While on the bus I checked google maps and discovered that I would get to Madrid far sooner by train .
The train was delayed by 35 mins. Would I make it before midnight?
Interestingly baggage get’s scanned before boarding.
Yes! Made it to Madrid before midnight local time. But not to the hotel. Better than 0330.
The Portuguese railway had let me down. But google maps says there’s a route by bus. The bus station is a short walk from the train station but is an ugly concrete construction with the buses waiting in a concrete cave of doom. To further improve my mood I ate the worst ever pizza in an eating establishment above the cave.
After asking where to wait several times and being reassured by bus number being shown, suddenly the number is replaced with a different service. Have I missed the bus? I chase around trying to find the bus getting no help whatsoever. Finally I stumble across the bus by chance. Another black mark against Portuguese public transport.
The bus driver is attentive and helpful, redeeming the service. And I am on my way. Change at Valladolid to get a late bus arriving at 0330 in Madrid. At least I will be back on track for tomorrow.
On my way to Entroncamento . On the way notices appeared with the word “greve”.
Arrived at Entroncamento
Total confusion. The train was being cleaned. Two older English women were also trying to get to Badajoz. We asked around. No one appeared to know what was happening with the train. Eventually we got some sense from the ticket office. Train cancelled, it might go at 1500 or the next day or not. Too late for the connecting trains.
The two English women decided to go back to Lisbon, I decided to back to Porto.
The day before the trip and during the journey to Entroncamento I had checked the Portuguese railway website- nothing saying the train from Entroncamento to Badajoz was cancelled. However the train was cancelled due to industrial action.
Five hours on the train and back to the start,just barter 1300. Disaster!
An issue straight away with the start of this journey, a delay of 30 minutes, first delay of the trip, The delay would make my connection very tight, particularly as I had to make a reservation at Entratron.
The train is a single carriage diesel, a bit long in the tooth. Not fast and not modern, Operated by the Portuguese Railway service.
The line is single track with a steep climb after entering Portugal. Not fast, Then we are told we have to get off the train an wait for a bus. A train further down the line had broken down and blocked the track,
Picked up a fast train at Entroncamento. I had no reservation for the train, No opportunity to get one with the previous chaos, I am not convinced it would have been possible even if everything had gone to plan. It is not possible to make reservations for Portugal in Spain or on the train to Entroncamento. But past caring by this stage,
This was the first time that the journey encountered issues. Old rolling stock on single track line, Language was an issue resolved by fellow travellers being multi linguists. I had to move once on the final train due to the arrival with a traveller with a reservation. Arrived eventually. But list bike helmet in all the changes.
A long journey across Spain, an opportunity to see how the landscape, vegetation and agriculture changes. Taking in a change of trains in Madrid, at a very confusing set of stations all clumped together with poor sign posting. A foreigner’s nightmare. Train ended up 30 minutes late to Badajoz.
Badajoz
A long way to go in one day!
Early start with the moon in the sky.
A revisit to Reading on the way to London.
Paddington nice and early.
Followed by an almost pleasant bike ride to St Pancras.
Stress at St Pancras as the gate for the 0701 Eurostar was closing. Still had a long wait on the train. Pleasant ride on the Eurostar but the electrical sockets don’t work. No matter, sure there will be opportunities later.
train
Arrived at Gare Du Nord
Ride across Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, followed by lunch, sightseeing, and a return to Gare de Lyon.
The ride from Paris to Barcelona was epic, long, fast and a good selection of French landscapes. Brits, Americans, Australians, Germans, French, Spaniards. A fun mix, and by the end of the journey we felt like we had experienced something together. Six hours travel time on the final leg of today.
Or traveling from Farnham to Bristol
To get to Bristol from Farnham involved changing at Brookwood:
Changing at Basingstoke:
Changing at Reading:
I managed to catch a delayed service from Basingstoke to Reading, which did not stop due to the delay. This enabled me to catch another delayed train at Reading speeding up the journey. The delay at Basingstoke was not for a good reason. The train coming from Reading had been held up due to a member of staff being racially abused. This is not acceptable.
Final destination Bristol Parkway:
Three changes in all. South east England is surprisingly pretty from the train, and green.
It is strike day on the railways of England. So I cannot get to my intended destination of Guildford by train, so instead I head to Woking and jump on my bike for the remainder of the journey.
The cycle from Euston to Waterloo is pleasant and quick, taking in some of the sights of London on the way.
Go to sleep in the Scottish Highlands and wake up in the deep south of England. What better way to travel? Efficient, traveling while you sleep. Enjoyable, far more fun than sitting in soulless airports. But it is pricey.
The options are, sleeping in a recliner – cheap but not cheerful, a room to yourself or with a friend with a friend, or for a bit more with a en-suite shower/toilet. If you really push the boat out you can have a double bed.
The sleeper service uses the rail track infrastructure which is underused at night, which must be a good idea.
This is a super beautiful route in the daylight, especially on a sunny day. But also super slow and super cheap. A bit miserable in the dark and the toilets never appear to be totally clean.
The ever changing landscape is amazing, one of the most beautiful train routes in the UK, and as far north you can get by train.
Mind, the windows are not clean.
Insight 