DONCASTER AND ROTHERHAM COMPLETED

Yes the cunning plan came together today although we stayed up and watched through the news to catch the weather before bed which meant it was about 1.30 before we got to sleep and the alarm was set for 6am. The satnav took me over the M62 which is usually horrific especially leaving it as late as this with a 7am departure but in the event it was a very straightforward free flowing run and although the M60 section around Manchester is still all roadworks there are now 4 lanes opened just awaiting signage I suppose anyway that was enough to sort the traffic out and i was in Doncaster just before 9am. There are still a few First buses in the old livery, not so many sightings of that these days and they didn't seem to get an overnight wash so alongside Stagecoach First looked particularly tatty, nothing new there then you may say. It was perfect light, cloudy but not too dark and plenty of buses about although the choice of locations isn't always brilliant but in cloud you can pretty well point the camera in any direction.

After finishing off in Doncaster I rang home to see if we had the date for the funeral in Eastbourne but Suer was still here and the girls were busy packing up the DVD orders. I then carried on to Rotherham which saw me caught in traffic on some motorway I was unfamiliar with then the sign posts were different to the satnav in what direction Rotherham was, I tried the signs but it turned out to be the opposite direction, weird but it is Yorkshire after all. So eventually I rocked up in the town and after ditching the first car park as extortionate charges I used the  multi story which was half the price and empty above the bus station, strange as the car park at Doncaster was also empty. The bus station is a lot less hassle these days since they sacked some of the jobsworths and other than a grumpy old devil at departure I thought all the drivers at both locations had been friendly.

The composition of Stagecoach and First is pretty well the same at each with a small dollop of other smaller operators especially in Doncaster but nothing like the old days. Rotherham is by far the worst of the two, it would be interesting to compare this duo with Wolverhampton and Walsall as to which pairing is the worst, I think overall it is the South Yorkshire ones which are worst but not a lot in it. The satnav bought me back over Woodhead which being a Friday afternoon was a crawl for miles until I hit the M60 then it was OK for rush hour. The new A556 road is getting very near completion, you could see the link to the new section almost as a continuation, I guess a week ends work and road closure will see it completed. I'll start with shots from Doncaster, there was a chap with a camera dangling over the railway bridge, I know it's a bit of a railway centre perhaps the trains are more interesting or cleaner than the buses!

Having probs with pictures, given up!