Starting early but not so bright I boarded the 0730 departure from Appleby (APP) and headed northbound to Carlisle (CAR) arriving at approx 0815 where some shots were taken of the station and the units passing through. DRS weren't sending anything through at that time of morning which was a shame. Next was to board the 0844 departure to Barrow-in-Furness (BIF) upon reaching Ravenglass (RAV) at 1020 I decided to alight and have a look at the la'al ratty. A ride on this most delightful of little railways wasn't possible if I was to get my next train. So after a quick bite to eat in the cafe on the station at the la'al ratty I headed back to the mainline where I boarded the 1118 service to Lancaster (LAN) however upon reaching Barrow-in-Furness at 1206 we were told that the driver that was supposed to take us forward to Lancaster hadn't turned up and we were getting a bus to Lancaster. Upon boarding we were told it would take approximately 2 1/2 hours to get to Lancaster (our train being scheduled to call at all stations). After looking at the departure board I noticed the next train left in about an hour and took about an hour to get to Lancaster so I disembarked from the bus along with a few others and we waited for the 1325 service to Lancaster arriving in Lancaster at about 1418.
Upon arriving at Lancaster I had missed my planned train to Hellifield (HLD) by 1/2 an hour. So after a quick look through the timetables I decided on the 1608 departure to Penrith North Lakes (PNR) this being convenient for my parent to pick me up (me being 17 years old and not having passed my driving test yet). After a large cup of hot chocolate from the Costa and some sweets from a machine my train was getting later and later and it was about 7 minutes down upon arrival at Lancaster. Could have been worse, the driver who hadn't shown up at Barrow-in-Furness must have been booked to take the 1534 service to Barrow-in-Furness and so that service was cancelled and the next train wasn't until 1615 but was delayed by 15 minutes when my train departed and this figure had been rising steadily for the past 30 minutes. So at 1615 I boarded the service to Penrith North Lakes. The service was full and standing and by the look of some of the people who had settled into the vestibules it had been for some time. At about 1650 we rolled into Penrith North Lakes and with a final picture of the unit I had just alighted from my Cumbria Day Ranger ticket became useless to me (there being no direct rail link from Penrith to Appleby any more).
All journeys were made on a Cumbria Day Ranger ticket available for £25.40 with a 16-25 Railcard. Cumbria Day Ranger Ticket
Upon arriving at Lancaster I had missed my planned train to Hellifield (HLD) by 1/2 an hour. So after a quick look through the timetables I decided on the 1608 departure to Penrith North Lakes (PNR) this being convenient for my parent to pick me up (me being 17 years old and not having passed my driving test yet). After a large cup of hot chocolate from the Costa and some sweets from a machine my train was getting later and later and it was about 7 minutes down upon arrival at Lancaster. Could have been worse, the driver who hadn't shown up at Barrow-in-Furness must have been booked to take the 1534 service to Barrow-in-Furness and so that service was cancelled and the next train wasn't until 1615 but was delayed by 15 minutes when my train departed and this figure had been rising steadily for the past 30 minutes. So at 1615 I boarded the service to Penrith North Lakes. The service was full and standing and by the look of some of the people who had settled into the vestibules it had been for some time. At about 1650 we rolled into Penrith North Lakes and with a final picture of the unit I had just alighted from my Cumbria Day Ranger ticket became useless to me (there being no direct rail link from Penrith to Appleby any more).
All journeys were made on a Cumbria Day Ranger ticket available for £25.40 with a 16-25 Railcard. Cumbria Day Ranger Ticket