Public transport is something most of us take for granted — but what if there are no buses in your area, or at the very least a very limited service like in Donside? After a reader from Strathdon, where there are no bus services, asked me to look at her area next, I was pretty intrigued. While many of us may moan about our buses, could you imagine not having any buses at all? And just how do people get by without a bus service in such a rural area? I couldn’t try the bus journey as usual since there’s no service to areas like Strathdon, so on this occasion, I had to drive out instead. First stop: Aberdeen to Bellabeg I drove straight from Aberdeen to Bellabeg, which took around an hour and 20 minutes, and I arrived just as preparations for the Lonach Gathering were well under way, despite the wet and rainy day.
My first port of call was the local shop, where the owners told me that locals have just got “used to” not having a bus service and have “adapted”. While bus services were axed years ago, the public can still use the 219 Strathdon to Alford school bus. I was also told a gentleman recently had to move from Strathdon because he couldn’t drive anymore, and because there was no other transport in the area he had no option but to move elsewhere.
Former Donside bus driver reminisces about the old services George Thomson, who has lived in Bellabeg since 1962, drove the village bus for more than 40 years. He recalled that the bus would go from Cock Bridge to Ab.