A different kind of Q&A with film director, Kevin Allen who is starting coach tours!

The Grand Detour

Kevin Allen is a writer and Film director, best known for the Welsh Cult Classic TWIN TOWN and Dylan Thomas’ movie adaptation of UNDER MILK WOOD. He was the BBC’s first Video Diarist with the groundbreaking ON THE MARCH WITH BOBBY’s ARMY, he’s been directed by Danny Boyle at the Royal Court, starred in BBC sitcom THE THIN BLUE LINE, with Rowan Atkinson, wrote and directed studio films in Hollywood, designed and built his own luxury eco-home, bred rare-breed pigs, ran the infamous FLAT LAKE LITERARY FESTIVAL in Ireland, made a FEATURE FILM ON AN iPHONE during covid, is writing a novel, MOTHER MERTHYR, set in the industrial revolution ... and now he’s learned to drive a luxury coach in a valiant attempt to change the way we think about travel - so, he’s set up KEVIN ALLEN’s GRAND DETOUR. He’s starting with a Welsh tester grand tour! If you’d like to join it – email is at the end.

AofA caught up with him recently to get the lowdown.

AofA - Kevin, is there anything you haven’t done?

KA - Heroin and snowboarding.

AofA - Tell us how your new venture came about.

KA - Well, a couple of years ago I took a Rail/Coach trip around Europe on my own. No schedule, no advanced planning. Just packed a small bag and got on the Eurostar to Paris and ended up visiting five counties in eight weeks. Much of it by coach. It was one of the most relaxing holidays ever. No chaotic airports. No rush. Totally stress-free. Forget the idea of just getting to a destination as fast as humanly possible. It’s a nightmare. I thought the romance of European travel had died, but that trip made me think again and consider revamping the Coach Tour. Offering something different. I took a good look at existing coach travel, and what I saw seemed to be tailored to a sort of blue-rinse demographic, and had a kind of stigma.

AofA - How different will your coach tours be?

KA - Quite different. Coach tours tend to be aimed at old people who are shoved into a coach and treated a bit like cattle. Most tours, although quite cheap, are just fixated on quantity rather than quality - stopping and cities for no longer than a day - whistle-stop guided tours - dumped in poor hotels offering inedible food. And the destinations are a bit obvious. All the usual suspects - but there are so many alternatives to the cliches. Maybe Naples rather than Rome. Sienna ahead of Florence. Marseilles instead of Nice. And so on. I’ll schedule longer stays in the cities visited. More time to discover a place and get the feel of it. More to see. Better hotels. I might even experiment with a kind of Mystery Tour concept at some point. Bit like the Magic Bus, without the crusties. Also, creating more of a themed approach to it all.

AofA - What sort of themes?

KA - The possibilities are endless, really. Maybe putting together trips with an architectural angle, perhaps a fine-art tour. Or taking along a choral conductor, teaching passengers to sing together. Teaching ukelele is another. Maybe a gastronomic tour of the Basque country. Also, providing fun activities along the journey. Maybe coach bingo, a quiz, perhaps even a little session of karaoke.

AofA - Will everyone have to join in?

KA - How involved one gets is really up to the passenger. Spending time with others on a coach is really about what you make of it - maybe a chance to meet interesting new people and hang out. Or if you just want to do your own thing, that’s fine too. Not being thrust into a rigid excursion schedule and staying in cities for a little longer, will enable people to just go off and do their own thing. Or maybe meet up with some fellow voyagers for dinner etc.

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AofA - Will there be a film-making aspect to these tours?

KA - Oh, yes. Not sure how it will manifest itself, but I’ll definitely be taking a camera person, and see how we can develop something from it.It’s amazing what you can achieve with a good little I phone kit if you put your mind to it. Much like the tour itself, I’m very interested to see what kind of narrative possibilities evolve through the journey. I mean, it’s all about the journey, really, isn’t it?

AofA - Indeed it is. And you’re going to be driving the coach yourself?

KA - Yes, I’ve always wanted to learn to drive a coach. I’ve had a little model French vintage coach sitting on my windowsill for years, and often fantasised about getting behind the wheel of it and hitting the highways and byways. I love driving, I find it a kind of mediative experience - and thought this would be a good way to discover Europe - with other people.

AofA - Are you qualified to drive a bus?

KA - yes, I passed my test last year. It was a tough 4-week course in Swansea. 8-hours-a-day behind the wheel of a 40 foot bus. Passing felt like real triumph. I then did a few weeks of passenger-service training, and there I was driving a double-decker with 80 punters on board. It’s so much fun. Old dears leaving a boiled sweet tip in your cash tray. But it carries a huge sense of responsibility. I can’t believe drivers are paid so little. Concentrating hard for a 12-hour shift is honestly no mean feat.

AofA - So, do they just let anyone charter a luxury coach?

KA - Well, no, thankfully. I recently signed on for some part-time coach work to build up my road hours. I’m now at the stage where I can charter my own coach, and hit the road with a tour.

AofA - What are the coaches like?

KA - For my UK tester tours, they’re nice mid-range touring coaches. But for Europe I’ll opt for a top of the range, state of the art luxury monster. I’ve been to look at a few, and they’re incredible. All the bells and whistles, including a cocktail bar.

AofA - Fantastic. So, where are you off to?

KA - The plan is to set-up a couple of European tours next summer, but in the meantime, I’m going to run a few smaller UK tours. So, we’re off for a 3-night stay in Llandudno in August - with daily excursions to Snowdonia, Portmeirion and Chester.

AofA - Sounds like a lot of fun, I love North Wales. How do we book?

kevin-allens-grand-detour.co.uk

To Book: Email Becky at - granddetour26@gmail.com