Day 5: Hereford to Gloucester

Tuesday, 8th September 2015

After a weekend in Hereford, to say "goodbye" to Midland Red operation in the city (after 95 years) as well as meeting up with the old friends and colleagues I undertook another section of the journey to Gloucester via the Forest of Dean.

First bus of the day from Hereford

 For the first time I paid for a bus ride: £3.60 to travel to Monmouth on the 08.45hrs Stagecoach 36 service. The 36 was another service that I had been able to develop in the good old days of Rural Bus Grant, expanding it from a peak-hour only service with market-day extras to a regular headway service throughout the day, extended of course to the railway station in Hereford and timed to connect with trains. Even so I was surprised to find a double-decker on the 08.45 departure, this being the return working of the bus that now carries 60+ passengers into Hereford every morning, at least when the colleges are in session.

The 'decker was an added bonus, especially as I could get the front seat upstairs and enjoy the very scenic ride through the Herefordshire landscape before dropping down through the narrow and twisty Buckholt valley into Monmouth. This leg involved going "over the edge" and into Wales, but the alternative route via Ross-on-Wye would have been well inside England and only the last four miles of the 36 were actually in Wales.

The old bridge, Monmouth

I had an hour-and-a-quarter in Monmouth for a look round and a coffee before getting the next bus. An interesting town that would have justified a longer stop by a first-time visitor, although I already knew it well. I wasn't sure that my English bus pass would be valid for a journey starting in Wales and sure enough, the card reader on the 35 rejected it with an flashing red light and an angry buzz! The driver, however, was happy to let me travel, despite a notice inside the bus informing all passengers that they would have to pay the full fare if the machine rejected their pass!  Thank goodness most bus drivers take a common-sense approach to life.

Service 35 is operated by local operator, James Bevan and before we could leave Monmouth we were delayed by a passenger who wanted to get to Mitcheldean and wanted to know if our bus would get her to Ross-on-Wye in time for her connection. After some thought, the driver advised her that changing at Coleford and again at Cinderford would be a better option or she could wait at Monmouth for service 34, which followed a more direct route to Ross and would get there earlier. She opted for our service 35, although I didn't see her get off in Coleford.

The Forest of Dean can be disappointing for first time visitors. Much of the "forest" is now uniform conifers and the area's coal-mining heritage means that the towns and villages have much in common with other coal mining areas, such as the south Wales valleys Such areas have their attractions but may not be what visitors expect. Service 35 at least provides some spectacular views as it climbs out of the Wye Valley and into Gloucestershire.

Changing from service 35 at Coleford

My change onto service 23 at Coleford was straightforward - onto a Stagecoach Optare Versa, which ran through more former mining villages and on to Lydney - a somewhat disappointing town with a centre strung out along the A48 and the remains of a 1950s bus station, one of a number built by the Red & White bus company in the days when bus companies did that sort of thing.

Lydney's underused bus station

The 23 runs through to Gloucester, but I decided to give myself a lunch break in Lydney, eating in a deserted cafe in the equally deserted market hall before getting another 23 an hour later on to Gloucester. At Newnham we once again came very close to "the edge" with views of the Severn estuary from the bus window for a good mile or more. The tide was out so the view was mainly of mud but with the eastern bank of the river clearly visible. Gloucester was reached in the early afternoon and it was then time to get the train back to Lancaster again.

Gloucester cathedral

New Inn Yard, Gloucester

Day 4  Hereford to Kington and Back                                       Day 6 Gloucester to Bristol