This was a very useful meeting.

sad news however reached me after the end as our group was approached on the station & informed that sadly, Dave Redgewell had been taken ill at the end of the meeting and had been taken to hospital by paramedics.

I'm sure that those that know him wish him a speedy recovery

Always a very telling sign of the state of the U.K. coach industry and how difficult it is to source coaches for any rail replacement work, there’s coaches operating between Plymouth and Tiverton that are based as far away as Walsall!!

A new ferry service between Sandy Point (Sparkes Marina) on Hayling Island and East Head at West Wittering.

Due to start on 3rd April and will run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Road access seems ok on the Hayling side, not sure about the Wittering side, possibly restricted by the owners of the massive money-printing car park.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/ferry-route-one-sussexs-most-123900701.html

https://www.facebook.com/ChichesterObserver/posts/new-ferry-will-link-west-wittering-with-hayling-island/1344842544327093/

I will be interested to see further details.

I like that!

OK - but perhaps worth noting that the original question you posed for the poll was "Will you travel to the USA for a holiday?" -  you've latterly changed that somewhat.

Hope all the family situations resolve themselves and you enjoy your travels, wherever they take you!

I will be interested to see further details.

May I post here, to the effect that I have probably only continued to quote such ongoing 'news' updates from the BBC, as they enable me to add yet more fresh images of ferries on this forum.
I love ferries. CfN.

My wife Lisa is a dual citizen - originally from the USA, but now more British than American.  And some of my family too emigrated from the UK to the USA some 60 years ago and are now more American than British.  So we are an international family, and this question is about far more than a vacation - it's also about family events. Never the less, in the current climate we do not intend to visit the USA, even for those family events.

We are somewhat "with" family - Lisa's and mine - online and the distance does not feel as great; for sure, we can't pop into the yacht club at Los Alamitos to catch up with my cousins, nor into Roanoke, Long Beach or Naples to catch up with Lisa's siblings, son and family but yet we remain in touch.  Not *just* the political situation and what's going on in the headlined parts of the huge country, but also no desire to fly and as we get older the health issues so far from home, under such tension, and we have an alternative online too. We welcome family here to the UK and to Europe;  I've posted pictures of my cousin and her husband at Dundas and on the Two Tunnels walk, and in a couple of months I'll be meeting up with my other cousin and her husband in the Low Countries.

The world travel situation has changed even since I posted this poll though - so I never say "never".  The changes, this week, are rather in the opposite direction and I am rethinking my late spring / early summer plans to go as far as I can by train across Turkey.  Last year, the heatwave put me off, and I went to the other extreme of Narvik, and I've already been to Faro and Westport at the other extremes by train - Kars, Samsun  and Van may need to wait to a future year.

All the first coach, all the second coach, and front door only on third carriage?

Work on rail bridge expected to finish on time


The River Plym Railway Bridge in Plymouth is set to reopen on 9 March

Work to strengthen a railway bridge so it can carry heavier trains is on track to finish on time despite poor weather, Network Rail has said.

The line between Plymouth and Totnes has been shut since Saturday 21 February for work on the River Plym Railway Bridge. About 180m (591ft) of track is being replaced among other work at a cost of about £6.5m.

Dan Parkes, principal portfolio manager at Network Rail, said the work had been "challenging" in heavy rainfall but the bridge was expected to reopen on Monday morning.

The River Plym bridge, near the A38, is on the main line between London Paddington and Penzance.

Network Rail said 134 steel rail bearers installed between existing cross beams on the bridge and 24 new rail bearers made of synthetic wood were being laid as part of the work. They are designed to last six times longer than the traditional timber bearers they are replacing.

The rail boss said some of the steel work on the bridge had become rusty and corroded. "It needs a really, really good lot of repairs and maintenance to keep it good for the future," Parkes said.

Resurfacing work on the Plymouth-bound platform at Totnes and track and drain maintenance also formed part of the project.


High water levels caused by poor weather has made the work difficult at times

With the agreement of the Marine Management Organisation and the Environment Agency, the river in Plymouth was partially dammed to help with work underneath the bridge. However, recent heavy rainfall has made things difficult.

"There was times coming in through the storms [when] the tide was rising above the parapet on the bridge, it was coming above the dam we installed," Danny Tyrie, site manager with contractor Morgan Sindall, said. "The height of the water was extremely high which obviously made it tougher to work in."

Work has been ongoing on the bridge for several months and will continue for several more when the line is back open.

Trains between Exeter and London, Cardiff and the north of England continue to operate as normal, as do services between Plymouth and Penzance, said Network Rail.

Sharon Holloway, Great Western Railway station manager for Plymouth, said: "Replacement buses will bridge the gaps, but journey times will be longer, and we urge passengers to check before they travel and allow extra time."