I Need A Bus Pass ! On around the 9th or 10th of May, I decided that I'd go back to Felixstowe for a few days, partly to tidy up some bits and pieces, and to collect some other things, and then return to the boat with Dot when she came up to join ship.So on Friday afternoon I strolled into the Braunston Marina office, and enquired - no problem, come and see them when ready. I eventually brought Catcho into the wharf on Sunday mid-day, and was allocated a berth which I popped into. A very nice evening ensued after a boat cleaning session, with us plugged into the mains, and the old fan-heater blasting a nice drop of warm air through the cabin! On Monday morning, I decided to give hitch-hiking a bash - I went up to the main road, carrying a pad with "A14/Northampton" writ large upon it. I tried to get in a reasonable position, with a side-road nearby that lift-givers could pull in to, but 30 minutes later I was still standing there in the spring sunshine (thank goodness it wasn't raining!). Five minutes later, at around 09.50, the Rugby to Banbury bus pulled up, and I got aboard - there is an hourly service both ways, and the bus stop is right outside the Marina. I bought a ticket for Banbury, but after a brief chat with the driver, decided to get off at Daventry, just 3 or 4 miles down the road. When the bus pulled in to the little bus station, I only had 5 minutes wait before the Northampton bus drew up - what timing! The run to Northampton cost just £2, and I reckon if I'd got the previous journey right, it would have only cost about £1 - £3 to date, then. By about quarter to eleven, we arrived at the massive Northampton bus station, and I was told I could get to Cambridge with a change at Bedford The total distance for this leg was somewhere around 50-60 miles so I was expecting a sizeable bill - but no, it was just £3.45 . . . This was quite a long journey, with the potential for major delays, but everything went surprisingly well. I left Northampton in a double decker for Bedfor at 10.50, the route taking in several delightful stone-built villages, set in lovely rolling countryside. This pulled up beside the connection to Cambridge, a single-deck coach with very comfortable seating and yet another friendly driver. We cruised up the dual carriageway, and arrived in cambridge just after 1 o'clock in the afternoon. so I'd covered over half the journey from Braunston to Felixstowe, probably about the best part of 80 miles, in three hours, largely thanks to the excellent service provided by Stagecoach, for the grand total of around £6.45. But Cambridge proved to be my downfall. A few enquires showed that I had missed my next connection to Bury St Edmunds, by just a few minutes. The next bus was at five to two - 50 minutes to wait. Then, in conversation with a pair of National Express drivers, I discovered that there weren't any buses shown running from Bury to Ipswich on a regular basis - although I'm no longer convinced of this. They suggested catching their companies' service from Cambridge to Ipswich at 4.35, and that is what I decided to do. I had a drink, a stroll around Cambridge, and a really delicious jacket spud, and arrived back at the bus station in plenty of time. I was lucky enough to strike up a conversation with a cheery and friendly retired gent on the coach, which meant that I think we both spent a more enjoyable journey than otherwise - and the passing views weren't that impressive, as we travelled largely through a tropical downport that lasted well through the trip. Not counting the three and a half-hour delay from one o'clock 'til half-past four, the whole journey took about five and a quarter hours, arriving in Ipswich at 6.30pm to be collected by Dot. The National Express final link cost just £7.25, bringing the total to £13.70 - a lot less than any other transport method. And more to the point, it was an interesting journey by an unconventional route! Bus travel is definitely recommended by me, as long as you have the time to accept the unavoidable hang-ups! |