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.
Two weeks (almost) around the UK by train
Tag: Travel
Frosty Elgin-Inverness-Far north
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.
Edinburgh-Aberdeen-Elgin
A cold morning in Edinburgh, cold in Aberdeen and even colder in Elgin.
Far North to Didcot via Inverness, Aberdeen and London
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.
Kings Cross to the Far North
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.
Didcot to Paddington plus ULEZ
Caught a long delayed train instead of the one that I was meant to catch so I thought I’d get to London early. But further delays due to signal issues resulted in long delays on the way into London. But got there in the end. The train was 47 mins late according to the announcements. I was only 20 mins late.
Anecdotally the ULEZ is a success. London smells better. The traffic moves more freely. Pollution has reduced in London and I wonder if the pollution outside London has reduced. Pollution rises into the atmosphere in London and then comes down in Oxfordshire. Has anyone measured this?
In last weeks election the Conservative Party made much of the ULEZ. Unfortunately the primacy of the car still exists for a lot of people and is considered a vote winner. To me health and the environment trumps-why do we still think that poisoning people is acceptable?
Poole to Didcot
Day commute Poole to Wareham
After a dry cycle ride to the station the drizzle started
Dry ride around and about Wareham in the sun.
Cholsey-Poole
It’s a sunny warm day for the cycle to Cholsey station. Two changes at Reading and then Basingstoke.
The train from Basingstoke had ten carriages but only the front five going onto Poole. I made sure I got on the right half of the train.
Lots of interesting things to see on this trip including a view of St Mary’s Stadium, a view of Southampton Port, the New Forrest and various Dorset coastal towns.
Paddington – Didcot Friday afternoon
All demonstrating some of the worst of British train travel.
Firstly not allowed on a train as I had the wrong ticket and then a change of heart and I was allowed on.
Then could not get on the train as it was totally rammed. But the train did not leave when it was meant to.
Suddenly people started streaming off the train. There was no guard, so the train could not depart.
Tried my luck, got on the train which now had some space. Eventually the train started moving, so got to Didcot in the end. No pictures as train too full.
