European Tales of the Ginger Express

European Tales of the Ginger Express Full Time Coach Drivers. Part Time Comedians! All The Time Professionals!

4BGP/1 - The Belgium Grand Prix 2026This one is a good one strap in! A weekend at a Belgian spa. Spa Francorchamps. Co p...
21/07/2026

4BGP/1 - The Belgium Grand Prix 2026

This one is a good one strap in!

A weekend at a Belgian spa. Spa Francorchamps.

Co pilot for this one was a very familiar face. The team from last year was back together for this special event! MICHEALSSS BACK!

Day 1 - Starting up at Washington services at 0240 in the morning!! 5 pick ups on the way down to our final pick up at Doncaster! Then just for a change there was No interchange!! Yes you heard that right! However we still had to pay Folkestone a visit to collect the tickets for the weekend! Quick hop across the channel with P&O and we were on our way to Namur for our 3 nights stay.

Day 2 Qualifying day - 0745 departure from the hotel, 0915 we got our first glimpse of the track and it was off to Green Parking (Les Combes). The new second fanzone was very good however the corner we used to hide in has been upgraded to a premium ticket so we had to go on the hunt for a new spot. We had a walk down the Kemmel Straight to the main fan zone. Eau Rouge/Raidillon is not for the faint hearted even walking up and down it however it is a must tick for any formula one fan!

The photo I've attached is of Sir Lewis Hamilton 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in his Ferrari, climbing the 18% gradient at Raidillon (My Camera is level at that point that's how steep it is!)

Brilliant qualifying dominated by Kimi Antonelli

Day 3 - Race Day. After breakfast we set back off again. Hit a minor problem but with a bit of teamwork all was quickly solved and off to the track we went. Lots of on track action with F3, F2, Historic F1 and the main event 44 laps around the longest track on the calendar. Obviously we lost 1 Brit in the first lap but there was still plenty to shout about. An amazing experience and definitely one I'd like to do again.

Belgium GP 2027 went on sale as we were driving back to the hotel on Sunday night. Let's make it five in a row!!!

The next post will be all the photos we got from the track.

Can't believe i forgot to post about a trip!4BTS - Antwerp Tall Ships.Day 1 - I had a different partner in crime for thi...
21/07/2026

Can't believe i forgot to post about a trip!

4BTS - Antwerp Tall Ships.

Day 1 - I had a different partner in crime for this one. Nath decided he liked Andre Rieu so much he wanted to do it again, so I had Liam with me! A first time flyer on European Trips. Spoiler Alert - He was Brilliant!

Smooth Sailing down to Folkestone. Minor Traffic around Dartford but nothing compared to the car park going Anti-clockwise on the M25. DFDS was our chosen sailing for this crossing of the channel over to Dunkirk. Arrived at Basecamp Mercure Antwerp City South for around 7pm.

Day 2 & 3 - Tall Ships Day 1&2 - After breakfast on the patio in the hotel we headed towards the docks at Antwerp. Very quick transfer I didn't even have time to catch my breath we were there in a flash. Dropped the passengers off for a very very hot day!

Over 70 ships took part in the race. The Tall Ships race is used to train young sailors in open water as 50% of the crew must be under the age of 25. Over 17 countries took part in the race including 3 ships from the UK.

One had a personal connection to us as she was named James Cook. Obviously being from Middlesbrough we have strong ties to Captain Cook. However as it was based in South Shields it said "James Cook Newcastle" on the back which is just wrong in my opinion. Liam also shared the fact his partner had actually trained on James Cook during her younger years.

One of the other UK ships won an award for the best presented crew, Royalist who is partly run by the sea cadets who were looking very smart in their uniform all weekend.

Day 4 - Travel back day! - Two hour drive back to Dunkirk with an added extra. A stop at PJ's for a Chocolate fix on the way back. Just what was needed to break up the journey.

All in all a brilliant tour. Perfect one for Liam to start on. Watch this space you may see his name more often.

Next up - A Weekend Retreat at A Belgium Spa!

Jase

07/07/2026

The Eurotunnel Conga!

I think the heat got to Nathan when we were stuck at the Eurotunnel. While we were going around to French immigration. Nathan started doing his best Tony Christie impression to all of the cars sitting in the queue!

While doing his impression to a car sat in the queue one of the passengers from the car got out and started joining in.

After Amarillo had finished. We put on Do The Conga and well... The video explains the rest.

Enjoy!

Jase!

4HAR/1 - Andre Rieu in Maastricht and Brussels.Saved the best till last!Day 1 - Our usual North East feeder went as smoo...
07/07/2026

4HAR/1 - Andre Rieu in Maastricht and Brussels.

Saved the best till last!

Day 1 - Our usual North East feeder went as smoothly as usual. A 6 coach interchange today with over 200 people heading for Andre Rieu! Bit of a change of pace after the interchange and it was over to LeShuttle just for something different. It was BUSY! But we battled through the queues to get onto the train and away to France. We got lucky with our hotel it is one of my favourites we stay in the Van Der Valk at Brussels Airport. Such a great hotel!

Day 2 - Andre Rieu in Maastricht.

After breakfast we made our way towards The Netherlands into Maastricht for free time. At one point the mercury in the thermometer reached 30 it was a very humid start to the day. Around 5pm we picked up our group and headed for an evening meal in the Van Der Valk in Maastricht organised by our tour partners. Brilliant food and attentive staff what more could you ask for. It was a "live cooking buffet" style which means all your side dishes are pick as you go, however the meats are freshly cooked directly in front of you. Brilliant simply Brilliant!

THE MAIN EVENT - Viva Maastricht in Vrijthof Square.

Full disclaimer this type of music isn't usually my taste however, what a showman! Andre Rieu knows how to put on a show. We had ballroom dancing, snow foam, fireworks, confetti (that I am still finding everywhere) and 3 and half hours of incredible atmosphere. I won't spoil it for anyone who wants to see it but Wow! He pulls out all the stops in Maastricht. With him being bilingual he speaks to the audience in both English and Dutch! The show finished around 12:30am so we got back to the hotel at around 2:30am WORTH IT!

Day 3 - Brussels.

Due to our late arrival back to the hotel in the early hours on Sunday morning, we left the hotel early afternoon to head to Brussels (not all itineraries have Brussels on as it depends on where your hotel is located some may have Valkenburg instead). Our group had 4 hours to explore Belgium's capital. One of our group even made it over to the atomium and back! Myself and Nathan we found a quiet spot to watch the British Grand Prix back at home (More formula one posts coming soon).

Day 4 - Because of a later interchange than usual we had a late start from the hotel. As we were making brilliant time we made a quick pit stop for chocolate before crossing the border back into France. Eurotunnel back to England! We hit a problem at the border with two ferries being cancelled and a new system with teething problems, three hours of queues however once we got going our resident comedian was on hand to lift spirits. A Conga and one of the best Tony Christie impressions I've seen in a long time we were on the tunnel and back to blighty!

What a trip, what a group, what a way to finish!

The video of the Eurotunnel conga will follow this post.

Jase

W5BOS/1 - Ostend, Bruges and the Scenic Coast.Day 1 - I had a bit of a medical emergency on Sunday night before our Mond...
20/06/2026

W5BOS/1 - Ostend, Bruges and the Scenic Coast.

Day 1 - I had a bit of a medical emergency on Sunday night before our Monday morning departure but we were both on the coach at the nice and early time of 1:30am ready for our 2:30 start in Billingham to make our way down to stop 24. I'll admit one of us was a bit worse for wear Monday morning. Down to Folkestone we went. Quick and easy interchange through EES and onto the docks at Dover. Smooth sailing to Dunkirk with DFDS onboard Dover Seaways. Short hop to Ostend and we were at our home from home, The Royal Astrid Hotel.

Quick note on the hotel - The location is brilliant as a base for anywhere along the Belgian coast. Beach on the doorstep and tram station throwing distance from the front door. Also if you book this tour you receive FIVE free drinks at the bar every night! This is done by a multicoloured ticket system you will receive on arrival. Anyway, I digress!

Day 2 - Our group had free time in Ostend on the agenda for today. Some stayed in Ostend, a couple made use of the brilliant public transport system to make their own way to Bruges. Us however, we got a phone call to turn The Express into Thunderbird one and go and help a coach that had fallen on hard times (we have all been there). Dash down to Ypres to the rescue and we went, transferred the group to the fantastic Hooge Crater Museum. We decided to have a spot of lunch in the museum and anyone who's done the All Quiet on the Western Front will know, Nick doesn't serve sandwiches, he serves beach towels on a plate (They are massive, I've put a photo on for scale)

Day 3 - After breakfast we headed across to Veurne for market day. After we bought our body weight in French Nougat we decided to call it a day and hide back on the coach for the rest of the day. The passengers made their way back to the coach as the market was closing. We had a drive back along the coast taking in the sights of Plopsaland, De Panne, Niewpoort Memorial and The Atlantic Wall Museum. After the evening meal it was time for a rather important football match, the vast majority of our group were in the lounge watching the match with us which was fantastic to see and brilliant to be part of.

Day 4 - Today was hot. Very hot. Following breakfast we made the short hop to Bruges for our included excursion to the Venice of the North. After parking over at Bargeweg, myself and Nathan walked the group into the city centre outside the belfry, pointing out the Novotel we were in the week before and the canal cruises if they wished to partake. Nathan had unfinished business with a waffle from last week he had to take care of. We then had an educational trip along the canal too. Our guide was brilliant! The heat eventually got too much so we headed back to the air conditioned sanctuary of the coach to await the groups re arrival.

Day 5 - After breakfast and a swift departure we made our way back to Dunkirk via Adinkerke we were back on the ferry back to Blighty heading for Folkestone Interchange. A delay at Dartford did slow us down a little but everyone made it home safely and we ended up only finishing 5 minutes late.

This one could have been horrendous going off Sunday night. I'm so glad I put my game face on for the first few days. I've never seen a group mesh as well as that one did!

Thanks for looking after me this week

Jase

W5BRG/1 - Bruges - Venice of the North 08/06/26A Belgian experience Five days, but we don't do five days. Day 1 - Our fe...
13/06/2026

W5BRG/1 - Bruges - Venice of the North 08/06/26

A Belgian experience

Five days, but we don't do five days.

Day 1 - Our feeder from the North East was going so well until we left our last pick up at Birchhanger Green Services. Dartford Crossing had an accident on the South side of the Queen Elizabeth Bridge. One hour delay would have slowed us right down, through East London we went through Blackwall Tunnel and down towards Folkestone,because of the knock on effect of the accident at Dartford a few coaches were late into the interchange however all our passengers and suitcases were present and we were off. One of three coaches to make the 1400 to Dunkirk. Swift arrival to the Novotel Brugge Centrum by 1900CET. One of the rare instances we get to take a coach inside the Bruges ring road.

Day 2 - Day At Leisure in Bruges - As the coach wasn't moving today we decided to have a trip to Ostend by train which went as well as you would expect. Due to a problem on the line we ended up in Blankenburge and had to get the tram down to Ostend. The way back to Bruges was less eventful. After we got back to Bruges we went to go find a traditional Belgian waffle. We found one and with the photo you can see the result.

Day 3 - Ghent - After breakfast we welcomed most of the passengers back on the coach and we were heading to an often overlooked city because Ostende, Bruges and Brussels are so close Ghent often gets overlooked. The place is amazing and we found some typical Belgian cuisine for dinner. Steak and Guinness Pie with Mash and Peas. The hidden gem that is Pie Station (even if it is owned by a Hull City supporter) was amazing.

Day 4 - Ostend - Second time this week we ended up in Ostende. The weather could have been better. Gray day besides the seaside and the heavens opened around 2pm just in time for the passengers to return to the coach. A drive along the coast back to the hotel and it was time to prepare for departure day on Friday

Day 5 - After breakfast time to head to the port at Dunkirk, easy through check in and passports despite the passport scanning app not working properly. A "stabilised" crossing to Dover and we were powering up to Folkestone to say goodbye to the group. Quick interchange and up to the North East despite the M11s best attempt we managed to finish our feeder in the light!

Brilliant trip, shame we didn't get to see the group as much as other trips. On to the next one.

Next trip. Another five day.

👀👀👀 OSTEND where's that? Can't say I've ever been there before

Jase

W4PAR/1 - 29/05/26What a riot!New copilot for this trip - as Nathan is still living the life of luxury on Luxuria I had ...
02/06/2026

W4PAR/1 - 29/05/26

What a riot!

New copilot for this trip - as Nathan is still living the life of luxury on Luxuria I had George who has just joined the company and it was his first ever trip with Leger Shearings.

Day 1 - Nice and easy feeder. Missed the early ferry due to french relations doing the best tortoise impression I've seen for a while. Made the hotel at 10pm. It wasn't our usual hotel in Rueil Malmaison, it was the Mercure in Nanterre.

Day 2 - It started so well. Everyone was on the coach ready to go at 9am after visiting the market in the square opposite the hotel. We were under the Eiffel Tower by 10. City Tour next with the wonderful Martine, She's so funny with her tickytocky if you know you know. After the city tour was over the heat had gone from sauna to oven so we were so thankful for the coaches air conditioning. After a short bit of free time for lunch we headed back to the hotel so people could get changed and ready for dinner in the Latin Quarter. Dinner was superb as always and the live entertainment makes it all the more special. After the meal the fun begins.

As you are probably aware by now Paris Saint German was in a rather important football match on Saturday. Well just as we left the restaurant they won. Crowds started to form immediately. As we were an English coach when they had just beaten an English team we attracted quite a bit of attention. We watched the riots that you probably all saw on the TV right before our eyes. Motorbikes riding the wrong way around the Paris ring road, fireworks being let off close to the coach and roads being blocked by fans in cars. We decided in the name of safety to head back to the hotel. As you probably saw it got worse thankfully we were far away as possible by that point.

It started so well!

Day 3 - Versailles - Perfect Garden weather. As this was an optional excursion some passengers chose to do their own thing with the free time they had. With the train station being directed opposite the hotel most chose to venture into the city centre and see the morning after the night before. Others decided to join us at Versailles even getting chance to enter the chateau (at their own cost. It's not part of the excursion).

Day 4 - Finished the feeder an hour and a half early back in Newcastle.

All things considered it was a brilliant trip. We hope everyone enjoyed themselves it was definitely one I won't forget for a while. I think we might have to let George come back again just to prove there aren't always fireworks.

Jase

W3ABU/1 - Abba Voyage. I know what you're thinking, "But Jason it says European Tales". I know I know because of a certa...
26/05/2026

W3ABU/1 - Abba Voyage.

I know what you're thinking, "But Jason it says European Tales". I know I know because of a certain football match that shall remain anonymous. I volunteered to take this one to London.

Day One - Bit of a change of pace. Yorkshire pick ups and no interchange because it was a Shearings Holidays mini break. Once pick ups were completed we made our way to Mayfair to drop off on Park Lane for free time in London, because it's right next to Oxford Street most of the passengers came back with shopping bags from one of the many many flagship stores along Oxford Street. Once everyone was back on board we headed to the hotel for this break which was the Aubrey Park situated just outside Hemel Hempstead.

Day Two - After breakfast it was London Calling again and this time we had a sightseeing morning as we parked up on Embankment opposite the London Eye. For a couple of hours the passengers took in the sights of Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square then we made our way out towards the Olympic Park.

Abba Voyage is hosted in the purpose built Abba Arena. Using brilliantly named ABBAtars the group appears on stage with a live band as if they would have been in the 1970s. 4 Million People have been to see the show. Every year the venue announces it is moving to another country (last few years it's been Vegas). The passengers were getting very into the spirit and some were dressed up like ABBA and in full voice which was brilliant. If you haven't been to see Abba Voyage I Highly highly recommend it!

Day Three - Super Secret Mystery Destination.
On the itinerary it will say we will be visiting somewhere but it won't say where. From our mystery envelope we pulled Oxford! It was a beautiful day for it. Everyone seemed to love it.

All in all a brilliant trip I really enjoyed being a driver for.

Back to Paris next with no Nath this time he's living it up on Luxuria. I'm sure he will post some photos when he gets back.

Jase

As you are well aware. Myself and Nathan are massive Middlesbrough FC fans. Today we have one of the biggest matches in ...
23/05/2026

As you are well aware. Myself and Nathan are massive Middlesbrough FC fans. Today we have one of the biggest matches in our recent history. Nervous is an understatement!

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