The far north is a joy when the views are clear and the days are long.
The breakfast did leave me hungry.
15 mins of delay at Waterloo due to incoming train being late, there was an obstacle on the line.
I had to get myself into the front five carriages as the train splits at Bournemouth.
I am about to start my minor backtrack.
The journey
The map taken from the Interrail app shows just how far the journey was, but misses the far north line and the detour to Oxfordshire.
From the Interrail app: 5784 km distance
15 trains on the Interrail ticket, 20 in total.
Seven countries.
Weather
Sunny almost throughout, but a big variation in temperature. Highest ,around 14 centigrade in Augsburg, lowest -10 in Bucharest.
Food
The food was good, but had to get creative in the meat centric countries. I had my first experience of a Lebanese restaurant in Bucharest, the very good Coin-Vert Libanez.
I had to fight through the snow and ice to get to it. A week later I had my second Lebanese restaurant experience in Paris.
Plenty of good food on this trip.
Hotels
I stayed in three Premier Inn plus rooms, three varieties of Ibis: budget, styles and no moniker, a Radisdon Individuals Schiller Park in Linz and Ramada by Wyndham in Bucharest.
Best bed:Premier Inn plus
Best shower: Premier Inn plus
Best view: Ramada by Wyndham
Best location: Hotel Schiller Park- in central location near the railway station.
Best breakfast: Ramada by Wyndham
Best rooms: Premier Inn plus
Most expensive: Premier Inn St Pancras
Best check out times: Ibis / check out by noon.
I like the simplicity of the Ibis Budget.
Locations
Both Augsburg and Linz were amazing places to visit. Smaller and not as busy as Vienna but interesting buildings and history. Bucharest lacked the beautiful buildings but the lake was beautiful.
Travelling by train emphasised the change in landscape and buildings. Farmhouses are tiny and ramshackled in Romanian but huge and well maintained in Austria and Germany.
People
As well as meeting the natives of each country that I visited I was surprised to meet people from so many other countries. I had conversations with Qataris, Russians, Albanians, Norwegians, New Zealanders, Moldovans, Canadians, Taiwanese and probably more. Talking to Austrians in German with their local accents was a joy, including a woman in her 90s from Vienna,
Cycling
Cycling was awful in Bucharest, but faster than cars. Driving in Bucharest also looks awful. Paris cycle way provision is good in Paris, but blocked by vehicles on the Sunday. Vienna was busy, Augsburg pleasant. I heard a tram hitting a car in Vienna and saw the massive crumpled side of the car, the tram just drove off. The closest I came to an accident was Inverness, where a car was being driven at 60 mph in a 30 zone, as I was turning right. The bike gave a good way to cross cities between stations and to get to hotels. It was also a great luggage trolley.
Yesterday there had been issues with the far north line, with rail replacement buses provided, but today the train seems to be running.
Due to the early start Premier Inn provided a pack breakfast.
The train arrives almost on time.
Travel in February means it’s a bit cold. And it gets dark quickly, so not good for photos out of the window.
A rain free trip, a few deer sightings, but most of it without a view due to lack of light. Very friendly staff.
Then a cycle to the Great Nepalese Restaurant near Euston station.
Unfortunately the Far North train does not connect well with the Sleeper. I have a two hour wait in Inverness. Not much open at this time so in a moment of inspiration it’s off for a breakfast at Premier Inn. Must get sponsorship.
The Premier Inn is slightly disorganised. The card reader is not working so I get a free breakfast. Due to a low number of staff it takes an age for it to be served. Can’t complain because I am not paying for it.
There’s proper snowy scenery
Then back to the coast.
Then up the Helmsdale Strath.
The standard cabin has no ensuite, you don’t get breakfast and cannot use the sleeper lounge.
Google maps appeared to put me on the wrong train so I potentially could have ended up in Taunton rather than Didcot. Ticket man pointed out the error and I was able to change at Reading.
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.
Insight 