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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Food on the train from England to Wales: bara brith

You can find out in advance whether your train will have a trolley or a buffet car. Some tickets say any route.  But if you have a reserved seat this may complicate the situation. If you have documentation confirming passenger assistance, you may have to specify whether you are in a wheelchair or simply need help transporting luggage.

I received literature specifying where I was receiving assistance and the train times and seats reserved On the back was the explanation of symbols showing whether each train had a trolley or buffet service. As I was travelling with two suitcases on wheels, a bag and an umbrella, I knew  that once I was seated I was unlikely to want to walk along the carriages, either without my luggage, or dragging it all behind me.

If you have a reserved seat far into the carriage, but have to leave one of your suitcases in the luggage area by the exit doors, you may want to keep any valuables such as a computer in your shoulder bag or a bag small enough to keep with you. You might also want to lock your luggage. Alternatively to leave an old phone or out of date laptop inside it with 'find my phone' operating, in the hope that if you luggage goes missing, you can see where it is.

I can't say it helped me. When my shoulder bag went missing from over my shoulder as I got off a bus in Singapore, my phone simply registered phone turned off. So neither the phone nor the bag it was in could be located.

As a result I am not keen on trusting my bag out of my sight. Not sure the insurance covers it anyway. I did know that I would not be keen to change carriages leaving a bag behind.

If you switch routes, you may find the food service on your train is different. On some trains passengers are allowed to buy food from an area within the first class carriage even though they are travelling in a different class.

The food may be provided for the first class passengers in their ticket price but cost extra if you are in another class. If you expect to drink a lot of coffee, it could be cheaper or better value for you to pay for an upgrade to first class on a certain section of the route, and get free coffee, rather than travelling second class and paying for several coffees (or other food and drink, depending on price and route.

You are likely to hear an announcement after you have boarded the train telling you the cost of upgrading for different sections of the route.

Bara Brith
On a train I took to Wales, the buffet trolley included bara brith. I looked this up on the internet and found it was Welsh fruit cake. I enjoy the opportunity taste local food. The journey becomes part of the adventure, before you reach your destination.

Bara brith can be not merely a fruit cake (in a square shape so known as a fruit loaf). It is known as speckled or mottled bread. The speckling comes from the currants or raisins I suppose. It can be made with candied peel as well, and enriched with tea, orange or lemon juice, honey or other ingredients. Check the packet before or after buying to see what you are getting. An English fruit cake is eaten on its own. The Welsh fruit cake is traditionally eaten with butter, Welsh butter.

http://www.visitwales.com/explore/traditions-history/recipes/bara-brith
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/bara_brith_33441
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bara_brith
Angela Lansbury, travel writer. 

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