Tartan Day, Castles and Kilts.

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.

Stagecoach (Megabus) YIL 8430 (OW14 LKC, T505 UBE), Van Hool TDX27 Astromega. Passing through on the two-hourly service 909 - Edinburgh - Glasgow via Stirling and Cumbernauld. The vehicle was new to Oxford Tube.

 

Stagecoach Western YX18 LKO, Volvo B11RLET/Plaxton CH65/22Dt. Photographed in Princes Street departing for Glasgow on service 900. The service operates at 15 minute intervals between 6.30am and 7.45pm with earlier and later journeys timed at 30 minute intervals.  

      Edinburgh tram No.203 a CAF Urbos 3 stuck in Princes Street due to a power failure.

East Coast Buses (Lothian) SJ18 NFV. Volvo B5TL/Wright H48/30F. Departing Edinburgh, heading east on service X6 to Haddington, operating every 30 minutes with a journey time of 1hr 7mins. 

Lothian SJ70 HNO, Volvo B8RLE/MCV B49F. Service 30 operates between Clovenstone – Musselburgh every 10 minutes with an end-to-end journey time of 1hr 36mins.

Lothian Country LXZ 5420 (BF60 VJE) Volvo B9TL/ Wright H45/27F (H39/23D). New to Centrewest. Entering Edinburgh on service X27 from Whitburn in West Lothian, a journey of 1hr 49mins operating every 30 minutes.

Lothian SJ18 NFD, Volvo B5TL/Wright H49/30F, on the heavily congested Princes Street, operating service 37 to Easter Bush from Silverknowes with an end-to-end running time of 1hr 38min. The full service operates every 30 minutes with intermediate workings between Silverknowes and Bilston.

Lothian SJ19 OXP, Volvo B8L/AD H61/39D. Operating service 16 between Torphin and Silverknowes, the complete journey takes 1h 30mins and runs every 12minutes. On the day of the visit this service suffered severe delays due to tram works around Leith and Hillside. 

East Coast (Lothian) SF17 VML, Volvo B8RLE/Wright B40F in Princes Street operating the X7 to Dunbar. 

Border Buses YA13 AEG an Optare Versa V1170 B41F, new to Perryman’s. On St. David Street arriving into Edinburgh on service 51 from St Boswells, a journey of 1hr 54mins.

Ratho Coaches YN22 YLE a rather unusual short Scania K360IB4 with Higer body picking up from the Travelodge.

Lothian SJ71 HKC a Volvo B5TL with Alexander Dennis H49/35F body. Heading out of the city centre along the A1 on route 44 to Wallyford. The service operates every 12 minutes with a running time of 1hr 34mins.

First Scotland East SN64 CKL. Wright Streetlite B41F standing at St. Andrews House, Regent Road awaiting a return journey on the X22 to Shotts. Just after this photograph was taken the business was acquired by McGill’s who trade as Eastern Scottish. The X22 operates every 30 minutes with a running time of 2hs 13mins.

Lothian (Majestic Tour) SJ16 ZZO, Volvo B5TL/Wright PO53/2F standing outside Old Royal High School. The hop on hop off service operates every 15 minutes and takes in sights beyond the city centre, visiting Leith and the Royal Botanic Gardens. 

Stagecoach Fife YX63 NEO, Volvo B13RT/Plaxton C61FLt, departing Edinburgh on service X54 to Dundee, a journey of 2hrs 13mins.

Borders Buses SN69 ZNG, AD E20D MMC B38F arrives into Edinburgh after a journey of 2hrs 35mins on the 253 from Berwick-upon-Tweed.  

Lothian SJ70 HNR a Volvo B8RLE with MCV B49F body. Climbing St David St from Princes St on service 30 to Clovenstone having come from Musselburgh, a total journey time of 1hr 15mins. 

Stagecoach Western Scania K230 with AD B43F body in St. David St arriving into the city from Biggar on service 101.

Necrobus KGJ 341A (666 DYE) former London Routemaster operating ghost tours (didn’t know they came out in the daylight!).

Stagecoach Fife YX18 LHN, Volvo B8RLET with Plaxton C53F body, passing through St. David Street on service X57 1hr 57min to Kirkcaldy. 

The end.

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