caravanman
Engineer
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…
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…
Don’t let the sun catch you crying. 
