You understand why people get ‘snobby’ about coach holidays when it all goes horribly wrong. By that I mean on our holiday, having changed the destination pick-up point from Stratford to Dover we thought we were being oh so clever (boarding the bus at 7-something in the morning rather than 3-something). But we failed to take account of the Travelscope factor – the bus (no.13, I kid you not) failed to pick us and another couple up. So two hours later, after plenty of assurances from Travelscope reps at the Dover pick up, and then much scratching of heads, they realised oops, he’s gone without you!

Luckily, the Travelscope factor kicked in and we were sent by taxi to meet up with another coach which itself was late because it had been sent to the wrong pick-up for another set of pasengers. (So we got to travel to France by tunnel rather than ferry); and ended up first in Amsterdam rather than Utrecht. But eventually we got there.

So nice holiday, coach driver turns out to be a nice guy as I said with his knowledge of Ypes, the WW1 battlefield, and the fact that the town of Ypes was entirely rebuilt with Gernam reparations money.

So we changed drivers back in England, we drove back to Stratford to be dropped off, and just as I was advising our taxi where to meet us the coach driver admitted – he didn’t know Stratford – and had to be guided by the passengers!

Note: a letter to Travelscope is in the post..