Vote for Britain's most scenic bus route

[whole diary]

[bobm]

http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ScenicBus

ENGLAND

You can select up to 3 routes from the following list and/or add your own suggestions at the end

Routes are in numerical order
1 - Bolton to Darwen - Transdev Blazefield
1 - Weymouth to Portland - First Wessex
2L - Kidderminster to Ludlow - Diamond Buses
3 - Dartmouth to Plymouth - Stagecoach South West
5A - Leicester to Melton Mowbray - Arriva Midlands
6.1 - Derby to Bakewell via Matlock - Trent Barton
9 - Shoeburyness to Rayleigh via Southend Esplanade - Arriva Southern Counties
12/12A/12X/13X The Coaster - Brighton to Eastbourne via South Downs National Park - Brighton & Hove Buses (Go Ahead)
20 Somerset’s Coaster - Weston-super-Mare to Burnham-on-sea - First West of England
21 - Barnstaple to Croyde - Stagecoach South West
22 - Paignton to Dawlish Warren - Stagecoach South West
23 - Gloucester to Coleford via Lydney, Forest of Dean and Severn estuary - Stagecoach West
24 - Harrogate to Pateley Bridge along Nidderdale - Transdev Blazefield
32 - St Helens to Clinkham Wood - Arriva North West
36 - Leeds to Ripon via Harewood and Harrogate - Transdev Blazefield
40 Purbeck Breezer - Wareham to Swanage via Corfe Castle - morebus (Go Ahead)
44B - Worcester to Ledbury via Malvern - First Worcester
49 - Swindon to Trowbridge via Devizes, Avebury and Caen Locks - Stagecoach West
50 - Bournemouth to Swanage via Sandbanks, Shell Bay and Studland - morebus (Go Ahead)
58 - Buxton to Macclesfield via Cat & Fiddle - High Peak
59 - Harlow to Chelmsford via The Rodings - Arriva Southern Counties
70 – Plymouth to Cremyll – Plymouth Citybus (Go Ahead)
77/77A - Keswick circular via Braithwaite, Buttermere and Borrowdale - Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire
130 - Manchester to Macclesfield - Arriva North West
153 - Leicester to Market Bosworth - Arriva Midlands
173 - Bakewell to Castleton in the Peak District - Hulleys of Baslow
184 - Manchester to Huddersfield over the Pennines - First Manchester
271 - Sheffield to Castleton - First South Yorkshire & Hulleys of Baslow
291 - Crawley to Tunbridge Wells via East Grinstead and High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - Metrobus (Go Ahead)
308 - Huddersfield to Holmfirth - First Huddersfield
351 - Holmfirth to Glossop - South Pennine Community Transport
376 Mendip Xplorer - Bristol to Wells/Glastonbury/Street - First West of England
378/385 - Southport to Wigan via Ormskirk - Arriva North West
505 - Windermere to Coniston via Ambleside and Hawkshead - Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire
508 - Penrith to Windermere via Pooley Bridge and Patterdale - Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire
516 - Ambleside to Dungeon Ghyll - Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire
555/599 - Lancaster to Keswick via Windermere & Grasmere – Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancs
830 DalesBus - Middlesbrough to Ingleton via Swaledale and Buttertubs Pass - Arriva North East
840 Coastliner - Pickering to Whitby over the North York Moors - Transdev Blazefield
845 Coastliner - Malton to Bridlington - Transdev Blazefield
873 DalesBus - Ilkley to Malham via Skipton and Bolton Abbey - Transdev Blazefield
874/875 DalesBus - Wakefield to Buckden/Hawes along Upper Wharfedale - Arriva Yorkshire
888 - Newcastle to Keswick via Alston - Wright Bros
900/901 - Huddersfield to Hebden Bridge over the Pennines - TLC^▸ (three letter code )
A1 Atlantic Coasters - Penzance to Lands End - First Kernow
A5 Atlantic Coasters - Newquay to Padstow - First Kernow
B3 Bronte Bus - Hebden Bridge to Haworth - Transdev Blazefield
Cityzap - Leeds to Manchester over the Pennines - Transdev Blazefield
Coasthopper - along the North Norfolk Coast - Stagecoach East
Island Coaster on the Isle of Wight - Ryde to Shanklin via Alum Bay - Southern Vectis (Go Ahead)
M3 Moorsbus - Guisborough to Pickering over the North York Moors - Arriva North East
M4 Mainline - Colne to Crosshills - Transdev Blazefield
Needles Breezer on the Isle of Wight - Yarmouth to the Needles via Freshwater Bay - Southern Vectis (Go Ahead)
Transpeak - Derby to Manchester through the Peak District - High Peak
X18 - Newcastle upon Tyne to Berwick upon Tweed along the Northumbrian Coast - Arriva North East
X43 Witchway - Manchester to Grassington via Burnley and Skipton - Transdev Blazefield
X53 Jurassic Coaster - Weymouth to Axminster - First Wessex
X93 - Middlesbrough to Scarborough via Whitby along the North Yorkshire Coast - Arriva North East

SCOTLAND

You can select up to 3 routes from the following list and/or add your own suggestions at the end

Routes are in numerical order
1B - Glasgow to Helensburgh - First Greater Glasgow
31 - Aviemore to Cairngorm - Stagecoach North Scotland
36 - Elgin to Dufftown - Stagecoach North Scotland
52 - Skye: Portree to Armadale - Stagecoach North Scotland
57A/C - Skye North End Circular: to Portree and back via Flodigarry and Uig - Stagecoach North Scotland
59 - Stirling to Callander - First South East and Central Scotland
60/360 - Ayr to Stranraer via Maidens and Turnberry - Stagecoach West Scotland
95 - St Andrews to Leven along the East Neuk of Fife - Stagecoach East Scotland
201 - Braemar to Aberdeen - Stagecoach North Scotland
322/323/324 - Isle of Arran interlinked services - Stagecoach West Scotland
500 - Dumfries to Stranraer via Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart - Stagecoach West Scotland
901 - Glasgow to Largs – McGill’s
914/915/916 - Glasgow to Fort William to Skye via Loch Lomond, Rannoch, Glencoe and Great Glen - Scottish Citylink
919 - Fort William to Inverness via Great Glen and Loch Ness - Scottish Citylink
926 - Glasgow to Campbeltown via Rest and be Thankful and Inveraray - Scottish Citylink
976 - Glasgow to Oban via Rest and be Thankful and Inveraray - Scottish Citylink
C11 - Stirling to Aberfoyle - First South East and Central Scotland
X1 - Orkney: Stromness to St Margaret’s Hope - Stagecoach North Scotland
X7 Coastrider - Aberdeen to Perth – Stagecoach North Scotland
X85 - Glasgow to Campsie Glen - First Greater Glasgow
X95 - Edinburgh to Carlisle - Border Buses
X99 - Inverness to Thurso – Stagecoach North Scotland

WALES

You can select up to 3 routes from the following list and/or add your own suggestions at the end

Routes are in numerical order
2/2A/2B/2C/3/3A - Swansea to Mumbles along Swansea Bay – First Cymru
5 - Wrexham to Llangollen along the Vale of Llangollen - Arriva Buses Wales
5/5C/X5 - Caernarfon to Llandudno along the North Wales Coast - Arriva Buses Wales
26 - Llandudno to Great Orme on the North Wales Coast - Arriva Buses Wales
39 - Brecon to Hereford via the Golden Valley - Stagecoach Wales
53 - Bangor to Llanddona on the Isle of Anglesey - Arriva Buses Wales
58/X58 Cymru Clipper – Swansea to Coelbren via Neath – First Cymru
69 - Monmouth to Chepstow - Phil Anslow Travel
172 - Aberdare to Porthcawl - Stagecoach Wales
303 - Bridgend to Barry - New Adventure Travel
400 Puffin Shuttle - St David's to Marloes via Newgale - Richards Bros
558 - Montgomery to Shrewsbury - Tanat Valley Coaches
T1 – Aberystwyth to Carmarthen via Lampeter - First Cymru
T3 - Wrexham to Barmouth via Bala & Dolgellau - Lloyds Coaches
T4 - Merthyr to Newtown over Storey Arms - Stagecoach Wales
T4 - Llandrindod to Newtown via Dolfor - Stagecoach Wales
T5 - Aberystwyth to Hereford - Stagecoach Wales
X3 - Abergavenny to Hereford - Stagecoach Wales
X4 - Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil - Stagecoach Wales

[chuffed]

That's a great list.....some of these I've been on, but there are some that are very surprising which I would not even have considered, were it not for this list. It's very difficult to pick a top 3 in each country tho. I will keep this for future reference and plan breaks taking in some of these scenic routes.

For what's it worth I have to commend Brighton to Hastings with a break in Eastbourne, Dartmouth to Plymouth with a break in Kingsbridge, and the X1 Peterborough to Lowestoft with a break in Kings Lynn and Norwich which is not on this list.

[martyjon]

The 513, not on the list, follows the identical route to the 919 but also includes Roy Bridge in its itinerary would be my choice. Looked at the site this morning but the site crashed when I entered the 513 and tried to vote, perhaps because the 513 isn't operated by any one of the big operators but by Shiels or Spiels or some name like that. Have to have another go sometime.

When I travelled on the two routes,  one way was, Fort William - Inverness, by Scottish Hignlands which I assume is now Scottish Citylink but the return on the other operator a couple days later visited the picturesque settlement of Roy Bridge en route.

Perhaps a public vote on Britains most popular rail company should be conducted instead of confining it to rail industry partners, might get a true representation of peoples views then !!!!

[JayMac]

Of the ones I've done on those lists, the standouts for me are the 50 Bournemouth - Swanage via Sandbanks Ferry and the T3 Wrexham - Barmouth.

I'd give the Coastliner 700 between Brighton and Portsmouth an honourable mention too. Not as good as it used to be when you could travel throughout without changing buses. These days the route is split in three.

[grahame]

The 1 (Weymouth to Portland) and the 49 (Swindon to Trowbridge) stand out. Amazing they've not offered the 23/423 from Oban to Ardrishaig!

[martyjon]

For England I would add 23A IMBERBUS which is scheduled for 18 August this year

[bigdaz]

Unusual but I think RV1 in London is very scenic in that it takes in plenty of London's archetecture.

[grahame]

Unusual but I think RV1 in London is very scenic in that it takes in plenty of London's archetecture.

Indeed ... and I had wondered about the RB1 and the 11 as well.

[Surrey 455]

I've been on 4 of those. 12X, 40, 50, X53

My vote would be for the X53. I love the views between Bridport and Weymouth.

[welshman]

T5 Aberystwyth - Haverfordwest via Newquay - especially the coastal section along the A487. 

[johnneyw]

I can vouch for the Plymouth to Dartmouth route, especially the Kingsbridge to Dartmouth section.

[JayMac]

T5 Aberystwyth - Haverfordwest via Newquay

Now, that is quite some journey by bus. 

[grahame]

If anyone wonders - like me - who's behind the survey (as there is zero indication on the page Bobm linked us to) ...

The prize draw: The top prize is £200 and there are two other prizes of £50. Three voters will be drawn at random and contacted by email in June 2018. A cheque will then be sent to the winner's home address in July 2018.

This survey is sponsored by Bus Users UK^▸ (United Kingdom), a non-profit organisation that champions the rights of bus and coach users and campaigns to improve bus and coach services for everyone. To find out more, visit www.bususers.org

The survey is managed by PK Marketing, an independent business that aims to increase customer satisfaction and encourage more bus use by carrying out quality marketing and research. Visit www.PKmarketing1.com for more details.

[stuving]

And, in answer to the follow-up question "who is behind bususersUK.org?"...

Who runs Bus Users UK^▸ (United Kingdom)?

Bus Users UK is an independent, not-for-profit Company Limited by Guarantee. It is run by a board of directors elected by members at the Annual General Meeting. We are not a Government agency or a statutory body, nor are we run by the bus companies.

We do receive funding from Welsh and Scottish governments for our operations in those countries. This is subject to Key Performance Indicators required by those Governments, which are in line with our overall policy, aims and objectives.

On a day-to-day basis our Chief Executive Claire Walters oversees all our operations from our Shepperton head office. We have separate offices in Edinburgh for Bus Users Scotland, overseen by our Senior Officer for Scotland Gavin Booth and in Cardiff for Bus Users Cymru, overseen by our Senior Officer for Wales, Margaret Everson.

In addition to funding from the Welsh and Scottish governments for these offices, we also receive some funding from the Department for Transport for our role as the recognised body to oversee complaint handling under the EU^» (European Union - about) Bus Passenger Rights Directive. This funding is supplemented by many of the bus companies, which fund us at a rate agreed through their trade association, the Confederation of Passenger Transport.

Policy is determined by the Board of Directors, which is answerable to our members, and although bus company funding is a valuable source of income to us it has no bearing on our policies or actions.

[grahame]

And, in answer to the follow-up question "who is behind bususersUK.org?"...

Who runs Bus Users UK^▸ (United Kingdom)?

Bus Users UK is an independent, not-for-profit Company Limited by Guarantee. It is run by a board of directors elected by members at the Annual General Meeting. We are not a Government agency or a statutory body, nor are we run by the bus companies.

We do receive funding from Welsh and Scottish governments for our operations in those countries. This is subject to Key Performance Indicators required by those Governments, which are in line with our overall policy, aims and objectives.

On a day-to-day basis our Chief Executive Claire Walters oversees all our operations from our Shepperton head office. We have separate offices in Edinburgh for Bus Users Scotland, overseen by our Senior Officer for Scotland Gavin Booth and in Cardiff for Bus Users Cymru, overseen by our Senior Officer for Wales, Margaret Everson.

In addition to funding from the Welsh and Scottish governments for these offices, we also receive some funding from the Department for Transport for our role as the recognised body to oversee complaint handling under the EU^» (European Union - about) Bus Passenger Rights Directive. This funding is supplemented by many of the bus companies, which fund us at a rate agreed through their trade association, the Confederation of Passenger Transport.

Policy is determined by the Board of Directors, which is answerable to our members, and although bus company funding is a valuable source of income to us it has no bearing on our policies or actions.

There are elements there that are not current / correct ... "they" were recruiting last month for their board of directors - see my post at http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=18347.msg232019#msg232019 - and I took a very serious look.   Had a number of very long and serious discussions, but although I fitted the written profile in the package, there were significant reasons why I would have been just about the last person they wanted ... or that I would have been able to fulfil the role and be happy and fulfilled in doing so in the improbable event of getting it.   

 I do wish the new board of directors well in taking the organisation forward - perhaps something that should be considered early is enhancing their visbility such that questions like "who ARE Bus Users" need be asked less.