Comings and Goings at Ely
To get the train to Scunthorpe via Peterborough on Saturday, I got to Ely just before nine in the morning and I was totally surprised at how busy the station was.
There were passenger trains going to Stansted, Kings Lynn and London.
Trains to All Points at Ely
The town will get more important if and when Thameslink opens to Kings Lynn.
The freight importance of the station was also emphasised, as a very long train passed through from Felixstowe to Peterborough and the Midlands and the North.
Lots of Boxes at Ely
There will be lots of changes in the next few years at Ely, what with Thameslink, freight and perhaps many more trains to Norwich and Ipswich. In the case of the latter, there could be substantial passenger improvements following on from the capacity upgrade for freight, with perhaps a new station at Soham.
Ely lives in interesting times.
Trip of the Year, Month or Perhaps Weekend
I did think I might call this post something like Trip of a Lifetime, but that wouldn’t be honest and I don’t want to shilt myself, as I really might do one of those when I get older.
But a trip starting at Ely on Saturday the 25th and then going via Peterborough and Doncaster to Scunthorpe, before travelling to Edinburgh for the night. Then it was Glasgow on the Monday and then up to Inverness. Tuesday it was down to Kyle of Lochalsh, Skye, Mallaig and Fort William for the sleeper back to London, before a train out to Dullingham after changing at Cambridge.
A Good Phrase
Rahul Tandon was on the BBC this morning talking about the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. He used a Hindi phrase “Athithi Devo Bhav”, which he translated as “We treat our guests like God”
It all fits with my experience of India, where I’ve never had anything but good service.
Let’s hope they sort the Games out!
A Neat Station Design
I said in an earlier post that yesterday I took the train from Thirsk into York. I actually took a Grand Central train for just £2, so as they seem very affordable, if I go to York from London, I might consider them as an alternative to East Coast.
Thirsk station was a rather neat design, as this picture shows.
Thirsk Station
It is reached by an overbridge and the combined ticket office, waiting room and other sevices are all on one platform in a chalet style wood and steel building.
It seemed to be a rather practical design, as the ticket office was built into one end of the waiting room. I suspect that this would mean that security and safety is very good. Note too the wooden safety fence to the left of the building, which separates the two high speed lines in the middle of the station from passengers on this platform.
I would suspect that the concept could be used in many places to renew old station buildings at an affordable cost.
It was good to see the station and it goes to show that good design and safety can probably be achieved without throwing vast amounts of money at the problem.
The Welcome Invader from the East.
After racing yesterday, I took the train from Thirsk to York, so that I could see my old boss, who was in hospital in York. He seemed better in some ways to when I saw him a few weeks ago, but I understand from his family he has a long way to go. But I know he’ll do it, as he’ll find some way to pull through. I’ll also visit him when I can, as he has been such a great support to me over the previous couple of years through my troubles and I know I must pay that back. But I’m not that good on those sorts of debts!
But as I got back from York to Cambridge for the princely sum of just £13.20, it’s not something that would worry anybody on cost grounds!
After I’d seen him in hospital, I went with his son to the local Premium Inn. They had bottles of Aspall cyder in the bar! So over 250 years after it was first brewed in Suffolk, it finally invades Yorkshire!
I certainly needed a drink after the day I’d had!
Overuse of “Trousered” with Lawyers!
It seems these days, that you can’t read a report about the law without seeing the word trousered linked to their fees. The latest is this report on the Cambridge Busway. Here’s what they said.
But the cost of the project, which is already two years late, does not include the millions of pounds expected to be trousered by lawyers as the disputed cost-overrun moves to the High Court of Justice, in The Strand.
Sad to say though, the lawyers will be the real winners in this badly designed and managed project.
Don’t Use the Cash Machines at Wetherby Services
To a coeliac, motorway services are distinctly unfriendly places with lots of overpriced poisonous-to-them food.
There is a couple of exceptions and those are the ones with say a Waitrose or an M&S Simply Food, where you can buy a salad, that you know you can trust.
We stopped at Wetherby Services on the A1 and I bought a tuna and bean salad from the M&S there, together with some bananas and some lemonade.
I also needed some cash, but as all the cash machines would be charging me to withdraw some of my own money, I declined. I mentioned this to the lady in M&S and she said she never used them for that reason.
In the end, I got my money out at Tesco in Redcar, where they don’t charge. But it did mean taking an obstacle course through their litter-strewn car park, with cars all going against the direction signs!
If Network Rail can put up signs in Liverpool Street station, that all cash machines in the station don’t charge, then isn’t it about time, that Service Areas stopped ripping off motorists!
Thoughts on Ticket Booking Web Sites
I’ve just been booking tickets for my trip north at the weekend. It looks like the itinerary will be :-
Saturday 25th September
Ely (8:58) to Peterborough (9:38)/
Peterborough (9:46) to Doncaster (10:38)
Doncaster (11:07)to Scunthorpe (11:45)
Scunthorpe (17:10) to Doncaster (17:40)
Doncaster (18:34) to Newcastle (20:01) – Ticket pick-up at Doncaster
Newcastle (20:50) to Edinburgh (23:30) – It’s actually a bus!
Monday 27th September
Edinburgh (16:33) to Inverness (20:08) – Meet at Waverley Travel Centre at 16:00
Tuesday 28th September
Inverness (09:00) to Kyle of Lochalsh (11:28) Ticket pick-up at Edinburgh Waverley
Mallaig (16:05) to Fort William (17:07)
Fort William (19:50) to London Euston (07:47) Ticket pick-up at Edinburgh Waverley
I haven’t had too much trouble booking these tickets on-line. But one thing that gets to me is the nit-picking detail on many of these sites.
As an example, they always ask you to tick the Terms and Conditions box. Does anybody not tick this box? It should be up the other way and you should only tick it if you don’t accept them!
ScotRail‘s web site seemed to get you to put in everything twice. But then it’s a long way up to Scotland and the Internet probably forgets what I’ve typed in last time.
I also had the usual nause about registering with ScotRail for the sleeper. Why can’t the same registration apply for all of the TOCs? I use the same details in them all anyway!
Thoughts on Transport to the Den
As I can’t drive, I rely heavily on three things, trains, buses and good old-fashioned walking.
On Tuesday night, I went to Canary Wharf for supper and for many places it is a good place to start an evening trip in London. The parking may be a bit expensive, but you can always get a couple of hours free, if you spend over £10 in one of the shops there. I used to buy something I needed like wine in Waitrose to get the token. Incidentally, is there a more up-market supermarket anywhere in the UK, than this one?
The first step to your evening entertainment, after a meal in one of the many restaurants, is to take the Jubilee Line from Canary Wharf Station, that makes all other Metro stations in the world, look ordinary. I once took a C into the station on the escalator from the surface and asked her to close her eyes, once she was safely on the moving staircase. I then told her to open her eyes a few metres down. The look on her face summed it all up.
As I was going to the Den on Tuesday, I just took one station on the Jubilee Line to Canada Water. From upstairs, I took a P12 bus, which stopped outside the ground. what could have been simpler?
One of the problems at the Den, is that it is an area with very few pubs, restaurants and cafes. My mate, Ian, chose to drive and he had quite a bit of difficulty parking and then finding anything to eat. I got the better deal by going to Canary Wharf.
There are plans to build a new station at Surrey Canal Road on the new East London Line extension to Clapham Junction.
This will make travelling to the Den easier, but it will probably do nothing for the quality of the hostelries in the area! I’m afraid at my age and with my medical conditions, greasy burgers, fish and chips and pints of gassy lager are not for me!
But it will give you more choices of getting to the ground, as it will then be directly connected to many other areas with lots of easily accessible places to eat and drink. For example, Ipswich fans coming in to Liverpool Street, might use the Spitalfields or Brick Lane areas, before going to the match from Shoreditch High Street.
Obviously Canary Wharf makes a good starting point for anything in the West End of London, but with just one simple interchange at Canada Water or Shadwell, it is also a good place to start for anything in South London, if you live north of the river. Crystal Palace, which used to be one of the more difficult grounds to reach is now a lot easier. It’s just a pity that the interchange at Shadwell from the Docklands Light Railway to the East London Line isn’t better.
Are Water Libraries Boring?
I’m not a great one for libraries, except for reference purposes, but I was struck by this sign near Millwall’s ground on Tuesday night.
The New Canada Water Library
A library with different samples of water, must be very boring, but obviously, it is at the heart of some important sciences like homeopathy and water divining. But why would the Canadians build their new water library in South London?
The Anonymous Widower 