Day 3 – Twitter Digest

We're traversing the north west of England today, through Cumberland and the old county palatine of Lancaster – via the Lake District.

• If it's a college holiday then we're still on time. If not - we're a little late! 7:52 AM
• Well it's late either way now. Still no sign. I am the only person at the stop. Hmm. 8:04 AM
• Just had a conversation with a passer by. He recommends a product called Stay Brite, a pink liquid you can put on the lenses of your gla ... 8:15 AM
• http://qik.com/video/1514239 8:19 AM
• My contingency plan is to skip Penrith and catch the 0900 service 554 to Keswick. Don't know where the stop is yet. 8:24 AM
• Just to clarify, although I was rushing a bit, I was at the stop in time to cater for college day variations! :) 8:26 AM
• I can't find the telephone number for Carlisle depot. All the buses advertise Traveline, but they won't know where the bus is. 8:30 AM
• Have I really made such a basic mistake? I thought I was at the bus station. Signage is pretty non-existant other than a basic tt at stops. 8:40 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3pdpu - Mea culpa. 103 doesn't call at The Crescent. 8:53 AM
• I found the bus station... 8:55 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3pe4l - Old faithful - possibly one of the buses I travelled on to uni in Lancaster. 9:08 AM
• So my new time of arrival in Keswick is 1010, with the 556 leaving at 1025. 9:10 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3pek5 - Wooden bus stop poles. 9:28 AM
• Just passed the Black-a-Moor pub in Wigton - a name even worse than The Saracen's Head. 9:33 AM
• Interesting thing about long bus journies is the change in accents. Local dialect appears to be pseudo Yorkshire/Geordie. Aye. 9:37 AM
• The peaks in the distance look a bit cloudy and grey. Heading straight towards them. 9:45 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3pf56 - Misty wind farm. I expect a shower soon. 9:53 AM
• http://qik.com/video/1514630 10:12 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3pfv6 - Another nearly new ex-Manchester double decker - MX reg. 10:27 AM
• A lot of free passes - and I'm on a day ticket. I wonder if the driver has taken any cash, even though this dd is half full. 10:30 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3pgvy - Grasmere - no buses allowed, except for buses. 11:13 AM
• Back on the mobile net. I stand by my comments about the North West Cumbrian accent :) 11:16 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3ph49 - Yachts on Windermere. 11:23 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3phh1 - Bit of a grey day for an open top bus tour. 11:38 AM
• It's a constant struggle to maintain am ideal temperature on this bus. Cardie on. Cardie off. Window open. Window shut. 11:41 AM
• The designated window opener got off at Windermere. Thankfully someone else has taken her place. 11:43 AM
• After all the bumps and turns of the past 90 mins, it's a sharp brake that sends my mobile flying off down the aisle with the back off. Doh. 11:50 AM
• Almost everyone upstairs has got off in Kendal. To buy mintcake perhaps? Driver change. 11:59 AM
• We are going down some really twisty, narrow lanes around Priest Hutton. I always imagined the 555 to be pretty direct. Obviously not. 12:45 AM
• http://twitpic.com/3pjr2 - Traffic jam in Carnforth. 12:59 AM
• Turned out to be a brief encounter with some temporary traffic lights. Lost a few minutes. 1:01 PM
• Hest Bank is one of only 2 places on main West Coast rail line where you can see the sea. View from A6 obscured by houses. 1:08 PM
• Good place to build houses, there's a lovely seaview. 1:09 PM
• Just entering Lancaster city limits. Couple of minutes late by my reckoning. 1:10 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pknd - Lancaster bus station :) 1:25 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3plq4 - Not only does the Queen own Lancaster Castle, she'll send you there if you commit a crime. 1:54 PM
• A lot of free passes in evidence on the 40 to Preston. Hope some of them will get off soon, as my seat is rather lacking in legroom... 2:08 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pmoh - Pensioner day out express 2:17 PM
• Galgate comes and goes. The women in front get off, so I nab their seat. Much better. More room under the seat in front. 2:28 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pnbt - Driveway up to the university. 2:32 PM
• Swapped mobiles again. Batteries on main camera are running low. Need to recharge them tonight at home. 2:33 PM
• Garstang is the world's first #fairtrade market town. No market on today though. 2:44 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3poo6 - The A6 is littered with garages. 3:01 PM
• During the fuel protests, we made 2 quick splash-and-dashes on the way home to Lancaster from Blackpool. 3:03 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3povk - A pub. Opposite The Roebuck. 3:06 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pq71 - Bus station cafe chic. 3:32 PM
• Actually, it's nice to have a break. The next leg to Bolton is every 10 mins, so I'm taking some time out. 3:36 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pr05 - Preston bus stn is biggest in England 3:49 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pr34 - The modernist style. 3:51 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pru3 - Preston Bus RIP 4:05 PM
• On the 1615 to Bolton via Chorley. Or is it a late running 1605? Hard to tell. 4:18 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3psoj - Sat downstairs for a change. 4:21 PM
• Very rare that anyone ever sits next to me first on a busy bus. 4:22 PM
• Is it because I am tall? Or am I considered to be the proverbial nutter? 4:23 PM
• Nutter count so far: none. Just normal, everyday people. (And me!) 4:25 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pt9c - The fuschia bus stops here. 4:31 PM
• Good news btw. The ticket I bought on my first bus in Carlisle this morning is valid (not available) on buses in Mcr too. 4:33 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3puee - Chor-leh. 4:50 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3puoc - "Buried alive..." "KHAAAN!" 4:55 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pv61 - @technicalfault North West Explorer tckt 5:03 PM
• First lady driver of the trip, swapover in Chorley. 5:06 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pvua - Morrisons Chimney 5:14 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pwfm - Winter Hill up "close". 5:24 PM
• I can see Beetham Tower from here, though it wouldn't show up in a camphone shot. 5:32 PM
• Check out the group on Flickr devoted to how far away you can see Beetham Tower from. 5:33 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pxe2 - Bunching. 5:40 PM
• At Bolton. Next bus in half an hour. 5:47 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pyef - Bolton Town Hall (in shadow) 5:55 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pyms - Civic quarter - very plush 5:58 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3pyvn - The bus I want - but not the one I want. 6:01 PM
• I know it's getting on, but I need to share some bus history with you. Patience, dear reader. 6:05 PM
• Greater Manchester Buses was split into 2 halves for privatisation, North and South. 6:06 PM
• The northern part was sold to First, the southern half to Stagecoach. 6:07 PM
• Route 22 between Bolton and Stockport was run by the two depots at each end of the route, which ended up in different hands. 6:09 PM
• Thus the route is jointly operated by First and Stagecoach today. 6:10 PM
• Anyone know if there are other First/Stagecoach services, or is this unique? 6:12 PM
• Last bus today. 7 minutes late, I'd hazard Trafford Centre traffic to blame. 6:27 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3q0wc - New seat coverings, old seats. 6:30 PM
• The ticket machines that Manchester use are rubbish - try to take the ticket before it's finished printing + cutting: paper jam. 6:35 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3q2k3 - Art deco civic building in Swinton. 6:53 PM
• Stagecoach operate the Metrolink trams in Eccles, but there were none to take a snap of when we passed. 7:07 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3q4aq - Trafford Centre bus station 7:18 PM
• TC BS is a bit open to the elements. Still, better than one might expect from such a pro-motorist organisation. 7:20 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3q559 - There are 2 ways to get to Urmston. 7:30 PM
• We left Bolton 7 mins late but now we're waiting time. I just want to get home asap. Feeling pretty tired. 7:37 PM
• Chorlton cum Hardy is meant to be a very pleasant place to live. 7:39 PM
• A dog just got on. Rather reluctantly it has to be said. 7:40 PM
• http://twitpic.com/3q632 - The dog. 7:43 PM
• The dog just got off. 7:44 PM
• You can tell I'm tired because I'm babbling. Not long now, thankfully! 7:45 PM
• I'm in Burnage! Thanks for following me today - see you tomorrow! 8:05 PM