Good evening from a soggy Newton Abbot. It’s been another interesting day (for me at least) and I’ve seen an awful lot of the Cornwall and Devon countryside. I’ve been keeping notes as I’ve travelled and the slightly tidied up version of them is what you can read below…
The shocking admission comes later (don’t worry, it’s family friendly and doesn’t involve lawbreaking). Meanwhile, please feel free to enjoy this long and rambling tale of how I left St. Albans and arrived at Truro.
… via Penzance. It all starts below.
The end of Day Two and all is going well. This Blog update is brought to you from the fine City & District of St. Albans. Other than speeding through it on the train on countless occasions, I’m sure this is the first time I have visited the place. What I have seen so far has really impressed me — though The Lower Red Lion is definitely playing a big part in that assessment.
As usual, you can read all about how I got here after the break….
Much of what follows was written (jotted might be a more apt word) as I’ve gone along. Consequently the tense will be/is all over the place. For that matter, entire linguistic meaning may be in doubt in places. I’m sure you’ll work it out though.
I have arrived in Inverness. All has gone swimmingly thus far, and here is what I have to say on that…
Through a combination of distinctly mediocre exchange rates, and what might euphemistically be called ‘global atmospherics’, I’ve decided that my holiday pound will be spent in the UK this year rather than a US adventure or anything exotic. For me, staying in the UK and travelling really only means one thing — another All Line Rail Rover Ticket.
I’ve been playing with a few itineraries for a while now, but as the week I’ve been keeping free of commitments approaches rapidly, I’ve finally inked-in the details and made the necessary bookings. (It would have been an interesting proposition to head out on the trip with no itinerary and no bookings, winging it each evening wherever I find myself… but back in the real world that ain’t gonna happen!) Accommodation is going to be a familiar mix of budget brands, global brands on a budget, several real ale pubs that do B&B, and even a guesthouse.
As in previous years, I’ve decided to cough-up for a First Class ticket, so part of the planning has been about eeking-out the best value from that. In other words, lots of really long journeys and the absolute minimum of routes with Standard Class only! That all said, one important element of this trip is to give the Devon & Cornwall branch lines a good looking at — as well as the (relatively) newly opened ‘Borders Line’ to Tweedbank.
It all starts bright & early on Wednesday 10th May and, if you are so inclined, I’d be very happy if you’d join me on the journey through the medium of this blog. The full details of where I’ll be and when follow below…
Are We There Yet 