Bus Trippers Photos July-Dec 2016
Winchester Christmas Market - Wed 7th Dec
Bus tripper Ellen Evans very kindly took the lead for this trip:
I think all 9 of us enjoyed the day to Winchester. Dawn had a small contretemps with the bus driver regarding use of the bus pass before 9.30am but she held her own thus paving the way for the rest of us to use our passes with no problems. Thank you Dawn.
We paired off when we reached Winchester where the weather was kind to us. No rain. There were lots of stalls with lovely interesting items for sale. Very colourful. There was an ice rink with a cafe - so very nice to watch the skaters whilst we "dined".
We all managed to catch the same bus home and the connection at Petersfield was well timed. A very nice and interesting day which we enjoyed very much.
Chichester Canal Christmas Cruise - Mon 5th Dec
Our Deputy Co-ordinator, Pam Lee, organised this lovely trip for us.
On a beautiful crisp sunny day 22 bus trippers spent an enjoyable afternoon on the Chichester canal. The boat was beautifully decorated and the mulled wine and food went down very well, followed by mince pies and a glass or two of wine. The volunteer staff were excellent and we even had a visit from Father Christmas with a gift each. There was a lovely happy atmosphere possibly helped by the wine. A great start to the Christmas holiday.
Christmas lunch at Blendworth - Fri 25th Nov 2016
It might come as a surprise to most people that the thing that unites us is not, as you might expect, just bus tripping, but eating. We love it, and our Christmas meal at Blendworth Fabrics, organised by Zig, was certainly up there with the best of them.
Scenic bus ride with pub lunch at Hinton Arms - Fri 4th November
Autumn seemed to be a little late once we got past Petersfield and into the wilds of the countryside. Nevertheless, the view from the front of the top deck of the bus was as stunning as ever. After an overly subtle attempt to get the driver to drop us at the pub, failed miserably, we had to trek along a soggy grass verge to get there. Well worth it because our meals were fab-u-lous, and the great tasting wines added even more conviviality to the occasion. Highlight of the day though was finding a bus driver who had heard of the rule that we could use our bus passes before 9.30am when the next bus is not until 10.31am. Hoorah!
Isle of Wight Walk or Waltzing Waters - Sat 8th October 2016
Many thanks to June Vanner for organising this trip. Thanks also to June, Anne Bradley and Ellen Evans who have all written this review.
The "Lovely Sunshine Gods" certainly shone on the Bus trippers' visit to the Isle of Wight. After a short and smooth trip on the Hovercraft to Ryde, the group split into two with some going on a walk from Shanklin to Sandown, and the others going to the Waltzing Waters!
The venue for Waltzing Waters was a lovely theatre and we could all see the stage very clearly. It was a display of moving, coloured fountains of water to music and it certainly lived up to its name. Very clever technically and the choice of music had us toe-tapping to Strauss, Tina Turner, and Elvis amongst others. At times, it seemed as though there were real dancers on the stage. The showers in our bathrooms will never be quite the same again! After the show, the group again split with one some going off to explore the Christmas display at a garden centre, while the rest had a meal before catching the Hovercraft back to the mainland and home. A very worthwhile visit.
The priority for the walkers, having been up and about for hours, was lunch. Following our bus ride to Shanklin, June led us to the historic Crab Inn in Old Shanklin Village where we had very reasonably priced and delicious food, in the company of a very stylish wedding party. June kept her promise that we would not be taken up too many steep hills so we walked along the cliff top to Hope Road and then down lots of steps to the Promenade. June pointed out our destination of Sandown Pier in the distance and we were all game to carry on. The Pitch and Putt green brought back lovely memories for June of heated arguments when playing there with her family years ago. As we are U3A Bus trippers, we have to travel on the top deck, and as close to the front as possible which, on the long and winding trip around numerous little villages, was scary to say the least. The Island roads are sadly in need of repair, so we were thrown around quite a lot - rather reminiscent of being on a funfair ride! Good fun for the child in us! Arriving back in Ryde, we made a welcome stop at the Chocolate Apothecary for delicious hot chocolate drinks. Then it was back to the Hovercraft and once back in Southsea, the bus home again in time for Strictly!
Gosport Ferry Summer Cruise to Lymington - Sat 27th August 2016
What better way to spend a glorious summer's day than cruising down to Lymington on the quirky Gosport Ferry, in the company of fellow Bus trippers? Add in a few glasses of Pimms/bottles of wine plus a couple of hours wandering around Lymington market and finding great places to eat, as well as a stroll through an exhibition of the work by the exceedingly talented Waterside Woodcarvers, and there you have it - Happy Days. Many thanks to Anne Bradley for organising it all.
Chichester Guided Walk - Tues 9th August 2016
Added to the many undeniable benefits of Bus tripping can be that it provides numerous opportunities to use our collective body of transferable skills as well as maintaining fitness and alertness.
When the bus arrives 5 or 6 minutes before the expected time, does this mean it is the bus before, arriving late? Or is this our bus arriving early? Working as a team, we problem solve (Is there anyone on it we know?) and make a decision, (If we don't get on this one, we might miss the connection).
Changing from the No 8 bus to the 700 at Hilsea Lido always involves the Olympic sport of running up and over the bridge and sprinting to the bus stop. Working as a team, the first Bus trippers to arrive use their best negotiating skills in an attempt to hold up the bus until the last tripper is aboard.
Owing to the disruption to rail services on this day, the bus was full to overflowing giving standing Bus trippers an opportunity to practise a bit of bus surfing to improve their balance skills.
The quality of a guided walk can depend to a large extent on the guide. Our group was split into two. One was given a very enjoyable 2 hour tour of the highlights of old Chichester. The other was given something a little different including a "Where's Wally" exercise where we had to find the Roman Wally on an ancient illustrated map of Chichester; the bowling green which a group of Americans had mistaken for a cricket pitch; the twittens which open onto North Street and which few people had noticed before; the almshouses (which would give a new slant to the next series of Benefits Street); the house where Admiral Murray (who was unable to join Nelson at Trafalgar and thus deprived the nation of the phrase "Kiss me Murray") lived; and the award-winning loos.
Bus tripping - because it's good for you.
Chichester Canal Cruise - Wed 20th July 2016
What a glorious sunny day to spend on the Chichester canal. 24 of us enjoyed fish and chips and glass of wine (or 2) cruising sedately along the canal. The crew of 4 were so friendly and helpful. We got off at Hunston for 15 minutes, before the return journey. Back at the basin some remained behind for ice cream. A lovely day out.
Mary's Beach Hut - Mon 11th July 2016
The good news is that there were no disasters for Mary to clear up this year. The bad news is that the weather was so awful, we weren't there long enough to create any. As always though, Mary's hospitality was second to none, and we all had a good dose of sea air and hair.
