Daffs ‘25 - The Return of the FREE Daffodil Shuttle.

Buses4Us is a Community Interest Company which has brought back to life a bus route between Ledbury and Ross-on-Wye via Newent which was shamefully abandoned by Stagecoach Buses in 2022. Masterminded by a group of ladies and one gent in the Newent area the 232 bus now serves all of the villages and towns on the route. I’ll be writing again about this venture but the key message today is for you to take advantage of the Free Daffodil Shuttle buses for the March 2025, 50th Anniversary year of the Golden Triangle Daffodil Season.

I’ll leave the rest of the story to Clare Stone, the enigmatic chair of Buses4Us to explain:

“The Golden Triangle on the Herefordshire/Gloucestershire border hosts possibly the best displays of wild daffodils in the UK each March. The 232 Daffodil Line bus runs around the borders of the Triangle, but the lanes at the heart, where the best displays can be seen, are just too narrow for a big bus. So in 2024, with support from Kempley Parish Council and Rail & Bus for Herefordshire Buses4Us we are providing free Daffodil Shuttles to allow visitors to enjoy the Daffs, without the need for a car.

We put on a minibus for 2 weekends last year, to coincide with Kempley and Oxenhall Daffodil Weekends, and Newent Spring Fayre. They were a huge success, over the 4 days we carried 600 people on one little minibus. This enabled people to enjoy the spring displays without a car - whether because they don’t have a car, or because they prefer not to take one into the narrow lanes and important ecosystems at the heart of the Triangle.

The daffodil weekends are extremely popular, attracting visitors from all over the country, but to some extent they have become a victim of their own success with cars clogging up the lanes causing issues for walkers and cyclists and sometimes destroying the wildflower verges they have come to see by driving or parking on them. For 2025 we have been able to expand the programme with 2 minibuses operating over 3 weekends in March:

8/9 March Dymock Daffodil Weekend

15/16 March Kempley Daffodil Weekend

22/23 March Oxenhall Daffodil Weekend and Newent Spring Fayre. 

This extended programme has been made possible through generous support from Gloucestershire and Herefordshire County Councils, Forest of Dean District Council and through sales of the Daffodil Line Walks Book. Shuttles depart Newent approximately every half hour on Saturdays and Sundays passengers are encouraged to “hop on, hop off” at village halls, churches and of course the daffodil hotspots including Gwen and Vera’s Field, Betty Daws Wood, Shaw Common, Vell Mill, Dymock Woods and Kempley SSSI Meadow.

There is the opportunity to enjoy guided walks, talks, teas and plant sales or explore under your own steam. But equally the view from the bus offers many opportunities to admire the daffs in their natural ancient woodland and hedgerow habitats - so you might just choose to stay on board and enjoy the ride!”

If you are tempted to take a look at the wild daffs (and to be honest, there are also lots of not so wild daffs adorning the roadside in this part of the Gloucestershire-Herefordshire border, then  take a look at the full information on Shuttle routes and timetables. All events for the 2025 daffodil season can be found at www.daffodilline.co.uk/daffs25. 

Furthermore, you can catch the 232 Daffodil Line bus from Ross or Ledbury. As Clare Stone reminds us “ good public transport is essential for a fairer, greener future, and we’re proud to be a part of that”. And it is a bargain too… the 232 maximum bus fare is still £2 for a single journey so if you have a car give it a break and enjoy the ride through to Newent to connect with the Daffs ‘25 shuttle. Enjoy your day out.  

 

Heart of Wales Railway Line Bus Boost X48

 

I never thought I would be saying this but I am pleased that Network Rail is progressing a £1 million pound project to cut back trees alongside the Heart of Wales railway line as the reliability of services on one of the most scenic lines through Mid Wales has been poor for some time and worsening as storm after Atlantic storm hits the Welsh coast. One of the main problems is the number of trees down on the line at during and following each event.

The X48 on layover at Craven Arms

And more to the point I would never have supported the idea of a bus supplementing the train service on the line, but matters are so bad following a cut in the through trains from five to four services a day in December 2024 that I have embraced the development positively.  As I understand it, following numerous representations Transport for Wales asked the Wales government for permission to operate a bus to fill the timetable gaps on the line and funded an initial project to be taken forward with Powys County Council as a delivery partner. The first phase is until August 2025 but the X48 bus is expected to be extended for a longer period beyond that deadline

X48 Bus

Right then, having got that off my chest I’d like to talk about how the service, the X48, can benefit us. The service operates between Craven Arms railway station car park and the Groe at Builth Wells (not Builth Road railway station) calling near to stations to Knighton, Pen-y-bont and Llandrindod. There are connections from Llanwrtyd Wells and one timetabled through service northbound in the afternoon. The timetable for buses is currently separate from the timetable for trains so it is not at all easy for the passenger to bring it all together. Evidently, there are software problems, but sooner or later the railway and bus sectors should be able to merge them. That’s what integration is all about.  A friend of mine let me have a version crafted by someone with the skill to do just that so here it is

Celtic Travel 

The good news is that Powys County Council tender was won by Celtic Travel and they do a great job in providing a reliable service on other routes in Mid Wales and into Shropshire on the X75. However, with regard to the latter many people are unhappy with a proposal to cut the service into sections rather than direct Shrewsbury-Llanidloes/Rhaedr service which exists now. If you feel like commenting spend ten minutes to complete the consultation survey currently posted by Powys Count Council at:

https://www.haveyoursaypowys.wales/powys-local-bus-network-consultation/surveys/online-survey

X48 Core Benefits

Here are some of the core benefits:

Valid train tickets are accepted on the bus and this is especially useful if you catch the 1030 from Shrewsbury to Llandrindod or Llanwrtyd as the best option for returning is likely to be the X48 bus.

Full size buses are being used so it means that group travel will also be possible, for example, for small walking parties.

Timings are not much different to the train as the bus is not able to call at all halts on the line.

The bus allows greater access to Bleddfa and Penybont operating as a hail and ride on those sections allowing easier access to the Radnor Forest.

But equally the train is still the best way to explore the Heart of Wales Line Trail!

Give it a try

I’ll be trying it out again soon as the 1401 and 1801 departures from Llandrindod (Interchange) are handy for a return journey to Shropshire.

Thanks go to the Heart of Wales Line Trail Co-ordinator who has made several useful suggestions to the bus planners to ensure that connections are made at Craven Arms and that everyone knows that while the X48 bus does not currently operate on Sundays the train still does.

Early days but let’s give it a try. Any feedback is welcome.

New Year and more stories

After a long break, too long a break to be truthful, the Slow Travel in the Marches blog is back. 

Must admit that I simply got tired of the endless 'greenwashing' on the web. In my book, slow travel is not about travelling thousands of miles by plane, hopping into a car hire and having a week's luxury stopover to admire someone else's market place. I know, I am being unkind, but thought it best to express my feelings right now.  

For me, slow travel is not only about spending time at a destination, the travel bit is also the destination. It is how you feel when walking through woodland, or your inner reflections about the past when standing in haunting ruins; we have enough of them in the Welsh Marches. It's about gazing, gazing through the window when on a train or bus, about a cinematic change of scenery which unfolds a little more each and every time. And so many villages have intriguing stories to tell and when you step off the bus there's no better place to visit than traditional inns like the Sun Inn at Leintwardine. 

The blog will focus on the Welsh Marches, although we'll stray east on occasion towards the Malverns and the Golden Triangle as well as into Mid Wales as the history of these parts tells us that it really has been hard to nail exactly where the border lies. Buses and trains, yes, but also walking and cycling adventures too. 

Back soon with information and tips on how to get the best from travels in the Welsh Marches.

Les Lumsdon

Researcher Writer, January 2025