Comedy icon Alexei Sayle continues his series of rail journeys across the country with a trip from the regency elegance of Cheltenham to Maesteg, deep in the heart of the former mining communities of South Wales.

Alexei’s mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers, in a quest for conversations with strangers that will reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations.

Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the thoughts and moods of the great British travelling public. There’s humour, sadness and surprise as people reveal what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.

Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.

In this programme, Alexei meets hospital worker Kevin who, on his days off, takes pot luck at his local train station ticket office and simply asks for a trip to somewhere interesting. Jenny tells Alexei how her years in the middle east changed her life, Donna and Paul take Alexei into the addictive world of murder mystery weekends, Ruth tells of her memories of her childhood in a mining community, and Julie and David describe to Alexei how, for nearly 50 years, they have run a general store in the Welsh valleys - now the only shop left in the village.

A Ride production for BBC Radio 4 Show less