In this bonus post about visiting Bootle Strand Bus Station in Merseyside, I discovered another bus station that I had completely forgotten about. It has a rather quirky and interesting design and layout compared to all the others I have visited in the Merseyside region. This bus station is located under a shopping centre, making it quite unique compared to Liverpool One, Queen Square, or even Birkenhead Bus Stations.

Many people consider Bootle to be an unappealing and unsafe area to live. However, there are several interesting bus routes, including circular routes like the 144 and 235, both operated by Arriva and Stagecoach. I had the opportunity to ride the 144, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was an MCV Evora, replacing many of the older Wright Pulsar 2 models from 2010 and 2009. Although they needed replacing, the Pulsar 2 will be missed, as it is probably one of my favourite buses.

You also get services to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Aigburth, Liverpool One Bus Station occasionally I believe there is only a handful of those services so I may try and do a challenge to ride on them all one day. However you also get services that do Circular routes like I mentioned earlier, the 68 is also another interesting route as it Serves the out parts of Liverpool rather than going into the City Centre it’s self.

As you can see above, there is a wide variety of buses, including Enviro 200s and MCV Evora’s, which are a recent addition to the fleet here in Merseyside. It’s also nice to note that it’s painted in the new Metro livery, as St Helens & Wirral will be taken back under Public Control in September and October this year. I am really excited to see the changes and to discover what type of buses and features we will get in the near future compared to what we have now.

Above, you can see one of the few remaining Wright Pulsar 2 models operating on the 63, having just finished a service and terminating at the Strand Shopping Centre bus station. I would like to create a future series where I travel on every bus route from various bus stations, review them, and report on their best service, comfort, and features. If that’s something you would like to see, I would greatly appreciate your comment.

I hope you enjoyed this extra bonus on bus stations, which I completely forgot about in my earlier series. I’m planning to visit Skelmersdale bus station in the near future, possibly next week. I need to bring this blog back up to scratch, especially with my Station Series, Bus Adventures, Rail Adventures, and much more. I’m also considering creating a Vimeo account to share and post my videos that I love making for you to watch. Thanks for sticking with me.