Matlock Bath and Matlock 2017

My best friend and I spent the day in Matlock Bath this afternoon. As she will be heading off to university later this month, I treated her to a trip up there as a gift before she leaves. As per my recent visits to the Peak District, we travelled via Red Arrow to Derby and then the Sixes 6.1 to Matlock Bath.

Once in Matlock Bath we climbed the mountain, via its footpaths, that faces the Heights of Abraham. We did not visit the Heights of Abraham itself because the cable car ride up was too expensive for us; however, the view of the Heights from the opposite side was just as worthy. We walked along the mountaintop paths and exited in the town of Matlock itself before walking back to Matlock Bath.

We had a fantastic day out in the Peak District and I wish my friend the best for her upcoming journey through university.

Bakewell August 2017

I visited Bakewell for the first time since July of last year except that on this occasion, a friend came with me. I invited said friend to come with me after he'd been fascinated by my first Bakewell trip when I told him about it.

In Bakewell, we walked around, walked to some of the surrounding paths, climbed one of the small mountains and walked by the river for several hours before returning to Derby and then no Nottingham. This was a much better trip to Bakewell compared to my one last year, where I only spent an hour there, of which half of spent finding a toilet and the other half finding how to return to Derby.

Skylink Derby

Using one of the tickets I was given at the Trentbarton focus group last month, I rode Skylink Derby. As this Trentbarton line is joint-operated between them and Kinchbus, the MANGO cards are not used on this service and so it has not been, until today, a route I had explored.

Skylink Derby begins in Derby (obviously), goes to East Midlands Airport as Skylinks Nottingham and Express do, through Loughborough and all the way to Leicester. I travelled all the way to Leicester and walked around the centre there for a short time. This marked the first time I can recall of my stepping foot in Leicester during the daytime, rather than past midnight. Most of my experience with Leicester comes via travelling through it rather than walking around it.

As for Skylink Derby, it's a fun route; it's long and there's plenty of scenery to observe while riding it. Also, as a result of riding Skylink Derby and using it to travel to Leicester, I have visited all of the outer regions of the Trentbarton network, as viewed here (map is outdated as it shows the defunct Radcliffe Line and Ruddington Connection and doesn't show Skylink Express but nevertheless shows the distant points of the network).

For the very short term...

For the last day of my three-day bus ticket, I travelled my old favourite route of Nottingham - Mansfield - Derby. It wasn't exactly a pretty day out, as it rained all morning and afternoon, but it was still worthwhile and a good way to celebrate the end of my university work for this academic year.

My goal over the next few years, before the academic year ends (doesn't end officially until the 9th), I want finish at least a couple of books I still have borrowed from the library and then I will return them all. While I could keep them over the summer and hand them back in October, I'd rather return them now so that I'm not worrying about them later.

The invalid ticket

At Derby bus station this afternoon, a lady ahead of me in the queue to board Indigo back to Nottingham presented her ticket to the driver. The driver let her through after glancing at the ticket but after a second he called her back and said that her ticket was invalid in Derby. This came as a shock to the woman, who said she had specifically asked, when purchasing the ticket from another driver, if the ticket could be used in Derby; that driver informed her that she would be able to.

Fortunately, the driver on board Indigo was reasonable about it; he let the lady on without having to buy another ticket and said for future reference the ticket she possessed was not valid in Derby. I think this is a far more measured response than, say, stopping a bus suddenly, beckoning a passenger like a dog and making them leave.

Afternoon of buses

As a reward to myself for my recent hard work on and completion of my Media essay, I spent the afternoon riding buses. For the first time ever, I rode Skylink Express all the way to the airport to see what the rest of the route was like. I then rode the regular Skylink back to Nottingham, followed by the Threes to Mansfield, the Nines to Derby and Indigo back to Nottingham.

Might seem like a waste of time but it wasn't; I enjoyed seeing the sights of the journey again and it was a relaxing way to spend a Saturday after a particularly busy week.

A day of buses

As I hadn't done it for a while, I decided to spend the day riding buses. I went on my old route of Nottingham-->Mansfield-->Derby-->Nottingham-->Derby-->Nottingham and afterwards rode to my old village and back. After the recent class test and assignment, I thought a break like this would do me some good and it did.

Also, I wanted to try out a bus upgrade. The Nines route from Mansfield to Derby has had its fleet replaced with new buses. They have a larger capacity and also support USB charging and contain access to the Internet. The old Nines buses were small and contained none of those advanced features. An already-highly enjoyable route is now even more fun than it used to be!

Back to Derby

Today, I ventured on something that I have not done since I was on Access: Spend a day travelling via bus. Yesterday was a disappointment because while it was lovely and sunny outside, I was in bed because I was sick with a cold.

Not today, though; today, I felt vastly improved after a day of rest. This afternoon, I visited an old favourite...Derby!

Don't let the apparent - albeit fading - sunlight fool you...less than twenty minutes after I took this photograph, the clouds unleashed massive amounts of rain onto Derby and Nottingham. I erred by not bringing my umbrella with me but fortunately, the rain did not wet me too much when I was between buses and when I returned to my accommodation, the rain had calmed significantly.

Champagne from the Spondon Flyer...

...apparently doesn't exist. See the back of this bus:

It's in brackets under the "fly first class" banner. The Spondon Flyer is a TrentBarton bus in Derby, which services the the Spondon area of the city. I am board another bus in this picture - I wasn't standing in the middle of the bus station's bays! I haven't travelled on the Spondon Flyer yet but I'd like to at some point.

The five routes

Without setting off with the intention to do so, yesterday I rode on five different bus routes. Not just five buses but five routes - I never rode the same route twice. I took a second visit to the towns of Kimberley, Giltbrook and Eastwood to walk around them for the afternoon. My bus journey is as follows:

Home to Nottingham city centre: Rushcliffe Mainline.

Nottingham city centre to Kimberley: Rainbow One.

Kimberley to Hucknall: Amberline - this route was unexpected. I forgot that Amberline runs from Derby to Hucknall and that Kimberley is one of the towns on the way. When I was waiting for my Rainbow One bus back to Nottingham, the Amberline was closer and so I rode that to Hucknall instead.

Hucknall to Nottingham city centre: The Threes.

Nottingham city centre to home: Rushcliffe Villager (while the Mainline and Villager overlap for much of the journey, they are separate bus routes).

As far as I can recall, this is the first day on which I have ridden on three or more buses and each of them was a different route.

Here is Amberline, at its last stop in Hucknall - the library. Amberline shared the same colour as The Threes and Hucknall's Connect.

The Comet

This afternoon, a new addition made it onto my list of Trentbarton routes on which I have ridden:

It's the Comet, which travels between Derby and Chesterfield. I was free today because college starts again tomorrow and I had received a free ticket from Trentbarton last month as a result of a driver mix-up, so my Red Arrow to Derby, Comet to and from Chesterfield and Indigo ride back to Nottingham were all covered by that ticket. Unlike the last time I visited Chesterfield, the rain was light and infrequent rather than constant.

Lara Croft Way

This road name in Derby exists:

Here is the history behind the name:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/8538106.stm

When I saw Lara Croft Way appear on the map on my phone I had to investigate. I think it's great that a public vote to name a new road was respected and the name the public chose was something non-traditional yet fitting.

Red Arrow route review

So, just prior to last month's half-term break I encountered the unveiling of Trentbarton's improved Red Arrow bus fleet. I noted in my post from then that I had yet to travel on a Red Arrow; well, I have since rectified that problem.

The first thing I noticed when I boarded one of the new Red Arrows was the presence of a "new car" smell. Prior to stepping on board I had never experienced such a smell on a bus before; while I'm not particularly enamoured with the scent of a new vehicle, I nonetheless found it impressive on a bus. Secondly, I noticed air-conditioning. On the other bus routes I'm used to having the windows open for cool air, including on the routes that are significantly longer than Red Arrow.

As for the seats, I found them to be comfortable. They were firm but gave just the right amount of give for a comfy ride. In addition, they were equipped with belts, which I think is excellent, as I think seat belts on buses is a great idea, especially since buses frequently come to sudden halts or sharp turns. However, despite the notification advising passengers to wear the seat belts, I appeared to be the only one who heeded the advice.

With regards to the journey itself, it was a stable ride with no obvious bumps. The Red Arrows are a fast route between Nottingham and Derby, so the Queen's Medical Centre is the final stop within Nottingham; after that, the remainder of the route is non-stop to Derby's bus station. The journey took a little over half an hour, although that time can vary depending on traffic.

Overall, I found Red Arrow to be a worthy route and I was beyond satisfied with my ride. For anyone seeking a fast and comfortable bus journey between Nottingham and Derby, Red Arrow is my recommendation and choice.

The Red Arrows

Mere serendipity allowed me to witness this spectacle this morning:

For most of today in Nottingham's market square, Trentbarton was unveiling their upgraded Red Arrow fleet, which the company's website notes is composed of Plaxton Elite-i class buses, with a focus on greater customer comfort and expanded timetables. The event consisted of displaying the new buses, having people tour them and giving out information about the Red Arrow line.

Red Arrow is the non-stop route between Nottingham and Derby. While I have not yet travelled on the Red Arrow line, the route has certainly interested me in the past (the current Red Arrow buses are still, in their own right, impressive behemoths observable in the centre of Nottingham) and seeing this new fleet has most definitely increased my curiosity. I shall have to plan a trip to Derby soon - not necessarily to see Derby but to ride Red Arrow and back!