The man has been cruising the virtual bazaar, colloquially known as Bay of the E. His patience and perseverance has been richly rewarded. He has tracked down, haggled over and successfully purchased a selection of seats for the mighty bus for a very reasonable sum.
So it was over to yours truly to fire up the Smithington Jalopy and venture forth to collect these prized possessions. The first trip saw me cross the Thames at the Dartford crossing and venture into an area that quite frankly made me glad that the jolly old automobile had locks on its doors!
For the uninitiated the Dartford crossing consists of 2 tunnels each 1430m long taking you south to north and a bridge spanning 450 metres and rising to a height of 137m, for the return journey. The bridge opened in 1991 and the tunnels in 1963 and 1980 respectively. The reason for sharing this is .....beacuse I think its quite interesting.
Anyway, another trip was required to collect yet more furniture but this time heading due west. Traversing the original Severn Crossing, it occurred to me that I seem to get all the fun jobs!
The crossing opened in 1966 and spans the rivers Wye and Severn. It is not one bridge but actually consists of 4 distinct units - the Aust viaduct, the Severn bridge, Beachley viaduct and the Wye bridge. Now I do find that a lovely bit of useless information.
Meandering up the Wye valley, the journey is one I have made several times before and I have to say we must get the funbus there as it is a delight with really good pubs en route particularly at Tintern. No problem securing the seats and happy to leave the doors unlocked ....West is best in my book.
This is what the fuss is all about and Bish is already getting excited at the thought of mastering the mechanical complexities of fitting them
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