Great Western Coffee Shop

Not a good day for SWR today. Points failures near Farnborough and Woking. Major disruption to services between London and Basingstoke and London and Guildford.

More problems further west. Herd of cows blocking the line near Crewkerne. I'm on 1L41 the 1508 from Basingstoke (part cancelled from Waterloo) to Exeter. We've just reversed from near Crewkerne, heading back to Yeovil Junction. No idea yet what is happening after that...

... still at Yeovil Junction. Coin toss. Go back to Salisbury for Westbury then Exeter, or wait here in hope the bovine interlopers are moooved...

RTT shows it as cancelled from Yeovil Jct.

I stayed at Yeovil Junction in the hope the Westbury service via Pen Mill would get me to Castle Cary in time for GWR's 1C93 from there to Exeter. Would've made the connection were that SWR train via Pen Mill not caped at Salisbury.

Now on the move from Yeovil Junction, over two and a half hours late. I'll be too late for dinner at my hotel in Paignton. Glad I didn't book the half board special offer!

I'll still get to Paignton earlier than those passengers who were sent back to Salisbury, for Westbury then Exeter, from Yeovil Junction at 1830. I decided against that option because the connection at Westbury entailed an hour wait and my arrival in Paignton would've be 2355! As it is I'm now due in at either 2135 or 2150.

The only positive is the cows have given me a full return journey refund!

Mooooooooooos gonna pay for it?  ;)

Interesting question.

Do farmers get billed by Network Rail for livestock incursions?

I finally checked in at 2220. Some three hours after my intended arrival.  ::)

Network Rail is responsible for its own boundary fences, but they may not be cow-proof unless cows are known to be present. If inadequate fencing isn't the reason for the incowtion, I imagine NR might claim against the cows' keeper. However, I suspect this would be unusual - these days being a good neighbour seems to be official NR policy.

Incowtion. Word of the day!

Finally checked in. Mild enough evening to sit on the terrace and have a beer and smoke. Cheers!

(https://i.ibb.co/7y2pK8S/IMG-20231114-224458.jpg)

Midnight snack in the hotel room. Sharing my giant Wotsits with Finn.

(https://i.ibb.co/PYk7yTw/IMG-20231114-235234.jpg)
 ;D

As I am generally a non-believer where coincidences are concerned I have to ask if there is any possibility that the Crewkerne bovine incursion resulted from something that was done (improperly) during the recent engineering blockade.