A Day Trip to Oxford

A Day Trip To Oxford

Using Rail & Bus

Wednesday 15th July 2015

Today I fancied a change, so after once again finishing another night shift, which was a shift from hell, I decided to take a Train to Oxford and use the plus bus ticket system, to make things fair and easier, I decided to use this option in Swindon & Oxford, and at £2 extra per ticket, it made perfect sense.

I took a Taxi from home to the Rail Station and boarded the train to London Paddington, which would take me to Didcot Parkway, where I had to change for Oxford, we used to have a direct Bristol-Oxford link, but it was stopped due to low demand or some other reason, they always looked busy to me when I used it, but there you go. I changed over trains and then boarded the train to Oxford.

On arrival at Oxford, I could see it was going to be one of those days, as there is now major roadworks throughout the City Centre which is affecting all of the bus services, I boarded a Oxford Bus Company Volvo B9LH 361 on the City 5 service and travelled into the main City Centre.

After a quick comfort break, I decided to give the Park & Ride a go, so boarded another B5LH 367 on the 500 service to Water Eaton Park & Ride, this is a nice service, and as we headed out towards Kidlington, I saw the usual Kites flying around stalking there prey in the fields at the edge of Oxford.

At the Park & Ride, I had a 10-minute wait for my next bus, which was a Stagecoach Oxford, Headington Connect service 700 from Water Eaton Park & Ride (the service starts in Kidlington) to the Hospitals and Headington. Whilst I was waiting, the customer service host (or whatever Oxford City & Oxfordshire County Councils and NSL Services call there staff) asked why I was taking photos of the buses. When I answered he then asked how many I had been on etc. when I said I don’t know, but have been into buses since the age of 7, he said it must have been thousands then. I would say he was close if not more maybe?

Stagecoach Oxford Enviro 400 1007, arrived on the 700 and took me along Marston Ferry Road (I think every bus to the John Radcliffe Hospital runs along part of this road somewhere!) and into the John Radcliffe Hospital, where it doubles back onto its self and then serves part of Oxford Brookes University and the Warneford and Churchill Hospitals before returning to the John Radcliffe Hospital and onwards to Kidlington, I left the bus at the Churchill Hospital and saw that it was dedicated by the Americans as thanks for its use in World War 2, I needed a cup of coffee, and this leads me to explain why I usually take a bus to/from the hospital when I go out for the day, the reason is simple. By design hospitals usually always have a reasonably cheap coffee shop or a restaurant area and they always have toilets, plus most towns will put multiple bus services to the hospital so that as many citizens as possible can benefit from the facility (well most other than Swindon anyway, who built a new hospital on the furthest edge of the town and then started on a course of self-destruction with the bus services to it which went from nearly all areas having a bus to 3 regular services, plus 6 country services which mostly follow the same route to the hospital). Plus most have wide areas, which are excellent for getting bus pictures.

After having a coffee (which even though it was a Costa, was so hot, I nearly needed to seek medical advice as it was burning my hand through the cardboard.) I ventured through the corridors from the newer building to the older building which was rather grand and nice looking, this took me to the East Entrance where I was looking to catch my next bus from, but the bus stop was closed, so I walked through to another street where I had the choice of Oxford Bus Company’s City 4 or Brookes Bus U5. I opted for the U5, which was on the university vacation timetable, and happily it turned up with a bus I was hoping to get, an Enviro 400H MMC.

I took Oxford Bus Company 601 on the U5, which meandered its way through various areas that students stay in on its way to the City Centre. The E400 MMC is a lovely bus and had comfortable leather seats, however like Swindon & London (who Oxford copied for years with its buses and seating layout etc.) these now had a talking “VERA” which stands for Very Erratic Recorded Announcements to tell you the next stop, now while I admit it’s a good idea for visitors and the blind etc. I still find it very annoying as even a human voice (which Swindon has thanks to a local community radio DJ) is distorted by the computer programme (usually still Windows XP) and made to sound tinny and irritating, just take a trip on the circle line in London or any bus and you will see what I mean, at least Oxfords is better than that, and Swindon’s is better than Oxfords unless the bus doors are opened at the stop.

I left the U5 and VERA in the City Centre, then had a walk round to the Bus Station and the Gloucester Green Market and the main City Centre shopping centres before boarding a 5 towards the infamous Blackbird Leys, however even though I know people who live there, I left the Volvo B5LH (bus 363) at Templers Square (which is on the edge of the estate anyway) as this is the only place in Oxford you will find a 99p store, there is no Poundlands or Poundworld shops here. Having got my self a folder to keep my expanding leaflet collection in, I headed back to the rail station on another B5LH (bus 362) on the 5 (the Stagecoach Oxford Enviro 400H will have to wait until next time).

Whilst at the Rail Station I got some photos of buses around the Rail Station including the Oxford Bus Company Enviro 400s on the Chiltern Rail Replacement buses which are hired from sister Go-Ahead company Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight, I also got a photo of the only Oxford Bus Company bus that is not LEZ compliant, old Park & Ride & City 114 an old Alexander ALX400 Dennis Trident.

After getting these pictures, I boarded Oxford Bus Company Enviro 400 229, on the 13 to the John Radcliffe Hospital, which again meandered through parts of Headington on its way to the Hospital including Marston Ferry Road, when I got to the hospital my bus went out of service, so I went to get a Mercedes-Benz Citaro back to the Rail Station but it left before I got to it, and the next was 30 minutes wait, but I spotted salvation in the guise of Stagecoach Oxford Enviro 200 Dart 36984 on the 14.

I took the 14 back to the Rail Station. I have travelled on this route many times with my partner for appointments at the John Radcliffe. I left the bus at the rail station and after buying yet another coffee, boarded the train back to Didcot on my way home, I had the usual delay at Didcot (which I have always had, even when I had girlfriends in Oxford) before I got the train back to Swindon. I slightly wasted money, as I did not use the PlusBus ticket in Swindon, as I took a taxi home.

There is one extra part to this journey, when I was on the U5, there was 2 girls moaning about Stagecoach Oxfords service 10, this used to be the old Carousel under Thames Transit, but Stagecoach merged both the old 10 & 10A into one long bus route which reverses on its self several times, and is one bus route I will not use between Oxford City Centre and the John Radcliffe Hospital, strangely its also the only service to not use Marston Ferry Road.

Also whilst waiting at Didcot for the train back to Swindon, I saw Thames Travel’s Enviro 200s and Enviro 400s on the Didcot area services and a plain white Dart MPD on a local service.

Buses Used

Oxford Bus Company:10070, 36984

Stagecoach Oxford361, 367, 601, 363, 362, 229

Journeys Taken:

Taxi Home – Swindon Rail Station

Rail FGW Swindon – Didcot Parkway

Rail FGW Didcot Parkway – Oxford Rail Station

5 OBC Rail Station – City

500 OBC City – Water Eaton P&R

700 SO Water Eaton P&R – Churchill Hospital

U5 OBC Churchill Hospital – City

5 OBC City – Templers Square

5 OBC Templers Square – Rail Station

13 OBC Rail Station – John Radcliffe Hospital

14 SO John Radcliffe Hospital – Rail Station

Rail FGW Oxford Rail Station – Didcot Parkway

Rail FGW Didcot Parkway – Swindon

Taxi Swindon Rail Station - Home