Once in a while (and only once in a while) something interesting appears on Facebook. It was from Facebook I first heard about Abba Voyage and thought that was something Virginia and I could go to. So we booked a day trip with Richmonds Coaches to go and see it.

We weren't late but other patrons had nearly filled the coach at Trumpington Park and Ride when we got there before 12 noon. It was a modern decent coach and Virginia was impressed by it being a double-decker! I was about to term it comfortable but being long in the leg that isn't a word I apply to coaches. On our fairly smooth way down to London's Docklands we only had one more stop in Bishops Stortford. We had seen comments about the food and drink at the Abba Arena being expensive so we took sandwiches, and others were even better prepared than we were.

The Abba Arena is in a pretty rundown area, apart from the Pudding Lane DLR station conveniently right by which is over the ticket office for the Abba Voyage show. Our coach parked down a poor side road and the driver couldn't get the front coach door to fully open at first! The kerb was just too high!

We queued up with everyone else to get through the security checkpoint then to show our tickets. It's difficult to combine being with someone and having the time to take decent pictures. The foyers were pretty crowded and not as large as I had envisaged, also there weren't enough toilet facilities IMHO. Most of the purpose built arena felt like the theater itself.

I got confused by there being multiple seats C12 and C13 but we found our rightful block F. Virginia was glad (and I was too) we weren't standing on the dance floor where a mass of people were. The show seemed to be really sold out. Quite a few people had adorned themselves to prove they were Abba fans.

I'm not going to describe the show much. It was clever and up-to-date son et lumiere. A cross between a rock concert and a sequence of music videos. Obviously the hour and a half runtime included many Abba hits. For Abba fans a must. For most people a worthwhile experience.

We had a straightforward return journey and got back earlier than stated!

Our coach

The Abba Arena

Arena entrance

Arena foyer

Arena stage

Arena audience