Weymouth, United Kingdom Travel Blogs

A Rude Awakening
Mar 17, 2008

I was woken up last Thursday at 1pm (I had been on nights) by a phone call. In my groggy state, I picked up the word 'headmaster' and 'school'. After shaking my head and getting him to repeat the message, I found I was being offered 100 rugby shirts ...

A Break in Proceedings
Jul 18, 2008

I'm having a break. I've earned it, I've been working hard. I'm off to Belize for a couple of weeks, so don't expect any updates on here until I'm back. On Tuesday Ian Tibble got behind the wheel for the first time. He was disappointingly good and only ...

The bus leaves Weymouth
Oct 4, 2008

Blog Update from Steven Blackmore So, after all of those months of planning, preparation, stress and sheer hard work, here we were on the leaving day. With the evening leaving do now apparently all sorted out, it was down to us to cock up the plans, ...

Overheating
Sep 16, 2008 (4 photos)

We now have less than 3 weeks to go. 16 or 17 days to be precise. That isn't precise is it. There is now a possible discrepancy on our leaving date as Jim and Adam using Google Earth calculated that we would arrive in Belgrade at about 8am Monday ...

The Pinnacle of my Rugby Career
Apr 30, 2008

... Races on June 29th is when it is planned for. Hopefully we will get a minibus full from Devon and perhaps two from Weymouth plus the bus itself. We'll be serving canapes on board and an assortment of  free drinks throughout the day. Entry ...

Autumn Gold
Mar 14, 2008

... at the mention of the name, "This engine has been reconditioned by Mr Gardner himself.....". Dave invited me to enter the Weymouth Bus Rally in June. I told him I would think about it. They handed me a cheque for the seats. I was hoping for £20, ...

Seaman Training Days
May 14, 2007

... ship itself while it was ashore. It was mainly simply some retailling practices. So the day went fast. ---------------- May 18 Back in Weymouth by train quite bloody early, so basically I simply sleep on the train a bit while it goes and ends up in ...

Jolly Hockey Sticks
Mar 21, 2008 (1 photos)

Do they play hockey in Ethiopia ? Apparently they play a game called 'Genna', which is similar to hockey and they have been playing a form of hockey in Ethiopia since 1000 BC. So now you know.... I've just taken delivery of a few boxes and bags of kit ...

The Topless Beauty
Sep 26, 2008 (5 photos)

... , 8pm Thursday 2nd October. At 10pm, we pile on the bus and leave. The good news is that Eileen and Kev are joining us in Weymouth before we leave, so they'll do the full trip, rather than being collected in London. I've lined up a skittles night at The ...

A Change of Direction
Nov 9, 2007

Well, haven't been on here for a while. I said I was busy. Much progress since the last entry. It seems that the title of this blog is now a bit misleading. We are no longer going to Ulan Bataar and it is no longer going to happen in May. we are now ...

Blogging... my first time!
Jul 24, 2007

... track across the sky from the warm embrace of a genuine Kiwi fire bath!    Our map pin, then, starts in Weymouth, and I figure the pin just keeps on moving around with us!  I hope me and Jez can make this an interesting read... we' ...

All Signed Up
Jun 18, 2008 (3 photos)

... drove up the Esplanade. He didn't look Ethiopian, more Moroccan perhaps. I'm not sure why he was wandering in the traffic on Weymouth Seafront, trying to flag the bus down. We weren't taking fare paying passengers anyway and if we were, he had a long ...

The Naked Bus
May 22, 2008 (5 photos)

Friday 16th May. In the Police Bar dressed as an Arab, Jim with his suitcase of t-shirts looking like a bedouin Rodney Trotter. Having spent hours at work harrassing my colleagues and anyone else I could think of to buy a passport, here we were, and I was ...

The Early Plans and Research
Aug 29, 2007

The idea of finding a double decker bus came about a few months ago. My stepfather Jim Howard had sent me a link about the Mongol Rally as I had previously mentioned my desire to drive to somewhere stupid. Banjul, Timbuktu and Khartoum had been ...

Turning the Screw
Mar 4, 2008 (3 photos)

Not strictly true, the title of the entry. There was no way that most of them would turn. Downstairs the screws wouldn't shift, so Jo and I had to resort to levering the feet off and thus ripping the screws out of the wooden floor. The ...

Financial Wizardry
Nov 13, 2007

I came down this morning to find a letter. A bill to be exact. A request for a total of £1997.50 from a bus company. they have, as requested, valued the bus at £1000 and the two spare wheels at £700. this should help further down the line when we apply ...

End of the Diving!
Aug 9, 2009

Well it's been a few weeks since I posted my first blog, so thought I'd better put an update up. I've now finished my Diving course. Going from non-diver, I am now a Divemaster. Complete with Rescue Diver, Dry Suit Spec, Enriched Air Spec, Drift Spec, ...

Upper Class Pikeys
Jun 22, 2008 (5 photos)

Friday and the weather forecast was not good. On this occasion they were right, it rained. The barbeque down the Police Bar was looking to be in doubt, there was talk of cooking and eating inside. Luckily someone had a large red windbreak. We parked the ...

The start of the adventure
Jul 13, 2009 (2 photos)

Well this is my first ever blog, so bear with me! Having got my travel plans sorted with regards to flights and insurance, it's time to start thinking about what to do whilst I'm away. I'm currently working through a rough itinerary, but I'll save that ...

Oil Slick !
Jun 1, 2008

... found out it was losing lots of oil underneath. Oh hell ! I guess it is better to break down in the car park of Weymouth Police Station than in the Sudanese desert. A walk to the workshops provided us with tools, torches and advice, then Jim and I got ...

Long Term Parking
Nov 9, 2007

Of course there are issues to resolve apart from buying this bus. How to get it back to Weymouth for a start and where to park it for the next 11 months. Don't think it would fit on our drive and I really couldn't see the neighbours being impressed either. ...

Weymouth ferry catching
Mar 30, 2007

... . So we went to Tesco to get some food for tonight and tomorrow on the ferry and the Island. Then had a night walk through Weymouth and its harbour, spotting where we need to be in the early morning for check-in before ending up in a pub for a drink ...

R U Serious ?
Sep 11, 2007

Work doesn't half get in the way of planning things. I've been flat out at work over both of the last two weekends and working overtime during the weeks, so little progress made recently. A colleague was chatting about the idea and really fancied coming ...

Burning Rubber
May 23, 2008

It wouldn't start. I'd charged the batteries overnight but it still wouldn't fire up. Bill had come up to give us a lesson in driving but we had a bus that wouldn't start. Bizarrely after 5 minutes of trying, swearing and fiddling, Bill discovered that ...

No Stopping Us Now....
Sep 21, 2008

...apparently. Not with the brakes we have. We've got a few mechanical problems it seems and the brakes are one of them. It's going to cost and I hope we have time to sort them all out and raise enough cash to cover the expense. Do you have any idea how ...

Waiting for the bus
Nov 19, 2007

... had previously sounded out the directors of a local coach company, via their neice, who were willing to tow a bus from Portland to Weymouth, a distance of 7 miles or so. This was a bit more to ask. I managed to contact Jo on Saturday. She said she ...

Back behind the wheel
Aug 6, 2008

... essay sellotaped in it's place. The mad rantings of two gibbering, bus-crazed lunatics who had apparently spent a week in Weymouth without sleep, doing and talking nothing but bus issues. The new stereo was bullet point 976. The following day, ...

The Final Countdown
Sep 30, 2008

Christ ! 2 days until we leave. Barely 48 hours and I know I'm going to be rushing around like a headless chicken. I've got a work shift to fit in tomorrow, out for a meal with Jo in the evening, then on Thursday I'm collecting some signs from Portland, ...

Final Call....
Oct 2, 2008 (3 photos)

So, the big day has dawned. Not strictly true, I've been up for 2 hours and it's still pitch black outside, but I'm sure it will dawn soon. I've been burning off CD's since I got up to come with us on the trip and sending off information to Meridian TV. ...

The Painted Lady
Jun 4, 2008 (3 photos)

Sunday 1st June and the day was dragging. I was at work, clock watching until 3pm. The weather was good, the forecast was unpredictable and in the end, thankfully, wrong. It was glorious sunshine all afternoon and evening. Today the bus was about to ...