My journeys for the last two weeks, since we got back from Tanzania have been short, local and utilitarian. Today I woke to a bright sunny morning before the alarm clock and not long after dawn. It was soon time to head over to Crewe to catch the train to Edinburgh. The roads are even quieter than usual and some of the regular commuter faces at the station are missing as so many people are on holiday. The train was a few minutes late and came into a different platform to the usual one but once on, it was quiet and soon made up for lost time. As I munched a bacon roll and topped up the caffeine levels, we slid past Cheshire farmland where silage is being cut and cereal crops are slowly ripening. By the time we got to Cumbria, the green hills were covered with grazing sheep and cows. The track runs alongside the M6 for part of the way but leaves it to stop at Carlisle where the blue sky had disappeared and it became cloudy. There were several trainspotters on the platforms – all over 50 and with expensive cameras. After Carlisle we were soon in the Southern Uplands, the cloud was down over the hills and we were again alongside the motorway. In Upper Clydesdale, the track swings away from the motorway, alongside the river for a while and then creeps slowly past Carstairs Junction. Not much later I was at Waverley Station, off the train and up to George IV Bridge to catch the bus. By the time I had dumped my bag in the flat and set off to get some provisions and arrange my camera repair, the blue sky had arrived and it’s been sunny and warm all day. Found a guide to Colorado in the local library and will do some Lincoln Highway planning later.
