The last day of my trip is about to start here in Glasgow. I had an enjoyable (and unexpected) night with an old friend whom I’ve not seen for a couple of years. As you can imagine, Glasgow on a Saturday night was buzzing. I really like this city and always look forward to visiting as it’s such a historic, vibrant and multicultural place. Here’s a couple of pictures from last night.
I love the architecture here…The Steps Bar. A classic old boozer in the centre of town.An old friend from the South still in service.
But now it’s back to ‘work’, exploring some of the city’s suburban rail network before ending my trip elsewhere this evening. Where? Feel free to pop back later to find out!
08:25.
Glasgow is still asleep this time on a Sunday. I wandered over to Sauchihall Street to buy breakfast from Tesco and the only people around were a few cleaners waiting to start work mucking out the mess from a nearby club. My hotel’s right next to Charing Cross station so catching my first train of the day’s easy.
08:30.
My first train of the day is a class unique to Scotland. The Alstom built class 334 EMUs.
16.21.
I’m at Journey’s end, Having arrived on Oban on the west coast of Scotland. But the blog doesn’t end just yet. I’m merely taking a break for a few hours to enjoy some downtime. I’ll update things a bit later when I’ve had chance to relax – and enjoy the weather.
Lovely, isn’t it?
Mind you, the trips isn’t entirely over. I may have finished my seven day rover, but I’ve still got to get back to Yorkshire tomorrow which will be a trip in itself…
21:45.
Well, I had great plans for updating this blog with thoughts, feelings and pictures from Oban tonight, but the hotel wifi is useless. Sooo – we’ll all have to wait until tomorrow when I can access wifi elsewhere. I’d tether my phone snd usr that but that’s some serious Mb I’d be using. Instead, I’m going to have an early night and make the most of tomorrow. I’ve not been back to Oban for 17 years so I’m going to enjoy it. Who knows when I’ll be back again?
After a quiet night at home in which my wardrobe was replenished or washed (no more carting around old sweaty socks!) I’m back on the rails again and ahead of schedule. I’m currently on Northern’s 07:38 from Halifax to Leeds. Today I’m making my way to Scotland via a roundabout route that will take in some more lines I’ve never covered on these RAIL rovers in the whole of the 18 years I’ve been doing them. This is my tenth. I started them in 2004 (God, just typing that makes me feel old!) and the changes I’ve seen in that time have been quite remarkable. Who’s have thought back than that I’d be typing this on one of the Northern franchise’s fleet of new trains?
Feel free to pop back during the day to see what I get up to.
09:00.
Having changed trains at Leeds I’m now on my way to York behind this beastie..
10:30.
I didn’t hang around at York but almost immediatly caught a rather quieter TPE device, a Class 802 as far as Darlington, where I joined a rather older mode of rail travel.
15:45.
Apologies for absence but I’ve been a busy bee. My trip to Saltburn was excellent. It’s left me lots to write about and the weather was perfect. The old station building has been given over to private uses but it still looks magnificent. Extar colour was added by the fact there’s a flea-market outside on a Saturday. I couldn’t stay long but I did wander down to admire the views over the coast and beaches, as well as spot a railway my Rover isn’t valid on.
I stopped off a couple of times on the way back. First at Redcar, then Middlesbrough – which possesses yet another magnificent station building. I swapped trains again in order to head up the Durham coast line which has changed enormously sine I last traversed the route. Arriving in Newcastle I flipped from local to Intercity trains and now I’m on my way to Edinburgh. Here’s a selection of pictures from the trip so far, including an observational test…
The flea-market outside the old station building at Saltburn.‘Do you accept Rail Rovers’? The Saltburn tramway down to the pier.The stunning station booking office at Middlesbrough.An observational test. Feel free to post the answer when you spot it…
17:20.
Back in civilization…
The waiting room at Edinburgh Waverley.
I’m on the second leg of my journey, from a packed Edinburgh Waverley station to Stirling before heading for Glasgow. I’m on the Kings Cross – Inverness ‘Highland Chieftain’ which is running 15 mins late due to speed restrictions and extra stops inserted into its timetable due to other trains being cancelled.
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I’ve had a good night’s sleep here in central London, now it’s time to explore the city’s railways and those of Essex and Herts before beginning my roundabout journey North. Feel free to keep popping back to see where I get to…
Not a bad place to start the day…
10:45.
I’ve ventured out into darkest Essex, having caught a quiet Crossrail service to Farringdon I changed on to Crossrail – sorry, the “Elizabeth line” (pix later) to reach Liverpool St for a above surface Crossrail train to Forest Gate and a short walk to Wanstead Park on the ‘Goblin’ line (my old local line) for a trip out to its new terminus at Barking Riverside, an extention that only opened the other month. It’s impressive but I see the station follows the modern trend for roof canopies that are neither use nor ornament!
Doubling back to Barking I’ve travelled to Southend via Grays to see the enormous amount of railfreight traffic this area generates.
The weather’s beautiful in ‘Sarfend’ but I can’t stay. I’m here to swap routes and head back into London…
13:30.
I’m now back in London after sampling a Greater Anglia Class 720 ride from Southend Victoria. Those 3+2 seat coaches are horrible. Even Twiggy would struggle to get down the gangways!
Now I’m about to venture North from Euston to Birmingham on an Avanti West Coast service. When I can find one running…
In the meantime, here’s a couple of Lizzy line pics.
15:30.
I’ve left London and the South-East behind – as well as the sunshine! I’m currently on an Avanti West Coast service to Birmingham New St. I’d expected the trip to be crowded, especially as some services have been cancelled, but in fact it was only packed as far as Milton Keynes. I’m on an old friend – set 390014, which Richard Clinnick and I once spent 26 hours on, following its whole diagram! Now it’s been refurbished and looks rather different on the inside.
19:30.
I’ve been on the move too much and swapping between trains to blog. Now I’ve swapped West for East coast via the Midland Main line. Here’s my train from Doncaster to Leeds which is pulled by an earlier East Coast racehorse in the shape of 91111 ‘For the fallen’ which is looking superb in its renewed wrap.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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 that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After arriving in Exeter I had a quiet night in my lovely old hotel, The Mercure right across the road from Central station. The kind and friendly young lady on reception offered me an upgraded room and complimentary breakfast. Having a large room in such a grand (if slightly faded) hotel was luxury so I made the most of it and spread out on the king size bed to catch up with some writing and paperwork. Here’s a few pictures.
Free buffet breakfast? Oh, go on then!…The foyer of the grand, but slightly faded and frayed Mercure Exeter Rougemont hotel. The rather grand staircase and stained glass windows.
Now, after not kicking the arse out of the free breakfast (I limited myself to bacon, beans and scrambled eggs, honest!) I’m on the 07:29 to Waterloo as far as Salisbury which is worked by a pair of SWR Class 159s. These units are tired and seem a throwback now. I’m in 159001 which has no power sockets or USB and where the noise from the a/c is a constant presence. At least it’s helped drown out the chatter from the two middle-aged women on the table opposite. Animated and coffee and cake fueled, one hasn’t paused for breath since we left Exeter. I think she must be able to breathe through her ears!
10:50.
I changed trains at Salisbury, swapping from SWR to GWR who were running a pair of Class 158s down to Portsmouth Harbour which I used to get to Southampton Central. It seems I’m on the edge of the heavy rain passing through the South-East. There was a real scrum at Southampton with people everywhere. I’m assuming a cruise ship has docked. My next train was a 4-car Southern service – which looks like this. Hardly a pleasent travelling experience. It also shows the entitlement of some people. Just how many seats do you need?
13:05.
I abandoned my even more packed train (you should have seen what it looked like after stopping at Chichester!) at Barnham for a trip down the branch to King George 5th’s favorite town – or not – if you believe the alleged death-bed quote!
After seeing a series of basic stations in Wales and the South-West I’m now back amongst Victorian finery and in 3rd rail land.
14:40.
The weather’s slowly improving as I head Eastwards along the South coast but it still looks unpredictable. What it isn’t is cold, which makes lugging my combined camera/day bag somewhat sweaty – especially when I’m on the move so much. Of course it could be worse, I could still be stuck in the conditions I encountered in Southhampton. Now I’ve no worries about weilding the camera.
I arrived in Brighton aboard one of the oldest passenger trains still in daily use – the class 313s. These were built in 1976 for the newly electrified suburban services from Kings Cross and Moorgate. The last survivors of the class are now exiled to the South coast.
313208 at Brighton.
Right now I’m continuing my journey East on another Southern service to Hastings via Eastbourne.
22:30.
I’ve moved – a lot. Right now I’m signing this blog off from my hotel room opposite St Pancras station in the heart of London. It’s a cheap and cheerful hotel that’s much more upmarket from the days when this area was famous for rooms you could rent by the hour! Getting here was fun as I traversed such a variety of railways, including the ‘Marshlink’ line from Hastings to Ashford, then onto the most modern line we have (for now) – as I took ‘High Speed One’ from Ashford right into the centre of London. I’ve had another fascinating day exploring the UK rail network in 2022 – and there’s lots to see yet…
Meanwhile, here’s a couple more pictures from today.
My Javelin train from Kent to central London rests at the blocks at St Pancras. I spent years photographing the stations transformation back in the 2000s and still have a sense of awe when I experience the result. Time for a ‘swifty’ before bed. I nipped down the road to an old haunt – the Euston Tap for a pint as an end to the day.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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 that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
We’ve had a wet evening here in Fishguard and when I woke up and looked out of the window this morning little had improved. There’s heavy grey cloud closing us in and more rain forecast. Just as well that I’m going straight back to Cardiff on the first train! I’m staying down the road from Goodwick station so the plan is to catch the first train from there (the 07:38) into the Harbour station and begin my return journey from the port.
Right now It’s time to enjoy a coffee and pack. See you soon…
08:30.
I’m now traversing Pembrokeshire on the 07:51 from Fishguard Harbour – where I was the only passenger!
The port was deserted and so was the harbour apart from a solitary cruise ship that (judging by the lack of lights) that’s laid up. What was interesting was the absence of any HGVs. Is this a result of Brexit and the fact many ferry companies are now running services that bypass the UK and sail straight from one EU country to another? I watched last night’s ferry unload and there were plenty of cars coming off it, but again an absence of lorries.
My train’s slowly picking up passengers as we head West, a handful at each stop bar Whitland, where no-one joined.
10:33.
I’m on the last leg into Cardiff now and this train’s been rammed since Carmarthen. There’s a huge number of young backpackers around (has there been a festival?) as well as lots of families with several children. Add in the rucksacks and suitcases and there’s little room left – although there are some bikes aboard too! I’m looking forward to bailing at Cardiff and the chance to stretch my legs…
Carmarthen earlier where my train paused to reverse. This give folk chance to grab a coffee or sandwich from the locally run station cafe.
13:30.
My visit to Cardiff was all to brief. My train was late and held outside the starion waiting for a free platform so I missed my planned connection to take me up to Taffs Well, the site of the new TfW tram/train depot. As the weather was mizzly I acted on a whim. Sat in the next platform was ‘Castle’ class short HST bound for Penzance – stopping at every blade of grass on the way. But, it would get me to my next port of call (Bristol) sooner so I hopped aboard.
The ‘Great Western’ lives on in various different ways (and eras) in this picture taken earlier.
After 50 mins of picture taking around Bristol I caught the train I’m on now, the 12:45 Cross-Country service to Plymouth which is worked by one of their HST sets, so that’s two in a row – in 2022! The journey’s proving to be really interesting, but you’ll have to read my articles in RAIL to find out why…
21.45.
Sorry for the gaps in my progress but it’s been another busy day where I’ve often been too busy picture and not-taking to blog. I’m now back in Exeter at my hotel for the night after visiting Plymouth before heading off to Cornwall for a trip on the Liskeard to Looe branch, a route I’ve not traversed for many years. Afterwards I made my way back West via a variety of trains and a stopover in Dawlish to have a look at how the new seawall has changed a famous site for railway photography. Sadly, the weather at Dawlish was lousy for getting anything more than record shots. I’ve had some really busy trains tonight as tourists flock to Cornwall and Devon, and I’ve had some quiet ones heading in the opposite direction. Still, it’s all grist to the mill.
Tomorrow I’ll be heading West and some very different railways. Stay with me to see what I get up to…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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 that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’ve spent my last night at home for several days. Now I’ve an extra bag to add to my kit as I prepare to head off this morning. As a consequence I’m getting a lift to the station off Dawn as starting off a long day as a hot, sweaty mess is never a good idea!
Besides, the weather’s not particularly good right now – even if it’s beautiful. Tendrils of cloud have infiltrated the valley below, enveloping Sowerby Bridge and threatening rain.
The view from our bedroom window is a window on an ever-changing world…
Now I’m at Halifax station, waiting for my forst train of the day which will carry me to nearby Huddersfield. This service was introduced over 20 years ago now, bringing back to life a disused freight line from Greetland Junction to Salterhebble Jn and providing a direct rail link between Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield. It was hourly but the recent DfT cut-backs have reduced it to two-hourly. This and the fact the train is often cancelled have made it impossible to rely on, damaging passenger numbers and the railways reputation. It’s daft as it saves just a single 2-car train plus Driver and Conductor.
09:00.
Ah – the ‘good old days’ are back. I’m now on a hot, and late 3-car Trans-Pennine service heading for Manchester. We had an extra couple of pax from Marsden. The doors in the front car didn’t open (SDO I assume) but no-one announced the fact so one man and his dog couldn’t get off before we pulled out!
14:00. Apologies for the gap in blogging but I’ve been a busy bee! Since the last update I’ve passed through Manchester and Liverpool, crossed the Mersey to the Wirral and made my way South into Wales at Wrexham. Right now I’m South of Craven Arms on the Welsh borders heading down via Ludlow, Hereford and Abergavenny to Cardiff. I’ve had a variety of weather on the way but managed to stay dry. Fortunately, the problems Network Rail had yesterday when they were forced to shut this line due to a shortage of signallers have been rectified today. Even so, I’m not taking any chances by stopping off en-route! I’ve a long way to travel to get to my hotel for the night so discretion’s the better part of valour!
21:30.
More apologies for the gaps in the blog. I’m on my final trip of the day right now, the 21:03 service from Carmarthen to Fishguard Harbour and the end of the line until tomorrow.
I made it to Cardiff without incident and spent a couple of hours around the city’s railways, appreciating just how much has changed. The ‘Pacers’ are all gone now. In their place is a real mixture of hand-me-down units. There’s ex-Anglia 170s, Thames Valley Class 165s and even a Northern liveried Class 150/2 on loan. Then there’s the Class 769s, converted from former Thameslink Class 319s. It’s very strange seeing these former 100mph electric units with their pantographs removed and running on diesel power. I tried a trip on one up the bank from Central to Queen street which it made very heavy weather of. Having spent time photographing these beasties I headed for Swansea on a GWR Class 803, then swapped to a pair of Class 153s for the leg to Carmarthen. TfW are the only company operating these in regular passenger service nowadays and they certainly bring back memories. Here’s a couple of pictures from the day.
769002 stands at Cardiff Central earlier today.Double “dogboxes” at Swansea before working the 19:34 to Carmarthen.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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 that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The odyssey’s begun! I’m on the first of over 80 trains that will carry me around the UK’s rail network for the next 7 days as part of my bi-annual adventure for RAIL magazine. I’ll be blogging about some (but not all) of the adventure. You’ll be able to read about the whole trip over three editions of RAIL from October.
Right now I’m on train No1, the 07:17 from Halifax to Manchester Victoria which is a crowded 2-car Class 195 heading to Chester. The weather here in West Yorkshire’s turning gloomy and the forecast for where I’m headed is wet, so today could be ‘fun’. Feel free to keep popping back to see what I get up to – and where…
Here we go…
10:10.
I’ve just left Blackburn having taken a rather roundabout way (and several different trains). My trip took me to Bolton, then along the mostly single-track line via Darwen to get here. Now I’m on my way to Preston aboard a relatively busy 2-car Class 158 on an all-stations service.
Blackburn rovers…
12:45.
Well, that was an interesting interlude. My train was 10 mins late into Preston, leaving me just four minutes to kae my connection, which I managed due to it being put into an adjacent platform for a change. My next stop was Blackpool South. The predicted rain never arrived so the 40 minute walk between South and North stations was dry but hot as a consequence. Then things started to go wrong.
I’d planned to get the 11.59 back to Preston but it was cancelled due to staff shortages, leaving me with no option but to catch the 12.28 instead. Thankfully, my timetable has some slack in it and I can catch up with myself later this afternoon before traversing a route where you really don’t want to miss a train!
As you can imagine, this time of year Blackpool services are very busy. My two car diesel to Blackpool South was rammed as far as the Pleasure Beach. Blackpool North station was heaving as people queued for trains at the end of their holidays.
I arrived in Blackpool at the single platform South station. Queuing for trains out of town at the 6 platform Blackpool North.
18:00.
A lot’s happened since I left Blackpool although one constant has been late trains eating into my connection times and opportunities to take pictures. That said. I did manage to catch up with myself at Lancaster as I’d arranged a layover to visit the excellent ‘Tite and Locke’ pub on the station. OK, my time was halved, but that still gave me time to sample the beer and get pictures.
Leaving Lancaster I headed up the stunningly scenic Cumbrian coast line. The first leg was to Barrow in Furness where I changed trains. Now I’m on the final leg into Carlise. There’s so much that I could write about but now’s not the time. I arrive in Carlise very soon, then head back South on another clasdic scenic railway – the Settle and Carlisle.
20:30.
What a stunning journey down the Settle and Carlisle – made more interesting by the moody weather. The stations along the line are all well-kept, despite the harsh climatic conditions. The only station that seemed to be suffering was Kirkby Stephen, where both the BR era signalbox and old Midland Railway footbridge needed propping up with scaffolding. Here’s some views from my train.
21:45.
The last leg of today’s trip. I had time for a quick pint in Shipley where I changed trains (there’s a story there for later). A quick walk across Bradford got me from Forster Sq to Interchange and now I’m on yet another Class 150 for the last leg home…
I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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 that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
All three of us had a lie-in this morning. Well, until ‘Bernie’ (our friends dog) decided it needed to go out for a wee at 07:30 this morning which meant I was woken up by being slobbered over as a way of attracting our attention! I’d agreed to take the short straw so Dee could sleep in. What I hadn’t bargained for was letting Bernie out of the back door – only to find one of our neighbour’s cats sat on the doorstep. I don’t know who was more startled, Bernie, me or poor Popi – who took off like a bat out of hell! Luckily, I’d kept Bernie on her lead so there was no cartoon-like hot pursuit.
The excitement over we returned to a much calmer Sunday. Dawn returned Bernie to her owners (who were still recovering from their night out) whilst I pottered around at home, sorting out the final logistics for my week away before retreating to the kitchen to enjoy my last opportunity to indulge in some cooking for some time. I really enjoy the ritual of preparing the ingredients and laying them out before beginning the process of turning the raw ingredients into a meal. I was cooking Indian today so now the the cottage is filled with the smells of exotic spices. The dish I’ve made includes freshly roasted and powdered Fenugreek seeds along with Cloves, Cinnamon, Star Anise and Cumin powder. The mélange of fragrances is wonderful especially as the final product contains the tang of White Wine Vinegar which hangs in the air and complements the spices.
Now it’s time to kick back and enjoy the late afternoon sunshine and our evening together so I’ll end the blog here. Expect a series of rolling blogs over the next eight days – although they won’t be a complete commentary on my trip as I’m writing for a magazine. If you want to read the full details they’ll be published in a series of three articles in RAIL magazine starting in October. Despite that, I hope to keep you entertained as I take over 80 trains around the UK to explore many familiar destinations plus some I’ve not visited for decades – plus one of the last extremities of the UK rail network I’ve never managed to reach before…
So, today’s picture is cooking therapy. In this case, Chicken Vindail. Here’s the ingredients prepared for cooking.
It’s been an easy Saturday here at Bigland Towers. There’s a busy time ahead so it’s nice to kick back a little. The pair of us have been up to different things. Dee’s been out for brunch whilst I pottered around the house catching up on housework and preparing for next week away. In the afternoon we reversed roles as I went out playing pool with friends. This evening the pair of us are relaxing at home as we have a guest to entertain.
Meet ‘Bernie’ – who belongs to friends who’re out partying tonight. We’re looking after her whilst they do. It’s not a service we could have offered whilst our venerable moggie ‘Jet’ was alive, but (to be honest) it’s lovely to have a four-legged friend around the house again…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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 that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Christ on a bike! – another week’s over and I only have the weekend left before I begin my tour of the country by rail. I’m really looking forward to it. Much of my route’s planned out in theory but to paraphrase the famous quote from Helmuth van Moltke, “no plan survives first contact with the enemy”. I expect my finely tuned timetable to be nothing more than a wish-list, but we’ll see…
Today’s been spent sorting out the last logistics of the trip as well as tidying up paperwork before I go in order to have quality time with ‘the other half’. Tonight was such an event. We both knocked off early in order to meet up with friends in our local. We may have missed the quiz but we had such a laugh afterwards! The humour was flying – lubricated en-route by a variety of alcoholic mixes (or in the case of Dawn, just humour).
Now we’re back at home, resting our chuckle muscles, ready to watch the last episode of ‘Killing Eve’ – one of the few terrestrial TV series series we’ve got involved in for ages. This leaves me with one last task – posting today’s picture, which reflects where we’ve been tonight and one that real ale drinkers can relate to. This is what was on offer to slake your thirst in the Big 6 tonight…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, 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 that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 