Introduction

In the late 1800s coach travel had been replaced by the railways, but a nostalgia for the old days arose and there was a surge of interest very similar to our own nostalgia for the days of steam. 

A few scheduled coach services even restarted. This poster for the London to Brighton coach dates from 1908. But, unlike today’s heritage railways, there weren’t enough passengers to make them pay and they stopped running, to our great loss.

Several people, who had travelled by coach in their younger days, decided to capture their memories before it was too late. Their stories are a little rose tinted, but they are real living memories, a priceless resource which had become lost in dusty old books … until now. 

Here’s the introduction from one of these books:

“In these days of revived Coaching, when everyone yearns for a trip ‘down the road,’ I trust I shall not be thought presumptuous in offering a sketch and a few anecdotes of old times.

My coaching days are over, but when I hear the sound of the horn, or see a coach go past, I remember the days when coaches were in their glory.

There are very few of us left who have travelled by coach all day and all night, through wind and rain, frost and snow, and have experienced both rough and smooth. I can safely say that, pleasant as it was, it was often hard work and not without danger. 

I write this book for the amusement of the present generation to tell them how their poor old fathers and grandfathers used to see and hear things that are now gone forever. 

I wish I had the skill of a fine author so that I could put all I wish to say into better language, and to describe the incidents of the Road in a more exciting way, but having neither the skill nor the wit, I must ask you to be ‘kind readers,’ and to be indulgent. 

I daresay some will delight in picking my work to pieces, but when you consider that although I was educated at Eton, I did not learn much there but mischief, and that although my education was supposed to be finished at Cambridge, I did not learn much there but how to drive coaches, they must not expect to get water out of an empty pitcher.”

V. T. C. Birch-Reynardson, 1888

You can read the entire book, completely free of charge, on the internet, at:

https://archive.org/details/downroadorremini00birc/page/n17/mode/2up

Next: London to Stamford

Section 1:

Living Memories

Introduction
Introducing the real life stories collected in the late 1800s

London to Stamford

What was it like to travel by coach on a winter’s day? Come on the first stage of a journey from London to Stamford.

Driving a Mail Coach
Mail coaches were the high speed elite. What was it like to drive them?

Then and Now

Comparing rail and coach travel in 1888!

An Incident at Wansford

Things didn’t always go smoothly and this amusing incident took place on the Great North Road.

Charlies and Hackneys

A recollection of life in London before taxi cabs, policemen and even electricity.

Perils by Water

One of the many hazards that could be encountered was flood water. This is near St Neots.

Latin

The people who could afford to travel were educated in - among other things - Latin!

Red Kites

Yes, they were common in the early 1800s. They’d all gone by the 1880s. Attitudes were different then!

The Cost of Travel by Coach

What did it cost to make a long distance coach journey?

The Desire to Drive a Coach

Young gentlemen often fancied themselves as coachmen. Unlike today, you could often ‘have a go’ with the reins.

Two Short Videos
Although we have no films from the time, modern producers have imagined coach travel for us.

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Part 1: Living Memories

Anecdotes written by people who actually travelled on the coaches

Part 2: The Age of Coaching

The coachmen, the inns, the coach proprietors - they’re all here. Come in and meet them

Part 3: The Roads

Britain’s roads were pretty impassable for most of our history.  Coach travel was very difficult until they improved

Part 4: The Coaches

Wheeled transport evolved over many years. Find out how coaches developed

Background

Sources and information about how I came to create this website

Home Page

Home Page of the Coaching Website