Before I start this post I wanted to say thankyou to those who e-mailed and commented on the post "The good, the bad and the ugly of the train journey south"
I would like to thank Mary Crook for getting in touch, it was a privilege to be on your Dad`s train.
To others who have asked, no, I have not got my bike back yet, but a short holiday to Inverness is on the cards next month.
It is that time of season when the fruits are in abundance and it is time for them to be picked.
Strawberries and Raspberries in loads of rows hang tantalisingly from there plants and trees.
With 5:30 starts, our small team have plenty to pick to get ready for the local shops and public houses to be stocked, the punnets are bursting with fresh, succulent fruit, all of which make for fantastic summer puddings and compots, to fruit drinks and add ons to Pimms.
With ice cream to whipped cream or just dribbly cream to float over the top, you can eat as many as you like, though not too many!
So why not go and buy some already picked fruit or go and pick your own!
The farm shops are stacked full of goodies, so pop along and try something different.
From the fruit farm, take a look around, is it full of fields and bright with colour or are there trees blocking the view?
Go for a walk and enjoy what the countryside has to offer, nature is full of surprises and enjoyment and colour.
Poppies are now in full show, making green fields velvet red, there is plenty to be explored and many picnics to be had, hope you all have a good summer, whatever you do.
Me? In between strawberry picking and looking after people, I`m going on a couple of Jayz`s walks and explore the Cumbrian area once more......
A short while ago I did a post on a walk to Stamford and one of the places we went through was Easton on the Hill.
The small village at the time was battling against corporate big wigs wanting to transport Radioactive waste through the village.
Well sadly, the radioactive waste does look like it will be passing through this quiet village to be dumped at a landfill site "not too far away"
My belief is that the government has gotten involved with this debate as council officers believe it will "benefit the local community and enhance the local workforce"
Hmmmmmm, where?
Although debates are still on-going, the outcome which sould have been known by 26th may, will rage on for a little while longer whilst council officials, locals and governing bodies decide when the first vehicles will pass through and so the final outcome endeth.
Meanwhile Easton on the Hill still thrives regardless of this major dilemma facing them.
I am writing this little ditty of my train journey south.
It should`ve been easy, with advance tickets booked.
But no one could have foretold the weather and Ash cloud and that everything would be turned on its head!
Still, it was a mini adventure, that could be said!
The Good:
On my return from Lairg I was due to catch the 18:30 to Inverness.
18:30 came and went and I began to get nervous, I confess.
I hadn`t thought that the trains might not be running,
With 90 mile an hour winds and driving rain, I didn`t think the train would be coming.
Nervously I waited with my bike in tow
Would the signal lights change, I didn`t know.
At last I phoned, when the voice on the other end said:
Yes madam and it is the only train running north of Newcastle!
Oh my God, the journey was a battle!
Indeed the train did come, half an hour late but what a relief!
My Journey south began in earnest and belief.
The train was not full, and the ride pleasant.
We stopped and started with the wind and rain still buffeting the windows,
As darkness quickly fell and the towns and lights in full glow
We ambled along stopping and starting, but finally reaching our destination,
We were all relieved then found out why we had managed to get to our destination.......
Our driver, from Scot Rail, at every point we stopped at, got out and changed the points himself and went above and beyond what was asked of him, to which we are truly grateful.
The Bad:
I`d had my tickets booked far in advance, to save myself stress and money and a good deal was enhanced!
But alas, it was to be to no avail, and my bike would not return, my annoyance was brief, this was an adventure one I could not curtail!
The 07:55 I was due to catch, was cancelled, could I get on the next one with my bike?
Yes, was the reply, the 10:58 via Aberdeen, what a hike!
5 minutes later, that got cancelled!
What was I to do now? There was not a hope in hell of me and my bike heading home, but I had to be back, drastic action would be called for.........
The lady at the B&B I had stayed would look after my bike until a later date, a good excuse to return, but a poor state of affairs, not enough room on the train to take my bike!
And so it came to pass, I would return home without my trusted bike and have to use the cumbersum, heavy clod I was hoping never to use again!
The Ugly:
At 10:47 we boarded, bounded for Edinburgh, York and finally Peterborough.
With only four carriages, we all clambered aboard, suitcases and people squashed and packed, this was no way for a journey to begin.
With all the buses commandeered for the airports as the Volcanic Ash from Iceland spread to Scotland and the North of England, the trains that did not run yesterday were now full to capicity, bulging a health and safety risk!
And so, packed like sardines we hurried along, thankful of just being able to get home, but there were other people who were travelling abroad who, for them, they could not get home via airports, they were cancelled, I hope they would be able to get home ok.
We changed at Edinburgh, after the train driver called ahead to arrange for the train to be delayed by a few minutes so passengers could board - thankyou!
The Forfar bridge that yesterday was closed and dogged by cloud, driving rain and buffeted by heavy winds.
The ugliness of a journey fraught by delays, cancellations and busy ways, were slowly getting back to normal and people could once more travel with confidence, but the power of nature shows us how vulnerable we truly are and the things we take for granted are just that, taken for granted.
We expect to get somewhere and on time, and when things don`t we see how the ugly side of human nature and fraught tensions, not necessary, just enjoy it, laugh and treat, as I did, as a mini adventure, you`ll get there in the end!
Now to get my bike back....................
Before I start this post I wanted to say thankyou to those who e-mailed and commented on the post "The good, the bad and the ugly of the train journey south" 
