# Ferry across the Mersey...



## caravanman (May 28, 2021)

Having received my two Covid vaccinations I have recently started to venture outside. I followed the rules for the last 15 months, so it has been strange to get on a bus, or visit a supermarket.

I wanted to travel abroad, I am missing some sunshine to warm my bones, and my soul!

Due to the Covid situation in Europe, not many places are open to us, so instead I booked a train ride from Nottingham up to Liverpool for my first mini adventure.

I decided to spend a night in Manchester first, then travel on to Liverpool the next day.

There is a straight through train from Nottingham to Manchester and Liverpool, but I decided to play around with my travel options, and found that a train from Nottingham to Stoke-on-Trent and then a second train to Manchester was a cheaper option. I also quite liked the two shorter journeys for my first train ride, rather than one longer ride.




I bought a “senior railcard” a day before, which gives 33% off most train fares, and only costs £30 for the card. I hope to give it a lot of use this year!

The first train was only 2 coaches long, but the windows could be opened at the top for ventilation. Less than 25% of the seats were occupied, and announcements were made about distancing and wearing masks. Several folk just had mouth covered, one older gent had no mask at all. Mostly the young that seem not to comply.




Alighting at Stoke-on –Trent, I was pleased to find the restrooms open and in very good condition.




Next up, a more mainline train of about 8 coaches, which was somewhat busier. Still plenty of seats vacant, no need to sit next to anyone.

Here in the UK there are several train operating companies, we don’t have one national service such as Amtrak. My first train was East Midland Railway, EMR, and this second train was a Cross Country service. No catering option was offered on the EMR, but the larger Cross Country train had food options available.

Arriving into Manchester Piccadilly terminus station was fine, lots of staff to assist and many shops open. An impressive building itself.

I was directed to my nearby hotel and settled in for a cup of tea before heading out for a look around.

Next morning a five minute stroll back to the station and another EMR train to Liverpool Lime Street station. This was a longer train, and was the one I would have boarded at Nottingham, if I did not take the “long way round” option yesterday. A catering cart came through this train, but the chap did not seem to get much business.

Arriving at Lime Street, I was pleased to see sunshine and blue sky, it had been dull and wet since leaving Nottingham. I had arranged to stay at an area outside Liverpool city, called New Brighton, part of the Wirral peninsula. There is a local metro service from Lime Street, so I headed down and bought my ticket.




The hotel here was not open for early check in yet, so I phoned a friend that I had arranged to meet, and she came and collected me in her car. Although it was sunny, a very strong breeze was blowing off the Mersey, so I was pleased to get into the car!

My first visit to this area, so I enjoyed being driven around, an occasional walk and a coffee or two. I was invited for dinner and then arrived back at the hotel.

We had arranged a few items for the next day, so took the ferry across the Mersey, as mentioned in a well-known pop song back in the 1960’s. At one time a regular commuter ferry, now run as a tourist attraction since new road tunnels have been built.

A surprising first sight of the ferry, it was re-painted by artist Sir Peter Blake as a tribute to the wartime ships paint effects, aiming to confuse the outline to enemy. The ferry is “The Snowdrop” but the paint job is called Razzle Dazzle!




A visit to the local museum, and a trip to the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral took most of the day.




Time for our goodbyes, and I headed home from Lime Street station. A direct EMR train this time to Nottingham, and I treated myself to a taxi home at 10pm.

The EMR train runs between Nottingham and Norwich in the other direction, so that might be on the cards soon. First up though is a trip to York next week to visit the Train Museum! 

I have tended to concentrate on foreign trips and holidays, but find I can enjoy the UK too, I just wish it was a bit sunnier here…


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## JontyMort (May 28, 2021)

Spookily enough, I took my first train trip for over a year yesterday as well - less ambitiously, Worcester to Birmingham and back. Everyone seemed to be masked, though this has given yet another thing to add to the automated babble announcements that are one of the curses of modern travel.

Thanks for posting. Good to see a picture of Stoke station. It’s a rather pleasant red-brick style that the former North Staffordshire used for almost all its buildings.

To my shame, I have never been to Liverpool Lime Street - must rectify that omission.

As to the weather, here in the UK there has been a marked change today… from cold and wet to… slightly warmer and wet.


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## Bob Dylan (May 28, 2021)

caravanman said:


> Having received my two Covid vaccinations I have recently started to venture outside. I followed the rules for the last 15 months, so it has been strange to get on a bus, or visit a supermarket.
> 
> I wanted to travel abroad, I am missing some sunshine to warm my bones, and my soul!
> 
> ...


Glad to see you out and about Eddie! 
Did you run into Paul or Ringo while in Liverpool?


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## oregon pioneer (May 28, 2021)

Thanks for the report and the lovely photos! I loved traveling around the British Isles in 1971, 79, and 83. Since I don't crave heat, the weather seemed just right to me!

Do you have to go to separate websites to buy tickets for the different rail companies? Or is there an interface that aggregates all of them?

I used to love that song, though I can't say I remember anything else that Gerry and the Pacemakers did, at all.


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## caravanman (May 28, 2021)

oregon pioneer said:


> Do you have to go to separate websites to buy tickets for the different rail companies? Or is there an interface that aggregates all of them?



Each of the rail companies sell each others tickets, and there are non train internet companies that sell tickets too, such as "Trainline". The internet folk usually charge a card fee, but the train companies don't. Trainline is good for buying Continental train tickets too. There are other niche operations who try to find "split journey tickets" more cheaply. It does often pay to split a long journey into two tickets, as the total can be much less this way.
The latest Govt. thinking is to take all train and ticket responsibility back into public ownership, but allow the train companies to operate the trains. Nothing going to happen overnight. 

G&P recorded You'll never walk alone, a #1 in the UK and since then the anthem of Liverpool Football Club!


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## JontyMort (May 28, 2021)

caravanman said:


> Each of the rail companies sell each others tickets, and there are non train internet companies that sell tickets too, such as "Trainline". The internet folk usually charge a card fee, but the train companies don't. Trainline is good for buying Continental train tickets too. There are other niche operations who try to find "split journey tickets" more cheaply. It does often pay to split a long journey into two tickets, as the total can be much less this way.
> The latest Govt. thinking is to take all train and ticket responsibility back into public ownership, but allow the train companies to operate the trains. Nothing going to happen overnight.
> 
> G&P recorded You'll never walk alone, a #1 in the UK and since then the anthem of Liverpool Football Club!


Just to add to that - and possibly to clarify Oregon Pioneer’s question - ticketing is still national, in the sense that if you are travelling from A to B you can do the whole journey on one ticket even if it involves travelling on “Great QCo” then changing to “Mega Z Trains Inc” and finally “New Hyper Y Rail”. But it’s an art, not a science, with a mixture of yield management for non-flexible fares and “on the day” fares at higher prices.


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## mcropod (May 28, 2021)

caravanman said:


> (snip)
> 
> G&P recorded You'll never walk alone, a #1 in the UK and since then the anthem of Liverpool Football Club!



And Celtic in Scotland, whose fans sing it better  

I'm glad you're getting out and about on rails again, and thankyou for story and the pics. If ever I were to visit the UK again, and head to my old bit of it, I'd be looking to get on the UK's longest train journey at nearby Dundee. I'd imagine the trolley would come around a few times on that trip.


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## jiml (May 28, 2021)

I'm missing my UK rail adventures greatly! Since my best friend there moved to the US there's no reason to go twice a year. 

Thanks for the report.


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## v v (May 29, 2021)

Enjoyed that Ed, you paint a vivid picture of places I haven't visited either.

We've just managed to get back to the UK after 7 months (and that last visit was only for a few hours). During the last 3 months we have been trying to get all travel aspects aligned both sides of the Channel, this was our 4th attempt. 
As you mention most UK/European travel is cancelled for the duration, part medical reasons part politics.

We came through the Channel Tunnel with our camper, a journey we used to travel return about 10 - 12 times each year in our work van. Never in 16 years seen the loading areas so empty, and all the 'white van' trade from all over Europe has disappeared completely.

Final day of 11 day UK quarantine tomorrow, then here and there for appointments to sort things left unattended for 15 months.

I keep reading so many in the UK are taking their 2021 vacations in the UK and not abroad this year, that sounds interesting considering how clogged the roads are usually when most went abroad for holidays. Hope you can continue your round Britain reports, it's very interesting.


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## caravanman (May 30, 2021)

Hi Jamie, I was wondering if you were still thinking of heading Stateside this year? (I guess it comes down to being allowed in or not?)

I assume the double whammy of brexit tariffs and the covid situation in different countries has killed off a lot of small white van size business activity. I notice items like cameras and laptops from the far east are in short supply in the stores also...

Hope your visit here goes well, remember we still drive on the left...


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## jiml (May 30, 2021)

JontyMort said:


> Just to add to that - and possibly to clarify Oregon Pioneer’s question - ticketing is still national, in the sense that if you are travelling from A to B you can do the whole journey on one ticket even if it involves travelling on “Great QCo” then changing to “Mega Z Trains Inc” and finally “New Hyper Y Rail”. But it’s an art, not a science, with a mixture of yield management for non-flexible fares and “on the day” fares at higher prices.


And as the popular saying goes "There's an app for that.":






Book Cheap Train Tickets, Bus and Coach Tickets in the UK & Europe Online | Trainpal


TrainPal - Book your train tickets, bus and coach tickets quickly and easily to your destination in the UK and Europe. Wherever you want to go, you can rely on cheaper train tickets with no booking fees. Save up to 90% on UK Rail with split tickets. App Available. Search Train and coachTimes.



www.mytrainpal.com


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## JontyMort (May 30, 2021)

v v said:


> I keep reading so many in the UK are taking their 2021 vacations in the UK and not abroad this year, that sounds interesting considering how clogged the roads are usually when most went abroad for holidays. Hope you can continue your round Britain reports, it's very interesting.


There‘s currently a lot of planning blight on this subject - at least some of it government-sponsored - and if I were limited to school holidays I would certainly be looking at my back garden. North America looks a better bet than mainland Europe at present. We’re supposed to be taking six weeks beginning in mid-September - already postponed from last year. I’m optimistic, but there is of course the small matter of whether Messrs Biden and Trudeau actually allow us in. Fingers crossed.


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## v v (May 30, 2021)

caravanman said:


> Hi Jamie, I was wondering if you were still thinking of heading Stateside this year? (I guess it comes down to being allowed in or not?)



Not thinking about it, we're going providing we are allowed in (may be easier from France with an EU health certificate?) and our own common sense says the risks are minimal.




caravanman said:


> I assume the double whammy of brexit tariffs and the covid situation in different countries has killed off a lot of small white van size business activity. I notice items like cameras and laptops from the far east are in short supply in the stores also...



Sadly all Brexit, Covid allows exemptions for business. We still have a van and a half of goods sold at the end of 2019 that we can't deliver to the UK. There are 5 criteria for small business to import small batches of goods to get an import license certificate, we can only fulfil 2 of them so no chance. 
Tried asking clients to accept full deposit refunds and no one will, they all say they will wait (years if need be) so we're stuck.




caravanman said:


> Hope your visit here goes well, remember we still drive on the left...



Just starting to get the hang of it. 

But when oh when will they start repairing the roads again. Not sure if you drive around but the main M20 north from Dover reminds me of the road across the old East Germany from W Germany to W Berlin, but that was during a cold war when the Soviets tried to make life difficult for the west and 50 years ago.


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## v v (May 30, 2021)

JontyMort said:


> There‘s currently a lot of planning blight on this subject - at least some of it government-sponsored - and if I were limited to school holidays I would certainly be looking at my back garden. North America looks a better bet than mainland Europe at present. We’re supposed to be taking six weeks beginning in mid-September - already postponed from last year. I’m optimistic, but there is of course the small matter of whether Messrs Biden and Trudeau actually allow us in. Fingers crossed.



If I may ask in Ed's thread, where do you plan to travel if allowed in and agree that the US is the best bet at the moment.


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## JontyMort (May 30, 2021)

v v said:


> …the main M20 north from Dover reminds me of the road across the old East Germany from W Germany to W Berlin, but that was during a cold war when the Soviets tried to make life difficult for the west and 50 years ago.


You are so right. Arriving off the tunnel shuttle and heading north is just embarrassing - more potholes between the tunnel and Maidstone than in a trip across France.


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## JontyMort (May 30, 2021)

v v said:


> If I may ask in Ed's thread, where do you plan to travel if allowed in and agree that the US is the best bet at the moment.


The plan is four nights in New York, Amtrak to Boston, five nights in and around Boston (excursions to Newport, P’town…), then hire a car. Leisurely trip up to Prince Edward Island to visit friends, then back to NY/Philadelphia. Eventually we’re booked on the LSL/CZ, and then a road trip from San Francisco to Yosemite, Zion, GC, and back to San Francisco.

I have a sabbatical from work, so a great chance to do six weeks. It was originally planned in September 2019, when Covid was just a glint in a lab technician’s eye. More or less everything can be canx or re-scheduled, but I really hope we can do it.


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## Bob Dylan (May 30, 2021)

JontyMort said:


> The plan is four nights in New York, Amtrak to Boston, five nights in and around Boston (excursions to Newport, P’town…), then hire a car. Leisurely trip up to Prince Edward Island to visit friends, then back to NY/Philadelphia. Eventually we’re booked on the LSL/CZ, and then a road trip from San Francisco to Yosemite, Zion, GC, and back to San Francisco.
> 
> I have a sabbatical from work, so a great chance to do six weeks. It was originally planned in September 2019, when Covid was just a glint in a lab technician’s eye. More or less everything can be canx or re-scheduled, but I really hope we can do it.


Nice trip, the problem might be with the Prince Edward Island part of your trip since it seems that Canada is having serious difficulties with Outbreaks, and there are still far too many people unable to get their Vaccine, along with rules against crossing Borders.

My inlaws and friends in Ontario and Quebec are pretty much under house arrest again, with most of them being promised their Shot(s) in July or August 14 months into the Pandemic.!

You shouldn't have any problems in the US except for Rental Cars being Expensive and in short supply and Gasoline prices increasing Daily!( but maybe not expensive to Europeans eh?)


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## JontyMort (May 30, 2021)

Bob Dylan said:


> Nice trip, the problem might be with the Prince Edward Island part of your trip since it seems that Canada is having serious difficulties with Outbreaks.
> 
> You shouldn't have any problems in the US except for… Gasoline prices increasing Daily!( but maybe not expensive to Europeans eh?)



Yes, they would have to rise a lot before we noticed them as being high.

If the Canadian border is still closed, I can re-structure the New England section and/or extend into upstate New York.


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## Asher (Jun 6, 2021)

oregon pioneer said:


> Thanks for the report and the lovely photos! I loved traveling around the British Isles in 1971, 79, and 83. Since I don't crave heat, the weather seemed just right to me!
> 
> Do you have to go to separate websites to buy tickets for the different rail companies? Or is there an interface that aggregates all of them?
> 
> I used to love that song, though I can't say I remember anything else that Gerry and the Pacemakers did, at all.


G&P  Don’t let the sun catch you crying.


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## Willbridge (Jun 6, 2021)

v v said:


> But when oh when will they start repairing the roads again. Not sure if you drive around but the main M20 north from Dover reminds me of the road across the old East Germany from W Germany to W Berlin, but that was during a cold war when the Soviets tried to make life difficult for the west and 50 years ago.



In defense of the German Democratic Republic let it be known that they didn't discriminate. ALL of their roads were in bad shape, except for the Adlergestell motorcade route between their airport and Mitte.

(Humming "Ferry 'cross the Dahme...")


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## v v (Jun 7, 2021)

Willbridge said:


> In defense of the German Democratic Republic let it be known that they didn't discriminate. ALL of their roads were in bad shape, except for the Adlergestell motorcade route between their airport and Mitte.
> 
> (Humming "Ferry 'cross the Dahme...")



You make a fair point although the border crossings at either end of the West Berlin autobahn were dependant on the mood in Moscow that week or even the mood on the day. Sometimes it took up to 24 hours to cross one end or another, sometimes 30 minutes.

That one of the UK's most import access roads from the EU is in places as bad as 1960's East Germany, that is a thing of wonder.

I take it you were in the military? I wasn't, just worked and lived in the Ruhrgebiet and had a few friends who took the offered option of moving to W Berlin in place of joining the army under conscription. As you probably know W Berlin was an exciting place to visit in 60's and 70's, at times very exciting.


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## Willbridge (Jun 10, 2021)

v v said:


> You make a fair point although the border crossings at either end of the West Berlin autobahn were dependent on the mood in Moscow that week or even the mood on the day. Sometimes it took up to 24 hours to cross one end or another, sometimes 30 minutes.
> 
> That one of the UK's most import access roads from the EU is in places as bad as 1960's East Germany, that is a thing of wonder.
> 
> I take it you were in the military? I wasn't, just worked and lived in the Ruhrgebiet and had a few friends who took the offered option of moving to W Berlin in place of joining the army under conscription. As you probably know W Berlin was an exciting place to visit in 60's and 70's, at times very exciting.


At times too exciting. You might enjoy my flickr.com photos from that milieu. I've written about it in Berlin 1969 .

The aspect that is important here is that my time in the Rail Transportation Office was more interesting than my time in an intelligence project so I ended up with a transport career after the Army.


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## v v (Jun 10, 2021)

We're just trying to complete formalities to travel from the UK back to France (complex as is usual currently). Once back in France will look forward to looking through your flickr photos, we were in W Berlin at the same time and I have no photos from that time.

Thanks


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## Bob Dylan (Jun 10, 2021)

v v said:


> We're just trying to complete formalities to travel from the UK back to France (complex as is usual currently). Once back in France will look forward to looking through your flickr photos, we were in W Berlin at the same time and I have no photos from that time.
> 
> Thanks


It wasn't a good time to be caught on the East side of the " Border" with a Camera!


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