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Coronavirus Impact on Countrywide Services-Update 09/11/20 

 

Further services restarting with effect from 9th November are 624 Eastbourne - London (2 hourly) and 625 Brighton - London (hourly). Details may be found by clicking on the Timetables page link above. The majority of services operating have either a reduced frequency, and/or a different routing from that previously operated. Please see below for a map showing the services currently in operation.  

 

Please note that for any services operating during the Coronavirus restrictions, social distancing will be observed by a one passenger per seat policy. Vehicles will be cleaned after each journey. However, if prospective customers display any symptoms of the virus, then they MUST NOT TRAVEL.

Please help us to keep other passengers, drivers and other staff safe. 

 

All other services remain suspended Indefinitely.

 

Please click on the map to open in a separate window

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Further services restarting with effect from 25th October will link Luton Airport with Heathrow Airport (701 and 702) or Oxford (703). Details may be found by clicking on the Timetables page link above. The majority of services operating have either a reduced frequency, and/or a different routing from that previously operated. Please see below for a map showing the services currently in operation.  

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Coronavirus Impact on Countrywide Services-Update 30/09/20   

 

Further services are restarting in October, and details may be found by clicking on the Timetables page link above. The majority of services operating have either a reduced frequency, and/or a different routing from that previously operated. Please see below for a map showing the services currently in operation.  

 

Please note that for any services operating during the Coronavirus restrictions, social distancing will be observed by a one passenger per seat policy. Vehicles will be cleaned after each journey. However, if prospective customers display any symptoms of the virus, then they MUST NOT TRAVEL.

Please help us to keep other passengers, drivers and other staff safe. 

All other services remain suspended Indefinitely.

 

 

 

Please click here to open in a separate window

 

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20/10/19
 

Service 439 has been reintroduced on a revised routing between Westward Ho! and Scarborough, operated by Intercity..

 

19/06/19
 

Services 550, 554 and 555 timetable revised, with most services calling additionally at Exeter, Honiton Road Park & Ride. Service 553 re-routed in Cornwall, and both the 553 and 649 also calling additionally at Exeter, Honiton Road Park & Ride. Service 737 now includes the above additional journeys between Exeter and Heathrow. 

 

26/05/19
 

From 26/05/19; service 515 will see the withdrawal of the Weymouth/Dorchester extension and a revision of the timetable for the rest of the service. From the same date, service 757 is also revised.

 

28/04/19

As of the above date, service 756 (Poole - Gatwick Airport) is withdrawn.

31/03/19

As of the above date, an additional "short" working of service 649 between Middlesbrough and Plymouth will commence, operated by the TransMOTION group.

21/03/19

With immediate effect, operation of services 624, 625 and 787 has transferred from Countryliner to London & Country. Services 602 and 651 are now operated solely by TransMOTION Group, and as of 24/03/19, the 602 is emended to operate between Middlesbrough and London (twice daily).

11/01/19

 As of 12/01/19, service 651 (Middlesbrough-London) will be revised to operate Harrogate-London with one journey in each direction Mon-Sat.

 16/12/18

From 16/12/18, service 588 was extended to operate Scarborough ? Manchester Airport via York, Leeds, Manchester operating 2 hourly, 24/7. 

01/07/18 

Services that commenced in May are a rerouted 486 (Southampton-Bristol-Cardiff-Aberystwyth ? 1 journey full route, 1 journey Bristol-Southampton and return) operated by Southwest Buses, and new service 421 (London-Maidstone-Folkestone-Dover, 2 journeys) operated by Moody?s Coaches.

 

With effect from 3rd June, services 425, 514, 552, 554 and 657 were withdrawn, whilst services 411, 504, 505, 533, 515, 550, 553, 555, 649 756 and 757 have had their timetables revised.

 

From 1st July, Moodys commenced another service 422 (London-Canterbury-Margate-Ramsgate) with 4 journeys daily.

 

01/03/18

 

 

 

On 1st March, new hourly service 407 between Dover and London commenced, operated by Moody's Coaches to whom we extend a warm welcome to Countrywide.

 

04/02/18

On 4th February, two new services will commence operation, the first being the 400 (Burnham-on-Sea/Bristol-London) operated by Filers Bus & Coach and South West Buses with up to 11 journeys each way between Bristol and London.

 

The second new service is the 480 (Newcastle-on-Tyne-Manchester Airport/Liverpool) with three daily journeys, and operated by newcomer Reivers Travel and South Ribble Coaches.

Reivers Travel is also involved in the provision of additional journeys on service 640 between Middlesbrough-Newcasstle-Carlisle-Dumfries-Stranraer, commencing on the same date..

 

 16/11/17

 Commencing 27/12/17, revised service 646 will operate two-hourly between Darlington and Manchester Airport. It dovetails in with the 656 between Doncaster, Meadowhall and Manchester, details of which are also included in the revised timetable.

 

.16/11/17

From 21/11/17, a new 2 hourly Monday to Saturday service 415 will commence connecting Milton Keynes and Reading via Aylesbury and High Wycombe, operated by Red Rover.

 

 10/08/17

 

As of the above date, a revised two-hourly service 656 is reintroduced between Hull and Manchester Airport via Doncaster, Sheffield, Holmfirth and Manchester. It complements the existing 448 and 451 services that operate between Sheffield and Manchester via Stocksbridge.

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05/03/17 

With effect from 5th March, services 525, 538, 642 and 667 have been re-introduced, operated by the TransMOTION group.

08/01/17 

From 8th January 2017, there have been a number of changes to services operated by the TransMOTION group as follows: 

602. Leeds-London                             Extended to Stratford and now calling at Meadowhall. Jointly operated with London & Country.
632. Middlesbrough-Cardiff                Frequency reduced to one journey.   
645. Harrogate-Birmingham.              Extended to/from Bristol, one journey daily.
647. Harrogate-Birmingham.              New service, 3 journeys daily.             
648. Middlesbrough-Birmingham.      Birmingham-Cardiff section curtailed.

635. Perth-Birmingham.                     New twice daily service. Combines with 652 between Edinburgh and Birmingham.

641. Birmingham-Glasgow.                New daily service via EMA,York,Carlisle, Dumfries and Ayr.

652. Edinburgh-Birmingham.              Previous route extended from Middlesbrough. Frequency reduced to one journey/day.
The following TransMOTION operated services are withdrawn as of the same date:

 633. Perth ? London, 634. Perth-London, 643. Hartlepool-Leeds, 646.  Darlington -Manchester Airport, 656. Cleethorpes-Manchester       

 Following a survey of other operators, the following services are no longer operational also as of 8th January 2017:

 400 Weston-super-Mare ?London, 403 Birmingham-Southsea,405 Taunton-London,416 Chester ? Carlisle, 432 Bradford - Weston-super-Mare (partial replacement by new 632), 439 Westward Ho! ? Grimsby, 449 Birkenhead ? Nottingham, 486 Southampton ? Haverfordwest, 490 Great Yarmouth/Norwich ? London, 497 Great Yarmouth ? London, 504 Southsea/Portsmouth - Newcastle on Tyne, 505 Worthing/Brighton - Newcastle on Tyne, 525 Newcastle on Tyne ? London, 538 Weymouth ? Hull, 548 Swansea - Edinburgh/Aberdeen (partially replaced by new 635 and 652), 585 Glasgow Airport ? Southsea, 586 Edinburgh/Glasgow - Manchester Airport, 603 London ? Chichester, 642 Newcastle on Tyne ? Middlesbrough, 654 Cleethorpes ? London, 655 Doncaster ? Southampton, 665 Isle of Wight ? Canterbury, 667 Isle of Wight ? Leeds, 717 Liverpool - Leeds/Bradford Airport, 725 Oldham/Manchester ? Brighton, 777 Edinburgh - Glasgow Airport.

 From the same date, service 453 reverts back to it?s original Liverpool-York routing, and together with service 577 Birkenhead-London is now operated by South Ribble Coaches.

30/10/16

Changes from 30/10/16 amended services between the West Country and London, namely the 550, 554 and 555. A new service 556 also commenced from this date linking Redruth and London. Existing services 553 and 649 also dovetail into this timetable.

 

The changes to the aforementioned services mean changes to the following timetables where they provided connections or supplementary journeys ? 425 (retimed to maintain connections), 655 and 657.

 

From the same date, connections on the unrelated service 453 timetable were also amended.

 

03/09/16

Service revisions effective from the above date:

588         New service between Harrogate, Leeds and Manchester Airport.
788         York - Manchester Airport withdrawn and partially replaced by the new 588.
789         Harrogate- Manchester Airport withdrawn and partially replaced by the new 588.

01/01/16:

New/revised services effective from the New Year are as follows:

514         New route variant of the 515 (Poole-London) serving Lymington, Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst. Single journey each way daily (Town & Country)
515         Revisions to times.
550/555 (Penzance - London) amended departure times.
551/552 (Ilfracombe/Bude - London) amended departure times.
649         (Penzance - Middlesbrough) - revised route (previously to Inverness) and departure times.
650         (Plymouth - Inverness) - amended route and departure times. Jointly operated by Network North East & Southern General.
756/757 (Poole/Bournemouth -Gatwick/ Heathrow) - amended departure times.

Service 452 (Ilfracombe - Bournemouth) is withdrawn from the same date.

The aforementioned changes also mean changes to the following timetables where they provided connections or supplementary journeys - 432, 538,543-6, 548 and 586.

20/09/15

As from the above date, services 631, 647 and 648 have been recast into two services. The 747 operates York-Doncaster-Sheffield-East Midlands Airport-Birmingham-Heathrow-Gatwick 3 hourly, whilst the revised 748 operates Hartlepool-Teesside-Darlington-York-East Midlands Airport-Birmingham-Heathrow-Gatwick three times daily.

 

Also amended is service 602 (Leeds-London) which replaces now withdrawn service 600.

 

02/09/14

Service 647 (Middlesbrough - Manchester Airport) has been replaced from 2nd March by an amended 24/7 two-hourly service 646 which operates from Darlington to Manchester Airport via Stockton, Teesside Park, Middlesbrough and Manchester.

From the same date, Flightlink service 788 (Leeds - Manchester Airport) is extended to/from York via Tadcaster operating hourly 24/7, and a new service 789 Harrogate - Manchester Airport via Leeds, Bradford and Halifax also commenced on the same date on a two-hourly 24/7 basis.

04/01/14:

A number of changes to services serving the West Country from 5th January 2014.

Services 411 and 533 are curtailed to operate from/to Poole rather than Weymouth, services 425, 452 and 657 have timing revisions. Service 515 has an enhanced frequency added. Service 757 is retimed and the service enhanced, and is complemented by new service 756 between Poole and Gatwick Airport.

01/11/13

From 1st November, new two-hourly service 624 commences operation between London and Eastbourne.  Operating via Gatwick Airport and Uckfield, the service is provided by London & Country.

30/08/13:

From 1st September, new service 654 will commence operating between Hartlepool and Leeds. It is incorporated into the recently introduced 646/7 timetable to give a co-ordinated service between Teesside and Leeds.

These changes also impact on connections with service 453 (York - Southport/Wrexham) which is also revised from the same date.

14/07/13:

 From 14th July, service 647 (Middlesbrough-Manchester Airport) route has been amended to serve Teesside Park instead of Stockton-on-Tees, Darlington, York then direct to Manchester Airport, with a two-hourly frequency, and is renumbered 646.

As of the same date, replacement two-hourly service 647 (Middlesbrough ? Manchester) commenced operation. This service follows the 646 between Middlesbrough and York, but then takes a slower route via Harrogate, Leeds, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Storthes Hall into Manchester. These two services provide an approximately hourly service between Middlesbrough and York. Both 646 and 647 are operated by Tees Valley Link.

30/06/13 

From 30th June, service 452 2will operate tp/from Ilfracombe rather than Westward Ho! Also from the same date, an additional daily journey in each direction will be provided.

01/12/12:

Effective from 1st December, new service 653 commences with one daily return journey between Scarborough and London via Malton and York. As of the same date, service 767 (Middlesbrough - Newcastle Airport) is withdrawn.

As of the same date, Virgin Southern Buses join the Countrywide network with joint operation of services 504 and 505 (jointly with Northumbria and Berwick).

30/10/12:

Commencing on 1st November, service 625 will offer an hourly frequency between Brighton and London via Gatwick Airport.

16/09/12:

New services commencing with immediate effect are 452 (Westward Ho! - Bournemouth via Bideford ,Barnstaple,Taunton,Yeovil,Poole) and 551 (Ilfracombe - London via Barnstaple,Taunton,Heathrow). Service 552 (Bude - London) has a revised route and extra departures.

20/06/12: 

From 26th June, service 651 (Middlesbrough-London) has the Sunday frequency increased to two-hourly to match the Mon-Sat service, whilst service 787 (Heathrow - Gatwick) is enhanced to operate every 30 minutes, 24/7. From the same date, new Flightlink service 703 commenced linking Oxford and Luton Airport. Service 602 (Leeds - London) is reduced to a two-hourly frequency and now operates via Dewsbury, Meadowhall, Newark and Peterborough.

As a result of the above, and in a general tidying up exercise, timetables for services 500, 504/5, 600, 651, 654, 655/7, 701/2 and 714 have been updated.

09/10/11 

From 9th October, Flightlink service 702 (Chesham ? Heathrow) was extended to commence from Luton Airport and operating via Hemel Hempstead to pick up it?s original route at Chesham. This service runs 2 hourly and complements the 701 between Luton Airport and High Wycombe.

01/10/11:

As of the above date, new service 549 (Barsntaple - London) commenced with one journey in ech direction..  

04/07/11:

With effect from 4th July, service 649 (Penzance - Perth) is rerouted to operate via Plymouth, Bristol, Birmingham, Carlisle and Glasgow. This change means that from the same date, the timetable for the 550-5 group of services and the 586 are revised to incorporate the changed 649.  

19/06/11:

A large number of changes effective from 19/06/11 as summarised below.

 

425 Southampton ? Plymouth connecting service timing changed; 453 Wrexham ? Leeds/York extended to/from Wrexham and Mid West Motors replacing South Ribble; 550 -555 this group of services has had some timing amendments resulting from the revision to services 649 and 650.

 

632 Middlesbrough ? Cardiff and 648 Middlesbrough ? Cardiff provide 2 hourly Middlesbrough ? Leeds - Birmingham ? Cardiff service, with another new service 645 Harrogate ? Birmingham  combining to give giving an hourly Leeds ? Birmingham frequency.

 

646 Teesside ? Liverpool is withdrawn and service 647 revised to operate Middlesbrough ? Manchester Airport. Service 649 Inverness ? Penzance is rerouted to terminate at Newquay, and 650 Inverness ? Penzance is rerouted via the East Coast.

 

Services 526 Sunderland ? London, 547 Lincoln ?Swansea, 591/653 Doncaster ? London, 662 Edinburgh ? Scarborough and 727 Wolverhampton ? Stansted are all withdrawn.

 

717 is extended from Manchester Apt to operate Liverpool ? Leeds/Bradford Airport.

 

The above changes also impact on the timetables for services 432, 525, 538, 548, 586, 652, all of which are available on the website.

02/06/11:

Some service changes from Countyywide operator Red Rover. Service 401 is withdrawn, and service 402 reduced to one daily journey. New Flightlink service 702 operates two-hourly between Chesham and Heathrow, providing an hourly High Wycombe - Heathrow service wiht the 701.

21/01/11:

A warm welcome to Mid West Motors based in Cheshire who from the above date will commence operation of new Countrywide services 416 (Chester - Carlisle), 449 (Birkenhead - Nottingham) and Flightlink 717 (Liverpool - Liverpool Airport - Manchester Airport).

20/12/10:

As of the above date, Flightlink service 767 will commence operating between Middlesbrough and Newcastle Airport on a 2-hourly frequency. 

29/11/10:

Effective from the above date, London & Country will commence operation of service 787 bewteen Gatwick and Heathrow via Redhill and Epsom. The service operates hourly M-S and 2 hourly Sunday. 

18/11/10

With effect from 22nd November, Countrywide welcomes London & Country as a new operator, jointly operating service 651 (Middlesbrough - York - London) with Perpetua Countrywide. From the same date, the overnight journeys on service 602 (Middlesbrough/Leeds - London) will be withdrawn. 

06/09/10:

Apologies for part of the website being down - this is due to the incompetence of the ISP I was using to store the files. Hopefully the new regime will prove to be more successful!! 

02/07/10:

From the above date, Red Rover introduce service 402 between Aylesbury and London. 

14/06/10:

With effect from 14th June, services 412, 419 and 436 have changes to their timetables - please refer to the Timetables page for links.

01/06/10:

Effective from the above date, Countrywide welcomes another new  operator, Shotters Coaches. Based on the Isle of Wights, Shotters have commenced services 665 (Shanklin - Canterbury) and 667 (Shanklin - Leeds).

03/05/10:

With effect from the above date, Countrywide welcomes new operator Premier Coaches of Much Wenlock operating service 714 between Shrewsbury and Heathrow/London.  As a result, a minor change to service 500 Shrewsbury - London will become effective from the same date, and the 714 will also supplement existing services between Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Heathrow (712) also effective from 04/05/10.

Also from the same date, service 486 has minor retinings to allow connections to/from Penzance/Plymouth via service 553.

31/03/10:

As of 06/04/10, service 660 will commence operation between the Isle of Wight and London with three journeys daily - this service is operated by Vectis General.

06/03/10:

Flightlink service 731 is amended to operate Hartlepool - East Midlands Airport with frequency reduced to one daily journey. Additional new Flightlink services are 747 Hartlepool - Gatwick Airport (twice daily) and 748 Hartlepool - Stansted Airport (twice daily). All the above operated by East Coast, part of the Perpetua Group.

07/02/10:

New Flightlink service 777 operating between Edinburgh and Glasgow Airport via Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow commenced operation today. It is operated by the HBC Group on a 2 hourly frequency.

10/01/10:

Another reintroduced service effective immediately is between Leeds and Manchester Airport. Numbered 788, this service runs hourly, 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.

04/01/10:

A Happy New Year to Everyone. With immediate effect, two new services have commenced operated by Red Rover Buses ? service 401 High Wycombe ? Birmingham and Flightlink 701 Heathrow Airport ? Luton Airport via Aylesbury and High Wycombe. Service 642 is now operated solely by Northumbria and Berwick.

27/09/09:

With immediate effect, services between Penzance/Plymouth and London/Blackpool/Inverness (550/3/5,650) have been revised. Two new services have also been introduced to complement the existing services, these being service 552 (Bude - London) and 554 (Newquay - London).

From the same date, service 425 (Southampton - Plymouth) has revised timings to maintain connections at Plymouth with service 555. In addition, connections with services 432, 538, 543-6 and 655/7 have also been amended and the appropriate timetables updated.

As of 01/10/09, Service 641 (Newcastle upon Tyne - Middlesbrough is withdrawn.

 

01/06/09

From 01/06/09, several services operated by Reliance are revised as follows:

672    Bath ? Gatwick Airport: some journeys extended to/from Bath University
674    Tenby/Swansea/Cardiff ? London: enhanced frequency, runs direct from Newport to London omitting Bath
675    Cardiff/Bath ? London: additional stops introduced
677    Warminster ? London: 1730 ex London extended to Gillingham

01/05/09

New services operated by Perpatua Countrywide Services Ltd are as follows:

600    York ? Londoon via Doncaster, Bedford (5 journeys)
602    Leeds ? London (Hourly ? one overnight journey extended to/from Middlesbrough)
633    Perth ? London via Edinburgh, Berwick-on-Tweed (3 journeys)
634    Dundee ? London via Edinburgh, Jedburgh (1 journey)

01/01/09

As of 1st January 2009, services operated by Perpetua will now be operated by Perpatua Countrywide Services Ltd.

20/07/08

A number of revisions have been advised by the Perpetua Group. The changes, all effective 20th July 2008, are as

follows:

Service 588: Withdrawn and replaced by new service 647.
Service 591: Withdrawn
Service 646: New service Stockton on Tees ? Liverpool
Service 647: Amended to operate Stockton on Tees ? Manchester Airport
Service 653: Withdrawn

The revisions to service 647 also impacts on other timetables, these being service 432: Bradford ? Weston-super-Mare,  453: Southport ? Leeds/York, 548: Cardiff ? Edinburgh and  586: Manchester Airport ? Edinburgh.

03/05/08

As of the above date, Blue Bus has withdrawn from Countrywide operations. Operation of service 486 (Portsmouth ? Haverfordwest) is taken over by East Dorset and Western Traction, service 425 (Southampton ? Plymouth) is taken over by Town and Country, and service 433 is withdrawn.

13/03/08

From March 15th 2008, a new service will commence between Edinburgh and Scarborough, numbered 662.

05/01/08

From January 6th 2008, a clutch of changes to Countrywide services operated by Reliance as follows:

669 Revised to operate between Cardiff and Carlisle via Newport, Manchester and Preston.
670 Operates London to Carlisle via Heathrow.
671 Carlisle ? Edinburgh via Glasgow new service.
672 New service Bath ? Gatwick Airport via Swindon and Heathrow.
Old 672 (Cardiff/Bath ? London) replaced by 674 Tenby ? London via Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol, Bath, Swindon and Heathrow, and 675 Bath ? London via Swindon and Heathrow.
673 Bath ? Edinburgh via Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Carlisle and Glasgow
433 (Reliance journeys) replaced by 676 Yeovil - Gillingham -Shaftesbury - Salisbury - Andover ? London and 677 Warminster - Salisbury - Devizes ? London. The solitary Blue Bus journey numbered 433 remains.

These changes also impact on some other routes, namely 486, 533, 538 and 586 for which new timetables are also shown.

 

16/12/07

Service 432 between Weston-super-Mare/Bristol and Bradford was reintroduced by Western Traction with effect from 16thDecember.

05/12/07

Service 433 (Yeovil ? London) will get an additional journey operated by Blue Bus.

30/06/07

With apologies for the belated inclusion, new service 649 operating overnight between Plymouth and Perth commenced on 2nd June, with connections from/to Penzance. This service also provides a number of complimentary journeys on other timetables, these being 548,550 and 655/7.

24/01/07

As from February, Western Traction will take over operation of service 400 (Weston-super-Mare/Bristol - Bristol - London) from Filers. The timetable remains unchanged.

25/02/06

A new service commencing as of the above date is 656 (Cleethorpes ? Scunthorpe ? Robin Hood Airport ? Doncaster ? Sheffield ? Holmfirth ? Manchester). The service runs hourly between Cleethorpes and Sheffield, with alternate journeys complementing the existing two-hourly service between Sheffield and Manchester via Stocksbridge (448). Journeys terminating at Sheffield connect with the 448. This new service also provides additional connections into services 591/653/654/655.

28/01/06

2006 sees the 21st anniversary of the formation of Countrywide. It is planned to commemorate this with an article in the Model Bus Journal later in the year.

01/01/06

From 01/01/06, all Countrywide services operated by Shaftesbury Blue Bus are now operated by Travel South West, a Perpetua subsidiary. Services affected are the 425 (Southampton ? Plymouth) and 486 (Southampton ? Haverfordwest).

29/10/05

Service 731 (York ? Heathrow) is revised to operate between Stockton-on-Tees and East Midlands Airport with an increase in frequency to 3 journeys per day.

01/10/05

With effect from 01/09/05, service 433 (Yeovil ? London) is operated by Reliance (ex Shaftesbury Blue Bus) and has an extra journey provided.

 

24/05/05

This summer, service 644 between Manchester and Alton Towers will no longer operate as part of the Countrywide network.

21/04/05

From 23/04/05, service 486 has minor retimings to afford connections at Bristol with services from Penzance/Plymouth and Torbay.

22/03/05

From 27/03/05, the 550/5 (Penzance - Plymouth - London), 553 (Penzance - Plymouth - Blackpool) and 650 (Penzance - Plymouth - Inverness) group of services have had timings revised. As a result of these changes, service 425 (Southampton - Plymouth) has also had timings revised to maintain connections. The 550/3/5 revision has also had a minor effect on connections with services 545 and 655 - please see the appropriate timetables for details.

As from the same date, service 486 (Southsea - Haverfordwest) is curtailed to operate Southampton - Haverfordwest only.

 

03/01/05

Welcome to new operator Shaftesbury Blue Bus who join the network operating three services, these being 425 Plymouth ? Southampton, 433 Yeovil/Shaftesbury ? London, and 486 Southsea - Haverfordwest.

01/12/04

With immediate effect, Testbury Travel operation of service 655 (Southampton ? Doncaster) will be taken over by Provincial. There are some minor amendments to connecting services.

18/11/04

Timetables for the 560 (Fleetwood ? London) and 722 (Burnley ? Gatwick Airport) services have now been loaded, the services commencing 29/11/04. From the same date, there will be amended timetables in operation for services 403, 453, 562, 562a and 712.

17/11/04

Effective immediately, operation of service 439 has commenced between Westward Ho and Grimsby. This service provides an additional return journey between Lincoln and Birmingham supplementing the existing 547 between these points.

Further to the news on 16/11/04 regarding operation of the 560, it is intended that this service will recommence on 29/11/04, together with a reintroduced 722 between Burnley and Gatwick Airport.

16/11/04

Effective immediately, certain services operated by Tyler?s Travel will be passed to Coachways Travel, the services involved being 540, 542, 553, 586 and 725. There are no changes to the timetables. Coachways Travel are also proposing to recommence operation of service 560 between Fleetwood and London, and take over operation of the overnight Blackpool ? London service 721 from South Ribble Coaches.

Service 641 (Blackpool ? Alton Towers) has now ceased running, and next year is likely to operate from Manchester only.

16/10/04

From 18/10/04, Service 640 will have an additional journey added operating between Stockton, Carlisle and Stranraer. This journey provides connections at Carlisle with service 586 (Stockport - Glasgow).

25/08/04

From 03/09/04, the following amendments/new journeys will commence:

Tylers Travel will operate new services 412 Manchester ? Bradford, 419 Manchester ? Barnsley, 436 Manchester ? Keswick, 467 Manchester - Chesterfield/ Lincoln, 564 London ? Halifax, 565 London ? Barnsley and 566 London ? Bradford. Service 451 (Clacton ? Blackpool) is curtailed to operate Cambridge ? Manchester only, and service 590 (Pwllheli ? Hull) is curtailed to one journey between Manchester and Hull. A replacement Manchester ? Bangor service is provided numbered 580. Service 712 now operates from/to Manchester only.

In addition, a number of services have revised connections due to the amended 461, these being services 453 and 586.

From the same date, South Ribble Coaches will recommence service 721 (Blackpool ? London overnight).

02/08/04

From Saturday 07/08/04, several journeys on service 561 (Southport/Liverpool ? London) will be extended from/to Birkenhead.

24/07/04

As of Monday 26/07/04, service 461 (Blackpool ?Manchester) will be increased to an hourly frequency for the summer period, operated by Double Deck vehicles for additional capacity. With this enhanced frequency comes amended connections with services 448, 453 and 586 (see appropriate timetables).

08/07/04

A previously unrecorded new service is 400 between Weston-super-Mare/Bristol and London, which operates up to 7 times a day. It is operated by a newcomer to Countrywide, Filers City and Country Bus.

As of 05/07/04, service 651 (Hartlepool ? London) is revised to operate Middlesbrough ? London, and service 652 (Edinburgh ? London) is rerouted to terminate at Middlesbrough with some journeys commencing from/continuing to Perth.

23/05/04

Something strange has happened with several of the pages from the Countrywide website, with some apparently reverting to earlier versions, as is the case with the news page. Hopefully, the problem will not reoccur again, but who knows with computers!! However, if anyone does experience problems with the site, please send me a message via the forum.

One major piece of news is that from 15th May, all Countrywide services serving Birmingham will now call at the dedicated Countrywide "Moor Street Interchange". The construction of this facility has been managed by the Perpetua Group, and it comprises 15 stands together with refreshment, waiting and information facilities, and as it is located directly above Moor Street Railway Station, it gives direct links to a large part of the West Midlands conurbation. There are also connections with local West Midlands bus services immediately outside of the Interchange.

26/10/03:

From 02/11/03, service 451 is extended to operate from/to Clacton-on-Sea, and has an additional journey between Manchester and Cambridge. From the same date, service 712 will lose the section of route between Burnley and Manchester, but will gain an additional return journey between Coventry and Manchester.

07/10/03:

From 12/10/03, the following changes will be effective:

451 Cambridge ? Blackpool (new service ? part of 448 timetable)
453 Southport ? York (amended connections)
461 Manchester ? Blackpool (new service)
562 Colne ? London (additional journey added)
562a Hanley ? London (summary timetable)
570 Barrow ? London (extended from Manchester)
590 Pwllheli ? Hull (replaces 610)
610 Manchester ? Llandudno (withdrawn)

In addition, from 19/10/03, service 403 between Birmingham and Southsea will commence.

18/09/03:

With effect from 21/09/03, services between Cornwall, Plymouth and London/Blackpool (550-555) will be revised. Please see the latest timetable. From the same date, South Ribble Coaches will commence operation of service 561 (Southport/Liverpool ? London).

29/06/03:

More former Anforth?s Travel replacement services operated by Tylers Travel from the above date are:

448 Manchester ? Sheffield
562 Colne ? London
570 Barrow ? Manchester

19/06/03:

With effect from 22/05/03, amended service 712 commences, now Burnley/Rochdale ? Gatwick Airport (extension to/from Portsmouth discontinued) and operated by Tylers Travel.

Discussions are currently in hand with a number of operators to secure further replacements for the withdrawn Anforth?s services.

20/05/03:

A welcome to Provincial, who from 23/05 commence two services in the East Anglia area between Great Yarmouth/Norwich and London (490, 497). Also from this date, a replacement 725 commences between Oldham and Brighton, operated by Tyler?s Travel and Hants & Sussex.

Further to the news of 28/04 regarding the withdrawal of Anforths Coaches and Holidays from Countrywide, below is a list of the status of the services. Thanks to Provincial, Tyler?s Travel, The National and Kelvin Scottish for stepping in to provide replacement services.

 

 

 

No

Route

Status

400

Bristol ? London

Withdrawn

403

Southport - Southsea

Withdrawn

426

Cambridge ? Newcastle

Replacement operators under review

431

Bristol ? Bristol Airport

Withdrawn

432

Bradford ? Weston S Mare

Withdrawn

440

Manchester - London

Now Tylers ? one journey only

450

Mansfield - London

Withdrawn

451

Sheffield - Blackpool

Replacement operators under review

460

Liverpool - Manchester

Withdrawn (see 647 for alternative)

465

Huddersfield ? London

Withdrawn

497

Gt Yarmouth ? London

Now Provincial

540

London ? Rochdale

Now Tylers Travel

541

London ? Burnley

Withdrawn

542

London ? Bury

Now Tylers Travel

560

Blackpool - London

Withdrawn

561

Southport ? London

Withdrawn

562

Colne - London

Withdrawn

570

Barrow - London

Withdrawn

586

Edinburgh ? Stockport

Revised route ? now Tylers Travel/Kelvin

642

Northampton - Minehead

Withdrawn

643

Preston ? Skegness

Withdrawn

644

Blackpool ? Alton Towers

Now Tylers Travel

645

Liverpool - Scarborough

Withdrawn

700

London - Heathrow

Withdrawn

701

Stanstead Apt ? Gatwick

Withdrawn

702

Bristol ? Gatwick

Withdrawn

712

Rochdale ? Gatwick/Portsmouth

Revised route. Now Hants & Sussex/Tylers Travel

721

Blackpool - London

Withdrawn

722

Burnley - London

Withdrawn. Partial replacement by 725.

725

Oldham ? Brighton

Revised route. Now Hants & Sussex/Tylers Travel

730

Newcastle ? Gatwick

Withdrawn

755/6

Northampton ? Heathrow/Gatwick

Withdrawn

777

Gatwick - Heathrow

Withdrawn

 

 

 

 

28/04/03:

With effect from 04/05/03, Flightlink service 725 (Blackpool/Preston ? Heathrow/Gatwick/Brighton) will be withdrawn. From the same date, a new Flightlink service 727 (Birmingham ? Stanstead Airport) will commence, operated by Midland Voyager.

Anforths Coaches & Holidays will be withdrawing from the Countrywide network in the near future. Negotiations are in progress with a number of operators to provide replacement services.

17/04/03:

With effect from 20/04/03, one journey in each direction on service 500 (Wolverhampton ? London) has been extended from/to Shrewsbury and Telford.

03/04/03:

Fieldsend?s Travel noted in the last update, has now merged and is operating as Tyler?s Travel. No changes to the services operated.

02/02/03:

Welcome to Fieldsends Travel and Midland Voyager, the former operating new services 610 and 669, the latter services 446, 500, 512, 547 and 548.

Wee County Coaches have withdrawn from service 548, and it is now operated jointly by The National and Lovering Bus. Also, there is an additional journey between Birmingham and Aberdeen on this service, operated by Midland Voyager. Service 584 has been retimed to connect with this new journey at Edinburgh.

02/12/02:

As from the above date, all services previously operated by Leyland & District (453, 533, 553, 584, 725) will be operated by South Ribble Coaches. The timetables remain unchanged.

01/11/02:

The main news this time relates to services provided by the Perpetua Group. As from 1st November, services 587, 589 and 654 are withdrawn. Other services which were operated by Sprinter Network are now operated by "The National".

One journey on service 647 (Middlesbrough-Liverpool) now starts from Sedgefield and calls additionally at Stockton.

22/04/02:

Late news (with apologies to East Coast) was the start on 14/04/02 of Flightlink service 731 between York and Heathrow Airport, operated by East Coast.

13/02/02:

Various service amendments by Sprinter Transport Network/East Coast which will take effect from 18/02/02:
New service 588 Leeds ? Manchester Airport
648 Middlesbrough ? Birmingham: route revised to serve Darlington
651 Darlington ? Liverpool withdrawn. New 651 operating Hartlepool ? London.
652 Leyburn ? London withdrawn. New 652 operating Edinburgh ? London via Newcastle, Leeds, Doncaster.

Summary of services between Edinburgh/Newcastle/Leeds and Teesside/York/Leeds added.

As a result of the above, minor amendments to connecting journeys on services 432 and 548.

In addition, from the same date (18/02/02) service 453 will be curtailed to operate between Southport and Leeds/York only, but will run three times in each direction. Connections will be provided at Leeds or York on services to Teesside and Tyneside. The service will be jointly operated by Leyland & District and Sprinter Transport Network.

10/09/01:

Apologies to Wessex Enterprise who jointly operate service 538 (Weymouth ? Hull) and not Somerset and Dorset Traction Company as previously noted.

10/08/01:

The Primefleet Group have announced that their Countrywide services serving Stockton on Tees will now use the new Coach Terminal. Other Countrywide operators are welcome to use this new facility.

30/07/01:

Finalising the service updates for August is confirmation that one journey in each direction on service 548 (Swansea ? Newcastle on Tyne) will be extended to/from Edinburgh/Falkirk in conjunction with Scotlandwide (Wee County Coaches of Alloa). This extended journey replaces the previous connecting Scotlandwide service 331 between York and Edinburgh, and operates from Leeds via Darlington, Durham, Newcastle on Tyne and Berwick on Tweed to Edinburgh. The first southbound journey is extended to operate from Newcastle via Durham and Darlington to Leeds then direct to Birmingham, and is retimed and runs to Cardiff only. The last northbound journey is also curtailed to operate from Cardiff.

26/07/01:

Two new services will commence in August from the North East to London. These are 525 (Newcastle on Tyne ? London) and 526 (Sunderland ? London) operated by Abacus and East Coast respectively.

Also commencing in August, service 584 from Liverpool to Perth will be extended, in conjunction with Scotlandwide, to Inverness and be jointly operated by Leyland & District and West Highland. It also provides a journey in the Scotlandwide 311 (Edinburgh ? Inverness/Ullapool) timetable.

10/07/01:

Summary timetable showing connecting services between Newcastle-on-Tyne and Liverpool added as timetable 647a.

Discussions are underway with Scotlandwide to combine services 548 (Swansea ? York ? Newcastle) and 331 (York ? Newcastle ? Edinburgh) into a through service, and to extend service 584 (Liverpool ? Perth) to Inverness.

20/05/01:

Minor amendments to services 649/652. Please see new timetables for details.

14/05/01:

Subsequent to the news of 02/05/01 concerning service 548, Scotlandwide services 330 and 331 now provide connections to and from Edinburgh. Please see the new timetable for details.

Coronavirus Impact on Countrywide Services-Update 21/10/20   

 

Further services restarting with effect from 25th October will link Luton Airport with Heathrow Airport (701 and 702) or Oxford (703). Details may be found by clicking on the Timetables page link above. The majority of services operating have either a reduced frequency, and/or a different routing from that previously operated. Please see below for a map showing the services currently in operation.  

 

Please note that for any services operating during the Coronavirus restrictions, social distancing will be observed by a one passenger per seat policy. Vehicles will be cleaned after each journey. However, if prospective customers display any symptoms of the virus, then they MUST NOT TRAVEL.

Please help us to keep other passengers, drivers and other staff safe. 

 

All other services remain suspended Indefinitely.

 

Please click here to open map in a separate window

 

 

=============================================================================

 

Coronavirus Impact on Countrywide Services-Update 30/09/20   

 

Further services are restarting in October, and details may be found by clicking on the Timetables page link above. The majority of services operating have either a reduced frequency, and/or a different routing from that previously operated. Please see below for a map showing the services currently in operation.  

 

Please note that for any services operating during the Coronavirus restrictions, social distancing will be observed by a one passenger per seat policy. Vehicles will be cleaned after each journey. However, if prospective customers display any symptoms of the virus, then they MUST NOT TRAVEL.

Please help us to keep other passengers, drivers and other staff safe. 

All other services remain suspended Indefinitely.

 

 

 

Please click here to open in a separate window

 

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20/10/19
 

Service 439 has been reintroduced on a revised routing between Westward Ho! and Scarborough, operated by Intercity..

 

19/06/19
 

Services 550, 554 and 555 timetable revised, with most services calling additionally at Exeter, Honiton Road Park & Ride. Service 553 re-routed in Cornwall, and both the 553 and 649 also calling additionally at Exeter, Honiton Road Park & Ride. Service 737 now includes the above additional journeys between Exeter and Heathrow. 

 

26/05/19
 

From 26/05/19; service 515 will see the withdrawal of the Weymouth/Dorchester extension and a revision of the timetable for the rest of the service. From the same date, service 757 is also revised.

 

28/04/19

As of the above date, service 756 (Poole - Gatwick Airport) is withdrawn.

31/03/19

As of the above date, an additional "short" working of service 649 between Middlesbrough and Plymouth will commence, operated by the TransMOTION group.

21/03/19

With immediate effect, operation of services 624, 625 and 787 has transferred from Countryliner to London & Country. Services 602 and 651 are now operated solely by TransMOTION Group, and as of 24/03/19, the 602 is emended to operate between Middlesbrough and London (twice daily).

11/01/19

 As of 12/01/19, service 651 (Middlesbrough-London) will be revised to operate Harrogate-London with one journey in each direction Mon-Sat.

 16/12/18

From 16/12/18, service 588 was extended to operate Scarborough ? Manchester Airport via York, Leeds, Manchester operating 2 hourly, 24/7. 

01/07/18 

Services that commenced in May are a rerouted 486 (Southampton-Bristol-Cardiff-Aberystwyth ? 1 journey full route, 1 journey Bristol-Southampton and return) operated by Southwest Buses, and new service 421 (London-Maidstone-Folkestone-Dover, 2 journeys) operated by Moody?s Coaches.

 

With effect from 3rd June, services 425, 514, 552, 554 and 657 were withdrawn, whilst services 411, 504, 505, 533, 515, 550, 553, 555, 649 756 and 757 have had their timetables revised.

 

From 1st July, Moodys commenced another service 422 (London-Canterbury-Margate-Ramsgate) with 4 journeys daily.

 

01/03/18

 

 

 

On 1st March, new hourly service 407 between Dover and London commenced, operated by Moody's Coaches to whom we extend a warm welcome to Countrywide.

 

04/02/18

On 4th February, two new services will commence operation, the first being the 400 (Burnham-on-Sea/Bristol-London) operated by Filers Bus & Coach and South West Buses with up to 11 journeys each way between Bristol and London.

 

The second new service is the 480 (Newcastle-on-Tyne-Manchester Airport/Liverpool) with three daily journeys, and operated by newcomer Reivers Travel and South Ribble Coaches.

Reivers Travel is also involved in the provision of additional journeys on service 640 between Middlesbrough-Newcasstle-Carlisle-Dumfries-Stranraer, commencing on the same date..

 

 16/11/17

 Commencing 27/12/17, revised service 646 will operate two-hourly between Darlington and Manchester Airport. It dovetails in with the 656 between Doncaster, Meadowhall and Manchester, details of which are also included in the revised timetable.

 

.16/11/17

From 21/11/17, a new 2 hourly Monday to Saturday service 415 will commence connecting Milton Keynes and Reading via Aylesbury and High Wycombe, operated by Red Rover.

 

 10/08/17

 

As of the above date, a revised two-hourly service 656 is reintroduced between Hull and Manchester Airport via Doncaster, Sheffield, Holmfirth and Manchester. It complements the existing 448 and 451 services that operate between Sheffield and Manchester via Stocksbridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

05/03/17 

With effect from 5th March, services 525, 538, 642 and 667 have been re-introduced, operated by the TransMOTION group.

08/01/17 

From 8th January 2017, there have been a number of changes to services operated by the TransMOTION group as follows: 

602. Leeds-London                             Extended to Stratford and now calling at Meadowhall. Jointly operated with London & Country.
632. Middlesbrough-Cardiff                Frequency reduced to one journey.   
645. Harrogate-Birmingham.              Extended to/from Bristol, one journey daily.
647. Harrogate-Birmingham.              New service, 3 journeys daily.             
648. Middlesbrough-Birmingham.      Birmingham-Cardiff section curtailed.

635. Perth-Birmingham.                     New twice daily service. Combines with 652 between Edinburgh and Birmingham.

641. Birmingham-Glasgow.                New daily service via EMA,York,Carlisle, Dumfries and Ayr.

652. Edinburgh-Birmingham.              Previous route extended from Middlesbrough. Frequency reduced to one journey/day.
The following TransMOTION operated services are withdrawn as of the same date:

 633. Perth ? London, 634. Perth-London, 643. Hartlepool-Leeds, 646.  Darlington -Manchester Airport, 656. Cleethorpes-Manchester       

 Following a survey of other operators, the following services are no longer operational also as of 8th January 2017:

 400 Weston-super-Mare ?London, 403 Birmingham-Southsea,405 Taunton-London,416 Chester ? Carlisle, 432 Bradford - Weston-super-Mare (partial replacement by new 632), 439 Westward Ho! ? Grimsby, 449 Birkenhead ? Nottingham, 486 Southampton ? Haverfordwest, 490 Great Yarmouth/Norwich ? London, 497 Great Yarmouth ? London, 504 Southsea/Portsmouth - Newcastle on Tyne, 505 Worthing/Brighton - Newcastle on Tyne, 525 Newcastle on Tyne ? London, 538 Weymouth ? Hull, 548 Swansea - Edinburgh/Aberdeen (partially replaced by new 635 and 652), 585 Glasgow Airport ? Southsea, 586 Edinburgh/Glasgow - Manchester Airport, 603 London ? Chichester, 642 Newcastle on Tyne ? Middlesbrough, 654 Cleethorpes ? London, 655 Doncaster ? Southampton, 665 Isle of Wight ? Canterbury, 667 Isle of Wight ? Leeds, 717 Liverpool - Leeds/Bradford Airport, 725 Oldham/Manchester ? Brighton, 777 Edinburgh - Glasgow Airport.

 From the same date, service 453 reverts back to it?s original Liverpool-York routing, and together with service 577 Birkenhead-London is now operated by South Ribble Coaches.

30/10/16

Changes from 30/10/16 amended services between the West Country and London, namely the 550, 554 and 555. A new service 556 also commenced from this date linking Redruth and London. Existing services 553 and 649 also dovetail into this timetable.

 

The changes to the aforementioned services mean changes to the following timetables where they provided connections or supplementary journeys ? 425 (retimed to maintain connections), 655 and 657.

 

From the same date, connections on the unrelated service 453 timetable were also amended.

 

03/09/16

Service revisions effective from the above date:

588         New service between Harrogate, Leeds and Manchester Airport.
788         York - Manchester Airport withdrawn and partially replaced by the new 588.
789         Harrogate- Manchester Airport withdrawn and partially replaced by the new 588.

01/01/16:

New/revised services effective from the New Year are as follows:

514         New route variant of the 515 (Poole-London) serving Lymington, Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst. Single journey each way daily (Town & Country)
515         Revisions to times.
550/555 (Penzance - London) amended departure times.
551/552 (Ilfracombe/Bude - London) amended departure times.
649         (Penzance - Middlesbrough) - revised route (previously to Inverness) and departure times.
650         (Plymouth - Inverness) - amended route and departure times. Jointly operated by Network North East & Southern General.
756/757 (Poole/Bournemouth -Gatwick/ Heathrow) - amended departure times.

Service 452 (Ilfracombe - Bournemouth) is withdrawn from the same date.

The aforementioned changes also mean changes to the following timetables where they provided connections or supplementary journeys - 432, 538,543-6, 548 and 586.

20/09/15

As from the above date, services 631, 647 and 648 have been recast into two services. The 747 operates York-Doncaster-Sheffield-East Midlands Airport-Birmingham-Heathrow-Gatwick 3 hourly, whilst the revised 748 operates Hartlepool-Teesside-Darlington-York-East Midlands Airport-Birmingham-Heathrow-Gatwick three times daily.

 

Also amended is service 602 (Leeds-London) which replaces now withdrawn service 600.

 

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