GLOVESTRAINS: Hey, everyone! GLovesTrains 'ere.
Now today, I'm doing one of the things
that's been on my sort of bucket list type of thing.
And it is to ride with FlixBus.
Now FlixBus, contrary to the name,
is a worldwide coach operator.
It serves over 3,000 destinations
across 39 countries.
Today, I'm gonna be travelling with FlixBus
from Manchester to London.
I am really excited for this, though.
I'm just at Shudehill Interchange.
In front of me is the tram stop
and behind me is the bus station.
However, I have got over an hour
before I need to go into the bus station, so
I think I'm gonna go and...
stock up on some snacks
for this long journey ahead.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
Squishy boobies!
(HAPPY MUSIC)
Right, I've got some snacks now
and I have picked up Lucy.
We are at stand G.
I guess it's my favourite stand. (LAUGHS)
And we are waiting... I think we've got about
half an hour to wait.
But then again, the coach...
I keep wanting to say "bus," honestly.
The coach is probably gonna pull in a little bit earlier,
hopefully anyway, so we can get onboard.
But it is the 10:50 service
which is the second service
of the day on a Sunday,
'cause yep, we are travelling down on a Sunday,
...down to London.
So, we're just gonna sit 'ere
and wait for the coach to come in.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
Well, that's gone melons up.
Basically, our coach has been cancelled.
We were actually told three days ago
that it was cancelled, but
Lucy didn't check her email.
So we've had to reschedule it.
But the next coach
is only at 15:40.
So we've now got
five hours to kill in Manchester,
before we can actually go down to London.
Right, we've successfully...
killed five hours. It's actually flown by.
Doing long waits with Lucy is actually a great help.
We're just at stand G again.
And our FlixBus is about to pull in any second.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
LUCY: Want the window? G: Yeah, please. Thank you.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
All right, we're onboard now.
When we booked the tickets online, it did give an option
whether you wanted to reserve a seat.
We tried to get the back seats, but they were already taken.
So we ended up reserving the two in front of that.
However, now that we're on a different coach,
we have been still given seats
5C and 5D.
We did have to pay an extra £1.99, I think, each
to reserve the seats.
But because obviously we're on a different coach now,
they have refunded us that amount.
DRIVER: 'Welcome aboard this 030 service.
'When you use the toilet whilst the coach is in motion,
'take extra care going down the stairs.
'Also, strongly recommend when you use the toilet,
'lock the door behind you.
'Saves any embarrassment on someone walking in on you.
'Also, please do not
'flush any tissues, paper towels, toilet rolls
'down it. It will only block it
'and close it for the duration of this service.'
G: We have set off now.
We're just making our way through the centre of Manchester.
Now, it is gonna take us overall the journey,
five hours thirty to get from
Manchester to London.
I have been going down to London
a little bit more this past year, actually.
But obviously, usually I take the train.
It is a shorter journey on the train, of course.
But also, it's more expensive on the train.
The tickets per person for us have ended up costing
just £7.99.
But you also might remember me saying,
once upon a time in a vlog,
that coaches are the only form of transport...
well, that I know of,
that give me travel sickness.
So, we'll see how I cope with that.
But yeah, like I said before,
this is just one of those things that I've just always wanted to do.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
We are on the motorway now.
And we are pretty much gonna be travelling along motorways...
the whole ride down to London.
But when I first stepped on here,
I was actually surprised at the interior.
Because obviously, the exterior
is a bright lime green colour, which I do love.
I do also love the interior of this.
But I almost thought, there'll be green inside of here as well.
But it is a black and red theme.
LUCY: Simplified colours are used
for easier transferring out of the fleet in the future.
G: Thank you, bus expert.
Also down the coach, obviously there's a lot of seats.
There's also overhead luggage space.
You are allowed to bring one...
piece of hand luggage with you.
Or you can pay extra if you want to bring more.
There's also air-con throughout
and free Wi-fi which can be used.
And also, just a little bit further back behind us,
there is a toilet, which is great for me.
And inevitably, I will be going
checking that out at some point.
Now, as for your suitcases,
you're allowed to bring one suitcase per person.
And they do...take that and put it below the seats
in the luggage storage space,
as you're boarding onto the coach.
Now at your seat itself,
you have got... There is a USB port
which is on the back of the seat in front of you.
However, mine isn't working.
Lucy's is working though,
so I shall be using hers later on.
We've got a seat tray with two cup-holders.
Handy for Lucy 'cause she drinks a lot.
And we've also got this little
slot thing where you can put your phone
and stand it up.
(LAUGHS) There's also a little flap,
like what you find on aeroplanes,
where you put like magazines and stuff.
There's a curtain.
Above you is where the air-con is.
There's also a Stop button.
However, you don't actually need to use that,
because all the coaches on FlixBus
stop at all the calling points anyways.
And then, of course, you've got the seat.
You have got a seatbelt. You do have to wear your seatbelt, of course.
And you've got a headrest on here.
The seat itself, I think it's pretty comfy.
You can also recline it, if you so wish to,
you know, go a little bit backwards.
But I'm good sitting upright.
And at the very bottom, you do have a footrest.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
It's raining, it's pouring,
Lucy's nearly snoring.
But no, yeah, it is actually
proper raining out there at the minute.
And it's been like really sunny
over the past few days as well.
So...I'm definitely we're inside on this coach.
As opposed to waiting around out in the rain.
But anyways, we have just passed over
the West Coast Main Line, actually.
And we are now making our way through Stafford.
Which is where the Knicker Monster lives.
So I am on the lookout.
LUCY: Pretty sure it won't be out. It's not Halloween.
G: It might be Halloween by the time this vlog goes out!
(HAPPY MUSIC)
(BUS NOISE)
(SLAPPING SOUND) G AND LUCY: (LAUGH)
(HAPPY MUSIC)
G: We are on the approach to our first stop now.
Now this is the 030 route we're travelling on,
which goes from Glasgow...
and it stops at Lancaster, Preston,
and then Manchester, which is obviously where we got on.
We make two calling points en route
at Birmingham and London Finchley Road,
before we reach the terminus of London Victoria.
Now the coach that we were meant to get on this morning,
that was on the 023 route,
which runs from Manchester, calls at the two stops,
and then terminates at London Victoria.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
DRIVER: 'Right, sorry about that.
'We had an alarm keep going off
'for the last hour and a half.' (CHILD CHEERS)
DRIVER: 'It turns out it was the wheelchair door.
'Apologies for the young lady that her bag fell out.
'But...but we did pick everything up for you.'
PASSENGER: You really did. G: (LAUGHS)
We are leaving Scaremingham now.
A lot of people did actually get off.
So I think it is one of the more popular stops
along this route.
But also, a lot of people did get on.
We were sitting there for a little while,
because there was a problem
with an alarm going off on the coach.
And...that was finally sorted out.
It was some problem with the disabled door.
But we are now running about twenty minutes late.
Hopefully, we will make up...
that time back on the way down to London.
And do you know what?
I actually have not felt sick at all, so far.
I'm actually really enjoying this ride.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
(LOUD BUS NOISE) Okay, the toilet is very small.
And it's very loud and rattly.
But you're not even allowed to flush toilet paper.
I use a lot of toilet paper! (LAUGHS)
(HAPPY MUSIC)
Well, I was about to say it was
absolutely just chucking it down
and you could barely see out the windows.
But it's gone a little lighter now.
And I think the rain's calming down a bit.
(LAUGHS) As for the coach,
we are on...
I'm not supposed to call them units,
I know, Lucy keeps telling me off for it.
But we're on 0643 and this is
a Volvo 9700
which is actually a newer model. (CHILD SHOUTS)
I have been informed that it's only a year old.
We have got thereabouts around two hours left, so...
I think we're gonna just get the snacks back out.
I've actually bought a beetroot sandwich.
I saw it in Co-op, I mean. (LAUGHS)
That sounds like something I would invent, to be fair.
So, let's give that a try.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
It does taste all right, to be fair.
I do actually love beetroot.
It's crunchy and pickly. Do you want a taste? (CHILD SHOUTS)
LUCY: It's actually quite nice!
G: Do you like that? I'm surprised you like that. LUCY: But I don't like the tex...
(HAPPY MUSIC)
G: Oh look, we're going by a diversionary route.
Ooh, there's some flowing water there.
But basically, there is a major delay
on the M1 at the moment.
So, the drivers are taking us
around through Milton Keynes
and tryna avoid that.
It will mean we're
a little more delayed going into London.
(BUS RATTLES) But if we were to stay on the M1,
we'd be an hour further delayed getting into London.
There's also nowhere near as many
as in actual Roundabout Central, Chorley, but...
there are quite a few roundabouts we're going around
at the minute in Milton Keynes.
Do you know what? It's probably gonna be dark
by the time we get into London at this rate!
(HAPPY MUSIC)
We have just left the motorway now
and that is us done
with motorways for the rest of the ride.
Should be coming into near Finchley Road
in about ten, fifteen minutes.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
We've pulled in to Finchley Road now.
And it honestly felt like the whole coach just emptied.
There are still a few people on.
But Lucy has just told me, actually, that...
'Cause I was wondering, "I wonder if anybody would
"actually get on here to go to Victoria?"
But you're not allowed to...
to book between those two stops.
And also, there's an Aldi Local
across the road from this stop.
I've never in my life seen an Aldi Lo...
What is an Aldi Local?
(HAPPY MUSIC)
(BACKGROUND CHATTER) G: It will have been half an hour since
we left Finchley Road, by the time
we do pull very shortly into Victoria.
As for the light late evenings...
it certainly is going dark now.
Hence why they did put the lights on
a little while back.
And do you know what? I'm so relaxed right now.
I mean I could do with
stretching my legs a little bit, not gonna lie.
But...yeah, I kinda don't wanna get off here, really!
Could actually fall asleep.
I was initially tempted
to do the night coach down to London.
But...in the end,
it just turned out handier for us
to get the day one down.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
All right, we're off the coach now.
We've just picked up our suitcase.
We were supposed to arrive at ten past nine,
but we were about twenty minutes delayed, to be fair.
I thought it was gonna be a little bit later.
But yeah, we're here at half nine.
And I have been forewarned
that Victoria Coach Station (LUGGAGE WHEELS RATTLE)
is absolutely humungous.
Apparently, it's split into several buildings.
We've just come out of the arrivals building.
It is only like a five, ten minute walk
to Victoria railway station.
(HAPPY MUSIC)
(MUSIC ENDS)
(TRAFFIC NOISE)
G: Well, I have really enjoyed that.
What an experience riding FlixBus
for the first time.
Even with the... kid in front of us
pretending to be half-duck the whole way,
throwing cake at my shoes! (LAUGHS)
But anyways, I tell you what,
I didn't get a single bit of travel sickness
the whole way down just then. I mean,
I don't think I've ever had that on a coach before.
I think the newer modern seats
really did help with that as well.
And I have been left wondering, actually like,
what happens if you need a poo?
Because you literally had to put the toilet paper
in an open bin at the side of the toilet.
Anyways, let's leave that one to imagination.
Thank you very much for watching, everyone!
Byesie byes!