Monday 1st August - York
 | | Gwen and Janet in York |
The GMR Bus is on holiday this week checking out some grand days out within easy reach of Manchester.
Today we were 76 miles away from home in York. In fact we were in the ‘Eye of York’ next to the Castle Museum in the shadow of Clifford’s Tower. Gwen and Janet work at the Castle Museum – they couldn’t resist the prospect of talking to Manchester so we put them on the radio!
 | | Christine and Lois from Canada |
Christine is from Ottawa and Lois is from Vancouver. The two Canadians met each other in Glasgow last week. The weather was “grim” so they decided to travel south to York. “It was the first time we’d ever heard the expression ‘black clouds’ in a weather forecast. But it’s a good way to sum up the weather we had in Glasgow.” Tuesday 2nd August - Chester Zoo
 | | Rachel and Katy at Chester Zoo |
Another day, another holiday destination for the GMR bus. Tuesday meant a visit to Chester Zoo, just 45 miles away from the centre of Manchester.
We were parked between the tearoom and the lions so we weren’t short of visitors. Rachael and Julie work at the zoo. Julie reckons she’s found her dream job – she’s the Zoo’s Artist in Residence, which means she can combine her two passions for animals and art.
 | | Katie, Laura, Diego and Will from Spain |
Laura, Diego and Will from Spain were having a holiday at Katie’s house in Chester. They met when Katie was their babysitter in Spain. Now they pay regular visits to each other’s houses to keep their language skills up to snuff. Laura’s house is in La Rioja – where the wine comes from, “We’re very proud of our regional wine – but we don’t drink it very much.” Wednesday 3rd August - Llandudno
 | | Annette and Jason in Llandudno |
Wednesday of the GMR Bus’s holiday week and we drove out along the North Wales Coast. We parked on the prom at Llandudno 88 miles away from our base at Oxford Road Manchester. Jason and Annette Mayo were on a day out from Manchester. They were just walking by the pier, when they saw a seagull swoop down and grab a woman’s ice cream.
 | | Guilty looking seagull |
“She’d just bought it and was walking back to her husband when this thing came out of the sky and grabbed her cornet. It got the lot, but a bit of ice cream fell off onto the woman’s head – at least I think it was ice cream.” We can exclusively reveal a picture of the guilty gull sitting on a lamppost digesting the ice cream – at least we think it was that one wot done it! Thursday 4th August - Blackpool
 | | BBC GMR Bus in Blackpool |
A little closer to home on Thursday, but still by the seaside. No sooner had we set up when we were presented with coffees and sausage sandwiches from Julie who works over the road from where we were parked on the Prom at the Sea Life Centre. In the lovely sunshine and strong wind we were all starting to feel weary, but we did manage to muster up enough strength to sample some freshly cooked doughnuts before it was time to pack up the deck chairs and head back home.
 | | Trisha and Jack in Manchester |
To round the week off we parked up in Cathedral Gardens in Manchester for a nice picnic in the city. Trisha and Jack popped in to see us and make good use of our deck chairs! What a great way to wind down on a sunny afternoon in Manchester. Now we're all just about ready for a real holiday! | 
