In praise of...National Express Coaches

‘My bum hurts. National Express...Never again!’

That was the status update that stared at me on my now defunct facebook homepage. A friend and I had both arrived home from a glorious weekend away. Whilst I was revelling in my post national express coach trip afterglow, she was more keen to express her sentiments on that particular mode of transport to her online audience.

I love the national express coach experience. I’m known to refuse to take the train even when my time keeping reputation is at stake just to ride the coach. I like that feeling of being taken care of. I turn up at the pick up station, usually accompanied by heavy and awkward shaped luggage and wait for the coach to turn up. The lovely drivers then proceed to check my ticket cheerfully and help me fit my luggage and off I go. Into the glorious beauty where a comfortable seat awaits. On it, I can have unlimited daydreams, chortle from reading strange tales in a book, or simply just take in the view as the couch snakes away through the beautiful countryside (journeys I prefer the most.) I find this is the part where some people hate most, sitting there for long periods of time, on their ‘bums’, but really all national express coaches have plenty of space to allow for the stretching of legs, numerous shift positions, the little walk to and fro here and there, so there is no excuse for you to sit stiff torturing yourself throughout the journey.

And the best part? Service stops. Yes, I know technically these are not part of the service offered by the national express but it is part of the experience of the journey by the national express coaches. Service stops, especially give me the chance to get off the coach, refresh then walk again towards the coach whilst admiring its physical beauty. Again, perhaps it’s the sort of person I am. Very long journeys are perfectly OK with me. It’s akin to deliberately getting lost. And what’s not to love about their funfares and endless summer deals? For someone who seems perpetually broke, it’s a great, fun and convenient way to travel.