There has always been
an interest for the bus enthusiast in the buses that run in the historic City
of Chester and along the Wirral peninsular at Ellesmere Port and the port town
of Birkenhead. In Chester it was home to
Crosville’s head office and the streets were also graced with the Massey-bodied
Guy Arab buses of Chester Corporation from the late 1940s to the 1970s
mingling with the Bristol/ECW vehicles of Crosville. Birkenhead had a smart corporation fleet of
mostly Leyland double-deckers, again mainly with Massey bodywork, in a smart
mid-blue and cream livery lined out in back. All that has now changed almost
beyond recognition. In the twenty-first century the main operators in the area
are Arriva (North West) and Stagecoach (Merseyside and South Lancs). A number of independent operators are also
seen on this programme, including Arrowebrook
Coaches, Aintree Coachlines, Happy Al’s Coaches, D&G Bus and M&H Coaches.
This DVD programme was filmed over a period of
six years. Beginning in 2017 through to
2022 the independent transport videos cameras have covered
Chester, Ellesmere Port and Birkenhead concluding with some shots taken in
Liverpool showing two very special liveried buses belonging to Stagecoach! Locations in Chester include Pepper Street,
Little St John Street, Foregate Street, Frodsham Street and George Street. In our 2018 scenes we witness the closure of
the former Crosville bus depot in
Chester, known as ‘The Rink’ and the closure of the ‘Bus Exchange’ situated
behind the Town Hall. The ‘Bus Exchange’
and the former bus station in Delamere Street have been replaced by a superb
new ‘Chester Bus Interchange’ situated on Gorse Stacks where a good deal of
filming takes place in this programme. More filming features Cow Lane Bridge,
Love Street, Station Road and City Road.
At Ellesmere Port our location is Civic Way and at Birkenhead the bus
station and Conway Street. As the
filming takes place over a six-year period we see a good number of changes to
the bus liveries and of course the vehicles themselves. Most striking is the painting of one of Aintree Coachlines former London ADL
Enviro400 double-deckers into Chester Corporation’s maroon and cream livery
complete with CCT style fleet names and fleet numbers. This bus operates the link service from the
railway station to the city centre.
There are also a number of other equally interesting vehicles operated
by this independent bus company featured in this programme. Stagecoach
have also celebrated their heritage by painting one of their ADL Enviro400
Scania double-deckers in their current livery style but substituting the modern
colours with Tilling green and cream to mark 90 years of the Rock Ferry former Crosville bus depot. They have also painted in a similar livery
another Enviro400, but dark red and cream to celebrate Ribble since 1919. Both
these vehicles are filmed in Liverpool – just across the Mersey from
Birkenhead.