Football fans are known for the extreme lengths they go to to follow their teams, but few will have made a journey like Chelsea supporters Jake Ralph and Kevin Cobb this week.
Jake, 27, and Kevin, 59, are die-hard fans and were desperate to go watch their team in the Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan. But the official options were far too expensive at nearly £1,000.
Instead, the father and son pair have decided to make their own way for the game on May 29 — with a route that covers a colossal 5,571 kilometres along the way.
Father and son duo Kevin Cobb (left) and Jake Ralph are making an incredible journey to Baku, including a 24-hour train trip
Jake and Kevin set off over a week before Chelsea's Europa League final against Arsenal in Baku on Wednesday night
The route that Jake and Kevin will be taking, starting with their plane journey from Stansted and ending in Baku on Monday
London Stansted to Istanbul (Tuesday night) – by plane
Istanbul to Ankara (Wednesday night) – by plane
Ankara to Kars (Thursday night) – by train – 24 hour journey
Kars to Tsiblisi – by taxi
Tsiblisi to Baku (Sunday night) – by train
They set off from London Stansted on Tuesday night, getting the last flight to Istanbul. On Wednesday, they spent the day sightseeing in the Turkish capital before travelling over to Ankara in a one-hour plane journey.
Then comes the most incredible period of the trip. They will board the Dogu Expressi in Ankara on Thursday evening and travel all the way to Kars in eastern Turkey — a 24-hour train journey covering 1,310 kilometres.
They have booked sleeper cars, with tickets only costing £25 for the pair — half the amount Jake would pay for a day ticket to get to his job as an underwriter from his home in Hastings to Bromley every morning.
Bizarrely, the train journey has become something of a favourite for Turkish Instagram users — with local outlets describing it as the 'most hipster' domestic travel route.
Not that Jake and Kevin will be thinking about that when they alight in Kars, as they will be immediately moving up to Tsiblisi in Georgia in taxis, before spending the weekend there with other Chelsea fans.
They flew from London Stansted to Istanbul on Tuesday and are spending Wednesday sightseeing in the Turkish capital
But the most incredible aspect of the trip is the 24-hour train journey from Ankara to Kars — a 1,310 km ride that cost £25
They will climb aboard the Dogu Expressi on Thursday evening and finally leave it when they arrive in Kars on Friday night
A worker selling tickets on board the Dogu Expressi — Jake and Kevin bought the most expensive tickets, at £25
They will then travel overnight from the Georgian capital on a sleeper train before arriving in Baku on Monday morning, arriving two full days before
