It was just after 9pm when we left the pub so we headed for the train station to grab our gear. We then proceeded to our platform and made ourselves at home in the lounge. The guy on duty in there was surprised to see us at such an early time, but what else were we going to do after a long day of sightseeing. We still had several hours to wait till we could board the train so why not sit in the comfortable lounge and watch TV. The movies playing were Hot Shots, which Kim couldn’t believe I had on DVD. And we got to see a good portion of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. I had never seen it before and was sad to have to leave before it finished.
The train eventually got there and we started loading on. The hallways are very narrow and I found it hard to get the luggage along them. We got to our cabin and was rather surprised. I had thought that a private sleeper cabin would be similar to what you see in the movies. Sure the beds would be small and there wouldn’t be a lot of room in the cabin, but you would at least get your own toilet/shower cubical. This wasn’t the case! Our cabin was two bunk beds with some shelving and hooks for coats and that was it. I could lay in the bed and my feet were hard against the wall of the train. I could also reach the other wall from bed without stretching. It was quite cramped in there. The idea that we would be able to sleep on the train on the way to London, then be able to get up and face the day refreshed, was a fantasy. We might have got a good night sleep if the train didn’t keep stopping along the way to pick up different things. They also joined another few cars onto the train at one point or changed engines, as there was a fair bit of shunting around going on. Either way we made it to London the next morning looking quite the worse for wear.
Colin Butterworth 