National Express coach company offers fish and chip flavour SWEETS to travellers in Milton Keynes

National Express coaches are celebrating local people being able to get back on the road by offering them a 'tastebud tour of Britain' - with travel sweets.

And the flavours of their limited-edition sweets have been inspired by regionally favourite dishes - including curry. pork pie, fish and chips, Eccles cakes, Wensleydale cheese and Cornish pasty.

Called The Tastes of Normal, the sweets are a homage to the simple pleasures of travel and the staple of many a journey for generations, say National Express bosses,

The boiled sweets come packaged in classic round metal tins, just like those that have traditionally been found at service stations and airports for decades.

Each sweet tastes of a classic dish that is synonymous with a British city or region that can be visited using National Express, which runs from Milton Keynes Coachway.

The six flavours have arguably never been tasted before in boiled sweet form.

The fish and chip sweets are designed to be enjoyed with fresh sea air at popular choices for a day trip to the seaside or coastal holiday such as Devon, Brighton, Margate, Scarborough and Blackpool , says the coach company.

And the curry flavour is in honour of Birmingham, the home of the Balti triangle and National Express, while sucking on a Cornish pasty sweet is a "must-taste treat" for anyone visiting the ever-popular coastal county of Cornwall, they say.

Pork pie sweets are to celebrate the classic British snack from Leicestershire, home of the Melton Mowbray pork pie, and the Wensleydale cheese and cranberry flavour is a nod to Yorkshire and popular destinations such as Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford.

The only ‘sweet’ sweet in the tin is the Eccles cake flavour, which represents Greater Manchester.

Chris Hardy, managing director of National Express UK Coach, said: “We suspended all services for 11 weeks at the beginning of the year so we’re delighted to now be back on the road with full measures in place to ensure passenger comfort and safety.

“As the UK’s largest coach operator, we’ve always been part of seeing friends and family, going to events, on day trips and holidays. We wanted to mark helping make this happen again in a fun way.

“Fish and chips and pork pies might not be the kind of flavours anyone would expect to taste in boiled sweet form, but each confectionary celebrates the wonderful diversity of the UK. We hope the tastes will take people to a place they’ve missed and can now happily and safely return to with National Express.”

The limited-edition sweets are not for sale but will be given away to the public via National Express social media channels (Instagram @nationalexpress Twitter(@nationalexpress and Facebook @NationalExpress) and the National Express website at www.nationalexpress.com/tastesofnormal.

The National Express full UK timetable with hundreds of destinations is now on sale, allowing summer bookings when all restrictions are lifted. Customers can also book accommodation and attractions alongside their coach travel, complete with a price guarantee and ABTA protection

For more information and to book travel visit www.nationalexpress.com.