A little-known way to travel from Bournemouth and Poole to the Midlands and North is by means of Megabusplus. You book a through ticket which combines a train journey with South-West Trains from Bournemouth or Poole to Southampton Airport Parkway station. There you transfer to a Megabus coach (service M34) onward to Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sunderland and Newcastle.

There is one service daily through to Newcastle and two daily as far as Birmingham.

Fares start from around £8 single Poole to Birmingham and around £18 to Newcastle, and the earlier you book the cheaper the fare. 

There are similar services and fares in the return direction. Journey times are reasonably fast - around 4 hours from Bournemouth to Coventry for example.

There is a 50 pence booking fee. All bookings should be made via the Megabus website.

Today South-West Trains ran one of their diesel multiple unit trains from Wareham to Swanage and back.

The train, which had started out from Salisbury depot and run via Southampton, Bournemouth and Poole, was testing platform clearances in readiness for when a regular train service is restored to Corfe Castle and Swanage.

The line closed as a through line to passengers in 1972 and the track was lifted soon after.

Volunteers have spent the last 40 years restoring the track and stations with the ultimate aim of running through trains from the mainline at Wareham to Corfe Castle and Swanage.

Their goal is getting nearer, and last weekend new points were laid by Network Rail at the mainline junction at Worgret, near Wareham.

At present, regular trains, many steam-hauled, run from Norden Park and Ride to Corfe Castle and Swanage, but there's about another 5 miles to the mainline that does not see a regular service.

Many travellers do not realize how simple it is nowadays to get RTPI on their computers or mobile phones.  For many years the railways have led the way with Live Departure and Arrival Information for all stations in Britain. From the comfort of your home or car you can see whether, for example, the 10.59 from Bournemouth to London Waterloo is on time or running late.

Now the bus companies are slowly catching up, and in areas like the Bournemouth/Poole conurbation and also Weymouth/Dorchester, the necessary equipment is in place on most buses to track their position and report that to waiting passengers.  That information is shown at bus stops but is also available on your computer or mobile phone.

For smartphones there are several apps available to provide that information, or you can simply type the following URL into your web browser on your PC or mobile: http://www.mytraveline.mobi/   Where an actual time is shown, RTPI is not available for that bus, but where the time of the next bus is shown in "minutes", that bus is being tracked by RTPI equipment and should arrive within the number of minutes shown.

If you need help accessing these services, post a COMMENT on this blog and we'll get in touch.

Dorset County Council are withdrawing their subsidy to First to run evening and Sunday services on routes 4 (Preston) and 8 (Chickerell) in Weymouth.  

Daytime services on Mondays to Saturdays have been run by First commercially without subsidy as these buses are reasonably profitable, but evening and Sunday services attract few passengers and have been previously subsidised by Dorset County Council.

At the time of writing It remains to be seen whether Dorset County Council will contract another operator to run evening and Sunday services.

First have however announced their intention to run Sunday services commercially and also a limited early evening service on both routes.  Their new timetable will start on Sunday 11 November 2012 and can be viewed here:
http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/dorset/travel_news/service_updates/?item=6371&conf=0

Service 31 times will change on 4 November, and whilst all services will travel via Chalbury and Littlemoor, there will be no evening services after 20.55 from Weymouth to Bridport and 20.06 from Bridport to Weymouth.  This will not make up for the loss of evening services to Preston and will also leave Broadwey residents without a Sunday service on the 31.

The wooden boat "Collective Spirit" sails into Weymouth today and will stay here until 11th August.  You can meet the team each day from 11.00 to 19.00.

The boat has been built of scrap wood donated by 1200 people, each piece has a story to tell, including part of Jimi Hendrix's guitar and wood from the Mary Rose. The boat will be in Weymouth as part of the Cultural Olympiad. Read its history.

Spectator numbers for the Olympic sailing in Weymouth are much lower than forecast. Businesses in Weymouth have said their takings are lower than in a normal summer. It is thought that many regular visitors to Weymouth have been put off coming, due to the advance warnings of traffic jams and high parking charges at the Park and Ride sites.

The Olympic Delivery Authority, who are responsible for the Park and Ride sites, have therefore decided to offer totally FREE parking today and tomorrow at the Monkeys Jump P&R site near Poundbury, Dorchester.  In addition parking will be free at that site from 2.30pm on all other days during the Olympics.  Access to the site is off the roundabout where the A37 leaves the A35, near McDonalds. Postcode is DT2 9DL for SatNavs.

The Kingston Maurward P&R site east of Dorchester has now closed due to lack of demand.

A brand new fleet of shuttle buses operates from the Monkeys Jump Park and Ride site to the Swannery transport hub in Weymouth town centre, approximately ten minutes walk to the seafront.

The cost of the other Weymouth Olympic Park and Ride site at Mount Pleasant remains at £10 per car, as does the Preston Beach Park and Stride site.  The Mount Pleasant site is intended mainly for those in possession of tickets for the Nothe sailing spectator area.

Angus Campbell, Chairman of Dorset's Olympic Board, said: "There have not been as many visitors to Weymouth as originally planned for and we are doing what we can to encourage people to come to the town.  

"This reduction of prices for the park-and-ride facilities will, we hope, make it an even better value day out to an Olympic venue and boost numbers accordingly.

"Weymouth has a tremendous amount on offer for visitors and we have had rave reviews from those who have already come to soak up the Olympic atmosphere.

"We hope to see many more in the coming days as we approach the excitement of the medal races in the sailing events at the weekend."

With two days to go to the official start of the Olympic Games, Weymouth is buzzing and looking really smart in preparation for the Sailing Events.  There are three main areas around the promenade where there is entertainment. 

Weymouth Beach Live is the beach area with free admission for 15,000 spectators, where you can enjoy the entertainment on stage and watch the sailing on the world's largest mobile LED screens. Entry and exit will be through turnstiles and what you can take in and the clothing you wear is subject to strict rules: http://www.dorsetforyou.com/405233  Random searches will be made of people's bags and belongings.
On Friday 27 July the opening ceremony in London will be screened live and many of the Team GB sailors will be on the stage. Afterwards there will be a grand fireworks display over the bay. 
Alongside there's also a sports arena where visitors can try their hand at a wide range of popular sports. 

The Bayside Festival is in Festival Park on the Pavilion Peninsular. There are fun activities and entertainment on stage.  Daily cruises along the Jurassic Coast will be operated by the veteran pleasure boat Balmoral.
There are two classes of ticket - £5 and £10 details: http://www.weymouthbaysidefestival.co.uk

ICCI 360 is a giant dome arena with a multitude of cultural events taking place, right through the summer until the 9th September.
Tickets for the events are available from Weymouth Pavilion in front of which the dome stands. Programme.

If you are travelling to Weymouth anytime up to September, use public transport.  Arrive early, and, if travelling by train, leave well into the evening to avoid the huge Olympic crowds expected between 6pm and 8pm.  Outside the period of the Olympics the Mount Pleasant Park and Ride is the best option if you wish to bring your car, but that facility is not available to the general public between 28 July and 12 August both dates inclusive.

The photos below were taken on 24 July. Click any photo to enlarge.

One of Dorset's favourite ferries, MV Barfleur, owned by Brittany Ferries, will return to the Poole-Cherbourg route in 2013. The schedule starts on 18 March and will replace the high-speed catamaran which currently operates the route.
The Barfleur is currently on charter on the Dover-Calais route.
Many Dorset folk will be delighted to see the Barfleur return to operate a conventional ferry service to France. Many passengers do not like travelling on the high-speed catamarans which cannot operate in very rough seas.
The Barfleur will leave Poole each morning at 08.30 for the crossing to Cherbourg and will return from Cherbourg at 18.45, arriving in Poole at 22.00.  This will enable passengers once again to enjoy a day trip to France from Dorset.

First buses based in Weymouth are sporting a new colour scheme and are being re-branded First Wessex.

More frequent services are being introduced on some routes for the summer, starting on 22 July. In addition a new faster service, numbered X10 will operate between Weymouth and Dorchester, and First promise refurbished interiors on that route, including leather seats!

During the Olympic Sailing Events in Weymouth (29 July to 11 August) the veteran cruising vessel MV Balmoral will make afternoon and sunset cruises from Weymouth Pleasure Pier every day.  These will be part of the Weymouth Bayside Festival.  The afternoon cruises will allow passengers to get close to the Olympic sailing with onboard commentary and plasma TV screens. The evening cruises will include a live jazz band.

The ship was built in 1949 and designed in classical 1930s Art Deco style.
She will carry a maximum of 450 guests with plenty of seating both outside and in. There are 2 comfortable lounge bars aboard and a restaurant.

Further details and online booking: http://www.weymouthbaysidefestival.co.uk/bay-watch-hospitality