CH. XXI COACHING TRIPS 485 



A good plan for a trip with one team is as fol- 

 lows : the coach starting about ten in the morning, 

 the baggage is sent by rail to the stopping-place 

 for the night, in charge of a man who engages 

 the rooms and stabling and orders the dinner ; a 

 stop of at least two hours is made at mid-day for 

 lunch, and to rest and feed the horses ; the hours 

 of the afternoon drive may be so arranged as to 

 have the most time at the lunch place or at the 

 night place, as their respective interest demands. 



Barring accidents, the same horses will do this 

 work for any number of days, and an unfit horse 

 can be replaced by rail. One of the men hired 

 with the coach should drive well enough to take 

 it to and from the stable, but if a man is provided 

 who is to drive on the road, a higher charge is 

 always made for him. 



The cost of a trip varies with the locality, but the 

 following list of expenses of a drive in the West of 

 England, with a party of five, will give an idea of 

 the expense : — 



Coach, horses (a single team), and two men, ^42 

 a week (this includes the night-stabling and feed) ; 

 hotel bills, ^38 ; fees at hotels, £2 ; railway fares 

 for valet with baggage, £$ ; fees to coach men, £$ ; 

 lunches, and noon-feeds for horses, not included in 

 the coach hire, £10 ; altogether, ^98, about $484 

 per week. For a larger party, only the hotel bills 

 will be increased, the other expenses will remain 

 the same. 



