TRIVIA: Bus routes in the UK serving at least 3 or more counties

[Statto]

Arriva Wales service 11, Chester - Rhyl (Cheshire West, Flintshire & Denbighshire).

I was thinking of that route myself, so not sure whether that can be included as to get around the 50km situation, Arriva register it as 2 separate routes, as that route changes number at Holywell even though the same bus & same driver operating through Holywell.

 

[BrumKev]

Johnson's Excelbus do a Sunday Only service from Birmingham to Chipping Norton ( the X50). So that's West Midlands, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire. Think it passes close to Gloucestershire aswell.


Arriva service 65 that runs between Tamworth and Nuneaton technically serves 3 counties. Staffordshire and Warwickshire definitely but it's stop on Mira Drive off the A5 comes under Leicestershire.

 

[MedwayValiant]

The X50 passes within 100 yards of Gloucestershire at Mitford Bridge on the A3400. There isn't an official stop there, but it's the sort of route where the driver would probably put you down there if you asked nicely, and you could walk into Gloucestershire in less than 1 minute.

A2B route 31 (Barley to Cambridge) goes Hertfordshire - Cambridgeshire - Essex - Cambridgeshire in the space of about 5 miles at its southern end, and then stays in Cambridgeshire for the rest of its journey. That isn't even the thing which might surprise a visitor the most; there are also a couple of serious hills in those few miles, not a major feature of that part of England.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

125 Stourbridge (WM) to Kidderminster (Worcs) to Bridgnorth (Shropshire)

9 Bridgnorth (Shropshire) to Shipley (Staffordshire) to Wolverhampton (WM)

 

[Roverebbw]

T14 Hereford to Cardiff. Herefordshire, Powys, Merthyr Tydfil ,Rhondda cynon taf cardiff

 

[GusB]

Stagecoach East Scotland X7 serves 5 local authorities: Aberdeen City, Aberdeen****e, Angus, Dundee City and Perth & Kinross

 

[Simon75]

TrentBarton Swift Uttoxeter - Ashbourne - Derby (Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Derby City)

16 D&G (full route) Hanley - Leek - Buxton
(Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire, Derbyshire)

Arriva 64/164 Hanley - Market Drayton - Shrewsbury
(Stoke On Trent, Staffordshire, Shropshire)

 

[randyrippley]

Can you think of a bus route in the UK that serves at least 3 (or more) counties?

If you mean historic counties then the 555 Lancaster-Keswick
Lancashire-Westmorland-Cumberland

Currently you have the Kirkby Lonsdale Coaches "Craven Connection" group of services Lancaster-Kirkby Lonsdale-Ingleton-Settle-Skipton
Lancashire-Cumbria-North Yorkshire

And Stagecoach have a Manchester-Lake District express double decker which goes through Lancashire - though I don't think it stops there.
(hows tha for another topic: buses which run through a county without stopping???)

 

[GusB]

If you mean historic counties then the 555 Lancaster-Keswick
Lancashire-Westmorland-Cumberland

Currently you have the Kirkby Lonsdale Coaches "Craven Connection" group of services Lancaster-Kirkby Lonsdale-Ingleton-Settle-Skipton
Lancashire-Cumbria-North Yorkshire

It has been firmly established that only current "counties" are in play here. Otherwise we'd spend all year defining what a county is...

 

[hst43102]

I don't think the Stagecoach X5 route has been mentioned yet? Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire-Northamptonshire-Bedfordshire. It used to go on to Cambridgeshire.

 

[Hophead]

Metrobus 420: Greater London (Sutton) to West Sussex (Crawley) via Surrey. Only runs the full length on Sundays though.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I don't think the Stagecoach X5 route has been mentioned yet? Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire-Northamptonshire-Bedfordshire. It used to go on to Cambridgeshire.

Mentioned in post #6

 

[James101]

With the OP’s definition of current local it makes sense to suggest a route where there’s lots of unitary authorities, like the NE. Go North East’s X10 travels through* and stops in Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham (for Peterlee), South Tyneside (for West Bolton/Testo’s), Gateshead and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Six authorities. A few years ago, before to X60 died of ENCTS, you could have added Redcar & Cleveland (for Scalding) and North Yorkshire (Whitby & Scarborough) to that run.

*the X10 additionally runs through Hartlepool along a section of the A19, but does not stop.

 

[bluenoxid]

I cannot confirm because it is not running at the moment but does the X62 Leeds-Hull stop in North Yorkshire at Whitley Bridge?
This would offer West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and Humberside

 

[Hardcastle]

If you mean historic counties then the 555 Lancaster-Keswick
Lancashire-Westmorland-Cumberland

Currently you have the Kirkby Lonsdale Coaches "Craven Connection" group of services Lancaster-Kirkby Lonsdale-Ingleton-Settle-Skipton
Lancashire-Cumbria-North Yorkshire

And Stagecoach have a Manchester-Lake District express double decker which goes through Lancashire - though I don't think it stops there.
(hows tha for another topic: buses which run through a county without stopping???)

The Stagecoach direct from Manchester to the Lake District stopped years ago & yes it did stop in Lancashire Chorley & Preston to name two places

 

[Nippy]

Red Eagle 61 from Aylesbury to Dunstable. Bucks, Herts and Beds.

 

[mlambeuk]

843 Leeds - Malton/ Scarborough.

West Yorkshire, York, North Yorkshire.

x46 York - Hull
York, East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston Upon Hull.

 

[Westcountryman]

Damory 20 from Blandford Forum to Salisbury. Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire along the A354. I had a serious car crash along this stretch of road a couple of years ago and we had police from 3 forces squabbling about which one was responsible, trying to avoid being charged for vehicle recovery.

 

[Bungle158]

It has been firmly established that only current "counties" are in play here. Otherwise we'd spend all year defining what a county is...

That's Berkshire off any lists then. It hasn't been a "current" county since 1998

 

[Deerfold]

That's Berkshire off any lists then. It hasn't been a "current" county since 1998

It's only been mentioned here once - and that once it can be replaced by one of the unitary authorities that replaced Berkshire.

 

[Scotrail314209]

Stagecoach West Scotland’s route X36

North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire (at Howwood) then Glasgow.

 

[shopbford]

We have Service 131 that runs Kelso/Jedburgh - Newcastle, passing through Scottish Borders, Northumberland & Newcastle upon Tyne (Tyne & Wear)

 

[deanmachine]

*the X10 additionally runs through Hartlepool along a section of the A19, but does not stop.

And the City of Sunderland

 

[87007]

Oh and at least one of Arriva's Wigan to Warrington services go via Newton-Le-Willows, so that's Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire

Warrington's Own Buses too

 

[A0wen]

Arriva / Green Line 724 - starts at Harlow (Essex), runs through Herts, touches Bucks (Denham) before heading into London.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

There's the service from High Wycombe (Bucks) via Henley (Oxon) to Reading (ex Berks). A long time ago it was Thames Valley route 28, but it's now Aviva 800/801.

 

[quarella]

NAT X7 Traws Hafren Bristol - Chepstow/Magor serves Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire.
First Cymru X10 Swansea - Sarn for Cardiff serves Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend.
T6 Swansea - Brecon. Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Powys.
The T1C had a mention earlier with 1974 counties. It now serves Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Swansea*, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend and Cardiff.
*The M4 Junction 44 Bowens Arms stop is between the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot County Boundary signs just outside Skewen.

In 1996 I travelled from Cardiff on the longer predecessor to the T1C. The Traws Cambria 701 Porth - Holyhead which served 10 local authorities. Rhondda Cynon Taff, Cardiff, Bridgend, Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Powys, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey.
My timetable is dated 1995 when it would have been 6 or 7. Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan, Mid Glamorgan again, West Glamorgan, Dyfed, Powys, Gwynedd.

 

[Dai Corner]

Stagecoach South Wales x15 Newport-Risca (Caerphilly County Borough)-Brynmawr (Blaenau Gwent) and 56 Newport-Risca-Tredegar (Blaenau Gwent) serve three post 1996 Local Authorities.

Between 1974 and 1996 they'd all have been wholly within Gwent and pre-1974 they'd have connected the County Borough of Newport and Monmouthshire. Whether the latter counts as one or two I will leave as an exercise for the reader!

Stagecoach X4 Abergavenny (Monmouthshire)-Tredegar (Blaenau Gwent)-Merthyr Tydfil-Pontypridd (Rhondda Cynon Taf)-Cardiff serves five post 1996 local authorities. Some journeys were extended to Hereford at one time, making six (and two countries).

 

[Grahamk748]

Stagecoach in Bedford route 41 Bedford to Northampton passes through Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire

 

[Class465pacer]

Stagecoach express M2 which was withdrawn earlier this year ran from North Greenwich to Canterbury via Chatham, serving Greater London, Medway (unitary authority) and Kent