A return to the golden age of coaches
Pre-pandemic, I went on six all-inclusive coach holidays with people twice and thrice my age. Several things happened: I won the bingo on my first night in Scarborough; my appetite for an absolute bargain was repeatedly satisfied; I was charmed by a slower mode of travelling; my eyes were opened to the virtues of cross-generational encounters and I took a shine to the drivers. (Best driver joke: “Small group today, ladies and gents. Average height, 5ft 4.”)
The idea of a ‘Gran Tour’ came to me while on the telephone to my great aunt, who told me she’d recently had four nights in Torquay, return coach travel, nightly entertainment, 16 pints of craft lager, four three-course dinners and the company of
