This amateur film shows staff and pupils from Percy Hedley School in Newcastle on a hostelling holiday in Wales. The film opens outside the school premises as pupils and staff get ready to board school mini-buses which will take them on their journey to Wales. [partly over exposed] The film shows the open rear door of one of the buses, where a ramp is deployed for access to the bus by wheelchair users. Another bus, a blue Commer with the registration plate FVK 979C, also awaits passengers...

This amateur film shows staff and pupils from Percy Hedley School in Newcastle on a hostelling holiday in Wales. The film opens outside the school premises as pupils and staff get ready to board school mini-buses which will take them on their journey to Wales. [partly over exposed] The film shows the open rear door of one of the buses, where a ramp is deployed for access to the bus by wheelchair users. Another bus, a blue Commer with the registration plate FVK 979C, also awaits passengers and luggage. A boy stands nearby carrying his backpack. Staff and pupils mill around the first minibus in the school car park, named by the Variety Club of Great Britain charity as a Variety Club Sunshine Coach. The coach moves off, waved on by a group of school staff members. A view follows as the bus passes the entrance to the school and some other staff members and other pupils playing on the lawn wave at the travelers. The bus passes a school sign which reads: Percy Hedley Centre For Spastics School and Clinic’ The film moves on to a young boy being pushed across a pavement in his wheelchair, he carries a kit bag on his lap and is being picked up by the bus from where he lives. The ramp is lowered and the school staff and the woman who was pushing the chair, probably his mother helps him onto the bus. The film moves on to show a smartly dressed man smiling at the camera, behind him a fence and trees. The following view shows the Sunshine Coach driving away from the camera on a tree-lined road, followed by the blue bus. The next view shows the frontage of a grand manor house with castellated walls. The camera shows the Sunshine Coach traveling along an access road towards the front of the building. A young girl walks barefoot across a lawn in front of a modern building. The film then goes back to the two buses which are now parked. The blue bus stands near to a plane, minus wings parked on a concrete standing. The film cuts to a man who emerges from the access door on the aircraft, he leaves the plane by walking down steps. A change of location follows as phantom passenger view shows a narrow moorland road. The next view taken from the side of the road shows the pale coloured Sunshine Coach traveling along the road towards the camera. A view follows of a valley with hills and mountains on its opposite side. The view cuts to town buildings overshadowed by mountains. The blue minibus stands near Shell petrol pumps on a garage forecourt. The Sunshine Coach also stops for fuel. The view changes to a large stone building, where children play football on lawns nearby. A group of boys sit or lie on a tarpaulin sheet which covers an area of grass next to the blue school bus. The rear doors are open and a member of staff prepares some snacks. Another member of staff fries bacon on a gas stove at the back of the school bus. He passes a plate of freshly cooked bacon to one of the boys. [some overexposed sections] A view follows of more activity at the back of the bus as more bacon is taken from another cooking stove nearby. The next view shows a busy street, with half-timbered buildings. The view then changes to a single storey building. On a nearby country road the two school buses are parked. A close up of the building reveals a YHA [Youth Hostels Association] insignia mounted on the wall. A change of location, showing a car park next to the sea where the school buses are parked. The view changes showing a seaside promenade with a pier in the distance stretching out over a beach and into the sea. General views follow of the car park, a number of boys wait by the blue school bus. The hostelling group pose for the camera on the promenade with beach and the sea behind them. A phantom passenger view follows as one of the buses heads down a country road with mountains in the distance, but first they pass an imposing castle, probably Conwy Castle on the left. Next another car park, where at the back of one of the buses gulls feed on scraps of food. Another view shows the Sunshine Coach in a car park showing a nearby castle tower. The camera moves round to show the blue school bus with the doors open and occupants still inside. The car park is next to an area of open water, A building on the opposite bank has Caernarvon Rowing Club painted on a wall. A small sailing boat is moored just in front, an open tour boat motors by, as a member of staff stands at the passenger door of the blue bus and throws scraps for gulls. The view of a stone arch is next, where the school group waits. A boy in his wheelchair sits next to a police no parking sign. A view follows of a stone doorway at the top of stone steps, some of the school group walk towards the camera and down the steps. The view changes to the walls of a castle seen from a road which passes its perimeter, the castle is Caernarfon Castle. A group from the school walk along the nearby road next to parked cars. A change of location to a country scene, is followed by a phantom passenger view heading along a country road towards hills and mountains. A view in the buses wing mirror shows the school’s Sunshine Coach following. Another view shows the bus heading down a valley with high mountains at either side. The view changes to show passengers on the blue school bus, some catching up on sleep, a passenger’s eye view of the driver follows. Another seaside stop at the bay at Aberystwyth with a view of the ruined castle in the distance. The camera moves back to the blue bus parked on the promenade. Another phantom passenger view shows the bus passing parked cars on the promenade heading for the busier part of the sea front. The film cuts to a brief view of a large tin of Nescafe coffee on a table, as a member of staff pours hot milk into a cup held by a colleague. The film then shows a group of wheelchair users, sitting next to the Sunshine Coach. Next a view follows of staff drinking coffee at the small table seen earlier next to the blue bus. Another passenger view as the bus travels along a country road with houses nearby. A road sign in Welsh and English which reads ‘Castell Newydd Emlyn - Newcastle Emlyn’ A view follows of a beach and rock covered in seaweed with the sea in the distance. The film then shows a large sandy bay with a solitary building on the sand dunes. A view of a stone built house follows with the hostelling group gathering outside. Another phantom passenger view follows from one of the buses as it speeds down a dual carriageway. A road sign shows a slip road to Llanwern, Langstone, and to carry straight on for London and Bristol. The bus approaches the new Severn Bridge and head towards England. On some open grass near a road a group of holidaymakers sit on a tarpaulin sheet on the grass. A change of view shows the open passenger door of the Sunshine Coach, a member of staff crouches down next to the step into the cab. The next view is a traveling view from one of the buses of the modern façade of the impressive Coventry Cathedral, with its sculpture of St Michael’s Victory over the Devil by Jacob Epstein attached to a wall near to the entrance. Another view shows the surviving ruins of the old cathedral, next to the modern structure. The view changes to another Youth Hostel, as staff carry in luggage with both buses parked nearby. Some pupils in wheelchairs sit and wait near the buses. Next a wide river showing fast flowing water cascading over a waterfall. A canoeist fights against the flowing water near a bridge. A young boy climbs up the bank of a river towards the camera The next view is of an apron of tarmac, with stone and brick buildings on its perimeter. A boy runs from the blue bus which is parked on nearby rough ground near other coaches. A member of staff stands on a parapet looking out over the river and the bridge seen earlier. Some of the boys on the trip stand nearby. A different view shows the parked blue bus with the Sunshine Coach next to it. A group of boys throw stones from the nearby parapet into the river. The blue bus arrives back the Percy Hedley School. The doors are opened and the passengers, some throwing their luggage out of the back door get out. The film ends as more of the luggage is taken off and passengers leave the bus at the end of their holiday.