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Midlanders will shortly have available to them a new quick and cheap method of access to their surrounding countryside. Bridgnorth Rural Transport Partnership to-day announced the introduction of the "ShireRider" ticket. Geoff Atkinson, Vice Chairman, said that Central Trains and the Counties of Shropshire, Worcestershire and Hereford had joined with them in making available a joint Rail/Bus ticket.
On Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from 18 May 2003 it will be possible to buy any single or return rail ticket to a station in the Shire counties from any other station and ask for a "ShireRider" bus add-on. This will then allow a day's unlimited bus travel throughout these counties. It will also be valid for use on the special Shuttle buses run by the National Trust, English Nature and the Brecon Beacons National Park so giving access to the wilder parts of the region such as the Beacons, the Long Mynd, and the Stiperstones. Travel will also be possible to the attractions of the Wye Valley, and the towns along the Welsh border, from Oswestry to Hereford. The cathedral towns of Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford and the medieval buildings of these places will also be accessible, as will the river towns of Bridgnorth, Bewdley and Stourport etc.
The "ShireRider" add-on will cost just £2.50 for adults and £1 for children (aged 5 - 15). The rail part of the fare will be the normal price but will be eligible for Railcard discounts, whilst children (aged 5- 15) will travel for a flat fare of £1. Groups of 3 or 4 people will be eligible for a "Groupsave" fare, where all of them get their rail travel for the price of two adults. Up to 4 children (aged 5 - 15) may travel for £1 each when accompanying adults
Leaflets showing the routes covered and details of how to obtain rail and bus times for your proposed trip will shortly be available from stations, Tourist Information Centres and libraries etc
Details of the extra buses running to the Yorkshire Dales from the surrounding area during the summer months have now been announced. As usual, the first summer services will start running on Easter Sunday:
1. From Easter Sunday (20th April), the summer Sunday service will be introduced on services 800, 805 and 806 from West Yorkshire to Wharfedale and Hawes, service 804 from West Yorkshire to Malham, and on services 807/159 from Keighley, Skipton, Ribblehead, Hawes and Leyburn to Richmond .
2. From May Day weekend (3rd May), Saturday service 801 will be introduced running from Wakefield via Leeds , Bradford , Ilkley, Bolton Abbey, Burnsall, Grassington, Buckden and Hawes to Keld.
3. From May Day weekend (4th May) Sunday service 803 from West Yorkshire to Swaledale and Sunday service X43 from Manchester and Lancashire to Grassington will restart for the summer season.
4. The Dales Bike Bus will restart on Sundays from 25th May, running on new routes to Grassington, Kettlewell and Malham. Summer Sunday services will also be reintroduced on Nidderdale routes 25, 26, 802 and 812, including extra buses between Pateley Bridge , Fountains Abbey and Ripon, with links from Bradford , Leeds , Otley, York and Harrogate.
5. Service 200 from West Yorkshire to Ingleton, Lancaster and Morecambe will start to run on Saturdays from 31st May, and on Sundays from 7th July.
6. Lakes Bus 808 from West Yorkshire and Skipton to the Western Dales and Keswick will run on both Saturdays and Sundays throughout July and August.
7. The extension of Sunday service 33 from Leeds and Ilkley to Bolton Abbey will commence on 20th July. Full timetables for all these services are available on the Dalesbus website at www.dalesbus.org A Metro timetable booklet covering all these services will be available from the usual outlets in early April.
New fares will be introduced for Dales Rover tickets from 20th April 2003 , details are also available at Dalebus website
Bus services in the Harrogate area, including routes 23/24 will be amended from 28th April 2003:
1. Service 24 from Pateley Bridge to Harrogate will be improved, providing an hourly service throughout the day, together with an extra journey at 0740 from Pateley Bridge.
2. Service 23 from Harrogate will run as a circular to Markington and Shaw Mills, no longer serving Pateley Bridge . Sadly Hutchinsons Sunday services 75 (Skipton - Bolton Abbey) and 75A (Knaresborough - Skipton) will be withdrawn after operation on 13th April 2003 . Weekday links between Harrogate and Skipton will continue to be provided by Harrogate & District service X59.
Good news is that in 2003 all of the Coastal Bus Services, the Celtic Coaster, Puffin Shuttle, Strumble Shuttle and Poppit Rocket will start running every day from the 12th April - 28th September 2003.
There are some major revisions and improvements to the Strumble Shuttle timetable, and 2x extra services on the Puffin Shuttle as well as a trial half hourly service for the Celtic Coaster in August. Some of the Puffin services also connect with the Ferry to the Skomer Island.
The good news for walkers and cyclists in the Lake District is the extension of the popular Mountain Goat services between Hawkshead and Coniston Water over the winter period. The buses have been equipped with bicycle carrying trailer/rack, and the service has been integrated with the Lake Windermere cruises to Hawkshead, and with the Coniston Launch ferry services. Both ferries also carry bikes on their roofs.
With the purchase of a single ticket, you can have unlimited travel on all bus and boat services, which give you access to a network of walking and cycling routes. For those who did not bring their own bike, cycle hire is available along the route of the Mountain Goat.
From Windermere, the Windermere Lake Cruises launch takes passengers over to ferry house on the Western shore of the lake where they can choose to catch the Mountain Goat Minibus service or take to their bicycles. The Mountain Goat service takes the passengers to Monk Coniston via stops at Forest Enterprise centre at Grizedale, Moor Top, Hawkshead High Cross and the popular National Trust site of Tarn Hows. At Monk Coniston the Coniston Launch takes passengers to various stops on the lake side including Torver Pier, Brantwood Waterhead Hotel and Coniston Pier where a short walk takes passengers into Coniston village.
For more information please call Mountain Goat on 01539 445161Nidderdale now has new routes, with service 60 running from Otley (change for Leeds or Bradford) from Monday to Saturday. Access to Washburndale and Upper Nidderdale is now possible. This service connects with X59 between Skipton and Harrogate.
In addition, the regular service 24 from Harrogate to Pateley Bridge is extended to Sundays. For full details of times check out the Dalesbus website.
The Tamar Valley Line and Truro to Falmouth branch lines are to have all year Sunday service, thanks to the efforts of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership.
Devon is to see all year round cycle carrying buses. The service 86 Plymouth to Ilfracombe and 315/345 Exeter to Barnstaple are to be fitted with racks capable of carrying two bikes.
Devon County Council Transport email or tel 01392 382800
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Last modified 2 Sep 2003