Andrew Cowell took seven buses and two international coaches to get to Kraków in Poland, spanning a distance of 1,148 miles (1,847 kilometres) within a remarkable timeframe of three days.

Andrew Cowell set off from his home in Derby on Wednesday morning. Employing a combination of seven buses and two international coaches, he persevered through the arduous journey until he reached Krakow around 19:00 BST on Friday.

Previously gaining recognition for undertaking a series of trips across England utilising the government’s £2 bus fare cap program, Mr Cowell acknowledged that his venture to Poland wasn’t a conventional method of long-distance travel. However, he found it to be an intriguing experience that shed light on more eco-friendly transportation alternatives.

Expressing that this was his inaugural venture into long-distance European coach travel, Mr Cowell embraced the opportunity to explore new horizons and expand his travel repertoire.

„I have enjoyed my journey, it was interesting. (…) I’m somebody who quite enjoys looking out the window and just seeing how landscapes have changed and just looking at what’s out there.” –  said Andrew.

Mr Cowell took seven buses from his home in Derby to central London. He then took a coach to Paris, followed by another nearly 22-hour coach journey to Krakow.

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Expressing his perspective, Andrew, a 47-year-old railway worker, commented – „For most people travelling by coach so far would be impractical. Flying is efficient, but it’s too clinical for me. When you fly you just arrive at your destination rather than travel there. By getting buses I feel like I’ve travelled and I get to see places when I’m travelling. (…) I got to stop off in Paris and had a dinner by the river. I got to see the white cliffs of Dover and the beautiful French countryside along the way as well. We went through Austria, Germany, Czech Republic before reaching Poland so it was just interesting to see the different countries.”

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Reflecting on his expedition, Mr Cowell described the journey as smooth and problem-free. However, he acknowledged that he may have been overly ambitious regarding the distance covered.

„I’m not sure I’d do quite such a long journey again” –  he said.

Acknowledging the lack of sufficient sleep during the trip, Mr Cowell shared that he had realistic expectations and wasn’t disappointed by it.

„I would consider shorter journeys where maybe I might have flown or maybe even hired a car before.”

Having already accomplished bus challenges throughout England, including a 320-mile trip from Derby to Cornwall, benefiting from the government’s £2 bus fare cap initiative, Mr Cowell emphasised the need for an improved public transport network to make travel more convenient and appealing to passengers.

Nonetheless, he expressed his hope that his journey would inspire others to explore alternative modes of transportation.

Andrew highlights that „It proves that we do still have these sort of public transport networks and it’s worth using and remembering they’re there, even if you don’t use them to quite such an extreme way that I have.” 

In conclusion, he remarked – „This has been my best bus journey yet. Everything surprisingly ran on time or even got to destinations early. I met some nice people along the way as well, although I do think I was the only person going all the way to Krakow. 

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Furthermore, he expressed his curiosity about the feasibility of taking buses to Singapore, considering it to be the farthest possible destination by road. He intends to explore the practical aspects of undertaking such a venture.

Author: Patrycja Bodzek-Kurzyńska

Photo: Andrew Cowell