Apologies for the lack of an update yesterday. Not only was it a busy day, the evening was too as I managed to (responsibly) catch up with some old friends whilst I was in Cornwall, which was lovely after so many months of being confined to West Yorkshire. Something had to give – and that was blogging.

I’ve moved on yet again. After a night in London and a morning touring some of the main stations and commuter routes into the city I headed out from London Waterloo via Clapham Junction and Basingstoke to reach Reading, where I caught a train to take me to Truro. It was the longest continuous journey of the trip, and also instructive – as were my other little hops around the area before I ended up in Par.

Today I travelled from Par up to Bristol, then crossed over the border (via the Severn tunnel) into Wales. After dumping my bags at my hotel in Cardiff I headed out to explore some of the Valley lines then take a trip down to Barry Island. It’s a place some of you will know because it was featured in the hit TV show ‘Gavin and Stacey’. I last went there on a rail excursion way back in 1974, when Dai Woodham’s scrapyard still contained over 150 rusting steam engines. Today was the first time I’ve been back and I didn’t recognise a thing as the area’s changed so much – and not all for the better.

You’ll be able to read the full story in RAIL magazine next month.

What I can tell you about was getting back into Cardiff city centre. I was desperate to find something to eat, but to be honest, the place was a nightmare. The centre was packed with groups of lads and gaggles of girls, all intent on having a good time, which meant that many of them were pissed as farts as early as 8pm. Social distancing and respect for others was out of the window so I ended up walking around with my mask on as a precaution. Having found a quick fix noodle bar I had a lovely spicy hot meal then got the hell out of there. I’ve been back at the hotel since 9pm and this was where I was determined to stay!

Tomorrow is my final day of the Rover. My plan is to visit Worcester before heading back into London via Paddington, then travelling up the Chiltern main line to pitch up in Birmingham tomorrow night, where my RAIL trip will end. On Monday I’ll travel home under my own steam (as it were) for some quality time at home before beginning to convert my experiences into 12,000 words (over three articles) for RAIL. Oh, and all the other stuff I’ve not been able to do whilst I’ve been away!

Meanwhile, here’s the picture of the day. This was Bristol Temple Meads station this afternoon as many young people flocked into the city centre. I couldn’t help but observe that by wearing face masks some of these young ladies probably increased the amount of cloth they were wearing by 10-15%…

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course (although if you did find something that tickled your fancy would be fab!), but the revenue from them helps to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us locked-down freelances need all the help that we can get…

Thank you!

Wow! It’s only the first day and it’s already proving to be a fascinating trip! I’m not going to go into a huge amount of detail but I’m already going to venture a couple of guesses. One is that passenger numbers are going to show quite an increase in the next set of stats if my experiences are anything to go by. Now that schools and colleges are back and the rail companies are running 90% of normal services passengers are returning. I’m not the only one to notice this either. I was amazed how busy some Trans-Pennine Express and Northern services have been today. That said, some stations (like Preston) resemble ghost towns because all the retail units are closed. Of course, quite a few of the retail staff will commute to work by train…

The only thing that put a damper on the day has been the weather, which has been bloody awful! I ventured up the scenic Cumbrian coast earlier but many of its charms were hidden in the murk!

I’m currently back at Lancaster in between trains, so I’ll update this from my Avanti West Coast service to Carlisle shortly…

19:38.

I’ve now crossed over the border into civilisation, making my way up the old Glasgow and South-Western Railway line to Kilmarnock via Dumfries. Sadly, the weather this side of the border’s no better. It’s akin to a post nuclear holocaust half-light and lousy for photography – especially when you’re on the move and don’t have time to play around with camera settings.

Even so, I’m happy with what I’ve seen and done so far, which makes me think my RAIL articles will be worth reading. The only think I’m missing is the interaction with people – like the train-crews, which just isn’t possible right now. Still, we’ll see how it goes. Anyways, here’s the picture of the day…

This historic plaque is on Preston station, where it marks a step-change on the railways. One that some people feel nostalgic for but one that had to happen – even if you can argue about the timing and management of it!

21:32.

I’m currently wandering around the centre of Kilmarnock, in search of sustenance. I fear I nay be disappointed as the whole town appears to be closed. Thank God for my wonderful other half! Dawn made me some pork rolls to bring with me and they’ve kept me going as all the catering outlets on the stations I’ve visited are all closed. Luckily, I picked up some cereal bars earlier – and I’ve a breakfast booked at my lovely B&B, so that might have to suffice…

Oh, by the way, the lighting under the railway arches is probably the coolest thing about Kilmarnock right now.