Bonjour lecteurs! Bored of petrol prices going up? Looking for a more environment-friendly transport? Have you ever been on a local bus? Stagecoach is one of the largest bus operators that serves more than 100 towns across the UK. The brand asked us to take on The Stagecoach Bus Trip Challenge and see how we could rediscover Ashford thanks to our local buses! Challenge accepté and here is our very own Frenchie adventure with Stagecoach.
Stagecoach
Straight away after school one day this week, we jumped on the B line to explore our town. And it was so easy to get ready with Stagecoach Journey Planner. You type your postcode and find out about the next departure.
No need to say that Stanley was well excited! Way more fun than doing some extra learning at home… I remember the excitement it was as a kid to go on a bus, sit right at the back, and be ready to press the button when it was your stop!
Stagecoach has been around since 1980, helping people stay connected to their community. Whatever you need: work, school, or even shopping, Stagecoach has you covered with its large network of buses.
New to it? Pas de panique! Let me show you the way!
Off We Went On An Adventure
I am quite aware of Line B actually. I used it in the past, coming back from London on the train.
It’s always cheaper than a taxi if Grumpy Boyfriend is stuck at home and he can’t pick me up. So, I knew exactly what bus stop to go to after school.
And to make it even more fun, we took Stanley’s scooter. The brand gave us a budget of £40 for us to have fun and rediscover our town.
Stanley planned all the itinerary and here is what we got up to during our Frenchie Stagecoach Bus Trip Challenge!
La Bibliothèque!
Our first stop was about 10 min from our house. Direction la bibliothèque!
Are you a member of your local library? I used to love going to ours back in France when I was a little girl! I was a true bookworm.
Stanley is an eager reader too. We started story time super early when he was a baby and it’s part of our morning ritual to read a book while we have breakfast.
I’ve always wanted to register him to the library and never made it because of the recent events. Well, the Stagecoach Bus Trip Challenge was l’excuse parfaite!
It only took us a couple of minutes to sign up and we ended up with 10 books for us to enjoy this week.
You can even borrow up to 30 books at a time! There are all sorts of publications. Even proper reading books he uses at school to learn reading.
Go and check out your local library if you are not registered yet!
Park & Ashford History
We then carried on our journey through Memorial Gardens.
It was so beautiful in the afternoon, and he had a blast scooting under the trees!
After an intellectual break, nothing better than a bit of exercise!
And we also got to learn un peu about Ashford’s history! It was so nice to discover more about our local area!
Bowling
But it was time for some fun! While planning our Stagecoach Bus Trip Challenge, we decided to go bowling.
I have never been there with him. La raison est simple. I am totally useless at bowling 😝
I think Stanley was actually better than me!
He was so confident, showing me how to do it! He was clearly in his element!
And we also had a cheeky milkshake.
Eventually, I won the game. Don’t ask me why. Actually playing against a 6-year-old might not have been such a challenge.
After a few arcade games and some sweeties, we were ready to carry on our journey!
Cakes At Elwick Place
We went to Elwick Place for a bit more scooting.
But also to enjoy some yummy cakes on the terrace.
The sun was out, we had a lot of fun all afternoon and I had some yummy dessert waiting for me. What else could we ask for?!
Time To Go Home
We then made it to Bank Street where we waited for our bus back home.
And we actually got to see the same driver! The circle was truly complete.
Or as we say in Frenchie, ‘la boucle est bouclée‘.
We jumped on the bus. There were plenty of spaces for us to sit down and relax after so much excitement.
We decided to read one of our books from the library. Quelle surprise, it was the story of a fart!
I think we rather entertained our fellow passengers…
And just like that, in about 10 minutes, we were home!
Stagecoach Bus Trip Challenge – Le Verdict
Like many others, we usually drive, or I cycle a lot from place to place.
But the Stagecoach Bus Trip Challenge helped us to rediscover our town.
We went to some locations we have never been to before. It was lovely to slow down, not rush from A to B and just enjoy a sunny afternoon in Ashford.
I will have to do it again, jump on another bus line and rediscover some part of our town!
En plus, our day pass only cost about £4 for both of us and you can even pay with contactless for a faster journey!
Win-win situation and I think Stanley rather enjoyed this impromptu adventure.
Something to do again in the summer!
When was the last time you travelled by bus? What’s your favourite local gem to rediscover again and again?
What’s the most beautiful attraction to see in your town? Feel free to name specific places, especially if you are in the South-East! We might check it out!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post with Stagecoach, but all opinions and experiences are my own.
I had to take the bus to school, two in fact, so they were part of my childhood
We live in such a small town that it takes 5 minutes to walk everywhere lol
But in the summer holidays the children love taking the stagecoach open top bus along the coast road. We don’t use buses a lot, so they feel like its a proper treat!
I last took the bus to work a couple of weeks ago during the national train strike! I also used the bus to get around on a recent holiday in Cornwall. Where I live in the South East we’re lucky to be living in an area of outstanding natural beauty where we have the beautiful Devils Punchbowl for walking in.
Done this many times up north ! Blackpool Bury and Manchester to name a few
Sounds like it was a lovely trip! I think Stagecoach is really reliable!
We live in London so it’s all TFL but when we’re out of London we’re always using Stagecoach. We don’t have a car so buses are always our main mode of transport. It’s better for the environment and the kids love pressing the bell like you said. But most importantly, I want that book Stanley is reading. My son would love any book about farts, haha.
What a great idea and certainly looked like fun, plenty to keep Stanley interested.
I don’t tend to use the bus unless I have caught the train somewhere, but I quite enjoy it.
I am glad to see you found lots of places to visit on the bus!
We only ever travel on buses if we go on a trip to London but my 3 children really enjoy it
My husband loves busses and always wants to go on the local ones when we are away (I hate them and do everything I can to avoid them!)
I love using the bus to go into Manchester – it’s always an interesting view from the window and saves the stress of parking in the city!
Looks like a fabulous day out.
Looks like a great day out!
We will have to check out some alternative bus routes!!
it looks as if you both had fun.
I’m not mobile enough for bus trips nowadays.
Looks like you had a fantastic day, I can’t wait for my twin Granddaughter’s to be a bit older so I can take them on a bus!
He is a born natural events manager in the making !
I have to say, not very keen on public transport. Use it as a last resource.
Great idea to travel by bus especially with fuel prices so high!
Thank you for the lovely review. I recently took the bus from Folkestone to Rye (I do love to be beside the seaside!!) and the route was very pretty. Highly recommended!
We love catching the bus lots of towns have park and ride
Wish I could get a bus near us!
Looks like a fabulous day!
I will do this with my grand boy when my leg has healed!
Thank you for the great inspiring blog post
Fantastic idea. Plenty to keep everyone interested and with fuel prices bus is a cheaper option
A great ideas, sounds like a good day out
What a creative way to get him out and about. Looks like he loved it!
Great adventures – lots of fun 💕💕
What a fun day out! We don’t take the bus often but the children enjoy it when we do as it’s a change from the car
Looks like a great day