Hello guys from sunny Manchester yes the sun is out believe it or not and I'm here at the
national express coach station where I'm going to be picking up the 173 service from Hull
via Leeds and Manchester across to Blackpool Journey time from here is around abouts one
hour and 20 minutes and the price well it's pretty cheap I'll tell you how much that was
a little bit later on but yeah just waiting for the coach to arrive now and when it does
we'll get on board we'll see how busy it is and yeah I'll show you what it's all about
I'll see you on board
Yes it was way too nice to be sat in a Coach Station tbh, I hung around outside watching
a couple of National Express services enter via the access barrier and then I made my
way back across the street where you have various other local and regional bus stops
and an assortment of buses coming and going from these stands.
yeah last time I was here actually I was taking the x43 witchway service up to um Burnley
wasn't it which is there's just one over there actually and that' is a fantastic bus not
many people have watched that video I was quite surprised because it is definitely the
best bus that I've been on better than some coaches I've been on actually give it a watch
I'll link to it up here and yeah maybe you could take that service as well but yeah um
National express coach station well it seems to be underneath the NCP multi-story car park
I don't know much about it really yet but I'm gonna head in there got an upper crust
anyway if you like that sort of thing and yeah we'll see what the facilities are like
my coach is due at 12 o'clock so in about 45 minutes time uh but yeah we'll um we'll
get ready so hopefully get a nice seat onboard as well
Just passing us here is the free bus around Manchester City Centre which is a great initiative
i’ve used in the past between Piccadilly and Victoria railway stations.
Really useful if you don’t know where you’re going and of course you can wait for ages
and then two turn up at the same time.
Anyway, across the street and into the station via either these automatic doors here or a
similar pair on the street itself.
There is plenty of seating and table seating here and a couple of retail outlets, the Upper
Crust I mentioned before and what I think was a sort of newsagents-cum-meal deal type
place.
You will also see here an arrivals and departures board detailing the upcoming services and
whether they’re on time (or not).
There are eight stands here, accessed via doors A - D. On the left here you have automatic
ticket machines on your left and a tickets and information desk which was closed at the
time of my visit.
Not sure if this is a permanent thing or not, if you know, please let me know in the comments
below.
There is a manned information desk a bit further along and, from what I could see, the staff
here were excellent - always on hand dealing with passenger queries (and there were lots)
and keeping everyone updated in terms of arrival/departure times.
A little bit further on you have a couple of vending machines and the toilets which
were free to use.
right guys yeah quarter past 12 still in Manchester should have been on the coach by now heading
over to blackpool but um there's been a delay because the westbound m62 was closed as a
result of a two lorry smash apparently so it's gonna be another 20-25 minutes yet before
we get onboard but yeah that's coach travel isn't as I've said before and you kind of
learn to live with these and not book anything with too tight a connection at the other end
I haven't got a connection today which is great so it doesn't really matter to me does
it but yeah we'll see how we go and um yeah hopefully I will see you on board in a little
while
Our coach finally arrived at 12:37 - a seven-year-old Volvo B11RT Caetano Levante 2 - one of the
oldest National Express coaches I’d been on actually.
Don’t know what the life-span is for these but, I’d love to know what the oldest coaches
are in the fleet.
Boarding was via Door C, stand 6.
I used my National Express app to show the driver my ticket
and got on board.
we left at 12:44 - 44 minutes late and look at this right, I didn’t notice this before
but there’s a pub called the Thompsons Arms with some outside seating you can sit here
with a drink and watch the coaches departing.
Brilliant if you’re a bus spotter (which i’m not btw).
So the seat, well it’s the typical, comfortable National Express seat for a coach this age
with winged headrest, nice padded back, three point seat belt and comfortable padded bottom.
There’s a retractable arm rest between the seats and between the seats in front, just
a conventional charging socket - which is fine if you have an adaptor like mine but
unfortunately this one didn’t work.
Not sure if that was a thing with the whole coach or just this socket tbh but, for a journey
of this length, not a problem and I had my battery pack with me anyway (as I always do).
It’s on the fold down table as you can see here, beneath that is a pouch for your belongings
and below that is the retractable footrest.
All very standard National Express interior really which won’t come as any surprise
to anyone who’s taken a National Express coach in the last few years.
As per usual, the biggest challenge was extricating ourselves from the busy Manchester city centre
but once we were out we made steady progress.
Our coach today I would say was probably two-thirds full if that and judging by the amount of
luggage loaded on, consisted of mainly holiday-makers rather than day trippers I would say.
Above my head was the integrated air vents and reading lights you’ll be familiar with.
The reading light didn’t work though they may have been switched off?
Don’t know if the driver can control this but it would make sense during the day wouldn’t
it?
And overall the combination of a nice bright interior, sunny day and a bunch of fairly
respectable customers gave this little trip a very pleasant feel as we headed north along
the M61 towards Preston.
OK just crossing the River Ribble, on the M6 east of Preston, I thought I’d go and
check out the toilet situated at the rear of the coach.
There was no ‘toilet occupied’ indicator up front but I figured I’d chance it.
It was pretty warm in here but yeh a good sized mirror and it all looked pretty clean
considering it’d come all the way across from Hull.
There was liquid soap available, the tap was a proper tap and worked.
The air dryer worked, there was a bin, lots of toilet roll, the toilet was clean.
What can I say, everything worked - one of the best onboard coach toilets I’ve seen.
- excellent.
I returned to my seat and tried out the WIFI - that didn’t work but again, for such a
short trip I wasn’t particularly bothered and like I’ve said before, these days, there’s
plentiful mobile coverage anyway - I certainly don’t take coach WIFI for granted, given
my previous experiences but if it does work then it’s a bonus isn't it.
On the M55 now and, does anybody know what this is?
I think it’s a covered reservoir but I stand to be corrected on that in the comments below.
right guys so yeah 13:43 supposed to get there at 13:20.
so yeah a little bit late at the moment about six miles out of Blackpool sun's out there's
no rush is there thankfully um but yeah
not too bad coach is showing its age a bit I think to be honest with you toilet was good
um but yeah there's a few bits and pieces missing or not working in the interior
i would say it's probably about two-thirds full if that seat's comfortable enough and
the ride is reasonably comfortable as well so yeah I reckon another 15 minutes we'll
probably be there I'll catch you when we get off
We arrived at Blackpool Central Coach Park at 13:57 - 37 minutes late in the end (which
wasn’t too bad).
it was a baking hot day in Blackpool - the jewel in the crown of British Holiday seaside
resorts.
The coach station is right in the centre of town, very close to the iconic Blackpool Tower
which is a bit like the eiffel tower really, only smaller and in Lancashire, not Paris.
In terms of price, well I paid just £4 for this trip which is pretty good isn’t it
and you may think it’s a bit of a bargain.
But is it really?
Have a listen to what I’ve got to say when I get off the coach and let me know what you
think in the comments below.
I paused for just long enough in the sun to get my bearings and stop getting sunburnt
I looked back at the coach and took a minute just to sum up the journey
right then guys Blackpool Blackpool Coach Station I've just arrived on the national
express coach from Manchester took about an hour and 10 minutes after the delays and they
made up a little bit of time so that wasn't too bad was it and yeah overall yes showing
its age a little bit to be honest what is a 16 plate um so it's yeah seven years old
now there were one or two things missing the toilet was good though um yeah everything
worked on that and so yeah I was really pleased about that and ultimately you know we got
here safe and it was a comfortable ride and for the price of £4 you can't really complain
too much can you for that having said that the cheapest advance fares I found on the
train were £5.50 single with Northern and the journey times are very similar so if I
booked that far in advance again weighing it all up I'd probably take the train to be
honest let me know what you'd do in the comments below anyway I'm off to my hotel now so yeah
thank you very much for watching guys please join me on another adventure soon and as always
cheers for now