Setting off early Sunday morning means the trains are a bit spass. No trains from Farnham early enough so I am dropped off to get the first train of the day from Woking.
Early in Woking.
Lots of runners get on the train on the way to a half marathon.
The Brompton is essential for me to make it to St Pancras on time. The Interrail App does not even provide a connecting route from Woking to the Eurostar train that I am catching. It turns out that this is due to a number of underground trains not running due to maintenance work.
Waterloo
A quiet cycle ride gets me to St Pancras well in time.
Waiting area for Eurostar.
The Eurostar leaves 14 minutes late due to a technical issue with the train. We get underway.
Sunny in France
We are still ten minutes behind schedule when we arrive in Brussels but somehow I make a very tight change on to the train to Frankfurt Am Main. I did not expect to make this connection so I am two hours ahead of schedule.
Passing through Brussels Crossing the Rhine at KölnCrossing the Main at Frankfurt Changed trains at Frankfurt Glimpses of towns on route Arrived at a sunny Fulda
I conveniently have chosen a hotel 200m from the station.
There are plenty of pretty buildings in Fulda.
Stadtpfarrkirche St BlasiusStadtschlossh FuldaDom zu Fulda
The journey begins in bright sunshine.River ThursoTurbinesThe Flow Country
The Flow Country is an area of blanket peat bog. I saw a lot of deer.
The sun is low but bright.The Caledonian Sleeper at Inverness.
Got up for breakfast near Birmingham International.
Arrived ten minutes early in Euston.
The cycle across London was slowed up by the traffic, first time in a while. Does this mean that more less polluting cars are coming in to London ?
It demonstrates that cars slow up the traffic, including the other cars, delivery vehicles, emergency vehicles, buses and cycles.
The speed profile shows the waiting for traffic lights and the slower speeds are when the traffic got in the way.
The bus lanes enable buses and cyclists to avoid most of the traffic, but there are some points with no bus lane. Cycling is the fastest way to get from Euston to Paddington.
What can you see from the train when travelling in and out of London?
The Thames at Maidenhead The Thames at Blackfriars station Looking towards the centre from NunheadNear Lewisham Near Waltham St Lawrence
Turns out there are a lot of good views from the train, and when the sun shines the countryside and London can look amazing. It beats being stuck in traffic.
Another trip south by train, this time with bike. Arrived at the station to meet the train to Inverness. It was windy.
And sunny.
Very sunny.Big blue sky with turbines in the distance.Loch FleetRiver OykelSnow on the hills Coming into Inverness
Getting on to the sleeper.
Breakfast Solar panels next to the railway line.
The sleeper was not taking its normal route meaning it arrived 40minutes later than normal. Much of the extra time was spent manoeuvring through London.
Wembley stadium in the distance.
A ride through London taking 19 minutes to get from Euston to Paddington, five minutes of which was spent stationary at traffic lights.
Green Oxfordshire.Didcot.
Oh dear, the English and Union Jack Flags being inappropriately displayed in Didcot. Very disrespectful! What can be more disrespectful than cheap Chinese made flags looking scrawny and scruffy.
From bright sunshine and blue skies in the far north to cloud in the south.
Negatives: getting food poisoning and train delays. Germany really struggles to get trains to go on time. Eurostar also had its issues. I did have a 77 minute delay on the sleeper to Stockholm, but that worked in my favour. The sleeper Stockholm was also too hot and the curtains were poor allowing flashes of bright light into the cabin while travelling.
Questionable things: seeing people smoke on train platforms in Germany was strange, and also a bit objectionable. The speed that cars drive at in Hamburg is ridiculously high and not suited to the roads. Also objectionable.
Positives: the trains in Finland, Sweden and Denmark were great, excluding the sleeper. In time. The rolling stock was high quality throughout including Germany. Met some great people. The cycle facilities in Copenhagen and seeing so many cyclists was incredible. We should be doing this in the UK.
Exceeding expectations: The ferries between Stockholm and Helsinki were amazing, good prices, amazing views, great facilities. Finland in winter, incredible, stunning snowy landscapes.
Tips:
Don’t plan to catch the last train of the day.
Don’t make connections too tight.
Travel in your sports gear, make it multi purpose. (Sensibly)
Travel as light as possible.
Plan for the weather.
Don’t arrive late and leave early, it’s exhausting.
Staying for more than one night is more pleasant .
Rucksacks are better than wheelie luggage.
Make use of the late checkouts in hotels.
Carry just in case food and drink.
Make use of sleeper services.
Double check reservations.
Download apps for local public transport. They can be used to get the correct tickets and give directions.
Double check routes given by apps, sometimes they are sending you to the wrong place.
If in doubt, ask a local.
Chat to people on the trains.
Use tracking apps so friends and family can follow your progress. It’s fun and good for safety.
Give someone your itinerary- routes, hotels etc.
Look at and enjoy the landscape, as you travel through.
I was fit to travel the next day. Decided to reduce the odds of missing connections by catching an early train than planned.
I was traveling to Cologne, we were told there had been a problem with the staff arriving from a previous train. The train departed 40 minutes late. Following the announcements was interesting, as one train to München leapfrogged the other. They were going different routes.
Back to the next delayed train, again 40 minutes and a platform change. Now heading towards Brussels.
Interesting clouds near Liège.Heading into Brussels.
The lateness of the train meant that the comfortable cushion to get through border control was disappearing.
I discovered another issue. Somehow the Interrail app had booked the wrong date for the Eurostar, and I had not spotted this, so no seat on the train. Thankfully the very helpful Eurostar employee got me on with a ticket, which strangely had no meal guarantee written on it. I was not sure what this meant.
Then another delay, by possibly an hour, dueto problems in the Netherlands. This would make my next connection in London very tight.
We left 44 minutes late.
I pointed out my non guarantee of meal when I received this meal.
Not very large portion but ideal as my appetite was not back.
It was now dark so no pictures.
The reduction in delay from an hour to 45 minutes meant I made the Caledonian Sleeper well on time. A quick walk from St Pancras to Euston.
And next morning in the Highlands…
Approaching Inverness.Inverness Station
Then heading further north.
River CononCromarty Bridge in the distance Looking north from the train.
It’s an early start to catch the 0816 Eurostar to Brussels. The ticket tells me to turn up at 0701.
It’s still dark at St Pancras
Not off to a good start, there is a 24 minute delay. But this should not be a problem as there is plenty of time for the connection at Brussels,
Boarding at St Pancras
We travel through Kent.
Near AshfordNear Stanford- curious shaped hill.
Difficult to get decent photos from the train in Kent.
In France, near Lille
Struggled getting decent photos in France too.
Near Halle-Belgium Coming into Brussels Arrived at Brussels Midi only 12 minutes late.
I checked the notice board for the train to Cologne. Spotted that there was an issue, it looked like the train was delayed and was leaving from a different station, Brussels-Nord. I confirmed this, and was told what train to catch.
Bonus train at Brussels-MidiTravelling two stops in Brussels Waiting for the train to CologneLeaving Brussels-North- late uInteresting bridge at Liège.Liège station is an interesting building Leaving LiègeAachenArrived in Köln a bit lateThe cathedral
The next leg is to Hamburg. This train is also delayed, by maintenance work on the track.
Crossing the RhineThe train is traveling a long distance.Düsseldorf-its raining Essen Dortmund Dortmund-Ems canal near MünsterComing into Hamburg about ten minutes late.Hamburg StationHotel View from room
A February far flung journey, starting in the north,
To the platform Train arriving and it’s getting dark.Windows are a big dirty Thurso river near Halkirk
The downside to travelling this time of year is that it is dark for most of the journey, so not many views.
Disembarked at a dark Inverness The waiting Caledonian Sleeper service
I had a really good nights sleep, waking up for breakfast in the buffet car.
Birmingham Airport
Caledonian sleeper have added a new stop at Birmingham International. This looks potentially very useful. I saw the airport just after sitting down for breakfast.
Breakfast Euston
No bike with me this time. I had an appointment in London within walking distance. The time to get there was pretty similar either by foot or public transport, so off I walked.
Then it was off to Marylebone Station, for my first ever visit. Also by foot.
All Souls Church The BBC
Also first time I had seen the BBC buildings.
Marylebone Station
Things went a bit awry at this point. A goods train had broken down so the route was blocked.
The notice board with the delays.
Take a picture or filming shows how much the boards must flicker.
The intention is to get to Oxford to change trains. Eventually a train is provided with loads of carriages to enable taking all the passengers from the cancelled trains. The route to avoid the blockage involved travelling to Princess Risborough, the train then reversed heading to Bicester Village, where again it reversed, eventually arriving in Oxford.
Oxford Station
At Oxford some of the tracks are sectioned off. There are no trains to Didcot, only rail replacement buses. This is why I went via Marylebone rather than Paddington.
The train arrives
Smooth onward journey to Moreton-in-Marsh.
There is a lot of surface water.
After my appointment in Moreton-in-Marsh it’s back to Oxford in the dark.
Moreton-in-Marsh stationLots of work going near Oxford station
The Thames at Osney Bridge is fast flowing.Finally arrived at the Premier Inn
The problem with catching the late afternoon train in autumn is that it’s dark. No views.
Onto the sleeper at Inverness.The breakfast has improved.WembleyArrival at Euston A quick ride
The ride from Euston to Paddington was less affected by the traffic lights than normal. As a result I managed to catch an earlier train to Reading.
Then on to Mortimer.
Geese on Wokefield EstateMortimer Station – it’s short
Reading Station
What a smooth journey, all the trains on time. No overcrowding. I had slept very well on the sleeper. A good journey.
And then……
On to the train at Reading to Manchester Piccadilly. It was rammed. Totally overcrowded.
Things started going really wrong and confusing as we went to Oxford. Announced that we would have to change trains. Then announced we would not have to change trains but we needed to go past Oxford into a siding and then come back. A long wait in the siding then back to the station. Then it was announced we would have to change trains after all.
There was a signal failure near Banbury.
We crossed Oxford Station and caught a train towards Hereford, changed at Worcester, heading to Birmingham. This was bad as now I was due to be in Manchester two hours late.
Worcestershire Parkway
Birmingham
Change at Birmingham New Street. This is a very badly designed station. The signage is poor. Very confusing, The ugly side of architecture.
More delay due to trespassers on the track. The train had to go slow as a precaution.
Late!Manchester Piccadilly two and a half hours latePremier Inn Room View from the eighth floor.
The Premier Inn is a quarter mile from the station.
