Feb 7th, 2018: Offbeat “Hotels”

[xoxoxoBruce]

Hey don't set me up to be blamed when your boss fires you.

[Carruthers]

Serious thread drift follows.

Having clicked on the link provided by Bruce in his initial post, I found an article about the Royal Mail Post Bus service.

Oh, to Have Ridden England’s Forgotten Post Bus

I never knew the post bus existed. I grew up in England’s capital, but never in my 25 years of living there did I ever see or hear of these delightful red buses that both delivered mail and served as the only public transport in some of the UK’s most remote areas. Then again, until the other day, neither I had ever met anyone who had ever hitched a ride with the postman and lived to tell the tale…

For some, the Royal Mail Post bus was a lifeline; the only way to catch a ride into town or even receive news. Passing through sleepy villages, ancient hamlets and forgotten Victorian resorts, the post bus could have just as easily inspired the Night Mail poem by W.H. Auden…

Despite the use of 'England' in the title, I suspect that the service was a greater part of everyday life in Scotland than other parts of the UK hence...

On remote Scottish isles, the post bus would not only bring mail (and people), it would also deliver newspapers, milk, food deliveries and parcels brought over on the ferry. While offering a lifeline to rural communities, it was also a great way to travel around remote parts of the country– and do it on a budget.

To illustrate 'remote Scottish isles' what could be better than a picture of a Post Bus on the Isle of Arran?



I Emailed limey, our well known Arran dwelling Dwellar and esteemed Moderator (That's enough grovelling- Ed) to see if she recognised the location of the picture.

Her first thoughts were that it was either near Kildonan on the southern tip of the isle, but more likely the NW coast, the close proximity of road and sea being the starting point in both cases.

I tried the NW coastal road on Street View but that didn't bear fruit so had a look at the road west of Kildonan. The overhead cables and road sign were a couple of clues which pinned it down to here:



Here's the Street View link. Kildonan coast road.

As limey said 'Even a couple of the rocks are the same if you look!'.

There's no concrete information as to when the photo was taken, but the 'R' suffix on the number plate denotes first registration in 1976.

'Windy, rattly Land Rovers', to quote limey, were latterly used on the service and a hunt on Google Images produced this:



This time limey did the detective work and pinpointed the location as Blackwaterfoot, fittingly enough just opposite the Post Office.

The house is called the Old Stables and appears to have been a vehicle workshop at the time the picture was taken.



Blackwaterfoot Street View.

Remind me. How did we get here?

[glatt]

Fantastic detective work, Carruthers. I'm impressed.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Well there goes my IOtD for tonight... Just kidding.
I did read that article but couldn't quite figure out how to use it because the information was so extensive. It covered a lot of ground, mainly in Scotland, Wales, and north England. Plus a long time frame starting with the horse drawn Royal Mail Coaches. It's interesting and well worth reading.
Nice job Carruthers and Limey.