Saturday 4th April 2026
This week has seen Go-Ahead owned Pulhams Coaches take over the lovely trans Cotswolds bus route linking Oxford,Witney, Burford, Northleach and Cheltenham.
Going back in time Swanbrook ran the route as its service 853 but in more recent times Stagecoach had been operating it from its bus garage in Witney but decided it was no longer a commercial proposition so the route was put out to tender with Pulhams the successful bidder using a new number X52 rather than Stagecoach’s former S2.
Although only two return journeys were operating yesterday I took the opportunity of being able to leave Hassocks when an extortionate peak hour fare would apply on a normal Friday (£128.70) to bag a Super Off-Peak Return and arrive in Oxford in time for the first of the two departures of the day to Cheltenham leaving the city’s Gloucester Green coach station at 10:50.
Gloucester Green is well past its prime and could do with some ‘transformative’ improvements…
… but on the plus side Oxford Bus Company has a staffed “travel shop and lounge”…
… with comfortable seats to wait for your Airline coach to Heathrow or Gatwick…
… which is a lot more attractive than the generic designed “Waiting Room”…
… which just seems to be the entrance lobby to the public toilets.
I suspect a lot of passengers waiting for Stagecoach’s frequent Oxford Tube avails themselves of Oxford Bus’s very pleasant facilities, as indeed did I, while keeping an eye out for the X52’s arrival from its first journey from Cheltenham and while doing so picked up a copy of the very attractive promotional brochure for the route on display in the leaflet rack.
This gives details of the route and timetable…
… as well as information about the great places popular with tourists not only on the X52 but also if connecting to other routes operated by Pulhams in the area.
As often happens with such publications I overheard a couple of passengers (tourists from overseas) avidly reading a copy on the bus and planning future trips to take in the great places being promoted. I also understand the Pulhams/Oxford staff are distributing it across tourism outlets throughout the Cotswolds.
At 10:40 the smart ADL Enviro400 MMC pulled into Gloucester Green from its Cheltenham starter journey with eight passengers alighting and just before 10:50 the driver returned and six of us boarded and we set off spot on time.
After a bit of a struggle to get along George Street, just outside the coach station due to a parked lorry where a Park & Ride bus was dropping off and picking up passengers, we reached the first stop round the corner in Magdalen Street four minutes down and picked up another seven passengers.
As we headed out of Oxford five more passengers joined us making for 18 on board as we set off along the A40 which is a constant feature of the 45 miles and one hour, 53 minutes end to end journey.
Pulhams is aiming to provide a fast/limited stop journey as far as Witney observing only seven bus stops on this section of route but it’s got its work cut out due to the single carriageway nature of the A40 on this stretch not helped by traffic lights…
… and a roundabout…
…and more traffic lights…
…. at junctions for Cassington and Eynsham. We lost about ten minutes due to slow going approaching these junctions which was all rather ironic as we passed the huge Park & Ride car park which lies idle and out of use since completion two years ago due to no finance available to build access roads as previously blogged about.
Thanks to a smooth run into Witney after that we reached the town’s Market Square at 11:34, six minutes late, and where two alighted and five boarded – with another two having alighted at the first stop in Witney where another had boarded.
Leaving Witney with 20 on board the route then does a few twiddles …
… before arriving back on the A40 which has now become a dual carriageway allowing for much quicker progress.
Sadly that doesn’t last long and once back down to single carriageway progress becomes slower particularly as we approach the tourist hot spot of Burford which is served by a bus stop on the A40 rather than use the narrow roads in the village itself.
We’re now 12 minutes behind schedule as four leave us and three join.
It’s then more of the A40 until we branch off to serve the lovely village of Northleach…
… where six alighted (including the five who’d boarded in Witney) in the Market Square and three come on board.
One more short deviation off the A40 sees us serve the village of Andoversford, where one alights, and then it’s back on the A40 with Cheltenham beckoning ahead.
We stop three times entering the famous Spa town to set down passengers as well as some slow moving traffic (shown above) but most stay on board until we reach the Royal Well bus station where we arrive at 12:47 just shy of two hours since leaving Oxford and ten minutes late.
The weekday and Saturday timetable taken over by Pulhams offers a two-hourly frequency with two buses allocated to the service. Summer Sundays, from the beginning of next month, will also see an expanded two hourly frequency compared to this month’s meagre two return journeys.
This last week Pulhams has operated one of its smart looking new GB Kite Electroliners on the route as well as the Envrio400 on the other working.
Personally I found the journey on the top deck more preferable than a single deck could offer – electric powered notwithstanding – as it’s a far more enjoyable way to savor the lovely Cotswolds scenery offered by the route. I understand electric double deck buses are due for imminent delivery to Pulhams and one of these will be allocated to the route.
I was impressed with the numbers travelling yesterday making me slightly puzzled why Stagecoach threw in the towel. It’s a good tender win for Pulhams with the Company adding the route to its attractive and expanding network of routes in this part of the country offering excellent quality. And it’s great to see such excellent promotion of the route with a printed leaflet.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
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