Travelling by ship is so much better than by train

I’ve always quite enjoyed travelling by train. When travelling for leisure on a longer journey it’s nice to get settled in for the journey. Quite often we will have a little packed lunch to munch on and a civilised glass of wine. Sometimes a pack of cards will come out to pass the time and often we meet people to chat to and have a very enjoyable journey.

New friends we met on the way to London

Last week I had to journey by rail for work purposes and therefore I was travelling alone and this journey was far from enjoyable. Firstly there were three changes in each direction. One of the changes involved walking through the centre of Manchester to get from one station to the other with all my baggage right at the time when everyone was finishing work. The Christmas Markets were also in full swing so the streets were packed, however I negotiated the busy streets and made it through.The rest of the outward journey was fine. All the train connections were pretty much on time and the trains were fairly quiet. I wasn’t able to read my book due to the loud voice of a lady sat behind me on her phone that seemed to pierce through my ear drums, but hey ho. I think the older I get the grumpier I get about little things like this.

The following day, however on my return journey things did not run smoothly and it was pretty fraught. On the first leg the train I had planned to get had been cancelled and therefore I had to rush to get an earlier train so that I didn’t miss my connection in Birmingham. The train got packed as the previous 3 trains had been cancelled. On the 2nd leg with a minute to go there was a platform change so the droves of passengers were all fighting to get to the other platform. Once there it was announced that there was a delay. Not helpful when you have a further 2 connections to make. Eventually the train arrived and lo and behold due to a system issue there all the seat reservations had been cancelled, so the nice table seat with an electric socket went down the Swanee! At least I did get a seat whereas some had to stand. Delays add a world of stress when your restricted tickets mean that you MUST make your connections or potentially face having to pay for a new ticket.

The rest of that leg was ok, but when we got to Manchester Piccadilly I had only 2 minutes to make a connection to take me to Victoria. There was a sight that is as rare to be seen as a flying pig. That was me actually running! The same happened in Victoria to get my final train. The looks from my fellow passengers showed that they didn’t seem impressed at my athletic prowess (or lack of).  After all the mishaps I felt like I had conquered Everest. But I eventually made it home!

As modes of transport go I would much rather have been on a lovely cruise ship stood on deck watching the world pass by me. How about you?