The Golden Age of Coach Travel

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Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history.

Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history, its narrative-led storytelling offering a richly immersive and varied window onto the past.

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June Whitfield

Debbie Martin

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Michael Poole

Timeshift: Series 10: Episode 6: The Golden Age of Coach Travel

Episode 6

Episode 6: The Golden Age of Coach Travel

Series 10

BBC Four - Timeshift, Series 10, The Golden Age of Coach Travel

The 1950s were a time when the coach was king and helped give people a taste of freedom.

Documentary which journeys back to the 1950s when the coach was king. Those who had not travelled beyond their own villages and towns were given a taste of exploration and freedom.

Documentary which takes a glorious journey back to the 1950s, when the coach was king. From its early origins in the charabanc, the coach had always been the people's form of transport. Cheaper and more flexible than the train, it allowed those who had travelled little further than their own villages and towns a first heady taste of exploration and freedom. It was a safe capsule on wheels from which to venture out into a wider world. 

The distinctive livery of the different coach companies was part of a now-lost world, when whole communities crammed into coach after coach en route to pleasure spots like Blackpool, Margate and Torquay. With singsongs, toilet stops and the obligatory pub halt, it didn't matter how long it took to get there because the journey was all part of the adventure.

Timeshift: Series 10

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Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history

Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history, its narrative-led storytelling offering a richly immersive and varied window onto the past

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Episode 6: The Golden Age of Coach Travel

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