A ten minute journey from Bridgwater to Taunton followed by a wait of over hour.
Next stop Castle Cary.
Castle Cary station is a long way from anywhere.
A long wait at Castle Cary as the connecting train had an air leak with its brakes.
The train arrives at Castle Cary
How could someone design such an ugly ship?
I had to catch the lunchtime train to Inverness due to a reduced timetable.Time to kill in Inverness.
Were they playing or tuning up?
I had a seat booked in this train, which someone sat in- no point moving them as the seat next to it was free.
I caught the Penzance train here. A few issues. Firstly the train rolled past platform 5 to platform 6, leaving everyone rushing over to get on board. And it wax crowded.
Bridgwater is not particularly bonny, but I did find a picture to make it look good.
This journey, starting in the far north of Scotland, visiting Oxfordshire (twice), London, West Sussex, Poole, Surrey, Cheshire , Liverpool and Inverness.
No dishwasher working on the train, hence the disposable cup.
The only issue on the cycle to Paddington was a close pass from a speeding motorcyclist. Why are they allowed in the bus lanes and why can’t they ride better?
After chatting to the man on the train doing the food trolley he said he would give me a free tea, if he got time before Didcot. Very kind.
First train issue- train to Paddington delayed so caught a different train.
Cycle across London in glorious sunshine, taking in Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, London Eye…
I came across a new menace in London, motorised skateboards exclusively ridden by idiots. These are not legally allowed to be used on pavements, roads or cycle paths. What happens if collide with an illegal vehicle, with no insurance and no sense?
After a stay in London I trained on from south London via London Bridge to Sussex.
The trip included cycling on the wonderful cuckoo trail. Lots of birdsong but no cuckoos heard,
A stop in Poole then back on the train.
Change at Reading, on to Ash.
Fun at Ash, delayed train from Guildford due to something being thrown on the line.
A stay in Surrey for the weekend.
Another cycle across London.
Things started going pear shaped at Liverpool from where I was trying to travel to Inverness.
Liverpool station
Caught an earlier train , which I was only able to do due to having arrived early at Liverpool.
The train got stopped, so my connection at Haymarket started looking unsafe,
Despite warning the conductor and his best efforts we missed the connection to Inverness. ScotRail refused to hold their train. Splitting up British Rail was not a good idea.
Shoved on a train to Perth.
After a late taxi ride from Perth to Inverness I eventually got to bed.
Sleeper went via east coast so arrived from wrong direction at wrong time resulting in being parked up for an hour.
A bit of industrial action and a few cancellations to make the trip more interesting.
A beautiful frosty day.
At Elgin station there was no sign of the 1236 train to Inverness on the displays and confusingly the ScotRail app showed the train already at Forres. It turns out that the train shuttles back and forth between Elgin and Inverness.
A cold morning in Edinburgh, cold in Aberdeen and even colder in Elgin.
As I waited the predicted arrival time of the train got later and later. Would I make the connection in Manchester?
The train arrived. Traveling to Manchester Piccadilly the train got even later. On arrival it was a case of stepping across the platform straight onto the Edinburgh train.
Just before Lancaster the driver announced that the train had been slowed down by a series of red lights to allow another train to pass. The driver said that this made no sense. Arrived in Edinburgh over 30 mins late.
Only 300m bike ride from the station to the Premier Inn hub.
The Oxford to Manchester train I was intending to catch was cancelled.. The latter train was getting in too late so took an earlier one. Due to connections not being so good and an additional change I was only 20 mins earlier than originally planned , despite leaving an hour early,
A beautiful day in the far north of Scotland as I set off.
Arrived in Inverness in the dark- took the train to Aberdeen to catch the sleeper service there as no cabins available on the service from Aberdeen.
Each time I come to London the traffic flows a bit better and the air tastes better. ULEZ doing its job.
A long day on the train. Scheduled times, 4:42 Kings Cross to Edinburgh, 3:35 Edinburgh to Inverness and the final leg 3:51. Distances 631km, 181 km and 130km. Trains getting slower as I travel north.
Insight 