...at least metaphorically. I may not be heading out onto the open road at any point soon (another couple of years perhaps?) but in the meantime I'd like to share an idea I had the other week about a possible future journey from coast to coast across Britain. It isn't as long as "Britain by Bus" as it only heads from west to east across the country. And the special catch this time is that it uses (mainly) Arriva buses. I've tentatively called it "Isle to Isle" based on the start and finish points – Isle of Anglesey off the Gwynedd coast (technically Holy Island) and Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. Here's a sample timetable:
Day 1 – Monday
Service 4
0650 departs Holyhead, Summer Hill
0742 arrives Llangefni, High Street
Service 4A
0742 departs Llangefni, High Street
0821 arrives Bangor, Bus Station
Service X5
0835 departs Bangor, Bus Station
0932 arrive Llandudno, Palladium
Service 12
0947 departs Llandudno, York Road
1103 arrives Rhyl, Bus Station
Service 11
1115 departs Rhyl, Bus Station
1212 arrives Holywell, Bus Station
Service X11
1215 departs Holywell, Bus Station
1317 arrives Chester, Bus Exchange
Service 1
1409 departs Chester, Foregate Street
1449 arrives Wrexham, Bus Station
Service 2
1507 departs Wrexham, Bus Station
1608 arrives Oswestry, Bus Station
Service 70
1642 departs Oswestry, Bus Station
1737 arrive Shrewsbury, Bus Station
Service X5
1800 departs Shrewsbury, Bus Station
1830 arrives Telford, Bus Station
Day 2 – Tuesday
Service 892
0700 departs Telford, Bus Station
0800 arrives Wolverhampton, Princess Street
Service 70
0840 departs Wolverhampton, Cleveland Street
0935 arrives Cannock, Bus Station
Service 60
1005 departs Cannock, Bus Station
1055 arrives Lichfield, Bus Station
Service 12
1110 departs Lichfield, Bus Station
1205 arrives Burton-on-Trent, New Street
Service 9A
1230 departs Burton-on-Trent, New Street
1325 arrives Coalville, High Street
Service 29A
1328 departs Coalville, Memorial Square
1430 arrives Leicester, St. Margaret's Bus Station
Service X3
1450 departs Leicester, St. Margaret's Bus Station
1540 arrives Market Harborough, Market Hall
Service X7 (operated by Stagecoach)
1631 departs Market Harborough, Market Hall
1710 arrives Northampton, Greyfriars Bus Station
Service 33
1749 departs Northampton, Greyfriars Bus Station
1851 arrives Milton Keynes, Bus Station
Day 3 – Wednesday
Service 150
0710 departs Milton Keynes, The Point
0820 arrives Aylesbury, Bus Station
Service 500
0832 departs Aylesbury, Bus Station
0937 arrives Hemel Hempstead, Bus Station
Service 300
0952 departs Hemel Hempstead, Bus Station
1020 arrives St. Albans, St. Peters Street
Service 724 (Greenline)
1043 departs St. Albans, Station Interchange
1136 arrives Hertford, Bus Station
Service 310
1208 departs Hertford, Bus Station
1300 arrives Waltham Cross, Bus Station
Service 279 (operated for TfL)
1402 departs Waltham Cross, Bus Station
1433 arrives Edmonton Green, Bus Station
Service 149 (operated for TfL)
1445 departs Edmonton Green, Bus Station
1556 arrives London Bridge, Bus Station
Service 47 (operated by Selkent)
1619 departs London Bridge, Southwark Cathedral
1715 arrives Catford, Bromley Road
Service 160 (operated for TfL)
1745 departs Catford, Lewisham Town Hall
1822 arrives Eltham, Church
Day 4 – Thursday
Service 233 (operated for TfL)
0833 departs Eltham, Church
0915 arrives Swanley, ASDA
Service 477
0929 departs Swanley, ASDA
0951 arrives Dartford, Home Gardens
Service B (Fastrack)
1009 departs Dartford, Home Gardens
1052 arrives Gravesend, Garrick Street
Service 136
1111 departs Gravesend, Garrick Street
1150 arrives Chatham, Bus Station
Service 101
1205 departs Chatham, Bus Station
1235 arrives Maidstone, Chequers Bus Station
Service 334
1245 departs Maidstone, Chequers Bus Station
1403 arrives Sheerness, Tesco
I'm not proposing to do it myself – so if anyone else would like to try it out, I'm sure we'd be interested to follow your exploits. In the meantime, if you've appreciated any of my blogging, I've teamed up with Martin from Manchester Buses blog to launch the Manchester Transport Blog which covers buses, trains and trams in Greater Manchester. After several years of home working, I've finally got myself a season ticket and have rejoined the ranks of the daily commuters. So see you out and about!
Image credits: mafleen, wirewiping and Nicobobinus on Flickr
