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For a small village with a modest bus service, catching a bus in Cockerham is not always as easy as you might think. The regulars have no problem of course, they’ve been using buses for years and know where they go – and where they stop – but what about newcomers, visitors and those non-bus using residents that might be tempted to give the bus service a try?

Cockerham has two bus services – the 88 and 89. Both run from Lancaster to Knott End-on-sea with the 89 taking the direct route along the A588 and Pilling and the 88 going the longer way round on the B5272 to serve Garstang; the two routes diverging just south of the Manor Inn in the centre of the village as shown on the map below.

Passengers travelling south from Cockerham have no problems. The stop outside the Manor Inn is served by both routes and is equipped with a display case giving departure times for both the 88 and 89.

Going north isn’t so easy. Buses on service 89 call at a stop on the A588 just south of its junction with the B5272 shown below.

The stop is adapted for level-access boarding and equipped with a display case and “bus stop clearway” markings, looking for all the world as if it is the main stop for northbound buses. However,assuming a would-be passenger checks the display case he or she would find that it contains only the times of service 89 and has nothing to inform passengers about where the other half of the village’s buses to Lancaster might stop.

In fact, service 88 buses call at the stop on the B5272, also called “Manor Inn” but just out of sight of the A588 stop.

This stop has neither level-access boarding, nor a display case, but just to add to the confusion it has a sticker advising that it is for “School services only” – a hangover from before service 88 was introduced in August 2023.

The Third Stop

What passengers for Lancaster need to know is that there is a third stop – back on the A588 but just out of sight around the bend – and called “Rectory Gardens”

This is now the timing point for northbound buses, but despite this there is no display case to show the departure times. Neither does it have level-access boarding. The lack of a display here and at the B5272 Manor Inn stop means that nowhere in the village is there a display of northbound service 88 bus times.

There is no corresponding southbound stop at Rectory Gardens. At the time the northbound stop was established there would have been nowhere to place one, as the fields opposite came right down to the road, and there was no footpath or anywhere safe for passengers to board or alight. However, since August 2023 the “Estuary Hill” housing development of 25 homes, mostly 2 or 3 bed properties, has sprung up opposite the new stop and a footway has been provided along the A588 making it possible to provide a southbound stop. We suggested to the county council that it should do so.

County Council Response

Responsibility for bus stops and bus stop information lies with Lancashire County Council and to its credit, once the situation in Cockerham was brought to its attention we had an immediate response in which they agreed:

1 A display case for departure times would be provided at the Manor Inn stop on B5272 and the notice about school services would be removed.

2. A display case will be provided at the Rectory Gardens stop

3. Consideration will be given to providing a southbound stop at Rectory Gardens to serve the new development.

The problem of the bus stops at the Manor Inn not referring passengers to the “other” buses available is apparently rather harder to resolve. The council’s system of producing departure lists for stops appears somewhat inflexible and it apparently does not have the resources to provide bespoke solutions in cases such as this. Nevertheless it has promised to see whether anything can be done that would not impact on staff resources.

The Bus Users’ Group realises that the problems identified may not be the most urgent facing bus users in Lancashire and they will affect only a small number of people, but we see it as part of our role to seek such minor improvements and to resolve problems that those in authority may not always have the time to identify and resolve by themselves.

We would therefore wish to place on record our appreciation of the council’s response and hope that this is shared by the bus passengers of Cockerham village.

Sunday, 29th June sees the start of “University Holidays” timetables on Stagecoach services to Lancaster University. This year however, as well as the usual reductions to services 1, 4 and X4, there are more significant revisions affecting the Alexandra Park section of the campus.

Service 100 will, during university holidays, be curtailed to operate only as far as the University Underpass, whilst the 1/1A will be extended around the Alexandra Park loop in its place as announced by Lancashire County Council on its website. It is not clear from the council website, but the Bus Users’ Group understands that these changes to the 1/1A and 100 will apply on Monday to Saturday only. On Sunday, when the 1A doesn’t serve the University at all during the holidays, the 100 will continue over its full route includingh Alexandra Park.

The county council does not spell out the implications of the change, which are that are that as service 1 is itself cut back to operate only between Heysham and Lancaster City Centre in the holidays, the daytime service to Alexandra Park on the 1A is reduced from the current four buses per hour on the 100 to three. During the evenings there will be no service at all between the city centre and Alexandra Park other than occasional journeys on services 41 to Preston and 42 to Blackpool.

Stagecoach may feel that reducing the service to the largely residential part of the campus during times when fewer students are likely to be living there is a sensible economy, but it introduces an extra layer of complexity into timetables that are already complicated and difficult to sell to the travelling public, especially those that have no connection with the university and no knowledge of term and holiday dates.

Passengers waiting for buses at the stops in Common Garden Street in Lancaster city centre should find it a more comfortable experience following the installation of new seating by Lancashire County Council.

This replaces the previous benches that many passengers found uncomfortable and difficult to use due to their low positioning and lack of armrests.

The need for the new seats was recognised by Lancaster City councillors, who asked LBUG member and city councillor Abi Mills to pursue the matter in her role as the council’s disability champion. After much research and extensive consultation with potential users the “Broxap Ilford” design (illustrated above) was chosen.

However, with both the city and county councils strapped for cash and the Marketgate Centre’s owners not seeing it as their role, the project was held up due to lack of funding.

Lancaster Bus Users’ Group was able to identify the Bus Service Improvement Plan, administered by the “Enhanced Partnership” of bus operators and councils in Lancashire, as a potential source and an application for funding proved successful.

Another example of the Bus Users’ Group working together with the city and county councils to improve facilities for passengers,

Lancaster will once-again be connected to the Yorkshire Dales by bus after a two-year absence from next month when Lonsdale Buses will begin operating service 80 between Lancaster and Hawes.

In a change from previous years the service will run on Saturdays between 3rd May and 18th October with two round trips each day.

Connections

Connections will be made with trains on the Settle & Carlisle line at Ribblehead. Buses will meet the “Yorkshire Dales Explorer” train from Rochdale and Manchester at either end of the day to convey passengers to and from Hawes from where further bus connections are available on the Wensleydale Voyager 156 service to Leyburn and the “Garsdale Station Shuttle” 113 to Hardraw and Garsdale station. There are no connections to Swalesdale or Richmond this year. Service 156 does continue to Catterick, from where a connection to and from Richmond is available, but the timetables are such that only a very short stay is possible in the town.

Round Trips

As well as providing a facility for Lancaster residents to reach the Dales, a second round trip from Hawes will make it possible for people to make an afternoon’s visit to Lancaster and will restore a direct link between Ingleton and the city on Saturday afternoons.

Fares and Concessions

The Dales Rover ticket, which most passengers have used in previous years is only available on Sundays & Public Holidays and will not therefore be valid. However, the £3 maximum single fare cap will apply as will the under-19s offer of a maximum £1 fare per journey.

At the time of writing the position on concessionary passes was unclear and apparently under negotiation. In previous years North Yorkshire County Council, illegally in our view, did not allow their use on Dales Buses from Lancaster on the spurious grounds that these were provided solely for “tourists”. However the new service provides for a range of journey purposes, including shopping and hospital visiting in Lancaster and we would hope that the new North Yorkshire Council and Lancashire County Council would see sense and accept them.

Links

Please follow the links for more information

Timetable for service 80 Lancaster – Hawes

Map of Dales Bus services Summer 2025

Dales Area Bus and Train Times Booklet Summer 2025

Our previous post on the introduction of the extension of service 552 to provide a new link from Carnforth, Warton, Yealand and Silverdale to Arnside and Kendal was based on information supplied in good faith by Lancashire County Council, which itself received it from the operator, Lonsdale Buses. The information given matched that on the council’s own website.

After posting it, we were alerted by a reader to the fact that Westmorland & Furness Council was showing a different timetable on its website. After querying the position with both councils we then received a third version, which we are assured has been provided by Lonsdale Buses and is the timetable that has been registered. Here it is:

We have amended the previous post and removed the incorrect timetable, as there is already too much out-of-date and just plain wrong stuff on the internet already!

This post has been amended following receipt of new information.

From Monday, 31st March, in an initiative between Lancashire and Westmorland & Furness Councils, Lonsdale Buses service 552 to Kendal will be extended to start at Carnforth, filling the gap across the county boundary and reinstating in a modest way a long-lost link between Silverdale and Arnside.

Surprisingly, even at this late stage, a full public timetable is not available, but the Bus Users’ Group has managed to obtain a draft version. which although not complete with details of picking-up points and routes, does give an indication of the service, which will operate on Monday to Saturday inclusive.

The timing points in Warton, Yealand Conyers and Levens are still to be confirmed as is the route the service will take between through Silverdale village and Arnside, but we will post these as soon as we can obtain the details.

Service 552 itself was established in March 2020, just before the Covid pandemic struck, but despite this it managed to establish itself and was recently extended from a three to a six day a week operation. A previous service between Arnside and Kendal, operated by Stagecoach was withdrawn in 2019.

Ribble

Historically the link was provided by Ribble Motor Services as part of service 554 between Kendal and Lancaster. In 1971 an hourly service was still being operated although by the time of deregulation of bus services in October 1986 it had shrunk to just two journeys a day with additional journeys between Warton and Lancaster.

The new service provides a facility for passengers from Warton, Yealand and Silverdale to visit Kendal including Morrisons supermarket as well as the town centre. as well as allowing Arnside residents to get to Carnforth and, with connecting services, to Lancaster,

From last week, passengers travelling on Lonsdale Buses’ service between Lancaster and Skipton (picture above) suddenly found that the £3 fare, capped under a government scheme, no longer applied throughout the route and they were being asked to pay again if their journey took them across Kirkby Lonsdale and/or Settle. This was said to be because the through journeys were registered as separate services either side of those points.

Following discussions between the operator and the Bus Users’ Group, the fare cap has been reinstated for journeys across Kirkby Lonsdale, such as Lancaster to Ingleton or Lancaster to Settle, but passengers continuing to Skipton will have to pay again from Settle onwards. We are awaiting further clarification regarding the effect on through journeys to Ingleton and Bentham on service 583 that were initially also affected.

Cheaper on the app?

Some passengers may find it cheaper to take advantage of special tickets now available on Lonsdale Buses’ new app. all of which give unlimited travel on all the company’s services (excluding special school buses) for the period covered.

Day Ranger Ticket – £9

Lonsdale Network Weekly – £25 adult; £20 under 19s

Lonsdale Network 31-day rider – £95 adult; £75 under19s

Stagecoach has published the Summer 2025 edition of its Guide to bus services in the Lake District, which includes services 555 and 755 to and from Lancaster and Morecambe and which comes into effect on 31st March.

Service 555 Lancaster – Kendal – Keswick

Motorway Extras

As usual, the summer timetable sees the introduction of extra journeys between Lancaster and the Lakes running via the M6 motorway. Northbound buses will leave Lancaster at 09.14 and hourly to 15.14 complementing the all-year round service and taking 39 minutes off the journey time between Lancaster and Kendal.

Southbound journeys via the M6 will leave Kendal at 10.40, then Keswick at 12.00 (Kendal 13.40) and hourly until 18.00 (19.35 from Kendal). All the above journeys will run on Monday to Friday between 30th June and 26th September and ALL Saturdays until 2nd November, which is when Stagecoach’s very generous interpretation of “summer” ends.

New peak-hour buses

New for this year are additional peak-hour buses between Lancaster, Kendal and Keswick via the M6 that will run on Monday to Saturday throughout the period of the summer timetable. These will leave Lancaster at 08.10 arriving in Kendal at 08.51 and Keswick at 10.38, returning from Keswick at 16.00 and Kendal at 17.40 to arrive Lancaster at 18.22

Sundays

The Sunday and public holiday timetable is largely unchanged from last summer. The extra motorway journeys leaving Lancaster at 08.14 and 10.14 and returning from Keswick at 16.00 and 18.00 that were introduced last year following a suggestion from the Bus Users’ Group return for another season and as usual the 08.20 Kendal-Lancaster and 18.45 Lancaster – Kendal are withdrawn for the summer.

Service 755 Heysham – Carnforth – Bowness-on-Windermere

After several years of a remarkably static timetable, service 755 gets its second revamp in as many years for the new season.

The biggest changes are on Monday to Friday, especially in the peak, when the long-standing journey at 08.05 from Ocean Edge to Kendal, which only operated in school holidays south of Carnforth, is replaced by a journey starting in Lancaster at 07.20 that runs via the Bay Gateway to Combermere Road (07.35) and then continues through to Bowness-on-Windermere and runs throughout the season.

A return facility is provided by a bus leaving Bowness at 15.50 to Combermere Road (17.42) and Lancaster, bus station at 18.04. This replaces the 16.05 from Bowness to Ocean Edge that ran only in School Holidays north of Morecambe.

There are changes to times of most other Monday to Friday journeys on this service.

Saturday

On Saturday, the timetable is largely unchanged, but there is a small improvement to the evening service with a new journey departing Ocean Edge at 20.40 to Euston Road, utilising a bus that currently runs “not in service” to the depot.

Sunday

On Sunday and public holidays the 16.30 Ocean Edge to Carnforth journey is extended to Kendal, arriving 17.59 and returning from Kendal at 18.07 through to Ocean Edge at 19.25 It provides a connection at Kendal from the 16.30 service 555 journey from Kendal and offers a later facility for visitors to the central Lakes from Morecambe on Sunday.

The X8 Returns

Not included in the Lakes Guide, probably because it is operated by a different part of the Stagecoach group, service X8 provides a fast, motorway service from Chorley and Preston to Keswick and The Lakes, calling at Lancaster’s Park & Ride site at Caton Road. For the coming season the service will operate every Saturday between 5th April and 1st November, calling at the Park & Ride at 10.20 to arrive Keswick at 11.50 and returning from Keswick at 16.30 via Grasmere, Ambleside and Windermere to arrive Caton Road at 18.01.

Service 567 Kendal – Kirkby Lonsdale – Ingleton

Slightly outside the Lancaster area, but probably of interest to local bus users, this service is shown in the Lakes Guide for the first time, being the last of Stagecoach’s interurban services from Kendal to be included.

The move co-incides with the return of the service on a regular basis to Ingleton, with five journeys in each direction between Ingleton and Kendal every Saturday complemenmting the college days-only service currently provided.

Full details of the above and all Stagecoach Lake District services can be seen and downloaded via this link to the Lakes By Bus Guide 2025

As ever, Stagecoach is to be complimented on producing such a high-quality publication that is comprehensive, widely distributed and which has both a “start” and an “end” date that allows the certainty and stability that is so important, especially to new or casual users that must make up a large part of its target market.

With the lifting of the government’s cap on single bus fares in England from £2 to £3 from the start of the year, Stagecoach has announced details of its fares that will apply when services resume after the New Year break on Thursday, 2nd January.

All medium and long-distance fares from Lancaster, to places such as Morecambe, Carnforth, Galgate, Preston and Keswick will rise to £3, but will still offer substantial savings over the fares that applied before January 2023.

Local Fares

For shorter journeys, there will be fares of £1.80, £2 and £2.30, according to distance. Whilst some passengers currently paying £2 will see an increase of 30p, others will continue to have their fares frozen for a further twelve months, whilst others will experience a small reduction.

The £1.80 fare will take passengers from Lancaster city centre as far as Lily Grove on Greaves Road; Palatine Avenue on Bowerham Road; Scale Hall Spar on Torrisholme Road; Scale Hall Road on the 6A; Noel Road on service 7; Westbourne Road on service 11; Hill Road on Halton Road on the 49 and Barley Cop Lane on the 55 and 555 along Owen Road.

The new £2 uncapped fare will apply to a small number of journeys, including those to Lancaster University (on all services), Hazelrigg Lane on services 40 – 42 and Hathaway Road on service 7.

For £2.30, passengers can travel as far as Lancaster & Morecambe College on service 100; White Lund Industrial Estate on the 6A; Kellet Lane on service 49 and Beaumont College on the 55 and 555. This fare will also apply to those stops on services to Marsh, Vale and Ridge not covered by lower priced tickets.

The new fares are in the Stagecoach Journey Planner and can be checked by making a “Plan jour journey” enquiry and setting the date to 2 January or later.

Day, Week and Longer Tickets

Stagecoach has chosen not to increase the price of its Daily, Weekly and longer period tickets. A Bay Area DayRider will remain at £5.70 and will therefore now offer a small saving over two £3 capped single fares for journeys such as Lancaster to Morecambe.

Similarly the 7-Day Bay MegaRider price has been frozen at £21, meaning that passengers who have been travelling five days a week at a cost of £20 (10 x £2 singles) will suffer only a small increase of £1 a week and will also gain free travel on the remaining two days.