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Stagecoach release details of bus services over the Christmas and New Year period. 

During the Christmas and New Year period, Stagecoach will keep you connected with their festive timetables operating between 21st December and 5th January 2021 with exceptions on 25th December and 1st January 2021. Long distance services in Aberdeenshire and Moray to Aberdeen will be operating on Boxing Day for customers who need to travel, along with essential city services in Aberdeen such as the 59 to ARI and Jet 727 to Aberdeen Airport. 

Peter Knight, Managing Director for Stagecoach Bluebird said: “This year hasn’t been without its challenges, however, I’m really pleased that families will be able to get together over Christmas. We are proud to play a part in keeping our communities across Aberdeenshire & Moray connected and support our customers travel needs during the festive season.  The safety of our customers and employees is our priority so we would like to thank everyone for following government guidance when travelling with us. All of our safety measures will continue to be in place but we would like to remind everyone that services may be busier than normal and to plan your journey ahead of time.   

I’m very appreciative to everyone at Bluebird for their amazing contribution and commitment during such uncertain times, the team have been working hard to keep our customers journey a smooth and safe one.  I would like to thank in advance all my colleagues who will be working to keep people connected over Christmas. We would also like to wish our customers a Merry Christmas and all the best for 2021.” 

Advice for customers…

Plan before you travel and avoid busy times and routes  

Use contactless to pay for your journey wherever you can 

Wear a face covering throughout your journey  

If you feel unwell or have any Coronavirus symptoms, please do not use public transport  

Festive bus timetables are now available to download online at stagecoachbus.com 

Supporting C-Fine – how can we help?

Following the success of last year’s C-Fine food bank donations by the businesses operating within Prime Four, food bins were due to be introduced again from April 2020, on a rota basis, for the rest of the year. Given the current situation however, this has had to be postponed until further notice. Many families and individuals in the North East rely on help from C-Fine anyway and the Coronavirus outbreak has affected foodbank stocks, causing a severe shortage of basic food and non-food goods. The number of people in need of support has increased due to job losses as a result of the Pandemic. This ongoing situation means it is more important than ever that we help protect the most vulnerable members of our community. Demand for support will increase in the coming weeks. So, what can we do to help? We have created a Prime Four Fundraiser Page in order for cash donations to be made easily, and help us to see how we are contributing to C-Fine’s efforts. Your donations will allow the charity to purchase food and essential personal items which can then be distributed to those who most require it.  What can your donation do?

• £5 supplies a family with emergency food and toiletries and gives access to financial capability support
• £50 can provide a four- week block of ‘Cooking-on-a-Budget’ classes for low income individuals and families
• £250 allows C-Fine to deliver one tonne of food to community organisations across the North East

For more information on C-Fine, please click here.

We have set a target to raise £4,000 over the coming months. We have in excess of 2,000 people working at Prime Four, a donation of £2.00 each would make a huge difference to those in need of help. Please give generously. Thank you in advance for your support.

The Prime Four Management

Stagecoach have released a statement regarding changes to current bus schedules.  Please note – the Prime Four loop will not be included while the temporary timetables are in force. Timetables are all available to download here.

Unfortunately due to the escalating COVID-19 situation, and in order to keep in line with Government guidelines, we will not be allowing any visitors in to the Prime Four Management Suite, with immediate effect. Therefore all fitness classes are cancelled until further notice.

The Beast is back, and meaner than ever!

If you fancy a challenge in 2020 then this could be for you! We have complimentary places for Prime Four members as well as a 20% discount offer for your friends and family. The Loch Ness race will be held in August, and Banchory will follow in September. To register your interest please click here  (you will need to register as a Prime Four member) and to read more about this fantastic and unique event, click here.

The Beast has been tamed for another year…

The sun shone as race goers arrived and prepared to set off on the beastliest course to date. More than 2000 runners took part, including nearly 100 from various companies at Prime Four, in this years event at the stunning location of Knockburn Loch, Banchory. 

With new obstacles – the Launch Pad, Beast Dip, Monkey Magic, Dash or Splash and Slippery Slope – awaiting this years participants, runners had to navigate round the new challenging route to get to them.  The epic 10k obstacle race is not just a personal or group fitness challenge but also an amazing opportunity for many charities.

The event’s official charity Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland have initial counts putting the total at £20,000. The money will help people across the country live life to the full after a chest, heart or stroke condition.

Paul Corrigan, north and north-east fundraising manager for the charity, said: “This weekend’s Beast Race was the best yet. To see so many people getting muddy, braving all sorts of messy obstacles and supporting a good cause was inspirational.”

“They didn’t just beat the Beast, they’re helping beat loneliness and the fear that people feel when they go through a chest, heart or stroke condition”

The tough terrain tested the ability of runners, with the fast completion time being 50 minutes.  A huge well done to the winners…

Male:

1st – Calum Martin – 50.06
2nd – Neill Mcleod – 54:37
3rd – Andrew Gillies – 54:51

Female:

1st – Julie Menzies – 58:45
2nd – Emma Murry – 59:38
3rd – Chloe Sangster – 1:01:32

See some Prime Four workers in action below…

Wettest and beastliest Beast Race yet…but spirits not dampened!

A massive well done to everyone who took part in one of the wettest Beast races to date!  Some Prime Four workers made the journey up to Inverness to take part in this years race.  With heavy downpours, it was extra mud all round making for an even more challenging course. 

With a record attendance of over 2000 at the Loch Ness location, spirits were high as participants navigated through the 10k course and 27 obstacles.  A big congrats to the top male finisher completing the race at a time of 49:13 and the top female finisher crossing the line in a time of 01:03:44…epic race tiimes considering mud levels!!  Over £30k has been raised for nominated charity CHSS so far and is rising, with many other charity benefiting from race participation too.

The Course is now being dismantled in preperation for it’s signature event at Knockburn Loch, Banchory on Saturday 21st September.  The Big new water slide called the Launch Pad, will also feature at Banchory! Along with New Monkey Magic and Dash or Splash obstacles.

Nearly 100 workers from Prime Four tenants will be participating at this years Banchory race and we wish everyone a great race and perhaps dryer weather!!

60 000 bees occupy the newly built apiary

Prime Four are delighted to introduce our newest tenants to the park – sixty thousand honey bees! 

Recognising the environmental impact bees have, our new apiary housing 4 hives, has been built and installed on the wildflower grounds situated between the Apache and Maersk buildings.  CNOOC International, Apache, Kingswellies Nursery and Anderson Anderson & Brown have all kindly sponsored a hive and a local bee keeper will maintain and monitor the bee’s.

Above: the bees arriving at their new home at Prime Four.

WE NEED BEE’S.  They are vital for stable, healthy food supplies. They are key to the varied, colourful and nutritious diets we need and have come to expect. Bees are perfectly adapted to pollinate, helping plants grow, breed and produce food. They do so by transferring pollen between flowering plants and so keep the cycle of life turning. The vast majority of plants we need for food rely on pollination, especially by bees. 

BEES ARE IN TROUBLE. There is growing public and political concern at bee decline across the world. This decline is caused by a combination of stresses – from loss of their habitat and food sources to exposure to pesticides and the effects of climate change.  More than ever before, we need to recognise the importance of bees to nature and to our lives.

AWPR service connecting to Kingswells Park and Ride starts in January

Stagecoach North Scotland today confirmed two new bus services will begin operation on Monday 21st January using the AWPR improving journey times for those choosing to travel by bus.

Following the public timetable consultation in September 2018, the local bus operator has reviewed all feedback received and has finalised plans for the first bus services to operate on the AWPR.

·        Bus services will make use of the new AWPR from 21st January 2019
·        Customer feedback shapes additional new route – service 757
·        Hourly connections from Ellon and Stonehaven to Aberdeen Airport
·        Half hourly connections from Kingswells P&R to Aberdeen Airport

Service 747 will be introduced on Monday 21st January offering a new link across Aberdeenshire and Angus. The new service will replace services 107 and current 747 and will operate an hourly frequency throughout most of the day between Montrose and Ellon using the AWPR. The service will operate from Montrose to Stonehaven before serving Kingswells Park and Ride and Aberdeen Airport. The service will then continue to Ellon and some journeys will also extend to Cruden Bay and Peterhead.

Service 757 will be introduced from the same date providing a direct link to the airport from Portlethen and Newtonhill. Residents in Portlethen and Newtonhill provided feedback in the timetable consultation requesting if a service could be introduced to the airport rather than connecting to 747 in Stonehaven. On reviewing the feedback Stagecoach has been able to introduce service 757 shaped by the feedback received from these communities. The 757 service will operate up to every hour 7 days a week to the airport and will also stop at Kingswells P&R.

Kingswells Park and Ride will benefit from both of the new bus services and as a result journeys from the popular Park and Ride site to the airport will be available by bus up to every 30 minutes, 7 days a week.  Both services will be operated by low-floor easy access buses fitted with the latest tracking technology as well as the ability to accept contactless payments.

The award-winning JET service 727 connecting the city centre to the airport up to every 10 minutes will continue to the current timetable.

David Liston, Managing Director, Stagecoach North Scotland said: “We are delighted to be able to start the new year by introducing two new services to our Aberdeenshire network. In our autumn timetable consultation we received a lot of support for the new service 747 providing a direct bus connection to the airport. On reviewing consultation feedback from residents in Newtonhill and Portlethen we have been able to identify a solution that means these communities will also be connected to the airport from 21st January. We look forward to welcoming both old and new customers on board our new services later this month.”

From Monday 21st January services 50, 54, 60, 61, 63 and 81are subject to revision in the Buchan Travel Guide. These revisions are minor with only some early morning journeys being re-timed and additional journeys on service 50 to accommodate the route revision on service 747 in the Buchan area.

Timetables for service 747 and 757 are now available to download online and printed copies will soon be available to pick up in Aberdeen bus station, Kingswells P&R, Ellon P&R, Peterhead Interchange and Aberdeen Airport.

A loved up – and very muddy – couple stunned participants by getting MARRIED on the finish line at this years Prime Four Beast Race in Loch Ness.

The newlyweds walked down a truly unique 10km aisle with 30 brutal obstacles at one of Scotland’s toughest obstacle course races (OCR) to tie the knot.

Marlene Harper and Les Simpson from Wick secretly decided to get hitched, surprising thousands of participants, including 80 of their friends and training partners from Hamilton Optimum Training (HOT). 

Les and Marlene recently decided to take up a healthier lifestyle and vowed to celebrate the experience of completing Prime Four Beast Race in just over three hours by becoming man and wife in front of their teammates.  

Pictured (from left to right) Kris Hamilton of Hamilton Optimum Training,Groom: Les Simpson and Bride: Marlene Harper along side Team HOT  

Blooming bride Marlene said:

“The Prime Four Beast Race has been a fantastic experience. Neither me nor Les have ever taken part in anything like this before, but we wanted to do something to show how far we’ve come since joining the HOT team. It was amazing to get married in front of all our friends, and it was a great surprise for them.”

Grubby groom, Les said:

“After all the mud and sweat, came the tears because Marlene was still my beautiful bride. It’s a day we shall never forget”

Jono Buckland, director at organisers FireTrail Events comments:

“It’s not every day that something like this happens at the Prime Four Beast Race, but what a brilliant experience for all involved. A couple that races together stays together!”

Fife Hyland, communications director at Drum Property Group, developers of Prime Four adds:

“I’ve been at some messy weddings in my time but nothing like this! It’s been an honour to be part of their special day and everyone at Prime Four wishes them all the best for the future.”

Newlyweds Les Simpson and Marlene Harper