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Introduction to UK train travel · UK Travel Planning

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracy Collins.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, Tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Hiya, I'm joined today on the podcast by my husband and co-author of the guide to UK train travel ebook, Doug Collins, who's going to share his expert knowledge and love of travelling the UK by train to help you maximize your UK rail experience.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_01: Well, train and travel is a passion for both of us, and we've explored England, Wales, Scotland, plus many destinations all over the world by train.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: Doug actually worked in the UK rail industry for over 25 years.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: In this episode, Doug not only shares his passion for train travel in the UK, but also practical tips to make your own UK rail adventures smoother and less stressful.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_02: Hello, good to be here.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I do love the railways.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_02: They've always been part of my life, my earliest childhood memories.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: We used to go on holiday all around the UK and Europe always by train every year, which was no great surprise.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_02: My father worked for the rail industry, as did my brothers, and so as soon as I could, at the age of 16, I left school and began an electrical apprenticeship.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_02: Over the next 25 years, I did many varied different uh roles, and that included electrical engineering, tested and manufacturing new trains and old trains, and then as a project manager, and then before moving to the operational side of the industry.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: Over that time, uh weekends and holidays, I travelled everywhere in the UK by train, sometimes on my own, sometimes with friends, and I completed every single train line that was available to travel on at that time.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: It was great fun.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: I loved every single minute of it.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, yeah, and I know since we've been married for the last I think it's nearly 20 years now, we've spent a lot of time travelling the UK by train.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I actually have also developed a love for that that I didn't know that I had until we we met.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so if our listeners are considering travelling the UK by train, what would be the key advantages that you identify um for them to do the train travel?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it's relaxing.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um to me it's it's the most relaxing form of travel.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um and as the old British Rail slogan said, it was the 70s or 80s, let the train take the strain, really.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's and I think that says it all.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: You you you haven't got the the problems that you have with traffic, and you're stuck in traffic, or having to worry about car parking spaces.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: And if you're not used to driving on the left, that could always be always uh be a problem.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_02: Um and trains generally arrive, the stations are in the middle of towns and cities, so you're straight there, you're straight into it.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and you can along the way you can sit back and you can enjoy the scene or you can take it easy, you can have food and drink when you want.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you can go and get it.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, generally it's brought to your seat these days, so it's just relaxing, it's just an easy, easy mode of transport, really.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: And the big advantage to me, and and I trace you feel the same, is it it's easy to socialise, it's such great fun talking to people on trains.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_02: We've met some real interesting people along our travels, and they've all got different stories to tell and to share, and people want to share them.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: I I can think of uh the last time we took the Caledonian sleeper train uh from London, Houston, London, Houston, London, Houston, London, Houston, I say that all the time, London Houston to um Fort William, and I met this uh little old lady in the in the train corridor, and she was telling me all about the Glencoe massacre and the history uh behind the Campbells and the McDonald's, and she was telling me that she was a McDonald's and she had married a Campbell, um, and that not to believe that everybody said that actually, you know, that feud still continued and Campbells did not marry McDonald's.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and she was quite interested to know that actually I was a descendant of the Campbells.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that was amazing, and it stuck in my memory, it was absolutely fantastic, and definitely I think that that for me is one of my favourite things about train travel, is just the people that you meet along the way.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what about any disadvantages that you can identify to travel in the UK by train?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: Well, realistically, I mean, all bit the rail coverage is very good in the UK, that's that certainly don't go everywhere, and you if they don't go everywhere, you're gonna need other modes of transport, and and that realistically could be costly and and time consuming if you're against the against the clock.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: Um also if you travel generally with lots of luggage or baggage, you've got to carry it everywhere you go, and you've got to keep it to a minimal.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_02: But the some trains are easier than others to store or stow luggage, and I know it can be a bit of a strain for some people if they can't always see their luggage throughout the journey.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, that can be a disadvantage if you're just totally unable to keep your baggage down to that sort of minimal manageable level.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, I definitely agree, and it's something that I've worked on over the years in terms of the amount of luggage that I take with me, uh especially when we're doing train travel anywhere actually in the world, but um definitely something for listeners to consider.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so obviously, we've got lots of readers and uh of our website and members of our UK travel planning Facebook community who they've said that they feel a little daunted and overwhelmed when it comes to planning um their UK train travel.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: So, what would be your top tips to you know reduce that overwhelm and help them you know plan the best UK uh trip train travel adventure that they can?
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_02: Well, firstly, I would say it's you've got to allow yourself enough time to comfortably get to the train station, um, i.e.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: in plenty of time to catch the train.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh that's can be difficult to find the right platform uh if you're not familiar with the station.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um secondly, I would say be aware of exactly what station you want to go to.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um in Birmingham, for example, they have three mainline train stations: there's Birmingham New Street, Moore Street, and Snow Hill.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: And if you get the wrong station, it could be not the start to your trip that you actually want.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_02: Thirdly, I would consider the amount of luggage.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_02: I've already alluded to that before, is consider the amount of luggage you take with you and keep it to a minimal.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, in you want a manageable size and weight and be able to lift it above your head if uh if required to do so.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Can I also just interject there as well to consider um that you may purchase things during your trip?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: I know that's something that I I tend to do, so the the amount of uh stuff that's actually going in the luggage will increase and weight will increase.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: So uh do keep that in mind as well.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: If you're gonna plan to buy souvenirs along the way, um that is that is gonna increase the uh amount of luggage that you have.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I can vouch for that.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: She definitely does that, that's true.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh also it seems obvious, but take your own snacks and drinks with you and not count on services on the train.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_02: Occasionally, the refreshment car can be closed, but particularly at weekends.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_02: So if you take your own stock, you're not gonna go too short with it.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and finally, a good one is uh be aware of your uh rail itinerary for the day or for your trips, and be aware of your estimated time of arrival.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_02: That that's particularly um uh relevant if you're catching multiple trains, so you need to know how you you're progressing on your journey.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_02: So it's always good to be aware, and if that is the case, always talk to you the train proofs, incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, and very willing to help.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think I think those are all really good points and excellent tips for anybody who's um planning train travel.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh certainly make it less stressful if you could keep take note of all of those tips.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: If I had to ask you what your favourite train journey was in the UK, and I know that's a really difficult question to ask, but I'm gonna ask it anyway.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so what is what would you I say is your favourite UK train trip?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: That's a tricky one.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_02: I would say there's an easy way out.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: My favourite is always the last one I've done, but that is a bit of a cop-out of an answer.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, generally speaking, I do enjoy the East Coast Main Line and the West Coast Main Line.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_02: So the East Coast Main Line runs from King's Cross in London, on the north of London, and that runs up into Edinburgh or the East Coast Main Line and stops to places like York, uh, which are fantastic places to visit.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_02: The West Coast Main Line runs from London Euston to Glasgow Central.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_02: But a particular favourite, because it's from where I'm from, right in the middle of England, is what are called the cross-country lines and running from Birmingham up to Edinburgh, and that runs through towns and cities, industrial areas, it runs through the countryside, it's a bit of everything, and it stops at a lot of the stations, and it isn't the fastest um way to get to the north of England and Scotland, but to me it's it's one of the most enjoyables, and many, as I say, that's from the area I'm from in the middle of the country.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: So, um what future UK train travel plans do you have?
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Which is kind of I kind of know the answer to this question, but I think it will be useful too because we've been doing a lot of planning for a future trip that we have.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I know we have some really exciting train travel plans in the offering.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: So, would you like to share those?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_02: Well, what there's always so many more things I want to do.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: There's always something new and new trains, there's always a new place I want to go, but really the one that we're planning to do this year is finally for me to experience the Jacobite uh Express that runs in uh North Scotland at the Highland Lines, and that goes from Fort William to Malake, and that's a steam train for you, Harry Potter fans will know all about that one, but I've never yet done it.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: So thoroughly looking forward to doing that one.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um we've already booked that one, and also what I want to do as I say, I've already done all the train lines, but currently there's new lines opening up or reopening old closed lines and uh opening new stations, and so I need to experience those.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: I need to build these new lines, not to mention there's lots of preservation and vintage lines I want to go and see how much time we have to do those, particularly one down in Dartmouth, up in the south of England, up in Devon.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I've always wanted to do uh so I aim to do that as soon as I can.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_02: But it's very exciting times in the UK.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_02: There's so many new trains and on order and some being delivered, and I just can't wait to try them, really.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: I know it's going to be really exciting, and I'm and I'm gonna throw in one of my favourite um train trips in the UK, which is a Caledonian sleeper, which I absolutely love taking.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the first time I ever took that, you know, waking up in in Scotland, and the the views were just amazing.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um certainly memories to last uh a lifetime.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I've taken that to Inverness and we've done that up to Fort William, and we're hoping actually to do that the opposite way around from Edinburgh down to London uh this coming June.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I'm really looking forward to that.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Caledonian Steaper is definitely one of those uh brilliant experiences.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: I know it's one of your favourites as well, but I didn't put you on the spot about trying to choose just one or two.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: If I could bring them all to mind, I will tell you a dozen more.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: There's just so many I enjoy.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: There's just so many.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thanks for um kind of talking us through um some of those tips, which will be really useful for listeners, um, and also considering the advantages and disadvantages of traveling in the UK by train.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, obviously, Doug will be back in future podcast episodes to share more of his knowledge and expertise of the UK train travel.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um I know we are planning definitely to talk about the Caledonian sleeper again with some uh some information and tips for readers about uh if you're considering booking that service, um, as I say it is one of our favourite trips, and if you're planning uh to add a trip to Scotland into your itinerary, it's a wonderful way to get up there.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um but for now I'd like to say thanks for joining us in today's podcast.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: You will find a summary of Doug's train tips plus links to our relevant train travel articles in the show notes for today's episode at uktravelplanning.com forward slash episode two.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: I will also include a link to our guide to UK train travel ebook, which includes more tips, resources, and twelve done for you UK Real Itinerar.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Until next time, bye for now.