UK Rail Tour '22

Mon 22 Aug   On this and all other maps in this section, orange is the "corrections" route and purple is my route to and from "corrections". Waterloo was as busy as it ever is. Here's my train for the first leg of the journey: No refreshments are ever available on SouthWestern (or Southern or SouthEastern)  This is Yeovil Junction, the start of my "corrections" journey.  Last month the line from here to Exeter St. David's was closed because of a signal failure. I had to return via Yeovil Penn Mill to Castle Cary and catch an express direct to Taunton, missing the section to Exeter which I do today. (not a pretty sight)   At Exeter this is my return trip to Taunton and Paddington: Cool and comfortable. The (free) drinks and snacks trolly came along at least three times. Taunton is the end of today's "corrections" trip: Later, at the platform 1 side of Paddington, down to the Elizabeth line... ...and at Canary Wharf a few minutes walk...

 My journey next week includes 17 trains with reservable seats. These are spread across 8 Train Operating Companies (TOCs) and all but one of these have permitted me to reserve a seat without a hitch. However, Avanti West Coast (ex Virgin Trains) don't appear to have enough train drivers on their books to cover for the inevitable summer holidays.  They have decided, in their wisdom, to cut early morning and late night services and run what amounts to a Sunday service until 11 September. Presumably this is when all schools are back.  On top of this, most reservations may only be made the day before the service. I have three Avanti West Coast trains to catch, the first from Euston.  There are alternatives avoiding Avanti (e.g Kings Cross - York - Liverpool Lime Street) but these take longer and have no food. They also require an earlier start from home. The other two Avanti trains I may be able to reserve three or four days ahead. I'll just have to see how this plans o...

 Now I must return to the tracks to do the bits that went wrong because of Network Rail's problems or my own planning errors. To this end I've bought a 7-day Rover and booked hotels in Carlisle, Newcastle and Doncaster. Day 1 (Mon 22 Aug) In this map, and all maps on this trip, the orange route is the part I had to miss while on the original tour and the purple route is my route to the start and from the end of the orange route.  The complexities of getting from home across London to the main trains are not shown here. So on Day 1 I will take the train from Waterloo to Yeovil Junction and on to Exeter, then another from Exeter to Taunton continuing to Paddington and home.  There's food - a trolly - on the homeward leg. Total time home-home about 8.5hrs for the 364miles. Day 2 (Tue 23 Aug)  Train, with meal served at seat, from Euston to Liverpool then the correct way round the Mersey (not under it) via Chester and an evening train, with another meal served at seat, ...