Then, the day before I was due to depart, this popped up on the radar:
Suddenly, things didn't look so good. Those hotel points would only trigger if I actually checked in – and if flights were pulled, that 4pm train wouldn't have got any cheaper, plus I'd lose nearly a quarter of my time with my family. On the other hand, this storm didn't even exist yet, except as a simulation in a Met office supercomputer.
So it was with some trepidation that I set off south, not at all sure how I would be returning north. The first steps – literally – were guaranteed trouble-free, as I now live an easy 15-20 minute walk from Edinburgh's Waverley station.
Trains
Saturday, October 26th
Edinburgh – Peterborough Dep 09:30 Arr 13:04
Peterborough – Bury St Edmunds Dep 13:45 Arr 14:57
Changes: 1 Duration: 5h 27m
£59.80 Standard Single Advance.
The 09:30 runs Edinburgh-Kings' Cross, so is available for boarding well in advance: given the number of people who join, usually with specific seats and often trailing their own weight in luggage, this is a big help. It amazes me how much longer it takes to board a plane, as a service that started in, say, Glasgow, would only be on the platform at Edinburgh for a few minutes.
On this occasion, the extra time allowed me to correct some confusion with which was my seat- or rather, carriage. My cheaply printed ticket suggested D62, but it was in fact B62: something was clearly up when I entered D, as it didn't even have 62 seats! Ordinarily, it would, and I would have become that most awful of people, the seat-stealer; but in the railway equivalent of an Op-Up, the usual standard-class coach had gone tech and the only replacement they could find was first class stock. Good news for those who actually had reservations in D: or at least two thirds of them, as the more spacious seating meant some of the reservations had overflown to C. This would cause capacity issues later, but I got myself settled in to B62 with ten minutes still to go. Situated at the very back of the last coach (as A was also bafflingly missing), I expected it to be a pretty quiet spot.
Sadly it was a right-hand-side aisle seat, with the left-hand pair occupied: this meant I couldn't enjoy the impressive view that the east coast route offers as it skirts the north Atlantic coastline. Moreover, the window seat on my side was occupied from the next station, and by the stop after that it's standing room only for those unfortunate enough to lack a reservation. I dug in with ipad-entertainment:
Argo, and an episode of
Castle.
We were only a few minutes late to Peterborough, a station which never fails to disappoint. Somehow an ill wind permanently blows through this forsaken place, and although it appears they're building more platforms, the new shelters don't look like they'll offer much respite. Catering has marginally improved with the appearance of a Starbucks, but their grill was broken, so I had to resort to the Pumpkin Cafe for a hot option. These are uniformly terrible; the least-worst option seemed to be a barbecue 'chicken' wrap – actual chicken content allegedly 15%, don't think I saw anything recognisably such – for which I was relieved of almost a fiver. Next time I'll remember to pack a picnic.
Peterborough station isn't entirely bereft of interest, though. On the way out, I got a glimpse at a strange contraption bearing the legend RTV 31:
(public domain image via wikimedia)
Having dragged myself into the smartphone era, I spent much of the journey to Bury St Edmunds learning about this: it's the only surviving vehicle and guideway portion of the
tracked hovercraft. This was an experimental combination of British technologies – the hovercraft and the linear induction motor – aiming to provide a high speed train system. The need for specialised tracks – preventing interoperability with slower services or routing on exisiting infrastructure – meant it was dead by the early 70s, with the
Advanced Passenger Train finding favour instead. That also apparently was too complicated for its own good, with a trio of trains being rushed into service in 1981 but almost immediately dropped after a series of technical issues and a savaging in the press. Fortunately a more conventional high speed train launched in the mid 70s: the non-tilting, diesel-powered
125s that are my iconic image of intercity travel. Whilst the APT designs eventually fed back into modern services like the Pendolino, I'll always have a soft spot for the HST, and thirty years on they're still going strong. Indeed, it was one of those I travelled on from Edinburgh!
Ahem. Lest you fear I've gone all train-spotter, I can tell you absolutely nothing about the second train I was on, other than that it was somewhat interestingly decorated with a series of attractions and locations it wasn't actually going to:
Oh, and it got me to my destination pretty much on time. All you need, really. Not that there's much to describe about that, either. I'm not sure if Bury St Edmunds counts as a tourist location; maybe locally, but I struggle to imagine it registering internationally. As mentioned, I was there for family, and perhaps you can tell I haven't otherwise warmed to the place. There's nothing actively wrong with it, but when you call somewhere like Edinburgh home, there aren't too many places that seem worth leaving for.
Still, if for some reason you do find yourself there, I can recommend the really rather good coffee shop. It's actually called that (which is a bit more self-confident that my previous Bristol local, 'that little cafe', but equally unhelpful as a description.) After a wintry stroll around the Abbey gardens, their warmed scones with clotted cream and jam were much appreciated:
and the serving approach helps solve any arguments over whether cream or jam should be deployed first
