Dagenham boy wins fight to bring back 'vital' Essex bus service
Jack said people had been telling him how isolated they felt without the service. "They can't go anywhere... all of a sudden, where this vital bus has gone, you can't connect with communities further out," he said."It's such an isolated area in St Osyth, where it's just country lanes, trees and that's it. There's no major roads."Now, after Jack's campaign, the new number 10 bus will take an extended route to Clacton Shopping Village, and will return in 2026 if popular, according to Go East Anglia, parent company of Konectbuses.
Tracy Tilson, 59, from the Tudor Bar on St Osyth Beach, said she was "super proud" of Jack for his efforts to bring back the bus."Jack has gone above and beyond for a teenager of his age," she said."The walk to Jaywick is barely manageable for some, let alone the walk to Clacton, so the bus is essential for some; for doctors, banks, hospital, shopping and generally meeting people."
Konectbuses said the Sunny Hopper Beach Bus would operate on route 10, connecting Clacton Pier Avenue and St Osyth Beach, up to every 60 minutes."If it proves to be successful, we will consider bringing it back in 2026, so we encourage as many residents and holidaymakers to use the services during the next six weeks to secure its future," said a Go East Anglia spokesman.It has also reintroduced the open-top Clacton Breeze back on route 6A, running every 30 minutes between Point Clear, Haven, Orchards Holiday Park, St Osyth and Clacton town centre.Both services will run until 31 August.
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Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
Why this little British island is a haven for heritage railway lovers
'It's going to be a busy day', says the ticket inspector, as I walked past nostalgic holiday posters advertising sail and rail holidays to the Isle of Man and onto Douglas Station's platform. 'The first three carriages are full. Try and hop on the back.' I found a spare seat among cruise ship excursionists as a blast of steam sweeped through the antiquated train. It's the Isle of Man Railway's 9.50 am departure from Douglas, the Manx capital, heading 15.5 miles south to Port Erin (£17 return, included with Go Explore cards). Many of the carriages are 150 years old, yet on this cool spring weekend, they seemed as popular as they ever were in their Victorian heyday. Around 38 miles of historic railway lines – including the Isle of Man Railway and the Manx Electric Railway – criss-cross the island, the first having opened in 1873. Harking back to the golden age of Victorian train travel, I spent the next few days exploring this curious Crown Dependency in the most nostalgic way possible: aboard its old-fashioned steam- and electric-powered narrow-gauge railways. I sat back and enjoyed the view as Douglas' suburbs gave way to sweeping vistas of the Irish Sea. The Isle of Man Railway, the longest narrow-gauge line in the British Isles, still operates its original engines and carriages. For rail enthusiasts, it is a bucket-list journey, and the platform at Castletown – where I alighted for a quick stop on the way to Port Erin – was crowded with enthusiastic photographers and trainspotters as we pull in through a cloud of white smoke. 'This is what the Isle of Man is all about. Its railways', I am told by Grant Taylor, Castletown's stationmaster and a director of the Isle of Man Steam Railway Supporters' Association. 'Second perhaps only to the TT [annual motorcycling event], the railways are the most important thing in the Isle of Man's history. If the rails went, the island would die. How else are you going to get the tourists around?' Grant, whom I'd found in the ticket office surrounded by train memorabilia (including engine driver hats and scale models of famous engines), has worked the railways for decades. They're not just a tourist attraction, he says. Locals regularly use the steam trains to shop at Tesco in Douglas, or even as a delightful airport transfer: ask the conductor to stop at Ronaldsway Halt near Castletown, hop over a stile, and it's just a 10-minute walk to departures. 'I can't see this line ever closing', says Grant, who believes that despite many lines shutting down in the mid-20th century, the survivors are as popular as they were when mass tourism first arrived in the Victorian era. 'There's a dedicated core of visitors returning year after year. Businesses, cafés and museums in Castletown and Port Erin all rely on railway traffic. And staff come back year-on-year to work on the railways because they love it. There's a lovely community feeling.' I strolled into Castletown, where a weathered castle built by a Norse lord overlooks a stone harbour. Once the Manx capital, it houses The Old House of Keys – home to the Manx parliament with a history stretching back over a thousand years to the Vikings – before I caught the next service to Port Erin. At the end of the line, the Port Erin Railway Museum (admission £2, included with the Go Explore Heritage Card) displays restored engines and carriages in historic railway sheds. Opposite, the Whistlestop Cafe serves Manx broth and jacket potatoes inside the station. Down by the blustery harbour, a few hardy swimmers brave the cold waters of the Irish Sea. The next day, I walked to the northern end of Douglas' seafront promenade and caught the Manx Electric Railway's 11.40 am departure from Derby Castle Station. The Isle of Man's rail network has won countless longevity awards, and I found myself in Car No 1, dating back to 1893 and recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest operational tram car in the world. The Manx Electric Railway stretches 17 miles north from Douglas to Ramsey (£17 return, included with Go Explore cards). I paused halfway at Laxey, where the Great Laxey Wheel – the world's oldest working water wheel – towers over a green glen (admission £14, included with the Go Explore Heritage Card). In Laxey, I transferred to the Snaefell Mountain Railway, the world's only electric mountain railway, a remarkable piece of Victorian engineering opened in 1895 (£16 return, included with Go Explore cards). 'These are 130-year-old tram cars', the conductor says on the winding five-mile journey to Snaefell, the Isle of Man's highest peak. 'They're original cars. And some of the drivers are originals too', he adds with a chuckle. Snaefell (Norse for 'Snowy Mountain') rises to 2034ft. On a clear day, you can see the 'Seven Kingdoms': the Isle of Man, Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Manannan, the Manx god of the sea. I had every intention of continuing all the way to Ramsey, but I was distracted when I heard the Groudle Glen Railway (£5 return, included with Go Explore cards) was running that afternoon. Though less than a mile long, this volunteer-run steam line is another must-ride for rail enthusiasts. The Manx Electric Railway whisked me back south to Groudle Glen (a request stop), where a seven-minute walk through a temperate rainforest–clad glen led me to Lhen Coan Station. 'This was the Alton Towers of its day,' says Bill Cubbon, an engine driver and chairman of the Steam Railway Supporters' Association. He explains how, in 1896, an enterprising local opened a zoo and built a narrow-gauge railway to transport tourists there. 'There were polar bears, sealions and fortune tellers in the glen,' Bill added. 'These are the sorts of crazy things the Victorians thought nothing of financing!' Now in his 70s, Bill has spent a lifetime restoring the Isle of Man's railways. The Groudle Glen Railway closed in 1962, but in the 1980s, a team of volunteer rail enthusiasts scoured the British Isles for narrow-gauge tracks, engines, and carriages before rebuilding the line. The zoo is long gone, but steam engines with names like Sea Lion, Polar Bear, and Otter preserve this quirky heritage. With Bill at the helm of Brown Bear, I rode the Groudle Glen Railway 'Uphill to the Sea', discovering the Sea Lion Rocks Cafe serving 'Steam Teas' with views of the cliffs where seal lions and polar bears once roamed. 'It's a special line', says Bill, of the nostalgic popularity of the Groudle Glen Railway. 'We must get thousands of passengers a year. Everyone asks when we're getting the polar bears and sea lions back. I say never. We have enough to look after on the railway!' Essentials EasyJet and Loganair fly to the Isle of Man from various UK airports. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company operates year-round ferry services to Douglas from Liverpool and Heysham, and seasonal summer services from Belfast and Dublin. The Go Explore Heritage Card includes unlimited transport on the Isle of Man's railways and buses, and entry to Manx National Heritage Sites. A five-day adult pass costs £79. The Go Explore Card includes unlimited transport on railways and buses only, and is available for one-day (£21), three-days (£42), five-days (£49) and seven-days (£59). Groudle Glen Railway only runs on Wednesday evenings (7-9pm) and Sundays (11am-4.30pm). Adult tickets are priced at £5 return (or included with Go Explore and Go Explore Heritage cards). Entry to Manx National Heritage sites is also included in some National Trust and English Heritage memberships. Where to stay Comis Hotel & Golf Resort, a ten-minute drive from Douglas, offers doubles from £99, including breakfast. Claremont Hotel on Douglas' promenade offers doubles from £129, including breakfast. Sefton Hotel in Douglas offers doubles from £81, room only.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
Rail replacement works continue on Sheffield tram network
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BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
'Bus fares eat my budget': Under-22s join call for free travel
Young people have told the BBC the "extortionate" cost of bus travel in England means they socialise less and struggle to pay rent. A report by MPs has recommended everyone under the age of 22 should get free bus travel to help them get into work and education - similar to in Department for Transport says it is already spending "£1bn in multi-year funding to improve the reliability and frequency of bus services across the country".But the BBC has heard from people aged 22 and under who say bus fares are too expensive and eat into their food budget. 'I get hungry at college but can't afford snacks' Maisy Moazzenkivi, 18, lives in Coventry with her mum, dad and brother, and travels almost two hours each way to get to college, four days a has a disability bus pass because of her autism, meaning she pays less for travel than her friends. However, she still spends £8 a day on getting to college as her free travel allowance only kicks in after 09:30, half an hour after she needs to be says money she spends on travel eats into what she would otherwise spend on food and snacks throughout the day. "Sometimes, when I finish college I'm really hungry and just want to get a meal deal or something for the way home, but it's so expensive on top of everything. I'm very lucky that I can go home and my family can feed me, but not everyone has that." If bus travel was free, Maisy says she would be able to socialise more, and save for "luxury items". "I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, or an essential item, but one day, I'd love to save for a Juicy Couture tracksuit," she said. 'I don't understand how it's so extortionate' Gracie Moore, 22, lives in Slough and catches the bus every day to and from work, which costs her £120 a month."For someone who is not earning much more than minimum wage, it's quite a big expenditure," says Gracie who works as an administration assistant for a care home says the high cost of travel for young people makes it difficult to navigate having a job and a social costs are "absolutely" a factor which stop her from moving out from her family home, she says."I have less independence this way, but I'm paying so much less."Gracie previously lived in Madrid, where she enjoyed unlimited travel on bus, train, tube, and tram) for only €8 (£6.90) a month with a young person's travel card. "I don't understand how it's so extortionate here when other countries in Europe subsidise it so well," she says. "I just don't know how the price of transport here can be justified." 'Free bus pass would make a big difference' Originally from Nepal, Nikita Upreti, 20, is an international student studying at University College Birmingham. She says the rising price of travel means it is getting "harder" to pay for her bus pass each month. When Nikita first moved to Birmingham in September 2024, a monthly bus pass with a student discount cost her £49. Now, it costs her £53."The student discount is not helping us anymore," she says. Nikita also works 20 hours a week as a waitress. Despite working the maximum amount of hours her university will allow her to while studying, she still struggles to pay her rent while juggling the rising cost of living. She says that free bus travel "would make a big difference" to her life. "I could spend the money I save on groceries and things that would help my education. It would be really helpful."
