This is a wonderful reminder that travel used to be an adventure, and not just a tedious and anxiety-inducing necessity to get to your destination. Well done, Steve.
I think it all depends on your frame of mind. I recall when I first needed to commute when my job was moved from Kent to central London - I detested it at first and then I got into it and realised it was almost a hour on the train I could read and listen to music. I also used lunch time to explore the local area in London
We've been waiting for years for a bus station in Cardiff. It used to be right outside the train station but that was way too convenient. Better to send people on a wild goose chase around the city centre. 😂
Nothing beats a good challenge video - travel for the sake of travel. You mentioned a Montrose game. I was waiting until the League and Scottish FA cup draws were announded. Should Montrose and St. Mirren get matched up, that would have to be a definite meet-up. Another great video.
Cheers Scott. I'll be watching the draw with fingers crossed :D I am also looking at taking on one of your challenges, but accommodation costs are putting me off just now, and I'm 99% sure I wouldn't beat you!
If St Mirren was ever drawn against Montrose I'd be worried, as the Saints have a reputation os doing poorly against smaller teams, just like Scotland vs. San Marino, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg...
Travel for travels sake doesn't sound very environmentally friendly. In fact I'm always in two minds about watching these kinds of videos as I realyl don'twant to encourage these kinds of challenges
Another great video Steve. I just wish BBC Scotland or STV would pick up on your adventures and give you your own show. This is by far the best travel channel on youtube.
Wow Tam, thank you SO much! It's funny, you can see tv stations are subtly changing their style to be more like RUclips, I think they are running scared of the platform and its style!
@@steve-marsh I think they are more trying to learn where to cut costs from the traditional TV methods. Makes you think, most bloggers now have better kit than the BBC had in 1979 on the first Keith Floyd programme. If they gave you a show though, they'd probably make you take Joe Lycett or Michael Portillo with you everywhere.
As a Welshman who used to live in Scotland I became very familiar with the train journey from Edinburgh to Crewe then change trains to Cwmbran, which is two stations before Cardiff. I’m glad you’re coming to Wales later in the year. Loads to see and do, because we’ve got the national parks, Snowdonia; Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast. Cardiff is worth a day or two of anybody’s time. I’d like to suggest a visit to Big Pit Mining Museum. This amazing museum allows you to be guided underground one of the last coalmines closed in Wales. Your guide is likely to be a former miner who will regale you with fabulous tales of times in the pit. Best of all it’s totally free. The Brynglas Tunnels burrow the M4 under Brynglas Hill. As a small child I lived in a street on the hill.
John I went to Big Pit in '92 - remember being terrified of the lift and when they turned the torches off but I was only young haha but it was fascinating all the same. Also remember going to the Garden Festival in Ebbw Vale on the same holiday, went back to the site in '99 and couldn't believe the change :)
Went to the big Pit a few years ago. Worth the visit. Stayed in Cwmcarn and years ago stayed in Maesycwmmer and Gelligaer. Love Wales. Hi from Queensland.
The original Primark in Belfast was burned down a few years ago sadly, but because it was such an iconic landmark the city council decided to rebuild it using the same materials, as well as building it using the original plans. This was a great video, looking forward to the coastal tour video! Thanks Steve!
Yeah the front and sides of the primark building never fell. They just had to create new floors and roof. Loved the video, very interesting and tiring.
The Primark building is a listed building. Was built as The Bank Building in 1895. It was first occupied by Robertson, Ledlie, Ferguson & Co. Ltd. who were textile merchants and they used it as a warehouse. It's been bombed in the Blitz, bombed during the troubles and suffered a massive fire a few years ago, somehow it's still there.
Steve you mentioned a number of kids running wild and making noise before you boarded the ferry. In 2004 I flew from Honolulu, Hawaii non-stop to Atlanta, Georgia. Sitting across from me was a mother and three young children. Those kids screamed , cried, and climbed over seats unto other passengers for a solid 11 hours. The mother never said a word to her kids to behave and be quiet. Just as we were preparing to land in atlanta I looked over at the woman and her kids. They had finally went to sleep as we touched down in Atlanta. I wanted to slap the mother and shake the kids awake. Sorry I had had enough of their rukus and was in an ill mood from lack of sleep and noise pollution! I wish there were flights with no kids allowed. I really enjoy your videos and hope you continue making them. :)
@@D_B_Cooper Everton are in free fall and that is down to the owner,it's actually sad seeing a club that has played in European competitions going downhill so fast👀😶
What a treat to wake up on a windy and rainy Saturday morning in Toronto and find a new Steve Marsh video. Another fabulous challenge complete.Enjoy the food shots as well as the train videos, love the trains. Good call waiting for that second bus. I am not a fan of the kiddie party buses either. Amazing as always Steve. Well done!!!
"And heres my train, only two carriages but it looks quite full" You summed up TfW really well there 😂. Main route between Aberystwyth and Birmingham gets 2 carriages regularly and its never enough.
Steve, amazingly with Transport for Wales, count yourself lucky it was that train you were on, they regularly use 40 year old commuter trains on that line, sometimes with 1 carriage. Complete toss of the coin, sometimes you’ll get a full blown intercity train, sometimes you get a train really not fit for purpose at all.
Good for you through the rainy weather, the late plane, the crazy passenger, the bad directional to the Mega Bus, the dog sitting, the crying kids and rude parents, the non working cabin key...you did it! And such a fun and interesting trip. Bravo!
I'm a bit of a latecomer to this video, but really enjoyed it Steve. I spent 30+ years repeatedly travelling to these cities for work, sometimes direct from one to another but never all four in a single round trip (and never via the Belfast ferry). I recognise so much of this - the airports, the stations, the bus stops, the early starts, the breakfasts grabbed on the go, the buses, trains and planes... I even cycled to work past Cardiff Castle for a few years. That big wet paved area outside Cardiff Central used to be the bus station. Thanks for a journey down (fairly recent) memory lane!!
Our transport system in Cardiff (especially trains) is pretty terrible. You immediately saw that there are never enough coaches on the trains, and they are always packed. It's been like that for years now :(
Out of the park Steve and good recovery from the flight leaving a little late. Everything about this video- "LIKE". (Edit) Cardiff, wow, that is way down there by the sea. Quite the journey! (Edit) Very nice and very genuine to help with the Guide Dog and owner.
Hi Steve Great Challange. I loved all the different modes of transport. Havent seen anything for the last fortnight, I was in hospital and just got home Thursday afternoon. I remember being in Crewe in 1952, so I have no recolation of what the station looked like! Our family was on the way to Leek for a week before we went up to Scotland (Selkirk)
As someone from Crewe I can concur that that journey needs more carriages! Spent the journey back from Cardiff with a suitcase on my lap! Have asked TFW so many times why they don’t have extra carriages and they always say they’re out for repair! It’s been over 5 years since they first said that!
Great video Steve. Fun fact, the Welsh word caer means fort, the Welsh for Cardiff is Caerdydd = the fort on the Taff. On that route, you’ve got Abergavenny an attractive market town with good walking available. On the outskirts of Newport, you’ve got Caerleon, with its Roman amphitheatre, Roman baths, barracks and legionary museum. The national museum in Cardiff has got a good collection of French impressionist art.
LOL never tell someone from Caerleon they're on the "outskirts of Newport"! There's a bit of a Salford/Stockport v Manchester situation going on there ;-)
@@michaelocyoung Yes, they’re individualists, and there’s a very different feel in Caerleon, but geography can’t be avoided. Caerleon is great and I’m very fond of it.
i was in belfast for the first time last month. what an underrated city it is. lovely, clean and full of old architecture. i was on a group tour so i probably would never have thought to visit on my own. being there on st. patrick’s day, watching the parade, is a memory i will never forget.
I found Belfast a real surprise. Wasn't expecting it to be such a buzzing and friendly place, the city centre is pretty lively, there's loads going on, and I never saw any evidence of the you-know-what that Northern Ireland is infamous for. That's all kept well away in very dodgy suburbs.
Fantastic video Steve, well done-just an interesting fact to add, as you pulled out of Shrewsbury station heading to Cardiff you passed the signal box which is actually the largest working mechanical signal box in the world
Wow, what an adventure! The UK Capitals Challenge sounds like an exciting way to explore different parts of the country, and using different modes of transport for each leg adds an extra element of fun. It's great to see someone pushing themselves out of their comfort zone to take on such a unique challenge. And starting from Montrose makes it all the more impressive! Thanks for sharing your experience and inspiring us to try something new on our next trip.
Thanks so much for coming along! It certainly made it interesting to try as many different modes of transport as possible, but boy was I exhausted after this one :D
I love your videos Steve! I just arrived back in the states from my vacation to Manchester (Go CITY) and Edinburgh. I also went up to St Andrews and the surrounding villages with a local I met in the airport in Boston. How fantastic was that bit of luck!! I can not wait to get back and do the northern part of Scotland. Until then, I will follow your spectacular journeys and dream of my next visit. Thanks again Steve, safe travels to you. Edit....I wanted to add that my favorite part of my travel was the train from Manchester to Edinburgh and from Edinburgh to Ladybank. I felt so much more comfortable after watching a lot of your videos.
SO glad you had fun Kerry! Oh we almost bought a wee flat in Ladybank before settling on Montrose, both beautiful places. Settle in again back home, but get planning your next trip to Scotland!
Last year I did three of the capitols with a group. From San Antonio TX we flew to Edinburgh then went by private coach to Cardiff and London via York, Durham, and Stratford. It was a great trip.
Love the longer videos! My wife and I were just in Scotland and we visited Dores while near Loch Ness because of your video! What a lovely little spot, thanks Steve!!
Quite a delightful journey. I agree with you about the trains those are my favorite mode of Transport right after ship. And I also agree with you about helicopters. No way on Earth would I ever get anyone unless it was absolutely the last mode of Transport out of a catastrophe or I was comatose on my way to the hospital. Love the shots of the food. I am definitely a food oriented person. Be well, stay safe, say hi to Alicja for me, love from Texas.
@@steve-marsh if you get on one, I will have to watch. I won't do it happily though! I can always pause and shut my eyes if it gets too bad. I bet your adrenaline junkie sidekick would love it.
Great challenge Steve! Nice that the newly restored old "Bank Buildings" building in Belfast caught your attention. I too thought it was "just a Primark" until a few years ago when it went entirely up in smoke. What became evident in the months that followed, was that as Primark, it was the lynchpin on which much of the footfall in the other city centre shops depended. I think the ladies understood it better than men. The city centre really struggled during the years it took to rebuild it. The entire city were thankful to Penny's, the Dublin based parent company, that they were willing to go to huge expense, both monetary and time wise, to pay for the stone by numbered stone rebuild that followed. The city has recovered from Covid and economic setbacks much better since Primark reopened. If you are not a teenage girl/ young lady/ or parent of one, its hard to comprehend the drawing power this brand has.
Never been on a big ferry like that, but on smaller ferries and cruise ships I'm always out on the deck just like you. That's where the fun stuff is. Thanks for the video!
23:07 those Merseyrail trains will be retiring soon as they got some brand new trains which are being rolled out. Great video and reminds me of the Scotland 7 Cities video which was one of the early videos I watched.
That ship looks amazing, I've never been on such a nice looking ferry. What a crazy little adventure. I love the train trips, I wish we had more accessible and affordable trains in North America.
Affordable trains being the operative word! They are crazy expensive in the UK (not sure why as continental Europe seem to have much cheaper services), if you live in Edinburgh and want to go to London it's usually cheaper and quicker to fly!
@@erik_griswold why do you need ferries? The USA is mainly a continent on its own. I’ve been on ferries around BC to get to the islands but not aware any situations like that south of the border? UK is obvs an island, France is only 20 miles away, same with Ireland, Netherlands is an overnighter but maybe only ~150 miles
As soon as you said North Road, I knew it was the Megabus. It goes from there because they are currently building the new bus station, right next to the Cardiff Central train station (you walked past it) so all the local buses and coaches are all over the shop. I believe it finally opens later this year
Unfortunately the new bus station in Cardiff will only have 14 bays, none of which will be for coaches, which, apart from the Megabus currently leave from Sophia Gardens a short distance outside the city centre. For some reason the Megabus has always left from a weird location, even before the closure of Cardiff Central Bus Station. either from the first location that Steve went to, and now from it's present location. It also used to stop outside the university on Park Place, (don't know if it still does) . I strongly suspect that the current chaotic location of bus stops spread all over the city centre will continue, as the new bus station will in no way be big enough for a city the size of Cardiff. Swansea Bus Station has something like 28 bays and even a small town like Blackwood has 9 bays in the bus station. Cardiff is a great example of how to not build a bus station that won't even be properly integrated into the railway station, though not far away, but even so, will lack any facilities for long distance coaches.
@@mzcymro Wowsers. I didn't know the coaches wouldnt be going from there. You're right 14 bays is not enough. Newports 'two stations' are 15 bays and 9 bays, but the coaches don't go from there, like the used to, because they screwed the design up
Steve, sitting on the upright ironing board seats of the vile Voyager units was an incredible feat of endurance! They're not a patch on the superb HST's they replaced.
Brilliant as ever Steve, Saturday morning wouldn't be the same without one of your videos 👍🙂I have watched so many of your videos and to see you arriving into my hometown of Liverpool was good to see. Shame that you didn't have longer there to see some of the sights (as in other places you visited of course.) Looking forward to your next video 👍🙂
Excellent as always. Shrewsbury, Ludlow and Leominster well worth a visit. I did that ferry crossing both ways in 2008,it was a really old ferry and took the car. Bonus was that 3 course lunch was included going out and dinner going back.
What a great journey! I wish I had gone to Belfast. Liverpool is familiar to me as is Shrewsbury. Used to live there. Well worth visiting. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where I’ve not been. I really enjoy watching your journeys as I no longer can travel. Well done!
The last time I went on the Stena Embla I had a cabin on deck 9 at the back and car alarms constantly going off all night and had zero sleep , nice cabins but no sleep 😂 Thing I like about your videos is you tell it how it is and how brutally tiring and uncomfortable travelling can be , yet very enjoyable too .👍👌
A 2 am drive through Brechin is all I wanted to see. My life is now complete. I'm from Northern Ireland and you're right, it is beautiful. Great video. I would also be on the outside deck as the ship left port. I lived in Crewe for a few years and often went to support the Alex. It's so nice to see Gresty Road again.
Hi Steve technically the 100 isn't the only airport bus at 4am if you had left your van at Halbeath Park and Ride you could have got the 747 to the airport around 03.35 I think
I have driven through Brechin at eleven in the morning and not seen so many people ! - Steve- thank you for the excellent content - always innovative and "the race against time " element is fun !
Wow! That was fantastic Steve, loved the train trips... and the ferry cabin looked great. Those breakfasts you had looked brilliant. Thanks a lot, all the best.
I really loved the video too. Just sat at my computer with a smile on my face and hoping it just went on. Steve did a great job with a challenge that didn't seem that intriguing. Boy was I wrong.
Really enjoyed this video . I'm from Wales and the train's here are terrible. The train you caught from Crewe to Cardiff has always been the same just a two carriage, with people rammed on. You had a great shot of my wife's office building lol as she works right by the Megabus stop. Keep up the great work Steve I really enjoy your videos .😊😊👍
Train to Cardiff, bus to London, air to Belfast, boat back to Scotland. Too easy. But then again, Steve makes going to the wrong places more fun than most other video creators do going to the right places.
Haha cheers! The main challenge with this trip was money. I was kinda stuck with my dates, and that inflexibility made it tricky to find good fares. I planned many different routes, but there was always ONE leg that let me down with eye-watering prices. Ironically getting hoe again was the main stumbling block
Hi Steve, great video as usual, very informative also. I do have a question, what accent did the announcer have on the train across the Mersey? I could only manage a couple of words.
I have been to Belfast once, great city!!! I have been to Edinburgh 20 times, I love it!!! Cardiff and London countless times as I lived in Trowbridge near Bath/Bristol so the M4 is close. I prefer Cardiff over London a 100 times but my favorite is Edinburgh!! Great video Lord Marsh and thanks for going on these great but exhausting adventures for us!!!!
welcome to wales! as an abergavenny local, I'm glad you featured (briefly) it. cardiff doesnt even have a bus station (it used to, and might do in the future), so a coach station wont be seen anytime in the future
Really enjoyable video Steve. You've inspired me to take the ferry over to Belfast as I've never been there before, but am often on the Wirral. Surely by far the best way to arrive in a new country. I took the ferry from Plymouth down to Santander on the Northern coast of Spain. It felt more like going on a cruise, the ship was huge and had an onboard indoor heated swimming pool! The best thing was whale spotting up on deck as we sailed through the Bay of Biscay, the food onboard was good too- (Breton crew mostly)
The Brynglass Tunnel is just like any other tunnel - it goes through a hill. Given a choice between National Express and Megabus, it's National Express for me. I've done the Cardiff - Heathrow and Cardiff - London routes quite a few times and National Express have always been good.
BR used to do a 24-hour 39:44 day on the network, £1 for any journeys within that time. A friend of mine used to plan with 'Bradshaw ' his for as far as possible across the whole mainland .
Steve, I LOVE your travel videos! I travelled through Scotland in July 2023 and loved the transportation system there. The land and people are lovely and I wish my ancestors hadn't left !!! Safe travels by friend.
Thanks so much Elaine! I must admit I also love travelling around here, it doesn't always go to plan, but even then you are pretty much guaranteed to find friendly helpful people to keep you moving :)
Great video i felt for you on the Tfw overcrowded 2 car train. Some of the trains are 2 car but they also operate quite a cool 5 carriage locomotive hauled trains with a buffet car.
Excellant videos and i love watching them, espeically the walks.( i live in Monifeith) A suggestion....... It would be cool to have a map showing your journeys and where you are and where your going.
Hi just stumbled onto your channel, (just subscribed) a very interesting video, you certainly covered some miles with the different modes of transport, time to have a look at your other videos.
Thank you! Great video for anyone that has anxiety issues being too far from a safety zone aka home. Watching, I see a few things I can adjust to ease anxiety surges and possible panic attacks. Number one, travel with a service friend. If not possible, then watch videos like this multiple times for the scenery to become more familiar as in feel safe. Sort of like a pre-travel therapy. I'd chart out retreats aka temporary safety zone locations at a hotel (just in case) I need to check in until the anxiety surge is managable enough to continue traveling. I'm not opposed to staying a day or so in an unplanned location if it helps me feel better.
I loved this video especially as it included Belfast and the ferry to Birkenhead both of which I'll be exploring for the first time in two weeks time so this video couldn't have been better timed. Thanks Steve!
Cheers, Steve. Always impressive, those big old railway stations. But they are so loud and full of people, I always feel out of place. For the best station my favourite would have to be a nice, old, little one.
This is a wonderful reminder that travel used to be an adventure, and not just a tedious and anxiety-inducing necessity to get to your destination. Well done, Steve.
Thanks Michelle :)
I think it all depends on your frame of mind. I recall when I first needed to commute when my job was moved from Kent to central London - I detested it at first and then I got into it and realised it was almost a hour on the train I could read and listen to music. I also used lunch time to explore the local area in London
Just a polite correction when you said back and front on the ship, mariners call it Flat end and Pointy end.
Haha brilliant 🤣
Ha ha good one 😜
Actually, the front end is called The forecastle and the back end is called the fantail...(Navy Vet)
Oh, it was a joke! Apologies, mate!
@@davedacigarguyno need to
We've been waiting for years for a bus station in Cardiff. It used to be right outside the train station but that was way too convenient. Better to send people on a wild goose chase around the city centre. 😂
Nothing beats a good challenge video - travel for the sake of travel. You mentioned a Montrose game. I was waiting until the League and Scottish FA cup draws were announded. Should Montrose and St. Mirren get matched up, that would have to be a definite meet-up. Another great video.
Cheers Scott. I'll be watching the draw with fingers crossed :D I am also looking at taking on one of your challenges, but accommodation costs are putting me off just now, and I'm 99% sure I wouldn't beat you!
If St Mirren was ever drawn against Montrose I'd be worried, as the Saints have a reputation os doing poorly against smaller teams, just like Scotland vs. San Marino, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg...
Travel for travels sake doesn't sound very environmentally friendly. In fact I'm always in two minds about watching these kinds of videos as I realyl don'twant to encourage these kinds of challenges
@@sheenamaclean8324 The Planes, Trains, Boats and Coaches would be going anyway.
And if this was to happen, I think I would need to tag along and buy you gents a beer! Love your work!
Another great video Steve. I just wish BBC Scotland or STV would pick up on your adventures and give you your own show. This is by far the best travel channel on youtube.
Wow Tam, thank you SO much! It's funny, you can see tv stations are subtly changing their style to be more like RUclips, I think they are running scared of the platform and its style!
@@steve-marsh I think they are more trying to learn where to cut costs from the traditional TV methods. Makes you think, most bloggers now have better kit than the BBC had in 1979 on the first Keith Floyd programme. If they gave you a show though, they'd probably make you take Joe Lycett or Michael Portillo with you everywhere.
As a Welshman who used to live in Scotland I became very familiar with the train journey from Edinburgh to Crewe then change trains to Cwmbran, which is two stations before Cardiff. I’m glad you’re coming to Wales later in the year. Loads to see and do, because we’ve got the national parks, Snowdonia; Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast. Cardiff is worth a day or two of anybody’s time. I’d like to suggest a visit to Big Pit Mining Museum. This amazing museum allows you to be guided underground one of the last coalmines closed in Wales. Your guide is likely to be a former miner who will regale you with fabulous tales of times in the pit. Best of all it’s totally free.
The Brynglas Tunnels burrow the M4 under Brynglas Hill. As a small child I lived in a street on the hill.
Writing all these great ideas down, thank you!
Used to love my family holdays in Wales. North Wales mostly. We did stay in Pembrokeshire once. It was a bit shit tbh.
John I went to Big Pit in '92 - remember being terrified of the lift and when they turned the torches off but I was only young haha but it was fascinating all the same. Also remember going to the Garden Festival in Ebbw Vale on the same holiday, went back to the site in '99 and couldn't believe the change :)
Big pit is a excellent day out. You won’t be able to take the camera gear under ground though
Went to the big Pit a few years ago. Worth the visit. Stayed in Cwmcarn and years ago stayed in Maesycwmmer and Gelligaer. Love Wales. Hi from Queensland.
The original Primark in Belfast was burned down a few years ago sadly, but because it was such an iconic landmark the city council decided to rebuild it using the same materials, as well as building it using the original plans. This was a great video, looking forward to the coastal tour video! Thanks Steve!
Great info, thanks for sharing!!!
There is one in Cork ❤
Well the original building facade never fell, so the exterior of the building is still original thankfully.
Yeah the front and sides of the primark building never fell. They just had to create new floors and roof. Loved the video, very interesting and tiring.
The "original" Primark is Penney's in Dublin, the headquarters of both companies.
The Primark building is a listed building. Was built as The Bank Building in 1895. It was first occupied by Robertson, Ledlie, Ferguson & Co. Ltd. who were textile merchants and they used it as a warehouse. It's been bombed in the Blitz, bombed during the troubles and suffered a massive fire a few years ago, somehow it's still there.
Steve you mentioned a number of kids running wild and making noise before you boarded the ferry. In 2004 I flew from Honolulu, Hawaii non-stop to Atlanta, Georgia. Sitting across from me was a mother and three young children. Those kids screamed , cried, and climbed over seats unto other passengers for a solid 11 hours. The mother never said a word to her kids to behave and be quiet. Just as we were preparing to land in atlanta I looked over at the woman and her kids. They had finally went to sleep as we touched down in Atlanta. I wanted to slap the mother and shake the kids awake. Sorry I had had enough of their rukus and was in an ill mood from lack of sleep and noise pollution! I wish there were flights with no kids allowed. I really enjoy your videos and hope you continue making them. :)
As a Liverpool supporter I loved your cheeky joke about Everton being a championship club 😂
Another great video mate! 👌
Cheers mate! :)
@@steve-marsh Can you unsubscribe ? 😅
Everton are doomed to be the next Sheffield Wednesday. I say that as an Everton supporter.
@@D_B_Cooper Everton are in free fall and that is down to the owner,it's actually sad seeing a club that has played in European competitions going downhill so fast👀😶
same here
What a treat to wake up on a windy and rainy Saturday morning in Toronto and find a new Steve Marsh video. Another fabulous challenge complete.Enjoy the food shots as well as the train videos, love the trains. Good call waiting for that second bus. I am not a fan of the kiddie party buses either. Amazing as always Steve. Well done!!!
Still raining there, same here! Good for all these long edits :) thanks Wanda!
"And heres my train, only two carriages but it looks quite full" You summed up TfW really well there 😂. Main route between Aberystwyth and Birmingham gets 2 carriages regularly and its never enough.
Oh sorry to hear it's quite a normal experience!
@@steve-marsh haha you're okay, I'm in a wheelchair so I always get a spot 😉
Steve, amazingly with Transport for Wales, count yourself lucky it was that train you were on, they regularly use 40 year old commuter trains on that line, sometimes with 1 carriage. Complete toss of the coin, sometimes you’ll get a full blown intercity train, sometimes you get a train really not fit for purpose at all.
An excellent video. Thank you for the effort and expense that you put into making this video .
Thanks so much or coming along!
Good for you through the rainy weather, the late plane, the crazy passenger, the bad directional to the Mega Bus, the dog sitting, the crying kids and rude parents, the non working cabin key...you did it! And such a fun and interesting trip. Bravo!
I'm a bit of a latecomer to this video, but really enjoyed it Steve. I spent 30+ years repeatedly travelling to these cities for work, sometimes direct from one to another but never all four in a single round trip (and never via the Belfast ferry). I recognise so much of this - the airports, the stations, the bus stops, the early starts, the breakfasts grabbed on the go, the buses, trains and planes... I even cycled to work past Cardiff Castle for a few years. That big wet paved area outside Cardiff Central used to be the bus station. Thanks for a journey down (fairly recent) memory lane!!
Our transport system in Cardiff (especially trains) is pretty terrible. You immediately saw that there are never enough coaches on the trains, and they are always packed. It's been like that for years now :(
Out of the park Steve and good recovery from the flight leaving a little late. Everything about this video- "LIKE". (Edit) Cardiff, wow, that is way down there by the sea. Quite the journey! (Edit) Very nice and very genuine to help with the Guide Dog and owner.
Thanks Frank! Really appreciate it :)
Hi Steve Great Challange. I loved all the different modes of transport. Havent seen anything for the last fortnight, I was in hospital and just got home Thursday afternoon. I remember being in Crewe in 1952, so I have no recolation of what the station looked like! Our family was on the way to Leek for a week before we went up to Scotland (Selkirk)
Hey Rupert, hope you're recovering well!
As someone from Crewe I can concur that that journey needs more carriages! Spent the journey back from Cardiff with a suitcase on my lap! Have asked TFW so many times why they don’t have extra carriages and they always say they’re out for repair! It’s been over 5 years since they first said that!
It's like it constantly. So annoying.
Great video Steve. Fun fact, the Welsh word caer means fort, the Welsh for Cardiff is Caerdydd = the fort on the Taff. On that route, you’ve got Abergavenny an attractive market town with good walking available. On the outskirts of Newport, you’ve got Caerleon, with its Roman amphitheatre, Roman baths, barracks and legionary museum. The national museum in Cardiff has got a good collection of French impressionist art.
Thanks so much! I've had incredible tips for Wales and this is another, I think we'll need about 6 months there!
LOL never tell someone from Caerleon they're on the "outskirts of Newport"! There's a bit of a Salford/Stockport v Manchester situation going on there ;-)
@@michaelocyoung Yes, they’re individualists, and there’s a very different feel in Caerleon, but geography can’t be avoided. Caerleon is great and I’m very fond of it.
@@broomybank Yep me too. It's a nice walk/cycle over from Saino's and there's some good pubs - the Bell in particular.
i was in belfast for the first time last month. what an underrated city it is. lovely, clean and full of old architecture. i was on a group tour so i probably would never have thought to visit on my own. being there on st. patrick’s day, watching the parade, is a memory i will never forget.
What a great time to visit, and totally agree, it's a fantastic place!
I found Belfast a real surprise. Wasn't expecting it to be such a buzzing and friendly place, the city centre is pretty lively, there's loads going on, and I never saw any evidence of the you-know-what that Northern Ireland is infamous for. That's all kept well away in very dodgy suburbs.
@@halfbakedproductions7887 It was was buzzing when I went there in the early 90s.
Fantastic video Steve, well done-just an interesting fact to add, as you pulled out of Shrewsbury station heading to Cardiff you passed the signal box which is actually the largest working mechanical signal box in the world
Wow, what an adventure! The UK Capitals Challenge sounds like an exciting way to explore different parts of the country, and using different modes of transport for each leg adds an extra element of fun. It's great to see someone pushing themselves out of their comfort zone to take on such a unique challenge. And starting from Montrose makes it all the more impressive! Thanks for sharing your experience and inspiring us to try something new on our next trip.
Thanks so much for coming along! It certainly made it interesting to try as many different modes of transport as possible, but boy was I exhausted after this one :D
@@steve-marsh Imagine that 😉
Thank you. Loved this challenge.
Steve, you took us on a marvelous journey. I personally like the stations, some are so authentic. Love it and keep up this fantastic 'work'
Cheers mate, haha yes my 'work' is always tough ;)
That Avanti class 390 was fairly recently refurbished, apparently comfier seats as the old ones were worn
I love your videos Steve! I just arrived back in the states from my vacation to Manchester (Go CITY) and Edinburgh. I also went up to St Andrews and the surrounding villages with a local I met in the airport in Boston. How fantastic was that bit of luck!! I can not wait to get back and do the northern part of Scotland. Until then, I will follow your spectacular journeys and dream of my next visit. Thanks again Steve, safe travels to you. Edit....I wanted to add that my favorite part of my travel was the train from Manchester to Edinburgh and from Edinburgh to Ladybank. I felt so much more comfortable after watching a lot of your videos.
SO glad you had fun Kerry! Oh we almost bought a wee flat in Ladybank before settling on Montrose, both beautiful places. Settle in again back home, but get planning your next trip to Scotland!
Last year I did three of the capitols with a group. From San Antonio TX we flew to Edinburgh then went by private coach to Cardiff and London via York, Durham, and Stratford. It was a great trip.
Love the longer videos! My wife and I were just in Scotland and we visited Dores while near Loch Ness because of your video! What a lovely little spot, thanks Steve!!
Superb Eddie, thanks so much!!!
Great video as always, 4 capitals and rain in every one of them. Well done
Haha wouldn't be a UK tour without the weather eh!
Quite a delightful journey. I agree with you about the trains those are my favorite mode of Transport right after ship. And I also agree with you about helicopters. No way on Earth would I ever get anyone unless it was absolutely the last mode of Transport out of a catastrophe or I was comatose on my way to the hospital. Love the shots of the food. I am definitely a food oriented person. Be well, stay safe, say hi to Alicja for me, love from Texas.
Thanks Kate! I’ll try get on a helicopter one day just for you :D
@@steve-marsh if you get on one, I will have to watch. I won't do it happily though! I can always pause and shut my eyes if it gets too bad. I bet your adrenaline junkie sidekick would love it.
Great challenge Steve! Nice that the newly restored old "Bank Buildings" building in Belfast caught your attention. I too thought it was "just a Primark" until a few years ago when it went entirely up in smoke. What became evident in the months that followed, was that as Primark, it was the lynchpin on which much of the footfall in the other city centre shops depended. I think the ladies understood it better than men. The city centre really struggled during the years it took to rebuild it. The entire city were thankful to Penny's, the Dublin based parent company, that they were willing to go to huge expense, both monetary and time wise, to pay for the stone by numbered stone rebuild that followed. The city has recovered from Covid and economic setbacks much better since Primark reopened. If you are not a teenage girl/ young lady/ or parent of one, its hard to comprehend the drawing power this brand has.
Never been on a big ferry like that, but on smaller ferries and cruise ships I'm always out on the deck just like you. That's where the fun stuff is. Thanks for the video!
Glad to hear it Lynne, thank you! :)
23:07 those Merseyrail trains will be retiring soon as they got some brand new trains which are being rolled out. Great video and reminds me of the Scotland 7 Cities video which was one of the early videos I watched.
That ship looks amazing, I've never been on such a nice looking ferry. What a crazy little adventure. I love the train trips, I wish we had more accessible and affordable trains in North America.
Really wish I'd had more time to explore the ferry, great little cinema rooms etc, but I just had to sleep! :D
@@steve-marsh At least you had a nightcap . Good call !
Affordable trains being the operative word! They are crazy expensive in the UK (not sure why as continental Europe seem to have much cheaper services), if you live in Edinburgh and want to go to London it's usually cheaper and quicker to fly!
I also wish the USA had some longer distance ferries but the Jones Act, which requires that they also be built in the USA, largely rules that out.
@@erik_griswold why do you need ferries? The USA is mainly a continent on its own. I’ve been on ferries around BC to get to the islands but not aware any situations like that south of the border? UK is obvs an island, France is only 20 miles away, same with Ireland, Netherlands is an overnighter but maybe only ~150 miles
Your not the only one, I have taken the ferry many times and still go out on deck and watch the departures and arrivals.
Glad to hear it! :)
What beautiful views from the train of Wales. Almost as pretty as Scotland.
Well done on reaching all four capitals. Keep the great videos coming.
Cheers! I was looking forward to sitting back and enjoying the scenery, well, when I got a seat it was nice :D
Steve you gotta love the airports were you have to walk out in the tarmac to get to the plane. Rain, sleet and snow let’s get going!
It wakens You up for sure :D
As soon as you said North Road, I knew it was the Megabus. It goes from there because they are currently building the new bus station, right next to the Cardiff Central train station (you walked past it) so all the local buses and coaches are all over the shop. I believe it finally opens later this year
Ahhh cheers for the info!
Unfortunately the new bus station in Cardiff will only have 14 bays, none of which will be for coaches, which, apart from the Megabus currently leave from Sophia Gardens a short distance outside the city centre. For some reason the Megabus has always left from a weird location, even before the closure of Cardiff Central Bus Station. either from the first location that Steve went to, and now from it's present location. It also used to stop outside the university on Park Place, (don't know if it still does) .
I strongly suspect that the current chaotic location of bus stops spread all over the city centre will continue, as the new bus station will in no way be big enough for a city the size of Cardiff. Swansea Bus Station has something like 28 bays and even a small town like Blackwood has 9 bays in the bus station. Cardiff is a great example of how to not build a bus station that won't even be properly integrated into the railway station, though not far away, but even so, will lack any facilities for long distance coaches.
@@mzcymro Wowsers. I didn't know the coaches wouldnt be going from there. You're right 14 bays is not enough. Newports 'two stations' are 15 bays and 9 bays, but the coaches don't go from there, like the used to, because they screwed the design up
Thanks for taking us with you on your journey Steve. 🚆
And thank YOU for coming along :)
Excellent as always Steve 😊 my highlight of my week!! Keep em coming and thank you as always my favourite RUclipsr/RUclipsrs ❤️
Thanks for watching a long one today Richard! Have a great weekend!
Steve, sitting on the upright ironing board seats of the vile Voyager units was an incredible feat of endurance! They're not a patch on the superb HST's they replaced.
Brilliant as ever Steve, Saturday morning wouldn't be the same without one of your videos 👍🙂I have watched so many of your videos and to see you arriving into my hometown of Liverpool was good to see. Shame that you didn't have longer there to see some of the sights (as in other places you visited of course.) Looking forward to your next video 👍🙂
Love your city mate! Will need to film it one day :)
@@steve-marsh That would be brilliant Steve, if you ever come down would be great to meet for a pint and to show you around 👍🙂
I sincerely applaud your ability to be enthusiastic after 20/21 hours awake..... I'd have been comatose on that cabin bed 💤💤
Cheers, oh it was difficult to film at that point!
Excellent as always. Shrewsbury, Ludlow and Leominster well worth a visit. I did that ferry crossing both ways in 2008,it was a really old ferry and took the car. Bonus was that 3 course lunch was included going out and dinner going back.
Nice! Great area, will be back!
Also Church Stretton!
What a great journey! I wish I had gone to Belfast. Liverpool is familiar to me as is Shrewsbury. Used to live there. Well worth visiting. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where I’ve not been. I really enjoy watching your journeys as I no longer can travel. Well done!
Your videos are sooooo entertaining! Fun to watch. Thank you🎉
The last time I went on the Stena Embla I had a cabin on deck 9 at the back and car alarms constantly going off all night and had zero sleep , nice cabins but no sleep 😂
Thing I like about your videos is you tell it how it is and how brutally tiring and uncomfortable travelling can be , yet very enjoyable too .👍👌
Ahhh hard luck! Although I’m the same, there’s always SOMEthing 🤣
A 2 am drive through Brechin is all I wanted to see. My life is now complete. I'm from Northern Ireland and you're right, it is beautiful. Great video. I would also be on the outside deck as the ship left port. I lived in Crewe for a few years and often went to support the Alex. It's so nice to see Gresty Road again.
Haha love it! :D
I wouldn't mind doing this as a week long tour staying overnight in the cities.
Ahh that would be much better!
I wish I had found your channel prior to my travels to the UK in Oct.
Hi Steve technically the 100 isn't the only airport bus at 4am if you had left your van at Halbeath Park and Ride you could have got the 747 to the airport around 03.35 I think
Haha fair enough!
I have driven through Brechin at eleven in the morning and not seen so many people ! - Steve- thank you for the excellent content - always innovative and "the race against time " element is fun !
Haha I think the kebab shop was still open, the town was jumping :D
Wow! That was fantastic Steve, loved the train trips... and the ferry cabin looked great. Those breakfasts you had looked brilliant.
Thanks a lot, all the best.
Oh mate I was happy to have a nice cabin like that!
Yet another cracking video Steve. What did you film it on.... brilliant pictures, especially at night.👍👍
Just on GoPro 11, couple of shots with iPhone
Another awesome adventure, I enjoyed it, thanks very much Steve.
All the best from Newcastle upon Tyne.
Thanks so much Luke! I slept through Newcastle on this trip 🤣
I really enjoyed this. Thank you!
Thanks so much for coming along :)
I love your positive energy Steve, you definitely got yourself a new sub, greetings from holland.
Hey thanks so much! Welcome aboard, really appreciate it!
This is one of my favourite videos yet...really interesting. You really do make it look easy...makes me think i could tackle that kind of trip.
Cheers Yvonne!!! I was soooo tired after this, funny because I was sitting for most of it :D
I really loved the video too. Just sat at my computer with a smile on my face and hoping it just went on. Steve did a great job with a challenge that didn't seem that intriguing. Boy was I wrong.
The Liverpool skyline looks fantastic
Totally agree, full of icons!
Really enjoyed this video . I'm from Wales and the train's here are terrible. The train you caught from Crewe to Cardiff has always been the same just a two carriage, with people rammed on. You had a great shot of my wife's office building lol as she works right by the Megabus stop. Keep up the great work Steve I really enjoy your videos .😊😊👍
Oh it appears my train journey was quite typical then eh!? Same here in Scotland mate on many routes!
@@steve-marsh here in Wales we call them transport for fails Lol 🤣🤣🏴🏴🏴🏴👍
What a nifty idea for a video! I think I would have needed a week of sleep after that! I loved every minute of this.
Haha I think I did Patricia!
You got the right weather for Liverpool-grey, cloudy, raining.
Nice film, enjoyed it.😊
Nice to see your brief visit to my neck of the woods. The North West of England. Do come back for a visit at some point.
That shot of the Liverpool waterfront 😍
Train to Cardiff, bus to London, air to Belfast, boat back to Scotland. Too easy.
But then again, Steve makes going to the wrong places more fun than most other video creators do going to the right places.
Haha cheers! The main challenge with this trip was money. I was kinda stuck with my dates, and that inflexibility made it tricky to find good fares. I planned many different routes, but there was always ONE leg that let me down with eye-watering prices. Ironically getting hoe again was the main stumbling block
Enjoyed this. A brilliant idea--THANKS!
So strange I haven’t seen this before. I watched the Gobbins walk and all of your Wales trip ages ago, but this was new to me.
Hi Steve, great video as usual, very informative also. I do have a question, what accent did the announcer have on the train across the Mersey? I could only manage a couple of words.
Yeah same, it certainly wasn't local :D
Great video. The Primark you mentioned, is a listed building. Which had a major fire about 3 years ago. Only reopened last year. Nice to have it back.
Here here!
Paying the extra to get the full cabin to yourself - 100% worth it!
That was fun! Love these UK videos!
Thanks so much Catherine! :)
Love the shot of the 3 bridges accross the forth, history of engineering there!
Oh! I’ve been to Abergavenny! (You said it perfectly!!) went a pony trekking holiday there a great many moons ago.
I have been to Belfast once, great city!!! I have been to Edinburgh 20 times, I love it!!! Cardiff and London countless times as I lived in Trowbridge near Bath/Bristol so the M4 is close. I prefer Cardiff over London a 100 times but my favorite is Edinburgh!! Great video Lord Marsh and thanks for going on these great but exhausting adventures for us!!!!
Cheers Oliver! Great to bring you a video featuring so many familiar places! :)
A visit to the stadium in Montrose would be fun. Thanks for the video, Steve. You've given me a great idea for a trip. Hello again from Uruguay!
Wow, hi!!!! :) Cheers Jonathan!
I love this video. It's my second time watching it. I think it's all the lovely rainy weather.
welcome to wales! as an abergavenny local, I'm glad you featured (briefly) it. cardiff doesnt even have a bus station (it used to, and might do in the future), so a coach station wont be seen anytime in the future
One word Steve.....BRILLIANT..😊
Myra thanks so much!!!
Fantastic video, great idea, to me this has been your best yet.
Cheers Dougie!
Great video as always mate! Nice to hear my local station Wigan North Western getting a mention on the station announcements at 25:38 😉
Cheers George :)
Really enjoyable video Steve. You've inspired me to take the ferry over to Belfast as I've never been there before, but am often on the Wirral. Surely by far the best way to arrive in a new country. I took the ferry from Plymouth down to Santander on the Northern coast of Spain. It felt more like going on a cruise, the ship was huge and had an onboard indoor heated swimming pool! The best thing was whale spotting up on deck as we sailed through the Bay of Biscay, the food onboard was good too- (Breton crew mostly)
Totally agree, it's the only was to arrive :) Have a great time!
I agree with you about flying - yugh!
Wonderful episode, Steve. One of your best. I so enjoy your work.
Thanks so much Tom! This was a fun challenge, but very tiring considering I was sitting down most of it :D
The Brynglass Tunnel is just like any other tunnel - it goes through a hill.
Given a choice between National Express and Megabus, it's National Express for me. I've done the Cardiff - Heathrow and Cardiff - London routes quite a few times and National Express have always been good.
I love your traveling style mate! You do all the things that I would do, so it is like traveling myself! Thanks and greetings from Trondheim, Norway!
Thanks o much, I really appreciate it! But I need to get to your city!!!
Quite an adventure Steve and a pleasure to watch as usual. I’m a bit out of sinc here as I watched the Gobbins a few days ago. Keep them coming Steve.
Haha it'll get even more confusing :D
Really enjoying your videos, Steve.
Nice video mate,
One of your best for sure
Thanks so much!!!!
BR used to do a 24-hour 39:44 day on the network, £1 for any journeys within that time. A friend of mine used to plan with 'Bradshaw ' his for as far as possible across the whole mainland .
Steve, I LOVE your travel videos! I travelled through Scotland in July 2023 and loved the transportation system there. The land and people are lovely and I wish my ancestors hadn't left !!! Safe travels by friend.
Thanks so much Elaine! I must admit I also love travelling around here, it doesn't always go to plan, but even then you are pretty much guaranteed to find friendly helpful people to keep you moving :)
Great video i felt for you on the Tfw overcrowded 2 car train. Some of the trains are 2 car but they also operate quite a cool 5 carriage locomotive hauled trains with a buffet car.
Excellant videos and i love watching them, espeically the walks.( i live in Monifeith) A suggestion....... It would be cool to have a map showing your journeys and where you are and where your going.
Really enjoyed the video mate. Really impressed by the stena line ferry and the upgraded pendolino really is big improvement
Totally agree mate! Cheers!
Hi just stumbled onto your channel, (just subscribed) a very interesting video, you certainly covered some miles with the different modes of transport, time to have a look at your other videos.
Thank you!
Great video for anyone that has anxiety issues being too far from a safety zone aka home. Watching, I see a few things I can adjust to ease anxiety surges and possible panic attacks. Number one, travel with a service friend. If not possible, then watch videos like this multiple times for the scenery to become more familiar as in feel safe. Sort of like a pre-travel therapy. I'd chart out retreats aka temporary safety zone locations at a hotel (just in case) I need to check in until the anxiety surge is managable enough to continue traveling. I'm not opposed to staying a day or so in an unplanned location if it helps me feel better.
I loved this video especially as it included Belfast and the ferry to Birkenhead both of which I'll be exploring for the first time in two weeks time so this video couldn't have been better timed. Thanks Steve!
Both are well worth it.
Have a great trip! :)
An excellent journey, with great accompanying music and an informative commentary. Thanks.
An absolute mega presentation. I felt with you all the way. Thank you
Great video mate. First thing i've seen of yours, but i'll definitely be watching more!
Thanks so much!
Cheers, Steve. Always impressive, those big old railway stations. But they are so loud and full of people, I always feel out of place. For the best station my favourite would have to be a nice, old, little one.
Tend to agree Johannes :)