Crewe – Carlisle – Newcastle – King’s Cross – St Pancras – Lille Europe
With 6 days of my Interrail pass to use by 13th January, my first idea had been to fly to Bari and resume my original itinerary from November, or possibly to Venice and pick up from there.
That plan went out of the window when the cold weather arrived. It’s lovely to live on a river, but turning the heating off for a week when temperatures are threatening to drop to -5 degrees is just not an option, and I have insufficient battery life to leave it on for a week at this time of year; four days is probably the limit, depending on how cold it is, and how hard the heating system is working.
By Friday it had become clear that an end to the cold snap was in sight, so leaving was an option. I had up to 5 days away from home, 4 of which could be on my Interrail pass, as that expires on Tuesday. The original plan was no longer an option so I figured get out of the country and make it up as I go along. Using my remaining domestic travel day, it made sense to head to the Eurostar.
I was up early to drive down to Crewe. The sunrise was rather lovely, as so many of them are at this time of year.
Rather than going straight to London, I’d decided to take the long way around and the diversionary route along the iconic Settle & Carlisle line. The West Coast Main Line through Penrith is closed until the middle of next week, whilst a bridge over the M6 is being replaced.
The start of the journey was delayed slightly as they had a problem with one of the two sets that made this service up, but the problem was quickly resolved and we left Crewe a few minutes late.
I very quickly realised that pretty much everyone else on the (very empty) train was here primarily for the ride along the S&C. I heard conversation about it from two or three directions and a walk down the train revealed more than the usual number of notebooks and cameras.
“Normal” passengers were few and far between. Crew were also in short supply. There was no catering in First Class and the shop was closed in my section of the train. In other (disconnected) section, the shop was open but had no hot food or drinks, due to a fault. To add to the fun, the heating was not working properly and the nearest toilet was out of order. It felt very much like this was a service Avanti didn’t want to run. I’d heard stories of these services being delayed or cancelled over the past week or so of this diversion, so it was hardly a surprise.
We made up time and by the time we got to Preston we were only a couple of minutes late. Suddenly our very quiet service became extremely busy. I had to change seats as a couple turned up with reservations (I’d been told in Crewe that I didn’t need one and the overhead displays were another thing that wasn’t working on this train.)
In my new seat I got chatting to a young man who had just got on, and was immediately behind me. He had come from Coventry to Preston this morning to do this special train. He loved rail travel and had never travelled the S&C before. He was also blind, but his lack of sight did not in any way diminish his enthusiasm, and his knowledge of all things rail related left me well behind.
The train switches here from electric to diesel mode as the S&C is not electrified. Unfortunately that didn’t go well. We were told that one of the diesel engines hadn’t started and they were waiting for a fitter to come and look at the problem. After a while they decided to power the train down completely and restart it. My new friend gave a running commentary as he heard each of the systems coming back. Thankfully the restart succeeded and we were back on our way, around 40 minutes late.
The train manager made one of the longest and also most amusing announcements I’ve heard, as we headed away from Preston. He covered the usual things but also talked about the train, “it’s an Evero not a Pendolino and doesn’t tilt so please take extra care as we go around the curves. I’m legally responsible for everyone’s safety and don’t want to end up wearing an orange jumpsuit if you fall over and injure yourself!” He talked about the reason for the diversion, the S&C, ticket checking, delay repay and a range of other things including trainspotters, seemingly as they came to mind. He concluded by commenting that as a true Scouser he “liked the sound of my own voice, as you might have noticed by now!”
The train had reversed direction in Preston, heading first to Blackburn then through Clitheroe and into some lovely countryside before joining the S&C at Hellifield. I love this station and can highly recommend the cafe here, though on this occasion we of course passed without stopping.
It was soon apparent that the diverted trains were attracting interest with cameras being hung over many bridges, but on such a sunny day who can blame them? At Ribblehead, I was amazed to see the number of cars parked near to the iconic viaduct.
The views of the trains from the lineside were far more impressive than those from on board. Here’s a link to the website of one of the many photographers who have been out over the past couple of weeks. Taken a few days ago but gives a good feel for the views.
I love the scenery north of Ribblehead. I really should spend time in this area, rather than repeatedly passing through on trains, though that is also fun, as it usually means something vintage and/or steam-hauled.
At Carlisle our service terminated and those who were continuing to Glasgow had to swap to a different platform for the shuttle service. I had a little time before my next train as we’d arrived 40 minutes late, so my intended connection was long gone. I went to find something to eat and drink. On the platform there were a couple of pop-up stalls run by a local people and it felt like I really should support them. Something warm to eat and drink was exactly what I needed on a very cold day, and I’ll take a Scotch pie, even if the border is a few miles away.
I’d done the Carlisle – Newcastle line for the first time only a few weeks ago, but in the dark and in the opposite direction. Leaving Carlisle you first cross the River Eden, before climbing into the North Pennines. I liked the station at Haltwhistle, which has two very different but both lovely buildings.
By the time Haltwhistle has been reached, you are already travelling downhill, though are only a third of the way to the east coast. The Tyne is spotted for the first time and more or less follows the railway all the way into Newcastle.
I had only a few minutes for my change of train, an LNER service to King’s Cross. Again it was very quiet, though this one stayed quiet all the way to London. Unlike the Avanti, it was fully staffed. I’d barely sat down before I was offered a cup of tea and a menu.
This was the longest leg of today’s travels and gave me time to do a bit of decision making. With only five days away the out and back options were quite limited, but there was still time to see some new places. My original plan had included a run down a line from Lille that bypasses central Paris to Lyon, then crossing Switzerland. The train, however, carries onto Marseille, a city I’ve not visited. I checked whether there were any seats available, as SNCF require everyone to have a reservation on TGV services. I was in luck, and also had confirmed that I could get a seat on the final Eurostar of the day. I made reservations on both then stopped for a while as my complimentary meal had arrived, with wine, of course!
After eating I booked a hotel near the station for tomorrow evening. I don’t normally do that but with only a single train there is no risk of missing the connection.
I started to think about what would come next. My last day on this trip would be Wednesday, but the Interrail pass expires on Tuesday so a flight back to somewhere near home seemed sensible. I found myself on the Manchester Airport website looking at arrivals for Wednesday afternoon, as a way of seeking inspiration. I was very tempted by Budapest, but knew that there was still very cold weather over that way, and getting there would need several long days with tight connections, so maybe not.
Nothing else jumped out at me so I tried Liverpool Airport. That had a couple of options, Alicante in Spain or Faro in Portugal. The thought of somewhere potentially warmer was quite appealing, even if I had packed clothes on the basis that it would be cold, wherever I was.
I looked at train times on the Interrail map and there was time to get to Faro, and the flight was slightly cheaper so I went for that. I’ve also been to Alicante before, en route between two concerts in 2005. At €59.90, it was difficult to argue against it.
We were 15 minutes late into King’s Cross, so I dashed next door to the Eurostar terminal. I really shouldn’t have worried, I was checked in and through security inside three minutes. Amazing! I made a couple of calls to tell people that I was going to be away for a few days, by which time we were ready to board.
Oddly the last two services of the day are almost parallel departures, and from adjacent platforms. I was on the Brussels train, but Paris was due out a couple of minutes earlier. Surely it would make more sense to put the two trains on different platforms?
Sure enough, one of the passengers on my train had to get off and board the other one. I wonder how often people end up in the wrong city? There were repeated announcements on my train to tell Paris passengers to swap platforms.
First Class Interrail entitles you to Eurostar Plus, which is their first class service, again with a free light meal. I chose the vegetarian option, and picked out the walnut slices. It was actually very good and certainly all I needed at the end of a day with far more food than I would normally eat. The piece of chocolate amused me, the blocks were so tiny, I wonder if anyone ever tries to break it into that many pieces.
We arrived into Lille on time. It was no warmer than the UK, and at my hotel, a short distance from the station I had a long conversation with the man on reception about the weather that both we and they have had over the past few days. He was also very apologetic about the city tax that he had to collect (only €2, which I said I thought was at the low end of charges I’ve seen across Europe.) He told me that until recently the city had also levied a charge to residents, but that this hand now been scrapped and he thought they should do the same for visitors.
I had an early night, as I have an 07:23 train in the morning, but my brain tells me that will be 6:23!
Leave a Reply