HOME | LAST 100 POSTS | CONTACT ME

Category: Railways

  • Balkans Trip Day 6 – Belgrade to Podgorica Rail Journey (Part 2 to Podgorica)

    Balkans Trip Day 6 – Belgrade to Podgorica Rail Journey (Part 2 to Podgorica)

    We safely arrived at Bijelo Polje which I’ve wittered on about in my previous post and this is where we changed trains to get to Podgorica.

    It’s fair to say that this didn’t look like the most decadent train that we were switching to.

    The passengers began boarding with considerably more enthusiasm than the appearance of the train appeared to justify.

    It was a compartment train and the rail operator hadn’t really burdened themselves with cleaning it. It was quite hot, but fortunately for those of us sitting by the window there was some cooling going on, so that improved matters a little.

    The views were impressive and I should mention at this stage a little more about the Belgrade to Bar railway line. This line was conceived in 1952 as one of socialist Yugoslavia’s grand national projects, intended to connect the federal capital directly with the Adriatic coast. Serbia and Montenegro were each responsible for constructing their sections, which opened gradually between 1958 and 1976, so there was obviously no great hurry.

    The final rails were joined south of Kolašin in November 1975 and President Josip Broz Tito formally opened the completed line on 28 May 1976, with electrification following in 1977. Building its 476 kilometre route through the Dinaric Mountains required 254 tunnels and more than 400 bridges, making it Yugoslavia’s most expensive infrastructure project and it was evident from the terrain just how challenging this must have been.

    The short section passing through Bosnia and Herzegovina was the location of the Štrpci massacre in 1993, while parts of the Serbian route were badly damaged during NATO’s bombing campaign in 1999. Years of underfunding allowed the track and equipment to deteriorate, contributing to slower services and culminating in the Bioče derailment in Montenegro in 2006, which killed 47 people. Reconstruction of the Serbian section began in 2016, but trains still take substantially longer than the approximately seven hours achieved when the complete line was new. But at least it is working again and it offers some of the more beautiful views that I’ve seen from a train.

    We shared the carriage with a group of friendly young Germans who were heading off on a long walking trip. We encountered them again the following day, but more of that in another blog post as I maintain my increasingly complicated network of narrative cliffhangers.

    The large window on the side of the train gave extensive views of the valley as we started to approach Podgorica, it really was quite beautiful. This sort of view went on for much of the journey, it wasn’t just for a short stretch, all something of an engineering marvel. By this time I had long since eaten all my snacks that I had acquired in the morning, but fortunately still had sufficient drinks to keep me hydrated. This train wasn’t blessed with anything like a vending machine and it was something of a clunky beast that made all manner of noises as it trundled down the track. This wasn’t a long rail journey, it took around three hours and so was shorter than the first section.

    I struggled to open the door when it was time to leave, but another passenger and Jonathan came to my assistance. It required what I considered to be an unreasonable amount of physical effort, although everyone else appeared to regard it as the routine operation of a door.

    The locomotive that got us safely to Podgorica. We were on time and I was ready to go and walk the 100 metres to my hotel before we had chance to head into the centre of the city.

    The two trains had provided a rather lovely experience and the total fare of around £20 felt exceptionally reasonable. It was my first proper visit to Montenegro and the first time I had experienced border controls taking place before the train doors were unlocked. The journey had beautiful views, fascinating history and a splendidly rickety second train that made enough noises to ensure that no-one became complacent about reaching Podgorica. A marvellous and memorable experience.

  • Balkans Trip Day 6 – Belgrade to Podgorica Rail Journey (Part 1 to Bijelo Polje)

    Balkans Trip Day 6 – Belgrade to Podgorica Rail Journey (Part 1 to Bijelo Polje)

    I’ve already written about the railway station that is now known as Belgrade Center and here’s our train arriving at the platform only ten minutes later than scheduled. The train had three carriages and Jonathan had warned me that there was no buffet car or food option on board, so I was carefully carrying my snacks. The rail service goes all the way to Bar on the coast, but we decided only to go as far as Podgorica as we didn’t want to arrive late at night.

    There were seat reservations on the tickets but websites said that they were widely ignored, so we ignored them and so did numerous other passengers. Some passengers demanded their seats from other passengers, a guard appeared and there was some movement around the train, but Jonathan and I found seats that we liked and stayed in them as no-one laid claim to them.

    It transpired that the train got quieter and so we moved down to a quieter carriage where I could eat my snacks and Jonathan could throw bread all over the floor or whatever he was doing.

    This is Valjevo, which was struck during NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

    This is Kosjerić and it’s an active railway station, although the building looked abandoned and appeared to have been extensively vandalised.

    The train crossed through the town of Užice. This was the centre of the short lived Republic of Užice, a large area liberated and administered by the Yugoslav Partisans during the autumn of 1941.

    The seats were broadly comfortable, there was power available and the train was air conditioned so that delighted me. Our tickets were checked a couple of times, but that was efficient as they just scanned the QR code and all was well. There was a vending machine on board, similar to what we had experienced on Georgian trains earlier in the year.

    Passing through the railway station at Branešci.

    This reminded me of some of my journeys across the United States on Amtrak trains in terms of the scenery and slightly slow pace.

    The scenery was already beautiful and became increasingly dramatic as the journey continued. The railway briefly passes through Bosnia and Herzegovina near Štrpci which was quite exciting as it was technically the first time that I had visited this country. However, since I was visiting the country properly later on in the trip, I decided not to count it.

    The train was nearly empty towards the end of the journey, so there was plenty of space. There was Wi-Fi during the journey, although as we crossed into Montenegro I could use roaming so matters improved somewhat.

    We arrived at Bijelo Polje railway station in Montenegro which was the end of the line for this particular train and we were greeted by a man selling cans of drink from his bag. We weren’t tempted, but another passenger was until he realised that this guy wanted €6 for a beer. He didn’t sell much.

    After that we had a passport check from Serbian border control and then their colleagues from Montenegro, with the doors of the train then being opened after the formalities were complete. I realised Jonathan’s passport is a bit dilapidated and I was excited to see if he would be arrested, but he wasn’t, although that would have made for a suitably exciting blog post. Despite another two walks through the train by the drinks seller, the €6 beer remained in the bag, suggesting that even a captive railway audience has its limits.

    It was then time to switch trains for the second part of the journey, but more of that in the next riveting instalment. I also have numerous videos of sections of these journeys, but that’s something to delight my two loyal readers with later on.

  • SNCF Train from Le Mans to Lyon (Long delays and dangerous dogs)

    SNCF Train from Le Mans to Lyon (Long delays and dangerous dogs)

    As my riveting blog is getting behind once again, I feel the need to speed through a few posts. This is Le Mans railway station and I needed to get to Lyon for my flight the following day, and as this was France I confidently assumed the railway would provide a calm and civilised end to the trip.

    The railway station is from the late nineteenth century, but this extension has been added to the front to give more space.

    It was too hot, which I might have mentioned, so I had my tropical Fanta to get me by.

    I didn’t understand this at first, I just noticed that on the left it said that my train was delayed by an hour and it had doubled the number of trains going to Lyon. I went to find a staff member and he helpfully explained that the train was delayed by an hour and that it would be departing from Platform 2 but that I could safely leave the station and return a bit later. The stress levels of that were beyond me, so I took my increasingly warm Fanta to another platform to have a sit down.

    And then for a few minutes, my train entirely disappeared from the boards. I considered this to be sub-optimal.

    Although I had been told that the train was departing from Platform 2, this was the first time that it appeared on the board. I decided that I’d better go to the platform to see what was happening.

    And the train to Lyon was at Platform 2, so I was most confused.

    It was evident that something strange was happening as there were plenty of passengers who were on the train, but others were milling about. I decided that I needed to find an adult and I located the train guard. The guard explained, in perfect English and with admirable calmness, that only half my train had arrived. The other half was still somewhere in France and would be along in about ninety minutes, which was longer than the boards said, but he said it would definitely be arriving. He mentioned my seat was in the half that hadn’t arrived, so I went to sit in the heat with my Fanta to wait.

    To my great annoyance, after days of it being too hot and needing to rain, it then started to pour down with rain. So several of us decided to find a dry spot on some steps.

    A little over ninety minutes late, the other half of the train came sweeping into view.

    It’s fair to say that I was pleased to see this train. It meant that I would be getting to my hotel without any further issues.

    There’s my carriage and the double decker train looked really rather classy.

    I was talking to the guard on this part of the train and she checked my ticket and was explaining where to go when a dog jumped up at us. The dog looked bloody vicious, but it was muzzled. The guard looked genuinely furious that a passenger decided it was appropriate to bring such a dog on the train and at this point the dog was out of control, barking and frightening other passengers.

    My seat was a window seat and there was a laptop sitting on the aisle seat and I did wonder whether the dog owner would be seated there. I would have obviously gone to the guard to ask to be moved, but it transpired a passenger sitting nearby had just randomly left it there.

    It soon became evident that the train staff had absolutely no intention of that dog being allowed back onto their train. Transport police, guards and others came to protect the public and there were some cheers when it was evident that the passenger wasn’t being allowed back on. I’m pleased to say that this was last bit of drama of the trip.

    There’s a lot wrong with SNCF and the prices for rail travel really didn’t seem to be cheaper than the UK. But, the train was clean, there were power outlets, there was plenty of space for my laptop and it was a comfortable environment.

    The train was only at around 65% occupancy and I didn’t have anyone next to me during the journey. The service was fast, efficient and peaceful. One thing I’d never really appreciated before is just how empty much of France is. There were long stretches where the only signs of civilisation were the occasional road, farmhouse or distant village. It’s a reminder of just how densely populated much of England really is.

    Safely into Lyon with my now empty bottle of Fanta.

    And there was torrential rain.

    I was entitled to 25% Delay Repay, which is rather less generous than the UK system. The claim form took me about forty-five minutes to complete, which struck me as an impressively inefficient way of compensating passengers for having already lost time. Still, if it eventually appears in my bank account, I’ll forgive them. Eventually. But, I was pleased to get to Lyon in time as the alternative would have been an overnight Flix Bus and that would have displeased me.

  • SNCF Train from Nantes to Le Mans

    SNCF Train from Nantes to Le Mans

    I meandered towards Gares de Nantes complaining to myself about the heat and preparing for my rail journey to Le Mans, the reasoning for all that is explained here. It’s a little odd as there are station buildings both sides of the tracks, although they’ve built a lovely new aerial walkway now to connect them together.

    The station hall and I’m not entirely sure that I knew that there was a Pret a Manger in France, although I did know about the ones in Germany and the United States. It nevertheless provided a reassuringly familiar landmark, although I resisted buying a filter coffee as I already had enough thermal difficulties as it was.

    This is the aerial walkway over the platforms. The design is modern and open, but it also gave the railway station something of a heat problem. They’d effectively created a municipal greenhouse and, to be honest, I did find that arrangement a little sub-optimal.

    This heat problem was being resolved by having several of these dotted around the place and I enjoyed standing near to one of them to reduce my core body temperature to something that was compatible to continued life.

    I took a photo of the railway tracks whilst I was standing in front of one of the fans.

    I then went to the other part of the railway station as there was a Carrefour there, so I acquired a 1.5 litre bottle of Pulp, which is effectively their own brand cheap Orangina.

    Down to the platforms and there were ticket barriers at the top of the escalators, but they were turned off and the staff were checking tickets before boarding.

    The train was relatively cheap, costing about £8 to get between Nantes and Le Mans. The service is operated by Ouigo classique trains and they’re using old SNCF Intercity trains to keep them in use and to have a lower price option. This train was going all the way to Paris and seat reservations, to my mild annoyance, were compulsory.

    The trains were dated, but clean, although I prefer more upright seats in carriages. There were power points placed erratically down the carriage and one is visible on the other side, but I had to make do without any.

    This carriage was literally the end of the train with nothing on the other side of that door at the rear. The temperature on board the train was moderate, not freezing cold as I would want, but also sufficiently cool that I wasn’t annoyed.

    The bike storage facilities.

    It seems almost archaic that in the UK until only a few years ago the trains from Norwich to London (and vice versa of course) could only be opened by lowering the window glass and then reaching out. The door handle here was on the inside, but passengers could roll down the window if they wanted. Incidentally, I was glad that another passenger opened the door and they struggled despite seemingly knowing what to do.

    And safely into Le Mans. I felt that the service was keenly priced and sufficiently comfortable for the journey that I was making, but these trains are tired despite the modernisation that has been attempted on them. But, the journey went quickly, my phone coverage was strong throughout and I arrived on time.

  • National Express Coach and Greater Anglia Train from Luton Airport to Norwich

    National Express Coach and Greater Anglia Train from Luton Airport to Norwich

    The late night arrival of my flight meant that I knew I’d have to stay at Luton Airport for a couple of hours and then cross over to Stansted Airport by coach before getting a direct train to Norwich. That was the cheapest option and Pret was clean, warm and had power points. Thanks to the staff member for giving me a decadent coffee for a price of a filter coffee, much appreciated.

    I was very tempted to book this, all I would have to do is go through security and then a few hours later I’d be in the great city of Tallinn. I showed enormous restraint not to book this £8.99 flight as it would have been easy to get muddled up.

    I went outside to look at the coach station and it was still there.

    The Stansted Airport coach pulls in.

    It was a slightly odd arrangement, the driver said hello and disappeared into the coach. He seems surprised I was still obediently waiting at the door a few minutes later and he didn’t bother checking tickets. This rather made the whole operation feel less like formal transport and more like a man with a coach had agreed to take us somewhere broadly useful, but I’m easy going (well, generally) and so I didn’t query him.

    I have a theory that National Express is going into a permanent decline, this service was a third full and was one of the busiest I’ve been on in a while. I looked at some of their prices, and they’re charging ridiculous amounts in some cases where they have a monopoly. That’s great for a while, but Flixbus is going to steal that trade and I can’t see how they’ll get it back. National Express also have fiercely uncomfortable seats with very limited leg room, it’s fortunate that they do shuttle about nearly empty a lot of the time. Incidentally, I didn’t get my usual emergency exit row seat here, which is likely why I forgot about how poor the leg room was in the other seats. Nothing says ‘premium national transport network’ like quietly folding a passenger into a seating position not found in nature, but we shall see what the future holds…..

    Safely at Stansted Airport.

    I had a few hours to kill so I went looking for bargains and found some in Boots. Note the number of reduced prawn sandwiches which is either a sign of my impeccable timing or a troubling commentary on airport seafood confidence.

    Another breakfast of champions. The quality of Boots Meal Deal has declined a lot over the years, that’s another example of greed and then noticing that rivals have stolen a march on them. Still, it was edible, portable and reduced, which is sometimes the holy trinity of travel catering.

    I then went down to Stansted Airport’s railway station to get the direct rail service to Norwich. There were no delays which meant no delay repay, but at least I’d be getting home in a timely manner. Punctuality is good, but it’s also rather lovely to have a little financial gesture when things go slightly wrong.

    It was relatively quiet all the way to Norwich.

    Cambridge South had opened the previous day and it was rather lovely to see it in operation, even if only from the passing train, which is exactly the sort of niche infrastructure excitement that keeps my two loyal blog readers on edge.

    I, and the rest of the train, arrived back into Norwich on time and that’s another journey finished. I may or may not post more random stuff about the trip, I’ll leave that as a surprise because suspense is important in travel writing.

    Incidentally, it was too hot in Norwich when I arrived.

  • Newport to Bath Spa Rail Journey

    Newport to Bath Spa Rail Journey

    I accept that these blog posts are entirely out of order. I particularly mention in the chronology sense with that statement I’d better hasten to add. I’m going to post what I can today and then move on to my current trip and I am unanimous in that… This is the sort of firm editorial control my two loyal blog readers have come to expect, assuming they are still trying to work out why I was apparently in three places at once.

    Anyway, this is Newport railway station which I think is quite an ugly building, but each to their own as I’m sure that some thought that it was a bold modern transport experiment.

    The station opened as Newport High Street in June 1850 and is on the mainline between Bristol and Cardiff.

    This was my first train, the GWR service from Newport to Bristol Parkway.

    I was pre-annoyed as it required me to have a seat reservation and, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t like them. Invariably someone will be sitting in the seat or there’s some other inconvenience, so I’d rather sit where I want. Anyway, I boarded the train, which was going to London, and just sat where it said there was no reservation. It transpired that the train’s reservation system was down so it didn’t matter anyway and this no doubt annoyed the people who did want to have a reserved seat, which is one of the pleasingly democratic qualities of British rail travel, namely that eventually everyone gets disappointed.

    Crossing the River Usk at Newport.

    Safely at Bristol Parkway. I went off to look at an old church at this point, I’ll come back to that another time. Although this is how the blog chronology collapses, one church and one railway platform at a time.

    Back at Bristol Parkway, this station opened in 1972, although it was heavily modernised in 2001.

    Many people come to look at this plaque noting the unveiling of the new platform by Chris Grayling, then the Transport Secretary and now in the Lords, in April 2018.

    I found a Tesco when church hunting so that was lunch sorted. Note all that fruit. I mention this because it gives the whole arrangement a faintly healthy glow, even if the broader dietary context of my travels may not withstand close academic scrutiny.

    The GWR train to Bath Spa turned up six minutes later and I wondered whether Delay Repay would kick in, but they got the train back on track so to speak.

    This train wasn’t overly busy and GWR hadn’t burdened themselves by cleaning it.

    Playing music loudly from his phone and feet wiped on the seats numerous times. The train guard didn’t say anything, although I hardly blame the staff as they don’t want the risk of being attacked. I limited myself to silent disapproval, at which I am becoming increasingly professional.

    And safely into Bath Spa railway station, although it was rather harder to leave it later in the day.

  • Bath – Closure of Bath Spa Railway Station

    Bath – Closure of Bath Spa Railway Station

    It’s not entirely optimal to approach a railway station and see that it’s a bit shut and there are people milling about outside.

    It either meant that someone famous was there or the bloody railway network had broken again.

    It soon became apparent that this was another Network Rail debacle.

    But, having noted that, I like a bit of drama in my life. I am not seeking genuine peril, civil disorder or an unscheduled night on a station concourse. Just a little deviation from the norm, that sort of thing.

    The difficulty was that I did actually want to get to Swindon, which is perhaps not a sentence people write very often. Indeed, most people spend their lives trying to avoid needing to get to Swindon, and yet here I was, standing outside a closed railway station, regarding it as a cherished destination.

    At least I could see the entrance now, it’s a bit like seeing a lifeboat on a slightly sinking ship.

    The police told people not to push, although by trying to hear what they were saying they pushed forward. Fortunately, I am sufficiently well built that it is quite hard to push me very far. I have many flaws, but being easily displaced in a railway related crowd is apparently not one of them.

    There was more vibrancy to the arrangement at this stage. By vibrant I mean a combination of confusion, annoyance and the need for signage.

    So near and so far from entering….

    I was let through soon after this and was rather pleased as I did need to get to Swindon at some point as it was getting late and there was no alternative way of getting there as taxis were over £125 and there weren’t any buses. Praise to the British Transport Police and the station staff who were doing their best to manage the crowds and entry onto the platforms with some rather difficult circumstances.

  • Bristol Clifton Down to Newport Rail Journey

    Bristol Clifton Down to Newport Rail Journey

    After leaving Bristol Craft Beer Festival it was the railway station of Clifton Down that was the most convenient to depart from. I was heading to Newport as accommodation in Bristol was too expensive and the savings on hotel prices by staying in Wales more than made up for the rail fare, so a handy bit of financial prudence. The entrance to the railway station is a little tucked away in a car park, it’s not the grandest of approaches that I’ve ever seen.

    The frontage is a little better.

    The railway station opened in 1874 as part of the Clifton Extension Railway with the preceding station being Sea Mills and the following station being Redland. The railway station was particularly useful for the nearby Bristol Zoological Gardens and that formed a helpful part of its traffic during its history, although the zoo closed in 2022.

    The railway station buildings that were here have now been closed for passengers, but there is access from the other side and it’s now used as a pub named Steam.

    The train arrived several minutes early and, as usual, I was standing at the wrong end of the platform. This is one of my more consistent railway skills. I also had to stand, as the station has not burdened itself with providing much seating on this platform, presumably to keep passengers alert and characterful.

    On board the train that took me to Bristol Temple Meads.

    And the delights of Bristol Temple Meads. I didn’t have long to make the connection so I couldn’t meander around for long and I’ve taken enough photos of this railway station before. I like the GWR benches though.

    I’m 6’0″ and for the many people taller than me, these seats just don’t have enough space. But, there are power outlets, so that will just have to do as I don’t want to sound like I’m always complaining but that ship (well train) may have already left the platform….

    After leaving the tunnel, we were safely sweeping through Wales.

    I was staying overnight in Newport but had to leave again early in the morning, so I didn’t get chance to have a little look at Newport Castle. Next time….

    And this is Wales. It was then only a two minute walk to Travelodge, which is very handily located for the railway station. Everything was on time which gave me a limited time to enjoy Newport, but the early start meant that I could head to God’s own city of Bath.

  • Heathrow to London Luton

    Heathrow to London Luton

    Another post for the sake of completion, so there were no major dramas getting from Heathrow to Luton. It was rather odd that I was staying around twenty metres from the country’s major airport and had decided to fly from Luton Airport. Such is the lure of the £8.99 Wizz Air flights. Geographical inconveniences don’t concern me though…..

    It was raining so I decided against walking the one hour to Hayes and Harlington railway station.

    I don’t find buses very exciting, but this was a handy option which only took around ten minutes. I also appreciate that bus content is not traditionally where great travel writing finds its highest expression, but there we go.

    I remember when this was all fields…. Well, I remember it before it was on the Elizabeth Line and it had this fancy frontage anyway.

    I might not love buses, but I do like trains and here’s the Elizabeth Line train sweeping in. I got the train into Farringdon to complete a little task involving free food and then decided that I’d walk the 30 minutes to King’s Cross St Pancras as the rain had stopped. I’m a natural athlete me, albeit one whose sporting career is mostly based around refusing to pay for short tube journeys.

    The delights of St. Pancras, a really rather beautiful shopping centre with some train lines.

    Platform 1 was the train to Corby and that would get me to London Luton Airport Parkway in under 30 minutes. I would add that the rail fare was £4.20 which is rather decent value for money I think bearing in mind I only booked it yesterday.

    One day I’ll find getting trains boring, but for the moment, it still excites and delights.

    In crawls the train…

    I don’t like five seats across as I don’t think trains were originally designed for this, but anyway, it wasn’t that busy. I also provided a free tourist service to the guy who was trying to get to Luton and I didn’t once ask him why he wanted to go to Luton which I think showed considerable restraint and perhaps even personal growth.

    Still the worst managed railway station in the country in my view, but I won’t labour that point as I might have drivelled on several times before about it.

    I walked the twenty minutes to Luton Airport and passed by the Vauxhall building, now closed down and staffed only by security teams and guard dogs.

    And safely at London Luton airport.

    And the longest queues which I’ve seen at London Luton, although, to be fair, I was still through in under 25 minutes and I was hardly in a rush as I had, once again, arrived five hours early for my flight. I can imagine that my two loyal blog readers can hardly contain themselves with excitement for the next post….

  • Norwich to Heathrow (Skopje Trip)

    Norwich to Heathrow (Skopje Trip)

    I set off for Heathrow yesterday as there was a cheap offer advertised by Accor and, naturally, I hadn’t formed any other plan. This is what travel looked like before people insisted on having itineraries, aims and a vague sense of personal responsibility. Anyway, here’s the train to Stansted Airport which departed on time and without issue. There was no driver until one minute before departure and I was slightly hoping for a delay repay, but it wasn’t to be. I’d add at this stage that there isn’t any fascinating content in this post (not that there usually is), but I like a complete write-up for my own memory. And, imagine, a future historian might query why civilisation failed and they might discover the answer from this blog.

    Safely in Cambridge.

    There was a six minute connection time to get the Great Northern train to King’s Cross and it took me four minutes to cross Cambridge railway station so anyone with accessibility issues would have likely missed it.

    Setting off and the train remained relatively quiet, which made it easier for all the people with seats to keep them there. These trains, similar to Thameslink, don’t have power points but I do like the ironing board seats, although I seem to be about the only person who does.

    I always like arriving into King’s Cross, it’s a beautiful station.

    And safely into Hayes and Harlington railway station using the Elizabeth Line. There’s a decent fair from Norwich to here, it came in at £12 which felt rather reasonable.

    I thought I’d pop to the Botwell Inn, the JD Wetherspoon operated pub located near to the railway station. This real ale went back, it was vinegary on the taste, but the manager was quick at checking it and replacing it. Actually, the manager was very good in general, this always feels like a well-run pub and real ale based issues are inevitably going to occur.

    The replacement beer was the Wolf of the Woods from Twickenham Fine Ales with a biscuity, toffee and nutty taste to it. It also cost only £2.39 a pint which is the usual bargain price from the chain.

    I decided that it might be useful to actually plan my week at this stage, since it was already Sunday evening and I had no idea where I was going. I do know that I needed to be back in Bristol for Friday morning, so I needed a plan to get there cheaply. I decided on a route via Skopje, booked the flights, trains and National Express, ready now for the craft beer festival. I mentioned a few days ago that this is one of the countries that I haven’t visited, so it felt a wise choice.

    Given that I was lingering here, I paid £6.39 for the steak pudding with chips and that included the Guinness 0%. It’s not exactly going to surprise and delight those who like fine dining, but it’s hard to complain too much at that price.

    It was an hour walk to the hotel and this time I decided to have a look at the church in Harlington for the first time, but more of that in a separate post as I don’t want some ecclesiastical masonry interfering with this post.

    Back at the Heathrow Ibis hotel which I’ve stayed at numerous times before. The reason I stayed here is that with the Accor offer it came to £13 for the night, which I thought was reasonable.

    I also get my free welcome drink and here are some of the options.

    Not Magners, but the Eazy from Camden Town Brewery which is growing on me, it’s got flavours of orange, it’s hazy and it’s quite intriguing. That is a pint glass, it’s just that the chair the other side of the table is unusually large.

    A room. This blog really doesn’t fail to delight with riveting content…. But, I arrived here with a plan for the week and that felt like an achievement in itself.