Go North East to celebrate English Tourism Week with seasonal services and vintage bus journeys this bank holiday weekend

Last month, Go North East launched a series of seasonal services to help give the staycation market a boost, and the region’s largest bus operator is now taking it one step further to celebrate the final few days of English Tourism Week this bank holiday weekend.

From this weekend, Go North East’s open-top NewcastleGateshead Toon Tour, and Seasider X11 service to Whitby and Scarborough, will join the AD122 Hadrian’s Wall Country Bus in operating daily instead of just on weekends.

The company’s Beamish Museum Express B1 service from Newcastle will also operate daily next week during the half-term school holidays, before operating a full daily schedule in the summer from 24 July onwards, but still at weekends in the meantime.

As an added boost, this bank holiday weekend Go North East is also celebrating English Tourism Week by running a pair of classic 1960’s Routemaster buses, complete with conductors, on journeys on its Beamish Museum Express and Toon Tour services.

Operating on all three days over the bank holiday weekend, the vintage bus on the B1 to Beamish will run from Newcastle at 9.10am, 10.30am and 11.50am, with return journeys from the museum at 2pm, 3.20pm and 4.40pm each day.

Tickets for the Beamish B1 are priced at £5.30 for a return, £7 for a day ticket to cover any other connecting buses, or £12 for a family day ticket, which covers up to two adults and three children under 16 (minimum of one adult and one child). Please note that if you want to attend the museum, you need to book a timeslot on Beamish Museum’s website.

An open-top Routemaster vintage bus will also operate over the bank holiday weekend on the hop-on, hop-off NewcastleGateshead Toon Tour on journeys departing from Newcastle Central Station at 11.35am, 12.35pm, 2.05pm and 3.05pm each day.

Toon Tour tickets are prices at just £5 per person, with a £12 family day ticket option also available.

Both buses will serve all of the usual pick up points along each route.

Martijn Gilbert, managing director at Go North East, said: “We’re excited to be doing things a little differently this bank holiday weekend, allowing people to reminisce by running some journeys with vintage Routemaster buses, and also helping to celebrate English Tourism week.

“We’re also be delighted to stepping up the operation of our seasonal staycation services further. Our AD122 route, which gives spectacular views across Hadrian’s Wall country, has been operating daily since last month, and will now be joined by our day trip Seasider service to Whitby and Scarborough, as well as the Newcastle and Gateshead open top Toon Tour, from this weekend.

“We look forward to welcoming customers on board and we hope everyone has an enjoyable bank holiday weekend, made even more special by these nostalgic vehicles operating on the region’s streets.”