Stagecoach North Scotland has launched two new coach services that have rekindled different sorts of memories.
The first began on May 22; numbered 30 and called the Aviemore Adventurer. It is operated by a striking and tastefully liveried Plaxton Elite-i inter-deck coach equipped with lockers to accommodate skis, bicycles and other outdoor equipment.
It provides an improved service between Aviemore railway station and Cairngorm Mountain car park at the ski grounds, via Coylumbridge and Glenmore. The first departure from Aviemore leaves at 05:45 and terminates at Glenmore, but an hourly service is offered between 07:00 and 18:00 on Mondays to Saturdays, with seven return trips offered on Sundays.
This evokes memories of the original ski buses introduced by Highland Omnibuses in 1967, when six former Ribble all-Leyland Royal Tigers were purchased and rebuilt by Alexander at its Falkirk coachworks with reduced seating, rear bulkhead moved forward and a box space created for 24 sets of skis in a Parisian-style open rear platform. Service 30 and the coach used on it present a remarkable contrast.
New express service M96 between Aberdeen and Inverness started on June 12 and operates two-hourly each day, i…
