Through frosty lanes the Bluestars roam,
Past candle-lit streets and fireside homes,
Their headlights gleam through winter’s veil,
Soft carols drift along their trail.
From Winchester’s spire to Solent’s shore,
They carry cheer from door to door,
Each journey hums with yuletide grace,
As Hampshire dreams in warm embrace.
Oh my God, the wit-less ditties are back which means it must be time to look around Hampshire and Dorset and find out the seasonal service changes coming up this wet and cold time. The first listings this year are coming from the team at GoAhead, where simply as it is the first place I looked and there are details of services.
I promise…. no AI generated Christmas art depicting buses that may or may not look vaguely local to here….. until Christmas Eve.
A Quick Note on Concessionary Passes:
This feels like a clarification on issues that Bluestar might have had in the past. On Christmas Eve, 29th & 30th December, New Years Eve and 2nd January – Concessionary Pass restrictions continue to apply regardless of the service level.
Christmas Eve – Wednesday 24th December
There is a bit of a mixed bag for Christmas Eve out of Empress Road (and associated) depots. Some are Saturday services, some are nearly Saturday services and some are not Saturday services:
| Saturday Timetables | All Services Except those below | Reduced Saturday Evening Service Timetable on: * BS2 to Eastleigh and FairOak * BS9 to Hythe / Fawley / Calshot * BS16 to Townhill Park * Cross City BS17 & BS18 services * BS20 to Townhill Park * BS61 21:12 and 22:10 trips WILL NOT RUN |
| Wednesday Timetables | * BS6 from Lymington & The New Forest * 21 to Shirley * Services 28 & 28a for Chilworth Science Park * H1 & H2 in Hythe * PRH – The General Hospital private staff shuttle * X7 & X7R from Salisbury and Romsey * QuayConnect | |
| A Reduced Timetable | * BS1 to Chandlers Ford & Winchester | * Bluestar 1 also runs a reduced evening timetable * “Nightstar 1” does not run |
| Services Not Operating (That normally would on a Saturday) | * PR1 – Adanac Park & Ride * Nightbus services – any of them – N1, N2, N17, N18 | (The night bus drivers need to be in bed for Santa to visit too!) |
Christmas Day
Bluestar will run their usual special service on the mainland, covering a small number of commercial routes:
- Bluestar 1X – This will run it’s usual Southampton – Swaythling – Eastleigh – Chandlers Ford – Winchester service (except via St Cross this year, rather than Royal County Hospital)
The service will run every 2 hours - Bluestar 17 – This hourly service will run the normal 17 route between Weston – Southampton – Lords Hill – Adanac Park
- Bluestar 18 – This hourly service will run the usual Christmas Day extended service following Route 18 then onwards to the General Hospital and Aldermoor Turning Circle
In all services the fares will be £3 single or £6 return for both adults and children. Concessionary Passes and period tickets will be valid. Not that it makes much difference, but the 17 and 18 have dropped their X designations this year.
Boxing Day – Friday 26th December
Bluestar run a standard Sunday service timetable for most services – those without a Sunday timetable will not run. A special service will however run on:
- Service 1 to Chandlers Ford and Winchester
- Service 2 to Eastleigh and Fair Oak
- Cross-city 17 between Weston – City – Adanac Park
- Cross-city 18 between Millbrook – City – Thornhill
What makes them special? The Nightbus services will run Boxing Day night. I was talking rubbish. The N2, N17 and N18 run every night anyway, and the N1 is not running looking at the Bluestar 1 timetable, despite it being a Friday.
Bluestar 6 – which is run from the morebus depot at Lymington- does not run.
Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th December
Normal Saturday and Sunday timetables.
Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th December
A Saturday service will run across the Bluestar network with the following (usual) exceptions (except services newly introduced this year) (yes, lots of festive brackets)
Weekday Timetables:
- Bluestar 6 from Lymington & the New Forest
- Service 21 through Shirley
- Tuesday Only Service 22 through Shirley
- Service 28 & 28a for Chilworth Science Park
- Service 35 in Romsey
- Monday Only Services H1 & H2 in Hythe
- Tuesday Only Services T3 & T4 in Totton
- X7 & X7R to Romsey & Salisbury
- Quayconnect
No Service will run on PR1 or N1
New Years Eve – Wednesday 31st December
Bluestar will run a Saturday service on most of it’s commercial network. Normal Tuesday timetables will run on the usual group of financially supported services:
- Bluestar 6 through the New Forest to Lymington ( or from Lymington…. as it is managed by morebus’ Lymington depot)
- Bluestar 21 services through Shirly
- Service 35 in Romsey
- Services H1 & H2 in Hythe
- Romsey and Salisbury routes X7 and X7R
- Quayconnect
- Tesco Depot service 61 will not run the late evening 21:12 and 22:10 trips
The Adanac Park & Ride PR1 service WILL NOT RUN.
The Nightbus services appear to be running to a normal Saturday timetable
New Years Day – Thursday 1st January
If you are in the Winchester area on New Years Day – The Friends of King Alfred Buses are running their Mini Running Day; a free heritage service linking the city centre.
I Need to check my diary! this is also not a paid advert….
You can find out more information on the Friends of King Alfred Buses website.
Bluestar run a standard Sunday service timetable for most services – those without a Sunday timetable will not run. A special service will however run on:
- Service 1 to Chandlers Ford and Winchester
- Service 2 to Eastleigh and Fair Oak
- Cross-city 17 between Weston – City – Adanac Park
- Cross-city 18 between Millbrook – City – Thornhill
Quayconnect will not run the 07:35 round trip from Central Station (07:47 from Town Quay)
- As Southampton FC are playing at home to Millwall – Service PR2 will operate but PR1 is not running.
Bluestar 6 will not run, which is operated from the morebus depot at Lymington.
Friday 2nd January
Bluestar will run a Saturday service on most of it’s commercial network. Normal Tuesday timetables will run on the usual group of financially supported services:
- Bluestar 6 through the New Forest to Lymington ( or from Lymington…. as it is managed by morebus’ Lymington depot)
- Bluestar 21 services through Shirley
- Service 35 in Romsey
- Services H1 & H2 in Hythe
- Romsey and Salisbury routes X7 and X7R
- Quayconnect
PR1 Park and Ride will not operate
Saturday 3rd January
It will all be over for another year and the normal service resumes.
Just to say that night buses running isn’t what makes the Boxing Day timetables special – the night buses are as normal for a Sunday night. They are special because the daytime frequency is slightly reduced.
Yes, you are right. I was thinking “The N1 is Friday and Saturday only usually” and applied it to the others as well.
Looks like your comment of Bluestar 1X on Christmas Day following the usual route (via County Hospital) isn’t right this year – it appears to be going via St Cross instead.
Bluestar 6 won`t be running on Boxing Day.
I knew that, I am sure I wrote that, so why it was not there I do not know!
(It is now)
Interesting to see that Christmas day seems to be the only day of the year where there is a direct bus from bitterne to the general hospital surely it should warrant one the rest of the year?
The Unilink U9 provides a once a day link from the old Bitterne Brewery roundabout to the General.
Still a bit of a trek away from a few areas of Bitterne such as Bitterne Road West and the village and that area. It is odd that when first were running they did run a bus which went down that corridor to serve the hospital whereas bluestar only do it once a year.
First used to have the 4 route from Bitterne-Midanbury-Portswood-Bassett,then to the General-pretty much the same route the U9 now takes.
I think that you might be in a different part of Bitterne (U9 seems to describe it as Townhill Park) to what I am thinking of.
First up to the time they stopped running had the 8 which went to the general via Bitterne, previously the likes of the 5 went that way years before that. That is the corridor which now has direct buses to the hospital once a year probably could benefit from a daily service.