Badly trained

If last Friday's drive to Appleby was the worse road journey I can remember, then today's train journey to London was definitely the worst train ride I can remember!

I received an email before I left this morning to tell me that most train routes in Scotland were badly affected by flooding. Mrs M drove me down to the station, but the incoming train didn't arrive for ten minutes after its normal departure time of 8.56am. We were warned that there was a speed restriction on parts of the route, but it was so slow that the journey to Glasgow Queen Street was terminated at Dumbarton, and everyone had to get off and crowd on to the normal local service to Glasgow. We finally arrived at Queen Street more than an hour and a half late, so after the ten minute walk to Glasgow Central - my Blip today - I'd missed the London train on which I'd booked a seat, and the following one an hour later!

I had plenty of time to board the 2.35pm train, but when it didn't leave on time there was an announcement to say that there had been a rail fatality in the Oxenholme area - the Lake District - and no trains were running between Glasgow and Preston in the foreseeable future! The message was repeated thirty minutes later and at 3.35 passengers began to board the train for the next scheduled service.

We were about to leave when a large man stinking of cigarettes sat down in the seat beside me and spread himself into 'my space', bashing my elbow every time he moved. We finally got moving and were told various times of arrival in London. Fortunately my fellow passenger disembarked in Carlisle so for the rest of the journey I had plenty of space and fresh air! Then we failed to leave Preston on time and a policewoman was seen to walk through our carriage. After 15 minutes we began to move, to be told that there had been 'an incident' on the train which had to be dealt with by the police!

So by the time I'd taken the tube to Waterloo in time to just miss a train to Hampton, I was very surprised to find that I'd arrived at my destination only just under four hours late! I suppose I was lucky not to fall foul of a train strike!