Pretty Devon or a Narrow Hell?

I don't travel on buses very often these days so it was really enjoyable to take an interesting bus ride in Devon on First's Mayflower Link between Plymouth and Dartmouth two hours away. The drivers certainly earn their money as this route is a slow roller-coaster ride of steep hills, sharp bends and painfully narrow roads as we squeezed through quiet villages or swished passed overhanging trees in what seemed like lanes. Also on offer were some spectacular views of the wild unspoilt countryside across which Buzzards glided or we nervously glanced down steep rocky wooded banks at the sea far below. For the drivers it doesn't pay to take their eyes off the road for as well as the oncoming cars and motorcycles come equally big Plaxton bodied Dennis double-decker 93 Route Buses coming the other way. In a perfect world they would plan it so they met in the right places but with buses running late inevitably one should meet at least one in absolutely the worst place. Luckily there were a couple of policemen on board our bus making their way to busy Dartmouth where the town was enjoying it's Regatta and they stopped the traffic so the other bus could reverse into a better passing place. However advanced they are this backbreaking work certainly doesn't suit modern buses like these examples that when new battled their way more comfortably through the streets of Bristol as our embarrassingly example T812 LLC broke down on the way back with slipping gears.