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Factual: Travel

Travel magazine, featuring travellers' tales, experiences and anecdotes

Excess Baggage: Bus trip

Bus trip

21/08/2010

BBC Radio 4 - Excess Baggage, Bus trip

Sandi Toksvig takes the 49 bus from Swindon to Devizes.

Sandi Toksvig takes listener Sonia Mabberly's advice and travels on the 49 bus route from Swindon to Devizes on market day, calling at Avebury on the way.

Due to industrial action called by the National Union of Journalists we're sorry that we're unable to bring you our scheduled programme. In its place we offer you a programme from 21st August this year. Sandi Toksvig asked the Excess Baggage audience to nominate their favourite bus journeys and she chose one that, while in many ways is very ordinary, reveals much of fascination and beauty along the way. She meets listener Sonia Mabberley, who nominated the route, at the bus station in Swindon. It could have been an unpromising beginning, given the town's reputation for dullness, but in fact there is much on offer and they soon find themselves in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside at harvest time. The bus passes much of historical interest including the white horse carved from a chalk hillside, the World Heritage site of Avebury and they arrive at Devizes a typical country town on market day. Sandi concludes there is much you can see and enjoy for little outlay and without even going far from home. The bus song is by Kitty Macfarlane.
Producer: Harry Parker.

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