A grand day out! How bus trips for over 65s in Cumbria are sparking post-lockdown joy

"After the Covid lockdown, I didn't want to go on the buses anymore."

Those are the words of Annette Collister, an over 65 in Cumbria who was given the chance to explore the county as part of a collaboration between Age UK and Stagecoach.

The Grand Days Out is a response to realising that this age group wasn't using public transport since the pandemic because of fears of getting out.

It's 23 miles from Cockermouth to Carlisle, but when you've been stuck at home it's a grand day out they've been looking forward to for weeks, as Anne Kielland explains.

She said: "Having a bit of freedom, waking up in the morning and thinking I'm going to have a go at being out rather than being like a, well a prisoner, really, aren't you?

"Some days I can't even get out of bed with my mobility and with my pain. I geared myself up to come out because it's a lot of planning: painkillers and whatever. But we're excited because someone's taken an interest in our, shall we say, age group. I don't like to be called a pensioner or an old dear or anything like that."

Anne says for many in her community in Cockermouth that their only companion is daytime TV, full blast.

Many say they have been afraid of getting back on the bus after the pandemic, but coming out with a group you know feels easier.

Annette Collister said: "You were scared of - I still am - big crowds. I don't like big crowds. After the COVID lockdown, I didn't want to go on the buses anymore."

Annette, who hasn't visited Carlisle Cathedral in years, says it took her ages to walk around this town, but then she found a path by the river. She said: "That was a start, step by step, I'll get there. I'm not one for sitting in! I have to be out. So it's time to move again."

Tom Waterhouse, Stagecoach's managing director, said the initiative is about making sure people use their free bus passes.

He said: "People have been applying for bus passes as they were pre-pandemic, just not using them."

He said the feedback from those who have been on the Grand Day Out shows it's giving people the confidence to come out again.

The trip to Carlisle is the ninth grand day out since the middle of the pandemic.

They've been to Keswick, Grasmere and Workington, visiting the theatre and the cinema.

In Barrow, they had a behind the scenes tour of the town hall with jewels that have been given to the town and the Queen's private lavatory.

Mary Cardwell grinned from ear to ear the whole day, telling ITV Border: "My son keeps saying you'll be 80 next year mum. I said, 'so what?'"

During the pandemic, Mary spent a lot of time writing poetry, which she says kept her mind going.

She said: "But since, I've just thrown myself into everything I go to. It's a new experience altogether, I love it. I have a little car, but I don't fancy driving all the way there. And I've never been to Carlisle, believe it or not! I'm looking forward to it so much."

For Brian Bretski it was a "nice day out without me having to drive," as he volunteers as a driver on other Age UK events. He added: "We go walking as best we can, with our sticks, you know? Every Friday a bunch of us get together and sing a lot of old pop songs and folk songs and so on, and it's a therapeutic sort of thing."

Like many, Brian had never been to Carlisle Cathedral before. He added: "I never really go to Carlisle, really. It's just a nice day out and quite a rare thing going on the bus for myself."

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