I have been wanting to head to the North East of England for some time and finally the weather Gods shined favourably on me this week. So on Monday afternoon I headed north and spent the night near Sedgefield. I have written this in the Go Ahead thread as the majority of journeys were with them – but not the highlight!
Tuesday dawned early and I was parked up in Houghton-le-Spring in time to get the Go Ahead 20 to Durham at 6.30. I didn’t need to be this early but fancied a relaxed time in the thoroughly nice city of Durham. A rattly Streetlite but no issues, a few passengers joined and left and we arrived in Durham on time. Duly refreshed with coffee and breakfast I strolled round the city centre for a while. Not to the cathedral or castle as I had been to these in a lengthier visit in 2018. I bought an Explorer North East for £10.90, which was valid on most of the buses I intended to use.
Onwards to Consett on the 7.55 X15 service. A smart 16-reg Streetdeck took me up through the country and the pleasant village of Lanchester before the urban area of Consett. We were not far out of Durham when it was apparent that the next bus into town, an X5, had not appeared, with people waiting at several bus stops. As we arrived at Lanchester there were lots of people waiting as the next bus, an X15 arrived – and went straight past as it was full! There should have been another X15 just five minutes behind but we didn’t meet this for some time, it must have been at least 10 minutes late. It did have some space so hopefully the good people of Lanchester and Witton Gilbert (mostly students) reached their destination. Lanchester itself has a school to which many other buses were just arriving. It is clear from BusTimes that an X5 was missing from action in both peak hours on Tuesday, given the numbers of hopeful passengers I saw that would have been a problem. Approaching Consett I saw a smartly repainted Volvo B5LH in the colours of the 16, in the process of conversion to deckers just this week.
At Consett bus station there was a departures board. Unfortunately it did not include my next bus, the Go Ahead 689 to Hexham. But at about 8.50 a Solo came in and parked up in a bay close to the one I wanted. Thanks to looking at the vehicle number on BusTimes I was confident it was my bus, even though the vehicle itself was not yet offering this information. The driver returned just before 9.00 and we had quite a few passengers. We left 5 minutes late which was not good for my 6 minute connection in Hexham. We gradually got later for no particular reason with a few passengers getting on and off. We were well into double figures on board as we moved into the rural section after Ebchester – maybe busier because Tuesday is market day in Hexham. The weather, which had been sunny until now, turned misty in the open country and I was beginning to wonder if it had might the right call on which trip to take. Slaley looked attractive but was very misty. I hadn’t dared look at the progress of my next bus on BusTimes but when we got down onto the A695 near Dilston I did and was very relieved to see it was still in Corbridge and therefore would come into Hexham behind us.
And so to the Wright Brothers 888, the main highlight of the trip. Luckily this was sufficiently late for me to draw breath in Hexham. Four other people waiting for it and a good number already on board, probably about 20 in total. This is good for a seasonal route which had only resumed for the season two weeks previously (normally runs July to September). It was not what BusTimes said it was, it was FJ13EAC, a Volvo B9R Caetano Levante ex DeCourcey, previously used on National Express work. It was comfortable and brisk but had slightly tinted windows which I was worried might affect any photos (but didn’t). Totally overcast in Hexham, 20 minutes on approaching Whitfield was the first sign of blue sky and 5 minutes later it was cloudless – as it remained for the rest of the day. The single fare from Hexham to Penrith is a whopping £18 – and is worth every penny for the amazing scenery. The coach stops for a break in Alston, adjacent to Wright’s garage, I guess the driver has a coffee and the passengers have a welcome opportunity to take a short walk up to the gorgeous town centre. Unfortunately much of it was fenced off with contractors working but enough visible to see and enjoy the atmosphere of the place. And then on to the second part of the journey, a climb to the summit of the Hartside Pass with breathtaking views to the west – these can be seen from either side of the coach as the road zigs and zags! We overtook a slow moving camper van on this stretch and carried on down the other side which is stunning for miles. Eventually we reached the Eden Valley and the picturesque villages of Melmerby and Langwathby and on time into Penrith. I have already posted three photos on the 'High altitude bus routes' thread.
At Penrith I was sorely tempted by the Cumbria Classic Coaches 106 to Kendal, being a Tuesday. This would have departed in half an hour and was a DAF DB250 Lowlander. I may live to regret not taking it but it would have taken me so far away from my intended route I just couldn’t fit it in. Having got the bus between Carlisle and Penrith not long ago I took the train this time, as the bus would have meant spending only 15 minutes in Penrith or only 10 minutes in Carlisle. The train gave me 30 minutes in Penrith and nearly an hour in Carlisle with one-way walks in both places where I wanted to go. So I saw the Market Place and castle in Penrith and spent time in Carlisle exploring some of the lanes and alleys to the west of the cathedral and city centre.
My return to the north east was across the A69 corridor. First step was on a Stagecoach Solo on the short 685 to Brampton. This is worthwhile as it gives you 30 minutes in the adorable small town of Brampton, well worth taking the time to visit. Then an Arriva 685 onwards across to Haltwhistle. Some of the Stagecoach journeys are deckers but along this stretch there are few tall hedges and the great views to the north are easily visible from a single decker. This was a DAF/Wright Pulsar and these seem to me to be very good buses. I don’t know if they have any hidden issues but they feel rugged and reliable with plenty of power for what they do from a reliable off-the-shelf Cummins engine, built when Wright meant good quality. No issue with either of these on the validity of my Explorer ticket.
There was no alternative but to spend an hour in Haltwhistle due to the timings of the buses in this direction. Frankly that was more than enough as there isn’t much here. Haltwhistle claims to be the centre of Britain, ie the point on which a cut-out map of uniform thickness would balance on the tip of a pencil. But that doesn’t mean there is anything to see, so it gave a chance to eat and draw breath. Then onwards on the AD122 Hadrians Wall bus. This was an extra fare as the Explorer North East isn’t valid on the AD122, which is a bit strange, but I wanted to sample this and see the more scenic route to the north. In part it is a tour of car parks for visiting spots, such as Walltown, The Sill and Housesteads, where you can alight and see more. But even from the road there are places where you can see the wall and the scenery, again looking north, is pretty spectacular. The route is run by Solos and we had quite a few passengers, mainly who had been on walks along the wall and were returning either to their cars or home.
From Hexham it was now a case of heading back, I took an X84 to the north of the Tyne including some surprisingly narrow roads between Ovington and Ovingham. This was a pretty new E400 and, for an ‘against the flow’ journey carried quite a few passengers, some heading into Newcastle for a night out. No time to explore Newcastle, just back to Houghton-le-Spring on the X1. No problems for me but there did appear to be some buses missing from the schedule, with quite a long gap between meeting buses on one section and at Washington bus station the last X1 to Peterlee was parked up and clearly didn’t make it there. This was the first week of the X1 extending to Peterlee and Dalton Park so maybe not much custom lost but not ideal. Back at Houghton-le-Spring at 7.30, just as it was getting dark. A short drive through the Tyne Tunnel to stay near Cramlington for part 2….
A thoroughly enjoyable day. I cannot commend the 888 highly enough, it is stunning, but you only have another couple of weeks to sample it this year. The 889 between Alston and Hexham via Nenthead looks like it goes even higher and looks pretty scenic, this only runs on Tuesdays but can be combined with the 681 from Alston to Haltwhistle. Maybe another time…..
It's why there's a pub of the same name in Hexham 
