Stagecoach X99 Wick to Inverness. I was Surprised by this Scenic Bus (Coach?) Journey! 

At 03:09, you can see the shortest street in the world.

Train every time on this route, ditto Fort William to Glasgow, the only exception perhaps in mid-winter darkness, maybe.

I did this trip years ago - took the train up and went to Orkney for the folk festival there, but took the bus back to Inverness. I think when you have good weather like I did for the bus journey, the scenery is so memorable that you can't fault it. I remember skies so clear that you could oil platforms out in the North Sea, but sadly you didn't get such clear weather for your journey, not your fault. And we all know that the weather is the weather, so we have no real control over it. I loved 'being on the bus with you' as it did remind me of some of the places it passes through. Thanks for sharing this. You did such an informative chat about the bus seat and surrounds.

My dad lived in wick for 20 years (moved up from London when he retired) I used to go up for Christmas on overnight coach from London Victoria to Inverness 12 hours 😱horrific. Then a 3 and half hour coach to wick which I always enjoyed. I’ve done that train trip a few times as well. Great videos you put out and this bought back some great memories. Thanks👍

Hello LMT. Nice to see you up in my part of the country. As soon as you got close to Inverness, I saw the rain, and it reminded me that NOTHING has changed LOLOL!!! WE used to say that if and whenever we felt a bit of heat and saw something YELLOW in the sky; we referred to it as that sometime visible UFO that the Sassunach's refer to as the Sun. The question we ask is: "WHAT IS THE SUN". Can you live on it? Frankly, I prefer the train. I used to get the Train (The Highland Chieftain) from Kings Cross to Inverness, leaving KC at around 1200 hours and arriving at Inverness at around 2020 hours. The Inverness rain soaked right through my leather hat and DRI AZA BONE overcoat that is supposed to be waterproof. Waterproof in all countries throughout the world except INVERNESS 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

A beautiful trip, thank you. When people pushed in front of my late husband, he used to jump backwards, bow and say "No - after YOU Sir/Madam, I'm so sorry I was in your way!" The embarrassment was wonderful to watch! Great film. 😊

A great video, but I'm with you - train every time!

I’d deffo need a loo on a long bus trip like that.

I done This route from thurso to Inverness for Edinburgh coaches on Sunday 2016,I fur the train with it nice scenery

Great ride up in a very special place in Scotland. Travelled there many times as played golf at Royal Dornoch on numerous occasions. Beautiful and picturesque and people are normally very kind and welcoming. Thank you for the video Sir!

Stagecoach WiFi has been off since start of pandemic. 🎸🥃🤘

Interesting opinion on a trip I take regularly. A few things to clarify which you raised. Yes, the Bridge Street stop in Wick is badly situated to the point of being ridiculous. The justification was 2 years ago that the new buses assigned to the route were too big for the actual bus station in Wick! They couldnt access the corners into and out of it (even though it is just a bus shelter, it is at least out of the wind that howls across that bridge in winter). Many locals choose to get on the bus a few hundred yards further south along the same road, where there are two further stops within the town boundary that are more sheltered generally speaking and both also have actual shelters. As you found out with your 2013 bus, the much vaunted new X99 buses supposedly with WI-FI didnt last long but these ones remain an upgrade on the previous double decker coach style units that plied this route beforehand. The service is an X , but only after Dornoch is when it doesn't stop at all. Other local services to and from Inverness offer options then. So it is as you noted, a full request service north of Dornoch. Whilst it is run on Stagecoach livery, last year, Scottish Citylink released an App called myCitylink for advance purchases. The X99 route is also included on this. An advance single is £21.60 but you can get an advance return often available even the day before for £28.10 which is only 10p more than the trains advance fares. You can also change days of travel, save frequent journeys and obtain partial refunds if your plans change. So it is very handy. As a local to the Highlands who travels to and from Wick and no doubt like Wick residents too, the Georgemas Junction issue and cutting inland at Golspie means that yes, whilst the train certainly is a lovely run, it is often 4hrs and 25 minutes as against 2hrs and 50 mins for the X99. The Scotrail service is also notoriously unreliable, be it mechanically or staff shortages which mean you end up on a replacement bus service anyway. This happened to me 3 trips on the bounce in 2021 and I said 'never again'. The flipside is that there are also a lot of accidents on the A9 and one prang can add hours to a journey with little or no alternative routes. The joys of rural living everywhere I suppose but the X99 remains a no brainer for locals just wanting to get from A to B. Oh and on a lighter note to end, Madge also married Film Director Guy Ritchie in Dornoch. Skibo Castle is a ultra high end hotel nearby and many an A lister is to be spotted in Dornoch to this day. Keep em peeled folks and keep up the good work yourself. 👍🏼🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Watched this one to check out the coastal bit south to Helmsdale. Brrr! What a weather contrast to your train trip to Thurso. A typical Scottish summer's day some would say. Yes, I recognised where you were on Bridge Street waiting for the coach. I had a late lunch snack at the fish'n'chips shop just down the road on my long day return rail trip back in Sept.2018. I caught the early morning train from Inverness to Dunrobin Castle, then a lunch time train from there to Thurso and Wick, had my stroll down to the fish'n'chippery, then caught the afternoon train back to Inverness (bouncing in and out of Thurso again). No on board trolley that day! Now I must check out your coverage of the Leeds to Whitby coachliner as I did this trip from York on my day out to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (returned to York from Pickering on the coachliner). Glad I stumbled upon your channel today.🙂🙂🙂

Recently did John O Groats to Lands End with my son via public transport.Nice to see Wick again, heritage museum there is great.

Agree that I'd prefer the train, but still some beautiful coastal views. Great video as usual!

Thank you for this video!

As part of a coach holiday to Inverness a few years ago, we caught the train back from Wick to Golspie. I’ll take everyone’s word about the scenery. We could hardly see it as the windows were filthy.

That's Wickers for you "that's their bus "so they can push in

Hi Mark. Another great cheery video from you. Yes like you, although I drive, I equally take public buses on a regular basis and am always somewhat irritated by people who think its OK to push in, in front of people who may have been standing patiently for ages waiting but hey-ho that's life. Anyway, I wish you a nice week ahead and some sunshine I hope. Cheers

People are rude. I got so fed up of people pushing in, I now say excuse me the end of the queue is that way, I was here first 🙄

Very interesting to see this. I travelled the Far North line many times, particularly when I worked at Dounreay in summer 1981, and cycled the coast between Helmsdale and Wick, Berriedale (1 in 6) being a shock going down as well as up! Have never seen Dornoch though. Nice to see these shots. Makes me think I would like to do the round trip, by train one way and bus the other, to see the different views. The time difference is presumably much greater for Wick-Inverness than for Thurso-Inverness as the train is slower (4 hr 12 to 4 hr 32 min) and the bus quicker (looks like less than 3 hours). A few years ago I did the fascinating trips from Inverness to Durness (daily, takes all day!) and Durness to Thurso (minibus, once every 2 weeks on Saturdays only!)

Hi I think you should try the 700 bus route from Portsmouth to Brighton. The route is done in 3 journeys meaning you would have to change twice at Chichester and Littlehampton. I think you’d like it.

A very good Tuesday evening Mark from Alan in Lowestoft and a awesome video buddy

Mark, yet another informative trip. though the last time I was on it, was as a lad, with my parents as we drove up from Edinburgh to Thurso on holiday; then the A9 didn't have the benefit of the bridges you mentioned and overall, it took for ever (or so it seemed!), but it is a superbly picturesque route. The vehicle you were in was a COACH, not a BUS; there is a difference. Buses generally convey passengers on short routes radiating from and around towns, whilst Coaches usually work longer distance services between towns and cities, often with larger volumes of passengers. Your comment about the lack of WIFI on board was probably down to lack of signal availability. I used to work in the Highlands 7 years ago, where even achieving WiFi signals on my phone was adequate at best at certain times of the day or night, so getting the same service on a moving vehicle as it passes in and out of ranges of technical infrastructure can make reception on devices patchy, if at all. As for your comment about how quickly the coach departed after you disembarked at Farraline Bus Station in Inverness was probably down to a few factors. One, the available space in the Bus Station is limited because with quite a few services running both out of town into regional towns, plus longer Express routes to other towns and cities across Scotland, layover space isn't available. Secondly, no doubt, the driver was making his way to Stagecoach's Depot less than a mile away. The coach could have been operated from their Thurso Depot that day, thus the driver would have to take his legal break and maybe have the coach refueled, or if from the Inverness Depot, it would possibly be garaged there until required for its next duty. Sorry to criticise, but as a Scot myself, the descriptions of parts of the route such as Dornoch or anything ending with ..och, aren't pronounced as ...ock. But we'll forgive you this once, but please don't do it again, or we won't let you back across the Border ever again!! 😂

Amazing 😄

I thought we British were good at queuing but always somebody spoils it. I did this journey from Thurso last August.

Another good trip, the room in the Travelodge looked familiar (from our stay last year to do the Strathspey Railway) :)

Interesting video but to be honest i think i would take the train. I wasn't expecting the coach trip to be 23 quid.😮

Great report as usual stayed in that travelodge a couple of times good Wetherspoons nearby also! Take care

As a driver if i see someone do that and jump the queue i remind them the other people were here first , join the back of the line there are plenty of seats , happens a lot on National express , not so much on Megabus i have noticed

Its an extremely scenic service. Indeed it is true how appalling people can sometimes behave. Lately I had a Flixbus trip and a couple of long distance train services passing through lakes and to be fair, even refreshments can be great, as to my knowledge, the X99 is somewhar a long distance route

As previously mentioned on one of your vids, I would get free travel as I work for Stagecoach & I could actually travel from my house in Stretford Manchester to Thurso using my pass for free..sadly I've not done it yet. Did do Glasgow to Stretford using my pass in 2019....was a long trip but FREE🤣🤣

Great vid m8

Another awesome video I thought it would be a actual bus but it was a coach

It's a very scenic route and when I did it circa about 1995 it was run by Scottish Citylink.I took the train up and got the bus back.Rapsons were another big company around northern Scotland and the Orkneys but someone took them over.I'd guess under the state owned Scottish Bus Company it either came under the Northern or Highland subsidiaries but I'm not up on my pre deregulation Scottish buses to know which!

awesome...it's been a while. looking forward to this.

The buses around here have a fairly flexible idea of where they are going to stop in relation to any bus stop, so it can be quite difficult to determine which part of the queue you should stand in. (There is a stop in central Thurso where the timetable directs you to one spot, the bus stop is at another, and the bus actually stops at a third). Fortunately, the buses aren't crowded, and the natives are also flexible.

Always prefer the train. Really good to see how the bus does it though.

Another great video mark, yeah I think it's nice to to go a different way, as you say, you see something different by bus , Dispite rude people occasionally, you feel like tripping them up 😂 Once again many thanks 👍👍👍.

Fantastic views of the North Sea thank you.

I would prefer to catch the train, but both journeys had wonderful scenery. Maybe the queue jumpers did not know what was the back of the queue ....lol. I live in the Philippines, it's generally a free for all catching public transport, whoever moves the quickest! Thanks for another excellent video showing us a beautiful Scotland.

The thing with your comparison between the bus and the train is the timings, the train and the bus only run a few times a day so if you need to be in Inverness or anywhere else en route by a given time there may only be one choice. I have travelled in this area by both bus and train a fair bit in both directions and both the bus and train are a lifeline and also compliment each other as you say the bus literally does stop anywhere. The Wi-Fi issue I think is down to stagecoach and citylink both being part of the same group or were at some time.

Great trip report and a journey on my long bucket list to do. Unfortunately with people queue jumping lines it also happens in England where people just randomly turn up out of nowhere and jump the queue for certain seats on a bus

Dornoch is home to Scotland's best Haggis.

This one is on my to-do list. Probably as a part of Glasgow to Orkneys by bus.

Delighted to watch your X99 review. It’s undoubtedly the more direct route to and from Caithness but it’s the train for me. Dornoch is a very pleasant place, well worth another look if you get the chance.

I think its nice to do both ..train one way and bus. On the bus you see more life ..little villages and towns. Regarding the comments on place names.. blimey.. I would say Doornock in the first instance. You cant look up every place name for correct pronunciation. Anyway its all to do with local dialect. Im sure if a Scottish person visited Shropshire there would be variances. Its like Shrews ..bury and Shrows..bury😅😅😅😅. Keep doing what you do..i enjoy travelling with you 😘

Great video surprised at the cost though are not all busses £2 now

Great content buddy ❤

Nice trip with pleasant scenery but for me it would be the train every time, have to agree with you re the people queue jumping which is made worse for anyone trying to get off and get past these rude folk, good manners cost nothing. Hope all is good with you and look forward to seeing your next video, stay safe and cheers.

Nice journey, Mark. Wick looks like a lovely wee place! 😊

Did this once back in 2011 and we broke down and ended up in a bus depot somewhere in Tain!

I have family in Lybster. The harbour is lovely, the reat of the village is a bit grey

Great video as always . People who jump queues really p me off

I wouldn't have thought that stagecoach service would have had WiFi being only a local operator. My guess is it was an ex CityLink coach that had been cascaded to stagecoach when Citylink got their latest vehicles. Let's not forget tho, what you rode on WAS a coach and NOT a bus. Many of the far north routes cover long distances and as a result coaches are used over buses for comfort. The special orange livery denotes stagecoach 'long distance' services 👍

Might try the bus after the video. Have bashed the train before and its excellent. Not keen on bus stops that only locals and Google know about though

Fantastic route pity was bit more expensive than the train but I've enjoyed it take buddy

Excellent ❤❤🥇🥇🥇🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Great video, Mark. Surprised this service is operating, given that its clear that the train is a better option, not just on price and scenery but also the trolley service. Still, its better than Berry's Coaches😂

It would be interesting to see if the senior bus pass (65+) is valid - I have been told that with the exception of London it applies countrywide. Also is the two pound flat fare scheme that Stagecoach are participating in - does that apply - any thoughts ....

Good video 👍 Can you please review the coastliner 700 down south? Its spilt up in 3 sections! From Portsmouth to Brighton. But the scenery is amazing 🤩

Great video as always Mark - I love seeing reviews of places up here from a non local's perspective (I live about 15mins from Inverness). Have done both journeys - the train was nearly 30 years ago mind you and the bus a good 15+ but made the mistake of sitting right at the back of the bus, not recommended! Think if I was going for a "day trip" I'd probably take the train, especially if I had my wee one but if I was just going from A-B I'd probably bus it, purely due to the time it saves.

Was there a train journey to Wick I missed?

Great video as always - thank you 👍

Have you done the Traws cambria

This coach was new to Stagecoach Glasgow for the Citylink 900 service. Thats possibly why the wifi is showing as Citylink.

PS How did you find the hotels in Inverness? When i went there the prices were outrageous and they got booked up well in advance

does that not qualify for the 2 pounds fare ?stagecoach service

Is there a wheel chair space

You need to do the X46 or X47 from Hull To York

It is a coach not a bus....It would be heading back to the Stagecoach garage at Inverness , it used to belong to Rapsons until Stagecoach bought them out

This service actually starts and terminates at Scrabster which is just outside of Thurso. RU-vidr Planes,Trains, Everything also rode that bus to Scrabster in one of his past videos.

This bus not on the £2 capped fare, no?

I didn't pay anything as used my Scottish bus pass!!

Do you not may by cash

A bit irritating is a bit of an understatement its extremely rude and as I’m not the type of person who stands for rudeness I would not let them board the bus in front of all the other passengers, tell the driver that they are pushing in front of everyone and he should tell them to wait their turn

Doesn't wiki or such give pronunciation?

Lybster ....the y is pronounced like the y in python or psychic.

Hi Mark, I generally enjoy your videos - hence my subscription. But oh dear you do need to work a lot to improve your place name pronunciation. There are no such places as "Doorknock" or "Libster", at least not that I'm aware of having despite having lived the first 40 years of my life in Scotland. Lybster in Caithness is pronounced Lie-bster (as in lying or tying) Dornoch is pronounced exactly as it is spelt, Dor-noch using the short 'o' in both syllables and the ch at the the end using the same gutteral sound from the back of the the throat as when (correctly) pronouncing the word 'Loch'. Now I know a lot of folks from down south just cannot grasp or master that last one - if that's the case then maybe you you should stick to text captions rather that butchering place names. Sorry if this comes across as a bit harsh, but bo try and improve on this Mark as it does take the gloss off what are otherwise very good uploads. 100% with you on the rudeness of people queue-jumping. As you recently featured the Far North line (one of the most underrated rail journeys in Britain) I thought i would share with you that until WW2 Lybster had a passenger rail service served by a branch line from Wick.