DAY ONE:Bristol to Penzance including St Ives and Falmouth branch lines.Starting at Patchway I took the 0840 departure to Bristol Temple meads which is (currently) one of the loco-hauled services - this one runs from Cardiff Central through to Paignton. Top-and-tailed
Mk2▸ carriages which were a mix of the Anglia and
BR▸ Inter-City liveries. 67020 on the front and 67022 at the rear.
From Bristol I then took the 0913
FGW▸ HST▸ for the 4 hour run to Penzance. This train is the longest scheduled (by mileage) service operated by First Great Western, starting back at Paddington. When planning this first day I did consider taking the earlier direct FGW service to Penzance which leaves Temple Meads at 0626, however I didn't fancy 5 hours on a 15x with no access to catering!
The 0913 had a Travelling Chef on board so I went to the buffet to order a breakfast baguette. Unfortunately they had run out of sausages and mushrooms, so I had to make do with a bacon and egg baguette instead. Delicious, nonetheless.
The weather looked set fair for the day with a clear blue sky as I travelled across Somerset. There were a fair few daytrippers on this train, mostly of the more mature variety that were obviously heading into Devon and Cornwall for a day out. Three ladies sat opposite me were off for lunch next to the river in Totnes. I'd struck up a conversation with them after Jess had made friends!
With the clear blue skies, the views across the Exe estuary and along the sea wall at Dawlish were fantastic.
The
PA▸ announcements on this service were excellent, with the
TM‡ announcing all possible interchange options at Exeter, Newton Abbot and Plymouth along with branch line information at the relevant Cornish stations.
Nice to see the Royal Albert Bridge without any scaffolding or tarpaulins on it. I'm going to see if I can factor in a stop at Saltash to get some pictures of it instead of hanging out a HST droplight, when I next go into Cornwall to travel the remaining branch lines.
Kernow a'gas dynerghCrossing the border, the sun was still out with just a few fluffy white clouds in the sky. I've done the run down to Penzance a few times and as I was not getting off at any intermediate stops I decided on a little shut-eye between Liskeard and Redruth. Actually woke up just past St Erth and not too long later St Michael's Mount hove into view and we dropped down into Penzance - the southermost station on the rail network and the westernmost in England. Arrived a few minutes early at 1313.
A quick trip up the hill into town to grab a pasty and a coffee, sitting on the high path on Market Jew St to enjoy, then back to the station envrions for a short walk up the coast path and back to let Jess off the lead and do what dogs do!
My next train was the 1400 departure to St Erth. Just a 10 minute trip which connected nicely into the 1411 St Erth - St Ives service.
The 1411 St Erth - St Ives was fairly well loaded with folks off for afternoon in St Ives, most of these peeps boarded at Lelant Saltings. St Ives was fairly busy for a midweek in October and there were plenty of foreign tourists about, most noticeably, a lot of Germans. I went down onto Porthminster Beach so Jess could have a proper runaround - one busybody shouting at me that dogs were not allowed on the beach. I politely informed him that I read the signs carefully and as it was past the 20th September dogs
are allowed. "Well they shouldn't be" was the response I got. Jess made friends with another dog on the beach, a Staffy cross. There was some brief confusion between me and this dogs owners as both dogs were called Jess. Small world!
I then took a walk along the harbourside to the Sloop Inn to grab a quick pint, which turned out to be very quick indeed as I had to wait nearly 10 minutes to get served. Just one barman who was dealing with a group of Germans who were each ordering their coffees one at a time.
So it was a fast walk back up to St Ives Station to catch the 1525 back to St Erth. I only wish I could've spent more time in St Ives. It was a lovely day, just perfect for strolling around the place.
Back at St Erth I had half an hour to kill before my next train, which was probably the most boring part of the day. Not a lot to look at around St Erth station and no pub near enough to grab a quick pint! So I busied myself by snapping away with the camera.
The next train was the 1610 St Erth - Truro and I changed at Truro onto the 1651 for a trip down the branch to Falmouth Docks. There isn't a lot to see on this journey as a fair proportion of the line is in deep cuttings, although there are three viaducts that afford views across the Fal valley. This trip was a turn round and back on the same unit, so just time for a few snaps at Falmouth Docks Station, before heading back up the branch to Truro.
On the return we were held at Penryn for a few minutes awaiting a down train to pass. This gave me just enough time to witness the unique sight of two trains on the same platform face going in opposite directions! This station layout and the passing loop is a novel one which avoids the need for a footbridge or work to reinstate a disused opposite platform.
Back to Truro where I had another 30 minutes to kill. Yet again no pub near enough to the station! The penultimate train of the day was the 1823 Truro - Bristol Temple Meads HST. A trip to the buffet for a couple of cans and I settled back into my seat as the sun set over Cornwall.
All trains were on time, all staff encountered were pleasant, carriages were clean and each station that I used was well kept, except for Patchway at the start of the day.
photos to follow....
