Photo-a-Day  (Thursday, 7th November, 2024)

Lets hope it gets well used by people who do not have a car

I’m pleased the bus has been re- instated for Aspull and Dicconson Lane folk even if it excludes the Westhoughton to Bolton route. There’s not much need to go to Bolton nowadays.

Looks like a double decker custard.

Now we no longer have the caravan, we might have a ride into Wigan on the bus one day and then catch this bus to Middlebrook just for a change. I'm not keen on retail parks, but I believe there's a Marks and Spencer and I haven't been in a Marks' for years, and it will pass a day on.

If I was you Irene Iwould go in the car first to see if it’s worth catching two buses. Our bus to Middlebrook is one per hour. If I go on the bus I dash round to catch the bus going back. It’s not really a place to meander round as you would in a town centre. I find 2 hours is too long even having a coffee in Marks.

Thanks Veronica....I'll think twice about going. I used to like catching the bus from Wigan to Bolton which went through Horwich and was a pleasant ride, but Bolton isn't worth going to these days, even though we can now get a bus direct from Platt Bridge, avoiding going into Wigan first. We've only been to Middlebrook once and that was to take the grandchildren to Nando's....it was evening so we didn't see the shops. As you know, my granddaughter passed her driving test yesterday and said, "I'll be able to take YOU to Nando's now, Grandma", but there was no mention of who was paying! I've no doubt Grandad's wallet will be the one taking a bashing!

Ps unless I go to see a good picture.x

Millie sometimes takes me to Rivington after shopping for lunch at the cafe …Guess who pays? Great hot sandwiches with chips!. She pays for the drinks..it’s worth going. ;o)

Never had much time for Burnham ever since the ULEZ euro 6 debacle a couple of years ago but he may well have redeemed himself to a degree in my eyes with the decision to re-regulate the buses within Greater Manchester .

There’s been a great deal of capital invested in the Bee project I would imagine , so let’s hope it proves to be worth the millions of taxpayers
( i.e. everybody’s )
“ hard earned “ that has obviously been spent .

Only time will tell …

I’ll be back in 2034 to share my considered verdict on this venture …
… Promise .

In the meantime , if only he could re-regulate the energy and water authorities , I’d be among the first to contribute to the commission of a gold plated statue of the bloke … to be erected in a prominent position outside the Moon under Water .

Err !… well ! … , where the pettys used to be , like , err … sort of .

That would the ideal spot for Burnham in my view .

I do hope that I don’t receive a 31 month custodial sentence for airing my views in Starmer’s dictatorial 1984 ish Britain .

Use one of your many disguises Ozy and grow a beard. They’ll never catch you on your bike. Just don’t go on the buses.

Sometimes the journey takes that long and the buses are that infrequent that you hop into the car and get there and back while you are on one bus.
I was going to go to Ormskirk on the bus a few weeks ago and decided not to bother from door to door over 2 hours each way and that also meant catching two buses

The object of public transport as far as I can ascertain is to provide transportation from point A to point B for as many members of the public as possible at an affordable price .
This inevitably involves unavoidable convoluted routing .
In other words , it is what it is .

It’s unfortunate however that many people , having experienced years of instant gratification due to personal vehicle ownership aren’t content to travel to their chosen destination if that journey exceeds half an hour .
In fact , I’m inclined to believe that the majority of the population nowadays are of the opinion that if they can’t get to where they want to be in their cars , then they ain’t bloody well going .

I’m old enough to remember a time when car ownership was the province of a privileged few , everyone else having the various options of either using public transportation … such as it was , walking , or if one had the good fortune to be able to afford a bicycle , cycling.

I still use a bike on a regular basis to travel to destinations within a 5 mile radius as I can be there and back while the bloke at the end of the street is still searching for the keys to his BMW.

I will concede this point though ; the bus ride from Wigan to Southport is nothing short of gruelling .

The answer to this one being … take the train .
Or if you’re in that much of rush , ring for a bleed’n taxi .

By far the best option however would be to chill out and enjoy the ride . Life’s to be savoured surely , instead of rushing from one crisis to the next .
The country lane has far more to offer than the motorway .

It’s not so much the actual travelling on the bus it’s the waiting around for it coming into view especially if they are only one per hour. I prefer the train any day. The bus journey to Southport is excruciating. Only done that once.

Your impatience is overwhelming Veronica .
Rather than wait at the bus stop an hour before the bus is due to arrive , why not try going out to the stop 5 minutes before the appointed arrival time ?

Only kidding my dear .

What with the volume of traffic on the road network these days , add in road works , rush hour traffic and various other impediments to traffic flow , operating a bus service that runs according to the published timetable is practically impossible .

It’s difficult to determine whether the bus arriving at 1215 say , is the 1200 running 15 minutes late or the 1230 arriving 15 minutes ahead of schedule . And when two arrive together displaying the same route number , closely followed by a third saying it isn’t actually in service …. Well ….it’s anyone’s guess .

Ozy I can tell you haven’t been to Middlebrook it’s not a matter of waiting at the bus stop for an hour it’s judging how long you have to get what you need before getting to the bus stop on time with a shopping bag in your hands! The out of town shops are not places to wander round really. One hour is enough for me if I miss that bus it seems an eternity to spend another stretch before the next bus believe you me! Try it sometime I’ll guarantee you would find another mode of transport. Plus the bus stop is a ten minute walk from the stores and even longer than that from some.

I’ve been to Middlebrook on numerous occasions actually Veronica .

As a matter of fact , I practically built Middlebrook single handed .

Just a slight exaggeration on my part there by the way , but during construction of various phases of the site , barely a day passed without someone or other ringing up requesting a concrete delivery .

So next time you’re up there waiting for your bus , just think … the concrete that you’re stood on could very well be part of one of the many loads that myself or Westhoughton John fotched .

But with regards to shopping there , you’re perfectly correct .
Shopping doesn’t figure prominently on my agenda … neither at Middlebrook or at any other temple of consumerism either for that matter .

Now car boot sales , they’re a different ball game entirely .

Yep a big difference indeed Ozy between carting/ hauling concrete and me with a shopping bag hopping on and off a bus.
I sincerely hope it doesn’t put Wiganers off going to Middlebrook there’s quite a good selection of stores. A car is handy though. Plus it’s free to park.

Tell you wot I’ll do Veronica .
Since my sad existence these days appears to revolve around little other than my twin hobbies of quality checking fermented grape products from around the globe … or black leading my AGA …
( I assume you may have heard of my AGA )…
I’ll dust off my bus pass and take that blimmin’ 615 to Middlebrook one day this coming week .

Wednesday might be the best day actually as I understand there’s a car boot sale held on the car park on that day .

I’ll report the findings of my mad , once in a lifetime adventure on this channel in due course … so stay tuned .

Don’t forget you will be going on 2 buses Ozy. A different route and you will have to do some essential shopping - either M&S or Asda or Home Bargains or all. Then you will have to walk back to the bus stop wherever that might be. Find out the times before you set off ( that’s important unless you are lucky and there are two buses within the hour. I doubt it though) I haven’t heard of a car boot on the car park though that’s a new one on me..good luck.