Journeys around Britain by bus and train
Sunday 16th August 2026 My latest journey of discovery on all of Britain’s 25 bus routes numbered 99 turned out to be the busiest journey yet even beating TfL’s route 99 between Woolwich and Erith/Bexleyheath and perhaps fittingly it s part of the high profile Bee Network in Manchester, which, of course, was famously... Continue Reading
Saturday 15th August 2026 Continuing this monthly nostalgic look back to the build up to bus deregulation forty years ago, thanks to those fledgling early editions of Bus Business from the Bus Archive, we now reach August 1986, just two months away from the big change. It s interesting to see news stories include .. updates... Continue Reading
Thursday 13th August 2026 It s been a while since I ve shared emails kindly sent to me by blog readers at busandtrainuser@gmail.com so here are some more from recent weeks The most out of date information on public display? First up is an email from Peter last week who suggested a competition to find the most... Continue Reading
Tuesday 11th August 2026 Readers may recall back in April I featured two bus routes reintroduced by Suffolk County Council funded from its three year £26 million Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) the 51 between Stowmarket and Hadleigh and 52 Hadleigh circular via Elmsett and Whatfield. I mentioned at that time there was a... Continue Reading
Sunday 9th August 2026 This is the second route numbered 99 in South Yorkshire (check out last time s journey between Doncaster and Retford) and despite what I (mistakenly) initially wrote in that blog about that being the only one to straddle two counties this one does too. It’s also another route 99 that’s a... Continue Reading
Saturday 8th August 2026 Readers may recall a blog last November featuring a grassroots campaign in Glastonbury calling for a dedicated direct bus route linking the Somerset town to and from Castle Cary railway station to alleviate the need for the convoluted alternative of changing buses in Street or an expensive taxi. Well, the campaigners... Continue Reading
Thursday 6th August 2026 Okehampton s doing well for rail service restoration. Not only did the town (population: 9,500) gain the return of a daily hourly train service to and from Exeter along the reopened Dartmoor Line in 2021 (building on the successful Devon County Council funded Summer Sunday service that ran for a number of... Continue Reading
Tuesday 4th August 2026 Another route added to Britain’s expanding bus scene is First Solent’s brand new X3 providing a quicker journey between Fareham, Portsmouth Harbour and Southsea than the all stops route 3 which the company runs between the same towns. First Bus introduced the new route last Monday with buses completing the end... Continue Reading
Sunday 2nd August 2026 After the South East, the South West, South Wales, East Anglia, the Midlands and the Potteries this year s relentless journey northwards checking out all Britain s 25 bus routes numbered 99 brings me to South Yorkshire to sample the County s hourly inter-urban route that links Doncaster with Retford in neighbouring Nottinghamshire making... Continue Reading
Saturday 1st August 2026 Continuing the theme of exploring new bus routes now regularly being added to Britain s ever expanding bus network, this one is thanks to Lincolnshire s BSIP/LABG funding. It s operated by family owned, Boston based, Brylaine and runs between Lincoln and Horncastle through rural Lincolnshire. It joins two other routes between the two... Continue Reading
Thursday 30th July 2026 More miscellany from the past month . A ride on the 77 It s been a few years since I d travelled on Stagecoach s spectacular scenic circular route 77/77A in the Lake District so was pleased to make another journey while in the area earlier this month. This delightful route links Keswick with Derwent... Continue Reading
Tuesday 28th July 2026 A whole raft of route changes in south Essex began yesterday. Many tendered routes changed hands with Stephensons gaining work from both Central Connect and First Bus at the same time as those companies introduced interesting initiatives on London’s fringes including a long restored cross boundary route and a brand new... Continue Reading
Sunday 26th July 2026 From the South East, the South West, South Wales, East Anglia and the Midlands my slow but sure journey northwards checking out all Britain s 25 bus routes numbered 99 brings me to the Potteries to travel on the fourth and final route 99 of the 25 which are operated by First... Continue Reading
Saturday 25th July 2026 I enjoyed a day trip to the electoral hotbed of Clacton-on-Sea with Julian Peddle (Centrebus and associated companies Supremo) on Wednesday. Despite the number of candidates standing in next month s by-election (a motley band of 34 hopefuls) we didn t see any campaigning, not even a waste bin. Mind you, we were... Continue Reading
Thursday 23rd July 2026 I left you in Tuesday’s blog having missed the last ferry departure of the day from Tobermory to Kilchoan as it set sail two minutes earlier than scheduled, albeit all checked in passengers and vehicles that had arrived within the required 10 minutes check-in time were on board. But not me.... Continue Reading
Tuesday 21st July 2026 It was many years ago when, knowing my love of scenic bus routes as well as the West Highlands of Scotland, blog reader Tarkaman AC120 recommended I take a ride on Sheil Buses route 506 between Fort William and Kilchoan. It’s been on my to do list ever since, not least... Continue Reading
Sunday 19th July 2026 After last time’s review of West Midlands’ Diamond Bus operated route numbered 99, it’s a short hop over the conurbation’s western border into neighbouring Telford Wrekin land to explore Telford’s circular bus route bearing the same number 99 with an ‘A’ suffix denoting anti-clockwise and ‘C’ for clockwise. It’s the... Continue Reading
Saturday 18th July 2026 Readers may recall I mentioned in Thursday s blog how “I’ve known tendered bus routes with less than six passengers per journey” ….. which is a nice lead in to today’s blog which tells the story of another route to be resurrected thanks to Local Authority Bus Grant funds now sloshing around.... Continue Reading
Thursday 16th July 2026 06:15 Update: In somewhat coincidental timing I see it s been announced the pink 22 has been saved! . Nevertheless here s the blog as it was written on the basis it hadn t yet been saved, but as you ll see I kind of thought it would be Readers have likely noticed many blogs... Continue Reading
Tuesday 14th July 2026 Signal boxes are becoming something of an endangered species on the railway, not least on the London Underground, with modern technology enabling trains to be controlled from a computer screen many miles away from the tracks and in-cab displays for drivers rather than what is now regarded as old fashioned track... Continue Reading