Bus

National Express and Megabus travel to Durham and Newcastle and leave from London's Victoria Coach Station. The journey takes between six and eight hours, more than twice the time it takes by train, but it can be considerably cheaper, especially if you reserve in advance (book online to avoid premium telephone charges). Connecting services to other parts of the region leave from those cities; Traveline has more information and a journey planner. The Network One Explorer North East ticket (£10.90, or £20.60 for families of up to five) allows unlimited one-day travel on most local bus and Metro train services in the Northeast. It's available from most bus and Metro stations or through the Go North East app.

Contacts

Explorer Northeast Pass. 0191/276–3706; www.networkonetickets.co.uk.

Megabus. 0900/160–0900; uk.megabus.com.

National Express. 0871/781–8181; www.nationalexpress.com.

Traveline. 0871/200–2233; www.traveline.info.