Sunday 29th May 2022 I know it’s not a mid-size town with a distinct geographic hinterland but I struggled to find a J to match my normal AtoZ criteria; so Jarrow it is. Famous of course for the 1936 Jarrow Crusade which saw 200 men march to Westminster protesting at high levels of unemployment and... Continue Reading →
D is for Durham
Saturday 26th February 2022 It's time for my fortnightly visit to a small to mid sized town and for D I selected one of England's most beautiful and iconic cities which I hadn't explored for many months. The city of Durham's population is around 50,000. It's the administrative centre of its namesake Durham County Council... Continue Reading →
Tyneside to Teesside
Sunday 2nd May 2021 I last took a ride on Go North East’s X-lines branded inter-urban bus routes back in November 2020, trying out some of the many new double decks delivered to the Company last year raising the profile of this useful route network. At that time the coaches made spare after Oxford Bus... Continue Reading →
Switch to switched on Voltra
Sunday 6th December 2020 I always know something serious is happening when a new initiative is upgraded from being described as "ground breaking" in the media release to "game changer" . Mind you, the much derided NHS Covid app was once so described, but that must be the exception to the rule. Go North East... Continue Reading →
A few lines on X-lines
Thursday 5th November 2020 I thought I'd take my last trip out before ‘Lockdown 2.0’ to an area of the country that's seen excellent positive bus developments in recent months. So I found myself in north east England taking a look at the continuing transformation of the region’s inter-urban bus links and other bus route... Continue Reading →
Crossing the Pennines
Saturday 31st August 2019 Route 888 between Newcastle and Keswick is the lesser known bus service across the Pennines. Whereas the more famous route 685 takes a direct westerly trajectory along the A69 to Carlisle via Hexham and Haltwhistle, the 888 also serves Hexham but then follows a south westerly route via Alston and Langwathby... Continue Reading →
May’s new timetable on track: Part 2
Wednesday 22nd May 2019 I left you yesterday morning in Sheffield about to head west on the delightful Hope Valley line (No 12 in My 100 Best Train Journeys) with Trans Pennine Express. It's a beautiful scenic ride through the Peak District made all the better by a gorgeous sunny day. I changed trains in... Continue Reading →