It’s been over a year since I last saw my Warm Digits boys play so when I saw them announce this (see pic above) on their social media and that ‘early bird’ tickets were available, I had to have a look into seeing if it was affordable to steal a night away in Hartlepool to see them.
Firstly, those early bird tickets were just £11.00. I immediately purchased one, comfortable enough with the outlay of that small sum in guaranteeing my ticket, conscious the logistics of the trip may render the purchase a loss. Better to have the ticket first instead of taking all the other logistical steps only to find the gig had sold out.
Ticket secured, I then looked at Booking Dot Com for accommodation in Hartlepool. This was the next crucial factor. If it was too pricy to stay overnight then it would be doubtful I could go. I had to bear in mind that just a week before we’d be heading to Newcastle for a couple of nights so I had to make this night away in Hartlepool as affordable as possible. Looking at the accommodation available and the prices to stay, I was hopeful. There were two very affordable rooms to book and I checked the proximity of the accommodation to the venue. One was a little way away from the venue but the other was just around the corner. A night away for forty pounds? I’m having that!
So far, I had a ticket for the gig and a place to stay for just over £50. Considering the average ticket price for “known” artists is around this price, I was very pleased.
Final hurdle to deal with; travel! Ideally train would be the preferred mode of travel. Other than dreaded cancellations, trains are still a more reliable way to travel from A to B than going by road. That said, coaches are invariably cheaper than trains (although that price difference is narrowing little by little). I looked into going by train. Of course, to get to the east of England (unless travelling right down to London) by train you usually have to go first from Glasgow to Edinburgh and then down the east coast. A return train journey from Edinburgh to Hartlepool was going to be around £60. Not bad I guess, but I thought I could maybe halve that by looking at coach travel. I knew there would be coaches that would go from Glasgow to Newcastle, negating the need to get to Edinburgh on the train first. I initially looked at what Megabus offered. Not many travel options from Glasgow to Newcastle by coach with them. There was only one coach leaving in the morning and it was leaving relatively early. A return ticket would tally around £25. I then checked the cost of a train from Newcastle to Hartlepool. Very affordable! A return ticket could be bought for around £7.50.
So, if I could get to Newcastle affordably then the train travel to Hartlepool would be cheap as chips. I then decided to look at what National Express offered before deciding to settle on Megabus. The other problem with Megabus is that their stop at Newcastle is not that close to the train station. I knew I’d have to factor in a hike from the coach stop to the train station and vice versa. Conveniently, the National Express coaches went to Newcastle coach station which is much closer to the train station. Also there wasn’t much of a price difference. The NatEx coach was maybe £1-1.50 more expensive. For that I was getting more choice of coach journey times and closer proximity to the train station. I booked my coach travel with them.
The only thing left I have to sort out is the return train travel from Newcastle to Hartlepool. I’ll get that sorted soon. All in all, I’m getting a night away to see a gig in NE England for around £85 – the comparative cost of one of the best seats at Noel Gallagher’s gig at the Hydro in December. I thought about seeing him. Looked at tickets yesterday. I would have had to offset the purchase which the OH was not keen on me doing, which is fair enough. I questioned whether I actually wanted to see him THAT much and decided – naw. Maybe some other time.
I am ssooo excited to see my boys once again. And, THEY’RE HEADLINING!! Which is awesome! I am ssooo excited! And Hartlepool actually looks really nice and I’ll be beside the sea. Let’s hope that early May offers up some nice, warm weather.
If you’re interested in going to see one of the most fabulous bands in the UK (in my humble opinion) – click HERE FOR TICKETS
I’M COUNTING THE DAYS! ??????? May have to wear my merch that they kindly gifted to me the last time I saw them. ????
