Day trips from London #8 - day out with Thomas
This is one of my favorite trips - not only we did not go through travel operators but also planning is done by one of my friends (which means all fun and no work 😆).
Meeting point, train timings, journey duration etc., is conveyed to the group the day before along with the destination and we all are quite excited to travel with Thomas (the steam engine train 😍). We gathered up at Waterloo station and while our group leader got the tickets, rest of us got some coffee and snacks as we didn't have time for breakfast - the Nutella croissants are super yummy( don't exactly remember the name of the bakery but they have an outlet in Liverpool station and I used to go there every chance I get😋).
Despite all the efforts we did miss the 9:07 train and spent the next hour roaming around the shops in the station. After getting few more munchies, we boarded the train at 10 and, after about 75 minutes reached the station (couldn't remember the name 😫) where we had to board the steam engine train.
We got the tickets and after a while, our steam engine train arrived😘. It is a vintage train which is very well maintained - not only to be in working condition but also retained in original form.
It was like hop on hop off ride and we got off after about 4 stations. The station is quite vibrant and the engines and buses are designed to the theme. An engine was being serviced at the backyard and the employee there allowed us to climb into the engine 😁.
Our original plan was to visit a vineyard however, since it is quite far and we arrived late, we dropped off the plan and decided to explore the walking path instead.
Initially we passed through the main roads lined with white washed buildings decorated with flowers, lamps and clocks.
Then we took a turn and the background is changed to green lawns, lakes and brick buildings.
After a short distance roads became narrower, lined with wild ferns and thin streams filled with watercress. In between the path, there is a beautiful cottage with wooden bridge. We spent a while there taking loads of pictures.
We came across a friendly and slightly elder gentleman fishing in the stream who patiently explained us the working of his equipment. After watching him fishing for a while, we took his leave and carried on. A short walk later we reached a small hillock and started walking uphill.
After another session of photo shoot, we started feeling hungry which is when we realized we didn't had our lunch and we barely have an hour for final train trip.
We walked back to the town and managed to find a restaurant open to serve lunch at that odd hour. I don't exactly remember what we ordered but we wanted to try watercress after spending the afternoon walking by the streams filled with it, however, we found the taste quite odd.
Almost certain that we won't be able to catch the final train, we ran back to the station. To our delight the train is still in the platform and while we boarded the train, we saw the person who allowed us into the standing engine waving at us😊.
We got into the first class compartment on our return ride as the train was mostly empty. Upon arrival, we got few pics with the engine and the crew kindly let us into the engine and explained how the steam engine works.
While waiting for the connecting train back to London we found some delicious raspberries by the fence 😋.
Even though it started with few hiccups and we didn't get to go to the vineyard, it was a memorable day and, more importantly, we met some wonderful people.
Meeting point, train timings, journey duration etc., is conveyed to the group the day before along with the destination and we all are quite excited to travel with Thomas (the steam engine train 😍). We gathered up at Waterloo station and while our group leader got the tickets, rest of us got some coffee and snacks as we didn't have time for breakfast - the Nutella croissants are super yummy( don't exactly remember the name of the bakery but they have an outlet in Liverpool station and I used to go there every chance I get😋).
Despite all the efforts we did miss the 9:07 train and spent the next hour roaming around the shops in the station. After getting few more munchies, we boarded the train at 10 and, after about 75 minutes reached the station (couldn't remember the name 😫) where we had to board the steam engine train.
We got the tickets and after a while, our steam engine train arrived😘. It is a vintage train which is very well maintained - not only to be in working condition but also retained in original form.
It was like hop on hop off ride and we got off after about 4 stations. The station is quite vibrant and the engines and buses are designed to the theme. An engine was being serviced at the backyard and the employee there allowed us to climb into the engine 😁.
Our original plan was to visit a vineyard however, since it is quite far and we arrived late, we dropped off the plan and decided to explore the walking path instead.
Initially we passed through the main roads lined with white washed buildings decorated with flowers, lamps and clocks.
Then we took a turn and the background is changed to green lawns, lakes and brick buildings.
After a short distance roads became narrower, lined with wild ferns and thin streams filled with watercress. In between the path, there is a beautiful cottage with wooden bridge. We spent a while there taking loads of pictures.
We came across a friendly and slightly elder gentleman fishing in the stream who patiently explained us the working of his equipment. After watching him fishing for a while, we took his leave and carried on. A short walk later we reached a small hillock and started walking uphill.
After another session of photo shoot, we started feeling hungry which is when we realized we didn't had our lunch and we barely have an hour for final train trip.
We walked back to the town and managed to find a restaurant open to serve lunch at that odd hour. I don't exactly remember what we ordered but we wanted to try watercress after spending the afternoon walking by the streams filled with it, however, we found the taste quite odd.
Almost certain that we won't be able to catch the final train, we ran back to the station. To our delight the train is still in the platform and while we boarded the train, we saw the person who allowed us into the standing engine waving at us😊.
We got into the first class compartment on our return ride as the train was mostly empty. Upon arrival, we got few pics with the engine and the crew kindly let us into the engine and explained how the steam engine works.
While waiting for the connecting train back to London we found some delicious raspberries by the fence 😋.
Even though it started with few hiccups and we didn't get to go to the vineyard, it was a memorable day and, more importantly, we met some wonderful people.
Nicely written Shilpa..Still remember the trip.. One of the best
ReplyDeleteThanks., it was one of my favourites 😄
Delete