only services. I have observed it leaving Canterbury Bus Station a number of times, and its often been fairly lightly loaded with little horrors, so it wouldn't be too bad.
I definately agree with your preferred version - that would definitely include the best bits. The Lydd to Lydd-on-Sea section is possibly my favourite part, and has a very unique view - the nature reserve, the 'desert' of Dungeness and the view of the power plant is very odd. Its good that they extended the 102 from Lydd-on-Sea to Lydd, enabling you to connect to the 'main' 100/101.
Other very rural routes are the 620 and 667 routes from Canterbury - most of the journeys are now sadly minibus operated (Sprinters), but some are full sized single deckers, running down some incredibly narrow lanes.
backontrack
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Ooh yes the 555 - a wonderful route.
transmanche
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Arriva X18 from Newcastle to Berwick. A double-deck bus that operates mainly along the coast via Morpeth, Amble, Warkworth, Alnmouth, Alnwick, Craster, Seahouses and Bamburgh. Lovely.
Arriva/Stagecoach 685 from Newcastle to Carlisle also includes some lovely scenic landscapes - sadly only a single-decker though.
Arriva/Stagecoach 685 from Newcastle to Carlisle also includes some lovely scenic landscapes - sadly only a single-decker though.
Mutant Lemming
Established Member
Within the capital the 240 Edgware - Golders Green route has some fairly scenic views across the Dollis Valley.
AJW12
Member
The Coastliner X40 from Leeds to Whitby. Sublime views over the North York Moors and there's just an added enjoyment from it being express.
johnnychips
Established Member
Fantastic scenery on a half-hourly service from a city centre: take the TM Travel 61/2 service from Sheffield to Bradfield.
transmanche
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The W3 has amazing views of London from Alexandra Palace. On a clear day, you can look right across London and see both the Crystal Palace and Croydon transmitter masts.
I prefer my scenic buses being slow meanders through though - more time to appreciate scenery if you crawl past at 15mph instead of 60!
The 840 (not X40 except possibly for an odd summer working that runs faster than normal to York) Leeds-Whitby cannot do 60mph on the highly scenic part north of Pickering especially given climbs, notably out of Goathland and (on the return) Sleights.
Busaholic
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I agree with you on that, also superb views on a westbound 53 going across the north side of Blackheath near the Greenwich Park entrance.
Ayman Ilham
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First 184 from Manchester to Huddersfield (hourly for full route) goes through my neighbourhood in Oldham and the scenery on that route is very impressive once you get into the Pennines through Saddleworth followed by a big climb up a mountain all the way to the top, rewarding you with spectacular views down below! Plenty of variety on the route overall, as it starts at Piccadilly Gardens in Central Manchester, right in the heart of the city before running up Oldham Road to the M60 then through a few suburbs into Oldham, through the nicely renovated town centre and then through Lees and then it really gets rural through Saddleworth; over the Pennines with views appearing so remote you'll find it hard to believe you were in the city centre just an hour ago; before running right into Kirklees past the GM-WY boundary! Then you go through picturesque towns on the approach to the urban centre of Huddersfield, finishing off at a brilliant and rather large bus station! They normally use nice modern E400s on the route which have high-back leather seats (although a bit hard) and great window visibility! What's more, you can ride the FULL cross-boundary route with BOTH a GM and WY day ticket (£4.50 and £4.80 respectively last time I checked) allowing you to travel quite far and explore a lot for the money! The First WY Group day ticket can have ridiculously high value for money, as for only £8.20, up to 5 adults can ride all the way from Manchester to Leeds (if you like to take the scenic route and explore various places on the way) like I did with my family once visiting relatives in Bramley (Leeds) - we took the 184 from Oldham to Huddersfield followed by an X63 to Bradford and then an X11 to Bramley which was a lot of fun - what's more, we didn't need to take the train saving a great amount of money 
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Got my eye on the x18 , one goes right down the coast and the other on the a1.
transmanche
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It's the X18 that goes along the coast (taking about 4 hours end-to-end) and the X15 which sticks mainly to the A1 (taking about 2.5 hours).
Stagecoach Cumbria 77/77a over Honister Pass is superb, especially as they seem to employ semi-open-top double deckers. Saw two on this service yesterday, to see them passing midway on a route where hardly anyone lives when most of Cumbria has a bus once a week or not at all is surreal. It was pouring down (not unusual) so nobody went upstairs, but full marks for trying.
Bletchleyite
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It has a bizarre timetable, being a circular route but not very balanced, with 7 buses per day running the loop one way and 4 the other.
When I used to visit the Lake District regularly, we were told that the Honister Pass was the wettest place in England!
Few summers ago it was a solo on the 77 or do the open tops do one bit !
Yeah need to do the x18 , looks quite interesting
I've never seen a double decker on the 77/77A. The mid size buses they usually use on the route struggle with some of the tight bends on the roads.
They use open topped double deckers on the 78, which goes from Keswick to Seatoller.
The open tops are on the 78 (Keswick-Seatoller) with Solos on the 77/77A (Keswick-Buttermere circular). There are parts of the 77/77A route which could not be accessed by anything bigger.
A lot of the people using the bus do the whole circuit, just for the ride. I've done that a few times. So for those people it doesn't matter which way it goes. If you're doing that and want the best view, it's best to sit on the left on the 77A and the right on the 77.
They can get very busy in the summer, I've been on the bus a few times when people have had to stand all the way from Buttermere to Keswick, which is a journey of nearly an hour.
I've travelled on several of the services people have nominated in this thread, but as far as I'm concerned the 77/77A beats them all comfortably.
Yeah i took the route clockwise, great scenery. Bit tight in places .
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