Part 2 of my trip over to the Isle of Wight now, with a journey to Newport up on route 9. The town is the hub of bus operations on the island - it isn't unrealistic to say "all routes lead to Newport", because, with the expection of the summer open top routes and a few town services, they do.
Electroliner fleet no. 1308 (HW26 FEV) would later be my transport back to Ryde.
Buses approach Newport principally from three directions. From the east are routes 5 (from East Cowes) and the 9 (as mentioned, from Ryde). The 5 connects with the car ferry at East Cowes to Southampton, as well as passing the entrance to Osborne House, operating at a frequency of every 20 minutes. Meanwhile, a bus operating route 9 arrives every 10 minutes, with half via Fairlee and Medina, and half via Staplers, Butterfly World and Wootton railway station on the Isle of Wight steam railway. These buses arrive along South St, as pictured here, which is perfect for the sun in the afternoon.
Sister no. 1312 (HW26 FFJ) arrives from East Cowes on route 5. During my first visit with the camera to Newport, the 5 was operated by Iveco minibuses at the same frequency - some improvement!
From the south and along Church Litten arrive routes 2, 3, 8 and 38. Route 2 and 3 connect Newport with Godshill, Shanklin, Sandown and eventually Ryde at a frequency of every 15 minutes combined - the 2 heading via the Green Lane area of Sandown, and the 3 also including Ventnor in its route. Also arriving from Sandown is route 8, at a frequency of every half hour, via Amazon World and Arreton Barns. The 8 also extends from Sandown to Bembridge, Seaview and Ryde hourly, making the fourth different route between Ryde and Newport - fifth if you count the two variations of route 9. Finally, the 38 is a Newport circular route to Gunville and Carisbrooke, location of the famous island castle.
Former Morebus ADL Enviro400 MMC no. 1648 (HF66 CFP) is one of seven transferred to the island in 2024, displaced on the former X3 Bournemouth to Salisbury route by new arrivals. They have high-backed seating and are usually found on the West Wight routes 7 and 12.
Finally, from the the north and St. James' Square are routes 1, 7 and 12. The 1 is the high-frequency connection with St. Mary's Hospital and north to Cowes, where the Red Jet connects to Southampton. Routes 7 and 12, as previously mentioned, are services to the west of the Isle of Wight: the 7 a half-hourly connection to Yarmouth and on to Freshwater and Alum Bay; the 12 a two-hourly service to Brighstone and Freshwater Bay, before again connecting up at Freshwater, before terminating at Alum Bay.
Another former Morebus Enviro arrives from Cowes on route 1 - this time fleet no. 1652 (HF66 CGK).
So, how easy is it to photograph in Newport. The simple answer is complex and complicated. The bus station is fairly good until about 12 noon, capturing nearside views. The only problem are many, many pedestrians getting in your way, the metal poles (as can be seen to the right of the image above) and unfriendly reflections from the windows of cars parked in the nearby Church Litten car park. A better view is pre-noon, where depatures on the 5, 8 and 9 head out along South St offering an offside shot if you can capture this between the nearside traffic.
One could argue photography becomes easier in the afternoon, once South St opens up for arrivals on the 5 and 9. From about 1330 GMT (1430 BST), the turn into the bus station becomes available, which isn't too bad as the buses tend to take a wide arc in to the bus station, thus avoiding the nearby shadows and pedestrians. This also allows you to include the arrivals from Church Litten. The problem can come from nearby traffic lights causing tail backs - sometimes photos can be affected by cars not getting out of the way quickly enough.
Electroliner fleet no. 1303 (HW26 FEK) arrives from Ryde on the 9, illustrating the wider arc as buses filter in to the bus station.
The arrivals from St. James' Square are the trickiest to get. During the summer, when the sun is higher, these can be captured swinging in to the bus station until about 1300hrs. However, I found these quite tricky. I found the best option to take a rather hideous head-on view as route 1 entered. The 7s, however, tend to drop off the passengers on arrival, then appear to go and park up. This allows a second, and usually far more successful, bite at the proverbial cherry.
StreetDeck Electroliner fleet no. 1307 (HW26 FEU) arrives in Newport at about half 2 - (1530 GMT).
All in all - much interest and a hive of activity. Newport is just one of those places where it feels that you have to be in three places at once! All good fun though - and the good thing is arrivals on the 1, 5, 9, 38 and weekday 39 come round regularly (everything passes through every hour), meaning you can concentrate on the 2, 3, 7, 8 and 12.
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