Cycling in Wales, Welsh signs, Welsh trains, cycling and fly-biking worldwide

Great Western, First Class carriage

Welsh cakes on train. £1.50 for two cakes in packet. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
I had never thought of cycling in Wales. It looks too hilly.

Answers
On the other hand, you get:
lots of exercise
great views from the top,
recover on the easy way down.

Bikes on Trains
Can you take bikes on trains? Yes and no. Arriva trains' website says they can take only two bikes on every train (not much good for a family of four, or group of four friends, fine for a twosome - providing somebody else hasn't booked their bike in first. You must make a booking to be sure of getting a space.

They suggest you make a booking for your bike, which is free. Do that at least 24 hours in advance.

Some days there are only one or two trains a day on some routes if you are making a connection using two trains on a long journey.  Even on a summer Sunday on the Great Western line from Paddington in London to Cardiff, Newport and Swansea in Wales in July 2017, I had only one train after 9 a.m. You also cannot take your bicycle on an Arriva train in peak hours.

Train Tickets
You may hear the announcements that you can upgrade your seat to first class on Great Western. One lady I know chose to do this. She said that the First Class ticket upgrade on one section cost less than £5 and included a voucher for tea or coffee and biscuits from the counter between the first class and the next carriage. You have to allow time to run all the way along the platform to first when boarding. Alternatively, have a backpack or small luggage to walk all the way along the train through the narrow aisle from the other end of the train.

Cycling Worldwide
You can hire cycles in cities in other countries, too. For example: London, England; Bucharest, capital of Romania. You might want to fly-bike, rather than fly-drive.

Luggage / baggage
On a long trip, or going to a special occasion such as a wedding, you might want more luggage at a destination. You can go on a group holiday which has a van to take everybody's luggage to the overnight stop.

For transporting luggage when you are travelling independently, see next post.

Tips
Cycling
http://www.cyclingwales.co.uk/welsh.html
https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/Bicycles/

Luggage
This company's website says that sending luggage can be cheaper than paying airline excess baggage charges.
https://luggagemule.co.uk/
Here are some more websites:
https://www.sendmybag.com/
If you prefer a company whose name you recognize:
https://www.pickfords.co.uk/baggage-ppc/luggage-shipping-service

Story
I've been so long on Welsh websites and writing Welsh words that the automatic spell check suggests that my name should start LLAN!

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages.

Finding your way around a city

Finding a way around a city should be easy. You just need to travel light, wear walking shoes, carry a map or satnav and plan your route. It is useful to know an alternative route in case you miss your last bus home, your taxi or car driver takes a diversion, or the trains stop running because of an unanticipated emergency.

In Singapore the stations have signs saying what to do in an emergency. The sign suggests alternative routes bus routes. Some maps put show how near it is to walk between city centre stations on different lines, or even the same line.

Today I was at a station and all trains were stopped because of a signal failure.

I see a bus stop the other side of the road. But where is the bus going?

After a breakdown at Watford, we stranded passengers were told to walk from Watford to Bushey, only a ten minute walk. That would have been good if I had not just bought a lot of heavy shopping.







































The Arriva bus is travelling fromWatford to Brent Cross. Bus 142.

If you are organising an event it helps to place signs at the exit showing walking routes to the nearest bus or station. When checking into a new hotel, you can ask the reception tor parroter's desk enrolees to mark a map with the location of your hotel and a route to a museum. I once did that in London. I had popped int to find out the price of coffee, saw a map and a magazine with maps of central London, and asked the concierge desk for directions to the British Museum.

This week I took a train to north west London and all trains on one of the lines were stopped because of a signal failure on the line. When I came out of the station, I had to phone a friend or family members and give them notice of the buildings where I was standing near to where they could stop their car.

Whilst waiting I photographed the buses going in all directions.

A friend of mine uses City Mapper to find her way home if she misses the last train. She can then direct a taxi, or watch that she is not being taken on a route which is indirect or likely to have traffic holdups.

Some restaurants and museums and attractions and community centres and hotels have signs up showing the way to the nearest railway station or bus stop.

Even if somebody is collecting you, if you are able to walk, it may be easier to meet them at an intermediate point.

The 306 bus goes to Watford Town Centre via Elstree and Little Bushey.

www.sullivanbuses.com 

You might see the bus company on the front of back of the bus.
On most stations you can pick up a map, often giving routes, times of last and first transport, stops along the line, and nearby places of interest, plus street names if you want to tell somebody whom you are meeting where you will be standing.

Transport for London
City mapper
street view
google maps


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.