Half-a-day out by train, walking from Telford Central to Wellington railway stations, 12½ miles, taking in The Wrekin on the way.
▲ The precise point, SJ 68274 08783, turns out to be the end of a narrow Telford suburbia back road called Princes End. (No apostrophe, not even on Victorian maps). Not a lot to say about this part of Telford at 7:15 in the morning. Some decent shopping parks about, but nothing open this time of day.
▲ The Wrekin, a 406.9m/1,335′ hill. Tried running over it, only managed one-third of the up, but most of the down. My time, 59:44, so just under the hour. (This included stopping to take photos and taking a 300m wrong turn, so room for improvement if I ever feel the need.)
Spent some of the trip home inter-carriage, as is often the case. Twice witnessed conductors berating travellers who had boarded expecting to be able to buy a ticket on the train, as I have done in the past. The first was ‘let off’ with a warning, the second had quite an ordeal, the conductor waving a hand around and saying “All these people have paid, why shouldn’t you? You have to pay a penalty or you’ll simply be going to court”. The man was instructed to give his full details in front of everyone, the conductor then telling him it would be dealt with online and he could appeal there. The days of boarding and buying appear to have gone. A lot of shouty rail staff today. Another, ‘helping’ a blind person, simply pushed me out of the way when guiding them rather hurriedly along the platform. Hmmmm.
But, there are kind people about. One girl at a Costa Café gave me a free coffee when I realised I’d forgotton my wallet while at the counter, saying, “We’ll log it in the wastage. You can’t start a day without a coffee.” Another at Wellington train station on the way home happily gave me a huge beaker of water when I asked if it was possible to get any. I downed it in one and sincerely thanked her.
Two ‘Random Points’ down.
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