Virgin Trains releases the first episode in the brand new ‘West Coast Weekender’ series with comedian and TV personality, Joel Dommett

• Videos aimed at inspiring people to get more from their weekends away on the West Coast this summer
• Getaways made easier with removal of Friday peak restrictions

London, 2018-Jul-27 — /Travel PR News/ — Virgin Trains has today (Jul 25, 2018) released the first episode in the brand new ‘West Coast Weekender’ series. Hosted by top comedian and TV personality, Joel Dommett, the videos see Joel discovering all the best – lesser known – things to see, do, eat and drink on a summer weekend getaway to five of the most popular destinations along the Virgin Trains route.

To get those weekend vibes started even earlier, Virgin Trains has removed Friday afternoon peak fares from London Euston until 31st August, making it easier for people to be more spontaneous with their travel plans on summer weekends. What better way to inspire and encourage some weekend exploration of the very best that the West Coast has to offer?

There are plenty of well-known sights to see across Joel’s ‘West Coast Weekender’ destinations, but he’s on a mission to discover some must-do’s that are a bit more off the beaten track. For example, in the first installment, comedian Joel embarks on a different kind of ‘stand-up’ tour by exploring Birmingham from a paddleboard on one of the city’s famous canals.

New episodes of Joel’s ‘West Coast Weekender’ will be released over the next two weeks, with Joel trying his hand at a whole host of sporting, foodie and arty activities in some of the most popular West Coast destinations. All the while he’ll be inspiring viewers to make their summer weekends in the likes of Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Glasgow go that little bit further.

Joel Dommett said, “I am a very lucky boy and get to spend lots of time travelling around the UK on tour performing my funnies to mostly willing audiences. When I arrive I sound check awkwardly to an empty theatre then have a spare few hours. I could either sit in a dressing room and eat biscuits alone OR to be spontaneous and do something foodie or fun. These days I try and do the latter. Now that Virgin Trains has lifted peak restrictions on this insanely hot summer, it’s easy for you guys to be as spontaneous as little old me. Ditch the office this Friday and go for a paddle board around Birmingham instead! I wrote this while eating biscuits. God I love biscuits.”

Sarah Copley, Executive Director Commercial for Virgin Trains said: “There are some really iconic sights to be seen along the West Coast route. We hope that by removing Friday peak restrictions this summer and showcasing some of our destinations’ undiscovered highlights, people will be inspired to head off on their very own ‘West Coast Weekender’ a little earlier and to try something a bit different. We had so much fun creating this series with Joel and we hope his spontaneity and enthusiasm encourages our customers to make the most of their weekends this summer.”

’Joel’s West Coast Weekender’ will include episodes featuring:

• Birmingham
• Manchester
• Edinburgh
• Liverpool
• Glasgow

Watch the first video here: https://youtu.be/CF7TdO9HGmw

Find out more about starting your summer weekend early at https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/summer

A wide range of images from all locations featured in ‘Joel’s West Coast Weekender’, including behind the scenes shots, are available on request.

For images and for further information on Virgin Trains, please contact virgintrainsWC@karmarama.com

About Virgin Trains

Stagecoach and Virgin are working in partnership to operate the West Coast inter-city route under the Virgin Trains brand, revolutionising travel on one of the UK’s key rail arteries.

The network connects some of the nation’s most iconic destinations including Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and London.

Virgin Trains is committed to delivering a high speed, high frequency service, offering shorter journey times, more comfortable travel and excellent customer service. Customers consistently rate Virgin Trains ahead of other long-distance rail franchise operators in the National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS) commissioned by industry watchdog, Transport Focus.

Virgin Trains has a proud record of challenging the status quo – from introducing tilting Pendolino trains, to a pioneering automated delay repay scheme, introducing the industry-leading onboard entertainment streaming service, BEAM, and becoming the first franchised rail operator to offer m-Tickets for all ticket types.

Virgin Trains operated the East Coast route between March 1, 2015 and June 24, 2018. In that time, we invested £75m to create a more personalised travel experience, including over £40m in the existing fleet. Customers have benefitted from 48 additional services between Edinburgh and London every week, and an extra 22 Saturday services between Leeds and London – a total of 1.74 million additional seats since May 2015.

Working together, the partnership railway of the public and private sectors has published a long-term plan, called In Partnership for Britain’s Prosperity, to change and improve Britain’s railway. The plan will secure almost £85bn of additional economic benefits to the country whilst enabling further investment and improvement, and contains four commitments which will see rail companies: strengthen our economic contribution to the country; improve customers’ satisfaction; boost the communities we serve; and, create more and better jobs in rail. For more information go to Britain Runs on Rail.

Visit the Virgin Trains Media Room – virgintrains.co.uk/about/media-room – for the latest news, images and videos. Subscribe here for regular news from Virgin Trains.

Press Office:

0845 000 3333

Source: Virgin Trains

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