Diary 2022

Monday 3 October 2022 (1122) – Stagecoach East 15953 (YN14 OXD) seen rolling through Kentford when working the 1105 service 11 from Bury St. Edmunds to Newmarket and Cambridge. (The destination display was correctly displayed as in the previous shot. Some types of electronic displays flash rapidly and at the wrong moment appear blank to the camera). It is an Alexander Dennis N230UD bodied Scania N230UD that was new in April 2014 and wears Stagecoach Gold livery with branding for the Cambridge-Haverhill service 13. Kentford has two hostelries, one at each end of the village, both of which have been used as timetable points on services 11 and X11. However, ‘The Kentford’ is still referred to by its old historical name of The Cock Inn. The other pub is The Bell Inn which, because of it standing on the boundary with the neighbouring village of Kennett, has a formal address of the latter! During mid-September 2022 Stagecoach East announced its intention to withdraw quite a number of bus services which it said were no longer commercially sustainable. Their services 11/X11 ceased after operation on Saturday 29 October 2022 along with the Cambridge-Newmarket-Ely service 12. Replacement services were introduced by Stephensons of Essex from Monday 31 October 2022. Using the tracker on the Bus Times website this bus was shown as running the following trips today: 0650 Haverhill-Cambridge 0811 (13B) 0850 Cambridge-Newmarket 1007 (11) 1024 Newmarket-Bury St. Edmunds 1049 (11) 1105 Bury St. Edmunds-Cambridge 1259 (11) 1420 Cambridge-Pampisford 1503 (7) 1513 Pampisford-Cambridge 1600 (7) 1620 Cambridge-Pampisford 1703 (7) 1713 Pampisford-Cambridge 1800 (7) 1820 Cambridge-Pampisford 1903 (7)

Monday 10 October 2022 (1125) - Stagecoach East (Cambus) 15087 (LX09 AGO) seen passing the Chequers pub in Fordham when working the 1051 service 12 from Ely to Newmaket and Cambridge. It is a Scania N230UD OmniCity new to Stagecoach London (Selkent) in May 2009 that was transferred to Cambus in Autumn 2019. During mid-September 2022 Stagecoach East announced its intention to withdraw quite a number of bus services which it said were no longer commercially sustainable. Their services 11/X11 ceased after operation on Saturday 29 October 2022 along with the Cambridge-Newmarket-Ely service 12. Replacement services were introduced by Stephensons of Essex from Monday 31 October 2022. Using the tracker on the Bus Times website this bus was shown as running the following trips today: 0710 Ely-Waterbeach-Cambridge 0808 (9) 0825 Cambridge-Newmarket-Ely 0956 (12) 1051 Ely-Newmarket-Cambridge 1227 (12) 1250 Cambridge-Newmarket 1407 (11) 1424 Newmarket-Bury St. Edmunds 1449 (11) 1505 Bury St. Edmunds-Cambridge 1659 (11) 1715 Cambridge-Newmarket 1832 (11) Empty to Cambridge Depot 1900

Tuesday 11 October 2022 (1139) – Newmarket is the horse racing capital of Britain and in addition to having two separate racecourses it is home to numerous stables and training establishments. From early morning until around lunch time the traffic gets held up as the horses move between the stables and the training grounds. This view was taken from the upper deck of Stagecoach East 15659 (AE10 HFC) in Bury Road as it worked the 0950 Cambridge to Bury St. Edmunds service 11. Whilst people regularly moan about the delays caused by the horses, any delays they caused today were insignificant compared to the delays being caused by a number of different roadworks taking place around the town. The resultant diversions and temporary traffic lights traffic was pretty chaotic. This service should have arrived at the bus station at 1107 and then continued to Bury St. Edmunds at 1124. It arrived at 1134 and departed a couple or so minutes later but was still nearly 15 minutes late. The bus is an Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD which was new in June 2010. During mid-September 2022 Stagecoach East announced its intention to withdraw quite a number of bus services which it said were no longer commercially sustainable. Their services 11/X11 ceased after operation on Saturday 29 October 2022 along with the Cambridge-Newmarket-Ely service 12. Replacement services were introduced by Stephensons of Essex from Monday 31 October 2022. Using the tracker on the Bus Times website this bus was shown as running the following trips today: 0543 Empty Depot to Newmarket 0615 Newmarket-Bury St. Edmunds 0640 (11) 0645 Bury St. Edmunds-Cambridge 0754 (X11) 0950 Cambridge-Newmarket 1107 (11) 1124 Newmarket-Bury St. Edmunds 1149 (11) 1205 Bury St. Edmunds-Cambridge 1359 (11) 1835 Cambridge-Bury St. Edmunds 1942 (X11) 1945 Bury St. Edmunds-Newmarket 2015 (11) Empty to Cambridge Depot 2050 (On other days this duty also included the 1425 Cambridge-Ely 1556 (12) and 1651 Ely-Cambridge 1827 (12) trips but Bus Times for this day showed no vehicle at all operating these two runs).

Wednesday 19 October 2022 (1149) - Stagecoach East (Cambus) 15459 (AE09 GYG), an Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD new in March 2009, in Newmarket High Street as it worked the 1105 service 11 from Bury St. Edmunds to Cambridge. Seen from on board 15220 (YN15 KHT). During mid-September 2022 Stagecoach East announced its intention to withdraw quite a number of bus services which it said were no longer commercially sustainable. Their services 11/X11 ceased after operation on Saturday 29 October 2022 along with the Cambridge-Newmarket-Ely service 12. Replacement services were introduced by Stephensons of Essex from Monday 31 October 2022.

Saturday 22 October 2022 (1227) – St. Mary’s Church in Swaffham Prior once had a traditional spire which was dismantled around 1802 having been struck by lightning some years earlier. In the 1960s a needle spire was fitted on which is mounted a coronet. Stagecoach East 15658 (AE10 HFB), an Alexander Dennis (ADL) Enviro400 bodied Scania N230UD new in June 2010, is passing through working the 1150 service 11 from Cambridge to Newmarket and Bury St. Edmunds. During mid-September 2022 Stagecoach East announced its intention to withdraw quite a number of bus services which it said were no longer commercially sustainable. Their services 11/X11 ceased after operation on Saturday 29 October 2022 along with the Cambridge-Newmarket-Ely service 12. Replacement services were introduced by Stephensons of Essex from Monday 31 October 2022. Using the tracker on the Bus Times website this bus was shown as running the following trips today: 0611 Empty Cambridge Depot to Burwell 0649 Burwell to Cambridge 0742 (11) 1150 Cambridge-Newmarket 1307 (11) 1324 Newmarket-Bury St. Edmunds 1349 (11) 1405 Bury St. Edmunds-Cambridge 1559 (11) Empty to Cambridge Depot 1624 1817 Empty Cambridge Depot to Drummer Street 1830 Drummer St to Newmarket Rd Park & Ride (PR2)/1850 return 1910 Drummer St to Newmarket Rd Park & Ride (PR2)/1930 return 1950 Drummer St to Newmarket Rd Park & Ride (PR2)/2010 return 2030 Drummer St to Newmarket Rd Park & Ride (PR2) 2050 Empty Newmarket Rd Park & Ride to Cambridge Depot

Thursday 27 October 2022 (0937) - Stagecoach East 15958 (YN14 OXJ) seen in Burwell passing the site that was once the property of Burwell & District Motor Service, a family run bus business that was sold to the Eastern Counties Omnibus Company in June 1979. In September 1984 the Cambridgeshire operations of ECOC became Cambus and in due course Cambus was taken over by Stagecoach in December 1995. The now estate agent’s office was the B&D office and the garage stood on the land now occupied by the houses beyond and alongside the bus. 15958 is an Alexander Dennis N230UD bodied Scania N230UD that was new in May 2014 and wears Stagecoach Gold livery with branding for the Cambridge-Haverhill service 13. It was however working the 0850 service 11 from Cambridge to Newmarket and Bury St. Edmunds. During mid-September 2022 Stagecoach East announced its intention to withdraw quite a number of bus services which it said were no longer commercially sustainable. Their services 11/X11 ceased after operation on Saturday 29 October 2022 along with the Cambridge-Newmarket-Ely service 12. Replacement services were introduced by Stephensons of Essex from Monday 31 October 2022. Using the tracker on the Bus Times website this bus was shown as running the following trips today: 0650 Haverhill-Cambridge 0811 (13B) 0850 Cambridge-Newmarket 1007 (11) 1024 Newmarket-Bury St. Edmunds 1049 (11) 1105 Bury St. Edmunds-Cambridge 1259 (11) 1430 Cambridge-Haverhill 1552 (13A) 1552 Haverhill-Cambridge 1723 (13) 1730 Cambridge-Haverhill 1902 (13) (Presumably the bus started and finished the day at the Haverhill parking location)

Friday 2 December 2022 (1054) – East Yorkshire Motor Services 94 (80 EYC) seen unloading passengers in Castle Meadow, Norwich below the Castle and ramparts. It is a Mercedes-Benz Tourismo that was new in September 2022 with this registration that has been carried by numerous EYMS vehicles over the years. EYMS was acquired by the Go-Ahead Group in June 2018. Renovation works are in progress at the castle which started in August 2020 with a planned completion in 2023. The £13.5million project aims to transform and reinstate the medieval floors and rooms to their formal glory. Over the years the castle has been a prison and the city museum.