Weekend catch up Part 2

This blog entry could be subtitled “The triumph of public transport” because I was truly impressed by how easy it was to make the journey up to Manchester.

It all started because my own aged Citroën BX was not in a fit state to undertake the journey. It is in need of a good service (which it will receive shortly) and in any case it is not the most comfortable long-distance conveyance. As a result I took a look at National Rail’s web site for trains from Leamington Spa to Manchester Piccadilly. Not only is there a reasonably frequent service but the cost of travelling in the middle of the day is surprisingly reasonable. By booking ahead – two days before my departure, hardly an ordeal – I purchased first class tickets for just over £40. The premium over a standard ticket was well worth it when you consider that first class passengers get free drinks, a sandwich and a free copy of The Times. The larger seat and reduced crowding almost seem like incidental bonuses.

The final triumph for public transport came on my return to Leamington. I only had a short wait for a bus to take me back to my village. You could almost believe the bus timetable was supposed to dovetail neatly with the train times.

Another weekend, another long journey

It was a close thing; I wanted to go away for the Easter weekend but at the start of the week I had a car where the vital hydraulic systems had suffered a large leak. My usual reaction is to sulk and spend an excessive amount of time avoiding the issue. This time I leapt into action, on Monday I arranged for the car to be towed to the garage who I asked to remove the offending component. By Tuesday I had a new pipe ordered and coming in the post. Wednesday was a little fraught as I had hoped the pipe would come from Citroën specialist Pleiades overnight. I started looking at the cost of train tickets but the prospect of engineering works disrupting the timetable meant it was a last resort. I even contemplated coach travel, almost half the price of rail travel but with a limited service. On Thursday the pipe turned up, was fitted and everything was well. Listening to the news on Good Friday I was glad I had a working car, every bulletin carried tales of missing trains and long delays. Having seen the level of train service on the West Coast Mainline (the service I’d have used if I was going by train) on Saturday, Easter Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday if I’d managed to get away then I would never have got home again.