Bus journey to the Forth Bridge

I’d read some years ago about someone who had travelled from London to Scotland using only public buses. It had been something that I had wanted to do but never committed to doing so. It seemed like the perfect challenge for my Forty for Forty: encouraging me to live more widely and live the life that I want to lead.

First I chose Edinburgh as my end point, and then remembered the Forth bridge which rhymed nicely with challenge rubric. I’d used TravelLine to help plan the route. My rules were that they had to be the three-pound local buses. This excluded Flix or NationalExpress. This was not going to be a cheaper travel option as advance bookings for coaches or even trains would be cheaper but it was slow travel and I did end up in places I wouldn’t have gone to. I travelled over three days on the following route:

London to Stanmore
Stanmore to Watford Junction
Watford Junction to Luton (at this point the sun rose)
Luton to Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes to Northampton
Northampton to Leicester
Leicester to Loughborough
Loughborough to Nottingham
Nottingham to Chesterfield
Chesterfield to Sheffield
Sheffields to Barnsley
Barnsley to Wakefield.

End of Day One. The highlight bus journey was Northampton to Leicester. A nice two hour long journey through wonderful countryside. My closest transfer time was in Nottingham which involved a city centre dash and leaping onto the bus a panting sweaty mess.

Day Two:

Wakefield to Leeds
Leeds to Whitby
Whitby to Middlesborough
Middlesborough to Newcastle
Newcastle to Alnick
Alnick to Berwick upon Tweed.

My arrival in Whitby was heavily delayed due to York traffic so I missed out on my promised fish and chips and shlep to the Abbey however the journey was atmospherically in tune my reading of Wuthering Heights. Bleak windy and barren. The perfect journey to be sitting on the top deck for in the warm.

The arrival into Berwick that evening was one I shall remember as we crossed the tweed. I was tired and it was raining but i still summonsed the energy to don my waterproof trousers and mac, and to march into the night. Berwick rewarded me with a lonesome walk in the rain alone the pier with the waves and the wind crashing about. Wonderful.

Day Three:

Berwick to Dunbar
Dunbar to Edinburgh
Edinburgh to Queensferry.

Up until this point the buses had all been three pounders, however Scotland has no such scheme in place. Dunbar felt like staging for Macbeth with its tiny harbour and castle perched on top. My only cancelled bus was in Dunbar which made for a cold wait and a crowded bus to Edinburgh.

I arrived before lunchtime at the Forth Bridge and celebrated with a coffee, brownie and a train back to the city centre.

I was reminded of Nietzsche’s theory of the ubermensch and how I interpreted it: we each have barriers we build to fulfilling our lives and it is only us who can overcome them becoming our own uber mensch. If God is dead and cannot provide you with a sense of purpose then you must provide this sense of purpose in the fulfilment of your own life.