Monday: Furthest North

A grey sky with patches of blue saw me up bright and early, and at the station in plenty of time for the Wick train.

I wasn't expecting first class on this service but there was a section at the front of the Class 158.  I had also worried about getting a seat amongst all the tourists, but the train was deserted.   The clouds broke and we departed in bright sunshine, and the weather oscillated between this and heavy rain all the way.

We paused at the new Conan Bridge station which I was surprised to see is only long enough for one door of the train.

At Invergordon was this oil rig.  I assume it's under construction, unless they've struck oil here!

The journey continued through increasingly barren countryside, I saw lots of birds of prey and a few deer, but mainly sheep.  Last time I came here the train split at Georgemas Junction and a different loco hauled the Thurso portion, but nowadays the unit just nips to Thurso and back to Georgemas before finally running to Wick, which we (Maybe half a dozen passengers.) reached in gentle rain.

As I shivered in the wind and rain outside the station waiting for the bus I began to wonder if this part of the trip was a good idea or not, but by the time the bus had run through Wick and called at the Tesco on the edge of town, we were in bright sunshine once again.

It was dull and threatening rain when we arrived at the John O'Groats tourist trap, and a heavy shower almost immediately forced me into the tea room, but the weather soon passed and I had time to wander round in the cold wind and take a few photos.

There were various bus options open to me but having soon reached the "been there done that" state, I caught the first one back to Wick.  This allowed me a brief stroll through the town in what was now steady sunshine.  There was a major funeral of some sort, lots of people in dark suits or kilts heading to the ceremony.



I, on the other hand, headed for the most northerly Wetherspoon's to sample some local quisine (Scotch pie, chips and beans), some non-local real ale, and a chance to bring the blog up to date again.

Soon, it was time to stroll back to the station in the sunshine for the train back to Inverness.

The station was just as I remembered it from last time, a very long platform with a short covered section at the end.  In eighties this was reserved for the loco and a parcels van, and the mere passengers had to alight in the rain, I seem to recall. 

The incoming train arrived about fifteen minutes late, carrying five or six passengers, and was then ready to take me back to Inverness, once more sitting in the declassified first class.

After more sunshine and more downpours we reached Inverness a few minutes late, requiring the Glasgow passengers to hurry round to their waiting onward connection.

Journey	Dep. Sch.	Act.	Arr. Sch.	Act.	Train	Distance
Inverness - Wick (via Thurso)	07.06	07.06	11.32	11.32	158710	174m33ch
Wick - John O'Groats	(Bus)
John O'Groats - Wick	(Bus)
Wick - Inverness (via Thurso)	16.00	16.00	20.10	20.14	158705	174m33ch
Total						348m66ch

Sunday: East Coast To Scotland, Pint by Pint

Yet another bright morning, with quite a significant frost in Cambridge.  A leisurely day's travel was planned, but with a hefty mileage.  My first unexpected sighting of the day was 33207 parked in the neck at King's Cross.

The terminus looked very impressive with the sun shining through the newly clean roof.

Another of the open access operators, Hull Trains, had one of their Adelantes present.










I boarded an East Coast HST to start my journey northwards.  A slight snag with the seat, I chose an unreserved one and then someone turned up with a reservation.  Usually this can be resolved by pointing out they're in the wrong carriage/on the wrong train/on the wrong date but not this time.  Fortunately there were vast numbers of reserved but unoccupied seats so she kindly sat elsewhere.

The HST soon whizzed me to York.  I could have stayed on to Edinburgh or even Aberdeen, but it was time for a proper drink - East Coast's free tea only goes so far.  Due to a quick start and a prompt taxi in Cambridge I was currently one hour ahead of plan, so at York I jumped off and headed to Coopers for a swift pint of Bombardier.  Bloody hell!  Four pounds twenty-five!!!

Time for some loco haulage of sorts, I caught a 91-hauled train to Newcastle.

The train terminated at Newcastle, here's a picture, and there was just time for a swift pint (Do you see a theme developing?) in the wonderful Centurion Bar on the station, I had Tetley's Gold this time.  There were lots of photographers about so I guessed a special was due, but I caught the next Edinburgh train, another 91 hauled set.

Soon, just as I glanced down at my sandwiches, a train passed and I looked up to see maroon coaches passing, so I'd just missed the steam special which I gather from the web was hauled by 60009 Union of South Africa.  But wait a minute, as we passed through Morpeth the photographers were still holding up their cameras, and sure enough, we soon crossed a short train with 45407 and 44871, one on each end, on their way to Grosmont.  (Says uk.railway - I didn't have time to read the numbers)

This was the latest train of the week so far, but it had caught up some of the lost time by Edinburgh, so there was just time for a swift etc. etc. so I had that famous Scottish brew: Old Speckled Hen in the station bar.  Annoyingly, a year after I was last here, Waverley is still a building site.

The final leg of today's journey was a bit of a come-down, and I had to slum it in a 170.  Still, the first class was OK and I managed to bag one of the only two forward facing window seats. 
Plenty to look at on this stage, starting with progress on the long-delayed Edinburgh trams, and there's still a lot to do before they open.  We whizzed across the Forth Bridge, the weather by now being intermittent sunshine and heavy showers, and then up to Perth and on to the Highland Main Line.  The rugged scenery was made more atmospheric by the intermittent overcast and rain.  In the clearer moments I could see snow on the higher mountains.

Eventually we descended into Inverness (A steep enough drop to make my ears pop.) and the end of my day's travel.  Needless to say, after snapping a couple of photos of the city, there was just time for a swift pint in Wetherspoon's as I updated this blog.

Journey	Dep. Sch.	Act.	Arr. Sch.	Act.	Train	Distance
Cambridge - King's Cross	08.28	08.28	09.28	09.29	365525+365xxx	57m38ch
King's Cross - York	10.00	10.00	11.49	11.50	43318+43306	188m40ch
York - Newcastle	12.22	12.24	13.22	13.24	91125	80m16ch
Newcastle - Edinburgh	13.43	13.54	15.09	15.16	91113	124m37ch
Edinburgh - Inverness (via Ladybank)	15.50	15.50	19.05	19.08	170450	174m68ch
Total						625m39ch

Saturday: Grand Central and Greater Anglia

Another bright sunny morning, and I started with a 156 from Huyton to Manchester Victoria.  Lots of electrification progress to spot along the line, with quite a few miles of catenary complete after Newton-le-Willows.  (For more details, see my Northwest Sparks web site.)

At Victoria I applied the 'catch the first train' rule properly and hopped on a Bradford-bound 158, 27 minutes ahead of my planned departure.

The fine weather didn't last too long, and it was raining as we passed under the new Metrolink bridge at Rochdale.

This route across the Pennines is quite scenic in its own way and also features the pretty station at Hebden Bridge, where I noticed some ceramics on the booking office walls.  At Dryclough Junction I spotted the empty stock of my next train, waiting to follow us into Bradford - Good news as the service was cancelled yesterday.

Why go to Bradford?  I wanted to try out the Grand Central service to London.  And I was pleased to see it would be another chance to sample a Class 180 Adelante.  Previously my only ride on these units was a stopping train from Preston to Manchester, which is hardly what they were designed for.  I was surprised to see half the seats in first were reserved, but I was the sole passenger in the carriage when we left Bradford.  By the way, one minor negative customer service point - The stock was ready, the refreshments had been loaded and the reservations put on seats, but passengers were kept waiting on the draughty platform while the crew chatted in the warm.  Once we got on, service in first class was friendly and frequent.

As it turned out, only about half of the first class reservations turned up, and I was the only passenger in the unreserved half of the coach throughout the run.

My goodness, they don't half use a roundabout route!  I know Yorkshire is quite large, but it shouldn't take two hours to get out of the counties!  I'm sure I spent plenty of money and effort back in the 1980s to do all these back routes.

The Adelante had a very bad wobble on pointwork and track defects, even at low speeds, but performed well on smoother track, even at 125mph.  The engine under my feet was not obtrusive, and produced impressive acceleration when necessary.

Plenty to look at on the journey as well, I was surprised to see two pairs of choppers in the yard north of Peterborough, one pair in Harry Needle livery, and also the worlds most overpowered train, three class 66s pulling one container flat!  The extra platform at Peterborough is progressing, we slowed right down on the up fast so I could take a look!

The flyover at Hitchen has masts but no wires yet, and further south, the extra platforms at Alexandra Palace (When I was young, it was called Wood Green.) and Finsbury Park are under construction. The FP platforms are on the site of the half-completed Northern Line platforms, I think - Perhaps they'll get them finished this time.

Once we reached King's Cross (It'll be nice when it's finished!) I jumped on the oldest underground railway in the world for a short ride to Liverpool Street.  I like the Metropolitan Railway diamond signs at Moorgate.

Just time for a very quick one in the spectacular Wetherspoon's before the next step on the journey, with loco haulage (Technically "propelled".) on the Greater Anglia line to Norwich, with 90012 doing the honours.

I spotted a C2C train for Fenchurch Street at Stratford - Engineering works or Saturday shopping service?  [Update: I am advised via uk.railway that the wires were down at West Ham, causing diversions.  Thanks, Peter.]

The final leg of today's trip was in a class 170 to Cambridge.  The first class pass came into its own here, as the train was quite crowded, except for the tiny first class compartment at the rear, where I settled into a comfortable corner seat.  A four minute late departure was pretty good, considering the incoming service wasn't even in sight when we were supposed to be leaving, and we were delayed a further few minutes by a faulty level crossing near Lakenheath.

Journey	Dep. Sch.	Act.	Arr. Sch.	Act.	Train	Distance
Huyton - Manchester Victoria	07.31	07.33	08.19	08.19	156459	25m75ch
Manchester Victoria - Bradford	08.22	08.23	09.31	09.29	158	40m13ch
Bradford - King's Cross (via most of West Yorkshire)	10.22	10.22	13.43	13.46	180107	208m16ch
King's Cross - Liverpool Street					5564
Liverpool Street - Norwich	14.30	14.30	16.27	16.27	90012	115m20ch
Norwich - Cambridge	16.38	16.42	17.59	18.02	170204	68m37ch
Total						458m01ch

Friday: West Wales, and Central Wales

A bright but chilly Friday morning saw me at Pembroke Dock station in time for the 07.09, a class 158 to take me to Carmarthen.  I haven't been to West Wales since the early 80s so I decided to do all three of the branches here.  From Carmarthen a 150 took me to Fishguard Harbour, the train split at Whitland with a single car 153 going back to Pembroke.  Unlike the pretty rural scenery of the rest of this region, the harbour here is modern and industrial - and at the time of my brief visit, totally devoid of cars, lorries, and train passengers.

The sunshine and cold wind continued as I changed trains at possibly the most out of the way station I will use on this ticket, Clarbeston Road.  This is a request stop so I had to ask the guard to let me off here, and signal the driver of the next train to pick me up.  Scenic delights included kites wheeling over the fields, and a wooded valley on the approach to Milford Haven with a swan nesting on the river below.

After Milford Haven I headed east, to Swansea.  Here there was a change of plan.  The provisional schedule had me heading for Cardiff from where I could catch the loco-hauled WAG Express to Chester on my way home.  However, in view of the wonderful weather I decided more scenery was called for, so instead I boarded a single car 153 for a long ride up the Central Wales Line to Shrewsbury.  Stunning scenery kept me entertained throughout this four hour journey, although the downside of this choice was that I missed out on the luxury of first class travel via Cardiff.

Following my long ride, a change at Shrewsbury saw me on a busy 175 headed for Holyhead, but I only stayed on until Chester.

At Chester I broke one of the prime directives of bashing:  Always catch the first train.  There was a late running 158 which was 100% loaded which I could have caught to Earlestown.  I rejected this and instead took the lightly loaded 175 which was my planned train.

I got away with it, and as we approached Warrington I could see the stock for the Liverpool service waiting on the line up from Walton Old Junction.  For some reason the journey planner recommends the long walk at Earlestown instead of the same platform connection at Bank Quay for this journey.  Mind you, I've been sat on the Liverpool train before now and we pulled out just as the arrival from Chester pulled in, and then we waited for it at Winwick, so maybe the Earlestown connection is wiser.

Journey	Dep. Sch.	Act.	Arr. Sch.	Act.	Train	Distance
Pembroke Dock - Carmarthen	07.09	07.09	08.25	08.23	158838	41m38ch
Carmarthen - Fishguard Harbour	08.46	08.46	09.47	09.44	153303 150235	41m18ch
Fishguard Harbour - Clarbeston Road	09.54	09.54	10.15	10.18	150235	15m15ch
Clarbeston Road - Milford Haven	10.28	10.27	10.57	10.54	175115	13m74ch
Milford Haven - Swansea	11.08	11.08	12.47	12.49	175115	71m45ch
Swansea - Shrewsbury	13.14	13.14	17.10	17.07	153367	121m60ch
Shrewsbury - Chester	17.24	17.26	18.20	18.20	175010	41m41ch
Chester - Warrington Bank Quay	18.49	18.52	19.18	19.18	175112	18m01ch
Warrington Bank Quay - Huyton	19.22	19.25	19.53	19.53	142032	13m75ch
Total						378m47ch

Thursday: Go West!

Off we go!  A lightly loaded 156 took me from Huyton to Wigan.  I was interested to note mast bases for the forthcoming electrification have appeared along part of the route.

Ah, now this is more like it.  Although I often grumble about Pendolinos (I don't really fit into a standard class seat, especially one of those ones with no window.) I have to say first class with a fried breakfast and free wi-fi is a fine way to travel.  About 50% loaded in first, I would guess, and once the Warrington reservation was a no-show I moved into a forward facing widow seat to enjoy the ride.  My apologies to the gentleman who sat in the rear facing window seat at Warrington, and then swapped to the aisle a couple of minutes later when I swapped to the window.

Next, a quick hop via the Victoria (rammed) and Bakerloo (lightly loaded) lines, to Paddington.  West of England services are in a mess due to engineering works beyond Castle Cary, which allowed me to catch a very lightly loaded HST on a Paddington to Castle Cary service to take me to Westbury.  The first class at seat service was suspended on this truncated service (Can't say I blame them, there were only three people in my carriage.) so I had to go and collect my coffee and cake from the buffet.  After the chaos of Reading (When it's all settled I'll have to go and do the "new" underpass.) we trundled on in glorious sunshine calling at minor stations such as Bedwyn - Exit from coaches A, B, C and D only.

Why Westbury?  Well, according to a trawl through my records, I've never actually travelled the last half mile of this journey, from Westbury East Loop Jn to Westbury North Jn.  This is probably just an omission in my notes, but I'm doing it today just to be sure.

Here's my train from Paddington leaving Westbury after I alighted. I just managed to march to the front in time to get the number of the lead power car before it headed off.

Just time for a swift pint of Wadworth 6X in the Railway Inn...

... before returning to the station to find the "New Measurement Train", a short High Speed Train set full of test equipment and engineers.

And the next leg of the journey was in a hot and crowded 158 to Newport via Bristol. Leaving Westbury 5 minutes late left me with a bit of a worry as I had a five minute connection ahead, but fortunately a prompt reversal at Bristol meant we were 1 early into Newport.

Now, a last bit of HST luxury as I head to Swansea.  This time, the trolley came round with my freebies as we trundled westwards under what was now a fairly heavy overcast, the sunshine having run out back at Westbury.

I must say, I'm beginning to understand why first class fares are so high.  Once again, I'm in a carriage with about three other people - Someone has to pay the cost of hauling all this fresh air up and down the line.

It was raining when I got to Swansea, (Does this increase or decrease the chances of me catching measles?) so straight on to a 150 for the last leg of today's journey.  Luxury no more, as we rattled up the hill out of Swansea, and on through the splendidly rugged coastal scenery.  Things get more and more rural the further west one goes, and by the time we'd reversed at Carmarthen and turned left at Whitland we were on a single line railway where the train has to stop to check the level crossings are clear before crossing the road.

The end of the line is Pembroke Dock, a little one-platform station who's main attraction is the Good Beer Guide listed Station Inn, where I enjoyed a pint and an excellent liver and bacon dinner.

	Dep. Sch.	Act.	Arr. Sch.	Act.	Train	Distance
Huyton - Wigan North Western	07.06	07.07	07.30	07.28	156466	14m1ch
Wigan North Western - Euston	08.09	08.10	10.12	10.13	390118	193m71ch
Euston - Oxford Circus					13011
Oxford Circus - Paddington					3445
Paddington - Westbury	11.06	11.06	12.31	12.31	43040 43170	95m43ch
Westbury - Newport (via Bristol Temple Meads)	13.10	13.15	14.26	14.25	158955	54m48ch
Newport - Swansea	14.31	14.33	15.43	15.40	43151 43144	57m43ch
Swansea - Pembroke Dock	16.00	16.00	18.19	18.10	150252	73m06ch
Total						487m41ch

Ticket

There's no going back now, I've bought the ticket!  I must say this was something of an anti-climax.  The most expensive train ticket I've ever bought, you'd think it'd be a golden pass or something, not just a boring old standard issue card.  Not even a free plastic wallet!

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.