North Yorkshire Christmas Markets 2

Following on from yesterdays posting we stayed overnight at the excellent Jury's Inn situated in the centre of Bradford. The passengers were ready and waiting for a 9.50 departure and we set off to the market town of Skipton, who were hosting a series of special Christmas market weekends.

 The coach awaits its final passengers before departure to Skipton.

 On arrival coaches were directed to a drop area in a car park. The mayor of Skipton was around to board the coach and welcome passengers, who were given a departure time to return to the car park.

 After dropping passengers coaches were directed out of town to the Auction Mart where there was ample parking for the 150 coaches that were pre-booked.

 Above & below there was impressive selection of coaches parked at the Auction Mart

In the meantime the bustling market provided a paradise for the 'shopaholics' and below, normality continued for the service buses.

 Also in normal operation was the coach park in the centre of the town and here, above & below are coaches that had simply turned up and paid the normal fee to park for the day.

 At the appointed time the coaches were called to the picking up point

 One of the oldest vehicles to appear in service was this Plaxton Paramount. 

I was called to the pickup point on time, my weary passengers were ready and waiting with their carrier bags, ready to board and we departed on schedule to head back to the north east. The organisation of this event from a coach point of view was excellent and the shuttle mini bus service to and from the coach parking area was very welcome. First drop offs in Sunderland were made around 5pm and I almost made 12mpg overall from the Volvo.

David Gambles

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