Southern Vectis route 6
Encyclopedia
Southern Vectis route 6 is a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight
by Southern Vectis
between Newport
, Blackgang
and Ventnor
. It also runs via Carisbrooke
, Chillerton, Chale Green
, Chale
, Niton
, St Lawrence
and Whitwell
. Five journeys are made in each direction Monday to Saturday, with four on Sundays. Single-decker bus
es are normally used to operate the route.
There are several points of tourist interest on the route, including Ventnor Botanic Garden
, Blackgang Chine
and Carisbrooke Castle
.
and Ventnor.
Route 6 was created in 1996, by renumbering Southern Vectis route 16, which ran from Ryde to Newport via Blackgang and Ventnor. Until the late 1980s this route ran between Ryde and Blackgang, mainly along the A3055 road
, but at that time merged with Southern Vectis route 19/19B (previously 10/10B) from Ventnor to Blackgang, Chale, Chillerton and Newport. Route 19 ran via Whitwell and route 19B via St. Lawrence, as did route 16. The overlapping Ventnor to Blackgang section on route 19B had for some years beforehand been run in tandem with route 16, with journeys shown on the route 19 timetable, but numbered as route 16. Once the merger of the two routes took place, journeys via Whitwell were numbered 16A and later 16B. After the renumbering all route 6 journeys served Whitwell, with routes 7/7A using the St Lawrence road. A short section of the former route 16 service was revived between 2004 and 2010 as Wightbus route 16
.
Many journeys on this route operated as through buses from Newport to Ryde
via Sandown Bay
. Initially these were numbered 6 throughout, but from 2001 all these were renumbered as services 7, 7A and 7B
between Ventnor and Ryde, rather than only those proceeding along the Military Road to Freshwater
. Because of this many buses on the route operated as service 6 only from Newport to Chale, where they would change number, thus resuming the arrangement previously used between services 16 and 19 some years before. In 2001 only service 7A used the St Lawrence route and services 6 & 7 the Whitwell route; the following year the Undercliff Drive was closed to buses, as it has been ever since.
The route has at various times included a variation whereby buses would run from Newport to Niton via Rookley
before continuing towards Ventnor. This variation was initially flagged separately as the 6A, but since the 2006 re-organisation of services, all suffix letters have been dropped, and route variations noted via the destination display. This route has also been numbered as a distinct service, most recently as 31, but also as 18, 11 and 23 in past decades. In the last two years, this variation was discontinued, and all buses take the primary route via Chillerton and Chale.
was being redeveloped, so along with most of Southern Vectis' other routes, it operated from Newport's temporary Litten Park bus stands. At this point, the frequency was increased from broadly one bus every two hours, to an hourly service. This was possible due to the withdrawal of all services on the Island Explorer route.
From 5 September 2010 due to reductions in payments to Southern Vectis from the Isle of Wight Council for supporting rural bus services, Southern Vectis planned to completely axe all services on the route. The Isle of Wight Council then stepped in to support a broadly two-hour frequency.
From the 5th September 2011,with the closure of Wightbus and the introduction of the Community Bus Partnership it was announced that Route 6 would be part of the scheme with the service being run by volunteer drivers and at other times by normal drivers. This allowed route frequency to be doubled, with a service restored to St Lawrence for half of the journeys, with the remainder running via Whitwell.
was trialled in 2007, but was withdrawn between St Lawrence and the Ventnor Botanic Garden
.
The route is therefore from Newport to Chale
via Carisbrooke
, Gatcombe
and Chillerton
, then to Niton
and through eitherSt Lawrence
and Ventnor Botanic Gardens or Whitwell to Ventnor town centre.
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
by Southern Vectis
Southern Vectis
The Southern Vectis Omnibus Company Limited is the dominant bus operator on the Isle of Wight. It was purchased by the Go-Ahead Group in 2005 and is a part of the company's Go South Coast division. The firm employs 299 staff, with 105 single deck, double deck and open-top buses and coaches...
between Newport
Newport, Isle of Wight
Newport is a civil parish and a county town of the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England. Newport has a population of 23,957 according to the 2001 census...
, Blackgang
Blackgang
Blackgang is a village on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. It is best known as the location of the Blackgang Chine amusement park which sits to the south of St Catherine's Down....
and Ventnor
Ventnor
Ventnor is a seaside resort and civil parish established in the Victorian era on the south coast of the Isle of Wight, England. It lies underneath St Boniface Down , and is built on steep slopes and cliffs leading down to the sea...
. It also runs via Carisbrooke
Carisbrooke
Carisbrooke is a village on the south western outskirts of Newport, Isle of Wight. It is best known as the site of Carisbrooke Castle. It also has a medieval parish church. St. Mary's Church , began life as part of a Benedictine priory, established by French monks about 1150...
, Chillerton, Chale Green
Chale Green
Chale Green is a hamlet on the B3399 road about a mile inland from the village of Chale on the Isle of Wight. Officially it is part of Chale.-History:Originally Chale Green was known as Stroudgreen. There is a Stroud Green Farm north of Chale Green...
, Chale
Chalé
Chalé is a Brazilian municipality located in the state of Minas Gerais. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Zona da Mata and to the microregion of Manhuaçu.-See also:* List of municipalities in Minas Gerais-References:...
, Niton
Niton, Isle of Wight
Niton is a village on the Isle of Wight, near Ventnor with a thriving population of 1142, supporting two pubs, several churches,a pottery workshop/shop, a pharmacy and 3 local shops including a post office...
, St Lawrence
St Lawrence, Isle of Wight
St Lawrence is a village on the south side of the Isle of Wight, in southern England. It is located to the west of Ventnor and many consider it a part of that town. St Lawrence is situated on the Undercliff, and is subject to regular landslips.-Features:...
and Whitwell
Whitwell, Isle of Wight
Whitwell is located in the south of the Isle of Wight, slightly to the south of Godshill, and extends to the southern shore of the island. The nearest town is Ventnor, about 5 kilometres South of the village. Niton is the nearest village about away, which together, Whitwell and Niton form a civil...
. Five journeys are made in each direction Monday to Saturday, with four on Sundays. Single-decker bus
Single-decker bus
A single-decker bus or single-decker is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term single-decker refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which is essentially a single decked bus with an extra deck and...
es are normally used to operate the route.
There are several points of tourist interest on the route, including Ventnor Botanic Garden
Ventnor Botanic Garden
Ventnor Botanic Garden is a botanic garden located in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. It was founded in 1970, by Sir Harold Hillier, and donated to the Isle of Wight Council. The garden is free to visit, except for parking charges....
, Blackgang Chine
Blackgang Chine
Blackgang Chine is the location of a now-destroyed chine in the soft Cretaceous cliffs about 6 miles from Ventnor at the southern tip of the Isle of Wight just below St Catherine's Down. Since 1843 it has been home to the Blackgang Chine amusement park, run by the Dabell family who also run the...
and Carisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke Castle
Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke, near Newport, Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial.-Early history:...
.
Route 6 before April 2006
The actual route taken by buses on service 6 has not changed in some time.. The original route was created by a merging of various other routes, but the current route is remarkably similar to the former route 10 that ran in the 1960s. The route prior to 2006 was from Newport to Chillerton, Chale and Blackgang, then to Niton. Within Niton, some buses also served the Buddle Inn, then all buses would continue to WhitwellWhitwell, Isle of Wight
Whitwell is located in the south of the Isle of Wight, slightly to the south of Godshill, and extends to the southern shore of the island. The nearest town is Ventnor, about 5 kilometres South of the village. Niton is the nearest village about away, which together, Whitwell and Niton form a civil...
and Ventnor.
Route 6 was created in 1996, by renumbering Southern Vectis route 16, which ran from Ryde to Newport via Blackgang and Ventnor. Until the late 1980s this route ran between Ryde and Blackgang, mainly along the A3055 road
A3055 road
The A3055 is an A-Class Road on the Isle of Wight in Southern England. It forms the Southern portion of the circular around-the-Island A-class loop, the northern section being the A3054...
, but at that time merged with Southern Vectis route 19/19B (previously 10/10B) from Ventnor to Blackgang, Chale, Chillerton and Newport. Route 19 ran via Whitwell and route 19B via St. Lawrence, as did route 16. The overlapping Ventnor to Blackgang section on route 19B had for some years beforehand been run in tandem with route 16, with journeys shown on the route 19 timetable, but numbered as route 16. Once the merger of the two routes took place, journeys via Whitwell were numbered 16A and later 16B. After the renumbering all route 6 journeys served Whitwell, with routes 7/7A using the St Lawrence road. A short section of the former route 16 service was revived between 2004 and 2010 as Wightbus route 16
Wightbus route 16
Wightbus route 16 or the Rail link service was a bus service operated on the Isle of Wight by Wightbus between St Lawrence and Shanklin via Ventnor Botanic Garden, Ventnor and Bonchurch...
.
Many journeys on this route operated as through buses from Newport to Ryde
Ryde
Ryde is a British seaside town, civil parish and the most populous town and urban area on the Isle of Wight, with a population of approximately 30,000. It is situated on the north-east coast. The town grew in size as a seaside resort following the joining of the villages of Upper Ryde and Lower...
via Sandown Bay
Sandown Bay
Sandown Bay is a broad bay which stretches for much of the length of the Isle of Wight's southeastern coast. It extends ten kilometres from Culver Cliff in the northeast to just south of Shanklin in the southwest. The towns of Shanklin and Sandown are located on the bay's coast.The seabed is a...
. Initially these were numbered 6 throughout, but from 2001 all these were renumbered as services 7, 7A and 7B
Southern Vectis route 7
Southern Vectis route 7 is a bus service operated by Southern Vectis between Newport and Alum Bay via Yarmouth, Freshwater and Totland. The general daytime frequency of the route is every hour each direction. There has been significant local concern over the withdrawal of route 7 from some villages...
between Ventnor and Ryde, rather than only those proceeding along the Military Road to Freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
. Because of this many buses on the route operated as service 6 only from Newport to Chale, where they would change number, thus resuming the arrangement previously used between services 16 and 19 some years before. In 2001 only service 7A used the St Lawrence route and services 6 & 7 the Whitwell route; the following year the Undercliff Drive was closed to buses, as it has been ever since.
The route has at various times included a variation whereby buses would run from Newport to Niton via Rookley
Rookley
Rookley is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. It is located five kilometres south of Newport near the centre of the Island.It has a country park on the site of the last working Isle of Wight brickworks. There is a pub at the country park and another pub, the "Chequers" a short...
before continuing towards Ventnor. This variation was initially flagged separately as the 6A, but since the 2006 re-organisation of services, all suffix letters have been dropped, and route variations noted via the destination display. This route has also been numbered as a distinct service, most recently as 31, but also as 18, 11 and 23 in past decades. In the last two years, this variation was discontinued, and all buses take the primary route via Chillerton and Chale.
Current Route
The current revision of route 6 began operation by 1 April 2006 at the point of Southern Vectis' network change. As such, Newport Bus StationNewport (Isle of Wight) bus station
Newport bus station, on the Isle of Wight is located at Orchard Street in Newport town centre. Recent redevelopment has seen the former 1960s-built South Street bus station demolished, to make way for a new row of shops, and the current facility built behind that site...
was being redeveloped, so along with most of Southern Vectis' other routes, it operated from Newport's temporary Litten Park bus stands. At this point, the frequency was increased from broadly one bus every two hours, to an hourly service. This was possible due to the withdrawal of all services on the Island Explorer route.
From 5 September 2010 due to reductions in payments to Southern Vectis from the Isle of Wight Council for supporting rural bus services, Southern Vectis planned to completely axe all services on the route. The Isle of Wight Council then stepped in to support a broadly two-hour frequency.
From the 5th September 2011,with the closure of Wightbus and the introduction of the Community Bus Partnership it was announced that Route 6 would be part of the scheme with the service being run by volunteer drivers and at other times by normal drivers. This allowed route frequency to be doubled, with a service restored to St Lawrence for half of the journeys, with the remainder running via Whitwell.
Route
The main route as it stands today retains virtually all of the pre-2006 route. Services to Niton's Buddle Inn were abandoned from the timetable change on 16 March 2008, but the core route from Newport to Ventnor continued with virtually no difference. An extension of the service from Ventnor to St LawrenceSt Lawrence, Isle of Wight
St Lawrence is a village on the south side of the Isle of Wight, in southern England. It is located to the west of Ventnor and many consider it a part of that town. St Lawrence is situated on the Undercliff, and is subject to regular landslips.-Features:...
was trialled in 2007, but was withdrawn between St Lawrence and the Ventnor Botanic Garden
Ventnor Botanic Garden
Ventnor Botanic Garden is a botanic garden located in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. It was founded in 1970, by Sir Harold Hillier, and donated to the Isle of Wight Council. The garden is free to visit, except for parking charges....
.
The route is therefore from Newport to Chale
Chale, Isle of Wight
Chale is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England. It is located three kilometres from Niton in the south of the island in the area known as the Back of the Wight . The village of Chale lies at the foot of St. Catherine's Down.-History:...
via Carisbrooke
Carisbrooke
Carisbrooke is a village on the south western outskirts of Newport, Isle of Wight. It is best known as the site of Carisbrooke Castle. It also has a medieval parish church. St. Mary's Church , began life as part of a Benedictine priory, established by French monks about 1150...
, Gatcombe
Gatcombe
Gatcombe is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. It is located four kilometres from Newport in the centre of the island. St. Olave's Church, Gatcombe was dedicated in 1292, serving as chapel to Gatcombe House...
and Chillerton
Chillerton, Isle of Wight
Chillerton is a village between Newport and Chale on the Isle of Wight in southern England. Chillerton is in the middle of a farming community....
, then to Niton
Niton, Isle of Wight
Niton is a village on the Isle of Wight, near Ventnor with a thriving population of 1142, supporting two pubs, several churches,a pottery workshop/shop, a pharmacy and 3 local shops including a post office...
and through eitherSt Lawrence
St Lawrence, Isle of Wight
St Lawrence is a village on the south side of the Isle of Wight, in southern England. It is located to the west of Ventnor and many consider it a part of that town. St Lawrence is situated on the Undercliff, and is subject to regular landslips.-Features:...
and Ventnor Botanic Gardens or Whitwell to Ventnor town centre.
Services
Five journeys are provided in each direction Monday to Saturday and four on Sundays. There is no evening service.| Bus leaves Departure point ↓ | First buses | Last buses | Journey Times (daytime) to: | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to Ventnor | to Newport | to Ventnor | to Newport | Newport | Chillerton | Blackgang | Niton | Whitwell | Botanic Garden | Ventnor | |
| Newport | 09:35 | 17:45 | 0h14 | 0h27 | 0h31 | 0h37 | 0h48 | 0h58 | |||
| Chillerton | 09:49 | 08:10, 09:35 | 17:59 | 18:15, 19:20 | 0h19 | 0h13 | 0h17 | 0h23 | 0h34 | 0h43 | |
| Blackgang | 10:02 | 07:58, 09:23 | 18:12 | 18:03, 19:08 | 0h31 | 0h12 | 0h04 | 0h10 | 0h21 | 0h30 | |
| Niton | 10:06 | 07:53, 09:18 | 18:16 | 17:58, 19:03 | 0h36 | 0h17 | 0h05 | 0h06 | 0h17 | 0h26 | |
| Whitwell | 10:12 | 07:48, 09:13 | 18:22 | 17:53, 18:58 | 0h41 | 0h22 | 0h10 | 0h05 | 0h11 | 0h20 | |
| Botanic Garden | 10:23 | 07:37, 09:02 | 18:33 | 17:42, 18:47 | 1h52 | 0h33 | 0h21 | 0h16 | 0h11 | 0h09 | |
| Ventnor | 07:32, 08:57 | 17:37, 18:42 | 0h57 | 0h38 | 0h26 | 0h21 | 0h16 | 0h05 | |||
See also
- List of Southern Vectis bus routes
- Transportation on the Isle of WightTransportation on the Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is located off the coast of the English mainland, resulting in a ferry being the easiest method of getting there. There is also a comprehensive bus network linking island towns and villages running along the Island's of road.-Sea:...
External links
- Southern Vectis website - islandbuses.info
- Southern Vectis route list
- Southern Vectis route 6
- Full timetable