#busride - "take the last bus to Cambridge and I'll meet you at the station..."

The Monkees might not have sung that, although given the number of Clarksvilles in the United States, it might have been easier had they done so. And, one must admit, buses have never been as glamorous as trains. The Orient Express rail replacement bus, as an example, doesn't really cut it. So, fair enough, "Last Train to Clarksville" it must be.

The last direct bus to Cambridge leaves Market Street, Ely at 6.15 p.m. on a Saturday evening. Forget a late night out if you don't live near the station. Admittedly, late night excitement is a bit thin on the ground in rural England, but we still have young people who enjoy that sort of thing. And so, I wanted to be on it. I didn't have a lot of company.

The only sizeable community between Ely and Cambridge is Waterbeach, and the bus rather by-passes that, so it didn't take long to get to Cambridge. A short connecting ride later, and I was at the railway station for the last leg of my journey, a slightly anticlimactic train ride to Stowmarket.

So, a day exploring the bus network of East Anglia, and what have I learned?...