What can you see from the train window to Wales on a GWR train - Welsh words, Cardiff Stadium

Problem
What can I see? And when I've seen it, what have I seen? You can see stations, with Welsh language, major buildings and sculptures.

Statue of seated Brunel, the man who built the stations and the railway lines. The Great Western Train is behind him.

The Stadium.

Welsh words for station names, new, and way out.

Swansea's Liberty Stadium. Photo from the train by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The stadium holds football matches, weddings, concerts by groups such as Little Mix (July 2018), and car boot sales.

Newport Wave sculpture, Newport, Wales. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. The sculpture was by Peter Fink, erected in 1990. It is on the redeveloped riverfront promenade along the River Usk in Gwent. The sculpture represent the waves of the sea and the steel of the local industry. The triangular pieces, hanging in the middle of the scupture's wave, move with the wind so there is continual movement.

White Welsh sheep on the green grass, reminiscent of the book How Green Was My Valley. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The Seafront. Ask a local and they will point out landmarks, like the Dylan Thomas boathouse museum, in the distance. I should have brought binoculars, and a long distance lens on a camera, or for a mobile phone.

Phoot by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. On the train. Buy from the trolley Bara Brith, a kind of fruit cake

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. Welsh cakes, like a cross between a squashed Welsh scone and a thick pancake.

Station and train signs

Useful Websites

Wales tourist board

visitwales.com

Tourist board for England, Scotland and Wales

visitbritain.com

Great Western Railway whose lines include Paddingto to Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, and on by local trains to Fishguard and Goodwick (for a holiday or ferry to Ireland)

https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photogapher. Teacher of languages. See my other posts on Wales and my posts on learning Welsh.

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.