Most Edinburgh locals at some point or another have taken the option of saving cash over comfort and embarked on the all night Megabus service that runs between London Victoria and Edinburgh's Bus Station. Costing around a fifth of the price you can get from one UK capital to the over in around 12 hours while saving a fortune.
Sam Ormiston originally from the Borders had this in mind when he purchased a £15 ticket and heading to sunny Scotland. Here is one man's experience of the journey as he made his way from the English capital up to Edinburgh for a trip to visit family, first shared by MyLondon.
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Sam said: "It's been a while since I've seen my family up in Scotland, so I was excited to pay them a visit and flee city life for a few days. But my plans were put to a sudden halt when I opened the Trainline app, only to find that tickets started at around £120 for a return, with four days notice of my trip.
"So I instead decided to catch the trusty overnight Megabus - priced at £15 a ticket - from London Victoria Coach Station up to Edinburgh, on the scenic 418 mile journey up the west coast of England before heading through rural southern Scotland.
"From barely catching a wink of sleep to finding myself sat next to the cramped and overused toilet, I can honestly say that the trip was somehow worse than expected."
He explained: "My journey didn't start particularly well, either. Arriving at the station at 11.15pm with 15 minutes to spare before departure, I suddenly realised that I had an empty stomach. Searching around for places to eat, to my horror, everywhere seemed to be closed."
Luckily the Scottish reporter found a corner shop to grab some snacks for the long journey ahead. He said: "As I was approaching platform 16, I was relieved to see a small corner shop - simply called 'Treats' - which has apparently been serving hungry bus passengers 'hand made fresh food since 1979'. The shop owner looked livid when I walked inside, sweating buckets, as he was evidently about to shut up shop.
"I got the picture when he yelled 'NO MORE CUSTOMERS' as two or three more people filtered in, and he constructed a makeshift barrier made out of sweetie shelves and a trolley to stop hungry Londoners in their tracks.
"Panicking, I quickly grabbed a random array of snacks, ending up with two bottles of water, a Kinder Bueno, a packet of McCoy's BBQ crisps and - last but most definitely least - a 'Gourmet' chicken burger."
When arriving on the Edinburgh coach despite it being a weekday Sam was shocked to discover the bus was already packed.
He said: "I think there was one, maybe two spare seats. Another rookie error on my part was that I didn't turn up early enough, and so found myself at the back of the queue while boarding the bus. This meant - you've guessed it - that I ended up sitting right next to the loo."
Due to his rookie error the reporter drew the short straw and had to spend the next 12 hours sitting next to a stinking toilet which was only made worse by the frequent trips to the loo by fellow passengers.
He said: "Around 10 or 12 people had used the toilet I was sitting next to by the time I decided that, as we passed Birmingham, I wanted to get changed in to my shorts and T-shirt, as it appeared we were running out of oxygen inside the bus. Hot and sweaty, with no room for a 6 foot 2 man to stand up straight, I climbed on in.
"I was shocked to discover the toilet seat up when I entered with a toilet almost overflowing with urine. Trying not to throw up, I desperately pressed the button to realise that it all flushed away instantly."
During the second leg of the cross border journey the Edinburgh service was halted in Cumbria due to a road traffic collision, an unexpected delay that cannot be helped.
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Sam continued: "It was very hot, and a little cramped, but luckily I had an aisle seat so I could stretch out my legs, when someone wasn't climbing over me to get to the loo. As night turned to day and the sun shone over the M6, in unison we all awoke as the bus came to a sudden halt. All we could see in front of us was a humongous queue of traffic.
"After what felt like an eternity but was only actually 30 minute, we were soon on our way again. We later found out that the delay was due to a crash south of Carlisle, where thankfully no one was seriously hurt.
Finally Sam said: "This meant that we were delayed coming in to Edinburgh. Due to arrive in at 7.30am , we instead rolled in to Edinburgh bus station a little over an hour late. A quick jog over to Edinburgh Waverley train station, and I was on a ScotRail service heading home.
"Despite all my criticisms of the Megabus experience, though, I'll almost certainly be back."
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