A short leg to London from Didcot, via the underground.
Didcot-Kings Cross
Tag: Didcot
Surrey and beyond
The cycle lanes marked out in Guildford are beyond useless. No segregation, suggesting a totally inappropriate position for the cyclists to take on the road. I would cycle at least at the line. I actually cycled in the mostly in the middle of the lane to take the decision away from the drivers, so they did not attempt to overtake at the frequent traffic islands. Of course I was hooted at, but ironically I was going faster than the motorised vehicles. Guildford suffers from pollution,
There are plenty of stations in the commuter belt.
Someone had pulled a communication alarm on a train causing all the trains to be delayed.
Two days later headed back to Oxfordshire. Dodged the rail replacement buses by travelling from Farnborough.
North to the south
Changed from the far north line to the sleeper at Inverness.
Not sure this breakfast looks appetising. It tasted ok. A few issues on the train. The lock on the cabin was not fully functioning, no pull out table in cabin, coffee machine in buffet car not working. There are some maintenance issues it appears.
Arrival in Euston is 20 minutes late due to work in the line. I had been forewarned by text.
Then headed back east
I witnessed an old couple falling over on the escalator just after getting on. while they were heading up. I was heading down. A woman at the top shouted for someone to hit the emergency stop. A hapless woman holding a dog appeared transfixed and unable to hit the button. After what appeared to be an age someone finally hit the button. Chaos. No staff about.
Thurso to Bucharest and back- the summary
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.
Didcot to St Pancras
A day book ended by two Premier Inns
The cycle route was mainly on protected cycle lanes. Some are very new. This makes the ride far more pleasant. But stop start.
Inverness to Didcot
The journey was in bright sunshine and blue skies.
Didcot to the far north. Snow!
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.
Den Haag to Didcot
Breda station is poorly signposted plus two platforms are missing. Very confusing for a visitor.
I had a little time to look around Brussels
In the cellar of the Judgy Vegan.
Kerfuffle at the border control. I was asked if I have a flick knife. Turns out to be a multi tool in the bag.
Due to congestion at the Eurostar terminal we leave late. Eurostar, you have something to work on. The whole process of passing through border control is hectic and disorganised with lots of pinch points.
It’s turned to dusk as the Eurostar sets off. It’s dark by the time the Eurostar has a pause waiting for permission to enter the channel tunnel.
Then it’s down into the tunnel and onto England.
I unfolded the Brompton to make it easier to move with the luggage. A mistake as it turned out. I was directed to the lift which is tiny and therefore has a long queue of people with large amounts of luggage, push chairs and one bike. I am second to last in the queue. Poor design!
I am the last to leave.
When previously passing through Oxfordshire on the train I had spotted that the train line would be closed between Paddington and Reading due to HS2 workday, but it was possible to get to Reading using the Elizabeth Line. So I cycled to Tottenham Court Road to catch the Elizabeth Line. I discover that the Elizabeth Line in the central area of London is not running. I am directed to take the District Line to Ealing Broadway to catch the Elizabeth Line. It is chaos at the tube station.
The District Line has small, noisy and very warm carriages. It is an old line. The tube train is crowded.
The Elizabeth Line has modern rolling stock. Nice and quiet but nowhere to put rubbish.
The journey from St Pancras took far longer than normal so by the time I reach the Premier Inn at Didcot the kitchen is closed. So an emergency Macdonald’s it is.
The room has seen better days. One light out and sink plug jammed. Welcome back to the UK.
Didcot to Surrey
That was an uneventful trip with the trains working well.
November travels- far north to the south
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.
Insight 