This is the second in a series of articles from me (Rugeley being the first).

Mum and I went to Oxford & Reading on September 19th 2006. We went on an Andrew's of Tideswell coach, a short Setra.

We spent some time in Oxford and then caught the train to Reading, a First Great Western HST (InterCity 125 in BR days). The train journey follows the Thames Valley and the non-stop trains reach speeds of at least 100mph.

I took some photos of trains at Reading (we didn't go off the station). Reading station is on the Great Western main line from London Paddington and is mainly served by First Great Western; although at this time some suburban trains were still in the old Thames Trains livery. South West Trains also works in from London Waterloo and Basingstoke.

We caught another High Speed Train back to Oxford, the front power car being 43170, the last one I needed. When we returned to Oxford, I took some more photos and then went to get some of the buses.

Oxford is served by the Oxford Bus Company (part of Go-Ahead) and Stagecoach, both with impressively modern bus fleets. It's also a commuter town for London, with the Oxford Espress (operated by the Oxford Bus Company) and the Oxford Tube (operated by Stagecoach), both companies using modern coaches. Since our visit, there has been a new Oxford Tube fleet.

Oxford was one of the first places to establish Park & Ride operations. At the time of our visit, these were worked by some of the first Dennis Tridents, painted in a smart two-tone green livery. There is also the Brookes Bus serving one of Oxford’s university establishments. At the time of our visit, this contract was operated by Stagecoach, again using Dennis Tridents. I didn’t know it then, but some of these Tridents have now ended up with Stagecoach East Midlands at Worksop.

Arriva also works into Oxford from Aylesbury and there is a City Sightseeing open-top tour operation.

Before getting back on the coach to go home, I took some photos of visiting coaches, including many from mainland Europe.

Dan Sellers