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"Circular" Bus Days Out with Rover tickets

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extendedpaul

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I enjoy travelling by bus as well as train and regularly plan an itinerary that starts and finishes at the same place with little or no duplication of route. I don't qualify for free travel but use Explorer/Rover tickets for maximum flexibility/minimum cost.

This week in South Wales I travelled from Caerphilly to Cardiff with Stagecoach, then Cardiff to Barry via Penarth on Cardiff Bus, Barry to Bridgend via LLantwit Major and Ogmore By Sea on New Adventure Travel's route 303 (with a brand new 2014 bus), Bridgend to Aberdare on Stagecoach's very scenic 172 service, Aberdare to Pontypridd, and Pontypridd back to Caerphilly on frequent Stagecoach services. All on an £8 day networkrider ticket.

Any suggestions for similar round trips with day rover tickets elsewhere in the UK ?
 
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GaryMcEwan

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The SPT Daytripper ticket allows you to use buses, trains, subway and some ferries within the Strathclyde area.

It costs £19.80 for two adults and up to four children or £11.20 for one adult and up to two children.
 

Hassocks5489

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I enjoy travelling by bus as well as train and regularly plan an itinerary that starts and finishes at the same place with little or no duplication of route. I don't qualify for free travel but use Explorer/Rover tickets for maximum flexibility/minimum cost.

This week in South Wales I travelled from Caerphilly to Cardiff with Stagecoach, then Cardiff to Barry via Penarth on Cardiff Bus, Barry to Bridgend via LLantwit Major and Ogmore By Sea on New Adventure Travel's route 303 (with a brand new 2014 bus), Bridgend to Aberdare on Stagecoach's very scenic 172 service, Aberdare to Pontypridd, and Pontypridd back to Caerphilly on frequent Stagecoach services. All on an £8 day networkrider ticket.

Any suggestions for similar round trips with day rover tickets elsewhere in the UK ?

An interesting one to do in my part of the world, using the good-value "Explorer" ticket we have, would be based on a triangle as follows:
  • Brighton-Tunbridge Wells (B&H Buses)
  • Tunbridge Wells-Crawley (Metrobus)
  • Crawley-Brighton (Metrobus)
Either half-hourly or hourly services throughout, and some very scenic sections - especially if you deviate from the route to explore e.g. Ashdown Forest (picking up the original route at East Grinstead). There would be time in each town to explore using their extensive bus networks.

Or extend into a vaguely square shape by continuing from Crawley to Worthing via Horsham (Metrobus, hourly), then back along the coast to Brighton (Staqecoach, up to every 10 mins).
 

radamfi

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Or extend into a vaguely square shape by continuing from Crawley to Worthing via Horsham (Metrobus, hourly), then back along the coast to Brighton (Staqecoach, up to every 10 mins).

Be careful, Stagecoach South no longer accept the Explorer.
 

MK Tom

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The £11.30 Dayrider Gold gives you the entire Stagecoach network (except X5) in the South East and Midlands. I've used it a few times to do circular trips around Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire (the cheaper £8 Bedfordshire Dayrider Plus is one I often use for doing small towns around Beds). The slightly more expensive £13.20 East Dayrider Gold gives you the X5 too, allowing trips theoretically from Gloucester through to Newmarket.
 

Statto

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Arriva North West Day Ticket i've done Birkenhead-Chester-Crewe-Macclesfield-Manchester-Altrincham-Warrington[that's when Arriva operated the Altrincham-Warrington 37-38]Liverpool-Birkenhead. Can't do this route now on the one ticket as Arriva don't operate anymore on the Altrincham-Warrington route.
 

abbo1234

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Just before deregulation ,did this with a Ribble day explorer ticket.Chorley-Blackburn-Burnley-Skipton-Lancaster-Preston Chorley.Those were the days of proper buses.If my memory serves me right,Bristol Re to Blackburn,Parkroyal Atlantean to Burnley,Duple Dominant Leopard to Skipton,Duple Dominant Leopard to Lancaster,Highbridge Vrt to Preston and A National back to Chorley.Happy days
 

Cambus731

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July 30th 1994, I did Luton to Aylesbury on a Luton & District Leyland Olympian, 647 G647UPD,
then Aylesbury to Milton Keynes on L&D Olympian 617 ARD617X, then United Counties Olympian 669 K669UNH, to Bedford, then UC Olympian 634 F634MSP to Hitchin and back to Luton on L&D Volvo B6 307 L307HPD.
 

MK Tom

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July 30th 1994, I did Luton to Aylesbury on a Luton & District Leyland Olympian, 647 G647UPD,
then Aylesbury to Milton Keynes on L&D Olympian 617 ARD617X, then United Counties Olympian 669 K669UNH, to Bedford, then UC Olympian 634 F634MSP to Hitchin and back to Luton on L&D Volvo B6 307 L307HPD.

I think you mean G647UPP.

Nowadays you could still do pretty much the same trip with an Arriva Explorer, except the Bedford part.
 

extendedpaul

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I can remember back in the late 1970s a ticket called National Wanderbus, costing a few pence under £3. The publicity leaflet included a list of long distance and scenic routes in different areas. When Explorer tickets were introduced a few years later the marketing was initially based on ideas for specific leisure trips rather than it being a day rover ticket - I think it was called the Explorer "programme"

I'd like to see some similar marketing today. Bus travel on rover tickets is usually cheaper and certainly greener than driving a car / paying to park, even for two people together or family groups. Outside of urban areas it doesn't take much longer. Also free pass holders travelling on lots of different buses rather then just to town and back would generate more income for operators !
 

TheGrandWazoo

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You can try the Avon Rider for virtually all bus services in CUBA - Counties that Used to Be Avon. Did one today where I orbited Bristol. Route was:

Midsomer Norton - Keynsham - Kingswood - UWE - Filton - Parkway - Cribbs Causeway - Clevedon - Ashton Gate - Bedminster - Withywood - Knowle - Whitchurch - Midsomer Norton

If I hadn't got to be back early, I'd have probably got down to Weston super Mare. Good ticket and available on most services except some special ones (e.g. Airport services)
 

Liam

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Stagecoach East Scotland dayrider costs £14.30 (less for students) and covers the Strathtay, Perth and Fife network and out to Aberdeen on the X7. Also gets you to Edinburgh and Glasgow.
 
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61653 HTAFC

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A £5.40 MetroBusDay, starting from Huddersfield, could take you to on a wide circular tour of the entire county and taking in Hebden Bridge-Keighley-Bradford-Otley-Leeds-Castleford-Pontefract-Wakefield-Holmfirth-Huddersfield. There might even be time to have little detour to Dewsbury and/or Batley; Wetherby; Ilkley if you're feeling adventurous! You'd get a reasonable spread of operators, too.
 

W-on-Sea

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The Stagecoach West (etc) Explorer ticket, for £6.50 is a great bargain....you could get all the way (rather slowly, but by interesting and scenic routes) from Oxford, via Swindon, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Hereford all the way to Hay on Wye in a day if you wanted.

Triangular/round trips are hard though - the network has lots of "loose spokes": in general you'd need to use a train or bus services operated by other operators to fill the gaps if you wanted to return to your starting point.

The same is true of the (slightly more expensive, but smaller) network covered by the Stagecoach Oxfordshire Dayrider Gold ticket - you could get all the way from Stratford-upon-Avon to Swindon on that - in fact, for the next few weeks you could, if the timetable permits, do that as an almost circular trip, but two crucial rural parts of that link (the 64 from Swindon to Carterton and the X9 from Witney to Chipping Norton) are transferring to other operators in a few weeks, so that'll not be possible anymore...
 

David57

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As MK Tom suggests, Stagecoach explorer day ticket at 11.30 is good value,anad the £13.30 is a handy way to get around..
 

TheGrandWazoo

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You can't beat the North East Explorer, but you'd struggle to do a "circular" route if you're going west of Hexham, north of Alnwick or south of Middlesbrough or Darlington.

You can do 4/X4 Middlesbrough to Redcar then Whitby, 93 back north to Guisborough, 81 to Stokesley then 29 to Middlesbrough. Not the funkiest or most circular but no going over the same ground!

Done some great trips and you're right, it's a great ticket!
 

gnolife

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I've done circular trips on GM Wayfarers, doing
199 Man Airport - Buxton
61 Buxton - Glossop
237 Glossop - Ashton UL
350 Ashton UL - Delph
354 Delph - Denshaw
407 Denshaw - Oldham
58 Oldham - Milnrow
452 Milnrow - Littleborough
589 Littleborough - Burnley
X43 Burnley - Rawtenstall
273 Rawtenstall - Bolton
68 Bolton - Trafford Ctr.
247 Trafford Ctr. - Altrincham
18 Altrincham - Manchstr Airport
 

david16

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Stagecoach East Scotland dayrider costs £14.30 (less for students) and covers the Strathtay, Perth and Fife network and out to Aberdeen on the X7. Also gets you to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Edinburgh to Dundee on the X54 and then Dundee to Aberdeen on the X7. And then return.

But is it really doable for a good day out?
 

MK Tom

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As MK Tom suggests, Stagecoach explorer day ticket at 11.30 is good value,anad the £13.30 is a handy way to get around..

In fact I will be using the £11.30 Dayrider Gold today to get to business in Leicester as it's considerably better value than the £22 with railcard train return.
 

extendedpaul

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This was my latest tour using a Norfolk Green £10 Explorer also valid on Konnect Bus

Kings Lynn - Hunstanton - Wells - Sheringham - Cromer - Norwich - Fakenham- Kings Lynn.

This was planned to include a ride on the recently introduced Open Top service between Cromer, Sheringham and the Muckleburgh Military Collection which was definitely the highlight on a fine sunny day !
 

sonic2009

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Do Stagecoach still do there passes that were valid over a wider area? It wasnt a day pass.
 

harry42

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Kangaroo in Nottingham - on any operator.
Last time, I did: Station - Victoria on Centrelink. Victoria - Wollaton on two. Wollaton - Beeston on L10. Beeston - Bramcote on i4. Bramcote - Beeston on 21. Beeston - Balloon Woods on L11. Balloon Woods - Phoenix Park on L33. Phoenix Park - Bulwell on tram. Bulwell - Victoria on threes. Victoria - station on 10. Obviously, adapt.

Or Spectrum in Derby city centre, circle can easily be done.
 

duncanp

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Many moons ago I did a circular trip in London as follows:-

158 : Chingford Mount - Stratford
108 : Stratford - Lewisham
75 : Lewisham - Croydon
407 : Croydon - Sutton
213 : Sutton - Kingston
65 : Kingston - Ealing
83 : Ealing - Golders Green
102 : Golders Green -Edmonton
444 : Edmonton - Chingford Mount

That was in the days when I had a Zones 3 - 6 travlecard, and there were still zones on the buses, and I wanted to see whether it was possible to get round London without going into Zones 1 or 2.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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In the old days of Wilts and Dorset Explorers being valid on Southern National (c.1994), I did a very nice circuit of

Salisbury - Shaftesbury - Wincanton - Sherborne - Yeovil - Dorchester - Puddletown - Poole - Bournemouth - Salisbury

A delightful mix of Spectras, VRs and Iveco Turbo Dailys!
 

MK Tom

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Do Stagecoach still do there passes that were valid over a wider area? It wasnt a day pass.

Not sure what your asking here, even setting grammar aside it doesn't really make sense. Which area of Stagecoach do you mean? As I've already said, the Dayrider Gold covers the entirety of southern Britain. I can't say about the northern areas though.
 

OwlMan

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In fact I will be using the £11.30 Dayrider Gold today to get to business in Leicester as it's considerably better value than the £22 with railcard train return.

It is only £8.25 from Stagecoach Warwickshire - I often go Bedworth - Leicester -Northampton - Rugby - Coventry - Bedworth or Bedworth - Coventry - Rugby - Daventry - Banbury - Stratford - Coventry - Bedworth for a day out.

Dayrider Gold (Mon-Sat)£8.25
Dayrider Gold allows unlimited travel on Stagecoach buses in Southern Britain, except Devon, Somerset, in or to/from London. Southern Britain is defined as Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, South Wales, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. You will need the East Dayrider Gold to be able to use the X5 service (Oxford to Cambridge).
 
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