England: Local Services
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This page began life as a place to highlight bus services that get you to and around English hill country. Since then, it has expanded to include other services of interest too, many of them with a more urban flavour. To get about England, both are needed so some of each will feature on this page for as long as it exists.
Those rural services will continue to be part of what you find here since even national parks have a patchy record when it comes to public transport information provision. The best ones include the Yorkshire Dales with the DalesBus website while Exmoor has the ExploreMoor one. Other parts seemingly need a little help, so I’ll not stop doing my bit here.
Listings need maintenance and, while I do have tools to attend to this, please do send me a message should there be any oversights, and I’ll set things to rights. Also, any ideas for other services that need adding are more than welcome too. An open mind is essential with endeavours like this.
1: Harrogate - Starbeck - Knaresborough
1A: Harrogate - Starbeck - Knaresborough - Aspin
1B: Harrogate - Starbeck - Knaresborough - Eastfield
1C: Harrogate - Starbeck - Knaresborough - Carmires
A previous day trip to Harrogate quite a few years ago, and it was one or more from this collection of services that I chose as conveyance due to their more frequent than trains. That remains the case now and there is a 15-minute frequency on Sundays, and it is double that on other days of the week. It is an early morning to late night core service with the version extensions beyond Knaresborough remaining daytime affairs.
Summary Timetable for Services 1, 1A, 1B and 1C between Harrogate and Knaresborough
10: Macclesfield - Hurdsfield - Bollington
This route is a composite of two predecessors that came into being near the end of 2021. The frequency is half-hourly during the Monday to Saturday daytime and is never less than hourly at other times on these days. Once, there were late evening and Sunday journeys, but it remains useful even if it no longer passes as close to my house as it once did.
11: Altrincham - Wythenshawe - Cheadle - Stockport
11A: Altrincham - Broomwood - Sharston - Gatley - Cheadle - Stockport
It has been over ten years since I last bought a bicycle and this service was used during that search. Then, Bullocks operated buses between Altrincham and Stockport too but have sold out to Stagecoach since then. The 11A (formerly the 371) covers more of the day than the 11 and both combine to offer a high service frequency across a part of Greater Manchester that once was in Cheshire. Evening services are less frequent, so they attract financial support from TfGM; they remain useful just the same.
14: Macclesfield - Moss Rose
14A: Macclesfield - Moss Rose - Langley
Following Arriva’s withdrawal from Cheshire East, these routes result from the amalgamation of the previous routes 9 and 14. The new service 14 offers a service frequency of up to one bus every twenty minutes from Monday to Saturday. Route 14A then offers a two-hourly extension to Lyme Green and Langley, a cut from the hourly frequency of the previous route 14 that has attracted adverse resident comment. The change of bus service routing is another cause of criticism, though users of the old service 9 appear to have done a little better with service frequency, even if buses stop operating earlier in the day than before.
19: Macclesfield - Upton Priory - Prestbury
19A: Macclesfield - Upton Priory - Whirley
These routes are the amalgamation of the previous routes 4 and 19 following Arriva’s withdrawal from Cheshire East. The main portion of the route is served with an hourly frequency during daytime hours from Monday to Saturday. The Whirley and Prestbury extensions operate at different, so it is best to check the timetable before travelling.
24: Harrogate to Pateley Bridge
825: Harrogate - Brimham Rocks - Pateley Bridge - Lofthouse - Scar House - Middlesmoor
Lower Nidderdale gets a next to hourly bus service from early morning to early evening for much of the week with five return journeys on a Sunday or a bank holiday when service 24 is augmented by service 825. The 825, also known as the Nidderdale Rambler, is part of the DalesBus network and is operated by Arriva Yorkshire at the time of writing. It extends beyond Pateley Bridge to the upper reaches of Nidderdale on Sundays and bank holidays while also passing by Brimham Rocks on its sole return journey from Harrogate where it is fed by an incoming 823 from York (probably the same bus but under a different route number though that needs confirming).
All the service 24 journeys get their branding too and that of The Nidderdale Branch appears on timetable information. To my mind, this reflects that a now lost railway line once served this part of the world. Still, the buses get none other than usual Harrogate branding; does that matter when a good service is on offer? After all, modern buses are in use, and it appears that they get well-used too based on what I saw when I tried it.
28 Middlesbrough - Lingdale
28A Middlesbrough - Stokesley
For all its distinctiveness, it may surprise some that Roseberry Topping is a hill that I have yet to visit, having only passed it recently while on a train destined for Whitby. The aforementioned train service only offers around four each way journeys from Middlesbrough a day, so these Monday to Saturday bus services could have a use. They combine to offer a half-hourly service between Middlesbrough and Nunthorpe with the onward extensions seeing an hourly service to such places as Great Ayton, from where a stroll to the top of Roseberry Topping might start.
29: Easingwold - Linton on Ouse - York
29A: Easingwold - Alne - Tollerton - Linton on Ouse - York
31: Easingwold - Alne - Tollerton - York
31X: Kirkbymoorside - Helmsley - Easingwold - York
These are Monday to Saturday services that link York and Easingwold and the 31X also serves the walking territory around Coxwold, Ampleforth and Helmsley in the North York Moors. The frequency of services between York and Easingwold looks good with the North York Moors extension running every two to three hours. As is the case with many rural services these days, the 31X was under threat from funding cuts but appears to have been reprieved.
41: Chester - Christleton - Waverton - Tattenhall - Broxton - Tilston - Malpas - Whitchurch
It is a shame that both of these timetables have not been pooled to make one because that would make things easier for bus users. What also has to be watched is that different journeys cover different lengths of the route. Whitchurch and Malpas see less service than other parts and that especially applies on a Sunday when they are not served at all. Careful inspection is needed if those longer Monday to Saturday journeys are sought and there would be ample reward for this given that much of the Sandstone Trail can be accessed with these buses. There is much to see along its length and the part between Beeston Castle and Maiden Castle is nearly the finest section of the whole route.
42: Congleton - Holmes Chapel - Middlewich - Crewe
If I had wanted to make a journey from Macclesfield to Holmes Chapel without a car, I would have been unsure of what to do until I saw this bus service (yes, a connection needs to be made in Congleton, but that’s better than nothing at all). It runs on all days of the week except Sunday and bank holidays with the Congleton-Crewe frequency being two-hourly on Saturdays and hourly on the other days of the week.
43: Manchester Airport - Wythenshawe - West Didsbury - Manchester
44: Manchester Airport - Gatley - East Didsbury - Fallowfield - Manchester
45: Heald Green — East Didsbury — Fallowfield — Manchester
A delayed flight into Manchester Airport had me looking at transport alternatives when I was too late for the last rail replacement bus that would have helped me return home to Macclesfield. As frequent as this service is (and daytime Monday to Saturday frequencies are excellent), it was of little use with its taking nearly an hour to get me near Manchester Piccadilly train station. Even so, it might serve a use yet and others will need it, so it goes into this list.
50: Stratford-upon-Avon - Shipston-on-Stour - Chipping Norton
With Chipping Norton being in the heart of the Chiltern Hills and Stratford-upon-Avon’s associations with English literature, this service does have uses. The seven-day service does have timetable eccentricities, so it needs careful consultation because of that. Sunday service is less frequent than on other days so that is another thing to note.
58: Macclesfield - Buxton (- Chatsworth)
This one passes right through the heart of the hill country lining the Cheshire-Derbyshire border. The frequency is hourly Monday to Saturday and less frequent on Sundays when two journeys extend to Bakewell and Chatsworth House.
60/60A: Macclesfield - Rainow - New Mills - Hayfield
It is in getting you to places such as Rainow, Kettleshulme or Hayfield that this route proves its worth when you’re heading into the hill country lining the Cheshire-Derbyshire border or exploring Kinder Scout. Though timings are regular enough, this is a Monday-Saturday service, so you need to find other means if you have a Sunday outing in mind.
61: Buxton - New Mills - Hayfield - Glossop
As if serving Glossop weren’t enough, it’s the passage by Hayfield of this service that guarantees its inclusion here. The frequency is hourly and new buses were bought for it not so long ago either, so I hope that it’s a service that’ll stay the course. While I cannot claim to have used it yet, its allowing access to Pennine moorland could change that yet.
66: Keighley - Skipton
This long-standing regular seven-day service had missed my notice until a recent trip to Skipton that involved bus travel between Manchester and Skipton. These days, it is branded Dalesway, but I have known about the service since spending some time in North Yorkshire during the spring of 2000. Aside from Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays when the service frequency is hourly, a half-hourly one is pre-dominant. Sundays see coverage from morning until evening while service starts much earlier and stops much later on other days.
70: Oswestry - West Felton - Nesscliffe - Montford Bridge - Bicton - Shrewsbury
There was a time when this was a seven-day service, but funding cuts put paid to Sunday operations, and it now is a Monday to Saturday service; now the only Sunday bus connections between Oswestry and Shrewsbury are offered by the National Express 418 coach service from Wrexham to and from London. There are no evening journeys beyond the last one from Shrewsbury to Oswestry at around 19:00 either. That the service level is half-hourly from early morning to late evening makes the omissions all the more amazing.
72: Skipton - Cracoe - Threshfield - Grassington
Nowadays, service 72 is a seven-day service operated by Transdev’s Keighley operation with connections to Upper Wharfedale offered by NYCC and Upper Wharfedale Venturer. The operating frequency is next to hourly and covers the day from morning to early evening.
73: Bedale - Leeming Bar - Moreton on Swale - Ainderby Steeple - Northallerton
This is a half-hourly daytime Monday to Saturday service that usefully connects with services between Bedale and Wensleydale. Those are of interest to anyone fancying a walk in that dale or even to embark on an outing that is a little more sedentary than that.
74A: Ilkley - Bolton Abbey - Grassington
874: Wakefield - Leeds - Otley - Ilkley - Bolton Abbey - Grassington - Buckden
There are a lot of nice places to explore along the part of Wharfedale served by either of these services. Service 74A is operated by North Yorkshire Council on certain weekdays while service 874 operates year-round on Sundays and bank holidays and is part of the DalesBus network.
78: Keswick - Seatoller
Also known as the Borrowdale Rambler, this service lands you right at the end of the dale for easy access to the central fells. Other than the high season when it runs half-hourly on weekdays, the frequency is hourly. Weekday services start early in the morning and continue until the evening and, while Sunday services are more limited, the timetable remains more than usable. Open-topped double-deckers are in common usage during the summer, though the use of the top deck might be for the braver of disposition given it follows a road, overlooked by trees most of the way, that is narrow and hilly in places.
81: Lancaster - Halton - Caton - Brookhouse - Wennington - Melling - Nether Burrow - Kirkby Lonsdale
82: Lancaster - Halton - Caton - Brookhouse - Gressingham - Arkholme - Whittington - Kirkby Lonsdale
The original reason for adding these was the fact that one of their predecessors continued as far as Ingleton. That is no more, though there are connections at Kirkby Lonsdale for route 581 to Settle that continues the possibility after a fashion. The Lune Valley is worth exploring too, even if that has not happened by the time of writing.
84/84A: Darlington to and from Barnard Castle
95/96: Barnard Castle to and from Middleton-in-Teesdale
X75/X76: Darlington to and from Barnard Castle
The X75/X76 and 95/96 pairs used to be operated by Arriva following their takeover of Stagecoach’s Darlington operations. In those days, the same bus used to run the whole way from Darlington to Middleton-in-Teesdale and vice versa, so it felt like a direct route. However, things haven’t remained like that: Scarlet Band now operates the 95 and 96 while Arriva continues with the X75 and X76. This adds in a change where once there was none unless you go with the less frequent 84 or 84A instead.
88: Macclesfield - Knutsford - Wilmslow - Altrincham
This Monday to Saturday service is a combination of two previously separate routes, and it connects with service 89 between Knutsford and Northwich as well. The Macclesfield to Knutsford portion was the old route 27 and is a shadow of its former self with the last bus of the day from Knutsford to Macclesfield on a Saturday being too early for my liking. The rest of the route gets an hourly service, and it passes runs by the Viewing Park and Cargo Centre of Manchester Airport too, though there is more of a walk than other ways of getting to those places.
108: Buxton - Leek - Waterhouses - Ashbourne
It is the Leek to Ashbourne section of this route that is its mainstay; the Buxton extension used to be added to a service between Leek and Hanley. There may be no Sunday or bank holiday service and the timetable may be irregular, but this remains a useful service for the hill country that is found along the route. The earliest start from Buxton is late in the morning time though, so that is one thing to remember for a hike in the Roaches. Even so, if point to point walking is your thing, plans can be made to walk for you.
109: Leek - Rudyard - Macclesfield
A messy changeover following a surrender of route operations meant that this service was absent from the list for a while. It has returned since there is some fine hill country near Leek. This is a Monday to Saturday operation and the timetable is a little irregular, so you need to plan your day carefully. Aside from that, it is good to have something like this.
156: Gayle - Hawes - Aysgarth - Leyburn - Newton Le Willows - Crakehall - Bedale
856: Gayle - Hawes - Aysgarth - Leyburn - Bedale - Northallerton
Until spring of 2014, there used to be a route 157 that complemented the 156 and gave a near hourly service, but we lost that because of council funding cuts so a two-hourly Monday to Saturday service has to suffice. It is the 856 that operates on Sundays and bank holidays year-round these days, and it is part of the DalesBus network too.
170: Chesterfield - Baslow - Bakewell
One winter night during my early explorations of Derbyshire, I went home via Chesterfield and Sheffield. It wasn’t a direct route but bus times and the chill of that evening meant that I felt the need to get home in any way that I could. This was the service that took me as far as Chesterfield, and it is an hourly affair running during the daytime on seven days of the week. With its passing by Baslow, it is a good option for those wishing to explore the edges near there on foot, so it gets into this list.
171: Chesterfield - Bakewell - Youlgreave - Middleton - Hartington
While out on a walk between Monyash and Bakewell, I spotted this Monday to Saturday service’s timings at bus stops in Alport. The backbone of the service is the section between Bakewell and Youlgreave and there’s a near hourly frequency too. Extensions to Chesterfield and Hartington are infrequent while Middleton does far better and that helpfully is not far from Youlgreave anyway. The Chesterfield connections are possible by the bus running to and from Bakewell operating the 170 without needing any change of bus. Some journeys on service 172 run between Bakewell and Matlock via Youlgreave, so these are in this timetable too. It is all mix-and-match in this part of Derbyshire.
172: Bakewell - Stanton in Peak - Winster - Matlock
There are other ways of getting between Bakewell and Matlock by bus, but this route gets a mention since some of its journeys go around by Youlgreave. The frequency is not quite hourly, so you need to survey running times if you are planning on using it, and that is more likely because of where it goes on its way between the two places unless a certain impatience has overtaken you.
173: Castleton - Tideswell - Litton - Bakewell
This bus service conveys folk through pleasing Derbyshire Dales countryside as it goes its merry way. Monsal Head is another of the places served but Tideswell has much to commend it too as do the two termini. As with many rural bus services, having a copy of the bus timetable with you on a walk could help you get about without worry.
180: York - Scackleton - Castle Howard
181: York - Castle Howard
182: Castle Howard - Coneysthorpe - Malton
183: Castle Howard - Malton
194: Malton - Hovingham - Nunnington - Harome - Helmsley
195: Malton - Hovingham - Helmsley
Curiously, these services are bound up together in the same timetable leaflet from Stephensons of Easingwold. The first four of these take walkers into the Howardian Hills from York and Malton, principally to Castle Howard but also serving several picturesque villages in the area. It runs several times a day from Monday to Saturday. Services 194 and 195 serve the northern side of the Howardian Hills and link Malton, Hovingham and Helmsley. All of these pass through some alluring walking country and face an uncertain future in these austere times. Let’s hope that a usable service level survives.
180/181/182/183/194/195 Timetable
236: Glossop - Woolley Bridge - Stalybridge - Ashton
237: Glossop - Hadfield - Tintwistle - Stalybridge - Ashton
These services once extended as far as Droylsden and Manchester but that no longer is the case, so you need to get as far as Stalybridge to make the most of them or use them to reach out into surrounding areas from Glossop and Hadfield. After all, there’s the nearby Dark Peak moorland awaiting exploration as well as the somewhat blighted Longdendale Valley as a breathing space of sorts. Both make the area worthy of visiting, and it’s all very handy for many people too.
250/X50: Manchester - Trafford Centre
It takes a little more effort to get from Macclesfield to the Trafford Centre shopping complex by public transport, so it is not one of my haunts when other places are more accessible. Nevertheless, since many will travel there, this service would be useful to them, and that means that it gets included here. Between both routes, there is seven-day coverage from early morning until late evening and with a decent frequency too.
267: Berwick-upon-Tweed to and from Wooler via Etal
464: Berwick-upon-Tweed to and from Wooler via Lowick
Wooler is a rather sizeable little place with the Cheviots on its doorstep and does have useful bus services linking it to the outside world. This pair operated on a council contract by Borders Buses, almost provides two-hourly connections to the East Coast Mainline at Berwick; buses on both services appear to depart at near enough the same time from Berwick-upon-Tweed or Wooler. That said, there are no Sunday services and that makes it a bit tricky to get away after a weekend up there unless you bring your car or get a taxi.
272: Sheffield - Hathersage - Bradwell - Castleton
Very usefully, tickets on this hourly service are valid for train journeys and vice versa. It remains to be seen how long this arrangement lasts, but it gives the sort of flexibility that is seldom seen in the world of public transport in Britain. It is the sort of far-sightedness that makes scenic locations like the Hope Valley easier to explore, especially when train service frequencies are two hourly.
358: Stockport - Offerton - Marple - New Mills - Hayfield (- Glossop)
360: Stockport - Hazel Grove - Hayfield
Of these, the 358 is the one that you are most likely to meet unless you start walks at 06:00 or end them at around 00:00 when the 360 functions more as a way to get a bus to and from the Hayfield terminus at those extreme ends of the day. Service frequency is approximately hourly, so it cannot be described as anything other than reasonably respectable. That Hayfield is situated near Kinder Scout and other such Dark Peak moors cannot make this service anything other than useful for exploring those parts.
368: Wythenshawe Hospital - Wythenshawe - Cheadle Hulme - Stockport
369: Manchester Airport - Wythenshawe - Cheadle Hulme - Stockport
X69: Manchester Airport - Cheadle Hulme - Stockport
Stockport gets regular bus connections to Wythenshawe and Manchester Airport because of these services. The 368 and 369 are half-hourly for much of the period of their operation with the X69 running early in the morning or late at night. Of the three, the 368 only runs from Monday to Saturday though the others are seven-day services. Journey times depend on the time of day though the range is from 35 to 45 minutes, not so disgraceful really.
375: Mellor - Marple - Bosden Farm - Hazel Grove - Stepping Hill - Stockport
383: Stockport - Marple - Romiley - Stockport
384: Stockport - Romiley - Marple - Stockport
A hole in a train timetable was the cause of my using the last of these to get from Marple to Stockport, and I was at my destination in around 30 minutes, something that highlights how near the two places are to each other. As it happened, I was travelling on a Sunday, but weekday travel times aren’t that much longer either. Another point in favour of 383/384 is their frequency of operation and the length of the day that is covered by each. In contrast, the 375 is a daytime-only service that runs along a less direct route (takes much longer too) than the others on an hourly timetable. Well, you cannot say that Marple isn’t well served by public transport.
418: Alnwick - Beadnell - Bamburgh - Belford
The 401 and 411 ceased to exist recently and this is the partial replacement. Service frequency has been reduced to the point where I wonder why it still is needed, and it only goes between Alnwick and Belford with no extensions as far as Berwick-upon-Tweed like there once were. It’s a Monday to Saturday affair too.
435: Shrewsbury - Ludlow
A recent walk around Church Stretton had me witnessing the passage of buses operating this service through the town. The frequency is hourly apart from one variation on schooldays, and it serves Craven Arms too. There’s no Sunday service though, but it remains useful for any gaps in train timetables on other days.
436: Shrewsbury - Much Wenlock - Bridgnorth
An article by Cameron McNeish in TGO got me pondering a visit to Much Wenlock for exploring nearby Wenlock Edge. Checking out public transport connections revealed this hourly Monday to Saturday bus service that also connects with the 890 for Wolverhampton at Bridgnorth. With transport options sorted, the next step is to see how long a walk down the aforementioned edge would be if I were to continue the whole way to Craven Arms. That could be interesting.
441: Buxton - Newhaven - Ashbourne
442: Buxton - Hartington - Ashbourne
Dovedale isn’t a part of the world that I have got around to exploring very much just yet; so far, I spent a mere hour exploring a snippet of the Tissington Trail near Ashbourne and there’s more around there than that. Making use of these useful bus services should help to address that oversight and the Peak District is deserving of more of my attention too. That there is an hourly to two-hourly service running between Buxton and Ashbourne should help too though there is only one each way journey on the 441, which is a partial replacement from the withdrawn 42 and looks more like a shopping trip service for folk living along the A515 now. Otherwise, it is the 442 that goes around by Crowdicote, Longnor, Hartington and Tissington that is the mainstay now and these are places to which visits are owed.
470: Alnwick to and from Wooler via Chillingham
473: Alnwick to and from Wooler via Whittingham
This useful set of services that get you to and from Wooler are operated by Borders Buses on a council contract. An aspect shared with their Berwick-upon-Tweed counterparts is their regularity. The lack of a Sunday service and the last departure at 17:00 are other features shared with the 267/464. The fact that Alnwick itself is a few miles away from a train station (Alnmouth is the nearest), is another consideration, but that won’t matter if you’re spending a few days in the area, something that it deserves.
505: (Windermere -) Ambleside - Coniston
During the summer season, this service started from Windermere, but it’s sadly not nearly as useful when Ambleside is the favoured starting point for the winter. Timings are not so useful for that long day among the fells either so some enhancement for next year’s summer season would be ideal. However, if you are already stationed in the area, then timings are probably fine for you, and it will have its uses.
508: (Carlisle -) Penrith - Glenridding - Patterdale (- Windermere - Bowness)
Ullswater might be the attraction for a lot of the people who use this service, but it’s what sets off the lake so well that would be the draw for me. After all, Helvellyn is but one of them and there’s also an empty quarter to the east that offers parts away from madding crowds to the more intrepid wanderer.
The core of this route is the section between Penrith and Patterdale and that once was served mainly by a route numbered 108 on six days of the week with Sundays getting a service during the high season. Now, it is to be known as the 508 instead.
In addition to Ullswater and its surrounding delights, there are to be extensions to Carlisle in the north and Windermere, via the pretty Kirkstone Pass, in the south for the 2014 season. From April into November, Saturday and Sunday services follow that pattern as do Monday to Friday ones during school holidays. In addition, the service level has been increased with an hourly frequency on offer at certain times in the day. Even with that, you still need to watch out for the last buses in the day since it resolutely remains a daytime service with no evening journeys at all.
516: Ambleside - Dungeon Ghyll
The Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel is at the base of the well known Langdale Pikes, so this service easily gets the moniker of “Langdale Rambler”. Despite the timetable stating otherwise for some services at the weekend, this service does restrict itself to Ambleside as one of its termini. It’s less than desirable to have to change bus in the village after coming from Windermere and further away, but that seems to be the way. Even so, the service itself is a useful one, particularly when you consider how much a hotel stay in Langdale might cost you and how good the hill country is around those parts.
546: Shrewsbury - Pulverbatch
Until I saw its mention in a leaflet about walking along The Ancient Portway in Shropshire, I hadn’t been aware of this bus service and the walking options that it makes available. This is a Monday to Saturday operation and its frequency is near enough to hourly, though it only runs in the daytime and not into the evenings. Still, it opens up opportunities that may not have been there only for its existence.
552/553: Shrewsbury - Bishop’s Castle
Some county councils don’t do so well with providing a comprehensive collection of bus timetables, and it seems that Shropshire is one of them. The result is that this timetable is a homemade effort, but I hope it remains useful nonetheless. The reason for its inclusion is Bishop’s Castle’s location in the heart of Shropshire’s hill country together with its relative proximity to the Offa’s Dyke Path. Add the fact that it passes the Stiperstones as well and its usefulness becomes undoubted.
581: Settle - Ingleton - Kirkby Lonsdale
The only occasion that I have to use this service was after a hike over Ingleborough from Ribblehead but Ingleton’s proximity to delightful open hill country festooned with limestone pavement makes a service worth knowing. At either end, there are further public transport connections: by train from Settle or on the bus service to Lancaster from Kirkby Lonsdale. They make the Monday to Saturday service even more workable for a walk and there are services 81 and 82 to Lancaster too for even more flexibility.
599: Bowness - Windermere - Ambleside (- Grasmere)
In the summer, this runs every twenty minutes and extends to Grasmere. For this winter, the frequency is hourly, and the service is restricted to daytimes from Monday to Saturday. It remains a useful complement to the 555 and, given the hill country accessible from Ambleside or Windermere, it merits a mention here. That extension to Grasmere makes it more noteworthy again.
B1: Keighley - Haworth - Stanbury
B2: Keighley - Haworth - Hebden Bridge
B3: Keighley - Haworth - Oakworth
These services are a renumbered form of predecessors, out of which I used service B3 in its previous incarnation as route 500. That took me from Hebden Bridge to Haworth one Sunday, and it’s good to hear that its hourly ways are going still. Collected with the others, it means that there is an excellent bus service through the Worth Valley. Some may go for the literary connections and the heritage railway, but there are hills to trample too. Without those, none would find their place here.
T01: Alnwick - Shilbottle - Warkworth - Amble
Its predecessor was a Monday to Saturday service that had gone unknown to me until a visit to Northumberland that took in the details of Alnwick and Warkworth of a hot sunny Saturday in May. It is operated by Travelsure, an independent operator based in Belford, and serves the above locations with four return journeys a day.
X14: Newcastle - Morpeth - Rothbury - Thropton
As far as I can remember, this Monday-Saturday service didn’t always have this route and neither was it an hourly timetable either. Arriva even has given it MAX branding and added in the section between Newcastle and Morpeth that was not there before. That makes it far more useful than it used to be, never a bad thing given the hill country around its final destinations. Now, all that’s needed for a day outing from further afield is for those rail connections to work and that becomes easier with a Newcastle start for a bus journey.
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