2023 Transportation Wrapped

The end of the year is coming, I’ve just made it back from my final big international trip of 2023, so it’s time to see how I did at making greener choices for travel.

The rundown

JANUARY:
– Edinburgh – Oxford by train (with a bike)

FEBRUARY
– Oxford – Amsterdam by Eurostar for a conference

MARCH:
– Oxford – Edinburgh by train
– Edinburgh – Heathrow – Prague/Prague – Heathrow by plane to give a seminar and undertake a research visit
– Long weekend in the Lake District for a joint 30th birthday with my BFF. We picked a location with relatively easy train access, walk in/out activities and encouraged all our friends to car share where possible.

APRIL:
– No big trips, but I visited my grandparents and parents by train for the Easter holidays.

MAY:
– Long weekend in Dartmoor by train, bike and foot (read more here https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/06/16/depraved-in-devon-the-trip-that-launched-the-blog-revival/)
– Oxford – Toulouse via overnight bus and overnight train (more in this bold decision here https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/06/16/oxford-toulouse-by-train-and-bus/).

JUNE:
– Oxford – Edinburgh by train
– Edinburgh – Glasgow by train for a conference (feat. my first time on the Glasgow subway!)

JULY:
– Walked Edinburgh – Glasgow along the canal and returned by train (advice: do this in at least 3 days not 2 like me)

AUGUST:
– Edinburgh – Eindhoven by plane for a househunting trip
– Eindhoven – Oxford by ferry (https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/10/16/stena-line-hoek-van-holland-to-harwich-and-back-again/), train and coach
– Heathrow – Calgary – Vancouver by plane for a 2.5 week work and holiday trip
– Vancouver – Banff by coach (more on this epic adventure to come)
– Calgary – Heathrow – Schiphol by plane to move house!

SEPTEMBER:
– Edinburgh – Eindhoven by plane for a research visit
– Edinburgh – Oxford – Eindhoven by train and ferry with a bike (more on that here https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/10/03/edinburgh-to-eindhoven-via-oxford-with-a-bike/)
– Eindhoven – Bonn by Flixbus

OCTOBER:
– Eindhoven – Dusseldorf by Flixbus for a daytrip

NOVEMBER:
– Eindhoven – Budapest return flight for a friend’s birthday
– Eindhoven – Copenhagen for a workshop (more to come on this semi-disaster)

DECEMBER
– Schiphol – Bristol by plane (my Eurostar was cancelled with 24h notice)
– Reading – Eindhoven by train, bus and ferry

The very tail end of the year will involve at most: 1-2 trips to Bonn (Flixbus) and one short Christmas trip within the Netherlands (by train)

The statistics

This year I took 23 trips, of which 7 were only for work, 11 were personal and 5 combined work and personal travel. I took 15 planes across 7 trips, over 50 trains, 15 coaches, 3 ferries and multiple rail replacement buses.

For the trips where I flew, 1 return trip was long haul and the remainder were short haul. My most frequent route was Edinburgh-Eindhoven (one trip in each direction) because the plane is 25 euros and the ferry via Newcastle was over £200.

I spent over £1243.15 on trains, £243.94 on coaches, £1557.42 on flights and £337.60 on ferries. (Note this includes a lot work travel which was either covered by my employer, the people hosting me or grant funds, as well as travel covered by my relocation allowance).

I have travelled over 20,337 miles – over 4500 of which was via a method of transport other than an aeroplane.

I gave 7 seminars (in Prague, Toulouse, Vancouver, London, Didcot, Bath and Delft), 5 conference talks (Banff, Amsterdam, Bristol, Glasgow, Copenhagen) and went on 5 research visits (Edinburgh, Reading, Toulouse, Prague, Vancouver). 3 of these trips involved flying (Banff-Vancouver were part of the same travel) and the rest all took place by train or coach.

2 of these journeys (Birthday weekend in the Lakes and Glasgow back to Edinburgh post ridiculous hike) were undertaken with a companion, all the remaining travel was done alone.

1 of my (one-way) flights involved hold luggage as past of my move to NL, all other flights involved hand luggage only, with 2 journeys just involving an under-seat backpack. I paid for Send my bag to move a suitcase Oxford – Edinburgh for the summer so I could take my bike on the train. I was joined by my bike on 5 long distance train journeys.

Reflections and goals for next year

Fly less: I’ve flown more than I would have liked this year, which is partly due to time and financial constraints (we typically get a fixed work budget for travel, and when it runs out there are no more trips!), strikes, and in one specific case a lack of good routes. I’m hopeful with prior planning (and a less chaotic life!) I can reduce the number of flights for work purposes. This will also be made a bit easier by living in Mainland Europe. So far in 2024 I have work trips to Belgium, Germany, France and the UK planned all of which will be undertaken by train/coach/ferry.

Only fly long-haul for trips that are 1) worth it and 2) are multi-purpose. My only long haul trip in 2023 (to Canada) was a combination of 2 work activities as well as holiday. In my industry in-person visits are really useful for kicking off new projects and making connections, and this was definitely the case with the 2 work trips here. I’d be very unlikely to fly long distance for just one week of conference these days: I either want to add on holiday, a second work visit or maybe both.

Continue writing and speaking about my slower travel adventures! I’ve had a lot of fun both on my trips, and writing them up when I get home. A surprising number of people have told me they follow my escapades on twitter, and I’ve even inspired a few to try out train/ferry options instead of flying – what a result. Many of my new colleagues in Eindhoven are also keen to share knowledge and best practice regarding greener travel, which is something I hope we manage to start doing actively in the new year.

Travel a bit less? This year has involved an international move, a new job move, significant work travel plus a long distance relationship. I find myself in December absolutely knackered and looking at this list it’s no wonder! At the time of writing I have visited 5 countries in the last 6 weeks, so I’m very ready to spend some more time at home and exploring locally. Part of slow travel is making sure that trips are really worth it, and I want to be more mindful of not trying to cram absolutely everything in to my calendar going forward just because it appears there is a gap!

Cycle commuting in Eindhoven

I’ve been a cycle commuter in the UK for over 4 years with stints in Exeter, Edinburgh and Oxford, and one of the aspects of moving to the Netherlands I was most excited for was upgrading my commute. After 2 months in post am I as happy as I thought I would be? Spoiler alert – yes!

My main issues in the UK can be summarised as follows
– Fear of being run over (lack of infrastructure, aggressive drivers, awful potholes)
– General hostility towards cyclists (getting shouted at from moving vehicles was happening with increasing frequency)
– Parking (having to carry my bike upstairs to my tenament flat, or lack of appropriate cycle parking when going out)

Bike “storage” in my Edinburgh flat

Me collapsed on the floor after a long ride

I was fortunate that my workplaces always had pretty decent cycle parking (often indoor secured racks were available to staff), showers and often extra bits like pumps and basic maintenance equipment. Lots of my colleagues also commuted by bike, so my major problem was actually getting to work safely.

Previous commutes:

• Edinburgh: 8.7km, 100m of ascent, 50m descent, ~40min of intense cycling (i.e. I needed a shower on arrival). 5.8km on cyclepaths, although this includes on-road non-segregated cycle paths. I was glad to be riding a road bike for the hill aspect, but my word was it awful on the 1 million potholes of Causewayside. I tried lots of different routes to optimise for “least steep hills”, “avoiding hillstarts” and “cobbles are not my friend”. The official quiet route intended for cyclists is a joke because it is one of the most steep hills up to Princes Street which is completely cobbled.
• Oxford: 4.75km, 20m of ascent, 30m of descent, ~20 mins of medium cycling. 3.2km on cyclepaths, and contending with the infamous The Plains roundabout (site of many fatalities). The main issue here was traffic – Iffley Road gets extremely backed up at commuting times, and car drivers think it is ok to just lurch at you, and park wherever. The high density of cyclists and lack of infrastructure also made this a relatively stressful commute. The “quiet” alternative along the river meant lots of conflict with pedestrians and other cyclists, and had no streetlights – meaning it was completely inappropriate in the winter.

Current commute:

9.01km, 10m of ascent, 10m of descent, ~ 30 minutes of medium intensity cycling. 0.6km of my cycle is not in a (mostly segregated) cycle path. There are 2 “potholes” on my route (which I would grade as minor in comparison to anything in Oxford/Edinburgh). It is a completely different experience to anything I have cycled before!

Infrastructure

The dream! I wasn’t able to fully enjoy my cycle commutes in the UK because of the fear of being runover and stress of having to interactive with cars/lorries/buses for the majority of the journey. I narrowly avoided being T-boned in Oxford, and I was increasingly getting shouted at by drivers (usually not for anything I was doing apart from existing in the road). In NL, segregated infrastructure means there are very few points where I have to interact with car drivers, and often at those interaction points I actually have priority as a cyclist! Red tarmac means cycle priority, and often when the cycle path crosses a side road the red colour continues, meaning that cars turning need to stop to let cyclists across. At most roundabouts there is an outer ring for cyclists, separated from the road by at least a kerb and usually also some plant beds, and cyclists have priority over car drivers. This makes turning left a breeze, and also in general minimises stop-starting for cyclists.

The paths themselves are high quality and mostly machine rolled resulting in an extremely smooth surface. The lanes are wide enough for 2 people to cycle alongside one another – this can either be more matey (I’ve witnessed a brave couple holding hands while cycling!), or make it very easy for faster cyclists to overtake slower ones. Along the canal the cycle path goes in both directions and is barely narrower than a road. There is no separate pavement for much of the way, but as the lanes are so wide I’ve not seen this be an issue. Now it is dark most runners and pedestrians also wear lights/high vis along the darkest bits of the canal.

Maintenance

Having segregated lanes where cars and lorries don’t drive makes maintaining the road surface much cheaper because you don’t have to do it as often! Most of the patching I have seen occurs where the surface is distorted by tree roots. When these get too bad they are smoothed over!

I’ve also seen people (I assume from the council) clearing the bike paths. At the moment there are lots of nuts and leaf litter, so this is a huge help to avoid slippery surfaces and punctures. We’ve also had a lot of heavy rain the past few weeks, and I’ve noticed that the cycle paths drain very well and quickly (often onto the flower beds/grass that is just next door). Now it is below freezing in the mornings things are a bit more slippery, but reduced leaf litter makes this less death than the equivalent cycle paths in the UK (which are typically not gritted, and if you are really lucky have ice/snow pushed off the road for cars and into a sludgy black ice mess for the cycle lane. How wonderful!)

Parking

At work there are many, many outdoor bike racks and an indoor parking area that is accessible only by campus card. This is great for leaving my bike more long term (e.g. if I travel for work), but the design of the bike racks makes it a bit hard to secure my bike and frame to the rack with just a D-lock.

At home I have a private storage shed where my bike lives. After years of carrying my bike upstairs or leaving it to get soaked in the garden, this is the dream! I roll my bike in and it is safe and dry. Most apartments I viewed came with standard sized ground floor/basement storage units for bikes. My current one could easily fit 2 more bikes, and also has mains electricity in case I decide to buy an e-bike in the future.

Other cyclists and cycling culture

The volume of cyclists is unsurprisingly very high and really all ages (kids going to school, students, people going to work, retired people, parents with children, adults with their dogs…). This makes cyclist-cyclist interactions more important than cyclist-car driver ones. Signalling to turn is much more common (and more important!) here, predominantly for the benefit of other cyclists. This is also easier to manage as many Dutch bikes have back pedal brakes rather than brakes on the handlebars. People are generally aware of other road users, and often cycle towards the edge of the lane to allow for easier overtaking. Starting off from big junctions, or arriving on the TU/e campus can feel a bit like being in a chaotic peleton due to the numbers, but I’m starting to get used to it! As well as cyclists (on standard and e-bikes) there are lots of people using mobility scooters taking advantage of the high quality infrastructure. We love to see it.

As bikes are just another mode of transport, people cycle around wearing whatever clothes they are wearing for the rest of their day, and typically don’t wear helmets. This is helped by the fact that there are no hills, people typically cycle quite slowly, and most bikes are equipped with mudguards and chain guards. My bike currently has neither of these things, and I don’t like cycling slowly. This means depending on the season I often arrive at work damp from rain or sweat. In previous workplaces I’ve often showered at work, and I usually at least change my bottom half (my back wheel likes nibbling on anything flowing and my chain loves sharing grease with me!). At TU/e there are showers at the sports centre, but not really anywhere else, and my office door has a massive glass panel and no blind. However, I have found the *best* solution to my rain woes in these cycling waterproof trousers which 1) are tight around the calf and don’t flap into my chain and 2) have overshoe bits which keep my feet somewhat dry and make me feel like a pantomime horse. Iconic fashonista, she is me.

It’s not all perfect!

My main issue stems from being a weirdo who currently rides a road bike everywhere. The vast majority of Dutch bikes are upright and have very high handlebars compared to UK bikes – this means I often have to wrestle my bike out of the bike racks when I end up parked between 2 other bikes. This happens even if I put my bike on the higher bit! Drop handlebars do get quite in the way, but I love my bike and being able to zoom around. I have also had a few issues securing my bike out and about. Most Dutch bikes are really heavy (the whole no hills thing helps here) and have built in locks which prevent the back wheel from moving. Most people combine this with a heavy duty chain. Given Dutch bikes also have kickstands, this means you often see people lock their bikes up but not attached to anything! This most often happens when the racks are full on campus or around town. With a lightweight roadbike and a D-lock this is not an option (I carried my old heavier bike upstairs for 2 years, my current bike is a feather in comparison), so I have had to do a few dodgy locking to roadsigns and railings in the absence of a rack.

The other thing I have found surprising is that mopeds/scooters often use the bike lanes! They are often driven quite quickly, and can sneak up on you if they are electric. This can be a bit disconcerting when you are cycling along in your own little world. I’ve mainly adapted by making sure to check before pulling out to overtake, and cycling on the outside of the lane where possible to allow for maximum space for anyone wanting to pass.

Final thoughts

It is unbelievable how much nicer I find cycling in NL than in the UK. I often don’t wear a helmet, and I feel able to listen to music or podcasts at a low volume because I don’t need 100% of my concentration to avoid death. I love that cycling everywhere is the norm! I’m so excited to continue to explore the Netherlands by bike, and to transport increasingly ridiculous cargo on my trusty steed (so far: a Christmas tree, and a coatstand both secondhand bargains from Facebook marketplace).

Stena Line: Hoek van Holland to Harwich and back again

I’ve taken the Harwich – Hoek ferry twice now and, spoiler, I am a big fan. With somewhat limited Eurostar connections in the evening, and the other companies holding solo travellers hostage, the Stena Line offering is frequently a winner. It’s (mostly) convenient, reasonably priced and also extremely fun!

SCHEDULE AND PRICES

I’ve booked 3 one-way tickets at various times of year and with different sail-rail/bicycle combos. All have been overnight where a compulsory must be booked in addition to the ticket. I’ve always booked the single inside cabin, and so far been upgraded to a 2 person inside cabin:

Journey	Base ticket	Cabin ticket	Other costs	Total
August (HvH – H)	72.50 EUR (inc Sail-Rail)	69 EUR	7.50 EUR	149 EUR
September (H – HvH)	47.00 GBP (no sail-rail)	45 GBP	6.00 GBP	99 GBP
December (H – HvH)	60.00 GBP (inc Sail-Rail)	44 GBP	7.00 GBP	111 GBP

Cost breakdown for 3 journeys at different times of year

PLANNING

I got a lot of help planning from https://www.seat61.com/ (The Man in Seat 61), and I would thoroughly recommend his website for anyone interested in doing more continental train and ferry travel.

Booking Sail Rail allows you to take any Greater Anglia service at no additional cost. I’m typically transiting through London, so buying this add-on is usually a good idea. So far I’ve found the price cheaper than an Off Peak Fare, and it allows you the flexibility of taking any service (unlike and advance ticket). NB. You cannot take this option with a non-folding bike as you need a regular train booking in order to reserve a space for your bike. Additionally, if (like me) you need to cross London with your bicycle, taking the evening designated service direct from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International is sadly not an easy option as it departs at 6.45pm. See my previous blog post https://lerabotproblems.wordpress.com/2023/10/03/edinburgh-to-eindhoven-via-oxford-with-a-bike/ for details of the specific trains I ended up taking.

Although you can get any GA train you fancy, I would definitely advise checking the timetable for your voyage before booking! Twice when I have wanted to travel there has been rail replacement buses on my desired route which is either just annoying as a foot passenger or a complete disaster as a cyclist. This is particularly a problem at weekends (which is then very annoying when trying to avoid the evening peaks on the Tube in London…) in my experience.

BOOKING

Your heart is set on the ferry (good), your dates are selected, you have worked out whether Sail-Rail is a the right option option for you. But how do you book the tickets? “Just go to stenaline.co.uk, Jemima” I hear you say. Ahhh that it was so simple.

1. I want to travel with just a ferry ticket, starting my journey in the UK: yes, stenaline.co.uk, click to travel to the Netherlands and find your travel dates.
2. I want to travel with Sail-Rail, starting my journey in the UK: It takes 4 clicks to get here from the landing page! The easiest way to find this option has been to google “Stena Holland Harwich sail rail” which takes you to https://www.stenaline.co.uk/rail-and-sail/to-holland. The booking procedure looks identical to the one in option 1. but will give you a ticket with rail included.
3. Just ferry, starting in the Netherlands. You cannot book this on the UK Stena site! Only on stenaline.nl which is one of the few Dutch transport websites with no English option. If you don’t read Dutch, google chrome offers an extension where it will translate for you. (Just watch out when picking options from drop down menus – Great Britain is Groot Brittanië)
4. A fun combo of 2 and 3! The current link is https://booking.stenaline.nl/engeland/ferry-en-trein-londen and can be found by googling “stenaline nl harwich hoek van holland trein”

This also explains the currency discrepancies in the table above: on the UK site you pay in GBP and on the Dutch site you pay in euros.

If you are a cyclist your bike travels for free, but must be booked in. You can also opt for more fancy cabins, or pre-book meals for a slightly discounted rate.

GETTING THERE

Both ends have a dedicated station, Harwich International and Hoek van Holland respectively. As mentioned above there is a nominal Sailrail connection which goes directly from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International. Otherwise you will have to change trains (typically at Maningtree).

Hoek van Holland is on a metro line. To get to Rotterdam the easiest way is to take the metro to Schiedam Centrum (you can pay for this with contactless or buy a ticket at the machine on the platform), then it is a single stop on the mainline train to Rotterdam Centraal. You can pay for any journey on the Dutch rail network via contactless (by tapping in and out much like the Tube) or you can prebook tickets via the NS app – this is available in English. If you pre-book off peak tickets at least 4 days in advance you will get a 10% discount. Note that paper tickets are available at machines (easy to change into English) with a 1 euro fee.

BOARDING – PEDESTRIAN

At Hoek van Holland you cross the road from the metro stop to the main terminal building. Here your passport will be checked and you will be given your room key and a receipt with your membership number for getting Stena points for any on-board purchases. There is a (relatively long) connecting sloped enclosed corridor (think the walkway to get to a plane but steeper) that takes you to the start of the passenger decks. I think there are lifts available for people with limited mobility, but I was very glad not to be dragging a wheely suitcase up!

At Harwich you go upstairs in the station to the check-in area for foot passengers. I imagine the rest is similar, but I’ve only travelled from Harwich as a cyclist, which is quite different!

BOARDING – CYCLIST

Cyclists board with other vehicles. I had read this, but wasn’t sure what this meant and was a little concerned as I was travelling with a very heavily laden bike! From Harwich station, take the lift down to the car park from the connecting bridge. I got quite lost trying to find my way, but thankfully there were lots of staff around to point me in the correct direction. Once you have found your way, you go through a tollbooth to show your passport and collect your room keycard (you do have to queue up with cars here). Then it is time for boarding!

Where to go from the station to board as a cyclist

The staff directed me to a special queue for cyclists (I was the only one). Boarding was via a relatively steep ramp up, then curving around (very multistory carpark vibes), then onto the ferry. The woman directing traffic was very kind and told me that she wouldn’t send any cars up the ramp until I had made it, so to take my time and not feel under any pressure. I was happy to have a headlight and helmet – the surfaces were pretty uneven and it was dark by the time I was boarding. There were staff to direct you at any point where it would be possible to get lost.

Once on board there is an area with metal fencing and rope for you to lash your bike to on the main car deck. I also clipped on with bungees. You can take as much or as little luggage with you as you like, access during the crossing is limited to staff so most other cyclists left their bikes pretty laden. The crossing was very smooth and I couldn’t see any sign that my bike had moved overnight.

FACILITIES ONBOARD

Now you are onboard! There are 2 cabin decks and one entertainment/restaurant deck.

Well lit sink area

Better than many a land-based shower

My “solo” inside cabin

Cabins: I have booked a solo inside cabin and been upgraded to a bunk bed inside cabin both times. The cabins all have en-suite shower and toilets with towels and basic shower gel. There are UK and EU plug sockets, although the ones near the bed are EU so it’s worth having your adapter to hand if necessary. The beds are pretty comfortable and for one person there is lots of room to unpack/repack your bag. There is a TV with UK/Dutch channels and the extremely funny (to me) hybrid radio + video channels where you can watch the view from the bridge and listen to Radio 2 party anthems or watch a video of the animals in the kennels while listening to Radio 4. Free wifi is available (although coverage may be lost during the journey) and don’t forget to turn off your data because it gets very expensive at sea! In the morning there is a very early wake up call (Don’t Worry – Be Happy) and announcements about breakfast timings.

Top quality entertainment

Food/entertainment: There is a restaurant, bar and one or two coffee bars on board. Prices are what you would expect (not that cheap but reasonable). There is an evening dinner service and morning full breakfast options, with lighter alternatives. There is a children’s play area, a fancier lounge, some duty free shopping and a cinema. This comes at an additional cost of 8.50 EUR (and for both crossings the late film was the newest Indiana Jones). There is an open deck at the stern (rear) of the ship which had more of a party vibe. Honestly, I usually spend most of the crossing in bed, especially given the early start the next day, but it’s nice to be able to have a hot/alcoholic beverage and a snack if needed.

DISEMBARKATION

Foot passengers: pretty similar to boarding – you exit via an air bridge to the terminal building. Here your passport will be checked again (this time border control rather than Stena agents) and you are free to leave! Annoyingly the disembarkation is timed perfectly to watch the first train to London depart as you run down the stairs.

Cyclists: Again a reverse of boarding. Cyclists go to the car deck shortly after car drivers to sort themselves out and cycle off the ferry when they are ready. Border control is at a drive through booth. There are sometimes special lanes/queues for cyclists, but these also merge randomly with cars so be on the look out! If you want to take the metro technically you are supposed to wait until 9am, but I snuck on before that (shhh).

FINAL THOUGHTS

The ferry is a smooth and easy way to make the crossing, and the Hoek van Holland – Hawrich route doesn’t penalise solo travellers by only having 2 person cabins. The prices are comparable to an evening Eurostar from Rotterdam to London, and also include decent accommodation. I can leave Eindhoven at 6.30pm, comfortably make the evening sailing and arrive in London for a 9.30am work meeting. It also feels fun and glamorous in a way that Eurostar used to feel pre-Brexit, and makes the journey part of the adventure rather than something to be endured. Both as a foot and bike passenger you aren’t treated like an after thought. I would strongly recommend the Stenaline ferry and I predict I will be taking it lots in the future!

Edinburgh to Eindhoven via Oxford with a bike

In Autumn 2023 I moved to the Netherlands for a permanent academic job. After setting up my house and unpacking my boxes the final remaining tasks were to bring my bike over from its summer holiday in Edinburgh and return my laptop to my old workplace in Oxford. I handily had a work trip to Edinburgh planned for September, so I decided to combine these tasks in a very ludicrous and often stressful trip.

A very loaded bicycle at Paddington

ITINERARY:

Saturday: 12.52 – 17.01 Avanti Edinburgh to Birmingham New Street

18.01 – 19.13 Cross Country Birmingham New Street to Oxford (total £67.05 advance)

Monday: 17.01 – 17.56 GWR Oxford to Paddington (£20)

18.56 – 19.05 Elizabeth Line to London Liverpool Street

19.30 – 20.28 Liverpool Street to Manningtree (£12.60)

21.01 – 21.13 Manningtree to Harwich International (£3.65)

21.30 – 8.00 (CEST) Stena line from Harwich to Hoek van Holland (£99 with single cabin)

8.30 – 9.01 Metro line B to Schiedam Centrum (~€5 at peak time)

9.13 – 9.18 Schiedam Centrum to Rotterdam Centraal

9.44 – 10.46 Rotterdam Centraal – Eindhoven

Final local train to my new hometown

(€22.50 + €7.50 ticket for my bicycle for all the NS trains)

Total time travelling: 25 hours over 4 days

Total money spent: £202.30 + €35

I’m going to write a separate post about the Harwich – Hoek van Holland Stena line ferry (tl;dr I am a big fan). This whole journey was quite an adventure and not one I am planning to repeat! I’m going to summarise some of the main irritations/things I had to consider when taking this journey.

Cycle storage on the trains:

This is a complete crapshoot and often you don’t know what you are getting before you arrive. I find this an especially stressful/annoying part of taking the train with a bike, but it’s even worse when your bike is laden with baggage that has to keep coming on and off.

Avanti (not shown): roll on storage in a separate part of the carriage. Bikes are clipped in with a seatbelt and there are 2 perma reserved seats in carriage A (next to the storage) for cyclists. Bags have to be unloaded from bikes. Crew member welcomed me and escorted me to the bike storage. 8/10

Cross country (bottom middle): overhead hanging storage near to oversized luggage racks. Why couldn’t this be roll on with racks over the top for luggage? No information about where bike storage would be located in relation to the platform pre arrival. 2/10

GWR (top left): overhead hanging storage but it is also officially a luggage store (key area of conflict between passengers). Location of bike carriage announced on screens and over tannoy before the train arrived 1/10

Greater anglia (top middle/right): roll on in the main carriage with seat belts. Fold down seats so you can sit near your bike. Possible to leave luggage on bikes. Level boarding to train 9/10

NS intercity (bottom right): 2 large steps up to every carriage which are difficult to board with heavy bikes. Cycle storage is a roll in pen with seat belts that is shared with wheelchair users/buggy parking. Unclear which carriages had bike storage pre arrival which added to the stressful boarding experience. 1/10.

NS local/Rotterdam metro (bottom left): level boarding, official storage areas a bit hard to navigate with an unwieldy bike 7/10.

Booking the journey:

UK trains:
– Hahaha. We begin with the fact that I wanted to travel to NL on Sunday (this would have avoided much of my issues with avoiding the evening peak below). However, rail replacement bus services between London and Harwich made this impossible and I had to delay the second leg of my journey until Monday evening.
– Most non-local services require bike reservations and making these is a non-trivial operation. If you are booking with a single provider your best bet is to book direct with them, as often you can book the cycle space as you book the ticket. If you are booking a connection with multiple operators then courage. I looked at both journeys separately on Avanti/Cross Country to check that there were vacant bike spaces and then booked with Avanti. Miraculously this made reservations for me on both legs! I didn’t actually believe this, so I DM’d Avanti on Twitter to check.
– Another irritation with booking bike reservations is that they require printed tickets that need to be collected at a ticket machine. As this is annoying with a bike that wants to throw itself on the floor at every opportunity, I attempted to collect all of my tickets ahead of travel.
– Finally, I realised I had been overly optimistic with my transfer time in London, and wanted to book onto an earlier service. I couldn’t book a standalone bike reservation online, but decided to risk it anyway. There was one other cyclist between Oxford and Didcot and noone else for the whole train. I certainly wasn’t able to cancel my reservation for a later service. Given there are so few slots encouraging people to book and not cancel is a pretty poor idea imho.

Elizabeth line: The evening peak is pretty long (4-7pm) and non folding bikes are not allowed on the tube during this time. There was a connection at 7:01 – thankfully the pretty stern employee on the ticket line let me through at 6.50pm. As it takes longer to go and get the lift this helped me board the service I wanted (although you do pay a peak time fare for entering the station “early”).

Ferry: Stena offer a sailrail ticket which allows you to travel from any station on the Greater Anglia network to Harwich at any time on the day of arrival/departure. Unfortunately, due to the issues with bike reservations discussed above, it is not possible to take advantage of this offer when travelling with a bike. Additionally the sailrail service direct from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International leaves at 18.50, making it challenging to get to with a bike due to peak time bans on nonfolding bikes on the tube network. The route suggested by trainline involved a 6 minute connection, which I didn’t think was sufficient in the case that I needed to change platform. I therefore booked via Manningtree, which left ample time to change. I don’t think I could have travelled any later and getting the 7.30 departure was cutting it fine for transiting London. This was probably the most stressful connection of the trip.

Dutch trains: you don’t need to book onto a specific service (I think! ) but there is a risk that the bike storage would be full. On all 3 NS trains the only other bikes were all folding, so i had no issues with this. You need to purchase a ticket for your bike (which is expensive compared to human tickets) but this wasn’t checked at any point.

My trusty steed secured for the crossing

OTHER THOUGHTS

I flew from Edinburgh to Eindhoven because there is a direct flight with Ryanair that costs £23 and jsut the ferry to Newcastle was over £200 (because you have to book a cabin and there are no single berth cabins unlike Stena). I try to take public transport where possible, but 10x more expensive before adding the connecting trains and 10x longer/less convenient and I have to draw the line somewhere (especially when it is being paid for as work travel!).

Adding up all the bits and bobs and I am surprised by how expensive this was! Everywhere possible I bought advance tickets (apart from Oxford-London where I had to rebuy a ticket to change trains), and because I had to split my travel over several days this was possibly more expensive than a direct UK train journey (if doing it in a single day were even possible). UK rail prices are using a 26-30 railcard. For this trip all my travel was covered by grants (the Edinburgh trip was for work) and relocation allowance, but I still wanted to get the best value for money!

To be honest I wouldn’t recommend doing this entire journey with a bike/lots of luggage, especially with the second half on a day with peak hours. I got very lucky that everything ran to time, but changing trains was still very stressful due to unknown bike/luggage storage. Twice I encountered lifts that were out of action and had to carry my stuff upstairs (once at Liverpool Street *after* checking with staff and once in NL). However, I am glad to have done it, and it was somehow the least ludicrous option to get myself and my bike to my new home via a clear out in Oxford (a niche use case I know). Tune in next time for a more positive guide to the ferry as a cyclist and how to have many adventures in Western Canada without a car.

Liverpool Street Station has funicular-esque lifts and it honestly made my day.

Oxford – Toulouse by train (and bus)

I’ve been collaborating with researchers in Toulouse for about 18 months, and ever since my first visit I’ve wanted to take the Night train between Toulouse and Paris. With the excellent timing of organising a visit during the May half term in the UK (and hence completely ludicrous Eurostar and flight tickets), I finally got my chance!

ITINERARY:
Sat 16:30 – 18:00: Oxford Tube to Victoria (£18 return)
20:00 – 06.30: Flixbus to Paris Bercy via LeShuttle (£60 one way)
14.38 – 19.29: TGV Inoui direct from Paris Austerlitz to Toulouse (86€)

Friday: 20:05 – 20:49: Toulouse – Castelnaudry (5€)
21.37 – 06:30 – Sleeper! Castelnaudry – Paris Austerlitz (53€ including couchette supplement)
21:00 – 07:00 – Blablabus Paris Bercy to London Victoria via the ferry (£60)
7.25 – 09:10 – Oxford Tube coach from Victoria back to Oxford

I last too the overnight coach between London and Paris in 2016 and I vowed never to repeat the experience on the grounds of being too old. But, needs (and a dwindling pot of research funding) must and I found myself back at the old Flixbus.

As there were still no fast trains between Oxford and London, and my onward journey was from Victoria I took the Oxford tube. Although it was extremely sunny, the AC did its best and I survived the hot journey. Onboard wifi is spotty but the USB charging is good and there is great overhead storage. I booked dinner near Victoria – this worked in terms of timing and an attempt to cool down before the horror of the overnight journey.

Flixbus: the burning fires of hell

Flixbus prices are much higher and the service seems to be worse – the bus itself was *unbearably* hot. I was sat in the back row, so I imagine the engine was heating things up, but nonetheless it was not a pleasant night. Seating is assigned and I would not have chosen the back seat (but I was too cheap to pay to select another alternative). The overheat storage is too narrow to take a work backpack, which meant my laptop was getting blasted with heat all night. There were USB or UK-plug charging points, but no wifi. I picked this service because it was the one that went via LeShuttle – this means although you have to disembark to go through passport control, you can stay overnight on the bus (foreshadowing for later). Paris Bercy is fine, but the toilets don’t open until 7 which is a bit awkward given our arrival time of 6.30am. I instead paid 1 euro for the toilets in Paris Austerlitz.

I felt less like death than expected in Paris, in spite of the inferno of the journey. I had booked my train for the afternoon in case there were train delays, and because direct services are not so frequent (a general issue with going to Toulouse). I also figured I deserved a morning in Paris given the length of my journey. Thankfully, my partner lived in Paris for a long time, so I had a long list of recommendations. The Jardin de Plantes opens early, so after a breakfast pastry I wandered round, visited the glasshouses and read my book in the shade. I grabbed a galette and some fresh fruit for lunch, drank a pint of coffee and wandered back to Austerlitz for my train. NB Jardin de Plantes has free public toilets and a water fountain to fill your bottle before the journey.

The train was pretty standard – double decker, ok overhead storage, not horrendously uncomfortable. The food service stopped partway through our journey (lucky that I brought lots of fruit and water!) At hour 3 I was very bored and ready to arrive, but I survived the next few hours until arriving in Toulouse.

My stay in Toulouse was productive and enjoyable! I got around on foot or by metro – no buses as they were on strike. Before I knew it, it was time for my sleeper train!

I booked all my tickets through Trainline which was very simple, and automatically gave me the option of taking an alternative and much cheaper sleeper train. I caught a local service to Castelnaudry, and ate my baguette on the platform along with another 20 or so people until our connecting sleeper service arrived.

This was my first time on a European sleeper, so I had read a few blogs to work out what to expect. If you book a couchette supplement (effectively a bunk bed) you get a numbered ticket for a specific bed. In 2nd class there are 6 beds per compartment, and in 1st class there are 4. You can request a women-only compartment, or a bottom bunk if you need one for mobility reasons.

When I arrived all my bunkmates were in their beds. Storage seemed a bit difficult to access – bags were supposed to be stowed over the door, but it was too high for me to reach from the floor. I ended up putting my 2 small backpacks at the end of my bunk, along with my shoes. You are provided with a sheet/sleeping bag hybrid, which I completely failed to put on properly, an eyemask, earplug and a bottle of water. The berth has an individual light and a plug socket, and a shelf for phone/book etc. It was hot when I arrived, but cooled down overnight, so I made use of my scarf as an additional blanket. The guard came to check my ticket when I was lying in my bed which seemed very bizarre.

I’ve only ever had a chair on sleeper trains, and the bunk was a game changer! I managed some sleep, but most importantly I didn’t get cramp or sore from sleeping at an unnatural angle. The 20 euro supplement for a berth was 100% worth it. We arrived at Austerlitz at 6.30am. Annoyingly, although there are showers they are only available for first class travellers (not ideal when you are doing two overnight journeys in a row!)

After a chilled day in Paris (feat. a delicious pain au chocolat, one silly museum, an enormous salad, a nap by the Seine, an aperol spritz, an artists’ squat, another museum) it was time for the bus. Originally I had booked to return with Flixbus, again booking the only service which went through LeShuttle. A few weeks before my trip I received an email from Flix to say that the time of my bus had changed slightly and we would now arrive in London at 4.30am. What they didn’t say was the route had also changed to take the ferry. I looked into swapping onto a service that arrived at a more reasonable time into London, but that would have cost an extra £60 (i.e. the price of the ticket again). Instead I cancelled my Flix booking, paying a £7 admin fee, and booked onto Blablabus which was 70 euros for much more reasonable departure times.

Blablabus is relatively new and a direct Flix competitor. The bus was less hot, and we weren’t allocated seats (good) but the USB chargers didn’t work and wifi is not included (less good). We also had a very entertaining/semi rogue bus driver who seemed pretty panicked that we wouldn’t make it through passport control in enough time to catch our ferry – thankfully we did as the next one wasn’t for another 2.5h. The ferry route is suboptimal because you aren’t able to stay on the coach – this means spending the middle of the night trying to rest in the blaring light and upright seats of the lounge. We arrived on time in London, and I managed to connect with a coach back to Oxford and make it back to my accommodation by 9am, having begun my journey roughly 34h earlier.

Would I do it again? The Toulouse – Paris sleeper 100%. It was so much more enjoyable and efficient than the daytime train.
London – Paris by coach: If the Eurostar tickets are silly I would consider it, but only via LeShuttle and probably not with Flix if at all possible.

TOP TIPS:

• If you can, break up your journey! Being able to stretch your legs, get fresh air and have a proper meal made this trip almost enjoyable rather than a nightmare. Plus I begrudge having to travel for work on my own time a lot less if there are some perks like “a day in Paris”.
• Don’t try to cram too much in: for my 2 days in Paris I did one “activity” and spent a lot of the rest of the time getting food, or reading my book/watching the world go by in the shade. This is half the fun of Paris and minimised me getting overtired and grumpy (especially in the heat!)
• Flixbus cannot be trusted
• Taking a coach via LeShuttle >> taking the ferry
• Booking through trainline was so smooth: show the tickets in the app (no need to composter) and it will even suggest split tickets/cheaper routes.
• Always book the couchette

Depraved in Devon: The trip that launched the blog revival

Picture the scene: it is the first May bank holiday in 2023. You’ve just realised you have no plans, all your friends are already busy, and you are desperate for some time in the great outdoors. You idly search the YHA website for accommodation availability. This is difficult because their search function is abysmal. You find a couple of places with 3 night vacancies. Of the list, only Okehampton is easily accessible by train. Trains are expensive but not horrendously so. You press book.

TRAVEL THERE:

Cost:

Bus Oxford to Didcot: £2 each way (at the time of travel the railway was broken because a bridge was falling into the Thames)
Train Didcot to Okehampton: super-off peak return £52.50
Additional train tickets around the Exeter area: £4.70 total

Itinerary:

Bus: 10:01 – 10.45 (37 minutes) Oxford St Aldates to Didcot Parkway station
Train; Didcot to Reading: 11.04 – 11. NB this was the first super-off peak train of the day

Reading – Exeter St Davids

BREAK JOURNEY FOR FUN

Exeter St Davids – Okehampton: Hourly, 45 mins

Return: 9.25 – 9.50: Okehampton to Exeter Central (additional ticket £1.30)

WALK FROM CENTRAL TO STARCROSS (via many stops for food and beverages)

16.32: 16.45: Starcross to Exeter St Davids: (£3.40 additional ticket)

17.15 – 19.00: Exeter St Davids to Reading

19.05 – 19.20: Reading to Didcot Parkway (delayed service)

19.32 – 20.21: Bus: Didcot Parkway station to Oxford High street

FRIDAY

The train journey to Okehampton is a bit long and annoying, particularly given the need to get a bus between Didcot and Oxford. I therefore decided to break my journey both ways in Exeter St Davids. I travelled on a workday, so I spent the train journey reading papers, arriving in Exeter for a working lunch at the Exploding Bakery (and old fave). I spent the rest of the aftUpload an imageernoon working in the public library, before walking back to St Davids to get a connection to Okehampton. The wifi on the trains is not reliable, so I made sure to have enough work to do offline (in my case, reading papers and coding).

ACCOM

The Okehampton Youth hostel is right next to the station (cross over the footbridge, or via the road for stepfree access), so ultra convenient for travelling by train. The first night I was there felt like a ghost ship! I hardly saw any other guests, and the common areas were very quiet. During my stay there were no meals offered, and although there were plenty of snacks and drinks to buy at reception, it was staffed very infrequently. You can check in advance whether breakfast/dinner will be offered, but it is a 15 minute walk to the pub/chippy supermarket.

Hostel facilities: a small kitchen, with a big dining area. I chose to prepare cold food to avoid conflict with cooking. There is decent fridge space but no non-fridge storage, so I kept dried food in my room. There are two communal areas, one games room with table tennis/table football and pool and some sofas, and another with more sofas and a large table. These both have a view of the station, but only 2 plug sockets. The bedrooms are quite cosy (dark!) with the classic bunkbeds. Again very few plug sockets, but individual lights over the beds. There is no storage (including no lockers under the bed), which wasn’t an issue given I only had one roommate, but was a bit awkward as I was travelling with my work laptop. On my first night the other visitors were all male or had booked private rooms, so I had a 6 bed dorm to myself. The remaining 2 nights a number of families arrived, as well as another solo woman who joined me.

For breakfast/lunch the Granite Cafe (co-located with the bike hire shop) and the Bulleid Buffet at the railway station are both options. The station cafe opens at 8 with full service from 9 Monday to Saturday. I opted to head to Lidl (Co-op and Waitrose are on the same street) and stock up on food for my stay. The YHA sells alcohol at reception, so you aren’t supposed to consume your own on site, but as reception was barely open during my stay I didn’t feel too guilty buying a local beer at Waitrose. NB: the YHA did not provide any condiments and there was no storage for a shared shelf (i.e. no oil, salt, spices) so I elected to buy materials for a salad.

SATURDAY

My original plan was to hike, but the forecast for Saturday was atrocious. I instead hired a bike from Granite Bikes, and cycled along the granite trail to Lydford. Bike hire including a helmet and lock was £20, and I had the bike between 9am and 4pm. The granite trail is a great cycle path – all bar a very small section is tarmacced – and offers views of Dartmoor, 2 viaducts, and lots of options to stop for refreshments or walks off the trail. Unfortunately it looks like the heritage train from Meldon is no longer running. The cycle to Lydford (the end of the off-road trail) took about 1.5h. I then headed to Lydford Gorge (National Trust, entry £10) for a walk along the river and waterfall. This was very impressive! The tearoom was also a great place to warm up after a misty cycle, with a good selection of cakes. When I visited the path was being repaired, so I couldn’t complete the full circular route. Instead I had to cycle an extra mile to the waterfall entrance. Repairs should be finished soon (good because the hill is steep and there is no pavement!). Bike parking was available at both car parks, and ordinarily there are tea rooms at both entrances too.

After my walk I cycled back to Lydford and headed to The Castle for lunch, which was excellent. Lots of local produce, a fire burning on a gloomy day, and welcoming to walkers and cyclists. I had plaice with samphire and Jersey Royals, followed by affogato. Yum. Post lunch I wandered round the castle and the church yard before the cycle back. At Meldon I took a detour for a walk to the reservoir – 5 years ago it was packed with families and I had a great time swimming. Now there are signs marking it as private property and dangerous to swim, so I just had a look. I returned my bike to the shop by 3.40, then spent the evening relaxing in the hostel.

SUNDAY

With the weather looking slightly more promising, I headed to Dartmoor for some Tor bagging. I combined a couple of routes I found on Komoot to piece together a route up West Mill Tor/Yes Tor/High Willhays with Belmont, and return via the river Oke. This was great, with nice views, plenty of scrambling up the Tors, and the return by the river was really beautiful with lots of wildflowers. The ticks were out in full force (I checked every stop and removed about 10 over the course of the day). I was out for about 7.5h and enjoyed a very generous cream tea at the Granite Way cafe (£6 for 2 scones, a huge amount of clotted cream, 2 small jars of jam and a latte). This walk was never too far from Okehampton (7.5km at the further point) and there were a number of points where I could have shortened the walk/skipped summits if I had needed.

MONDAY

The original forecast was dire, so I had planned a slow start and maybe lunch in Exeter before heading back to Oxford. HOWEVER luck was again on my side and things had improved by the time I woke up. My legs were too tired for more hills, so I decided to have a walk along the Exe. I continued on the train to Exeter Central to reduce my walk (buying an extra ticket), then headed down to the Quay for coffee and a brownie at the Bakehouse. This was a nice location by the harbour, but I couldn’t find any customer loos! Quayside is great, there are many places to eat and drink at all times of day. Again, I wasn’t sure how tired I would be, so I planned a walk which I could alter on the fly if I needed to bail. The path along the Exe is one I walked about 5 years ago, and is a very pleasant cycle/footpath. For much of the walk there is a separate bit for pedestrians, which I find much less stressful than full shared use. The views over the water are lovely, particularly as the walkway is elevated.

I made it to the Double Locks in time for a lime and soda and escape from a spring shower. This pub has lots of indoor and outdoor seating and is very popular with walkers and cyclists. Understandably it gets very busy in the summer! Once refreshed, I pushed on to The Turf, another old fave. The location is amazing – jutting right out into the Exe, and the food is also reliably excellent. There is a decent amount of room inside, plus loads of outdoor seating, and it is only accessible by foot, bike or boat! I had a leisurely and delicious lunch with a book, overlooking the very misty river. Rather than doubling back, I decided to continue on to Starcross and catch a train back to Exeter St Davids for my connection to Oxford. This part of the walk is not as nice as the bit before – about half is on-road, and overlooking fields rather than the water. At Starcross you can catch the ferry to Exmouth, or continue on to Dawlish.

I had a 30 minute wait for my train to Reading – there was an indoor waiting room with chairs and a bar counter with plug sockets. It’s good to see this, as the outdoor seating can be brutal (indeed it was raining pretty heavily by the time our train arrived). Having refused to pay £5 for a rail replacement bus between Didcot at Oxford, the public bus option was scheduled to leave literally as our train arrived (integrated public transport system this is not). As the next bus was not for an hour, and involved a change (and second ticket), I originally planned to get the X40 between Reading and Oxford. However! Train delays worked in my favour, and I hopped on a delayed train passing between Reading and Didcot that meant I arrived in time for the connector bus to Oxford.

Overall review: a great trip! Visiting multiple places over the course of one trip made the annoying train connections a bit less painful. It was great to visit some old haunts and see them thriving. Could only have been improved by a left luggage facility at Exeter St Davids (I’m not sure my work laptop and 750g of leftover oats needed to come on a 10mile walk).

We’re back baby, and going on more public transport enabled adventures than ever

I originally started this blog almost 10 years ago to document the adventures of my Erasmus year in Grenoble. It then enjoyed a brief revival during my 4 months in Rhode Island in 2020 (you can guess why this was not a long-lived comeback…) And now it is back for a third reincarnation and rebrand… But why? And why now?

I’ve spent much of the last 10 years adventuring around the UK, and sometimes further afield. Many of these trips (with a period of notable exceptions when I lived in Scotland/during the first years of COVID) have been undertaken using only public transport/my own steam. I don’t own a car, although I can drive, and this has influenced many of my holiday and day trip plans. Now active travel is becoming more popular, not just with the eco-evangelists, but amongst my peers and colleagues. I’ve found myself sharing advice/routes and logistics with pals more and more, and truth be told I’m too lazy to keep doing it in an ad hoc basis. Hence this blog.

Holidaying by train, and working out how to hike via public transport is something that really started during the OG period of this blog, so I like to think this is a natural evolution of Le Rabot problems.

I’m planning to include as much information as possible (including prices for more recent trips) but focussing on public transport options, places to stay, things to do and advice I wish I’d had in advance. Most of these trips will be for holiday/leisure purposes, but I will add in some work trips where they fit the theme. If I’m not sick enough of the sound of my own voice, I might also add some general advice/kit etc.

Context about me: I am an avid hiker, so many of these trips centre round walking/hill climbing. During my 3 years in Scotland I bagged over 120 munros (~1 year of that period consisted of lockdowns/me being trapped in the US). I love long, arduous walk, and my stamina/walking fitness is decent (although I am not super speedy). I’ve got a bit more into cycling in the past few years, but I am definitely a leisure pootler rather than lycra speedster. If the opportunity for swimming in a non-polluted outdoor body of water presents itself, I will be the first one in. Other than the outdoors, finding good local food and beer is a major component of any holiday.

Hopefully some of this wittering is useful/enjoyable, I’ll be adding historic trips as I have the time and inclination. Some teasers: Orkney, Munros by train, Arran, the Thames Path, parts of the South West Coast Path, the Lake District, Eindhoven, Toulouse and a love letter to Enterprise car club.

Photo of a very smiley Jemima on a train

Brown Bears: Get Your Head in the Game

This weekend I ventured into the world of American college sports (as a spectator, obvs). I live less than 5 minutes from the main Brown sports village, so on Friday night a friend and I headed to watch ice hockey. The last time I went to a match was when I lived in Grenoble, so I really am living the Erasmus life take 2!

The match started with the American national anthem, and the first thing I noticed was how many staff were with each team – 5 coaches/managers half of whom were in suits. This made it very entertaining to watch them walk across the ice to their box in smart and undoubtedly very slippery shoes. Brown got off to a slow start, but the pace soon picked up, as did the aggression. By the second period, the referees were speeding over to split up fights!

We had accidentally sat with the supporters for the opposing team (Colgate university) and I’m sure they were very entertained by our lack of understanding of the rules. We got very into it, especially when Brown took the lead (and eventually won). When a Brown athlete scored, the bottom of the scoreboard flashed up with their name, age, hometown and even an official photo. Big cheers also went up for the Brown zamboni during the breaks. As we left I spotted this stuffed Brown bear, which is obviously the mascot for Brown. I hope that I never run into a live one, I had underestimated how large they are!

Saturday evening was time to put all my expert knowledge from the High School Musical trilogy and One Tree Hill into play – basketball time! The women’s team put on a great show, and we even got to see some cheerleaders albeit doing some pretty low key routines. The Cornell team and the Brown team were pretty well matched, and there were two quarters where shots were made during the last one second (something I thought was hugely over-represented in the movies but is actually reasonable!). At the very end, there were three time outs in a row with only 4.5 seconds left to play. Even with all the stopping, they managed to keep it entertaining: with cheerleading, and competitions (my favourite was two children racing to dress up in adult sized basketball outfits and shoes and running from the halfway line to shoot a basket). Again, my lack of basketball expertise did not stop me getting very into it, although I did have to prevent myself from making too many HSM references…

Sunday brought glorious sunshine and 10°C (sorry UK readers) so I went on another public transport adventure to Roger Williams Park. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it was a green space on the map with a zoo and other activities. I found a very bizarre combination of sports pitches, lakeside walks and buildings that wouldn’t be out of place at a National Trust location. The park was developed in the 1800s (hence the fancy buildings) which meant some planning decisions that would not pass muster in 2020: seals in an open lake (one of which famously escaped to the river), photos of concerts at the bandstand and far too many pleasure boats in the lake enjoying the concert. Nowadays there are a lot of families and dogwalkers enjoying the sun. The swaggy building in the above is a Temple of Music. I’m not sure if it has any purpose, but it’s rather lovely and can be viewed from different aspects during the walk around the adjacent lake.

After a very hectic week recovering from my New York trip, a bad cold and a very intense workshop it was great to sit and enjoy the sun (look Mum, no jumper!) and get some fresh air. I appreciated it even more after below freezing temperatures on Friday when it was cold enough to make your face ache when outside for more than a minute.

Tune in next time for MORE SPORTS (to the great amusement of all my American colleagues), a visit to RISD art and design museum, and a second trip to Newport.

New York, New York – It’s A Wonderful Town!

In true Erasmus style, on Wednesday evening I booked a spontaneous trip for the weekend to go to NYC for the first time. After a very early start for a 6.40am bus, we arrived into the Port Authority bus station …

Newport, RI (not the one in Wales…)

On 8th February, a cold and crisp morning, I boarded a RIPTA bus with fellow exchange visitor Anne to visit Newport, RI. Prior to visiting, all I knew was that it was a popular holiday destination with rich Americans in the late 1800s/early 1900s meaning that there were lots of fancy houses to gawk at. The bus meandered down to the Atlantic Ocean via small towns named for places in England (Bristol and Portsmouth – it’s called New England for a reason!) and eventually we got off in the centre of Newport. Compared to Providence, where there are lots of small shopping arcades spread over the city, Newport felt much more like the style of town I’m used to: town hall and some office buildings, plus plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants all located around a couple of streets near the middle. The shopping area reaches down to the harbour which was pretty, but deserted it being not exactly prime sailing season.

Newport Harbour – not as warm as it looks!

Our main plan was walking the cliff walk, which goes around the headland past many of the aforementioned fancy mansions. The weather was amazing, sunny but fresh, and it was great to be breathing the fresh sea air and watching the brave surfers who were out on the waves. There was also the first peek at the houses (all of which were unbelievably enormous and mostly unoccupied).

Once we had reached the headland we made our way back along via Bellevue Avenue to admire the front of the swaggy buildings. The local architecture did not disappoint: the only way I can describe it is like a street, but every house is somewhere that could belong to the National Trust. Alternatively like being in a Hollywood studio where every plot has a different stage from a period film. Although some of the houses are old (1860s) they look like they were built a decade ago, which added to the feeling of being on a film set.

After all that fresh air and walking we were both hungry. Luckily we managed to snag a table in a cafe that was so popular there was a huge queue out there when we’d walked past just after arriving. There, I experienced my first pastrami sandwich which was almost as enormous as the houses of Newport. A short wander through the town centre and it was time for the bus home.

Y’all know I am a big fan of public transport. As this was an excursion with lots of bus trips, I’ll take a moment to discuss some of the differences between taking the bus in Rhode Island vs the UK. Firstly, to stop the bus, you pull a dangling yellow chord which hangs along the windows, rather than a push button. The first time I ever got a bus in the US I had to slyly watch other passengers to figure out how to get the bus to stop. The other difficulty is how subtle the bus stops themselves are – tiny signs the size of an A4 sheet of paper that are stuck onto telegraph poles: these are almost impossible to see from more than 5m away, and contain NO information. No timetables, no information about which buses stop there, no nothing, just a sign that says RIPTA buses. This makes it pretty tricky to navigate a new city! Even more significant stops which have shelters don’t have any information. Even on the bus it can be hard to see these stop signs and work out how far along the route you are. I’m putting my GCSE geography and DofE skills to good use every time I hop on the RIPTA. One great thing about the buses here is that they are free with my Brown ID, meaning that the day out in Newport costed nothing (excluding my ginormous pastrami sandwich).

Me loving life on t’other side of the Atlantic

Trailer for the next post (coming soon I promise): My solo weekend jaunt to New York City with highlights including museums, a Broadway show, lots of walking and maybe some classical art memes.