The many colours of Bracknell.

 

Alighting at Reading railway station for the first time in 20 years, it was amazing to see how the area inside the station had been transformed. However, it was a shame that the same could not be said for the immediate area outside the station. I remember James Freeman, when MD of Reading Buses, saying that a lack of consultation resulted in the loss of the bus station immediately outside Reading railway station, in favour of a vehicle free grand piazza. Today, what welcomes you in place of a grand piazza is a great chasm, as Reading mines for either hidden minerals or Dante’s Inferno. However, that matters very little as it is a quick dash into the surrounding side streets in search of bus service X4 to Bracknell. 

                                                                                                                        

A pride of lions. Below YX73 PHK and above KX59 GNV (ex Portsmouth University) showing the contrasting ‘Lion’ livery. Both are departing on service 4 to Reading. As hoped for, the day got off to a roaring start: the bus that arrived was one of the new Alexander Dennis E40D MMC ‘s in the revised ‘Lion’ livery. We settled into smart leather seats (top deck front of course): checked out the contactless phone charging pad, peered through the full-length sun roof and admired the ambient lighting and set off at a sedate pace (X for express?) to a cacophony of squeaks and rattles along the very straight A329. A visit to Wokingham Railway Station before pulling into the town centre for a short layover and then onto the epitome of 1960’s pre-cast concrete, Bracknell. On route enjoyed a tour around one of the industrial parks and the derelict dry ski slope, although the alpine chalet hotel at the summit remains open. Around the ring road, passing the railway station and the site where the First depot once stood, we arrive at the all too familiar bus station. The one constant on the Bracknell bus scene is the bus station. Whilst numerous operators have come and gone, Thames Valley, Beeline, First, and Courtney to name a few, the bus station has changed little. The greasy spoon café is as rough and cheap as ever; the toilets are indescribable with the mural no longer a diversion; the former information shop now a focal point for staff to loiter, and the remaining retail outlet long closed. However, the one major redeeming feature is the buses. Today, the majority are under Reading Buses management and trade as Thames Valley, with White Bus coming in on a couple of irregular services. Reading has invested heavily in new buses in an assortment of liveries, whilst still retaining a few of the former Courtney fleet. Visiting on a dull Monday in February, passenger loading looked light on the town services but slightly better on services out-of-town. One negative observation was that the buses could do with a good clean as the exterior on many buses showed signs of several days’ road dirt. With so much redevelopment in the centre of Bracknell, it is encouraging that the bus station survives especially as it is conveniently adjacent to both the shopping precinct and railway station. The level of bus provision also belies Bracknell’s status as a new town built around a road network designed for the car.     Former Courtney YY67 HDO about to depart on half-hourly service 194 to Camberley. The service extends four time a day to Farnborough.  Above: Reading Buses FL73 WND departing on service 703 for Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 via Slough and Windsor. The 18 daily departures have an erratic headway from Bracknell but become a 30-minute headway when combined with short workings from Slough. Below: how things were when First operated the route. Above: Two AD E20D’s in a rather drab Thames Valley livery. Front YX68 ULZ and behind YX65 RKK, both ex Courtney although RKK was originally an Alexander Dennis demonstrator. Below: YX73 PGZ arrives into the bus station on service 171, an every 30 minute circular around the town via Hanworth. The livery displays a variation of the bird motif used originally by Courtney.     Two variations on a colour theme: Above: SN69 ZMZ laying over and below YX22 OJG about to depart on service 194 to Camberley.   Two ex-Courtney buses still in service with Thames Valley. Above: KX64 AEJ returning to the bus station on service 150, a 27 minute circular via Binfield. Below: YX67 UYP about to depart on service 156, a 25 minute circular around the town.          In the past.     Left, First Bus, right two examples of Courtneys operation. Left, Beeline operating the 192. Centre the mural in the bus station toilet and a Mercedes laying over.  Bus and Coach World

Snowdon Sherpa

 

Croeso i Eryri

Situated at the top of Llanberis Pass is Pen-y-Pass bus interchange at an elevation of 359 metres (1,178 ft) – maybe the highest in Britain. Located in the Snowdonia National Park, which covers an area of 823 square miles and is home to over 26,000 people, Pen-y-Pass is the starting point for most walkers attempting to reach the summit of Snowdon (1,085 metres or 3,560 ft). The area is hugely popular and, consequently, parking and traffic congestion are major problems, more so in 2021 with staycations being the order of the day. To help placate the situation, the National Park and Gwynedd Council have, for many decades, supported a small network of bus routes known as the Snowdon Sherpa. Over the years, many operators have been involved: Express Motors, KMP, Padarn Bus, Arriva, GHA, O R Williams who traded as Whiteways, Crosville, and Alpine.

Geographically, the Snowdon Sherpa covers just a small area in the north west of the national park with the remainder of the park being covered by conventional bus and Traws Cymru services provided by operators such as Arriva, Llew Jones and Lloyds. In 2021 the entire Sherpa network is operated by Gwynfor Coaches of Gaerwen on the Isle of Anglesey, using a local base in Caernarfon. The network consists of six routes with five operating daily and the S6 operating weekends and bank holidays. The most popular route being the S1 between Llanberis and Pen-y-Pass, a relatively short journey of 5.5 miles. This route also acts as a park-and-ride service from Nant Peris, a small village five minutes outside Llanberis which has a large pay-and-display car park. From Monday to Friday this service operates on an hourly headway between 7.30am and 5pm, whilst on weekends and bank holidays the operation becomes far more intensive, starting at 6.45am and finishing at 6.50pm. On weekends and bank holidays, the hourly service from Llanberis is supplemented by two additional short workings per hour from the Nant Peris park-and-ride. Also departing Llanberis is the S2 on an hourly headway, giving this stretch of road to Pen-y-Pass a service every thirty-minutes. Unlike the S1, the S2 continues over the pass for another 11 miles to Betws-y-Coed and twice a day beyond that to Llanrwst.

Gwynfor Coaches KX15 BMV, an Optare Solo M710SE B19F which was new to Courtney ascends the A489 on service S4.

The third daily service, the S4, approaches Pen-y-Pass from the east by climbing the A489, having commenced in Caernarfon, but, unlike the S1 and S2 which are worked by double-deckers, uses Optare Solo’s to comply with width restrictions near the summit. Rather confusingly the S4, whilst marketed as part of the Sherpa network, is aimed more towards locals wanting to travel between Beddgelert and Caernarfon. To add further confusion for the visitor, some journeys on the S4 weekday timetable are shown as short workings, whereas in reality they continue to/from Beddgelert as S97 to Porthmadog. Sundays and bank holidays are made easier as both the S4 and S97 are shown on one timetable as a coordinated service. Beddgelert is a tourist destination in its own right and is a traditional village set beside two rivers, the Glaslyn and the Colwyn which meet at a picturesque bridge in the centre of the village. The Welsh Highland Railway coming from Porthmadog has a station in the village making it an ideal interchange with the bus, especially in 2021 as the station is also the terminus for the railway, the line onward to Caernarfon being out of action. 

Gwynfor Coaches YJ10 MBO an Optare Solo M780SE B27F, new to Heyfordian, descends from Pen-y-Pass on service S4.

Many bus routes in Britain contest the accolade of ‘most scenic’ but there can only be one winner of the ‘most scenic network’ - the Snowdon Sherpa. Dramatic landscapes viewed from the top deck of a bus as it clings to the mountain side and travels through lush, lake filled valleys take some beating. If you also factor in the ease of access by public transport into the network and the availability of several different good value travel cards from both rail and bus companies, Snowdonia National Park can be an enjoyable car free holiday.

Gwynfor Coaches LG52 DBU, DAF SDB250/Alexander H45/20D, new to Arriva London sits at the High Street lay-over point of service S1. The timetable shows the service starting from the interchange but on this journey the bus continued on a one-way loop along the A4086 and turning left into the High Street.

Gwynfor Coaches, on loan from Dawson Rentals, LK04 NME, a Volvo B7TL with Alexander H43/24D body, new to Metroline London Northern as VPL583. Seen loading at Llanberis interchange on the 12-noon departure of service S2 for Betws-y-Coed.

Gwynfor Coaches operating service 88 from Caernarfon with YJ61 JHV, an Optare Solo M780SE B27F which was new to Connect Transport. The service has just entered the High Street from the A4086 which runs parallel to the High Street acting as a by-pass. Gwynfor Coaches also operate the 85/86 from Bangor to Llanberis. All three services are frequent but have irregular headways. A more limited timetable operates on Sunday but has better clockface timings.

Llanberis, population 1,844, sits on the twin lakes of Llyn Padarn and Llyn Peris, and  the national park boundary dissects the town that today counts tourism as its main industry. Most of the attractions are centred on the southern end of the town: Snowdonia Mountain Railway, Llanberis lake railway, the wonderful Electric Mountain, and the National Slate Museum amongst others.

Bus and Coach World