Had a cheese and onion pastry and lemon muffin for breakfast. Cheese and onion isn’t very breakfasty for my taste, but when in Rome… 
The toilets in the Leeds bus station are like nothing I’ve ever seen. You have to close the sanitary protection lid to get the to flush. It’s a good idea. But their commitment to sanitation doesn’t continue to the badly-designed sinks.
Anyway, have left Leeds. Want to enjoy the ride and tweet more later!
Oh, also shoutout to the staff member in Leeds Bus Station (I assume driver but I didn’t ask) who recognised me from Twitter. Forgot to ask your name because having someone recognise me from the internet is so surreal, but nice to chat buses without you!
Also greatest thanks to the guy behind me on the bus who got up and asked people closer to the front to close the window. My warm hands thank you (that sounds like more of an innuendo then intended…) #NotAllHeroesWearCapes
Sounds about right…
Now it’s too hot and everything is steamed up. A man who got on asked if he could open the window. I’ve never heard anyone ask before! We’re definitely not in London anymore! 😂
The bus I’m on is running incredibly behind. Oh well. Time to replan!
Ooohhh… seems like the connection is running pretty late too. Maybe it will be fine.
I’m starting to discover published timetables are clearly mere suggestions in Yorkshire. 😂
As many, many people suggested, I’ve just come off the 840 coastliner. It is absolutely stunning, no doubt, though only really got good past Malton (though I’ve never been to York so nice to see it briefly).
Riding up and down the valleys is incredible, and I love the sea in the distance (though I was on the wrong side). It was some of the steepest roads I’ve been on in a bus.
Also pass the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Heritage railways aren’t particularly my thing, but I feel like they may be an interest of many following this…
Whitby looked really nice but only had a couple of minutes there (which is a shame because I’m quite thirsty but I have much more time at the next stop if things go to plan…).
Currently on a bus keen to advertise how tactless the company is… 😂
On the 840 being the most beautiful bus route in Britain note… I don’t know. It’s obviously stunning but I haven’t been on every bus route in Britain (don’t tempt me)…
I’d put some of the other ones I’ve taken on par… through the Calder Valley and the Peaks (don’t remember numbers because they were all just ‘see where this bus goes’ journeys). Also Newport to Ventnor on IoW.
And if we extend to all of the UK, the bus from the station to the Giants Causeway is maybe my top bus ever. It’s like nothing else (but I do love the ocean).
Basically, I need to ride more buses to get a fuller opinion. 😂
Oh, and I’ve only ever ridden a couple of buses in Wales and only ones around Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and never been to Devon and Cornwall, so I’m sure there are a lot more stunning things to see.
It’s a glorious day with the sun streaming in and I’m flying through the beautiful hills of North Yorkshire. And this song came on, which is geographically inappropriate, but does feel emotionally appropriate…
My time spent in Nova Scotia has given me a deep love of Scottish Folk Music (and also the Scots-Irish inspired music from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland).
“Wearing your heart on your sleeve…”
Oh god. Six teenage boys just got on this bus. They all have exactly the same haircut and reek of whatever is the currently trendy equivalent of Lynx Africa. 😂😂
I am acutely aware of how lucky we are with transport in London, but when people get on the bus or tube with too much perfume or cologne and I’m not in a hurry I just get off and wait for the next one. Can’t do that here! 😂
My card has just been declined when I tried to buy lunch. I tried it again and then I said I’d get another card and she wouldn’t even let me use another card. She just looked at me suspiciously and said “it says something very serious on the terminal”. 😳
Does my bank think someone stole my card and went joyriding around England… on buses?
I totally appreciate it’s just fraud detection and they’re doing their job and it’s all automated. It just made me laugh. Chatting with bits and/or people at the bank now.
Apparently I’ve made too many Apple Pay transactions in one day… I thought they were unlimited.
Forgot to share this earlier… taken in Whitby…
BIG NEWS ONLY I CARE ABOUT! I thought Tesco had stopped selling Ploughman’s (my favourites sandwich) but they still have them in Middlesborough.
In other news, a few years ago I was going to Middlesborough for a day for work. I asked two friends from there what else I should do there. One said “ride some scenic buses” the other said “leave”. Done and done. 😂
I’ve been corrected on my spelling of Middlesbrough. Apologies! I spelled it wrong so many times the last time I went there it autocorrects to that but I realised last time too so I should have remembered.
When I said to the bank, “but I’ve spent less than £30 on Apple Pay today” they said “oh now I’ve actually looked it’s fraud detection”. Thorough job there…
Alright, made it to Newcastle on the X10. It kept announcing it was an “x line” yo which I thought, “The only ex line I’m familiar with KT ‘ Hey – you up?’ at midnight.”
(Sorry, that was terrible, I’ll go back to buses…)
Very fancy bus with tables and screens and everything – and these pointless lights that were working even though the USB chargers weren’t.
As I got on, one of the people in front of me said “should we get a table?” to which the other replied, “Where else would we put the wine?” so clearly this was a good time bus!
Got into Newcastle quite late, did a lot of running around to try to find/use toilets before the next bus left, and then it turned out the next bus failed to materialise so just sat around waiting for a while.
I tried to take some nice photos of Newcastle as we rolls in because the view over the Tyne bridges is always stunning, but didn’t get anything good because of being on a moving bus…
I’ve made it to Alnwick! Meant to take the X18 but when one of those failed to exist took the X15 instead. Was hoping to get to Barter Books before they closed at 6, but such is life.
Can’t get any further tonight so will be back on the buses tomorrow morning. Now it’s told to eat and call my bank’s fraud protection. 😂
My partner started messaging me about difficulties in our plan to travel by train to Istanbul next month. Planning transport journeys is just my life now. 😂
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