Train – Stanwick to Skipton
Recently I had occasion to use UK train network to get from home to the delightful Yorkshire town of Skipton. No easy task you may ask. As it turns out it was straightforward and went without a hitch or delay despite 4 different trains and 3 changes. Mrs CT needed collecting from a hotel up north as she was a little under the weather and unable to drive the 3.5 hours home on her own. I would definitely travel by train in future but only if I could book in advance and at a reasonable price. This journey was north of £125
Home to Wellingborough Station
by car. Mrs CT’s sister provided transport.
Wellingborough to Leicester by train
East Midlands Trains – A fast train with few stops. First class carriage very quiet. First cup of tea of the day with the obligatory shortbread biscuits. Water as well.
Leicester railway station (formerly Leicester Campbell Street and Leicester London Road) is a mainline railway station in the city of Leicester in Leicestershire, England. The station is run by East Midlands Trains and owned by Network Rail. The station is used by CrossCountry and East Midlands Trains
Leicester Station originally opened in 1840 by the Midland Counties Railway, and rebuilt in 1894 and 1978. It is on the Midland Main Line, which runs from London St Pancras to Sheffield and Nottingham. It is 99 miles 7 chains (159.5 km) north of London St Pancras
Leicester to Chesterfield by train
East Midlands Trains – Another fast service with amenities as before. Out with the laptop to start writing this post. Plug socket at every seat and I note that the free WiFi is not just for first class but available to the entire train. Painfully slow though.
Chesterfield railway station serves the town of Chesterfield in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Midland Main Line. Four tracks pass through the station which has three platforms. It is operated by East Midlands Trains.
The station has the PlusBus scheme where train and bus tickets can be bought together at a saving. In late 2009, Chesterfield became a Penalty fare station for East Midlands Trains services.
Despite the look of a out of the way village station, you can actually catch a train to places that would surprise you. For instance, the next train I was going to catch to Leeds started in Plymouth and goes all the way to Edinburgh!. Great name for the operator – Cross Country Trains.
Chesterfield to Leeds by train
Cross Country Trains – Now for a train that is travelling a great distance ending in Edinburgh you would imagine it would be a great big inter city train of 10 carriages with dedicated buffet car. No. What turned up was a train of 5 carriages that looked only capable of 30 mile journeys maximum. Functional nevertheless but not quite the same “luxury” as the previous trains
Leeds to Skipton by train
London North Eastern Trains – this is the company that replaced all Virgin Rail on the North East route. Similar train to the one mentioned before but consisting of 10 carriages. Must have had at least 20 passengers on board. This was the most scenic part of the journey so far, travelling through the Yorkshire countryside with the moors in the distance. Travelling by Shipley, Saltaire, Bingley, Crossflatts, Keighley, Steeton & Silsden and Cononley
Leeds railway station (also known as Leeds City railway station) is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. The third-busiest railway station in the UK outside London (as of 2018).[5] It is located on New Station Street to the south of City Square, at the bottom of Park Row, behind the landmark Queens Hotel. It is one of 20 stations operated by Network Rail.[5]
Skipton railway station is a Grade II listed[1] station which serves the town of Skipton in North Yorkshire, England on the Airedale Line, which gives Skipton access to destinations such as Leeds, Bradford, Carlisle, Lancaster and Morecambe. The station is operated by Northern and is situated 27 miles (43 km) north-west of Leeds
Arrived!
And what beautiful weather awaited. 4 hours earlier I had left a very rainy Stanwick behind but now look at this. It is such a shame that I am only going to be here a matter of minutes before collecting Mrs CT from the hotel – Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa near Bolton Abbey ( a fantastic place, I thoroughly recommend a visit) – and then heading South again this time by car.
Laters!
