Britain's Most Westerly Bus Stop (via a Beach Airport)

"Do you want to go to the most western bus stop in Britain?" asked my friend Roger, who had already ticked off the other three compass points, and just needed this one to complete the set. "Sure!" I said, especially so when I discovered that it would involve flying to Scotland, and to the Outer Hebrides via a Beach that's also an Airport.
Note - There is also a bus stop in Belleek, Northern Ireland - which is the most westerly bus stop in the UK. I have already asked Roger if he'd like to do that one next!
CORRECTION:
2:08 Should read 'Hebrides' in the map, dammit!
Give Roger's Blog a read! It's excellent : busandtrainuser.com/2022/09/0...
Thanks to Tom Scott for permission to use his video : • Landing at the only ai...
And make sure you look up the wonderful Barra on the Visit Scotland website - www.visitscotland.com/info/to...

[@willmce4015]

Noel Phillips has already done Britain’s least used airport. It was Colonsay. Another tiny remote island in Scotland.

[@geofftech2]

So he has! Just found it, here ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqOYmo14ltiBos0

[@oklibrarian]

If we haven't had a Noel/Geoff crossover video, we need one. :-)

[@bennymav81]

As soon as he said it i literally thought of Noel

[@bennymav81]

@@geofftech2 He also does the shortest flight in Britain which takes less than 2 minutes

[@grahammartin6396]

Noel/Geoff colab definitely needed. Possibly on an Amtrak.

[@marcusrashid]

Funny quotes "Is that our plane. I don't do planes." "Its small plane!" Its cozy. Its really cozy Selfie with the pilot Quite quickly for a airport What type of bus is this I don't know Lots of single track road (????) Tick. THERES A SEAT (OMG!) There's not alot here.

[@offichannelnurnberg5894]

"single track road". His brain has developed into a train brain.

[@DavE-bh8lz]

The mini bus was DK14 AEO - a MB 513CDI with bodywork by Mellor, originally new to an operator in London.

[@NickBadley]

This is a great idea actually! Love little remote stations and stops. Something so cosy about them!

[@lam6786]

I know you! Your videos are great!

[@NickBadley]

@@lam6786 Oh cool! Hello! Thanks for watching :)

[@insignificantaftermathPROJECTS]

Unless you arrive and find out the bus or train isnt arriving lol

[@RocketJSykes]

anything remoteish is very quaint

[@Boffin55]

Few things about the airplane you were on; a fairly new deHaviland Canada DHC6-400 (built 2015) powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engines (can you tell I'm Canadian?). Bombardier sold off the DHC6 (along with all of the other DHC designs) to a company called Viking Air in Victoria BC Canada, who put the DHC6 back into production in 2009 after not being built for 20+ years, as there is just no other airplane in the world that does what the Twin Otter does. Can you think of any vehicle where there's a 20 year production hiatus, and it comes back without significant changes (new glass modern cockpit, modern materials in the doors, that's about it) When I learned to fly, it was out of the corner of the Viking Air hanger (at the time they just built spare parts for them); and the phrase "taxi from Viking" is burned into my mind.

[@geofftech2]

That is some some plane information, thank you!! 🙏

[@davidbassett4577]

What about the Britten Norman BN2 Islander?

[@Boffin55]

@@davidbassett4577 The BN2 is about half the size and capacity of a DHC6, so not really comparable.

[@davidbassett4577]

@@Boffin55 true .. both are wonderful planes .. have flown in Islanders from Bournemouth to Alderney & between Jersey & Guernsey (also in the now departed Trislanders) .. And in DHC 6 Twin Otters between Blackpool & Isle of Man .. and in USA in one over the Grand Canyon ..

[@Boffin55]

@@davidbassett4577 I've never flown on a BN2 (despite living not far from BOH for a time in my life), but I've been on a lot of a DHC6 both on land and on floats, and they're an impressive aircraft in every sense.

[@markholm7050]

If you are overwintering at the South Pole research station and develop a medical emergency, they send a Twin Otter to fly you out. The last time this happened, two Twin Otters flew from Canada to Antarctica to perform the mission. They are legendary airplanes.

[@radagastwiz]

And still made in Canada! The manufacturing has moved between companies (Bombardier stopped making them in Toronto, Viking took over and now produces them in Calgary) but it's still to the same designs.

[@TheNapalmFTW]

The USAF did that with a C130 years ago now.

[@rafsonrafson]

Remote Scottish landscapes never disappoint! Barra looks like a lovely place to visit

[@GilesGuthrie]

I went to a wedding on Barra once. We took the ferry, so we had a lovely evening drinking beers on the deck as the ship snaked its way between the islands. The wedding was riotous fun. And everyone on the island was so lovely.

[@gilles111]

The request busses are pretty common in the rural parts of The Netherlands. Those were introduced about 40 years ago when public transport less and less served the rural parts. Some of the busses are even driven by volunteers instead of the bus company which is holding the concession for the area. This bus service is called "Belbus", which translates to Ringing Bus, you have to ring the service number prior to be picked up.

[@gwyneddboom2579]

Fun fact: many, if not all belbussen have the number 5 as the first number!

[@tonys1636]

Rural Scotland and some other remote parts of European countries have post buses that drop and collect the mail at rural post offices and provide a bus service between them. No guarantee of nationwide next day delivery though.

[@GeistInTheMachine]

Belbus, lmao... I'm dying.

[@hughjones4060]

@@tonys1636 I think post buses in Scotland stopped years ago

[@hughjones4060]

Plenty of bus services operated by volunteers in UK both ones you have to book and others that run to Schedule, One by me is called Hedgehog and runs services from Mickleton in Gloucestershire, including a route to Stratford upon Avon

[@nicholasbent7539]

They used to have post buses in the Highlands where post vans doubled up as busses. For some reason this stopped in 2017. Many years ago I travelled by train from Worcester to Birmingham to Glasgow to Oban; ferry to Kyle of Localsh, train to Achnasheen then post bus to Aultbea where my sister lives. The journey took 23 hours. Happy days!

[@highpath4776]

When the bus doesnt work do you get a wheelbarra replacement service?

[@AokiNamiYou]

As someone who actually lives in Lowestoft, I'm happy that my hometown got mentioned! 😁

[@GojiMet86]

Thanks for having Roger in the video! His BusAndTrainUser blog is such a great read. As a New Yorker, and thus American, I like reading his thoughts and critiques on the bus industry ongoings, like the DRT schemes, or the whole TfL funding thing that's been going on, or how bus companies manage schedules, ridership, and marketing.

[@BassBusMusic]

I still don't know who thought it was a clever idea to build a castle right in front of the ferry terminal. I mean....

[@caw25sha]

It reminds me of Castle Aaarrrggghhh.

[@BassBusMusic]

@@caw25sha you're just a very naughty boy. 🤣

[@hughjones4060]

The old jokes are best. Its like why did they build Cologne Cathedral right next to the railway station

[@TheTigerMothMan]

Same person who thought of building Windsor Castle under the approach path of Heathrow!

[@caw25sha]

@@TheTigerMothMan although it was a pretty clever idea to dig the Thames under all those bridges.

[@McRailss]

Geoff is going to the extreme how wonderful? We go from the 399 bus route to this bus station

[@jayeatman1]

I'm so jealous: Was in Barra 2 years ago. Absolutely loved the place. Besides the 'runway' it has the most fantastic beaches. Saw Vatersay and that bus stop (there are houses down the road). It also has the most westerly Golf Course in GB. Sadly it was blowing a gale the day we wanted to play it! We went on the ferry, but I'm determined to go back by plane one day and land on that beach.

[@caw25sha]

I seem to remember someone saying it's a "wild and lonely place".

[@bullettube9863]

Boy, and I thought I grew up in a remote area of Western New York! Though we didn't have a bus stop, we at least had a double lane road to travel on to get to the nearest village. In America we have lots of small planes connecting to lots of local airports (air fields?), the twin engined planes are often called "puddle jumpers"! I have no fear of flying and actually like being in them but if you do fear flying I would strongly advise you to take a train or a bus! Poor Geoff, after such a long trip without using a train he visits a bus stop in the middle of nowhere.

[@mdhazeldine]

This was more interesting than the title lead me to believe. Anti-clickbait if you will. Refreshing!

[@mayonaissse]

Those Twin Otter planes with the iconic De Havilland logo! I live in Malaysia and these planes are still used very frequently in the rural air services here in the Borneo side of my country and I used to get on these quite frequently to the point where I automatically get ready with earphones and sleep once the motor starts running. Most memorable flight I've had was when we flew through a storm and it felt like I was being tumbled around inside a flying washing machine. Glad you enjoyed your flight on these!

[@JimbobsTransportVideos]

It was so funny to track this story on Twitter while chilling at home for the day, great video

[@donovanchilvers8564]

Feels like we need a spin off Least used gates at UK airports

[@callaghanmatt]

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It really reminded me of heading out to the Isles of Scilly wish I've done several times. Thank you for taking us along for the ride.

[@rdstedall]

I did Vatersay and Barra in 2011 as part of the Round the UK charity bus trip I did. Back then it was possible to go from the southern most bus stop on Vatersay, up Western Isles chain to the northernmost stop on Lewis (Port of Nis) via connecting bus and ferry services in one day, but the last time I looked you could not even get from Castlebay to Stornoway in one day now ... However I never got to sample the beach landing - I arrived and departed from the Western Isles on Cal Mac ferries. (Now there is something for a future set of videos - "All the Cal Mac Ferry routes" lol

[@barrywood2806]

This is high up among my favourites of your many videos, yet not a train in sight. What a wonderful and unique experience you had.

[@seannyt-b]

My Grandad grew up on Barra and I have been a couple of times (including once by plane from Glasgow). An absolute once-in-a-lifetime flight

[@angusgtw]

Barra and Vatersay are stupendous. More highlands and islands please!

[@roderickjoyce6716]

Try Steve Marsh's channel. kzbin.info/door/BhQuxcHU3aydk_zTXcbdTg

[@NoisyGiraffe]

Was going to say why doesn't Geoff do the most Northerly/Westerly/etc train stations but then I remembered he's already done all the stations.

[@isoroxuk]

He should do the Isle of Wight

[@ElectroRail]

@@isoroxuk 😂

[@paulknight5018]

You really should stop using those green screens when you "visit the Isle of Wight". @ Geoff Marshall

[@LB1973]

Arisaig is the westerly , South is Penzance , North is Thurso all of which they highlighted, east is umm Lowestoft I think which I have no idea when they got there and I'm not searching 105 vids lol

[@wainwright3]

@@isoroxuk Good idea, he has often said he's not been to the IOW... lol

[@marthaanderson2656]

whenever we go on these adventures, I love getting on Google Map and find the place. There are two little bus icons on the map. What a beautiful spot to stop and listen to the earth breathe

[@LeoStarrenburg]

Same here ! And not just the bus icons, even here streetview will show you the scenery 👍.

[@isashax]

What an amazing tiny adventure. Loved everything about this video!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

This is so much fun! It’s definitely giving ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ Energy.

[@tomelvin255]

Looks brilliant, that’s another journey I shall have to add to my bucket list

[@rjkyle]

Love your videos. Wish there were more, and I wish they were longer. Keep it up!

[@MrGreatplum]

Absolutely brilliant, buses, planes on beaches, and gorgeous scenery and an excellent companion, Roger 👍🏻

[@richardbinnie]

Travelled from Barra to Stornaway in July. Fantastic trip and epic drone shots. Great idea Geoff, well done.

[@greentravels2850]

Great video as always! I love the shots of the countryside and especially the castle out in the bay. That 'Tom Scott' video was the first thing I thought of when I saw the title! It looked like great experiences all around.

[@billfreeman1516]

What a wonderful fun video appreciated seeing remote parts of Scotland cheers from Australia

[@simonf8370]

Excellent report as always. And just loving you smiling at the insane setup of the plane and that landing site✈️😂

[@craigboot8024]

Great video. Scenery is amazing, I love Scotland but never been to the Islands....deffo now on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing

[@amydowns8430]

Loved this video! Really interesting and beautiful scenery. And buses are great 👍

[@MrAsBBB]

Such a lovely video. Beautiful scenery and a bus stop what more can we ask… Loved the castle bay shot.

[@kuzatheaviator]

Ah Barra, the airport is great. Wanna go there sometime. Great video as always!

[@ronanmcquade4945]

Geoff, it was great to meet you on the Island! Fun little fact and a well produced video! Look forward to more content 😀

[@Theaeroplaneguy]

Loved the video, was especially pleased to find out that roger was behind the busandtrainuser blog, as i regularly read his blogs.

[@notezz162]

Brilliant Geoff, love barra and love landing their in flight sim😂

[@paulsengupta971]

The prospect of getting salty water on my aeroplane stops me going there for real, even though the firemen at Oban will give you a hose down, but I'm sure the sea water would seep in everywhere.

[@notezz162]

@@paulsengupta971 part of the fun for me😂

[@nigelmoss9067]

Thanks Geoff, nice video. My father spent some time at the Greian Head radar station on Barra during WW2. Always promised myself a visit there and this flight looks like a great way to travel.

[@Gary0557]

What an amazing area for a bus stop. Delightful.

[@horsenuts1831]

I'm pretty sure that the bus on St Marys (Isles of Scilly is the most southerly British bus stop). It is certainly south of the Lizard penninsular.

[@mikewilliamson7246]

What about bus stops on the Channel Islands? I know they are not part of the United Kingdom but British Dependencies, but they are part of the British Isles.

[@spbracey7]

What a lovely 'feel good' video. Delightful to watch 😊

[@BristolRE]

Really enjoyed this! Hopefully you will do bus stuff more often!

[@roundandroundmyworld]

It was so great to see Barra and Vatersay again. I've been there twice, both times arriving and leaving by ferry. I hadn't figured out that this is the most westerly inhabited land in the UK. Barra is definitely my favourite island of all the Hebrides, and I'd love to go there again. Maybe this time I will fly in, although I do enjoy the ferry voyage. I also enjoyed many flights on Twin Otters back in the 1980s and 1990s when I lived in a small town in northern Ontario, Canada. The flights used to do a five-minute stop at our local airport, with the starboard engine still running and the captain remaining in the cockpit while the co-pilot attended to helping passengers off and on, unloading and loading baggage, and giving the safety briefing, much the same as on your flight.

[@markovenden9008]

Love it !........the flight to Barra looks amazing, as does the beach landing, wow, love the Bus stop, into Bus stops and their heritage myself, as mentioned a feeling of cosiness !

[@MrSnowMen]

Dang, no motorways for John from "Auto Shenanigans" to come and see.. Secrets of the bus shelters.!!!!. Glad you made it out there this time. And that weather looked wonderful. Was it warm too,? ps, I think you did the West most station which was Arisaig, and from there it would of taken 24 hours to get to the bus stop by public transport. Enjoy....

[@charlien759]

Bloody bizzare seeing this haha! My Mum lived on Barra in her teens and we've visited every few years since. I love taking the plane from Glasgow and it beats our usual 5hr+ ferry journey from Oban that's for sure. Such a stunning Island with lovely people and beaches, especially Seal Bay (as my family call it) and Traigh Eais, virtually no one ruining miles long sandy beaches. Great video as always Geoff.

[@fernandezvonschwephausen1979]

That was awesome. Whenever I make it across the pond I will have a bevy of places to visit, thanks to your videos!

[@SteveMikre44]

I don't live in the UK, but I really enjoy Geoff's channel non the less...

[@kchorst5037]

Loved this. Followed along on Google Maps. Glad to see you in happier spirits.

[@frasercurry5992]

Remember this bus stop on a visit to Barra/Vatersay in 2019. Sunset on Vatersay beach(es) still has to be one of the most memorable moments of my life. Really rich history on the island as well. Great video!

[@toni-kaku]

Thanks for doing this. I bloody love Barra. It's beautiful.

[@robinhillyard6187]

Thanks for the shot of the signpost at 8:57 with Vatersay in its Gaelic form.

[@dedistaulapanodki6293]

Done that flight to Barra. Quite an experience and awesome views as long as it's clear. There's a card in the seat pocket which describes the route you normally take. Also amazing that it's just an hour's flight to Glasgow (from London) plus another hour to Barra and you're now in an extremely remote (and beautiful) part of the nation.

[@christopherbrown3695]

Just what I needed, thanks and tippity top work.

[@rachelwalker7091]

Such a beautiful place to lift our spirits thanks. Hope you got to see a great sunset too.

[@jeremyph1]

Super video and brought back great memories of my June 2021 Barra trip

[@sabinebogensperger1928]

"I don't do planes" 😆 Quote of the video! The beach landing at Barra is still on my bucket list...

[@creepermk]

The happiness in this video and the genuine excitement over a busstop made me really happy :)

[@poluki]

I didn't know I needed to see this video, but I did. Thanks Geoff!

[@garethdevlin2732]

Great video Geoff. I really enjoyed the short intro music. Nice change from trains to planes..... Not forgetting the bus stop.

[@stablefairy9437]

what a lovely video. I never thought I would need to know where the most westerly bus stop in Britain is, but there you go!! it is in a gorgeous location. I am currently on Lewis and it has a very similar remote and beautiful landscape. You want to try and catch the BBC series, Highland Airport, which shows you Barra and other airports. The funniest part of it was the guy who booked people onto the plane at a remote Scottish airport, and when he wanted to know if the plane was loaded, he just shouted down the baggage conveyor and got an answer, then he knew it was OK to allow the plane to go!!!!!

[@wrightcj01]

Really hoping they get some sort of a locomotive line from London to Glasgow... any day now!

[@rasko1359]

Loved this going to share on my twitter👍

[@richardmccarthy9580]

Great video. Closet I’ve got to something similar was back in 80s on the ferry from Mallaig to Armitage, ending up at the Kyle of Lochlash hotel with its whisky bar and piper on the lawn at dusk ….. but yes almost 49 years ago and I still remember!

[@francoscott]

Brilliant! Well done Roger.

[@johnheap2851]

I watched all the station 2017 o loved thT keep up good work I’m in north west

[@johnarthur4555]

You should go to the most westerly bus stop in the United Kingdom (somewhere near Belleek).

[@mattcbinns]

I really enjoyed this. Roger’s calm excitement when he’d finally completed his quest was really nice.

[@2mac500]

Beautiful shots geoff!

[@hermionebenson8366]

Really enjoyed this more casual vlog style adventure. What breathtaking views! It still blows my mind to see public transportation in such remote areas. This bus station seems to have better service than populated areas where I'm located in the US. Although, I'm hardly surprised.

[@rDcUbInG]

thank you very much geoff, i really enjoyed this video😃😃😃

[@AA_19803]

Love this variation on the theme! Very cool!

[@desdemoor]

Thanks, Geoff, what a sweet video. I noticed the roadsign with directions was only in Gaelic, pointing to Bhatarsaigh rather than Vatersay. The name itself is clearly Norse in origin, though: I think it means 'water island'.

[@davidgibson1978]

Great video Geoff, to see the most westerly bus stop. Who would have thought we would get a Geoff video without a train!

[@deejayC]

What an utterly sublime place for a bus stop and post box. Wonderful.

[@simondavey7787]

Love this; a challenge I'm definitely up for!

[@tsungiraichiramba]

I remember the first time you did a video with roger when you were at park street in 2016. Always good to see you two.

[@hamishmills2813]

Been to Barra a few times on the ferry and last time I got to go up on the bridge and look at all the navigational and control gear it was quite interesting. A lot more opportunities to ask the master of the ship questions than you have to ask the pilots of the plane.

[@johnmurray8428]

marvelous, thank you!

[@imboke]

Also do the westernmost of the UK, that should be somewhere in the west of Northern Ireland. It's probably the bus stop Corry School near Belleek, according to Google Maps.

[@mojoich2736]

I had the same thought, but it is labelled Britain's ... and not UK's .... Of course, the joke answer is Trafalgar Estate (Stop S) in Greenwich as if you travel west you got to travel nearly around the world without crossing 0

[@geoffhercock246]

We need to be clear what we mean by 'Britain'. Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles and doesn't therefore include the Western Isles of Scotland

[@bracketsthepolicefan]

Thanks for a wonderful video

[@clemstevenson]

Not many people use the bus shelter on Rockall.

[@saintuk70]

Lovely view of a place I've been so many times. The airport is just fantastic too, and the cafe is one of the very best I've visited as a cyclist. If you'd taken the bus further down Vatersay you'd have hit one of the most stunning beaches in the country.

[@Nooticus]

Excellent video as ever!

[@Thecrazyvaclav]

Epic video Geoff, nice change from trains, and what views

[@pete6645]

Geoff, how about doing the most northerly, southerly, easterly and westerly bus stops in London?

[@zdavis4222]

Without knowing it, I must have cycled past the relevant bus stops in Lowestoft and Vatersay, and driven past the bus stops in Unst and the Lizard. It never occurred to me at the time that these locations would end up being mentioned on KZbin! I do remember going into the little tourist office in Castlebay, where the two ladies on duty were speaking in Gaelic but immediately switched to English to carry on their conversation when I came in, as they said it was rude for them to chatter away when I couldn't understand them. I was impressed.

[@danielbettsmanwithautism6421]

I went to the Isle of Lewis a few years ago, I saw a lot of bus timetables in Stornoway, but no buses at all! In contrast, I went to Shetland last year and actually saw a few buses, one was in Hamnavoe, and saw Bobby's bus shelter as well 😁. That was a treat

[@SnowyMetalNerdDudeDuffield]

2 of my uncles used to live in Barra, had some really great summer holidays there and this brought back some memories, made me think I must go back one day. Some extra trivia, one of those uncles got married in the castle in Castlebay where I wore a kilt for the first time.

[@matts-occvids24]

That bus stop should have a plaque along with the other 3. Great vid well done.

[@photomcphotofacepoole1286]

That was fantastic! I’ve always wanted to land on that beach airport ever since I first became aware of it, probably about 20 years ago. Some people will be surprised by the location of Britain’s most westerly bus stop as they often wrongly assume Lands End is the most westerly point in Britain. It’s not even true of mainland Britain, where the most westerly point is Ardnamurchan Point. I’m glad you had good weather for it.

[@althejazzman]

The Scottish isles are so stunningly serene and remote I constantly have to remind myself that it's part of the same UK that I live in.

[@FannyLerouxTime]

Yeah Scotland is absolutely beautiful, I had a holiday there earlier this year and it is just breath taking. Can't wait to one day go back!