IainMorton Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 21 hours ago, senorsoupe said: I've done a fair number of long bus trips in my time (New York to Montreal at close to 9 hours was the longest) and I can solidly say that the bus is garbage. Even with our terrible trains I would much rather take the train in Canada than a bus, even the extra cost is totally worth it. In terms of UK bus trips (on National Express both times), I did Glasgow to Liverpool and a few days later Liverpool to London, most memorable moment of any of those trips was our "lunch stop" somewhere near Milton Keynes which was at some burger van on a dirt road just off the motorway, was sketchy as f**k A burger van in a lay-by sounds better than the service station stores that charge a tenner for a sandwich and a fiver for a bottle of coke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senorsoupe Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 23 minutes ago, IainMorton said: A burger van in a lay-by sounds better than the service station stores that charge a tenner for a sandwich and a fiver for a bottle of coke. This was in 2008 when I was there but the Burger Van was pretty pricey at the time, seems to me I spent about 7 or 8 quid for a tragic burger and a bottle of Fanta which seemed excessive given that the day before I had lunch in a Weatherspoon's in Liverpool that had a lunch special of a decent burger, chips, and a pint for 4 quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londonwell Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Done it many times in my youth. Some truly terrible experiences. One that stands out was on a night bus; was crushed in beside a huge big African lady for the entire journey, who had brought along an entire cooked sea trout, in tinfoil, as a snack. Pleasant journey that was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Took the bus from New York to New Orleans and from there to Laredo on the Tex/Mex border. Thought there would be some interesting scenery but it felt like most it was hidden by trees at the side of the road, met some interesting people though. Preferred it to the train I took from Washington to Savannah, more legroom on the Greyhound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drs Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Used to go via National Express about once a month from Glasgow to London, friday overnight, then go to the football on Saturday afternoon, theatre in the evening and then get the bus back Saturday overnight. NE used to have a special offer that sold tickets for £1 each way - marvelous days. Wandering around Keele services at 3am was always a particular highlight, I used to wonder about the despondancy of being the staff member in the shop at that time with only NE bus passengers for company, especially when you got back on the bus and the smell hit your nostrils and lingered for several minutes. Anyway...the trick for a good night on the bus was - NE always overbooked the trips back then so that they generally required two buses and then they would split them between a non-stop Glasgow to London or otherway and a stopper bus (Lockerbie, Milton Keynes, Golders Green etc), and the vast majority always wanted to be on the non-stopper thus leaving the stopper emptier with more space for spreading out if it wasnt that full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree house tam Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 20 hours ago, Londonwell said: Done it many times in my youth. Some truly terrible experiences. One that stands out was on a night bus; was crushed in beside a huge big African lady for the entire journey, who had brought along an entire cooked sea trout, in tinfoil, as a snack. Pleasant journey that was. Did you get her number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonHMFC Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Did Greyhound coaches run over here for a while? As I am sure I got one from Glasgow to London once, and it was actually alright. Used to do that journey a lot to watch West Ham. It was absolutely torture. Try and get on relatively quickly so you can get a seat with a plug socket to keep your phone on charge. You never really sleep until the last couple hours of the journey, then you wake up at Victoria very confused as to what's going on. My worst trip was after West Ham beat Spurs in the league cup. Wednesday night and my bus back was at midnight, not too many on it, but by f**k was it a long journey. Stopping every half hour. Didn't reach Glasgow till about 11 the next day. Remember waking up in Sheffield at a ridiculous hour and reading the court transcript about Ian Watkins as it had been published. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londonwell Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 1 hour ago, tree house tam said: Did you get her number? Shamefully, I played second fiddle to the trout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 I did Glasgow to London for a quid in October 2017 before flying to Montreal. Trains were extortionate and the only flights I could find down to Gatwick were either much too early or too late so I figured I'd be better spending that time on a bus rather than in an airport. I think I'd spend the time in the airport in future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 This sounds like the sort of bus used to transport prisoners. To prison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senorsoupe Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 8 hours ago, Darren said: I did Glasgow to London for a quid in October 2017 before flying to Montreal. Trains were extortionate and the only flights I could find down to Gatwick were either much too early or too late so I figured I'd be better spending that time on a bus rather than in an airport. I think I'd spend the time in the airport in future. Airport: Contains Pubs Bus: Does not contain Pubs Case closed IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 9 hours ago, Darren said: I did Glasgow to London for a quid in October 2017 before flying to Montreal. Trains were extortionate and the only flights I could find down to Gatwick were either much too early or too late so I figured I'd be better spending that time on a bus rather than in an airport. I think I'd spend the time in the airport in future. Had an early morning flight from Gatwick recently so flew down from Inverness the day before and spent the night in Brighton (£35). Not as cheap as Megabus but much more pleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainMorton Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 3 hours ago, senorsoupe said: Airport: Contains Pubs Bus: Does not contain Pubs Case closed IMHO Was that an intentional pun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senorsoupe Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 7 minutes ago, IainMorton said: Was that an intentional pun? No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alta-pete Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Had an early morning flight from Gatwick recently so flew down from Inverness the day before and spent the night in Brighton (£35). Not as cheap as Megabus but much more pleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Minertaur Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 My mates and I went down to the Scotland v Brazil match at the Emirates by Megabus. They booked their bus in Edinburgh and I booked what I presumed was the same one from Aberdeen that would pick them up. Of course my bus went via Glasgow and it meant a 10 hour journey on my own which was horrendous. Seemed to take forever and then we stopped just outside Birmingham where our driver got off and didn't come back. He'd obviously done his days work and left but didn't think of telling anybody. Eventually the next driver appeared but I'm sure he was about 30 minutes later. Bus eventually got to London and I found all my mates sitting in Wetherspoons having finished their breakfasts. Presumed that that would be the worst journey of my life but the return leg with a bunch of pissed up Scotland fans and a broken toilet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross. Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Done it a few times years back. Always found the journey down was fine, could read for a few hours, listen to a bit of music and get some kip. Generally the way back was hellish, with a serious hangover or come down being the main problem there. Positive is that it drops you off and picks you up very centrally, but the downside is definitely the duration of the journey. Would much rather pay the extra and fly now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainMorton Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 Bus down was torture and those ten hours seemed to last forever, ended up forking out some extra cash to get the train back up the road which was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taxman Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Travelled on Megabus to London once - never again. Train or plane now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Terrapin Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 Don't do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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