TRIP REPORT- Gourock Highland Games 13 to 15 May 2023
[This is my first public trip report, I only normally write Voyage Reports purely for my own consumption, so apologies if it is rough round the edges]
Saturday 13 May-
Today should have been a very simple train trip to Manchester. However due to rail strikes there were no trains locally to Carlisle, and none beyond Preston. In previous strikes there have been Preston to Manchester trains but these had been diverted to Liverpool for Eurovision.
It was further complicated by having major roadworks north of my home town. The roadworks company had said that buses were being allowed through, but on a diversion down unsuitably narrow roads. No one including the bus company really knew what was going to happen, or whether my bus connection would work due to delays on the diversion. In the event buses were escorted and the connection worked, if uncomfortably tight.
Avanti at least were running a basic service (announced 3 days earlier) with, very surprisingly, connecting rail replacement coach services from Glasgow and Edinburgh.
There was a fracas in my car over a dog (which then turned into a race row), and British Transport Police had to be contacted for assistance at the next station. In the general melee, as I tried to calm things down, I found out much later that someone's ring had fallen off their finger and into my pocket!
Because of having allowed over an hour leeway for a missed connection I was able to do some research, for an author, at Carlisle Library into little known letters by William Wordsworth about the then proposed Windermere branch line railway, and it's planned extension to Ambleside and maybe Keswick.
In truth the strike did me a favour, as the government £2 bus fare scheme allowed me to take a most unusual route through the old Mill towns of East Lancashire to Manchester, including a very lucky -2 minute connection at Blackburn (ie- a bus which should have left 2 minutes before I arrived).
The point of going down to Manchester today was to visit the grave of my recently deceased Godmother (my late Mum's bridesmaid) at Manchester Southern Cemetery. She was basically my last living relative, the last link to my parents, and Sunday was also Mum's birthday, so this was a powerful visit, worth spending all day to get there.
I also had a couple of war memorials to check on for the War Memorials Trust.
Due to how late I had booked this trip I had been unable to find a hotel at a price I considered sensible in Glasgow, so had an overnight coach to catch to Glasgow at 0135, arriving at 0645, stopping every hour.
This had been charted full, due to people making bookings in lieu of the train.
In the event we were only half full. A lot of people had therefore paid too much due to such speculative bookings putting up the fare, and people may even have been unable to travel.
While waiting at Manchester Airport it was interesting to see that Transpennine Express were running rail replacement buses on strike day to Huddersfield- something which is not supposed to happen.
I had a Manchester Plus Bus ticket, booked in connection with my rail ticket. This is valid on any bus in Greater Manchester, and costs £3.25 with a railcard. For use on 8 different buses this is very good value (had I been on time it would have had far more use)