The Merchants Hotel on a Friday night is a strange place to be. Tucked away up on the top floor, beside a supposedly 'Private' exit I was disturbed by a constant traffic of people coming and going, shouting at each other, and from the scenes of carnage and blood-soaked tissue in the bathrooms this morning, beating the living daylights out of each other. It's sad because the room I had here back in 2004 was perfect, and the staff are always so friendly - notably there was no-one to be seen in the hotel this morning! Down to Piccadilly for breakfast, and to watch the station waking up. Some confusion about a delayed Bournemouth service which left minutes before my Brighton train - meaning the train was relatively quiet for the first part of the journey. Stuck to my plans however and upgraded to First Class through to Brighton.
This train was an odd choice I suppose, and apart from the fun of a long journey gained me only a couple of bits of new track, all of which were situated around the link between the Great Western Mainline, West Coast Mainline and the Southern. Set off in uncertain weather, passing Longsight in the gloom. Things because damp and misty south of Macclesfield and I soon dozed off with no company in my carriage and no view! Awoke around Stafford, where the sky was brightening a little. Through Birmingham where the train got a little busier, and out onto the former Great Western line passing Tyesley depot, and heading southwards to Banbury and Oxford. Ground to a halt north of Aynho Junction and made very slow progress from here until we took the curve at Didcot and sped towards Reading. Realised that this was probably the nearest to home I'd been all week!
At Acton, we climbed away from the mainline towards the link with the West London Line. This was, pretty much, the reason I'd come all the way down from Manchester! We crept slowly and torturously around the curve, with the familiar sight of the scrapyard and container crane at Willesden very close by. Another tight curve away from the WCML and we were creeping southwards, towards Kensington Olympia. A tiny bit of track I've been trying to get to for nearly twelve years! Once out of Clapham Junction we appeared to get stuck on the slow lines, and made very slow progress for quite a while. Things didn't improve until we'd left Gatwick Airport when we had a reasonably clear run into Brighton.
I love arriving at Brighton Station, which always seems to have changed very little in atmosphere from Patrick Hamilton's accounts in his novels. Found some coffee and some lunch, called home, and realised that my toothache was getting more annoying. Next step was a Southern service to Watford Junction which retraced my steps to an extent, but instead of joining the line to Reading, continued north on the WCML. Another tiny bit of new track, and a long ride on a rather comfortable Class 377 - the Standard Class seat was equally as comfortable as First in the Voyager I'd spent all morning on! The train ran exceptionally well, with only a slight delay - again caused by signalling around the complex junctions at Willesden. Despite being an all-stops service to Gatwick we made fairly good time, and I was soon standing on the platform of a deserted Watford Junction station. There is something bleak about the suburban stops on the West Coast Mainline which I can't quite fathom. They always seem deserted and empty, despite having by all accounts a good service. Managed to spot an opportunity for an earlier service to Bletchley and was soon progressing northwards once again on a rather battered Silverlink 321. Off at Bletchley, with some time to explore the station. Very little to see, and definitely nowhere to buy painkillers for the toothache! Found the Bedford platform, tucked away at the edge of the station near the carriage sidings and watched a rather battered 150 arrive, despite an announcement that it was going out of service, the driver told us to get on. He then wandered back telling us to get off so he could take the unit into the depot for "a quick repair". A small group of kids had gathered, and were shouting abuse at a group of disabled passengers and a quiet old chap on a bike, and now it was raining. I didn't come away with a positive impression of Bletchley, and the seven or eight minutes we waited for the unit to return seemed very long indeed.
Once off, we made fair progress along the Marston Vale line. This quiet backwater could perhaps form the centre of a strategic east-west route someday. For now it makes a slow journey eastwards, passing the massive Amazon distribution centre at Ridgmont. At the end of the journey the line ploughs through what must have been the centre of the LBC brickworks at Stewartby before turning sharply north to curve into Bedford Midland station. Finally found expensive pain relief here and after a short wait, joined a wedged Meridian for Nottingham. Found a seat after Leicester and dozed a bit as far as my destination. At this point I was all for going to bed early, but after a wash and brush up, wandered back out into the rain and walked to The Olde Trip to Jerusalem for a pint or two. A pleasant atmosphere, watching locals playing the ring game. Wandered what is reputedly Britain's most dangerous city for a while, which was incredibly busy on a Saturday evening. Walked up to Weekday Cross, former junction of the Great Central Railway which still has its tunnel mouth intact in the middle of the busy city, then back to my hotel - possibly the nicest all week, with a view over the whole city.
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
