If you're looking for a reduced stress visit to the seaside this summer holidays, Flake 99 have partnered with First Bus to get you there - and bus tickets are free.
Schools are breaking up for the summer holidays, and parents are sharing their top summer six weeks survival tips to help each other through the juggle of the long break. Some families might have discussed the holiday destinations kids want to visit when planning a family trip away, or could be keeping activities closer to home while balancing jobs and budgets.
When you imagine a summer day trip, it's often the thought of a seaside trip that comes to mind - ice creams, sand castles and dipping your toes in the sea. However, a survey of parents found seven in 10 avoid beach trips, despite 95% saying a day by the sea is one of their favourite things about a UK summer - the reasons they gave for giving these days out a miss relate to these trips being too difficult to organise and just plain stressful.
Of the families that took part in the survey, 42 per cent state that they can’t get to the beach easily and 27 per cent are put off by the high cost of travel. A further 14 per cent say they don’t go because it’s a nightmare finding somewhere to park. A whopping 62 per cent of parents believe that going to the beach is one of the most stressful family days out, with 48 per cent admitting to scrapping plans to go at the last minute because it's just too much trouble.
In response to this, Cadbury Flake has teamed up with First Bus to announce the launch of The ‘99 Bus’ - a free, pre-bookable service to get families of up to four people to the seaside, reducing both the cost and the stress of a day trip to the coast.
Cadbury and First Bus have created two new bus routes that will run across the weekends of the 10/11 and 17/18 of August. West Yorkshire families can book up to four places on the services departing from Leeds or Bradford heading to the sandy shores of Bridlington.
Services will also run from Tower Hill in London to Southend-On-Sea. Families will be able to enter a ballot to book onto the service using a dedicated website from now until July 25, with over 300 places up for grabs. Alongside free travel to and from the sea, families will be greeted upon arrival at the beach with a complimentary Cadbury Flake 99 - yum.
Those who secure themselves tickets on the 99 Bus will also receive one free return bus ticket for a local First Bus operated journey valid for three months. John Godfrey, Head of Brand Strategy at First Bus says "At First Bus we understand that accessible and stress-free travel is an important part of any day out, and so we’re proud to partner on this initiative, which will help parents and children create cherished memories together this summer. We look forward to seeing many happy faces on board and at the beach."
If you do make it to be beach this summer, don't forget to check out the best sun creams for you and your family, and the best outdoor toys for summer that could be useful to keep kids entertained if they get fed up of building sand castles. It's also a good idea to arm yourself with these handy beach hacks for parents too.
