The Observer - 25.08.2019

• The Observer
  62 25.08.19 Travel

Five of the best

Open-top bus rides in the UK

1 599 Bowness to Grasmere ,

Cumbria

The 599 is the most central of three

spectacular open-top routes in the

Lakes. Running past Windermere,

Rydal Water and Grasmere, it stops

near both of Wordsworth’s houses:

Dove Cottage and, two stops before,

grander Rydal Mount and Gardens ,

with views over woods and water.

 Dayrider from £8.50, bike 20p extra

2 Purbeck Breezer 50 Poole to

Swanage, Dorset

The Purbeck Breezers are great year-

round open-top routes. Breezer 50

came third last year in a poll of sce-

nic bus routes. Usually, its USP is

taking the chain ferry to Studland,

but that is out of action so the bus

runs through time-warp Wareham

and past ruined Corfe Castle.

 Adult dayrider £9 (up to two under-

7s free with a paying adult)

3 Whitby Town Tour, N Yorks

This hour-long tour runs over the

River Esk t o visit the ruined abbey,

with its new £1.6m visitor centre

and Ammonite Quest attraction. It

starts near the replica whalebone

arch and the statue of Captain Cook,

and runs west along North Terrace

before heading for Whitby museum

in sloping Pannett Park.

 Day ticket £7, singles from £1

4 Llangollen to Pontcysyllte,

Clwyd

Two hour-long summer tours

leave riverside Llangollen: one to

the hills of north Wales, the other

along the valley to Britain’s long-

est, highest aqueduct, the Unesco-

listed Pontcysyllte. The bus stops

there for half an hour, giving those

brave enough time to walk along

the stomach-dropping towpath, 40

metres above the wooded valley.

 Adult £8, senior/child £5

5 Skegness Seasiders, Lincs

Eleven candy-coloured open-top

buses ply the seafront at Skeggy in

summer. There’s onboard music,

discounts at local attractions, and

the buses are painted to match their

names (Rocky striped like a stick of

rock, Sandy sporting sandcastles).

The 20-minute route passes Fantasy

Island theme park, with its roller-

coasters, and the fi rst-ever Butlin’s.

 Adult dayrider £4.50 , child £1

Phoebe Taplin

2

4 5

1

3

Venturing further than

city sightseeing tours,

these affordable public

buses take in seafronts,

canals, ruined abbeys

and literary sites