Well your support is very much appreciated and comments like this keep me going. Thanks very much and I’m glad you enjoyed it - there’s six more in this series coming up over the next few weeks 😊
@@LetsMakeaTrip Wow, I can't wait ! It's nice for people who've been stuck inside their own homes for over a year now to see someone else traveling and making videos about it.
Wow iam looking forward to the other 6 legs of your journey. You get about. Keep up the fantistic videos i look forward to every Friday when your new video comes on youtube.
Hi David, well thanks for the kind words! Next week will be GWR down to Penzance (well actually I already said all that on the video I guess!). But yes, I think if I do them in order it will give you a bit of an idea of how it went. I won’t spoil it for you now but let’s just say there were a few surprises on the way!
Hi Joe yes it's a nice train, is it as nice as the new Cal Sleeper? I've tried both so I'll probably give my opinion in the video. All I would say is do it! Cheers :-)
Really enjoyed this video from Exeter St David's to Penzance it is amazing this line from Exeter to Penzance with some many well known landmarks including the Brunel Bridge and the Dawlish Seawall. I am very lucky to live in Cornwall and is such a treat to life to be able to have a home there. I have made Train videos at Dawlish and you are so close to the trains when they come pass you when your are on the seawall i really like the rock colour in the area of Dawlish aswell which is like reddish colour kinda like a red brick sort of colour. I enjoyed your Bristol Temple Meads to Exeter with a review for the Cross Country HST.
@@LetsMakeaTrip I did National Express from Manchester to Brighton with an overnight stay in London last month. We were supposed to going back by coach but my wife fell over and spent most of the day in A&E so we got the train back from Brighton to Preston via London.
@@smarthome9707 oh no! A memorable time for all the wrong reasons I guess! Hopefully the train would have been more comfortable for your wife than the coach but then it depends how many changes you had to make and getting through London etc. Well I hope she’s recovered anyway and yes my coach journey is leg 4 I think. Without giving too much away, it was a bit more enjoyable than my previous experience (see my national express video Wolverhampton to London a few weeks back). All the best, Mark.
@@LetsMakeaTrip the train was Brighton to London St. Pancras International unfortunately we set off from Brighton bang on time, got to Haywards Heath, we set off then we got stopped at the next signal. The driver was told to reverse back to the station and we was told to get off and get the train on the adjacent platform. We arrived at London St.Pancras got a taxi to Euston, luckily I had the foresight to book passenger assist. We arrived at Euston and we'd obviously missed the train we were booked on so I went to the ticket office and got them swapped for the next train to Preston. We also booked First Class so plenty of room to stretch out. We got met at Preston and was driven back to sunny Accrington. Regards Phil
@@smarthome9707 aah it would have been nice to have finally got into First Class after all that hassle! I’m sure I caught the train once from Birmingham or somewhere like that and it went all the way down to Brighton just skirting past the western edge of London. A few years back now I can’t really remember but it would have been so much easier. Glad you got back ok though in the end!
Looking forward to all these new trips you have planned. I’m particularly interested in the new Stena line Ferry service from Holyhead to Belfast. I believe it’s only operating for a few weeks over the Summer for the staycation market in the UK, but will definitely being interesting to see. ✈️
Yes I must say I wasn't sure about Cross Country before this trip but I was pleasantly surprised. The exterior certainly on the HST's is one of my favourites!
Cross Country Trains - when the service works, they are good, but boy do they have issues across the company. You were lucky to travel on one of their HST's. Usually it would have been a Voyager train of 4, maybe 5 carriages prior to Covid, but since the rail industry has opened up again, Cross Country has been operating either HST's or Doubled up sets of Voyagers. I travel regularly to Leeds and have noticed the Cross Country trains arriving or departing at only 30-40% occupancy. Regarding the Priority Seat you occupied, pre-Covid, I worked away from home for a few years, and when travelling home to Hull, I usually boarded at Leamington Spa and then depending on the route diagram, would change at either Birmingham New Street onto another CX train, or change trains at Sheffield. Due to a joint Disability and Mobility issue, I always use Passenger Assistance services and within the CX services these have worked very well. That usually meant too, that a Priority seat was available on an HST, but on Voyager trains, well, I could be sitting anywhere in the seat reserved for me, but Assistance staff knew that C X's Seat Reservation system is a bit "hit and miss" at times and would ensure I got seated safely. However, C X trains have been known for overcrowding. On one service travelling north from Leamington Spa to Manchester, my train was 25 minutes late arriving, because it was rammed. It took 10 minutes to get a few passengers off and only a few onboard too, but a lot were left behind. As for me, because I'd booked Passenger Assistance services, I was eventually placed on board using the "jump seat" usually occupied by the Catering Trolley attendant as he was stuck at the rear of the train unable to move anywhere! C X WIFI has always been very good for my needs and if I ever had the chance to travel on one of their HST's, it was a far more pleasurable option to the Voyagers.
Suggestion: Try first class Cross Country from Manchester to Southampton (2.25 p m.) You get a cheap juice in a plastic cup, 2 biscuits, crisps and a choice of 3 sandwiches to last the 3hrs plus. All this with no alcohol for only a little over £155 with railcard!!!
Ah yes, I didn’t think of that! Actually I was looking at ‘where I haven’t been much’ on the map last night and East Anglia was one of those places. Maybe I’ll be heading over there at some point......
@@LetsMakeaTrip Least Used Station - Berney Arms, with a walk along to Yarmouth (~4miles)? Up tp Cromer / Sheringham on the north coast, for beaches / steam trains?..
I’ve never been to Berney Arms,I have been on that steam railway in Sheringham a long time ago now and Cromer (something about 🦀 I seem to recall?). I quite fancy flying into/out of Norwich airport though I expect there’s not much happening there atm?
I love the paintwork on the front too! I would have quite happily stayed on it to Plymouth so maybe I think I ought to try one out up to Edinburgh next - that would be a lovely ride. See if I can get a cheap first class seat.
I don't know why Cross Country don't have more of these lovely HSTs, they could use the ones that have been displaced by East Midlands Railway, maybe you should've stayed on it to Plymouth
I did think about staying on until Plymouth but the GWR on the next leg was booked. I must admit, I’d have preferred one of the GWR 43’s as well tbh - lovely trains!
James, if you look in the playlists they’ll be in ‘Long Weekend Trip-Fest’. I’ve gotta nip out now but let me know how you get on if you like and I’ll have a look later if need be. Cheers 😊
Bloody love HSTs 😍 Can't wait to see the rest of this trip Mark 😁👍🏻 Cheers for now!
Plenty down in the south west mate (as I’m sure you know)! Got some 150 action in last week on the branch lines too 😂
Always glad to see a new video of yours !
Well your support is very much appreciated and comments like this keep me going. Thanks very much and I’m glad you enjoyed it - there’s six more in this series coming up over the next few weeks 😊
@@LetsMakeaTrip Wow, I can't wait ! It's nice for people who've been stuck inside their own homes for over a year now to see someone else traveling and making videos about it.
Glad to be of service. Well there’s a couple more trains, a coach, boat and a plane so hopefully something for everyone 👍
Keep them coming Mark. Looking forward to the next leg of the marathon! Regards. Blair
Cheers mate, working on it!
Wow iam looking forward to the other 6 legs of your journey. You get about. Keep up the fantistic videos i look forward to every Friday when your new video comes on youtube.
Hi David, well thanks for the kind words! Next week will be GWR down to Penzance (well actually I already said all that on the video I guess!). But yes, I think if I do them in order it will give you a bit of an idea of how it went. I won’t spoil it for you now but let’s just say there were a few surprises on the way!
@@LetsMakeaTrip oh great i cant wait for Friday when the 2nd leg of your jouqney is posted on youtube. Keep up the good work Mark Brillant.
Looking forward to the Night riviera sleeper stretch of your journey. Always wanted to go on that train, hopefully soon.
Hi Joe yes it's a nice train, is it as nice as the new Cal Sleeper? I've tried both so I'll probably give my opinion in the video. All I would say is do it! Cheers :-)
Another great review. Thoroughly enjoyed watching.
Cheers Tim, thanks for your support as always.
Really enjoyed this video from Exeter St David's to Penzance it is amazing this line from Exeter to Penzance with some many well known landmarks including the Brunel Bridge and the Dawlish Seawall. I am very lucky to live in Cornwall and is such a treat to life to be able to have a home there. I have made Train videos at Dawlish and you are so close to the trains when they come pass you when your are on the seawall i really like the rock colour in the area of Dawlish aswell which is like reddish colour kinda like a red brick sort of colour. I enjoyed your Bristol Temple Meads to Exeter with a review for the Cross Country HST.
I loved this video. I am looking forward to seeing the other six videos.
Oh the other ones are much more exciting than this Debra! Hope you enjoy them 😊
I can't wait to see the other videos on this trip.
Hi Smart Home, should be posting them up every Friday as planned. Thanks for your support 😊👍
@@LetsMakeaTrip I did National Express from Manchester to Brighton with an overnight stay in London last month. We were supposed to going back by coach but my wife fell over and spent most of the day in A&E so we got the train back from Brighton to Preston via London.
@@smarthome9707 oh no! A memorable time for all the wrong reasons I guess! Hopefully the train would have been more comfortable for your wife than the coach but then it depends how many changes you had to make and getting through London etc. Well I hope she’s recovered anyway and yes my coach journey is leg 4 I think. Without giving too much away, it was a bit more enjoyable than my previous experience (see my national express video Wolverhampton to London a few weeks back). All the best, Mark.
@@LetsMakeaTrip the train was Brighton to London St. Pancras International unfortunately we set off from Brighton bang on time, got to Haywards Heath, we set off then we got stopped at the next signal. The driver was told to reverse back to the station and we was told to get off and get the train on the adjacent platform. We arrived at London St.Pancras got a taxi to Euston, luckily I had the foresight to book passenger assist. We arrived at Euston and we'd obviously missed the train we were booked on so I went to the ticket office and got them swapped for the next train to Preston. We also booked First Class so plenty of room to stretch out. We got met at Preston and was driven back to sunny Accrington.
Regards
Phil
@@smarthome9707 aah it would have been nice to have finally got into First Class after all that hassle! I’m sure I caught the train once from Birmingham or somewhere like that and it went all the way down to Brighton just skirting past the western edge of London. A few years back now I can’t really remember but it would have been so much easier. Glad you got back ok though in the end!
Looking forward to all these new trips you have planned. I’m particularly interested in the new Stena line Ferry service from Holyhead to Belfast. I believe it’s only operating for a few weeks over the Summer for the staycation market in the UK, but will definitely being interesting to see. ✈️
I won't spoil it too much now but the cabin was amazing!! If you can book one while it's running I would go for it.
Only one more day to go before you post the 2nd leg of your journey iam looking forward to it.
The livery sure is eye catching and so are the interiors.
Yes I must say I wasn't sure about Cross Country before this trip but I was pleasantly surprised. The exterior certainly on the HST's is one of my favourites!
Dam what a trip
Last week was on a crosscountry HST from Alnmouth to EDI. Smooth!
It’s just a classic ride isn’t it John. Long may they continue!
The priority seating has more leg room where as I find the normal seats have less leg room
Excellent 👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks Derisley, glad you enjoyed it :-)
Cross Country Trains - when the service works, they are good, but boy do they have issues across the company.
You were lucky to travel on one of their HST's. Usually it would have been a Voyager train of 4, maybe 5 carriages prior to Covid, but since the rail industry has opened up again, Cross Country has been operating either HST's or Doubled up sets of Voyagers.
I travel regularly to Leeds and have noticed the Cross Country trains arriving or departing at only 30-40% occupancy.
Regarding the Priority Seat you occupied, pre-Covid, I worked away from home for a few years, and when travelling home to Hull, I usually boarded at Leamington Spa and then depending on the route diagram, would change at either Birmingham New Street onto another CX train, or change trains at Sheffield.
Due to a joint Disability and Mobility issue, I always use Passenger Assistance services and within the CX services these have worked very well. That usually meant too, that a Priority seat was available on an HST, but on Voyager trains, well, I could be sitting anywhere in the seat reserved for me, but Assistance staff knew that C X's Seat Reservation system is a bit "hit and miss" at times and would ensure I got seated safely.
However, C X trains have been known for overcrowding. On one service travelling north from Leamington Spa to Manchester, my train was 25 minutes late arriving, because it was rammed. It took 10 minutes to get a few passengers off and only a few onboard too, but a lot were left behind. As for me, because I'd booked Passenger Assistance services, I was eventually placed on board using the "jump seat" usually occupied by the Catering Trolley attendant as he was stuck at the rear of the train unable to move anywhere!
C X WIFI has always been very good for my needs and if I ever had the chance to travel on one of their HST's, it was a far more pleasurable option to the Voyagers.
Suggestion: Try first class Cross Country from Manchester to Southampton (2.25 p m.) You get a cheap juice in a plastic cup, 2 biscuits, crisps and a choice of 3 sandwiches to last the 3hrs plus. All this with no alcohol for only a little over £155 with railcard!!!
And if I made a video of it, I can guarantee that someone in the comments will accuse me of moaning 😂
Priority seats also have more legroom
Hi Jack! Yes somebody else mentioned that. I didn’t realise at the time so something else I’ve learnt 👍 cheers.
Nice 👍 if it's anything like Anglia, the priority seats have extra legroom over regular "standard" seats, so that's another difference..
Ah yes, I didn’t think of that! Actually I was looking at ‘where I haven’t been much’ on the map last night and East Anglia was one of those places. Maybe I’ll be heading over there at some point......
@@LetsMakeaTrip Give me a shout when you're planning it 😉
Oh I will mate. Could do with a bit of inspiration tbh 😂
@@LetsMakeaTrip Least Used Station - Berney Arms, with a walk along to Yarmouth (~4miles)? Up tp Cromer / Sheringham on the north coast, for beaches / steam trains?..
I’ve never been to Berney Arms,I have been on that steam railway in Sheringham a long time ago now and Cromer (something about 🦀 I seem to recall?). I quite fancy flying into/out of Norwich airport though I expect there’s not much happening there atm?
they are very comfy i think they were much nicer then the old GWR HSTS was they were different to theres
I love the paintwork on the front too! I would have quite happily stayed on it to Plymouth so maybe I think I ought to try one out up to Edinburgh next - that would be a lovely ride. See if I can get a cheap first class seat.
@@LetsMakeaTrip sounds good
I don't know why Cross Country don't have more of these lovely HSTs, they could use the ones that have been displaced by East Midlands Railway, maybe you should've stayed on it to Plymouth
I did think about staying on until Plymouth but the GWR on the next leg was booked. I must admit, I’d have preferred one of the GWR 43’s as well tbh - lovely trains!
Interesting fact for your self 43208 is a ex LNER power car
Hey MrThrash43 interesting facts are ALWAYS welcome on my channel. I didn’t know this so thanks very much for the contribution. Cheers, Mark
@@LetsMakeaTrip all cross country stock is ex Midland mainline stock
I can’t find links to all your videos to do with this 3 day thing pal
James, if you look in the playlists they’ll be in ‘Long Weekend Trip-Fest’. I’ve gotta nip out now but let me know how you get on if you like and I’ll have a look later if need be. Cheers 😊
@@LetsMakeaTrip if you can send me the link later I’d appreciate it
Here you go mate: ruclips.net/p/PLP3UzAX9DUX37m5nb25W1WWBtkXDEgDmQ
Still mentioning those national express buses huh?😅