Thanks all - unanimous then! Just got to hope for that 12 minute connection at Blaenau!
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So, yesterday was my chosen day for this I looked at the weather and it was promising sunshine in Mid and North Wales, albeit with a cloudy start. If I was going to travel all that way I wanted decent weather!
First challenge getting to Birmingham. I knew I had to be on the 0823 departure, so it would certainly be a peak ticket. With a railcard, the peak return from Nottingham or Beeston is £23 something. Split it at Derby and you can save about £5 off that, but split at Long Eaton and its even cheaper (the fare from Long Eaton is the same as from Derby - £12, but Nottingham to Long Eaton is cheaper than Nottingham to Derby!). Having worked all that out, I came up with Plan C version 4, which was to drive to Long Eaton the Council Car Park at the station charges £2 for 18 hours, and from where I live on the west side of Nottingham its an easy drive. Sorted!
After a painfully early alarm, I took the (for me) 10 minute drive to Long Eaton and purchased my ticket to Birmingham. I elected not to buy the Round Robin ticket just in case everything went wrong on the way and I missed the departure I needed. I began on the 0636 Matlock service as far as Derby, having just seen an empty HST set passing through on its way from Etches Park to Nottingham. This was very quiet, the usual 156. I then had about 15 minutes to wait for the onward service, so headed for my usual Sausage Cob and Hot Chocolate from the Pumpkin Café, before the 0706 for Bournemouth pulled in. Its bizarre in being the only Voyager to reach Nottingham (leaving at 0637) but it didnt call at Long Eaton on the way in any case I wanted the breakfast deal! It wasnt too full on leaving Derby, but with only four cars it filled up considerably at Burton and Tamworth, although not uncomfortably so. Arrival at Birmingham was scheduled for 0754, but we were held outside the station and were about 5 minutes late in.
I had wondered about trying to get the 0805 London Midland service to Shrewsbury, but with needing to buy my ticket that was now out, so I headed upstairs. The guy in the ticket office knew of its existence so there were no problems there! I wandered outside briefly and contemplated another Chocolate from Nero but there was a big queue so headed down in readiness for the 0823 departure. The standard 2x158 combo pulled in Im trying to remember if Ive ever done such a long trip on a single train before (just shy of 4½ hours). A Heart of Wales trip earlier in the year comes close! At least the ATW 158s are comfortable and I took the opportunity to boost the charge on my phone.
On arrival at Shrewsbury in Platform 5 I decided to leave briefly to get myself another Pumpkin Hot Chocolate and pick up the Cambrian timetable book, which meant I lost my table seat. We reversed out on time; the weather was still dull and grey at this point, so I was hoping it cleared up by the time we reached the coast. The run across is quite scenic, especially from Newtown onwards, although nothing compared to the Coast; on the way I treated myself to a piece of Bara Brith from the trolley which was very nice. On arrival at Machynlleth I searched for a coast side table in the Pwllheli half of the train without success, so had to content myself with an airline seat, enjoying a brief wander on the platform to stretch my legs.
As we left, I could sense the sun just beginning to peek through, and by the time we reached Aberdovey the clouds were clearing what a relief! Another result a table seat on the seaward side! I could then settle down for the journey up to Porthmadog. We were spot on time up until Barmouth but then seemed to lose some minutes somewhere and from Harlech onwards were about 5 minutes down. The weather and scenery were both great, there is lots to see, especially from Machynlleth to Barmouth. Moreover, the train was busy, we stopped at almost all the request stops (even Tonfanau!) and good numbers of people were getting on and off at the major calling points. The service is clearly well used. Nonetheless, by the time we reached Porthmadog I was ready to change trains after such a long trip in one unit!
Getting out here I was struck by just how warm it was, the air conditioning on board evidently disguising this! It was beautifully sunny as I walked down the High Street to Harbour Station. A WHR service was just about to depart from its new platform, but lunch was my priority so I headed into Spooners for Steak Pie, Chips and Peas, which came to a surprisingly cheap £3.60. I just made it to an outside table in time to see the WHR train depart, and after wolfing down the meal and taking a few pics of David Lloyd George, the FR engine for our journey, I boarded in time for the 1335 departure.
My decision to sit on the seaward side leaving Porthmadog was definitely a good one you got much the better views. I ordered a Hot Chocolate and piece of Flapjack from the buffet and enjoyed the journey the early parts of the climb are rather obscured by trees but after Tan-y-bwlch especially the views are very good indeed. It was a nice change to be on a different gauge train and with different motive power. My main concern was making the connection at Blaenau, but we left on time from Porthmadog and arrived at Tan-y-bwlch at exactly 1410, and even with a layover of some 7 minutes there were into Blaenau just a couple of minutes late at 1447.
There wasnt time to hang around, so I went across pretty much straight away to the waiting Class 150/2, securing a seat on the left for the 1457 departure. Another scenic trip, from the mountains to the river side, and I have fond memories of holidays at Betws-y-coed and the of the railway museum there. I jumped out at Llandudno Junction for a brief wander before rejoining in time for the 1605 run up to Llandudno. This is well worth doing for some splendid views, although Llandudno station is pretty rubbish, with 2-coach trains looking lost in the long platforms. A 2-car 175 was sitting on the opposite side and was to depart first on the 1616 to Manchester, so I travelled back to the Junction on this, immediately noticing how cool the air con was! These are good units, comfortable with good leg room and seats which line up with the windows.
I got out at the Junction for a brief trip to Asda to stock up on water for the remainder of the journey and bought an Eccles Cake from the buffet on the station before the 1646 arrived to take me back to Birmingham. This was just a 2-car 158, and it seemed the air con wasnt working as it was rather warm. We ran non-stop to Chester with some good coastal views, before most people got off, to be replaced by an eager throng of commuters for the 1730 departure. This gave me time to swap places so I was facing forward once more. The rest of the trip was pretty unremarkable so I did some reading as well as chatting to a couple of fellow travellers. Arrival into New Street was on time at 1930; I didnt fancy anything from the food outlets in the station so headed straight for the 1949 XC 170 back to Long Eaton, which took exactly an hour, and then had a microwave curry when I got back home just after 2100.
Altogether, an absolutely excellent day, chiefly with the weather being good and the connections working! At £24.40 with a railcard from Birmingham, the ticket is excellent value when you consider the mileage and the trip on the FR it is a lot of travelling in one day though, so any plans for a Scottish Referendum all-nighter soon went out of the window! I would definitely recommend this one lots of super scenery and a ride on a steam train whats not to like?!
