Twelve go to Birmingham by train and have a great time
As my time as a parish priest nears its end, I decided to arrange just one more parish railway outing, and as it had to be in December, a visit to the
Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market, supposedly the biggest (how ever you measure that!) Christmas market in the UK, and almost certainly the longest at several weeks, and an easy through train ride from our home in
Stamford. There is always a lot to do in central Birmingham anyway, to suit many tastes, and I thought this trip might appeal to a wide circle of people. In the event it was one of the larger tours I have arranged, at a dozen people, and was enjoyed by those who came. Christmas shopping was, of course, an option for most, but some visited the excellent
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, particularly to see
The Staffordshire Hoard, and some also visited the churches and other places of interest.
We left Stamford on the 09:05 departure, on time, for Birmingham New Street and took up our seats reserved for us by the
Cross Country Group Booking team. Although we did not get any group discount because all of us benefitted already from various railcard discounts, the group booking ensured that we could sit more-or-less together. The tickets arrived by Special Delivery a few days before we left.
The weather forecast was not good: rain all day from about the time of our arrival until about the time of our departure, thanks to Storm Deirdre, and although the rain started later than expected and was extremely light for an hour two before becoming a problem, the temperature was very low and we were cold outside.
First we walked through the
Bullring Centre to ensure that everyone knew the location of the restaurant where we would be meeting later for supper - this was the
Pizza Express, the nearest place I could get when I rang round to book a table for twelve during the Christmas market!
Then we strolled into New Street and everyone split off to follow their own agenda. Mine was a visit to the
Ian Allan shop in Ethel Street, just off New Street, although on this occasion I did not buy anything - with a house move coming up and a continental model railway being planned there is a bit of a pause on buying British model railway things at the moment, and I already have enough unread books for the time being. It was time then for coffee and I popped into Caffe Nero opposite the station and came across two others of my party there, sheltering from the rain and wind which were just getting going by then.
Next on the agenda was buying a toy for a granddaughter for Christmas (I cannot say what it is in case she sees this blogpost, but I'll add a picture once she has been given it!) and so I went in search of a toy shop. I had time to look in
The Entertainer and
Debenhams in the Bullring, neither of which had what I was looking for, and then it was time for a lunchtime pint at
The Wellington. On
these trips I usually arrange a couple of optional things for us to do together, and at the appointed time five of us congregated in this real ale pub in Bennetts Hill, just off New Street. Then it was back to the toy search and
John Lewis, in the Grand Central shopping centre over New Street station had exactly what I wanted, and a few other things as well, so for the rest of the day I was hauling a shopping bag around - I had to buy a plastic bag because (a) I bought more than I had bargained for when I chose my bag for the trip and (b) it was raining quite hard by now.
The other optional gathering I had arranged was a walk ... which, given the rain and bitter wind, was rather shorter than I originally intended! It did include, however, tea at the
Centenary Lounge at
Moor Street station. About eight of us came on this activity and although the Centenary Lounge was busier than I have ever seen it we - eventually - found a seat, although a few had decided to go across the road to
Selfridges instead. Those who had not been to Birmingham before stood staring at Selfridges on our way to Moor Street, amazed at its architecture. After tea, we had the added bonus of the sight of a steam locomotive at one of the terminal platforms, returning with the Polar Express train, a Christmas special for families. In the
retro-style of Moor Street it all looked very splendid.
We abandoned the idea of walking any more and all went our separate ways once again, although I bumped into other members of the party in Selfridges and elsewhere from time to time. Wanting somewhere to sit and read and write, and warm up, I went for a hot chocolate at
one of Selfridges cafés. I sat opposite the french windows looking out at the driving rain and was glad to be inside. While I sat there the rain did gradually clear up and things began to look better, and just as I was about to leave there was a sudden blast of wind and the glass doors all swung open, letting in the cold air: it was like a scene from a spooky film!
I strolled over to New Street station to check that all was well for our return train, which it was, and then made my way, via browsing in sundry shops, to Pizza Express. I began to wait for the rest of the party but all of them had arrived there before me, and the table was ready, so we started our supper early and were in no rush at all to get to the station for the train home. The rain and the wind had both stopped by now, and the temperature was gradually rising, even though it was night! It was forecast to continue rising until midnight, by which time we'd be long gone.
The train was at the platform early, too, and we boarded and made our way to our reserved seats - it was just as well that it was early because, as I have discovered on this service before, the reservation cards had not been placed on our seats, and as the train was to become crowded (in spite of being three coaches rather than the two we sometimes get), we might have struggled to claim our seats if we had arrived just before departure. I had the list of seats which Group Bookings had sent me, but I don't imagine it would have been easy to turf others out of our seats just using that! Disappointing, that, but at least, as it happened, it did not actually affect us. But more by luck than judgement.
On the way back I sorted out who owed what for the meal and then we arrived in Stamford to find the
Stamford Street Pastors greeting this, the last train of the day, as they usually do, and then made our way home, warm and dry here, too!
If you live near Stamford, Oakham or Peterborough and are interested in joining me on some of these day trips, please see the
"Come with me!" Page.
Rail Adventures Planned for the new year
There will also, I hope, be several days out and short breaks once the pattern of life becomes 
