THE NEXT TRAIN will be leaving from Platform 96.
Travelling by rail has always held a deep fascination for me. I love it. To be honest, I would often rather be on a moving train than arriving wherever I’m going. I seem to have passed the fever on to my son too. He’s obsessed by the Paris transport system.
Jumping aboard is often just an excuse to have some ‘me-time’, when you know no-one’s going to bother you with pointless questions like “What shall we have for dinner this evening?” (you don’t care), “Don’t you think it’s about time we changed the carpets?” (you don’t think) or “Have you done the taxes yet?” (obviously you haven’t).
Being stuck in a railway carriage with no-one to bother you (if it isn’t the ticket inspector momentarily interrupting your reverie) is the ultimate oasis of calm in a busy day. It’s also the perfect metaphor for life: you’d better make sure you’re enjoying the journey – i.e. what you’re doing and what you can see from the window – just as much as the destination.
The Lakeside & Haverthwaite Steam Railway running down to Windermere is a perfect example of travelling for travelling’s sake.
Strangely, Queen Elizabeth was splashed all over a union jack for her Platinum Jubilee when I visited a couple of weeks ago, although the celebrations were long over. Maybe she wanted to say goodbye.
As I mentioned in my last Chronicle, the Queen’s train finally reached the terminus yesterday after a hell of a trip. Which is more than can be said for my ride up from London Euston to Penrith A signal failure meant we all had to get out at Preston and take taxis for the rest of the way.
Hers has also been a taxing journey, and she didn’t choose this route, but she navigated it as best she could and managed to stay on track till the end.
Now she’s heard the final whistle blow, but not me! I hope to hear quite a few more whistles in my time, and quite a few of them will be at Haverthwaite, and a few more at Ravenglass and Eskdale, if I’m not mistaken.
“Stand clear of the doors, please, and mind the gap between the train and the platform.” Oh no, that’s the underground, but you know what I mean. Peep peep!
The Laggard of Lakeland 
(Lakeland Chronicles No.6)
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Wainwright Log: 2 of 214 Fells Conquered / Zero Books Completed / Visit Log
