Mottram Bus Shelter

Just down the road from L S Lowry's old house The Elms is this rather elegant looking bus shelter.

Looking Down on Clarendon Place

Looking down from multi-storey car park.

The #201 bus for Hattersley is just about to pass Bengal Spice.

Alighting from the 201

I thought I'd try another Tenin-esque shot like the one I posted for our fourth anniversary.

This shows passengers alighting from the #201 bus from Hattersley to Manchester at the bus stop on Clarendon Place.

A straightened full colour version can be seen on Geograph.

Dowson Road from a Double-Deck Bus

Dowson Road was built in the 1930s to bypass Gee Cross and was named after Henry Enfield Dowson.

This section, viewed from the upper deck of a double-deck bus, is heading down into Hyde from just past Knott Lane. You can see another double-decker coming in the opposite direction.

The road was resurfaced in November 2009 when I showed you a view of the roadworks from the lower deck of a bus.

Two more views of Dowson Road from the upper deck can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

More D posts can be found via ABC Wednesday.

Horses at the Top of Apethorn Lane

A few days ago I was on the top deck of the #330 going to Stockport.

As it approached Smith Knight Fay I spotted two horses and their riders turning from Stockport Road into Apethorn Road.

Up the Junction 2010

I recently took this photograph of the junction of Cheetham Hill Road with Birch Lane/Ashton Road from outside the former Dukinfield Arms.

Compare this with the photograph on Old Hyde which Alan Young took twenty years ago from the same spot.

The building on the left of which we can see just the gable end is no longer the Junction Inn. Like others it has been converted into a private residence.

There is now a shelter by the bus stop.

Apart from these changes it looks very much the same now as it did then.

342 in Hyde Bus Station

I was on the top deck of the 330 bus to Ashton and took this of the 342 Speedwell bus which does the Back Bower circular route.

I showed you the 342 two years ago in May 2008.

I also showed it you parked in the bus station in February 2007.

You saw it first though in April 2006 at the temporary stop it was using while the new bus station was still under construction.

The Lights on Market Street

Earlier this month I showed you the start of the Christmas Lights on the Shepherds Call.

Now they are all lit up. This was the view last Saturday looking up Market Street from the middle of the pedestrian crossing below the Town Hall.

Another view of the lights by the market can be seen on Hyde DP Xtra.

For vistas around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

Roadworks Viewed from the Bus

On Tuesday I showed you the Roadworks on Dowson Road.

This is the other end of them. I took it with my new camera-phone whilst on a 330 just setting off from the stop past Knott Lane.

You can see a driver's-eye view from the opposite direction on My Manchester.

Used Tickets

Board a bus around here and you'll be issued with a ticket, even if you have a free pass covering the journey.

At the end of the journey what do you do?

Personally I stuff them in my pocket and dispose of them when I get home.

Some folk just throw them on the floor whilst the more litter concious dispose of them in the "used tickets" bin. Unfortunately on this particular bus the catch is broken and as it goes over a bump the flap opens and delivers the contents on to the floor.

They come along in Twos

In my post, View from the bus, a couple of months ago, I queried the presence of a couple of buses in convoy on the 330 service.

A frequent service (it used to be run every eight minutes), it isn't unusual to find two buses following each other. I'd always thought it was a question of the first bus being delayed by traffic and the second catching it up.

Last Saturday I was in Hyde Bus Station and looked at the electronic timetable. I was surprised to see it indicate two buses departing within one minute of each other.

When I got off the bus at the stop four minutes up the road, I took a snap of the timetable displayed in the shelter. I've pasted it into the bottom of the photo and that shows just one bus every ten minutes.

Reputedly, drivers on the 330 route consider it to have the most miserable passengers , compared to other routes.

To be fair, I have to say that generally it is an excellent service, but the timetabling is rather curious.

343 bus to Oldham

A JPT bus on the 343 route at Hyde Bus Station. In front of it is a parked Speedwell's bus.

The 343 goes on a round the houses route from Hyde to Oldham via Flowery Field, Stalybridge, Carrbrook, Micklehurst, Mossley, Grotton and Lees.

As Martin of Ashton-under-Lyne DP reported earlier, the service was in danger as Speedwells who run the majority of journeys on the route are withdrawing it in October 2009.

A Facebook Group was launched to save it and recent news is that the route will probably be run by "First" buses from October 3rd 2009.

Information on the history of the route can be found on the Saddleworth buses website.

Starling's Feet

Whilst waiting for a bus at the heritage stop recently, I was distracted by the starlings clambering on the roof of the bus stop canopy.

A fuller view of the roof is on Hyde DP Xtra.

A view from the Bus

I took this photograph on the 342 bus going into Hyde, approaching the Town Hall on Market Street.

Is that two 330s outside the market? The 330 is a frequent service in the daytime so at busy periods it is not unusual to find them arriving in pairs.

How different it all looks at 5.30 in the morning - find out by visiting Hyde DP Xtra.

Dowson Road Trees

These trees on Dowson Road are in full bloom.

The one next to the bus shelter is so huge that its leaves droop down over the side making it very difficult for people waiting at the stop to see the bus at it comes around the corner.

Behind them is Enfield Court, a block of retirement apartments.

Brokendown Bus on Dowson Road

A couple of weeks ago, a 330 bus, enroute from Ashton to Stockport, broke down in front of the zebra crossing by the juction of Dowson Road and Grosvenor Road.


Needless to say it caused a bit of a traffic jam.

A New Zebra

Last September I reported that a bus stop on Stockport Road was to go in order to make way for a new zebra crossing.

Later I showed you the preparatory work.

Now here it is.


In the other direction the bus shelter has gone and there are some new bollards in the road.

See how it used to look.

Preparing for the Zebra

Last September I showed you a photo of the Stockport Road bus stop that was going to be closed for the construction of a zebra crossing.

As you can see the stop has been removed and work has begun on preparing the road for construction of the crossing.

We originally thought the stop on the other side would be retained, but the bus shelter was removed a couple of weeks ago and doubtless the stop will go too.

#304 Bus

The #304 bus outside the Hare & Hounds on Werneth Low Road.

The service operated by Manchester Community Transport runs just two morning journeys only between Marple and Hyde on Mondays, Wednesdays & Saturdays.

It is the only bus that serves a number of small housing estates in Ernocroft, Compstall and Gee Cross. For those who live on the route it affords them about two hours in Hyde or an hour in Marple to do their shopping and return home.

There are other routes (although involving changes) between the two towns, but as this is the only bus service to travel over Werneth Low, it is also used by those who enjoy its scenic route.

On this occasion it was just a little ahead of its timetable and so stopped here briefly, allowing me time to take a few photos including the one of Cattle on the Low.

Stockport Road Bus Stop again

This third shot of the threatened-with-closure bus stop shows the view looking up Stockport Road.

Traffic sweeps around the bend by the Werneth Hotel at the bottom of Treacle Brow, which makes crossing the road to the stop on the other side rather hazardous.

On the right-hand side of the picture is a gatso or speed camera.

I think the camera is set to capture traffic coming in the opposite direction.

A zebra crossing here would seem to make sense. It wouldn't affect the siting of the opposite stop and on this side there is already a stop going up Stockport Road only about 50 yards further down near the Big Tree Memorial.