Last time I did a day trip involving the 300 I started at St Ives with the 1015 to Lands End but the queue to get on the bus was so long I gave up!
This time the plan was to do the entire 1/300/17B circuit in each direction however as it turned out that would have meant riding on the same Volvo Citybus all day so a Plan B was drawn up part way through.
An early start saw me board Volvo B7RLE 69228 on the 18 to Penzance, A quick look at the parked buses produced little of note with green Dart 42358 being readied for it's usual turn on service 47 and Trident 33172 in unbranded blue for route 56.
It was a grey and overcast start to the day but no rain at this point so no discounted day ticket.
Other than passing green Enviro 400 33660 at Long Rock on a Truro bound 18, the journey to Penzance passed uneventfully.
Arriving at Penzance at around 8am gave me time to view the comings and goings at the bus station before boarding the 0845 1A to lands End. Olympian 34311 arrived on the 10A and departed on the 17 whilst recently repainted Solo 53701 was on service 16A.
Open top Citybus 38006 was provided for the 1A by which time it was drizzling continuously so no chance to sample the top deck for myself and the other five passengers.
The bus had a rather scruffy looking interior and rainwater appeared to be leaking down from the upper decks to the lower one's. There was also a very noticeable knocking noise from the drivers side front wheel at times. Some of the interior adverts were dated 2014 including a special cream tea offer at Lands End!
The 1A departs Penzance to Newlyn and then heads up Chywoone Hill towards Paul and this is when the problems started. As we started up the hill a JCB digger in front slowed us down to a crawl and then part way up a passenger flagged us down and we stopped before the top. With a greasy road and a steep climb ahead 38006 refused to move away despite several attempts and much pressing of buttons by the driver. The engine stalled several times and a smell of burning was noticeable, the driver phoned for advice. After a few minutes the driver restarted the bus and rolled back a few yards before having another go at climbing the hill. Eventually we were successful but by now were around 15 minutes late. The next part of the journey was uneventful despite a red light showing on the dashboard quite frequently.
Later on in the journey we were approaching Porthcurno when a dustcart coming the opposite way caused a rather “hairy” moment when it seemed that 38006 had some rear wheel drift as it braked to pass – not quite sure what happened but it seemed like the rear of the bus got away slightly under heavy braking.
By Lands End some time had been made up and a Volvo B7TL departed on the 0858 Pendeen to Penzance. I remained on board as the 1A became the 300 to St Ives and witnessed a Johnson Brothers coach in Blue pigeon colours at Lands End Airport!
The weather was starting to improve as forecast as we neared St Ives and we passed 38005 heading the other way on the 1015 from St Ives. The climb out of Sennen Cove was accomplished without incident.
A brief interlude at St Ives and I remained on board 38006 as it headed back to Penzance on the lightly loaded 17B by which time I had moved up to the top deck. The 17B goes via St Ives Holiday village and by Crowlas we passed 38004 heading the other way on the 17B. A detour through Marazion provided good views of St Michaels Mount.
At this stage I originally planned to get the 17B back to St Ives and then after lunch the 1415 “300” to Lands End. I changed my plans and boarded Dart 42872 on the service 17 to St Ives instead.
Although the 17 leaves 5 minutes after the 17B it does not go via Marazion or St Ives Holiday Park and gets to St Ives 10 minutes before the 17B despite a slight detour via Ludgvan. The journey passed uneventfully despite many rattles from this bus. Arriving in St Ives Royal buses Y347 FJN was seen arriving from Hayle on service 150 and I took a lunch break.
At just after 2pm I headed back to the bus station where 38006 was present again ready to work the 1415 “300” to Lands End. Not wishing to travel on this again I boarded ex Sheffield Trident 33066 on the 17B back to Penzance. Another uneventful journey apart from seeing 34311 heading out of Penzance on the 17 as we headed in. Citybuses 38004 & 38005 were present at the bus station and I grabbed a quick cup of tea before finding out what they were going to do.
38005 was provided for the 1515 17B to St Ives and the opportunity was taken to sample this back to St Ives. On the way we passed 34311 heading back to Penzance and green Trident 32716 on the 17B.
Arriving at St Ives Dart 43904 was provided for the 1615 “57” St Ives to Newquay and was filling up rapidly. I remained on board 38005 which became the 300 to Lands End.
The sunshine by this time was being replaced by cloud but the bus had a fairly good load of passengers despite it being the last day of August.
The journey from St Ives down towards Pendeen provides some of the most spectacular views in West Cornwall in my opinion and I always look forward to a summer bus journey along this section in particular. A few inconsiderate drivers meant that by Gurnards Head we were around 10 minutes late. My plan was to travel to Lands End and change buses back to St Ives but due to late running I wasn't sure that it would be possible. I had to rethink again!
In the meantime I saw Citybus 38001 for the first time for the day as it worked the 1445 Penzance to St Ives via Lands End.
The only thing possible was to hope the bus got to St Just in time to connect with service 10 back to Penzance or remain on board the 300 / 1A right through to Penzance.
Thankfully despite running late the 10A was also running late and we passed it heading out to Pendeen as we headed into St Just. I decided to leave here and after a quick much needed toilet break boarded Dart 42872 for the second time today. This took me back to Penzance on service 10.
Through the housing estates at Heamoor it was noticeable how many bus stop flags were blank / faded. An uneventful but rattly run back to Penzance followed and I had time for a quick cup of tea before boarding Volvo B7RLE 69209 on the 18 back to Camborne.
As we were slightly late, by the time Hayle was reached we saw 33068 in front on the last 57 of the day from St Ives. We followed it through the town until it turned left and headed up to the Towans.
Overall a good day despite only managing to ride on two Citybuses, drivers were all polite and friendly and timekeeping was reasonably good.
Services (in no particular order) and buses seen on them:-
46:- 42874.
14:- 65759, 69227, 69230, 42860, 65760, 69223, 65762, 65764, 30872.
18:- 69219, 69228, 65761, 42860, 33660, 69221, 30872, 69226, 69209, 69223, 65762.
17:- 32208, 34311, 42871, 33421, 42872, 32103, 32853, 32762.
6:- 53504, 53505.
10 / 10A:- 32762, 34311, 32103, 30873, 33421, 32853, 32208.
2:- 32104, 32846.
1A:- 32103, 38006, 32716.
5:- 53154, 42871.
16 / 16A:- 53827, 53701, 53503.
300:- 38006, 38005, 38001, 38004.
57:- 53107, 43904,33068.
17B:- 38006, 38004, 33066, 32202, 32208, 38005, 32716,38001.
11:- 53801.
47:- 42358.
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Two old Girls by Richard W, on Flickr
Penzance @ 1030am 31/8/16 by Richard W, on Flickr
Camborne First depot by Richard W, on Flickr
In my last days living in London my local bus services were run by Leyland Titans, nice buses in many ways and well-constructed, but the lack of operators wanting to take them on after London spoke volumes.
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