Bus Travel

National Express and Megabus (book online to avoid premium-line charges) travel to Durham and Newcastle and leave from London's Victoria Coach Station, but the journey takes between six and eight hours, more than twice the time it takes by train. (It can be considerably cheaper, especially if you book months in advance.) Connecting services to other parts of the region leave from those cities. Traveline has information. The Explorer Northeast Pass (£8) allows unlimited one-day travel on most local bus and Metro train services in the region and is available from the bus driver or local bus or Metro stations.

Contacts

Explorer Northeast Pass (www.explorernortheast.co.uk.)

Megabus (0900/160-0900. www.megabus.com/uk.)

National Express (0871/781-8178. www.nationalexpress.com.)

Traveline (0871/200-2233. www.traveline.org.uk.)