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The Outer Circle

I kept promising myself to do the entire route on the No 11 bus . Alas I got distracted what with work and then of course the girls . Never did manage it
 
My dad drove the number 70 on occasion. I also remember in the 80s where the buses charged kids 2p and you could go anywhere, we went on the number 11 and did two or three trips in one day, it was great!
I also recall the 20p go anywhere ticket. I My friend at work, who was in his late twenty’s had a very boyish look and was able to get away with asking for a 20p ticket
 
A Sunday afteroon outing was a ride on the number 11 bus round the outer circle. I can't remember how long it took but it was usually tea time when we got home. We never got off the bus, we would have had to pay again to get home, and none of the shops were open anyway. :D
 
A Sunday afteroon outing was a ride on the number 11 bus round the outer circle. I can't remember how long it took but it was usually tea time when we got home. We never got off the bus, we would have had to pay again to get home, and none of the shops were open anyway. :D
I caught the Outer Circle 11 bus in Perry Barr to Soho Road to attend Handsworth Tech, but then switched to riding there on my bike so that I could head directly to the newsagent's after school to begin my delivery, which included Westminster Rd., Stamford Rd., Hutton Rd., Crompton Rd. and others. The newsagent was on Heathfield Rd. My Dad was the police inspector of the station in Perry Barr.
 
Hi Pat,

I seem to remember that the Outer Circle took around 2 1/2 hours to go right round,
and that the outer ring was about a mile longer than the inner ring.

In the 1950's I walked the whole route on 2 occasions, - I wouldn't want to do it now!

Kind regards
Dave
 
Never did the outer 11 route, but did the inner circle quite often most Sunday mornings while my nan got the dinner ready, only took an hour to go all the way round and only cost 6d...
 
When I was 7 we usually made a weekly visit to an aunt in Perry Barr. Sometimes my mom and aunt wanted a 'grown up' chat and got rid of me, my sister, and cousin for 2 hours by sending us on the Outer Circle bus round trip. We caught the bus in Aston Lane and always chose the clockwise route.
 
Hi Pat,

I seem to remember that the Outer Circle took around 2 1/2 hours to go right round,
and that the outer ring was about a mile longer than the inner ring.

In the 1950's I walked the whole route on 2 occasions, - I wouldn't want to do it now!

Kind regards
Dave

I walked the Outer Circle route from Wellington Road in the mid 80's for the Walkathon charity thing they used to have, was fine up until the Swan Yardley - about half way I think - it started to get more telling after that and I had to grit my teeth for the final mile or two! I did it though.
Oh how I wish I could walk that distance now!
 
I did that a couple of times in the 70's on a sleepy summer Sunday afternoon. Also did it with my wife and two children in the early 90's, when we came up to visit my parents in Acocks Green, to show them the diverse city that I had been born in. Had to catch it when I went to the 'Yew Tree' when I went to Garretts Green College and I used to race it down to Acocks Green village to catch the No 1 bus. beat me a few times but it was a great feeling when I won as I saved a bus fare :)
The best times though (or worst1?!?) was when we went to Villa Park for the match. Manic!!
 
Awful news. The round-around number 11 Outer Circle bus route is an icon of Birmingham. The next thing to happen will be the filling-in of canals so that we have fewer than Venice! Dave.
If I were travelling home to Yardley from Kings Heath, as I did as a school boy, I would have to change buses at Acock's Green
 
The reason for the splitting of the route is the road work at Perry Barr and it should be only whilst the new road works are ongoing. I remember the building of the underpass and the flyover further to the north. The Buses kept running then. So why now do passengers have to change at Perry Barr now ?

May be there is different kind of councillor now who decided these things!
 
One like Margaret Thatcher who does not deign to use buses, but prefers limousines
 
The reason for the splitting of the route is the road work at Perry Barr and it should be only whilst the new road works are ongoing. I remember the building of the underpass and the flyover further to the north. The Buses kept running then. So why now do passengers have to change at Perry Barr now ?

May be there is different kind of councillor now who decided these things!
I suspect that during the underpass building, the roadway was kept open on one side while the 'new' other was being built. Nowadays the whole site needs to be hermetically sealed for health & safety reasons (!). Quite how the passengers are supposed to walk from one side to the other will doubtless be explained later,
 
The plan is to remove the roundabout at Birchfield Road/A4040 and replace it with a straight carriage way with traffic lights. The underpass is to remain in place.

They are creating a public realm, what ever that is, perhaps for the cyclists, scooter riders to accelerate through!

It seems the vision of the 1960's has been altered, or abandoned. May be the pedestrian subways have gone and now the flyover and soon the roundabout. Tarmac is making the alterations, but as to the architect responsible they seem to be in hiding at present.

Now, this could all be a success, but then the chaos at present being endured raises a question will the new alterations be the worst solution.

Perry Barr changed with the 1960's road works, shops were lost and a community was changed. What next is store for this area?
 
Public Rea;m sounds like something from the communist or fascist playbook- meant to impress, but means nothing
 
One like Margaret Thatcher who does not deign to use buses, but prefers limousines
A version I heard was that Prime Minister Edward Heath was at 10 Downing Street and advised that he should be seen travelling on buses. His response was "Oh very well. Have one sent round for me".
 
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