coach friendly

towns, cities and villages

Coach Friendly accreditation for two new destinations - March 2018

Wells and Tavistock are the latest destinations to be awarded Coach Friendly status by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT). For the City of Wells, it comes after two years’ work to improve all aspects of group visits in the city in a successful ‘Visit by Coach’ project.

CPT SW Regional Manager John Burch says: “The partnerships in the City of Wells have now won Coach Friendly status for the entire city and demonstrated that the principles can be expanded to really benefit businesses and attractions across an even wider area.

Romsey is Hampshire’s first coach-friendly town - February 2018

Romsey has been declared Hampshire’s first coach-friendly town. The town has been accredited with the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Coach Friendly Town Status.

This comes hot on the heels of Romsey’s Visitor Information Centre (VIC) winning the Gold Award for best visitor information centre in southern England and being entered into the national Visit England awards. The VIC caters for 55,000 visitors each year and supports tourism businesses across Test Valley. The coach-friendly accolade is the culmination of several years’ work and is a great achievement for the town.

Railway awarded Coach Friendly Status -  November 2017

Aberystwyth’s Vale of Rheidol Railway has joined a select number of UK visitor attractions to attain the Coach Friendly Status from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT). The status is an industry standard designed to recognise and reward tourist attractions that go the extra mile to provide a warm welcome to groups arriving by coach.

Vale of Rheidol spokesman, Will Smith said: “At the moment, around 30 tourist attractions in the UK have received this award. We are really pleased to have joined this elite group.”

Leeds Castle Awarded Coach Friendly Status - 8 November 2017

Leeds Castle is delighted to have been awarded Coach Friendly status by the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT UK).

CPT UK awards this status to attractions and locations across the country that understand the needs of coach companies and their passengers, and offer the best facilities, access and information for coach drivers.


Leeds Castle offers something for groups to discover every day. Open all year, there is a seasonal programme of activities including falconry displays, punting on the moat, themed tours of the Castle and walks with one of the gardeners. There are also new specialist talks for groups to pre-book covering a variety of fascinating topics.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham awarded Coach Friendly status  - 11 August 2017

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is proud to announce they have been awarded Coach Friendly status by the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT UK), becoming the only Kent attraction to hold this title. CPT UK awards this status to attractions and locations across the country that understand the needs of coach companies and their passengers, and offer the best facilities, access and information for coach drivers.


The attraction's new visitor facilities include a restaurant that can cater exclusively for group lunches, a new shopping experience, four new immersive galleries, and free coach parking with dedicated drop-off and collection points close to the visitor entrance.

 Inverness recognised for offering a ‘true Highland welcome’ to coaches - 8 September 2016 

The city of Inverness is the latest recipient of CPT’s prestigious ‘Coach Friendly’ status. The status, which now has over 25 holders from across the UK, acknowledges the commitment made by Inverness to understand and meet the requirements of coaches, drivers and passengers arriving in the city.  

Jeremy Tinsley, Manager for CPT Scotland said: “Highland Council, in partnership with Inverness Business Improvement District (BID), has worked tirelessly over several years to deliver and provide high quality facilities in Inverness for visiting coaches and their passengers. 

“They have made excellent provision in terms of passenger pick-up, drop-off and coach parking and CPT, drivers and passengers alike are delighted with the service provided by the Coach Ambassadors who offer a true ‘Highland Welcome’.” 

Conwy and Betws y Coed join Llandudno in achieving CPT’s Coach Friendly status

Two of north Wales’ most popular inland resorts, Conwy and Betws y Coed, have been awarded CPT’s prestigious Coach Friendly towns, cities & villages status.  

Following on the heels of Llandudno who landed the title back in November 2014, Conwy becomes the first district in the United Kingdom to have three individual locations each achieve this well-recognised coach industry standard.   

The status, established in 2003, recognises the work and commitment that towns, cities & villages have made to providing coach operators, along with their drivers and passengers, a warm welcome and easy access to key visitor attractions and facilities in their area.   

On presenting the status to Conwy and Betws y Coed, CPT’s Tourism Executive, Alf Scrimgour, said:  “These three tourist locations in north Wales, which are all part of the Conwy Development Board, may all be very different in terms of what they have to offer visitors but they each make every effort to both attract and provide a warm welcome to visiting coach groups."

Seaside resorts receive ‘Coach Friendly’ status - 31 March 2016

Bournemouth and Blackpool are the latest towns to receive CPT’s prestigious ‘Coach Friendly’ Towns, Cities & Villages status. 


Presented with the title at the British Tourism & Travel Show in Birmingham earlier this month, CPT was delighted to learn that both destinations have recently undertaken a programme of work specifically designed to provide coaches with greater ease of access to their key visitor attractions and facilities, whilst also actively promoting coach tourism across the town. Speaking at BTTS, CPT’s Alf Scrimgour said:


“CPT is delighted to welcome Bournemouth and Blackpool to its Coach Friendly scheme. The status recognises the commitment they have both made to making sure that coach parties receive a very warm welcome when visiting. 


“Both towns are well established, famous seaside resorts that have made great strides in recent years to make sure that their offer to coaches, drivers and passengers is second to none."

New logos for Coach Friendly status holders

Status holders can download high-res versions of the new look Coach Friendly logos from the following links.


Towns, cities & villages


Visitor attractions

Perth achieves industry's 'Coach Friendly' Status - 3 November 2015 

The Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) has presented the City of Perth with its prestigious ‘Coach Friendly’ status. The status acknowledges the commitment that the City of Perth has made to understanding the requirements of coaches and welcoming their drivers and passengers to the city centre.  

Speaking at the Annual CPT Scotland Conference in Loch Lomond, David Rutherford, CPT Scottish Coach Commission Chair and Director of Earnside Coaches, said: 

“CPT’s coach friendly scheme recognises and highlights the work that cities, towns and local authorities undertake to improve coach access and driver facilities whilst encouraging coach tourism.  

“We are delighted to announce the City of Perth as Scotland’s first coach friendly location. The city clearly appreciates the vital role that coaches and their passengers play in helping to boost the local economy and we look forward to working closely with them in the future.”  

Nantwich awarded ‘coach friendly’ Status - 14 April 2015

The market town of Nantwich in east Cheshire has been awarded CPT’s ‘Coach Friendly’ status. Nantwich becomes the 22nd holder of this prestigious title - the fifth location in the North West - along with Southport, Chester, Bury and Liverpool.  


The status, now in its 12th year, acknowledges the commitment that the town has made to understanding the requirements of coaches and their passengers, whilst also providing first-class facilities and information sources for drivers.      

Presenting the award to the Mayor of Nantwich, Councillor Christine Farrall and Peter Saunders of Nantwich Rotary, Alf Scrimgour, CPT’s Coach Tourism Executive said: 

“I am delighted to present Nantwich with CPT’s ‘Coach Friendly’ status. The town has shown a coherent and detailed strategy for integrating group tourism - providing clear directional instructions and signs for visiting coaches, adequate capacity for coach parking, set down & pick up points and excellent nearby facilities for both passengers and drivers.”   

Llandudno Awarded ‘Coach Friendly’ Status - 5 November 2014

The Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) is delighted to announce that the seaside resort of Llandudno is the latest town to be awarded its prestigious ‘Coach Friendly’ status.


The status acknowledges the commitment that Llandudno has made to understanding the requirements of coaches and their passengers, whilst also providing first class facilities and information sources for drivers.    

On receiving the status, presented by CPT Chief Executive, Simon Posner at Euro Bus Expo in Birmingham earlier today, Councillor Graham Rees of Llandudno Town Council said: 


“Llandudno is the key tourism destination in Conwy County and we are very pleased to have achieved CPT’s Coach Friendly status. This clearly demonstrates the value to we place on coach tourism and the benefits it brings to Llandudno and Conwy County.”

“This prestigious title demonstrates Perth’s commitment to catering for this important market, and will undoubtedly help attract more coach tours and therefore more visitors to the historic and picturesque city of Perth and the wider Perthshire region.“ 
Jim Clarkson, VisitScotland

“The value of the CPT Coach Friendly status has been clearly identified in our 2015-18 Destination Conwy Action Plan. We at Destination Conwy see it as a great honour and are very proud to be the first UK Destination to have three of its resorts achieve this status." 

Councillor Graham Rees