FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - A Californian status run – LHR/SAN/LAX/SFO, and half a dozen hotels.
Old Feb 17, 2013, 5:45 am
  #2  
TheFlyingDoctor
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: EXT
Posts: 477
January 1st: Bristol to West Drayton

The plan
15:30 Feet: Walk to Bristol Temple Meads (2 miles)
16:30 Train: First Great Western Bristol Temple Meads (First Class) to Reading (due 17:43)
18:05 Train: First Great Western (First Class) Reading to West Drayton (due 18:41)
18:45 Feet: West Drayton – Novotel London Heathrow (1.5 miles)

Setting off on New Year's Day meant there was no bus service to Temple Meads (or anywhere else), so I would be starting this journey, as with so many, on foot. I'm a firm believer that if you can walk somewhere in less than an hour, then that's probably the best way to get there. Whilst the encumbrance of a fortnight's worth of luggage is perhaps a compelling argument for a rethink, of greater concern to me was the weather. Temperatures were hovering around freezing here, but I was expecting much better conditions in California, and didn't want to be carrying bulky winter gear around the US just for a few hours use on the UK ends of the trip. Fortunately it was a crisp, dry day and so I toughed it out with just my suit jacket, successfully trundling from living room to platform in 40 minutes.

Whilst there I was able to perform online check-in for the LHR-SAN flight. The World Traveller Plus cabin is small, with just three rows of 2-4-2; my only choice was between two seats on the back row. I'd been assigned G, a middle aisle seat, but swapped it for B, in the hopes that I'd be clambered over less often.

I then turned my attention to my current mode of transport- one of First Great Western's InterCity 125's, the fastest diesel train in the world. They may all be older than me, but having grown up in the Southeast with the boring, square, Class 315 electrics (usually rammed full of London commuters), I love them dearly. Today's journey would be particularly enjoyable, as I'd secured tickets for first class:





The real perk of first class rail is the amount of space – seating is arranged 1-2, with tables at every seat and thus far fewer rows. There's somewhere to hang your jacket, and nearby space to stash a suitcase whilst maintaining line of sight. There were only three other passengers in my coach, so with no-one in the opposite seat I could properly stretch out.

The more astute amongst you will have noticed that I'm flying out of Heathrow, but not travelling there. The obvious journey from Bristol is to take this service all the way to Paddington, then swap to the Heathrow Express. Less obvious, but often cheaper, is to switch at Reading for a coach to Heathrow. However, in choosing the Novotel London Heathrow I realised there was yet another option: switch at Reading, but stay on the rail network and head for West Drayton, just over a mile from the hotel. This turned out to be an absolute bargain – admittedly I booked far in advance (the trick to UK rail travel in general) but the total journey BRI – WDT, in first class, cost me £22.50. For context, a standard class ticket for the Heathrow Express alone – never mind getting to Paddington first – is already £20.

However, no plan survives contact with Reading station. I know this. I was already puzzled by the train's configuration on arrival – coach G was out of service, and had somehow migrated past coach H (where I was booked). Five minutes after our scheduled departure, the dreaded bing-bong “Would the train manager please contact the driver” announcement sounds. I realise that night has already fallen as I gaze out at an unusually quiet Temple Meads. Ten minutes after that, I'm still gazing, now at the 17:00 service on the next platform. That gives me a backup for getting away from Bristol, but with only 22 minutes to connect at Reading, wouldn't get me there in time to stick to the plan. We set off, of course, 23 minutes late, so I will need an alternative train to West Drayton unless we seriously reel in some slack.

Due to the bank holiday, there is no trolley service (nor is it announced that there would be one). Fortunately, my years of grad school gave me a keen sense for free food opportunities, so I know my rights and head down to the buffet car to claim a couple of bottles of water and a stash of shortbread biscuits. I am well past caring about the 18:05 by the time (18:13) that I reach Reading, having reminded myself that the whole point of setting out the day before and using a hotel is to avoid stress and have a huge time buffer for potential rail trouble. So I don't even bother to examine the departure board and instead sort out dinner: annoyingly, the only places serving food that are open today are the wrong side of the security barriers. I'm not sure of my break-of-journey rights, but with a suitcase in tow I am able to get through a manned gate rather than risk a ticket-swallow by machine.

Fortified by a cornish pasty and wedges, I return to the platforms and figure out how I'm going to get to the hotel. Turns out I need the 18:33 stopping service to Paddington- not to be confused with the 18:27 stopping service to Paddington, which uses the same platform but has the unhelpful feature of not stopping at West Drayton.




Whilst still a First Great Western service, this is a less fancy train than the 125; however, that means that there's less incentive for anyone making a local journey to bother paying for first class, so I have the 16-seat compartment to myself. The journey is thus entirely uneventful, and I arrive at WDT about half an hour later than the plan called for. But again, what's the rush?

My terrible sense of direction means that I don't stride with purpose until I'm sure I'm pointed the right way, but once I'd extracted myself from the station and got onto the main road it's an uncomplicated – if chilly – mile and a bit to the Novotel, which I covered in about 25 minutes.

Last edited by TheFlyingDoctor; Sep 22, 2019 at 2:04 pm Reason: migrate off imgur
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