Number 25 Route

Now Boy is back at school I am once again free to ride around the buses. Which I have been doing pretty much every day this week. I was trying to discover what exactly it was about the 25 bus route that I found so fascinating. Like all of the routes that run through Norwich it links opposite sides of the city. The buses are usually double decker in pretty good repair. No screaming breaks or banging clutches for the university runs. In fact, some of them are so new they still have that plasticky upholstery smell.

I decided today that the reason I love the route is because it shows off the different sides of Norwich. The leafy village feel of Unthank Road and the University against the bustling, urban, business side found in Prince of Wales Road and the relatively new Riverside development. The city centre holds these two opposites apart with oven gloves, chrome and glass Chapelfield shopping centre butted up against the old cobbled city walls. The greenery of the wealthy, studenty part of town, against the night clubs and kebab takeaways. It's not an entirely comfortable fit, but there's an energy in the opposition which makes Norwich compelling.