Whether you’re barrelling down Borrowdale through a tunnel of autumn leaves or breezing up to the Downs from Brighton on a frosty spring morning, the top deck of a bus can give you a wonderful new perspective on the world. Looking down from that height — and having far more time to look at things than you would if you were driving — turns an ordinary journey into an adventure.
And right now bus travel is exceptionally good value, with an England-wide scheme that caps many single journey fares at £2 (please see below for more information about which companies are participating and which routes are included). The scheme has now been extended until the end of October 2023.
With this in mind, on the most recent teachers’ strike day my daughter and I decided on the spur of the moment to take the S2 service from Oxford to Cheltenham, a town we’d never visited before. I grabbed a map from our Town Tours in Britain book, checked the online timetable, and we were off.
From the back seat of the top deck we had a 360 degree view of spring unfolding in the Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire countryside; the subtle yellow of fields of cowslips contrasting with the brash yellow of oil seed rape. We got close ups of trees coming into leaf and of birds nesting, and glimpsed shop windows decorated for the Coronation, Cotswold stone churches and almshouses, and, in Northleach, an old prison converted into a cafe.
After 42 winding miles we arrived at Cheltenham’s bus station. It is centrally located so we could begin sightseeing straight away, admiring the Regency terraces along the Promenade and in the Montpellier district, and the Town Hall in Imperial Square, which Town Tours described poetically as “a huge slumbering lion, sitting on its haunches with its front paws thrust out.”
We explored a huge bookshop called Hatchards, and the Gloucester Craft Guild shop, and took pictures of the Trevi-inspired Neptune fountain. Statues commemorate two of Cheltenham’s most famous sons: composer of The Planets, Gustav Holst, and polar explorer Edward Wilson, a member of Scott’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition of 1912.
There was cherry blossom everywhere, and neat ranks of pink and purple tulips in the parks. Just before leaving we had a look around the museum and art gallery The Wilson, which has a gallery devoted to the legacy of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, and a King Penguin cast in bronze.
The total cost of our day’s travel was just £8 — far cheaper than going by car, and better for the environment.
We had to return home because it was a school night, but one weekend soon we hope to return to Cheltenham and from there get the £2 bus to Cirencester, staying overnight at YHA Cotswolds.
Over the years we’ve had many great bus adventures while hostelling, especially on open top buses.
One was a journey through West Penwith, where we were staying at YHA Penzance, in early 2022:
“Is there a more carefree way to travel than on the open top of a double-decker bus? On a sunny spring morning we wound slowly through the lanes towards Land’s End, looking down on clouds of blackthorn and out to the turquoise sea. We heard the cheerful twittering of goldfinches and breathed in the coconut-and-pineapple scent of the gorse. Just beyond Penzance we had a bird’s-eye view of The Merry Maidens stone circle. According to local legend, 19 young women were turned to stone as punishment for the crime of dancing on a Sunday; two nearby stones — The Pipers — were responsible for the music.”
In autumn 2019 we based ourselves at YHA Keswick and spent a week exploring the Lake District by bus:
“[Going by bus], you can be spontaneous and have random adventures. It’s fun to go to a bus station and just get on the next bus that arrives, wherever it’s going. After finally visiting Castlerigg Stone Circle, a 1.5-mile walk from YHA Keswick, we headed along a footpath to the road, picked up a bus that happened to be passing, and popped over to Allan Bank [in Grasmere] again, in time for a last cup of tea with the squirrels as dusk was falling.”
And perhaps our most memorable trip of all was from Poole to Swanage, where we stayed at YHA Swanage, in spring 2021:
“From a child’s perspective the best thing about the number 50 bus is that it goes on a boat: the chain ferry that plies the harbour mouth between Studland and Sandbanks. Our trip back to Swanage at sunset on the open top seats was like being on a roller coaster: freezing cold, we laughed hysterically as we rounded the corners. Our daughter said it was the most fun she had on the entire trip.”
If you’d like some further inspiration, specialist guidebooks are available, including Bus-Pass Britain and Bus-Pass Britain Rides Again, published by Bradt Travel Guides.
Where could you go on your bus adventure?
Find out more about the bus journey price cap.
Some bus companies aren’t participating; some are involved, but are excluding certain routes; and in some areas there are already fare caps (London, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and West Yorkshire).
Read more of Jenny’s blogs.
Discover more about YHA.
