Well I took a bus on Friday for the first time since February, or rather I took several as part of a bigger trip round Somerset. It was a trip I had originally planned in March, but postponed for obvious reasons. There were several reasons for planning it the way I did, not all of which are applicable any more, but I still stuck to the original plan nonetheless. Hope it is of some interest.
The trip started at Lodge Causeway on the 6. For the last two and a half years the 48&49 have been my bus in to the centre, and had never used the 6. But it might in fact be marginally quicker, and the bus stop ever so slightly closer for me as well, although obviously far less frequent. I wanted to try this out, although during lockdown I walked much of the route as far as St. George, discovering it was all really much closer than I had ever realised, so no surprises really. But I had wanted to use one of the gas buses, which back in March of course were barely off the shelf. On the whole pretty decent, nice interior, although as others have noted the lack of grab rails upstairs is a curiosity! Can't say much about the route I'm afraid, though one highlight was passing a new housing development where the name of one street is 'Cheers Drive'!
Arriving in the centre I realised I hadn't actually been in to the centre of Bristol in months. Felt rather like coming home after a prolonged time away. Anyway my next move was to get to Weston. I had no preference as to how I got there, just whichever happened to be leaving first. As it happened it was the X1x, in the hands of one of the older ex Plymouth 56 reg e400s. Not much to say on these, I have been on them plenty of times, though I was impressed with how clean it was inside; a testament to the efforts of the cleaning staff. These have been worked hard, having been thrashed up and down the M5 on the X5 over the last few years, and though a little tired now I expect they will still be going in five years live out their days in this region. The route (which I knew nothing about) took me by surprise a bit - it goes under the Clifton Suspension Bridge and up the portway, before joining the M5 to head south. Forgetting it was a Friday in August, traffic was a little slow, and as this section was of little interest to me, I simply sat back, put my headphones in and listened to my audiobook for the remainder of the journey.
Arriving at Weston, I had but seven minutes till my next bus, but fancying a bit of a walk and a bite to eat, I opted to wait for the next scheduled bus half an hour later. I hardly ever go to Weston, but when I do, always find it interesting in terms of buses that are about. It seems to be a home of former Wells and Bath buses though work routes which typically keeps them in the town. I liked the variety anyway, in addition to seeing a Wells B7RLE on the 126 (at a distance I couldn't quite get an ID), I enjoyed seeing the numerous Badgerline darts working round the town which recently re-entered service.
I boarded the 20 next, which was worked by pink 32008. As well as this route being seasonal, I could soon see why the oldest buses are chosen for the 20! I like these W PAE ones anyway, and it is good that a few will stick around for a few more years as open toppers. I have wanted to do this route for some time, not least because it was recently shortlisted (and I think did quite well if any one can remember?) for Most scenic bus route competition. So I wanted to see what it was all about. I very much enjoyed the ride through Lympsham, and the expert way in which the driver handled some of those bends. But as we left and joined the main road towards Burnham, I waited for the spectacular climax of this journey, like some stunning coastal stretch..... but it never came. Don't get me wrong, it is not an unpleasant journey, but nothing really stood out as being unique, or geographically stunning. To me, it was just fairly average. From our region, it was up against the 376, which in my opinion is better, as are other services within FWoE, and nearby regions. Be interesting to hear what others think.
I got off at Burnham, and as there was only nine minutes 'till my next bus I just waited for it to arrive. It was the 21 and I was going to Taunton. The bus (LK51 xxx) has definitely seen better days and I'm sorry to say looked pretty awful. The last time I used the 21 it was, I believe operated by the old 02 B7s, though that was a few years ago now so can't really remember. Seems they've got all sorts on there at the moment - we passed a similar age decker in BoS livery, and a B7RLE in Atlantic coaster livery. Also passed numerous plain white streetdecks, which I presume were something to do with the Hinckley Point workers.
Anyway, after a fairly unremarkable journey in to Taunton I got off and had a wander. One of my original intentions back in March for coming to Taunton was to see and use the bus station one last time. Sadly it is now closed, though very much still in tact and actually rather unchanged - you just can't walk around. There is a poster up as well which makes reference to its 67 year existence and reasons for closure (as well as the all important information on where now to catch your bus!).
I can't tell whether the whole Buses of Somerset brand has been dropped, or just evolved. Like elsewhere in the country, some routes now (or will) have their own brands, such as the aforementioned 21 (suitably tweaked I expect) and the 28 branded as the Quantack.... something. At any rate I rather liked it. Curious to see what the long term plans are in Somerset anyway. At this point, it is worth mentioning that all the buses I took were virtually empty, other than during a section of the 20, when various members of extended family joined the bus as far as Brean, many of whom seemed to share my enjoyment of the journey through Lympsham! Early days I know, but one can only hope that things will eventually pick up again.
Anyway, half way in to the overall trip, I didn't really fancy waiting over an hour 'till my next bus, and I'll be honest I was tiring of the mask, especially when my glasses steam up! So I decided to do the trip over two days, and jumped on a train back to Bristol. I shall resume later in the week, so stay tuned for part 2.
To be continued.....