Stafford the day the Vikings came!

Well peaceful Danes perhaps...Taken over twenty years ago with the added traffic and roads Stafford Market Square seemed very different. I realise the noise and fumes weren't very healthy but did people really mind the traffic or like me did they think it added a bit of life and interest. But even if you disagree the downside is that today when one walks into a town they have to negotiate a windswept featureless no-mans-land of tarmac and railings in the shape of the ring-road. Even worse this zone just beyond the centre often featured the bits that made that place special whether it be small shops, historic architecture, or just walks and wildlife habitats. Today I'm afraid towns are about cars, the spirit of a journey no longer counts, it's all about arriving in a controlled way and the spend. As for the buses, town services used to go down the main street and generations of buses like Midland Red North National 558 NOE 558R used to pick-up in the Market Square. Today of course they have to go a longer way which means a longer trek with the shopping and it slows the service down but it seems to work if one can remember where the correct bus stops are.