Well, sort of. Today’s not a vintage one for Calder Valley timekeeping and all Westbound services from Sowerby Bridge are late. The frustrating thing is that there are no announcements and the information screens are next to useless as delayed trains simply drop off them! Here’s an example. There IS an 11.33

bu there’s no information on the 11.33 at all. As far as the system’s concerned it’s ceased to exist. Passengers have to use their mobile phone to try and find out what’s happening. The NRES (National Rail Enquiries) website showed that it’s running 30m late. Sure enough, an ex-Merseyrail Pacer hove into view at 12.03, allowing me to begin my delayed journey. It’s a busy service with the rear car rammed with prams and kids, so I’ve sought refuge in the front car.

Fortunately, I’ve given myself plenty of time to get to Crewe. Plus, the delay did have a silver lining as I managed to grab a nice shot of one of the local freight services which I’d have missed otherwise.

I’m now bouncing my way across the Pennines, I’ll add an update soon…

13:19.

After a pleasant stroll across a very busy Manchester city centre I’m esconsed on a very different train to a Pacer as I’m aboard Arriva Trains Wales 13:30 from Manchester Piccadilly to Tenby, on the Pembrokeshire coast. It’s worked by an Alstom ‘Coradia’ class 175, a design many feel has one of the most comfortable passenger saloons of the post-privatisation era.

The trains have a mixture of airline seating and bays of 4 (some with tables, some not). I’ve plumped for a table so I can use the laptop. Sadly 175112 isn’t fitted with power sockets but it does have free wifi throughout. There’s also a trolley service selling food and drink which is useful on such a long trip as this.

Not that it affects me. I’m only on here till Crewe!

17:13.

Well, that was an interesting day. The HSIRL report went well. There’s a lot of local interest in what Hs2 phase 2a means to the area. During our tour of the station we were given an insight into the ambititous plans there are for making Crewe a far more attractive and modern ‘gateway’ whilst restoring the listed parts of the station. I’ll blog about the report separately.

Right now I’m heading back to Manchester aboard one of Virgin’s Pendolinos. The sunny weather we had earlier has fled, letting rain take its place.

19:34.

My brief stint in Manchester’s come to an end. The weather lived up to the city’s reputation, although I didn’t mind. Taking pictures in the rain can be really creative. The only problem was that – now the days are getting longer – I didn’t have time to hang around till it got dark.

As I walked between Piccadilly amd Victoria I couldn’t help but notice the number of teenage girls who were (how shall I say) not exactly dressed for the weather! It was only when I got to Victoria and saw them swarming around the entrance to the Arena that I twigged it’s because someone I’ve never heard of is gigging tonight.

The station was protected by a phalanx of British Transport Police, which was rather unfortunate for one dishevelled bloke on a bike who was clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. The moral of the story? Don’t try and kick-off with half a dozen BTP officers as there will only be one winner…

My final steed of the day was one of Northern’s refurbished Class 158s. They’re not bad units and the refurb has improved them by adding PIS screens, but they are a bit of a dead end now. It would be lovely to have power sockets and wifi but I doubt the engines would stand the extra load.

Roll on our new trains!

20:13.

It seems the weather’s indifferent to the colour of your rose. Red or white makes no difference. What a change to this morning…

We’re off to the South for a few days today. Friends are cat and house-sitting, leaving us free to enjoy Easter with Dawn’s family down in Tilford, Surrey. I expect to be able to do some mobile/rolling blogging, even though we’ll be in the car rather than relaxing on a train.

We both gave up eating meat for Lent, so today we’re heading to the Bolster Moor farm shop to pick up some goodies first – including some of their award-winning pork pies. I told Dawn’s brother (an exile from Yorkshire) that I’d bring him a a red-cross parcel of pork-pies and local bottled beers!

Right, time to get a move on…

10.32am

The weather’s been kind, so we had a lovely cross-country drive to the Colne valley and the farm shop where we stocked up on local produce for export to Surrey. Luckily, we hit them at a quiet time.

Whilst Dawn shopped for meat, I picked up the essentials…

Then we broke our Lent fast with one of these!

Bolster Moor pork pies are excellent. Freshly made each day, their crusts are crisp but crumbly and the dense meat melts in your mouth. There’s just the right amount of spicing and moisture, unlike their rival from Melton Mowbray, which I’ve always found dry and brick-like. These are proper pork pies!

Yum!

13.40 Update, Watford Gap service

We’re well on our way South, having stopped at Watford Gap services on the M1 for lunch. Driving across country to the M1 was ‘fun’. West Yorkshire’s road have suffered badly from the ice and snow we’ve had in spades this year. There’s potholes aplenty, especially on the higher roads which are more exposed to the elements. I wouldn’t want to be cycling on them as they’re far worse than the roads in India I did so many mile on earlier in the month.

It was almost a relief to get on the M1. As usual, traffic was heavy with a mix of commercial vehicles and cars. The idiot factor was very much in play on some stretches as some car drivers displayed no sense of lane discipline to dart in and out of traffic almost willy-nilly. As a consequence, Dawn’s language became quite colourful on occasion!

I must admit, Watford Gap’s changed a lot since I was a teenage hitchhiker. I used to pass through frequently on my way to/from London and I spent many an hour here, waiting in hope that the next lift would come sooner rather than later. If you were heading North it was always useful to have a sign saying where you were going as it increased your chance of getting a lift. That’s because the M1 and M6 motorways diverge a few miles North and it saved wasting the time of helpful drivers who were going the wrong way.

In those days the food offering was traditional greasy spoon fare. If you were a vegetarian chips and beans was about your lot. Now there’s a variety of outlets, McDonalds cater for the burger brigade whilst Costa provide for caffeine addicts and the snack brigade. WH Smiths flog the usual sandwhiches but there’s also two different outlets (including a noodle bar that) cater for healthier eaters. I plumped for Paenang curry from Chozen Noodles as a contrast with my earlier pork pie.

14:42.

We left the M1 at Junction 15a, now we’re heading across country on the busy A43, a dual carriageway that’ll take us to join the M40. We’ve left the good weather behind now, rainclouds have swept in from the South so our wipers are working on warp factor four! Soon we’ll be passing the location where the road will be crossed by phase 1 of Hs2, not that you’d know. The local ‘nimbys’ never got round to putting up placards here!

15:32.

A numerical juxtaposition’s seen us swap the A43 for the A34, an even busier artery that serves Southampton, which is why it’s always clogged with lorries. The road also serves as a bypass for Oxford and that stetch had the long Northbound tailbacks we see each time we use the route. Mind you, Southbound’s not much better today and the weather conditions aren’t helping.

18:41

‘Home’ again! After stopping off in Tilford we’ve now settled in to our friends barn for Easter. Let’s just hope the weather picks up now…

This evening we’re off for a family reunion and meal at the Barley Mow pub in Tilford. I might add a pic or two from there. If I don’t – enjoy your Easter!