A man from Derby who has previously used the government’s £2 bus fare scheme is embarking on a new challenge, in which he will travel around the coast of England and Wales on 84 service buses and one ferry. Andrew Cowell, 47, has previously travelled by bus alone to Whitby, Penzance, and Poland and plans to spend 13 days on the road, estimating he will spend nine hours a day on a bus. His latest trip is part of his fundraising efforts for the Railway Children charity to boost awareness of local buses that are under threat in rural areas as well as for personal amusement and to raise awareness of buses under threat in rural areas.
Mr Cowell works in railway operational planning and his latest trip will still make use of the £2 bus fare, which only applies in England. The trip is estimated to cost him £170, starting in Derby on 10 June, with the first day involving six buses to get him to Lancaster. He is looking forward to the second day of the trip as that will take him through the Lake District to Keswick, which is known as being a scenic route. Mr Cowell estimates that the journey will take him nine hours a day and is worth it for the views out of the window.
Mr Cowell said he is participating in the three peak challenge at the end of June, so he is using this as an opportunity to boost fundraising. For the trip, Cowell said he will be filming his trips and landscape views from the window of each bus. Cowell’s journey may have a therapeutic quality for him, he added, “I’ve always liked travel, I’ve always liked just looking out of the window and just seeing different things, just those sort of incidental things as you go past.”
Andrew Cowell’s latest challenge reflects his enduring love of adventure and travel, but it also has a serious purpose, namely promoting the benefits of buses for rural communities faced with losing public transport services. Cowell hopes to demonstrate how important the service is to people and the isolation that those without it must face
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More