Most of today was taken up by travel. I took the Uber ferry back to London, but sat inside this time because it was really cold this morning.
I got off at the Embankment Pier, intending to find a cab and take it to the train station. Luckily, I had made my reservation for 3:00 pm, which gave me lots of time to get there.
I had intended to catch a cab near the pier to take me to the National Rail station at King's Cross Station. However, there was a HUGE Jubilee family bike riding event through most of the heart of London that included tens of thousands of people and lasting all day! Most roads were closed in the middle of the city, so I ended up trying to walk out the event area. I could have taken the nearby subway, but as usual I would have had to navigate several sets of stairs carrying my two heavy suitcases--not doable.
Anyway, I walked at least a mile until I found a HUB hotel, similar to the one I am staying in tonight in Edinburgh. The two young women at the desk helped me with my heavy bags and called a cab for me. Whew!
King's Cross station is the one in the Harry Potter movies where Platform 9 3/4 is located. The magic families pushed their luggage carts through the magical wall and found the Hogwart's Express on the other side. Below is the line to get photos taken of this faked-up platform that is complete with a luggage cart.
Just some photos of the rail part of the station.
Here are two of the newer high-speed trains that go all over the country at speeds of up to 125 MPH.
My train, but I was there too early, so I went outside to find a place to sit.
I had had only a sweet roll for breakfast, so I stopped at this Pret for some fresh-squeezed OJ, and an almond roll.
My snack stuff. Unfortunately, what I did not realize that first-class passengers got a meal soon after boarding, even though it was only 3:30 p.m. By that time, I was not hungry, but I will know to ask about when the meal would be served next time.
Seating for first-class, by the way, was two seats on one side and one seat on the other, so I had lots of room. Funny to be sitting in a fast-moving vehicle, however, without a seat belt. I managed to get a bargain rate of £189 for this one-way trip. Expensive, but I wanted to try this fast train. Actually, I could have flown for about half of this, but that would have involved getting to airport and waiting around for plane. This would be easier and faster.
This train moved at an average of 105 MPH, but when we got to York, we were told that the train had a technical problem, and we all had to get off and get on a different train for the rest of the trip to Edinburgh.
This really presented a problem for me because I could not find a lift to get over the stairs to the next platform. Two gentlemen grabbed my cases, which was very nice of them. The new train was similar to the original one, but made more stops. This resulted in our arriving in Edinburgh about 30 minutes late.
Imagine my surprise this evening when I got the following email from the rail company:
"We’re sorry that your journey from London Kings Cross - Edinburgh arrived late. Compensation to the amount of £94.50 is due for the delay.
To claim your One-Click Delay Repay simply click here: https://LNER.co.uk/one-click?id=7389-83df-e1-0-0050560126f9, and you'll be compensated back to the card you used to purchase this journey, in the next five days. If you chose to donate to our charity partner (CALM), clicking the link will automatically donate the compensation to CALM."
I clicked on the link, and it said I would get a refund to my credit card within 5 days! Amazing!!! And I even got an email afterwards thanking me for clicking on the link for a partial refund. Cannot believe how polite these British are!! (And can you imagine Amtrak doing that??)
My Fitbit said I took 7,407 steps and walked 2.92 miles today. Most of the steps and distance occurred when I had to walk over a mile in London dragging my luggage until I found a cab out of the bike ride event area! Whew!
I am in another HUB Hotel in Edinburgh tonight and for the next two nights. Dumb thing I did for the day is wait at the Edinburgh train station taxi stand line, and then looked at my cell phone to see how far the hotel was. Duh, turned out to be only 600 feet away, so I walked that huge distance!! FYI - It is really cold in Edinburgh tonight. Brrrr.
No comments:
Post a Comment