What a blast Bus Pass Trip 10 proved to be! Brilliant weather, beautiful scenery, blossom blooming and buses on time! This was a 7-day journey through the âroseâ counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire (except for a brief foray into Mersyside) and I did my utmost to make peace, not war, even when gently chastising the occasional litter lout. My itinerary included visiting Rochdale, Bolton, Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Skipton, Keighley, Bradford, Ilkley, Otley, Harrogate, Ripon, Boroughbridge, Colne, Chorley, Southport, Ormskirk, Wigan and Manchester, before returning home to Oldham.
I travelled by 28 buses, 2 trams, 1 train and 3 cars, stayed in 4 Hanover Housing Guest Rooms, spent 2 nights with Janet & Co. in Boroughbridge, dined out with Jo & Frank at the Taste of Greece cafĂ© in Bolton, visited 15 Wetherspoons pubs and did family history research in 5 Local Studies Libraries, namely Accrington, Keighley, Colne, Blackburn and Southport. My accommodation totalled ÂŁ49.50 and, as usual, my transport cost was Zilch. However, as yet, I havenât dared to tally my Wetherspoons bill!
Some wonderful people I met along the way have been both encouraging and inspirational: Dr Morag Rose, a âLoitererâ (Google it!) in Manchester who was excited to take a photograph of my tatty  #1PieceOfRubbish flag (and she posted it on Twitter!);  Sam, in Southport, who promised that he and his âdroneâ would locate and lift rubbish (and he has kept his word!); a lovely lady librarian in Blackburn Library who sought out lots of information about the Theatre Royal where my great-grandmother had performed in 1882;  and Sue, the Estate Manager at Rydal Court, Hanover Housing, Bolton who was so interested in hearing about my travels that she was very late going home for tea!
As ever, I have received numerous messages of support, âlikesâ, âsharesâ, âretweetsâ and ârepostsâ, on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, to help me along my way â and, as ever, I tender my apologies for not replying to you all in person. I hope Iâve made a minute difference to the world, I hope Iâve encouraged a few new recruits and I hope Iâve left only a shadow in my wake. Iâve certainly talked a âload of rubbishâ â but then I always do!!!!
Many thanks to you all for your abiding love and care for the environment and Iâll leave you with this quotation from âMatildaâ, written on the wall in the Southport Atkinson Library:
âSomewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world.â
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