Introduction

I'll be setting off soon on a seven day All Line Rover on the UK's railways, and I hope to chronicle my travels as I go, thanks to free wi-fi plus my recent acquisition of a 3G Data Dongle.

My vague list of objectives includes

• A visit to John O'Groats because although I've done the railway to Wick and Thurso, I've never actually been to the touristy location at the "End of the Country".  And I visited Land's End a few years ago.
• A visit to the railways of West Wales, because I haven't been there since the early 80s.
• An attempt to sample some of the few remaining loco-hauled services available around the country, including 90s in East Anglia and 67s on Chiltern Railways and in Wales.
• Possibly a tiny piece of required national network track.
• Just maybe a good few miles of required narrow gauge track.

Let's see how many of these I achieve!

Let me warn you that this will not be a touristy exploration of the country, nor an evocative description of out of the way places in the style of the fascinating Round The North We Go.

No, in order to get my money's worth out of the expensive rover ticket I will be spending most of each day on the trains, and any time off railway property will be confined to a brief search for sustenance and/or accommodation.

Except for John O'Groats of course.