Falcon Love Story competition winners announced

Stagecoach South West has announced the winners of its romantic Falcon Love Story competition, launched around the first anniversary of the 24/7 cross regional coach service.

After sharing their stories of how they met their partners Ben Rose, Kathy Penny and Richard Day won date nights in Plymouth, Exeter and Bristol,.

Ben has won tickets for Craig David’s sold out ‘Follow My Intuition’ tour at the Plymouth Pavilions Arena on 21 March. He met his partner in Plymouth but lived in Exeter and worked in Taunton so would travel on the South West Falcon every day to see her.

Ben said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have won the prize, my partner and I are really excited to see Craig David in concert! When I wrote my story I had never imagined it would stand out so much, as I believe that everybody's love story is special. I would like to thank Stagecoach for running the competition and for running the bus service that helped my love story come to pass. Most of all I would like to thank my partner for being my inspiration, each and every day.”

Richard won tickets to see the 2017 stage production of the Wedding Singer at Bristol Hippodrome, running from 14-18 March. Richard met his partner Tayrone whilst working on a cruise ship six years ago. They opened a new ship together and during the inaugration ceremony, which was hosted by Mariah Carey in New York, they were paired together to wave at the guests below.

Richard said: “Finding out that we had won The Wedding Singer theatre tickets was just wonderful, and it was especially great that it was due to a story so close to our hearts that we could share with others. We are looking forward to enjoying the show!”

Kathy won a £100 Princesshay shopping gift card and lunch for two at The Terrace at the brand new Queen St. Dining development. She met her husband at just 14 years old and everyone said that they wouldn’t last. Now, they have two daughters and six grandchildren and will be celebrating their 54th wedding anniversary in July.

Kathy said: “I want to express my sheer delight in winning such a fantastic prize through Stagecoach for my Valentine's story. I recently entered the competition never expecting to be so lucky, but now my husband and I are thoroughly looking forward to a lovely lunch at the Terrace Restaurant, followed by some retail therapy.”

All three winners, plus the runners up, have received two Falcon return travel vouchers to travel to their day or evening out with ease.

Bob Dennison, Managing Director of Stagecoach South West, said: “I’m delighted to announce the winners of the Falcon Love Story competition. We were overwhelmed by the number of great entires but these three stories really stood out.

“I’d like to thank our partners at Plymouth Pavilions, Bristol Hippodrome, Princesshay and The Terrace for contributing such generous prizes.”

Last month saw the Falcon carry its 150,000th passenger after just one year in operation.

The South West Falcon is the first dedicated 24/7 service to connect Devon with Somerset, Bristol Airport and Bristol City Centre. It is also possible to make local journeys, e.g. between Churchill and Bristol City Centre or Cullompton and Exeter, making it an ideal way to commute. All eight coaches feature a distinctive, stylish livery and have free Wi-Fi, power charging, air conditioning and leather seats. The timetable runs hourly from early morning until late evening, moving to two-hourly overnight.

Plan your journey now at www.swfalcon.com