Nick Lloyd Webber, who composed the orchestral soundtrack for this film, was the son of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
The character of Tom (Timothy Spall) is supposed to be 90 years old in the script. A heavily made-up Spall was 62 years old during filming. Phyllis Logan who played Mary was 63 years old during filming.
Despite the premise, this film is not based on a true story. Writer Joe Ainsworth got the basic idea for the film after overhearing a jokey conversation between his father and his father-in-law about how they could misuse their bus passes.
Part of the production budget was raised through a grant from the National Lottery via Screen Scotland (a not-for-profit organization who help to encourage film production in Scotland).
Due to a tight budget, almost all of the film was shot on location in Scotland. The one exception where a bus was filmed crossing over the official border and into England.