Beyond The Head

The Route 12 Terminus ...

... was always at the Hiker Cafe at the end of Broadway.

Looks like a good place for a lunch!

Yimmy, yummy!

Here the buses (now MoreBus 70 and 80 amongst others) stop short of an earthwork called the "Double Dykes"

But there is much more beyond, notably the lumpy bit, actually known as Warren Hill ...

... and, after a sharp left hand turn you are on Mudeford Spit.

Here is a drone-type view showing Warren Hill and the Spit ...

... and a view back in the opposite direction from Spit to Warren Hill.

Since April 1968 there has been a wheeled link between the bus terminus and the Spit. The link is provided by what has generally been known locally at the "Noddy Train".

The original was somewhat basic but a delight all the same.

At its peak, the service had THREE "locos".

Over the years the rolling stock has been "interesting". 

The enclosed two wheel carriages look dark and uninviting, but fascinating none the less.

With the retirement of the owning family, the service was taken over by the local Council, a process which included the "retirement" of the traditional stock and replacement by a commercially available Land Train.

Perhaps sadly, the "train" only offer two stops; at the Hiker Cafe for interchange with the buses ...

... and then well  past Warren Hill, the other terminus is a short way along the Spit.

Another option is to come by boat from Mudeford.

The 1C bus stops on the YELLOW road ...

... from where there is a tidy stroll through a massive car park ...

... to Mudeford Quay.

Here there is a ferry (every 15 mins in Summer months) across to a pier on the Spit, not too fat from the Land Train terminus.

The ferry is a very professional jobbie as illustrated by their promotional video.

So there is your round trip. By 1C ,,,

... ferry, land train and 70/80.  Of course, nearly forgot, the open topper 80 also serves Mudeford, so you could be open top all the way round.

Sadly, your MoreBus day rover ticket does NOT include ferry and land train. But you can't have everything - although all-inclusive tickets SHOULD be available!

Tomorrow we go inland to Bedfordshire with a serious lack of tourism apart from a narrow gauge railway.

 Next Arriva blog : Thursday 1st June 

A to B to B to HH

Now It's 70 And 80

Yesterday, we met the half hourly open top bus service from Alum Chine to Hengistbuty Head, now wrapped up in MoreBus routes 70 (RED) and 80 (YELLOW).  Frankly, fbb finds the bit of the route from Chine to Bournemouth disappointing.

Alum Chine is a wooded valley leading from urban housing down to the sea.

The bus terminates there, near to the sea. The path down is pleasant and there are some excellent views, but you see almost nothing of this from the bus!

It is better to walk down and catch the bus back to Westbourne near the top!

After calling at the centre of Bournemouth, the services continue via East Cliff ...

... to Boscombe and on via Overcliff  Drive to Hengistbury Head.

That lump ahead of you is the Head ...

... although the bus stops short of any ascent at the terminus.

But help is at hand for those who choose to ride rather than walk, as we shall see in tomorrow's blog.

Then It Was 12!

Traditionally Bournemouth's open top bus route (yes, there only was one!) was service 12 run by Bournemouth Corporation Transport, later Yellow Buses. 

Alas the 12 was never run by trolleybuses, although some may remember the open topped versions.

The following collection of 12s might not be complete or in the correct order, but here goes ...

Bournemouth Corporation

Privatised as Yellow Buses

Sold to Transdev

Privatised again as Yellow Buses

Competition fom Bear Cross Bus Company

Replaced in a bloodless coup by MoreBus

 And, as we have seen, now disappeared as a route number but incorporated into the 70/80 this giving a much longer topless ride.

But Who Is This?

Advance publicity just shows a nameless yellow bus passing a "big wheel" - but that was the best the press could do.

But the headline was clearly a guide to the picture editor.

The on-line picture is computer generated and thus non-committal!

The company is Transpora and their web site calls the route T1; listed amongst a huge batch of school contracts.

And a headline for the schools work in the local press.

And the new T1 timetable?

It is not too easy to read the rubric, but High Season looks like weekends and school holidays only.

Certainly it is a poor effort compared with MoreBus 70/80.

No genuine pictures of Transpora's T1 (a k a Coaster) have appeared so far; or if they have, fbb cannot find them!

But there is other Public Transport at Hengistbury Head ...

P.S. Bournemouth Corporation also ran this beauty.

Another Contender

Also open topping in Bournemouth and Poole are the bright red City Dightseeing buses.

They run every hour from Bourne Math Pier via Alum Chine, Ssndbanks, Poole and back to Bournemouth ...

... and will be expensive! They always are.

Certainly more than a MoreBus Zone A day ticket ...

...which covers open toppers 60, 70 and 80 for a whole day!

City Sightseeing does, however, have a commentary.

 Next Getting To Hengistbury Head blog : Weds 31st May 

Bounteous Bournemouth Breezer Brand

More Breezers from More Bus

In writing about Hulleys new "Breezer" from Balow to Castleton ...

... fbb chose to ignore the Breezers operated by GoAhead's MoreBus centred on Bournemouth and Poole. Since the bloodless takeover of the doomed Yellow Bus (ex Bournemouth Corporation Transport) the number and extent of these routes has increased somewhat.

A A Milnes' Winnie The Pooh title is appropriate but inadequate ...

... because, depending on how you count them, there are actually 8!

We begin with 30 and 31 Jurassic Breezer ...

... which have their focus at Lulworth Cove with its iconic Durdle Door.

The 30 runs from Swanage via Wool (for rail connections) and Lulworth to Weymouth.

It is not always (not ever?) open top but still represents a splendid ride.

The 30 is supplemented by the 31 shuttling from Wool to the Cove.

We now move to Swanage where, in addition to the 30, we meet 35  Campsite Connect, plus 40 and 50 Purbeck Breezers ...

The 35 runs to a selection of "Tourist Park" destinations ...

... which seems to be an attempt to overcome the negative associations of a "Caravan Site".

Service 40 is the traditional inland bus route from Swanage to Poole.

This runs via Wareham and Corfe Castle and offers possible connections along the route with the Swanage Railway.

The shorter route in distance is the 50 which uses the celebrated bottleneck, the Swanage Ferry.

There is a bus every 30 minutes.

Which takes us neatly to Poole and Bournemouth ...

... where we encounter the 60, 70 and 80.

60 Harbour Breezer runs from Rookley Park and Poole to Sandbanks Ferry ...

... which is where the well-blessed have their little summer cottages.

fbb has decided to stay put at fbb mansions in Seaton - it is just too much hassle to move to Sandbanks!

Which leaves 70 and 80 Beach Breezers.

This incorporates the "traditional" Bournemouth Corporation open top service 12 ...

... between Alum Chine, Bournemouth and Hengistbury Head. The 70/80 offer a 30 minute service much the same as ever was.

The 70 starts at Rookley Park (with the 60) ...

... and is joined by the 80 at Alum Chine. Both routes then run to Hengistbury Head.

The 80 doubles back and trundles via Christchurch to Mudeford and on to yet another Holiday Park,

Gray Line/Golden Tours had a similar operation in 2022.

But More Bus is definitely King of The Breezers in 2023.

But there is a Pretender laying claim to part of the Breezer Throne.

 Next Hengistbury Head Happenngs blog : Tuesday 30th May 

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 THE FIFTIETH DAY - 5 

There is no doubt that the Bible accounts of the gift of God's "Holy Spirit" a k a "The Helper" represents a weird experience.

Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia—yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things that God has done!” Amazed and confused, they kept asking each other, “What does this mean?”

But others made fun of the believers, saying, “These people are drunk!”

One of those who had just encountered this weirdness, Peter, addressed the curious crowd who had heard the noise 'like a mighty rushing wind".

Peter began by stressing that they were NOT drunk - it was too early in the morning! 

He then went on to quote an Old Testament Prophet called Joel. This is part of what he had prophesied about 500 years previously.

Your sons and daughters

will proclaim my message;

your young men will see visions,

 and your old men will have dreams.

Yes, even on my servants,

both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

and they will proclaim my message.

I will perform miracles in the sky above

and wonders on the earth below.

And that is how the message of Christianity spread back then and, amazingly, what is on offer today.

Some "Helper", eh?

On a very personal level, your author can confirm that "The Helper" is a powerful, personal, positive and purposeful part of his life - the miracles may be small, but miracles thay are.

An it all started on Whitsunday, Pentecost Sunday ...

 THE FIFTIETH DAY 

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