If I start day one at 00:00 on the sleeper, then the figures are a little crazy – 5 trains, 21 hours of travel, 612 rail miles covering London-Penzance-Exeter-Salisbury-Portsmouth-Brighton. Not bad going. And all trains were bang on time! Today is not proving quite that way but as we speed up northwards on the Japanese/Hitachi built Azuma train, I’m hoping we pick the time up as I have a 19 minute connection time in Aberdeen. We are currently 20 minutes late but the last onboard announcement gave hope and we’re certainly hammering along now!
Parts of yesterday’s journey already feel like they were weeks ago! The expected Cross Country HST out of Penzance didn’t materialise and I was stuck on a 5 car Voyager class diesel that had seen slightly better days. All the same, the carriage was mostly empty for the 3 hour trip back along the route I’d missed in the night. The quiet carriage and beautiful scenery through Cornwall and Devon made for a very relaxing, stress free journey indeed. The complimentary 1st Class offering from Cross Country comprised a choice of sandwiches and it’s fair to say that it was acceptable. Unlike the coffee. Which was rank. But I’m spoilt at home with a baker wife who specialises in Sourdough (plug for www.Bake88.co.uk) and only settling for whole Italian bean/freshly ground coffee delivered by a semi-automatic. Nespresso doesn’t cut it for me so I guess expectations on-board should’ve been low (although I would say the offering on LNER was acceptable). Anyway, I digress.
Arriving in to Exeter, the most probable location for my daughter attending University this coming summer. On her behalf, I thought I would inspect the Weatherspoons that was within a few minutes walk of the station and popular with students. The impressive building was full, not just with students but also an older crew, looking more like myself in terms of hair colour and age – attracted by the real ale festival. Would this derail (pun intended) my plans? No. I am a man on a mission, so a swift pint (sadly nothing local) and I headed down the steep hill back to the station in time for the train to Salisbury. Again, this was a very bucolic route and extremely relaxing day dreaming looking out the window, which seemed to be matched by the slow/poor WiFi and/or network coverage. Salisbury was an agreeable station with good facilities and a nice curve to it (if you know what I mean?). With an hour to spare, and a half hearted aim to sample a local beer in each place where I have time, I headed out of the station to find a pub which usually isn’t very far away. 2 were on offer. The first had no real ale, despite the promise outside, and the second only offered the ubiquitous Doom Bar. The pub looked like it was just clinging on to life sadly but was livened up by a chat with one of the frequent customers who, it has to be said, had probably spent most of the day there. He was a nice chap and clearly the pub was important to him but the conversation with the bar lady laid out how hard times have been. No revenue, no wages. The pub makes money when the trains are running. The recent strikes have been another punch. As I left, the gentleman offered to pay for my pint. I thanked him and said no, but it was very kind. I would’ve bought him one were it not for the fact he already had a full pint lined up and I’m not so sure another one would’ve served him well!
On to Portsmouth and a very crowded ride in second class. On arrival, with 40 minutes to kill, I took a short walk out of the station. It was notable for 2 things. The horrific extension to a Grade 2 listed railway station built in 1847 and an incident at the ticket gate as Revenue Protection Officers had to try and stop someone who was literally trying to force his way through the barriers – and the verbal abuse that followed.
The final leg of the journey to Brighton took place in the dark which was shame as there were a number of places I wanted to see from the train having driven through the area before such as Littlehampton and Angmering. Pulling in to Brighton on time felt rewarding for a well planned and executed day! The dash was not over though as it was 8pm, I needed to check-in and then find a decent place to eat – with searches indicating last the food serving was 9pm in most places. Bombed down from the station to the Holiday Inn on the seafront and delighted to be upgraded to a seaview balcony room. It was a pretty wild night and briefly observed from the balcony the waves smashing on to the shore. Dump my stuff and dash to a decent looking gastropub a good 15 minute walk away – conscious that I’m sat on my bum for most of the day. Decent steak and french fries (not too much gastro about that, but done well all the same), a great local Sussex ale and some local cheeses to follow. Pretty cold heading back to the seafront but Brighton’s nightlife seems to be warming up.
Back to my room, check-in at home, then crash. Out for the count. Wake at 06:00, 15 minutes before my alarm was due to go off. A long distance day lies ahead.
