The shortest route involved three buses and a journey time of approximately three hours. I was initially advised to board Stagecoach Midlands Service 2 from outside Kettering Hospital on Rothwell Road, travelling westward to Corby Town Centre. There, I would transfer to Stagecoach Midlands’ ‘Gold’ Service X4 to Peterborough, before making my final connection at Queensgate Bus Station onto a Delaine Buses service back to Middle England.
Although I had understood the planned itinerary, I recalled that the X4 served Kettering directly. Upon consulting Stagecoach’s timetable, I confirmed this and opted to forego the Service 2 leg, instead walking further into Kettering Town Centre to board the X4 directly to Peterborough. This adjustment saved me the £2.50 fare for Service 2, as I paid the standard £3 fare from Kettering through to Peterborough rather than from Corby.
Outbound Journey: Thursday 23 January 2025
On the morning in question, after leaving my car with Midland Automatic Transmissions Ltd, I walked into town. Google Maps estimated a 20-minute journey to the Kettering Town Centre bus interchange, which appeared to be the repurposed former Cattle Market. En route, I passed beneath the Midland Main Line and spotted a pair of Class 222s heading south. Despite a lack of signposts for the town centre, I had a clear sense of direction, crossing two major roads before reaching what Australians still refer to as the CBD. Not since A-Level Geography had I used the term ‘Central Business District’ for a town centre, particularly as, post-Covid, there has been precious little business activity here.
The final stretch was uphill, revealing the Cattle Market Bus Interchange—a well-arranged island layout with bus stops on all sides. I arrived earlier than anticipated and was able to board an X4 service an hour ahead of my planned departure. Two minutes before its scheduled 1035 departure, a Stagecoach Gold-liveried ADL Enviro400MMC, fleet number 11133 (SK68 LVE), arrived, bound for Corby.
Due to Domestic Driving Hours’ Legislation, the X4—like many longer routes—is registered in two distinct sections: Northampton–Corby and Corby–Peterborough. Operators generally indicate a necessary connection in their timetables, even if the service itself is uninterrupted. Locally, Stagecoach and Hornsbys use the phrase “Due to Department for Transport guidance…”—a convenient catch-all explanation.
The X4 operates at roughly 30-minute intervals between Northampton, Kettering and Corby. Generally, alternate services extend to Peterborough via Oundle. The weekday timetable is somewhat irregular, particularly for the Peterborough extensions, likely reflecting driver schedules, realistic running times and adjustments to mitigate persistent delays. Since the advent of live punctuality monitoring, operators have had to refine schedules to improve reliability.
Having paid my £3 fare, we departed promptly, heading north towards Corby. Upon arrival at George Street in the town centre, most passengers disembarked and a fresh group boarded. The route then took a diversion to serve Corby’s relatively new railway station, passing the local Stagecoach depot, home to a fleet of Yutong E12 electric saloons for Nuneaton depot.
The first deviation off the main road was to serve Weldon, after which we continued along the A427 to Oundle. On the approach, I noticed what appeared to be a secure Stagecoach parking facility under construction, complete with 15-foot wooden fences and barbed wire, seemingly housing double-deckers.
Arriving in Oundle ahead of schedule, several passengers—including the driver—took a quick break. From here, we ‘ran fast’ towards Peterborough, though not as swiftly as in previous years, when the route bypassed intermediate villages after Warmington Services. Nowadays, the service includes stops at Elton, Alwalton and all along the 'old road' (Oundle Road) before entering Peterborough City Centre, crossing the River Nene and serving the railway station en route to Queensgate Bus Station.
We arrived ahead of schedule, allowing a leisurely eleven-minute connection onto Delaine’s 1230 Service 101—though not quite leisurely enough for a complimentary Waitrose latte! 150 (AD61 DBL) arrived punctually, having just returned from a short-run 102 from The Deepings. The driver commented that there were roadworks on Bourges Boulevard, which were likely to delay us. Indeed, the first roundabout was being attended to by a squadron of council maintenance workers, chopping back the undergrowth, which had narrowed the carriageway to one lane, which added a good 6 minutes to our running.
The Volvo B9TL chassis was a favourite of Delaine for a number of years (with 150 being the first one purchased that was bodied by Wrightbus, entering service on 1 September 2011). By 2015, Volvo had altered its offering for the standard workhorse double-decker to the B5TL, and while Delaine acquired a number of these chassis, they were not as happy with their performance as their predecessors'. Indeed, it may even be why a decision was taken to renew the company's single-decker fleet next and ultimately adopt ADL's Enviro400MMC for their double-decker requirements from October 2023.
Like a number of smaller independents in Lincolnshire, Delaine Buses is not taking part in the government's Fare Cap Scheme, and therefore my single to Bourne was £3.70.
Despite the delay in Peterborough, I walked through my front door at 1315, just 2 hours and 40 minutes after boarding the X4 in Kettering.
Return Journey: Wednesday 29 January 2025
My return journey was less expedient. Having dropped my children at school, I made my way to Bourne Town Centre to board the 0902 Delaine 101. I was briefly concerned that the bus was running late, as tracking data showed only a northbound service at 0857. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded when Volvo B9TL/Wrightbus 152 (AD12 DBL) (the second such example purchased) arrived punctually. Paying the £3.70 single fare (Delaine does not offer period returns), we set off down the A15 via Market Deeping, Northborough and Glinton before continuing non-stop along the Werrington Parkway. This pre-0930 journey means these last few locations were passed with no-one boarding as Peterborough City Council—unlike Lincolnshire County Council—restricts use of English National Concessionary Travel Scheme passes before 0930 on weekdays.
Upon arrival in Peterborough, I seized the opportunity to claim my free Waitrose coffee—an amenity recently extended to all 'myWaitrose' members without requiring a purchase.
Returning to Queensgate, I noted a change that was the result of the partial closure of the Bus Station, which took place two years ago to facilitate the conversion of the former John Lewis store into an IMAX cinema. As a result, Service X4 now shares Bay 9 with Delaine’s Service 201 to Bourne via Stamford, although their departures do not appear to conflict. (Previously the X4 used Bay 15.) However, as previously mentioned, the weekday timetable for the X4 is not based on an exact hourly pattern. The departures so far today had been at 0717, 0802, 0832, 0902, with my journey scheduled for 1017, which was only booked to travel as far as Corby. Subsequent departures became slightly more regular at 1132, 1232, 1332, followed by 1457, 1605, 1652 (terminating at Corby). Later services included departures at 1752, 1902, 1942 (terminating at Kettering), 2032 (Kettering), 2112, & 2337 (also terminating at Kettering).
The bus was 11127 (SK68 LUY), a similar ADL Enviro400MMC to the one I had taken on my outward trip. The "gold" specification for this service includes high-backed leather seating, although in both cases, the interiors were beginning to show signs of wear. This particular vehicle also had visible specks of white paint on some seats which, while seemingly dry, looked rather unsightly. It was unclear how frequently Stagecoach carried out deep cleaning, but it was evident that 11127 was overdue for one.
We departed Bay 9 punctually and made our way via Oundle Road, picking up a number of passengers making short local trips to the Thorpe Wood Business Park. After a brief scheduled pause at Elton, we continued along the A605 towards Oundle, where I spotted what appeared to be a vintage bus stop flag and pole in the Market Place. From there, we proceeded cross-country to Weldon before ultimately arriving at George Street in Corby Town Centre. Although all journeys on this route are shown as terminating at Corby, this particular service appeared to finish its run here, with a fresh journey scheduled to commence from the opposite stop at 1149.
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| Congestion at George Street, Corby. |
Google Maps had calculated that, even if the next X4 departure was operated by the same bus, the required 20-minute connection time, combined with the additional walk from the Cattle Market Bus Interchange to the industrial area where my car was located, would take longer than an alternative route. Instead, it suggested taking Service 2 at 1146 from Corby to Kettering, a journey that would cost £2.50.
Opting for this alternative, I boarded vehicle 19091 (MX56 PHA), a former Manchester-allocated ADL Trident/ADL Enviro400. However, just before it was able to pull up alongside Stop A, the very same X4 I had previously disembarked arrived and commenced its next run to Northampton. Given that this was scheduled to depart three minutes after my bus, I remained vigilant, half expecting the driver of the number 2 to take an impromptu decision and bypass the stop altogether. Thankfully, he adhered to the timetable, though he did pull up at an earlier stop, requiring me and two other passengers to cross a side road to board.
Choosing to sit at the front of the upper deck for the journey to Rothwell Road, I observed the route’s deviations from the main road. The service makes two such diversions, first to serve the expansive Oakley Vale estate and then to pass through Great Oakley. Thereafter, it follows a direct, non-stop route along the A6003 and A43 before entering Kettering from the west. Although Google Maps had suggested disembarking at the first stop on Rothwell Road, I suspected the second stop, opposite the hospital, would be more convenient due to a nearby pedestrian cut-through. My instincts proved correct, and I left the bus at 1212.
The entire journey from my departure in Bourne to my arrival in Kettering had taken three hours and ten minutes—half-an-hour longer than my outward trip and costing £2.50 more—but given the available options at that particular time of day, it was the most efficient choice.
It is still possible to travel through rural England during the off-peak on double-decker buses. Delaine's faired a little older, being fourteen and thirteen years' old respectively, but modern double-decker comfort has plateaued over the last few years and sat upstairs in the middle, there's precious little difference in ride quality between any vehicle really. Delaine's buses had traditional bus seats, which in my opinion for a 40-minute bus journey, should be more substantial. But this bus ride necessary was very enjoyable and set me back a total £15.90, which is absolutely nothing compared to what my car's repair cost!
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