Mrs Poppleton had some technical issues with her report, so she asked me to post this on her behalf. Enjoy!
----------
Good afternoon Flyertalkers,
As promised, here's my trip report from my recent day outing from Leeds to Whitby. Those of you familiar with Yorkshire's East Coast will know just how lovely that part of England is. I'd been looking forward to my excursion from the home all spring, and as soon as the crocuses began to bloom in the garden I knew it was time. My grandson Benji told me I ought to chart my route using a marvellous new tool called the Google Earth. He came over one evening the week before my trip and, aided by some of his Nan's buttered crumpets and Ovaltine, managed to bring up this beautiful picture of the Coastliner's path from Leeds to the coast:
The following day I went to Marks and Spencer for a new cardy and tights, and, knowing how much I like something sweet on long journeys, I popped across the street to Montaz the newsagent at the bottom of Drigsby Lane. Montaz always has a good stock of Werther's Originals, so I bought a quarter pound - I do have a sweet tooth, I know. That's why all my teeth fell out during the miners' strike in 1984! So after a sleepless night I was soon ready to catch the number 71 bus from Bramley to Primley Park via the central bus station in Leeds.
Unfortunately on the morning of my trip I had a call from cousin Elsie who told me she couldn't meet me at the bus station as her nephew Ronnie's gastric acid was playing up. I've never trusted Ronnie. He's a crafty beggar, but I can't say I was too disappointed about Elsie's news. She does grumble, and she insists on putting radishes in her packed lunch, which means we can't share. Why she chooses the radish over Branston Pickle is anyone's guess.
As you can see above, the Leeds city station is nothing special. Chavs everywhere of course, but that's the case in most places these days. I preferred the punk rockers in the early 1980s. At least they had a bit of colour in their hair. These chavs and their shell suits look a bit of a muddle I think. I didn't feel like a Whopper from the Wimpy Bar so early, so I made do with a Cornish pasty and a warm brew from Briggs the Baker. Only 89p for the pasty, and just the right mix of meat and puff pastry. Delicious.
Yorkshire Coastliner runs an hourly service from Leeds but I wanted to make sure I got there before 9.30am so I could use my OAP pass, which gives all us old devils free travel before the suits pile on and take the premium seats at the front of the bus. There's always a bit of a scramble to get the front seat on the top deck, and I've been involved in a couple of heated arguments myself in the past trying to get my shopping bags into 1A or 1B. Vernon the driver knows me though, and made sure I was able to board first. It's always good to see a friendly face, and I slipped him an aniseed twist as my way of saying thanks. That's the one thing I like about the Coastliner. It's service with a smile. I know the names of most of the drivers, and they're all much friendlier than those miserable buggers who work for First Leeds and Black Prince. Even the Black Prince livery is aggressive I think, and the drivers drive like maniacs, as you can see in this picture:
Thankfully Yorkshire Coastliner employs no such ruffians. Vernon's bus wasn't close to half full, so I could take my shoes off and rest my tootsies. I took out my copy of "Take a Break," and settled back as Vernon pulled out the choke and reversed out of the bus bay.
On board service 840 at last, and what a beautiful bus she was! I arrived just in time for her arrival at Leeds before boarding.
Now time to sit back and enjoy the journey to Tadcaster, first stop on the road to Whitby. There are two main services to the East Coast from Leeds. The 840 travels to Whitby via Tadcaster, York, Malton, Pickering, and Thornton-Le-Dale. The 843 travels via Tadcaster, York and Malton to Scarborough. There's also an 845 that travels to Filey and Bridlington, but I've never rated the haddock at Brid, and I have too many fond memories of my time there with Leonard in the 1970s to go back now. The fact that there's now a summer express (the X845) to Brid makes no difference. Leonard was Brid, and Brid was Leonard. I can't say any more without the tears staining my new cardy.
Just a bit of background on the fleet. Earlier this year Coastliner became 100% low-floor when 6 Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini entered service, They intended to have 7 of them but the last one was diverted to Harrogate & District as a replacement for the Volvo B7RLE single decker on the number 36 (Ripon-Harrogate-Leeds). However, Yorkshire Coastliner still got a fully low floor fleet, as a replacement for the diverted bus came from Harrogate & District, which was a Plaxton President-bodied Volvo B7TL (441, Y711HRN). It has been refurbished and repainted into the 'new' Yorkshire Coastliner livery (introduced in 2004 for the first 4 Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini - beautiful design ^). The company also has single deckers, 6 Wrightbus Eclipse Urban Volvo B7RLEs used on routes where double deckers cannot be used.
Please send me a PM if you'd like any more information about the fleet. They're a lovely bunch of buses. Magnificent chassis.
We were soon sailing down the A64 and into the lovely Leeds suburbs of Seacroft and Whinmoor. In seat 1A I was well positioned to get this photo of one of the blocks of flats for which Seacroft is widely known:
Looking towards Garforth, it seemed the Council had been slow to cut the grass since the winter:
Soon we were on the open road towards Tadcaster, and I popped open my bag of Werther's and continued to admire the scenery on either side and through the front of the bus. There was a strange view just beyond the Strike's Garden Centre located just past Scholes. I'm still not sure what to make of this:
The scenery just beyond the Bus Stop Cafe on the A64 was spectacular. There was still some snow lingering on the hills.
I even saw Malcom, a regular on the 843 route, drive past on his way into Leeds with only a half-full load of passengers by the looks of it. I gave Malcom a wave but I think he misinterpreted the gesture as I could see his fingers make a fork sign as he sped past:
In my next installment, a stop to pick up passengers at Tadcaster, and a chance encounter with Bob Carolgees in the confectionery aisle at the Malton Spar. To whet your appetite, here's CL845 overtaking us on the way to Filey. Stay tuned folks!
