From
the Mirror:
What DO you get for a ^1,000 train fare? 800 miles, 52 stations, 5 changes and a curry break..
For a thousand hard-earned pounds, you could fly halfway round the world to Sydney... and back again.
But we revealed this week that train bosses want a staggering ^1,002 for a first-class return from Cornwall to Scotland by rail!
So what do you get for your cash? Well, five changes and no hot meal for starters... JAMES ORR» jumped on board for the epic 800-mile trek.
We leave Newquay station bang on time. But we're not exactly travelling in style. The First Great Western leg to Par, Cornwall, consists of just two carriages - with no firstclass cabin. Not the best of starts.
We arrive in Par after gliding past lush green meadows and dairy farms. I'm starting to relax. When we change trains for Plymouth I grab a coffee. Distance: 21 miles.
Plymouth comes into view as it's getting dark. I've had to stand for some of the journey as all the seats were taken. That wouldn't happen on a plane to Sydney. But the scenery - especially the view over the Tamar estuary - helps to cushion the blow. Distance: 36miles.
We leave for Birmingham on time and at last we're in first-class comfort. I crack open a beer to celebrate. Lovely. But the attendant spoils it by saying there's no restaurant carriage for the three-and-a-half-hour trip. That takes the biscuit - and so do I, plus a limp cheese and tomato bloomer.
It's dark and wet as we coast into Birmingham New Street. Fortunately our Virgin train to Crewe is already waiting on the platform so it's a quick change. Distance: 257 miles.
Leave on time. The train manager comes over to say the advertised Wi-Fi isn't up and running yet, which was nice of him, but it seems to work when we try it.
I don't fancy coffee so order a bottle of wine and a roast vegetable sandwich (not first-class by any means, but better than the bloomer).
We pull into Crewe and another rain-swept platform. I've an hour and-a-half to kill before the connecting train up to Inverness. I don't fancy freezing on the platform so hotfoot it to a curry house just outside the station for lamb korma, a naan bread and a pint. A proper meal at last. Shame it wasn't included in the price. I feel slightly sick as I hand over the money, and it's not down to the food. Distance: 314 miles.
We leave Crewe, this time with ScotRail. An assistant ushers me into my own sleeper berth. Nice. It's comfy and there's towels and soap for a wash. Nothing doing in the lounge carriage though and I head back to my berth but it takes ages to sleep. Damn those umpteen coffees earlier.
I finally nod off but wake up as we pull into pitch-black Perth.
The train chugs into Dunkeld and Birnam. It's still dark, I can't sleep and there's no one I can ask for tea.
Dawn breaks to reveal the most magnificent rolling Scottish hills under leaden skies. The scenery is out of this world - a bit like the price.
We pull in briefly to Kingussie. The platform's completely deserted.
Leaving Kingussie and the views are breathtaking. The train rattles past rivers, vast undulating hillsides, mist-shrouded valleys, ancient woodland, lochs and I can see snow-capped peaks!
This view deserves an equally magnificent breakfast - smoked kippers maybe, organic sausages and bacon, free-range eggs and a pot of fresh tea perhaps. Fat chance! I have a single complimentary shortbread biscuit and dunk a miserly teabag into a cup of lukewarm water.
We arrive in Inverness to change for a train for the final leg. I'm absolutely exhausted - I feel like I've run the whole way. Distance: 714 miles.
The train is slightly dilapidated but we pass beautiful sunlit lochs. We see the Moray Firth, the little villages of Beauly and Dingwall and I spot stags on the hillsides. Next comes Lochcarron with its white cottages reflected in the waters of the loch and we pass the pinetree lined fishing village of Plockton.
At long last, we arrive at the busy port of Kyle of Lochalsh where a bridge crosses to the Isle of Skye. Distance: 800 miles.
Verdict: So was it worth ^1,002 for the privilege? The views for the last couple of hours were amazing, but that's not enough to make up for the long overnight hours of mind-numbing coffee-fuelled tedium. And for that sort of money, a proper meal is the least you'd expect. And I had to stand up for some of the way! Whinge, grumble, moan. Now, where's the train back to Newquay?
1st LEG: Newquay, Par
2nd LEG: Lostwithiel, Bodmin Parkway, Liskeard, Menheniot, St Germans, Saltash, St Budeaux, Keyham, Dockyard Devonport, Devonport, Plymouth
3rd LEG: Totnes, Exeter St Davids, Tiverton Parkway, Taunton, Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Cheltenham Spa, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton Stafford, Crewe
4th LEG: Preston, Sterling, Dunblane, Gleneagles, Perth, Dunkeld and Birnam, Pitlochry, Blair Atholl, Dalwhinnie, Newtonmore, Kingussie, Aviemore, Inverness
5th LEG: Beauly, Muir of Ord, Dingwall, Garve, Lochluichart, Achanalt, Achnasheen, Achnashellach, Strathcarron, Attadale, Stromeferry, Duncraig, Plockton, Duirinish, Kyle of Lochalsh
39 miles per hour, average speed
20.5 hours. Total journey time
49 pounds. Cost per hour on train
3 different train operators used
12 cups of coffee drunk on trip
6 sandwiches eaten, plus a curry in Crewe!
3 stags spotted plus one heron
Click on the map to explore geographics
