With glorious summer weather in prospect, friend James and I had planned out a short break over to North Wales, the idea being to visit four railways in four days. We've both been visiting the area since the late 1960s, our respective fathers having much to answer for.
Setting off early Sunday morning, first stop was the
Ffestiniog Railway. Never well found for accommodation, since I last visited Porthmadog a Premier Inn has opened there directly opposite Harbour Station. With six car charging points in the newly opened facility it seemed like the ideal place to spend our first night, with the chance to refuel after the 220 mile journey.
First hitch was to be told, on arrival, that the whizzy new car charging points had never been connected up from new - apparently they don't own the car park, so are unable to make them work. Something of a setback, however the view from the bedroom window made up for it - an ideal spot for watching trains go by, second only to sitting on the platform with a pint in hand...
We travelled up to Tan-y-Bwlch on the 14.35. The Ffestiniog, post-COVID, have modified their offering, the lady in the booking office explaining that their trips were now based more on "experiences" than a "hop on and ride" service. That said, she cheerfully sold us two tickets, although sadly the train no longer features the fabulous observation car, our invariable choice in days gone by. You buy a ticket for a compartment of six and sit in splendid isolation, a throwback to social distancing during the pandemic.
The ride up the line in a vintage First Class carriage was enjoyable, although the views are becoming somewhat obscured due to tree regrowth following their cutting back operation some years ago. As ever the tea shop at T-y-B provided satisfying fare, we sat in the sunshine and watched our engine, the double Fairlie "Merddin Emrys" run around ready for the return trip.
We came back in an open third carriage to enjoy the warm afternoon sunshine. Again, we had a compartment of six to ourselves, created by tie-wrapping plastic sheeting between successive rows of seats. It felt like the panic of 2020 all over again, when nobody knew quite what to do in the face of COVID.
I have great faith in the FR's business acumen, but one can't help feeling that the "new normal", whilst perhaps allaying the fears of a small majority of travellers, significantly impairs the enjoyment of the majority (as well as drastically reducing the capacity of their trains).
A long time fan of the Ffestiniog - and life member of the society - it remains my favourite railway in the world. Adapting to change is often difficult - especially when you've known the place for fifty years - but our visit to the Vale of Rheidol Railway (see below) showed, to my eyes at least, that for the first time the FR have serious competition in terms of quality of engineering, permanent way, locomotives and professionalism of the staff. On balance, the VoR - without the COVID era restrictions - feels more like an old style railway. It's doing the job it was designed for, without feeling the need to offer "experiences" - just a nice ride through lovely scenery behind a beautiful locomotive.
However, history shows that it never pays to write off the FR - it's a finely engineered, well run railway with a long history in preservation of commercial success and a proven abilility constantly to reinvent itself.
Sunday night supper was at the Union Inn in Tremadog, of which the least said the better... However, we did find out that the pub opposite had two car chargers, which got us out of a hole given that the only other two chargers in town, both in a council car park, didn't work.
Tuesday morning, after an excellent breakfast at the ever-wonderful
Jenny's (I know it's called The Port now, but it will always be Jenny's to me), saw us setting off for Tywyn to visit the
Talyllyn Railway. A favourite of James', in the past I'd always favoured the Ffestiniog although, with advancing years, I've come to appreciate the gentler pace and modest vision of the smaller railway.
We travelled up the line behind No.7 "Tom Rolt", in the fabulous Corris third class coach, watching the world go by from the slatted wooden bench seats.
We decided to forgo lunch at Abergynolwyn - there was a coach trip of seniors riding on the train, resulting in a long queue out of the cafe door moving at a slow shuffle, hampered by stiff joints and indecision once the counter had finally been reached. It always seems a cruel irony that, the older one gets and the less time one has left left, the longer it takes to do anything...
Back at Tywyn Wharf we found the cafe there offering only tea and buns - in fairness, they hadn't expected anybody arriving wanting lunch at three in the afternoon! We contented ourselves instead with a walk around the excellent narrow gauge museum which is always interesting.
Leave a comment (all fields required)