Great Western Coffee Shop

Travelling to "Cambridge" services tomorrow evening - really Swavesey / Boxworth.  Finishing a meeting in Bath at 20:00. Advise please as to whether to travel via Huntingdon or via Cambridge, and whether to use a taxi of if there are late buses that I've not found.

I appreciate good advise might be "don't do it ..." but I'm looking for real thoughts  ;)

20:43 Bath to Pad
23:14 Kings Cross to Cambridge
Taxi from their

Taxiing from Cambridge or Huntingdon would cost about the same I presume as they seem to be equal distances from Swavesey, train to Cambridge being marginally cheaper than train to Huntingdon. As for quickness it would all depend on what time you were to arrive at Kings Cross

Yeah ... sadly that looks  like it.

From my email yesterday morning:


Have to admit that running from 6 rather than 5 p.m. is probably better for many - but changing times at less than 48 hours notice is rather late in the day, and inconveniences plans already made.  Looking at the cc list on the email, I could have made a pretty shrewd guess that 6pm would have been better from when it was set up.  And I would have hoped for a venue closer to the station - looks like a bus or taxi job for me in Bath considering what are now my limits.

On Schedule, I should have left Swavesey at 17:00 for the 17:42 train at Huntingdon.  As it was the taxi didn't arrive until 17:25 ("I got sent on another job first" said the driver), and we arrived at the station at 17:45.  Of course, the train was on time.

A good run to King's Cross on the following train, and connection along to Paddington where I arrived in time for the 19:30 ... except that it's a train I dread, and it showing "expected 15 minutes late", so I hopped on a 19:36 showing "Maidenhead and Twyford", intending to stay on to Reading.  I know the trick of showing trains as 'destination Twyford' when really they're going to Reading because they will be overtaken.  Alas, why did I choose the one train of the day from Paddington tahat really DOES terminate at Twyford?  And of course the following train from there - scheduled 20:17 didn't leave until 20:29, meaning a 20:39 arrival in Reading and - guess what - the 20:39 to Chippenham and Bristol was on time - the doors locked as I went down off the transfer bridge.

Chap on the platform tells me the next train to get to Melksham is 21:12 change at Chippenham - but then advises me to get on the Swansea and change at Swindon, which I'm doing.  Alas, chap would have been right with either suggestion until August, with a change to the 234 bus at Chippenham, which took train tickets until it was withdrawn in August when council subsidy was removed (without consultation, let it be noted).   My real choices now - at Didcot as I write, headed for Swindon, are to go to Bath Spa and get the 23:20 bus to Melksham at around midnight ... to go to Chippenham and get myself a tai, or to see if I can find someone at Chippenham who's headed for Melksham and will give me a lift.

It may appear I''ve had a bit of an eventful journey, and could be grumbling, but actually I'm a bit relaxed about it. I don't have the tiredness of driving, I'll get home eventually, and it's been "an experience".  I would, I admit, not want the same experiences as a regular journey, even though the time's not been wasted as I've had the opportunity to look, learn, observe, and catch up on some peaperwork too.  Even as it is, better that driving all the way to Swavesey on Tuesday evening and back 48 hours later.

Must go - train slows for Swindon.  Hope to get internet connection from there as this train has run out of WiFi oomph.  I can "ping" my server so I'm dort of on line, but that seems to be it.  Ah - the joys of a system creaking at the seams because passenger number have been growing rapidly and measures to cope are too little and come too late.

finally online on 21:47 from Swindon - left at 22:01. Would have missed the 22:16 bus anyway at Chippenham ... ah well, choice between an hour's more travel via Bath or ...   will tell you what I do later

Is it the sheer number of Reading commuters on the 1930 that you dread? I can understand that, but trading those 30 minutes of crowding for later connections seems a little extreme.

Apologies if there are other reasons.

I've had some really unpleasantly full journeys on the 19:30 ... and the frustration at being half an hour after the last connection to Melksham has left.  The swilling around on the concourse and the dirty dash for the train. I gauged it might be even busier tonight with the delay, and there was this train marked "Twyford" right beside me and ready to go.  It did also give me a rare opportunity to experience a turbo out of Paddington and to try a Maidenhead commuter train, though I appreciate I got a good 'un.    Spur of the moment decision, BigNoseMac, and in hindsight perhaps not the wisest - but added more interest, and I'm never "just" travelling.

Home now, 22:45 ... spashed out on a taxi otherwise I would still be in Bath, and by the time I paid extra train and bus fares ... being helped write by my friend:
(http://www.wellho.net/pix/billycomputing.jpg)

Excellent relaxation device there. Not the one with a screen!

I've had a stressful day too. As I type I'm smoovin the cat.

That's not a euphenism.

Oddly enough it does then continue straight on to Reading as ECS before buffering up to 2 other units and heading to the depot.

Not a typical working. Noting it's Monday to Thursday only, ran from a main platform ( 8 ) at Paddington, fast to Maidenhead overtaking the Oxford train that I dropped back to when a handful of us for Reading got turfed off. Shouldn't be any big deal as there's supposed to the other train 10 mins behind, but why terminate at Twyford?  Just idle curiosity, by the way - for once I'm not "going anywhere" with this question / thread.

No you weren't "going anywhere", you were stuck at Twyford  ;D