It was the 5th July 2016, and time for me and my dad to go on a long overdue holiday, my mother would be staying at home to look after my autistic sister. We were going to be going around the country using both the car and the railway. Today we were going to be starting the holiday by visiting Blackpool! We left the house at approximately 09:30 and we started the long drive down to Blackpool. We were going to be stopping off in Penrith for a bit of spotting and shopping. We arrived at approximately 10:50. Not much came through Penrith in the hour and a bit that we were there, just the usuals. It was interesting to see a man trying to board a class 390 by the cab door, only to realise that there was no open button. We also saw a 221 on the 11:26 to Euston. We headed off to get lunch and left Penrith for the remainder of the drive to Blackpool. I was hoping to do some 'on the move' spotting at Tebay, however nothing came when we drove past! We were going to be staying at the Big Blue Hotelat the Pleasure Beach. We arrived here at around 14:10, and we managed to check in up to an hour early, and the receptionist was very friendly, and gave us a family room for extra storage! We just spend the night going around the Pleasure Beach and the Promenade, enjoying a lovely fish supper out of Harry Ramsden's restaurant! We retired to the hotel room quite early as we didn't want to be tired for our trip down to Manchester on the train tomorrow!
On the Wednesday we woke up sharp and had a delicious cooked breakfast from the hotel. We headed off to Blackpool North to catch the 09:21 Northern service to Huddersfield as far as Manchester Victoria. Much to our dismay, it was a double 142. The ride was very bumpy, but thankfully we pulled into Manchester on time! We then went out to the Media City area in Salford. It is a lovely area and I would highly recommend a visit! We had lunch in the large shopping centre nearby and then headed in to the city for a wander around. We had dinner at the Red Hot World Buffet and it was Delicious! We then headed back to Manchester Victoria for a bit of spotting before our train back to Blackpool. Not much came through! Eventually our train pulled in, and thankfully, it was a 150! We arrived back at Blackpool at about 20:50 and walked back from Blackpool North to our hotel down south.
On the Thursday we woke up early again, and today we were going to be travelling down to Evesham (we were going to be attending the Royal Air Tattoo in Fairford and we found the Premier Inn here the most ideal accommodation. We visited Manchester Airport on the way down and went to the viewing park here, it was very good and I would recommend it too! On the way down from Manchester to Evesham, we got caught in awful traffic, and it took us about 2 hours to move about a mile! Eventually traffic started moving and we arrived at Evesham around 17:00. We checked in and then went a walk down to Evesham station. It was a quiet station and the only train we saw was a GWR HST in FGW livery! We went to bed early as there was not much to do in Evesham!
On the Friday we went to the Royal Air Tattoo in RAF Fairford. This was very good and I was able to get into the cockpit of a Voyager (The Plane, not the 221 :P). The 4 hour flying display was exceptional and featured a phenomenal display from the Red Arrows!We then begun our long drive to Birmingham where we were to stay that night, in another Premier Inn. We arrived about 19:30 and just settled in for the night then, as we were driving to Crewe the next morning.
We woke up early, today we were driving up to Crewe to catch the 11:56 Virgin Super Voyager to Euston. We aimed to get there as early as possible so we could spot for a while. We arrived very early at 09:30! Crewe station was VERY busy, as it was Chester Races, and the severe delays along the Chester Line didn't help! Not much other than the usual traffic at Crewe. Our train rolled in and we were on 221103. We quickly departed Crewe and it didn't take long to glide past Stafford and down the Trent Valley! The train was very busy. but got quiet at Milton Keynes Central. We arrived at Euston 3 1/2 minutes late! We then caught the Overground out to Kenton to our Premier inn. Next time you come out of Euston, you will be able to see our hotel, opposite Kenton Station! We spent the night doing Touristy Things in London, and we didn't get back to the hotel until 23:45!
The next day we woke up quite late and then went down to the South Bank before heading back to Euston. We were to catch the 13:40 Virgin Pendolino to Glasgow, as far as Crewe. We got to Euston by 13:00 and just relaxed on the upper concourse. We then were notified our train was on Platform 16. We headed down and claimed our seats, as the train was very busy! We pulled into Crewe right on time and started the journey back north! We got caught in AWFUL traffic jams at Lancaster, meaning we got home 4 hours later than planned, but overall a great trip, and something a bit different! Hope you enjoyed reading my report!
On the Wednesday we woke up sharp and had a delicious cooked breakfast from the hotel. We headed off to Blackpool North to catch the 09:21 Northern service to Huddersfield as far as Manchester Victoria. Much to our dismay, it was a double 142. The ride was very bumpy, but thankfully we pulled into Manchester on time! We then went out to the Media City area in Salford. It is a lovely area and I would highly recommend a visit! We had lunch in the large shopping centre nearby and then headed in to the city for a wander around. We had dinner at the Red Hot World Buffet and it was Delicious! We then headed back to Manchester Victoria for a bit of spotting before our train back to Blackpool. Not much came through! Eventually our train pulled in, and thankfully, it was a 150! We arrived back at Blackpool at about 20:50 and walked back from Blackpool North to our hotel down south.
On the Thursday we woke up early again, and today we were going to be travelling down to Evesham (we were going to be attending the Royal Air Tattoo in Fairford and we found the Premier Inn here the most ideal accommodation. We visited Manchester Airport on the way down and went to the viewing park here, it was very good and I would recommend it too! On the way down from Manchester to Evesham, we got caught in awful traffic, and it took us about 2 hours to move about a mile! Eventually traffic started moving and we arrived at Evesham around 17:00. We checked in and then went a walk down to Evesham station. It was a quiet station and the only train we saw was a GWR HST in FGW livery! We went to bed early as there was not much to do in Evesham!
On the Friday we went to the Royal Air Tattoo in RAF Fairford. This was very good and I was able to get into the cockpit of a Voyager (The Plane, not the 221 :P). The 4 hour flying display was exceptional and featured a phenomenal display from the Red Arrows!We then begun our long drive to Birmingham where we were to stay that night, in another Premier Inn. We arrived about 19:30 and just settled in for the night then, as we were driving to Crewe the next morning.
We woke up early, today we were driving up to Crewe to catch the 11:56 Virgin Super Voyager to Euston. We aimed to get there as early as possible so we could spot for a while. We arrived very early at 09:30! Crewe station was VERY busy, as it was Chester Races, and the severe delays along the Chester Line didn't help! Not much other than the usual traffic at Crewe. Our train rolled in and we were on 221103. We quickly departed Crewe and it didn't take long to glide past Stafford and down the Trent Valley! The train was very busy. but got quiet at Milton Keynes Central. We arrived at Euston 3 1/2 minutes late! We then caught the Overground out to Kenton to our Premier inn. Next time you come out of Euston, you will be able to see our hotel, opposite Kenton Station! We spent the night doing Touristy Things in London, and we didn't get back to the hotel until 23:45!
The next day we woke up quite late and then went down to the South Bank before heading back to Euston. We were to catch the 13:40 Virgin Pendolino to Glasgow, as far as Crewe. We got to Euston by 13:00 and just relaxed on the upper concourse. We then were notified our train was on Platform 16. We headed down and claimed our seats, as the train was very busy! We pulled into Crewe right on time and started the journey back north! We got caught in AWFUL traffic jams at Lancaster, meaning we got home 4 hours later than planned, but overall a great trip, and something a bit different! Hope you enjoyed reading my report!
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