Red Eagle 50111 (WX08 LNP) and Arriva 3030 (BD12 DHG) in Berkhamsted - 13 Apr 2024 (P1170796)

Saturday 13 April 2024 (1342) – The ancient market town of Berkhamsted stands close to the Chiltern Hills. The long straight High Street is on an alignment dating from pre-Roman times. William the Conqueror was crowned King of England at Berkhamsted following which a fort and then castle were established. The now ruined castle was a favoured residence of royalty but after its abandonment in 1485 the town fell into decline. In more modern times there was expansion following the construction of the Grand Union Canal and the coming of the main line railway both of which still link London with the Midlands.

In this view on the High Street Red Eagle Buses 50111 (WX08 LNP), an Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro200 bodied Dart new to First Somerset and Avon (44904) in May 2008, was working the 1255 Chesham-Berkhamsted Circular-Chesham service 354.

In the background is Arriva The Shires 3030 (BD12 DHG), a Mercedes-Benz Citaro O 530 that was new to the TGM Group in July 2012, working the 1315 service X5 from Hemel Hempstead to Aylesbury. (In these parts Arriva trades as 'Arriva Beds & Bucks' which for my foreign viewers is the abbreviation for the counties of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire).