A Brighton and Hove bus trip to Nowhere – via the M25

By GeorgeHA | Thursday, December 29, 2011, 11:57

Most of us dread entering the Ring of Pain, the 'UK's largest carpark', the M25. But there are, apparently, perfectly sane people who are willing to pay good money to take a bus tour around it.

"An entertaining commentary by our co-driver will accompany the journey covering interesting facts about the motorway’s evolution..."

Yes, Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company (catchphrase 'widening your horizons') is offering sightseers a tour of the London Orbital.

Day-trippers will pay £15 for the journey on the 117 mile road as they learn a bit about the history of the motorway.

And there was such interest in the planned trip that the company has even added a second date - bringing the inaugural tour forward by seven months.

The bus company, which also runs day trips to tourist attractions such as Blenheim Palace, Beaulieu National Motor Museum, Bath and Bluewater shopping centre, included the M25 tour in its 2012 brochure earlier this month.

The planned date was 11 October but another date, 22 March, has now been added.

The trip departs from Worthing and picks up at Hove and Brighton before heading north on the A23 and M23 to join the M25 at the Merstham Interchange. The toss of a coin decides which direction the coach will then travel around the motorway.

Company spokesman Roger French said the motorway was 'fascinating'.

'It goes through six home counties and you get a whole taste of the variety of London,' he said.

'In Essex you come to Epping Forest and coming round by Heathrow you see the planes coming in to land.'

Each to his own...

2-4-6-8 MOTORWAY: THE LONDON ORBITAL BY NUMBERS