The one off- putting thing about Scotland is the drive to get there: the long slog on terrible motorways. For those of us around the south coast, there is now a much better alternative, including the opportunity of a day trip, and that is curtesy of Loganair from Eastleigh Airport to Edinburgh. Departing at 08.40, and just over an hour and ten minutes later, you arrive in Edinburgh with eight hours until the scheduled return departure time.
Lothian SB19 GMY, Volvo B8L/AD H52/29D. Arriving into the airport from the city centre on Airlink 100 the direct route into the city centre, running every 10 minutes and taking just 32 minutes.The first hurdle is getting out of the dreadful airport, a long walk through the combined departures and arrival hall, to the far end where the convenient bus station and tram terminus are located. Right by the exit door is the stop for service 200, part of the Lothian Skylink network, with a thirty-minute headway and travel time of 43 minutes to Leith Ocean Terminal. This being the rush hour, the timetable bears no relation to the reality, with heavy traffic in both directions on the A8 Glasgow Road making progress very slow. Whilst you might think that Skylink was a service designed for airport passengers, offering a speedy service to areas in the city centre, it is in fact a local residents service, meandering its way through several large housing estates before running along the coast road into Leith.
Leith and the area around Fishmarket are suffering from travel disruption caused by the tram extension works on both roads and pavements. The tram will eventually end at Fishmarket, outside a residential block of flats which is not a significant location. The reason for coming to Fishmarket was to enjoy a ride on one of Lothians’ three-axial Volvo B8L/AD’s. Route 16 from Fishmarket into the city centre is the longest of three options available from this location and unwittingly for us, turned out to be the wrong choice. What should have been a relatively short 30-minute journey turned into one hour and ten minutes, as heavy loadings and further tram disruptions around Hillside resulted in the bus being stationery for long periods. Having never approached Edinburgh city centre from this direction, I did not realise that Hillside was just a short distance from Princes Street otherwise it would have been quicker to walk.
What can one say about Edinburgh during festival time and a refuse collection strike: packed and filthy is probably the politest. As a location for looking at buses Princes Street is ideal. There are so many buses using a relatively narrow roadway, speed is glacially slow, not helped by the tram taking up so much space. For less congested bus and pedestrian streets, Queens Street and York Place offer a better alternative, running parallel to Princes Street. With sightseeing buses removed from Waverley Bridge, the best location for them to congregate is now Lawnmarket, close to the castle entrance. Despite the crowds, it was encouraging to see tourists returning in large numbers, borne out in part by the number of coaches parked along Regent Road utilizing virtually all the available spaces.
There were tourists aplenty. The coach bays along Regent Road were full by mid-afternoon. TJ Travel from Wakefield were there with TJ07 OUR, a Mercedes Benz Tourismo 2 parked in front of the Burns Monument.
Edinburgh is a paradise for a bus and coach enthusiast provided you enjoy walking but, after five hours, it is time for a sit down and to make the return journey to the airport. Fortunately, the tram was back in service after a power outage earlier in the day. Little did we know of the chaos that would greet us at airport security, with confined space and large passenger numbers. With no luggage and having checked-in online we were only required to arrive 30 minutes before departure: it was tight.
Stagecoach SN67 WWP AD E20D MMC B38F. Operating service 747
from Edinburgh Airport across the Forth Road Bridge to Halbeath Park & Ride.
Necrobus KGJ 341A (666 DYE) former London Routemaster operating ghost tours (didn’t know they came out in the daylight!).