The esplanade was covered in seaweed and other debris from the storm as we made the short ride to the station. The first train of the day hadn’t run, so our 08:50 was formed of the set that had been in the station all weekend, rather than an incoming train. This allowed us to use the dedicated bike carriage, a refurbished redundant class 153 unit, which normally forms a third carriage on the 05:11. It provides space for twenty bikes as well as seating for 24 people.
We were held for a long time at Dalmally waiting for a MPV to pass in the opposite direction and lost further time, being over an hour late for our 40 minute connection by Garelochhead. None of the later trains had three bike spaces so I booked a travelodge for the night.
Christine wanted to look round the shops so Rowan and I walked to Central and booked our bikes on the 09:36, only three hours earlier in the day than today’s. We called in on the famous Horseshoe Bar, not much choice of cask ale but they had Landlord. I remember it from a night out in 1995 when I was working in Greenock.
We had a spot of trouble finding our way to Central in the pouring rain, arriving fifteen minutes before departure time.The next one, in an hour’s time had been cancelled so we were relieved to be on our way south. We had only about fifteen minutes to wait at Warrington for our connection to Chester, and a similar time there for the train to Bangor, where the sun was shining.