Indeed - Devizes and Salisbury.  I made a trip on the 272 bus at 08:00 Melksham into Devizes and then the X2 onward to Salisbury, journey time about 2 and a quarter hours which included a 45 minute layover in Devizes, back on the 14:30 bus from Salisbury, similar layover.

The X2 is a recent innovation - and a victory for common sense. 

Until not-long-ago, the bus from Devizes to Salisbury studiously avoided the direct road after Shrewton, when it diverted off through a number of lovely little villages, and dawdled into Salisbury via the A36.  This was route 2 and the journey was even longer. And whilst it passed a couple of miles from the Stonehenge visitor centre, it seemed to studiously avoid calling there.   Tourists visiting Devizes, with really good archaeological exhibits in the museum and a link on the 49 bus to Avebury - the other stone circle - had to go into Salisbury on the 2 and then double back on the tour bus run by the same company to get to Stonehenge.  A 30 minute drive in a hire car, but way over 2 hours by public transport between places that people naturally want linked by public transport.

Buses on the 2 now alternate with buses on the X2 which does serve the Stonehenge visitors centre and take the direct load into Salisbury - a considerably quicker journey.   There are also some extra short journeys out from Salisbury and back on the 2, in part "paid for" by the bus operating time saved by the X2 as it runs via the henge.  I suspect there may also be one extra vehicle.

Routing Devizes - Salisbury buses via Stonehenge has long been a 'campaign' in Devizes and I have certainly added my voice, and good to see the change. It provides a more attractive journey for through passengers from Shrewton and north there of to Salisbury,  anti provides that usable link from Devizes to Stonehenge.  Whether or not the change has been triggered by campaigning, by growing traffic or subsidy which allows the extra vehicle for the short journeys, or because the X2 can be run with a double decker (only single deck yesterday mind), I don't know. 

I was delighted to see that - even on an obscure November Saturday - we were carrying multiple passengers into Stonehenge who got off there from the Devizes direction. And on the way back, in a howling and wet gale, multiple soaking passengers joined us.   Also very interesting to see us picking up passenger all the way in to Salisbury City Centre from Devizes Road Top ... whether that is attraction off another local bus, or indeed that other local bus is replaced at some times by X2 journeys helping free up a vehicle for the short journey 2s, I know not.  But oversll, from my slim evidence, it's working out well.

The X2 from Devizes is described as "Salisbury via Stonehenge" but the X2 from Salisbury I described as "Devizes direct" - no mention of Stonehenge on the signage, and I suspect this is done to protect the Stonehenge Tour bus from abstraction; the bus itself does admit the call.  It was also stated concern (not sure how true it is) that there was a worry than a public bus between Stonehenge and Salisbury would damage the commercial income of GoAhead who run the 2, the X2 and the tour bus.  On my journeys yesterday, no-one joined the bus at Stonehenge towards Salisbury, nor did we drop anyone off there later in the day; not unexpected as the visitor centre is an attraction where natural selection is morning drop offs and afternoon pick ups.

 
1 is the Salisbury Paddington.

 
(2) is Devizes, the London end of the tunnel that's now a shooting range