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Puffin Bussin

250 miles. 12 buses. No puffins.

So, it turns out I like buses. This might not be too surprising to those who know me; I love trains and hate cars.

But buses are neat! You get to see much more of a town or city than when you whizz through it on a train, plus you can see the little villages that are generally the reason for a bus route's continued operation.

The £3 national bus fare cap in England is great value and the Bus Open Data Service lets you track vehicles in real time so you know if it's on it's way.

But where to travel? It's puffin season.

Photo collage of the 12 buses I travelled on. The style is amateurish.
Graphic design is my passion.

The best way to tempt someone into reading this would be the promise of a bunch of cute puffin photos at the end. I'm not going to lie; that didn't work out. However, I can promise there is a picture of a bird in this article.

Sign reading No Skomer Boats Today Due To Unfavourable Weather next to a picture of the island of Skomer
Not pictured: wind

Postscript

Saw a bird eating a lizard but the photo is bad as the bird worried I'd steal the lizard (I give off those vibes)

A brown bird stands next to a lizard it has caught
This is a crop of a significantly larger image, and so it looks rubbish

After that I went to Milford Haven because why not

Some gas tanks and wind turbines are visible across a body of water. This is Dragon LNG terminal, or what can be seen from Milford Haven
Infrastructure!

Every bus ran more-or-less on time, and none were particularly crowded. Would have been nice to see a puffin though.

If you'd like to make your own trip, I highly recommend traveline.info and bustimes.org as great resources. Happy travelling!

Then I went home

The Route

  1. 77 to Salisbury
  2. 24 to Frome
  3. 424 to Midsomer Norton
  4. 172 to Bristol
  5. T7 to Chepstow
  6. 73 to Newport
  7. 30 to Cardiff
  8. X2 to Bridgend
  9. X1 to Swansea
  10. X11 to Carmarthen
  11. 322 to Haverfordwest
  12. fflecsi to Martins Haven

All buses are £3 for a single ticket in England. In Wales, the Newport Bus AllZones (Bristol-Cardiff) fare was £9.50 and the First Cymru Day ticket (Cardiff-Haverfordwest) £7.30. Fflecsi in Pembrokeshire is £3.70 single or £6.30 for a return.

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