Ride the 35 on You Tube thanks to a guy called Matt

I am not a great user of the web when its comes to things like Facebook and You Tube, but I have recently found two wonderful videos on the latter, posted by a guy called 'Matt' showing the full journey of the 35 in both directions from the front seat on the top deck. The videos are each just over 5 minutes long, so the journey is done in 'quick time'. Here are the links (just click on the underlined link to open):

VICTORIA CENTRE TO BULWELL JOURNEY

BULWELL TO VICTORIA CENTRE JOURNEY

Ideally it would be great to add a brief commentary to the videos for the bus stops where you can get off to explore. I will try to make contact with Matt.

The first 35 ran on 26 October 1980, linking the city’s very new University Hospital (better known as ‘the Q.M.C.' to locals) with Bilborough, Strelley, the Broxtowe Estate and Bulwell direct for the first time. 

In other words the 35 bus is within weeks of celebrating its 35th anniversary. When I lived in Lenton I could see the 35 bus from my living and bedroom windows, living, as we did, within view of the Derby Road in on one of Nottingham’s three Promenades (ours was Devonshire, overlooking Lenton Recreation Ground; the others are The Promenade and Waterloo Promenade). All Victorian, all elegant, overlooking open space. From then on I was using the 35 regularly to reach The Headstocks pub on the edge of the ward I was fighting in the 1981 Nottinghamshire County Council election, which was six months away, and the home of my agent. The 35 was always there, reliable, convenient, full of life. It was, and remains, everything a bus route should be, with the added bonus of being rich in history and places to visit.

Finally, at the same time as I found Matt’s 35 videos I found this one. Enjoy...

ALSO LOUGHBOROUGH TO NOTTINGHAM ON A NOTTINGHAM CITY TRANSPORT NO.1 BUS.

Nottingham City Transport’s 'Orange 35 History Guide’ goes public

Last Saturday (23 September) saw a gathering of Nottingham buses in the Old market Square to mark Nottingham City Transport's 140th anniversary. It was busy and I, so wrapped up talking to people I knew, came away with only a couple of photographs and one of these was taken by someone else.

As I was taking this pic of one of my homemade Nottingham bus boxes placed on the engine cover of the most handsome bus on show (excluding the trolleybus)...

Chris Gent from Sherwood was taking a pic of me in the process, we then spent the next 20 minutes talking about our shared interest in local history.

The event saw a new (free) Nottingham City Transport leaflet and guide being made available to visitors:

It is based on previous leaflets about the 35 bus route I have published in conjunction with other groups (TravelRight; Nottinghamshire Local History Association and Bilborough Local History Society) over the past four years. NCT approached me earlier this year and of course I said 'yes' and was more than happy to help them. Like all such guides the hardest decisions are about what to leave out! This decision was made, in the end, by NCT and I am happy with the decisions they made.

You can pick up a copy from NCT's Travel Office on Old Market Square. It has yet to be officially launched, so this is all I'll say for now.

I am working on updating my 35 walking maps, but there are distractions (which you can read about on my BeestonWeek blog).

A 35 visit to Bulwell

Over the next 10 weeks I am planning to  create and publish in this blog a new collection of 35 History Bus maps and guides, together with photographs. Nottingham City Transport's 35 bus route is one I never tire of despite being an on and off user since it was first introduced in 1983.

Back then I was a (Labour Party) Nottinghamshire county councillor living in Lenton and representing the then Portland ward, which covered Cinderhill, Stockhill, Old Basford and Highbury Vale. My agent lived in Cinderhill, so the coming of the 35 enabled me to go as good as door-to-door, which I did most weeks. I had a car (I still do), but the great advantage of a bus is that you can get on and off where you please, whereas with a car you always have to go back to where you started. 

The map below is the first of a collection which I am creating 19 x 19 cm square. This makes them easy to capture and print off. I hope, at some point, to add the maps as downloadable pdf files (I also have a website at www.historybybus.org.uk, but this is out-of-date and needs to be rebuilt, which I plan to do over the next few months. In the meatime this blog is the easier option).

The Bulwell map is followed by a selection of photographs. Over the next week I will add captions. In the meantime simply enjoy.

Click on an image to enlarge.

Add caption