A Series of Short Train Journeys (and Some Unfortunate Events)

Three Rail Trips in Five Days

It so happened that Lincolnshire's "half-term" holiday seemed to be a week earlier than most other counties', so by the time our grandchildren, none of whom live in the county, came to stay for a few days each there was little open for them to do. That was fine, we made quite a lot of entertainment at home, but it also meant that having the little poppets, joy though it is, would leave me fairly exhausted just before a couple of busy days. We never shrink from a challenge, though, and for me one highlight was taking my little grandson home to Letchworth Garden City on the Thursday of the week in time to do the All Hallows Eve stuff that Granny and Grandpa don't do and leaving two of his cousins to help Granny with making the Christmas cake and Christmas pudding, which she had promised they could do. 

The trip to Letchworth would be fun on several counts: first, I would get a big chunk of the day with a child I seldom get to myself; it would be reminiscent of the days out I used to have with my own sons when they were this sort of age, and I looked forward to it enormously. Second, although we often visit the family in Letchworth we almost always drive because the railway journey is not exactly convenient, but that day we were in no hurry at all, wanting to leave early to let the others get on with their baking but need not to get there too soon as the parents were both working in the morning. Third, I could make it a bit of an adventure for myself by taking him one way and returning home another way, using a route I have not used for many decades.

We bought our tickets at the station, a return for me and a single for my grandson, and boarded the 09:54 for Stansted Airport. There was loads of space when we boarded at Stamford and we sat opposite each other at a table, both having a window seat and able to converse face-to-face. It was a bright morning and all was going really well, although the train was just a touch late.

It began to unravel at Peterborough when a huge influx of passengers came aboard, including what seemed to be about fifty Spanish students, some of whom claimed the seats we were in - fair enough, they had seat reservations on their smartphones, but the staff and not labelled the seats or we'd never have taken them. They took pity on me and let me stay, and I reciprocated by hoisting my little companion on my lap for the rest of the ride to Cambridge where we were due to change trains. Not the most comfortable trip I've ver had, but I was at least sitting down and we still enjoyed each other's company. Seldom have I seen these trains so busy on this section of the line - the presumed student party all had substantial suitcases, too, and the little train really did struggle to take them all.

By the time we arrived at Cambridge the train was several minutes down and we had quite a trek to our connection. It was unfortunate that the following train to Letchworth had been cancelled, so in order to avoid arriving an hour later than promised we really had to make that connection. So we stood by the door and I briefed the little lad on the need to walk quickly and stay close to me and that I would carry his luggage (he'd taken his own so far - so sweet). We went as fast as my atrial fibrillation and his little legs would permit and made the connection with one minute to spare! One piece of faff and we'd have been sunk.

Our train to Letchworth Garden City was very spacious and comfortable compared with the one we'd arrived on at Cambridge, and we had the facility to keep my phone charged as well. Oh to have better trains on our local line which is, after all, a route between Cambridge and Birmingham via Peterborough and Leicester, no mean cities. It was a short trip to Letchworth and when we left the train and made our way out of the station we took a taxi to the family home, not far, but we were short of time before lunch which had to be fitted in before theatre booking for my daughter and grandson (while I would travel home on my own). I must say it was good to be able to walk out of a station and straight into a taxi: that seldom happens in Stamford.

The three of us had lunch together at a Loungers restaurant and then said our farewells and I made my way to the station for my trip home. I would return the other way, taking a train to Hitchin, one stop towards London, and then down the main line to Peterborough for my connection to Stamford. There were some delays and cancellations owing to a points failure between Royston and Cambridge but that did not affect my journey and I was able to sit in the waiting room with the coffee I had bought at the station kiosk to round off my lunch. At Hitchin I had a short wait for the Thameslink train to Peterborough which left on time and took me to my on-time train home. It had been a good day, but I should have preferred to be without the drama of the outward journey with its lack of reservation cards and extremely tight connection, the first of the Unfortunate Events.

The children had all gone by Friday and normality began to resume, but then on Saturday I had a trip to London and left home a little earlier than I had on Thursday, taking the 07:54 train to Peterborough for a London connection. Again, I bought my ticket at the station ticket office so that I could discuss the best fare for my journey: apps and websites tend to sell you the quickest/soonest journey which is not always what you prefer. I ended up with a return that was good value and restricted me to Thameslink or Great Northern for the main line section, which suited me well this time because it gave me a choice of central London stations. All my trains were on time on this occasion, but when I boarded the Peterborough train at Stamford station it soon became clear that there were no seats spare. A lot of people were already on board and by their clothing it looked like they were going to a football match somewhere. No matter: I was only going a very short distance and was quite content to stand in the vestibule area - as we sometimes do from choice when we have a lot of luggage, although this time I had little. This was the second Unfortunate Event, although in the great scheme of things it was not too unfortunate!

"A Foggy Day in London Town:" the view from Blackfriars station

The Thameslink train to London took me direct through to London Blackfriars from where I could easily walk via Blackfriars Road to my meeting. Indeed, so efficient was the travel that I was early and went for coffee at a chain coffee shop around the corner from my meeting venue in Southwark.  Blackfriars Road was eerily quiet: it is largely buses, taxis, cycles and access only, and all the buses and taxis I saw were electric; in London delivery vans are largely electric, too, and a high proportion of the cars are electric. It did seem very strange, and very, very welcome. Probably the quietest it has ever been, horse-drawn carriages being at least noisy as motor traffic.

After my meeting I struggled a bit with Thameslink's app which seemed to suggest that there were large gaps in the timetable so I caught a bus to Kings Cross thinking that in the event of a problem I might get a Great Northern train from there instead, and the bus ought to get me there in time for the Thameslink train I wanted from St Pancras if it were running as planned ... but the bus was held up in roadworks and time slipped by. It terminated in York Road, beside Kings Cross, and I hoofed it round the corner and across the Kings Cross forecourt to St Pancras, down the escalators onto the Thameslink platforms (in the cellar!) with just three minutes to go until my train to Peterborough came into the platform, on time, having called at Blackfriars ... nothing wrong with it at all and there had been no need for the bus or the hurry, the next Unfortunate Event. The rest of the trip home was uneventful, mercifully, and I was home on time, but I could have done without the fuss. Again, the train from Peterborough to Stamford was pretty full; this time everyone who wanted a seat had one but there were few empty seats. Travel has definitely returned and on this line in particular it seems to me that there are more people travelling than ever, in spite of the persistent gaps in the timetable. Where we would like to have a half-hourly service there is not even a full hourly service, but at least Cross Country Trains have now acquired enough coaches for all the train to have three, rather than some having only two.

Two days later I had three successive meetings in Lincoln, and I don't recall any Unfortunate Events that day, mercifully! It all went very smoothly, both meeting-wise and travel-wise! This was more like the sort of trip I like to describe here, positive and encouraging - although, having said that, the previous two trips did work and all was well in the end.

I don't think I'll ever quite understand UK rail ticketing, even though I am a frequent traveller on many routes, and especially between Stamford and Lincoln or London. This time my best option turned out to be a Standard Class Anytime day return through to Lincoln and back; no split tickets, not separate out and back. I could use any train and because my first engagement in Lincoln was not until 11:00 I could await the LNER Azuma at Peterborough instead of the slightly earlier East Midlands Railway local service via Spalding and Sleaford. This would be more comfortable and give me the option of on-board catering if I required it. I would also finish my last engagement there in convenient time for taking a LNER service back to Peterborough, so I would use their trains both ways, nd in the case of the return trip it would get me home earlier, although it is always good to know that EMR operate a more frequent service and if I am running late there will always be another train. On the way out, though, it did seem strange to see my usual EMR train leave while I waited for the express ... On these work trips, the time spend waiting for connections is never wasted, giving the opportunity to catch up with email and, for me, usually preparing for the meeting I am to attend. On the occasions I have to drive to Lincoln I have to remember to prepare in advance - and then I am never so well prepared after a night's sleep and an hour's drive.

It was an intensive five days' travel by my standards, all short, bitty journeys that are not kind of trips that most of us would naturally take by rail as a first thought (except perhaps the London one), but they all worked very well. I do like to take the challenge of managing without the car, and almost never find myself wishing I had driven instead. I do often find myself wishing the railway service were better: more frequent trans on our local line, and later trains, too, especially at weekends, would be a huge improvement. Better Sunday service to and from Lincoln, and, most of all: easier-to-understand ticketing! More frequent trains automatically leads to better connections, too. But even as things are, I do find the train a good option most of the time, and best option fairly often, too.