If stage coaches still operated, after Brexit effects would there currently be major problems with hay supplies, and a shortage of qualified drivers trained for multiple working - of horses? 

Paul

To be fair, with a few notable exceptions (Montmartre springs to mind) Paris is mostly flat too.

Actually I think this issue of flatness is a red herring put out by people who don't ride bikes, though. Generally you can find a flattish route to most places, and when you really have to climb a hill modern bikes have low enough gears to make this less difficult than it was in the days of the 3-speed Sturmey Archer. Failing that, there's no shame in getting off and pushing every now and then... or getting an e-bike.

Ah, indeed, nostalgia ... arriving on the 227 from Chiselhurst Common, popping into J Lyons besides Medursts and then shopping in Caters, 227 back from outside and chaining there onto the 61 or 161A back home to Petts Wood. For changes to London, the novelty of taking the 1 rather than the 47 some times ... but to connect onto those we used to walk in Petts Wood to catch the 94 - further from home than the 61 or 161A, but then London trips by bus (often or Red Rover days or rail strike days) didn't involve carrying heavy groceries home.  Ah - them was the days.

No. 1 has to be Shortlands ... blindingly obvious to anyone who - err - was brought up in the Bromley area, commuting through there or a daily basis, catching the 227 bus and sometimes walking past the spot where the picture was taken on his way up through the park to the High Street.   But then ... not everyone was brought up in that area 

Oh I don’tvknow….that’d be taxis arranged, wouldn’t it?

I travelled back from Rhyl (oh, the glamour!) yesterday - two of us, two (narrow) bikes, reservations made for each leg. Interesting to contrast the provision on the three trains we took.

Leg 1 was Rhyl to Wolverhampton, a TfW 158: 2 carriages to begin, 4 carriages after Chester. There was one (folding but unfolded) bike already on, and a third cyclist getting on at Rhyl with us. That's twice as many bikes as the stated capacity, but it worked fine, thanks not least to the very helpful guard who was keen to talk to us about his new gravel bike!

Leg 2 was Wolverhampton to Oxford, a CrossCountry 22something - or two in fact, totalling nine carriages. Voyager bike accommodation is slightly curious: 2 hanging cabinets, one taking two bikes, the other only one. Absolutely full marks to the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) staff member who saw there was a single, wide-handlebarred bike in the 2-bike cabinet, and took it on herself to move that across to the 1-bike cabinet so we could get ours in.

Leg 3 was Oxford to Charlbury, and a five-coach IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train). I had an ominous feeling this would be the tricky one, and it was. No indication of which of the two "bike & bulk" rooms we were meant to use, but we chose the one nearest the front (and suggested to an Oxford-Hanborough cyclist that he use the other). But, as documented, IET bike spaces are not forgiving for anything that isn't a narrow-barred road bike... and though ours were, an existing occupant of the space wasn't: an "e-bike" that I would charitably describe as a motorbike with pedals. Absolutely no way you could have got a fully folded Brompton in the cabinet with it, let alone two full-size bikes! So we stood in the vestibules with our bikes and manhandled them out the way at Hanborough. No sign of any staff.

Any lessons learned? One is that staff goodwill can go a very long way - we were delighted with how helpful the TfW and XC staff were.

The second is that bikes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes these days, and bike accommodation needs to keep pace with that. I doubt it's ever going to be feasible for motorbike-sized e-bikes to be transported by train, and TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) might want to consider setting a maximum size. But the wide-barred bike on the Voyager was just a "normal bike", and it was a little alarming that it nominally took up two spaces.

Similarly, the folding bike on the 158 would ideally have been in a luggage rack, folded, rather than the main bike spaces. Luggage racks have been getting smaller over time, not least with IETs compared to HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train), and maybe that needs to be revisited.

I would prefer carrots to sticks.  At one stage earlier "in Covid", McDonalds was open only for drive through and they were not offering cycle through or walk through (no horse riding through either) and that certainly was not clever.  You can cycle / walk in and take away now from the main counter - though cycling being slower and walking slower still, the food would likely be cold by the time you got it home.  Going to pick up your takeaway by bus is likely to be ... impractical ...