From a Chum in Brum [2]

Crossing the Rubicon Alps City Centre

Given that bus services no longer run through Birmingham City Centre, ousted to make way for one little tram route, we are using the Network West Midlands City Centre guide to find our way. A virtual fbb is at Gannow in the south west and aims to travel by bus to Boldmere in the north east.

Thanks to help from a helpful and equally virtual host, fbb is directed to this bus stop ...

... whence he catches a service 63 into town.

It runs every ten minutes ...

... and takes about 50 minutes so allow an hour. Arrival (it is a red line) is ...

... at New Street as in New Street Station. 

Because he knows he is on a 63, he can even work out which stop he will be getting off at** from the index alongside the big city centre map.

Or can he? Surely NS5 and NS1 would generally be for alighting; with NS3 and NS9 being for the return trip? 

And if fbb is to "interchange", surely NS5 and NS9 would not be ideal.

And with what could fbb "interchange"? Well, only with buses going back to the south west.

 So far NOT impressed 

Boldmere is near Sutton Coldfield, on a blue line leaving from ...

... Bull Street Priory Queensway "interchange". This is about as good an "interchange" as would be the Seaton Tramway operating High Speed 2. 

There are dark blue stops on Bull Street, as you would expect ...

... and a bit back from those are dark blue stops on High Street.

But just round the corner from High Street, left of the blue bus, is Carrs Lane which is part of the Moor Street "interchange" (in yellow).

At the top of Bull Street you turn right into a little bit of Corporation Street ...

... where there are more blue stops. And, finally turn right at the junction behind the bus and you are in Priory Queensway ...

... with almost the final tranche of dark blue stops.

And all that lot is called an "interchange".

And, in case you are confused, just at the bottom of this bit of Priory Queensway (dark blue you will remember!) ...

... those stops in the background suddenly become part of the yellow Moor Street set. Walking past the yellow stops, you turn right and there, on Albert Street ...

... are the last few dark blue stops, and still part of the Bull Street Priory Queensway interchange.

Boy do we need that map of the City Centre to help us.

Now, in case the excitement of Birmingham City Centre interchanges has overwhelmed your critical faculties, you may remember that we have walked from "New Street" interchange ...

... (via the ramp next to the tunnel then via High Street) and are seeking our bus to Boldmere coded dark blue on the map.

We will conclude this review of the NWM ...

... Notably Worrying Map after a weekend's break to recover from the strain so far.

HEALTH WARNING : Google Maps is not up-to-date so the pictures used above may not be correct and thus may well be as useful as the proverbial chocolate teapot.

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** Now that most grammarians have decided that it is not a huge sin to use a preposition to end a sentence with, fbb can safely reveal the ultimate example of that one-time faux pas. A mother (to her child) perplexed by the latter's choice of bedtime reading,

"What did you choose that book to be read to out of from for?"

Three cheers for the English language!

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 Next fireworks blog : Saturday 22nd August