Of course, yeah - the summer seems like a brilliant option!
I like the idea of long days too; but maybe not that long Unfortunately the earliest I can be in Newcastle for is 8am.

Andreos1 - very good point. I too was thinking photos - one when you get on, one when you get off, however I know for a fact that if it was down to me, I'd forget.
The only trouble then is where exactly you got off. But, if the objective to get on as many different services as possible (not the highest mileage), this would not be an issue.