Focus on Crookhorn

Crookhorn is a small town (large village?) on the road between Waterlooville and Havant in Hampshire. It is served by Stagecoach South and First Hampshire, and is the site of the South Downs College. It is a yearly trip for me, with wide paths, two bus precinct-style bus stops, and excellent for the sun even in deepest darkest winter...

Crookhorn is receiving an upgrade in the quality of bus on Stagecoach services. The 20, 37 and 39 operate through Crookhorn - more details will be given on these services throughout the post. We'll start with the 39, connecting Wecock Farm and Havant at a frequency of every 10 minutes. A brand new batch of Enviro200s are being introduced on the route - operated from Stagecoach's Farlington depot at Portsmouth. Here is 36824 (GX62BAV) pictured en-route for Havant. This shot neatly illustrates the wide views available at Crookhorn.

First's only offering to Crookhorn is route 7 / 7C. The 7 operates every 10minutes Monday - Saturday between Wecock Farm and Southsea, operated by Hilsea's Volvo B7RLEs. 6 have purple branding, as illustrated by 69381 (HY09AKG). The 7C is a college-days only route, operated by Hoeford depot, from Crookhorn to Cosham and Portsmouth. The predecessors to the 7 and 7C were the 40 and 40C, which were removed in last November's Portsmouth network changes.

The 37 connects Havant with Crookhorn, Waterlooville, Clanfield, Petersfield and beyond - with journeys terminating as route 38 at Liss and Alton. Former Manc Trident 18191 (MX54LPY) is pictured returning to Havant. This route operates hourly Mon-Sat.

New buses for Hilsea are due throughout 2013-4, but for now Dennis Dart SLFs sometimes slip out of Hilsea depot onto the 7. Dramatically raising the age profile on the route, here is 40827 (R647DUS) heading for Portsmouth and Southsea. This bus was new to Glasgow, and has seen service at all of FHD's Hampshire depots.

A variety of Dennis Darts from Stagecoach's Portsmouth depot operate regularly in and around Crookhorn, both on routes 20 and 39. Here is former Eastbourne-based 33387 (T927PNV) - heading to Havant on a 39 I think.

Finally, I'll focus on route 20. Route 20 connects Southsea, with Portsmouth, Stamshaw, Cosham, the QA Hospital, Crookhorn, Bedhampton and Havant at every 30 minutes. This route is also seeing the benefits of new Enviro200s, such as 36825 (GX62BBK) here.

For enthusiasts fancying a visit, a few hints / tips...

* The sun is perfect for north bound buses between about 10am and 1230 (winter time) for nearside views, and then again after about 1330 as the sun has moved around, when offside views are possible - south bound shots are never possible, so if you want to maximise this, come on a cloudy day!

* Buses approach the bus layby slowly, but not all enter it if passengers don't want to get off, or if there are none on the stand. Don't assume they will enter the stand.

* Mon-Fri you'll have 6x route 7s an hour, 2x route 20s an hour, 1x route 37 an hour, and 6x route 39s an hour. Stagecoach's Enviros will be regular. The 7C will join at about two an hour on school/college days

* Free Parking by car - 4 miles from Havant, and about 3 miles from Waterlooville. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Thanks for reading.