In this next post, I visited Heswall Bus Station on the Wirral Peninsula. I also headed to Ormskirk Bus Station in Liverpool, which will be covered in a later post. However, today’s focus is on Heswall. This small interchange has four bus stands, all serving parts of the Wirral. Routes include the 471/472 to Birkenhead, operated by Arriva and Stagecoach, Chester, operated by Happy Al’s, and various small circular routes by A2B Travel.

I spent about an hour at the bus station to capture as many photos as possible. It’s a small station with limited services, many of which run hourly or every two hours. I believe the smaller services, such as the 73, 181, 174, and 175 operated by A2B Travel, are either hourly or two-hourly and run in a circular route to places like Preston, Arrowe Park, and Pensby.

Until 2013, First Group operated in Merseyside, providing services between Heswall and Liverpool, as well as around Woodchurch, Chester, and Birkenhead. However, in 2013, Stagecoach took over the company and has been operating there ever since. It was a sad time for bus operators in Merseyside, as we also lost Avon Buses and Halton Transport.

The main two operators serving Heswall, Irby, and Pensby towards Arrowe Park Hospital are Stagecoach and Arriva Merseyside. Stagecoach operates with a handful of Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 Scania models alongside 67-reg Enviro 400MMCs purchased in 2017, originally intended for the 471/2 route, although that is no longer the case. Arriva Merseyside uses Wright Gemini 2 Hybrids from 2013.

A2B Travel offers a diverse range of buses, including Enviro 200MMCs in plain white, Optare Solos, and some unusual Mercedes Sprinters, although the latter are rarely seen operating around Heswall. Happy Als also boasts a variety of second-hand vehicles, such as Wright Streetlites, ADL E200MMCs, and E400MMCs.

The weather on this day wasn’t ideal, featuring a mix of rain, sunshine, and even rainbows! I had a wonderful time photographing buses around the bus station and also captured some photos of the station itself. Compared to other bus stations I’ve visited, the layout is quite basic, with a small area for buses to park and lay over during their breaks.

I’ve observed that all bus stations around Merseyside have displays at each bus stop. It would be great if all bus stops around the Wirral and in Liverpool had these as well, so we could know when the next bus is arriving and how far away it is. Currently, this information is only available at bus stations like Queen Square, Liverpool One, and Birkenhead Bus Station. It would be beneficial to have these displays at regular bus stops with shelters.

The bus station here is quite charming, featuring flowers, a bandstand, and a lovely old clock at its centre. It’s also opposite an old fire station, which I find quite appealing. The town centre of Heswall offers a variety of shops and cafes, and there’s a massive Tesco nearby as well.

There is one more bus station in the Merseyside region that I need to visit, which is Ormskirk. I have now visited the following bus stations: Birkenhead Bus Station, Ellesmere Port, Huyton, St Helens, Queen Square, Liverpool One, and Kirkby bus stations. They are all quite similar in design and layout, being rather basic. Liverpool One, Queen Square, and Birkenhead have the largest number of bus stands, with around 10 each.

I have really enjoyed this series and I am going to continue to share my thoughts and photos on each bus station I visit in the future. Going further afield to visit places like Preston, Lancaster, Skelmersdale & various others around England. If you have any suggestions on what bus stations I should visit after my Ormskirk Post, I would greatly appreciate it.