A transport history request and appeal to clarify a confused memory, after being away from the town for many years, Concerns the Crosville Bus services, I have a vague recollection of getting one of their buses, around about 1969/71 to Loggerheads. Could that be so? Crosville ran a service there? Or, in the words of DCI Sam Tyler, "Am I mad, in a dream...?" Any help much appreciated.

yes they did it ran from Woodside in Birkenhead

Yes indeed. It was the F10. It ran from Woodside to Loggerheads or Llanferres.

Loggerheads Tea Gardens was owned by Crosville Motor Services for years.

You could also get a bus to Mold (can't recall the number) then the B35 to Loggerheads as well if you timed it right.

ahhhh thanks for the confirmation

Wonderful Seem to recall it was a cheap way to have an adventure out there is the wilds of Wales, great fun and always a reliable service from Crosville, the more gentrified cousims of MPTE

yes there were various routes from Wirral to destinations in Wales.
The the F series included without checking to be accurate, F8 MOLD, F10 PANTYMWN, F11 LOGGERHEADS. there were also express services to Rhyl, Llandudno, Pwhelli and Barmouth to mention just a couple.

i like this story,, its nice that we can all help eachother out,enjoy ure journey

Yes cindi, folk on here will help other if at all possible. Great to exchange views, opinions, memories etc. All good sfuff!!

I agree Erainn, the Crosville buses (and staff) gave the impression of being a couple of notches up from the corporation buses - good as they were. A personal opinion is that things started to go downhill when MPTE took over. The civic pride that Wallasey, Birkenhead and Liverpool had went down the drain and standards fell.

The Crosville's even had a different smell to them ! The side gangway on the low bridge d/deckers. Great for smashing you head on in the lower saloon if you didn't read the notice on the seat in front.... "Please mind your head when leaving seat" etc.

Our nanny state wouldn't allow that now of course !

I remember to catch the Crosville bus in Wallasey,the bus stop was outside The Queen's pub in Liscard.I don't remember it's destination though.

In the (very) early 60s I went to Carlett Park college at Eastham. My route there was train from Wallasey Village to Hamilton Square and then the F10 Crosville to the college. Long time ago ie 1961/2
There were a number of class colleagues also used the F10 and there were odd days when we just said "sod it" and went to Loggerheads rather than college

I remember also that at one time there was a nerd on the bus who had acquired a tranny radio and used to play it loud during the journey. It was not appreciated. Being a bit into electronics at the time I built a gizmo (in a tabacco tin) that emitted a signal which would wipe out all his radio signals (and I guess the same for other folk whose houses we passed - although the range would have been limited). It worked - the radio just emitted a nasty squealing sound. I guess he just though it was a fault with his radio although surely he must have noticed it worked ok anywhere else.

Snod

The Crosvilles used to do the routes that fell outside of Birkenhead boundaries, like Hoylake and West Kirby as well as going the other way towards Chester. Correct about the changeover from B'head to MPTE. I was at Laird Street as a driver and remember talking to a boss who said that whereas he was "the boss" under Birkenhead Corporation he was doing the same job under MPTE but had 5 people above him in the hierarchy. To me that meant 5 more big wages on top of the usual, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better and that was a good example of it. Enjoyed the job though until I fell foul of the authorities, bummer!

hey Snod. I was at Carlett Park college same time as you. Good memories of that place.

Their coach trips were good too!

Friend Bill at Stratford on Avon, 1952.

The 'normal' Crosville bus from Liscard was the F34, which went down to Leasowe along Reeds Lane,(where I used to get it on a Saturday to go to my nan's house) thru Moreton and Hoylake to West Kirby .... then as a modern day 437, thru Frankby, Greasby and Upton to Park Station, Crosville buses were not allowed further into Birkenhead via Park Rd, until all the services were recast in April 1979.

I used to like Crosville and still do, my Grandad worked there and I did in later life, so I was very proud especially my mum was as I stopped to pick her up in a Crossy double deck bus when I was 20 .. the youngest driver they had!

Just found the answers to the F services

F8 Birkenhead - Hollywell
F9 Birkenhead - Ruthin - Denbigh
F10 Birkenhead - Loggerheads
F11 Birkenhead - Pantymwyn

Definitely, the livery, leather seats too (or is that a confused recollection?) the fact they could be waived down at certain places which were not 'buzzies' The biggest attraction for me was that they offered a cheap passport to what were then exotic locations, adventures in the sticks.

I remember having a letter which was a permission to visit all the garages to collect numbers. The garage on the New Chester Rd. between Rock Ferry & New Ferry was a big one. The letter also gave access to the main depot & headquarters at Crane Wharf, Chester. I used to take the train from Woodside to Chester & walk round the walls to Crane Wharf, then back to a sit-down chippy in Frodsham St. Did the whole day for less than half a crown.

Precisely Just seeing beyond the town was major travel in those days. I recall that Bus Depot on the New Chester Road, was it not a place where some services would stop for a bit (maybe driver change?) before onward travel over that very stinky, then bright green/orange stream near Lever Brothers

The "Crosies" to Pantymwyn and Loggerheads used to stop for a while at Buckley, outside the swimming baths, I think. I do believe that the "scouse" accents around Buckley stem from these stops. The genes transferred, either miraculously or by more conventional means, during, or as a result of, these stops.

Talk about a 'quickie', ding ding

Ah Ha !
You know Townfield Lane, now Loggerheads !!
I used to go quite often and used walk up Moel Fammu - Did you do that ?
North Wales is one of my favouite places.

Have a dim recollection of climbing Moel Fammau yes, not sure if was a school event or with friends, but sure, definitely remember playing around the Flat Lanes and also taking the bus out to Loggerheads.

We used to go to Loggerheads in my Granddad's funeral cars.
He had Zepha cars which had a bench seat in the front.No H&S in those days so as many of us as poss' would pile in.
I can remember a cafe and swings in the garden area.We would also go to Moel Famua and feed the sheep 'spangles'.
Didn't seem to do us or sheep any harm.

OMG 'Spangles'!!!!

Did anybody else go on holiday for a week with Charles Thomson Mission??

We had a speaker in school from 'The Mission'they do really good work there.

Out of curiosity was that Charles Thompson Mission near Hamilton Secondary School in Hemingford Street?

It is still there

I did however have a bad experience with a Spangle in Central Park.
I put one in my mouth then took a breath to cough and it got jammed at the back of my throat.
Bit of a H-thrust and it flew out!

Don't tell me you have never heard the old Birkenhead saying(with a strong Birkenhead accent)
Will you dangle for a spangle,
Will you risk it for a biscuit.

Aaah the idiocy of youth.

Amazing to hear that, given the wholesale demolition that's taken place since I left.

...am I the only one who thinks that spangle story sounds a bit dodgy?!

I mean, oo er missus!! Sounds like a script from 'Carry On'.

Can anyone recall what the Crosville office that used to be attached to the Woodside Hotel was used for
When did it disappear?

Do you mean my Spangle story geekus?
It is true,why would I make it up? I was only about 7yrs old and really did almost choke.

Great picture

Not from memory, but did Crosville also run tours/holidays out to Wales and the Lakes, that being so I'm wondering if the function of that office was a sales outlet?

I think they did. So did Ribble. They also ran Express Coaches to London. Saved you having to go to the coach station in Liverpool (Behind the Adelphi)

Just tapped into this one. Yes Erainn, you are quite right. You could book coach tours etc. in advance from there. I seem to remember they also had a Setright ticket machine on the counter. Presumably to sell return tickets "on the day".

Quite forgotten about that little place.

It was possibly a crew booking on/off office as well ? The corpy one was in the corner between the Ferry canopy and the Avoca Caff. The Inspectors (Chalky etc.) used to lurk there as well !

I used to go to the corpy office to buy a stapled block of 100 x 1 1/2d Scholar's Tickets. Gave a ticket to the conductor in exchange for a Setright ticket. I think it was my parent's idea. No cash could be saved to spend on sweets etc. Crafty move on their part (?).

Spot-on, did not the coach to London leave from opposite that office, near that wall behind which was the line into Woodside Railway station?

Yup !!

Phew! Have a hazy memory of getting a coach from there sometime early 70s, the big adventure going the Smoke.

This is very hazy but did the London coach go via Chester, Whitchurch and stop at Prees Heath for 20 mins then on via the A41 to B'ham

Link to Crosville history and others

Was pondering something similar

I hadn't realised that this was the position of the enquiry office, I only remember the one further down in Woodside nearer to the ferry. Great pic, there was also an office at Park Station when they used to terminate there.

Must have a look at this site now, take a 'modern' picture. Well it is a car park now.

There was also a crosville office at heswall bus station. I used to work in a travel agent in the 70's and the crosville buses used to travel past it. We used to order railway tickets from the crosville office, they would ring us when the tickets were put on a particular bus and one of us would go out onto the main road and flag the bus down to get the tickets off the driver!Happy Days!!!

Yeah Crosville did do tours etc, I remember as a young child going to blackpool for the day in the eraly 90s, with my nan on a silver crosville bus.