IT IS possible to travel from Ambleside to Ulverston by bus, but this is not made easy when the 505 bus between Ambleside and Coniston does not connect with the X12 bus between Coniston and Ulverston, run by Blueworks Taxis, whose services are not shown in the widely available Stagecoach timetables (a separate company).

The Stagecoach timetable shows that on Monday to Friday during school holidays, and on Saturdays throughout, a bus leaves Ambleside at 8.50am and arrives in Coniston at 9.26am.

What passengers may not be aware of is that at 9.25am the X12 leaves from the same point in Coniston for Ulverston.

By chance the afternoon return journey is quite convenient, with the 15.50 X12 from Ulverston connecting with the 16.40 505 Stagecoach bus from Coniston to Ambleside.

It does seem pretty obvious that it would be of benefit to visitors to Ambleside during the holiday seasons if they had wider opportunities for day excursions, and minor tweaking of service times should make a connection possible.

When this was pointed out to the county council, and thence to the companies concerned, the manager of Blueworks said he would instruct drivers to wait a minute or two for the arrival of the bus from Coniston, but this would only be of value if passengers were aware of this.

Paul Truelove

Grasmere