£2 bus man starts journey around England and Wales

Mr Cowell will spend more than nine hours a day on a bus

A man who uses the government's £2 bus fare scheme to travel hundreds of miles across the country has set off on his latest adventure.

Andrew Cowell is travelling by buses alone around the coast of England and Wales.

His trip will take 13 days, using a total of 84 service buses and one ferry.

Mr Cowell, from Derby, said his trip would involve him spending more than 118 hours on buses.

The 47-year-old, who works in railway operational planning, said his first day would involve six buses to get him from Derby to Lancaster.

The longest day of his trip will see him spend 11 hours on five buses to get from Cardiff Customhouse Street to Bangor Bus Station.

He said: "It's partly a personal challenge but it's also to highlight what you can actually still do on the bus.

"We've lost about a third of the service mileage since Covid on buses.

"Although bus use is coming back towards pre-Covid levels, it's still struggling in places."

Mr Cowell's entire trip will cost £170.70

Mr Cowell said he was particularly looking forward to the several open-top buses his latest trip will involve, including the coastal service around Lands End to St Ives.

The only part of his journey that will not be on a bus is on day nine when he travels by boat from Polruan to Fowey in Cornwall.

The journey is Mr Cowell's 4th attempt to travel a huge distance using the government's £2 bus fare cap scheme.

He has previously travelled by buses alone to Whitby, Penzance and Poland, from Derby.

He joked his next trip could take him even further.

"Around the world in 80 buses or something like that," he said.

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.