Oooooh. This is a bit different from an Optare Solo! Seen here on the South West Coaches 158 service from Wincanton to Shaftesbury is N506HWY , a Volvo B10B step entrance bus with Alexander Strider bodywork. I believe this is a rare working for this bus as it's normally seen on the 1 Yeovil - Shepton Mallet route! The only clue to its current destination is the small paper "destination display" in the windscreen. I expect the roller blinds on this are still for its old operating area, up north!

This bus was one of a batch of 10 new to Keighley & District in 1996 to launch the STARBUS network. The bus also operated for Harrogate and District and Lancashire United as fleet number 506.

It is now in operation since 2005 with South West Coaches based in Wincanton and Yeovil in Somerset. It was previously painted in SWC's livery of white and blue, but that has now been superseded with the newest silver livery, as seen here.

I have never seen this bus on the 158 before! This is almost exclusively operated by a route branded 2007 Optare Solo these days. Does anyone with inside knowledge know why this bus and a Mercedes minibus have been operating on the 158 in recent weeks?

I was very pleasently suprised when this turned the corner into Gillingham Rail Station as I had only gone to photo one of Damory Coaches' buses.