Dereham and Norwich Obs

It has been quite a busy day. I needed to go to Dereham for a couple of things, one of which was to meet the legend that is Badger, and have a damn good chinwag. This was achieved, but beforehand as it was market day I managed to get some pics of some of the lesser known routes operated by Konectbus out of Dereham.

First up is the 21 which runs from Dereham to Fakenham. The 1230 departure seen here is the second of two journeys a day to do the complete route.

Konect 303 Optare Versa AU09 DKN at Dereham on the 21 to Fakenham

Across the other side of the road was the 17. This service runs on Tuesdays and Fridays only from Bradenham via Hingham and the return journey is entirely request only, dropping off where required.

Ex Anglian 950, still minus any Konect branding on the 17 to Bradenham

Finally the 12 is a Dereham town circular taking a whole 21 mins and operating 5 journeys hourly from mid morning to early afternoon.

Konect 900 Solo VX51 RHZ on the Dereham Town Circular

Those who follow me on Twitter will know I often retweet tweets posted by Bus Badger. I finally met the legend today and have a feeling it could become quite a frequent occurance. He reminds me of a younger me, the poor bloke. And so a couple of hours later I was in Castle Meadow seeing what was going on in Norwich and as it turns out quite a bit. Most notably were two Norwich Network Presidents on the 25/26 Blue Line normally operated by Geminis. Ex Yarmouth B7tl 32202 and Trident 33239 were the vehicles involved.

Unbranded ex Yarmouth 32202 on the 25 to UEA

So naturally that meant that somewhere a Blue Line Gemini was on foreign soil and so it proved when 36175 turned up on the Purple Line. Can't wait till next year when this sort of thing will be far more noticeable.

36175 Blue Line branded Gemini on the Purple Line 36 to Long Stratton

Also around was the rather dubiously repainted Trident President 33154 which looks as though someone has put a retro tint on the camera. Black branding, black fleet numbers, and half the trim missing. Is this the new generic livery for Norwich? Not sure I'm particularly keen on it if it is.

Repainted President 33154 in Castle Meadow

Another spot in Castle Meadow was the last Volvo B7rle at Norwich. 69006 is soon to depart to Ipswich so this will probably be the last chance I get to picture her before she gets her new paint job and stamping ground.

69006 Volvo B7rle AU05 DMF at Castle Meadow

Finally there were a good selection of coaches bringing people from far and wide to Norwich. I think the pick was this rather good looking Volvo VDL Jonckheere of Lawton's of Boston, proudly wearing its 2013 UK Coach Rally Commendation.

Lawton's of Boston Volvo VDL Jonckheere L10 EXE