Balancing Britain (2) The Bus

Absolute Heaven** : Service Eleven?

Empirical examination of bus stops in Dunsop Bridge should reveal that this intriguing settlement, just over four miles from the very centre of Great Britain, is served by a route 11.

The gloriously rural 11 is run by minibuses ...

... and a close inspection of the vehicle(s) would reveal the operator as "North Yorkshire Council" ...

... indeed North Yorkshire tells us so.

Or, on-line, there is a timetable search for Dunsop Bridge.

But when we prod the blue blob, up comes ...

... what looks like a Lancashire Council timetable leaflet. The unhelpful on-line route map might explain this dual identity.

Actually it doesn't! Neither does the superb route map in the lovely Lancs leaflet.

Bang in the middle of the above page is the delightfully named Tosside.

The village marks the boundary between Lancashire ...

... and, fixe9d to the back of the above sign ...

... North Yorkshire.

The boundary runs along the side road (left) in front of the North Yotks sign or behind that for Lancs. The northbound stop is in Lancashire ...

... with the southbound, but unmarked, pick-up point being outside the village hall and over the border in North Yorks.

The service was resurrected in 2024 ...

... and later enjoyed by none other than blogging's Uncle Travelling Matte (Fraggle Rock character!) Roger French.

The bus pictures are his photographs - thanks, Roger!

The Lancs leaflet includes some rudimentary fares information ...

... BUT ...

... are these fares available over the border at Tosside?

Confusing, innit?

Here is the Saturday timetable; Mon to Fri is much the same.

One unexplained oddity is the link between Settle and Horton in Ribblessdale. A through passenger south from Horton is obliged to settle for 47 lengthy minutes in Settle before continuing towards Clitheroe.

Why? Surely the layover should be taken at the end of the route, i.e in Horton.

But note the hourly train connections at Clitheroe. Maybe a brave bus and rail enthusiast could plan a tour, out via Clitheroe, lavish lunch at Settle or Horton, and back via the Settle and Carlisle line to Leeds, then Manchester and back to Cliitheroe.

Sounds fun. If only Seaton were nearer to Manchester.

** Whilst the interpretation of visionary passages that describe heaven in The Bible can be difficult ...

... the joy of joining God outside of human space and time for an eternity of sin-free perfection and delight is surely even better than the Lancs/Yorks route 11.

Priestly king, enthroned for ever

high in heaven above!

sin and death and hell shall never

stifle hymns of love:

Yours the glory and the crown,
the high renown, the eternal name.

5o, our hearts and voices raising

through the ages long,

ceaselessly upon you gazing,

this shall be our song:

Yours the glory and the crown,
the high renown, the eternal name.

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From The Sublime ...

fbb is currently turning a pair of "workers' cottages" ...

... into a row of four low relief residences. Parts of these card kits are  cut and ready to 'push out' - with the exception of one edge which has to be cut by the user. This stops the bits falling apart in the box, on the work bench, or, for fbb, on the dining table or onto the carpet!

... To The Ridiculous!

Thus it was than your elderly wobbly-handed and careless blogger-cum-kit-basher carefully cut out a required part and, equally carefully, sliced through two dormer window barge boards!

Amazingly he was able to repair them ....

... but you can see the join!

fbb's modelling mentors, Fred Fudge and Bill Bodge would be proud of their protege! (Memo mist work out how to add accents on laptop or tablet!)

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 Next Beach But No Sea blog : Fri 6 Nov