A few times whilst driving around locally (and, sometimes, not so locally) I have noticed a small bus going by the route number of A9.
I mentioned this to my daughters who told me that that bus goes all over the place – so I looked it up.
Operated by Stagecoach, the A9 runs from Kingshurst via, amongst many other places, Lea Hall, Yardley, Olton, Solihull, Shirley and finally to Blythe Valley.
I decided to give it a try. Not wanting to back-track, I discovered another bus running from Blythe Valley to Dorridge from where I could get a train (free on my bus pass) to Birmingham.
I walked over to Kingshurst (about a mile) and waited for the 09:35 A9. It was a few minutes late and I climbed aboard. For the next hour and a half, we toured the areas previously mentioned, swapping passengers with me being the sole occupant at times.
Eventually, we arrived at the terminus where I alighted and went in search of the A8 bus stop for the bus to Dorridge. Somehow, I’d made a bit of a navigational error but decided to walk the mile or so back to the Stratford Road near to Tesco and Nutcutt’s garden centre.
Finding a bus stop which promised services from the A9, A8 and X20, I checked the timetables and discovered that the bus to Dorridge would arrive in about twenty minutes. Not too bad, I suppose.
After a while, a double decker X20 arrived so assuming it was going in roughly the same direction, hailed it, climbed on board and settled down.
I was around this time that I checked the route of the bus I was on only to discover that its final destination was Stratford Upon Avon.
A change of plan was needed. I could get a train from Stratford (I’d have to pay for the section from there to Dorridge from where my bus pass would be valid). Checking the times, I’d have about ten minutes from bus to train. Doable.
All was looking good until on the approach to Stratford the bus pulled up and the driver got off. This was going to knacker my timings up.
After about ten minutes, with a new driver, we resumed our journey but I wouldn’t be able to catch the planned train. The next was an hour later.
Leaving the X20 behind, I made a quick toilet stop before walking down Sheep Street to the chippy, stopping off to grab some cash from the ATM. The chip shop is cash only (but has a free ATM inside – I didn’t know that at the time).
I splashed out for a mini fish and chips which I ate during a pleasant walk along the canal.
I arrived at the train station in plenty of time and luckily my train was already there and ready to board. It was a bitterly cold day so I soon hopped on board and started to thaw out.
There are two routes from Stratford to Birmingham, one via Dorridge and the other going through Henley. I was on the former.
AT the allowed time, the train pulled out and after stopping at plenty of stations pulled in to Birmingham Moor Street.
Obviously, being in the city centre meant that I HAD to call into the LEGO shop, where the Pick-a-Brick wall had a load of 6×8 white plates.
I filled a box. These will be used for the winter village and this is the cheapest way to buy them.
With my box bulging (that is not a euphemism) I caught the final bus (94) back home.
The next day, we had a family outing to, you guessed it, Stratford. I told everyone that I’d already recced the place.
Post Script
Every time I’ve type Dorridge into this post, the auto correct has substituted Porridge !
One thought on “A9 and beyond”