THIS is Newport’s Upper Dock Street bus station. The ‘Then’ photo dates from the 1960s, prominent are the new Alexander bodied Leyland Atlantean buses with one of the old AEC single cabbed, rear entranced buses in the roadway.

Among the bus services was the No. 9 Docks and No. 3 Malpas. Before it became a bus station there was an open market with the stalls lit at night by hissing Tilley lamps.

Opposite the bus station is the entrance to the indoor market (then a hive of activity), next door is the double front of AA Wright, fruit & provision merchant and next door again is Merretts’ bakery.

Further up Dock Street on the right hand side was an umbrella repair shop, a tobacconist and Fussell’s sports shop. Newport’s large fleet of double decker buses could all be accommodated in this bus station without causing problem to the roads.

Dave Woolven Newport

The picture is the old bus station in Dock Street with the market steps in the background, looks about 1970 going by the combination of new style buses being phased in.

There’s a No.18 Bettws bus in foreground, I think, and an old Gaer bus opposite the market steps. The steps were the meeting place of the youth of the day, its where you met your girlfriend for a date or your mates.

All the mods, of which I was one, met there and we would line our scooters up all along the road in front of the market steps, sometimes as many as forty at a time. Brilliant times. I think the market steps became a meeting place as far back as the sixties for the mods and rockers. The rockers used to meet at the Pop Inn next to the art school over Newport bridge.

Forgot to mention Jacobs men’s clothing store in background which used to sell (mainly unfashionable) jeans and wellies. Once I bought a pair of wellies but had to take them back as the string was too short.

Paul Stone, Caerleon

Today’s picture is the old bus station. This was in the 50s or 60s when the market was thriving along with the rest of the town.To me, this site is the best for easy access to the centre of the town, and more convenient for shoppers.

Who remembers The Almo mobile cafe there? Commonly known as The Alamo.

Jim Dyer Newport