ALR Trip Report 6th to 12th August 2023

[Ayman Ilham]

UPDATE: I actually did the All Line Rover the week after posting this, as you can see below on this thread. I managed to get a hotel for an overnight stay in Plymouth, which allowed me to also cover Cornwall. Everything else was manageable within the constraints of returning home on the same day. As of January 2024, I have finally edited and uploaded all six videos of the week. For the list of cities I had in mind to visit with the rover within this post, I've marked with those which I managed to visit and spend at least an hour in and for those I've set foot in, but didn't have time to explore properly.

ORIGINAL POST:
I am planning to do a 7-day All-Line Rover soon (£376.80 w/ 16-25 Railcard), possibly starting this Saturday or Sunday, but should I wait it out till after 15th August or will the current strikes not affect that many services for me to visit the places I want to? What I plan to do is visit as many of the cities that I haven't yet visited in Great Britain as possible. I'm based in Blackburn, Lancashire and since I've visited every city in the North and Midlands, all my target cities are either down South (closest to me I haven't yet visited are Oxford, Peterborough and Gloucester) or far up in Scotland (just got three left up there), oh and St Davids in Wales which (due to the T11 bus not being timed well with trains at Haverfordwest) is probably impossible unless I stay overnight somewhere. I'll separate cities I haven't yet visited into different groups, so you can suggest itineraries (doesn't necessarily have to be exact timetables, but a rough idea of what cities I can fit into each of the 7 days) that would work better for each day that would allow me to spend at least an hour in each city and return home on the same day. However, I might squeeze in a Night Riviera for one day so Cornwall (and thus Truro) will be possible, since Plymouth is as far as I could possibly go before I need to return to Preston just before the last train home. Cities in italics are a maybe.

West Country:
Gloucester
Bristol
Bath
Wells (via 376 bus from Bristol)
Salisbury
Exeter
Plymouth
Truro

South England:
Oxford
Reading (not officially a city, but behaves too much like one to not call it one)
Southampton
Portsmouth
Bournemouth (another de-facto city like Reading)
Chichester
Canterbury
Rochester (we can pretend it never lost its city status in 1998)

East Anglia:
Colchester
Chelmsford
Southend
St Albans
Peterborough
Ely

Scotland:
Perth
Aberdeen
Inverness

Wales:
St Davids (requires T11 bus from Haverfordwest)

Some cities from different region groups can possibly be combined within a day due to their proximity, such as Salisbury with Southampton & Portsmouth. Also, thanks to HS1, I could combine Canterbury with St Albans (via St Pancras), or with Chelmsford, Colchester & Southend (via Stratford). How do you think I will manage with the current circumstances and would it be more worthwhile to spread it out using split ticket combos and the South West Rover instead of the ALR?

 

[HST43257]

I’d recommend the All Line Rover to give you the opportunity to do Scotland (and Cornwall as you say) on the sleeper, taking 1 day to do it rather than 2. Remember seat reservations are free on them. I’d recommend waiting until the overtime ban is finished for certainty more than anything.

For Example you can use 1 day for Scotland doing this, plus saving on accomodation:

Sleeper London to Aberdeen
Scotrail Aberdeen to Inverness
Scotrail Inverness to Perth
Sleeper Perth to London

Rather than 1.5-2 days doing this:

LNER London to Aberdeen
Scotrail Aberdeen to Inverness
Stay overnight
Scotrail Inverness to Perth
Scotrail Perth to Edinburgh
LNER Edinburgh to London

 

[peterblue]

An ALR *probably* will be the cheapest option for your journey (especially going on sleepers), but once you have finalised your itinerary, I would recommend checking a combination of regional rover tickets (plus eg return to Scotland from the London area) to see if it works out cheaper.

You should be able to come up with an efficient itinerary if you utilise both the Night Riviera and the Caledonian.

It would be a shame visiting Scotland and not travelling on two of the nicest railways (Kyle + West Highland lines) in the country. However, doing so would require a night's accommodation and a ferry.

I would recommend missing out St Davids - not much to do there, and getting there is a pain in the proverbial.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

I’d recommend the All Line Rover to give you the opportunity to do Scotland (and Cornwall as you say) on the sleeper, taking 1 day to do it rather than 2. Remember seat reservations are free on them. I’d recommend waiting until the overtime ban is finished for certainty more than anything.

I'd be using the Night Riviera once to enable me to have a decent amount of time exploring Cornwall. As well as ticking off the city (Truro), I can also check out Penzance at the end of the line and the picturesque St Ives nearby. The important question is how bad is the overtime ban regarding most of the services? At the same time, I'm also trying to time with weather to avoid rain as much as possible given the state of the last few weeks. Finally getting a week with the rain calmed down, so what if it comes back by the time the overtime ban is through?

For Example you can use 1 day for Scotland doing this, plus saving on accomodation:

Sleeper London to Aberdeen
Scotrail Aberdeen to Inverness
Scotrail Inverness to Perth
Sleeper Perth to London

Rather than 1.5-2 days doing this:

LNER London to Aberdeen
Scotrail Aberdeen to Inverness
Stay overnight
Scotrail Inverness to Perth
Scotrail Perth to Edinburgh
LNER Edinburgh to London

I wouldn't necessarily need the Caledonian Sleeper (how do I make reservations with ALR anyway?) when it's very possible for me to go to Aberdeen or Inverness and return home on the same day. Don't forget, my local station (CYT) is only a 20-minute train ride from Preston, so it's very easy to get to Scotland from there.

An ALR *probably* will be the cheapest option for your journey (especially going on sleepers), but once you have finalised your itinerary, I would recommend checking a combination of regional rover tickets (plus eg return to Scotland from the London area) to see if it works out cheaper.

I have looked at the possibility of combining a Heart of England with a South West Rover (around £150 combined for 3 days within a week) and three different return tickets to Crewe (£75 total from my local CYT) as an alternative to cover the whole West Country plus Southampton and Portsmouth. However, I feel like ALR will be more worthwhile cos every time I wanna go down South, it'll usually be around £100 per day anyway (combination of split tickets and/or regional rovers) and the amount of times I'd need to go in order to get a decent amount of time in various cities down there, the ALR means 7 days for the price of 3-4 using split flexi-returns. Then again, the latter has the advantage of being able to spread out my travelling a bit more in case 7 continuous days makes me burnt out.

I would recommend missing out St Davids - not much to do there, and getting there is a pain in the proverbial.

To be fair, I've seen a surprisingly good selection of shops, cafes and galleries (been seeing it on Google Maps) for its size (a lot better than St Asaph on the other side of Wales, which I've been to) and the place is very picturesque, so it doesn't seem that bad. However, I'll likely save it for another occasion when I'm either staying at my relatives' house in Cardiff or decide to stay a night in their new Premier Inn and then use the TrawsCymru day ticket to ride buses across the entire length of Wales from Wrexham all the way down there.

 

[HST43257]

(how do I make reservations with ALR anyway?)

For seats (never used beds), I previously used to ring them on their booking line, but now I use their Live Chat. In daytime hours you are communicating with a person who can do everything for you, it’s very good.

it's very possible for me to go to Aberdeen or Inverness and return home on the same day. Don't forget, my local station (CYT) is only a 20-minute train ride from Preston, so it's very easy to get to Scotland from there.

Or if you were feeling fairly insane, you could use the mad sleeper calls at Prestion (0100 North and 0400 South type thing?)

 

[Bevan Price]

For the West Country and South, I would be tempted to stay overnight for a couple of nights in a "Bed & Breakfast". Preferably in a seaside resort, as they are usually more readily available - and generally cheaper than in "Big Cities". Unless you know you can sleep soundly in sleeper trains, you will find it mich less tiring. Also you may find one hour too short to visit some cities, especially if you want a meal brake. (For example, Bristol Temple Meads is a long walk from the city centre.)
So, for example,
Day 1. Home to Gloucester, Bath, Bristol & Wells. Overnight in somewhere like Weston Super Mare, Dawlish or Torquay area.

Day 2. B&B place to Exeter, Plymouth, Truro, Penzance & Cornish branches Return to same B&B place.

Day 3. B&B place to Bournemouth, Southampton, Portsmouth, Chichester then back home for the night..

And for South East & East Anglia, maybe.

Day 1. Home to Canterbury, Rochester, Southend (out from Fenchurch Street to Southend Central, poaaibly including a short extension to Shoeburyness,
then return from Southend Victoria via Shenfield, Chelmsford & Colchester. Overnight B&B in somewhere like Clacton (or Southend).

Day 2. B&B via London to St. Albans, return to London, then Cambridge, Ely & Peterborough, then home for the night.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Well, I've already cleared two days of the ALR now, so expect me to write a full trip report on here soon. Actually managed to bag the Travelodge in Plymouth for a surprisingly good price for the short notice (£50 was reasonable for Sunday night) so I managed to do the hard bit first, Devon and Cornwall. Now the remaining trips I can probably manage on a there-and-back basis. Found I had to pay extra for reservations on Caledonian Sleeper EVEN in seated coaches and the prices (especially for berths) are such that I'm better off using hotels (if required) anyway. What's more, most services within a week are fully booked. I definitely won't manage all the cities (skipping Inverness and St Davids) as I can only do so much given the circumstances, but at least it'll make things less complicated.

Made my way down to Plymouth on Day 1 with a quick stopover in Exeter on the way, followed by heading down to Truro and Penzance the next day, before heading back up home to Blackburn. Just woke up on Day 3 and hope to catch the 0814 from Preston to Glasgow Central (after the 0741 from my local) on my way to Perth and Aberdeen, before returning home via Edinburgh. Tomorrow, perhaps I'll either do Kent via HS1 plus St Albans or Chichester, Portsmouth and Southampton. There's also the option of Peterborough, Ely, Colchester, Chelmsford, Southend, return via London.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

UPDATE: I have now completed the full ALR week a few days ago, using 6 of the 7 days cos I needed a bit of a break in-between to recover. Day 3 the planned train to Glasgow was cancelled, so I decided to instead head south to London in order to aim for Canterbury on HS1. Had a nice time exploring the historic city, but on the way back there was an hour delay due to a level crossing failure in the Chilham area holding up all the trains on the CBW line, so I had to cancel plans to return North on the ECML via Leeds with a stopover in Peterborough (best not to return home too late in case of surprise cancellations with Northern on my local line) and instead just get a fast train back to Preston from Euston following my return to St Pancras. However, I did manage to get £38 delay repay from Southeastern thanks to this, which actually made up for the majority of my hotel cost back in Plymouth.

Day 4 was much more action packed, as I went to Gloucester (XC from Tamworth connecting from an LNWR from Crewe), Bath, Salisbury, Southampton, then back home via London with a huge variety of trains. Day 5 I finally decided to go up to Scotland for a change, where I went to Aberdeen via Glasgow with a quick stopover in Perth along the way, then came back via Edinburgh. Day 6 was a rest day, as I was very tired and burnt out at this point, but felt I already made the value of the ticket. Finally, Day 7 involved visiting the remaining cities I had South of London: Chichester and Portsmouth, where I went on Southern via Horsham to catch a glimpse of Arundel Castle, before coming back on SWR. I'll be writing a more detailed report of all this later, complete with a 6-part video series to go with it once I edit the footage together. What do you think of how I used the rover?

 

[peri]

It looked to be a sensible mix. Did you reserve any seats/find any trains full? Are you planning another or using more local rovers?
And what were the best cities so far!

 

[Ayman Ilham]

It looked to be a sensible mix. Did you reserve any seats/find any trains full? Are you planning another or using more local rovers?
And what were the best cities so far!

Definitely got my money's worth, and I only reserved on any CrossCountry services I planned to use, due to their likelihood of being packed on top of their long-distance nature. This was definitely needed on the Birmingham to Exeter leg on Day 1, which was only a 4-car Voyager, hence was rammed up to Bristol Parkway but I was lucky to get a decent seat the whole way. Their 10-minute reservation system via SMS was a lifesaver. I think I'll stick to local rovers or split returns on future train journeys, as I'd rather spread out my journeys to ensure I get enough rest inbetween; 7 days continuously was definitely quite intense, even at the relatively relaxed pace I did it. The ALR I'll likely do no more than once a year I think, although there are plenty of other possibilities I could give a go with it.

As for my favourite cities on the trip, it's a tough decision between Aberdeen, Plymouth and Portsmouth, all of which are prominent port cities on opposite corners of the country. In Aberdeen, I loved the spacious and modern Union Square complex, especially the way it seamlessly integrated the city's main shopping centre, bus station and train station all into one building which was pleasant to walk around. On top of this, the rest of the city centre is so easy to access from it and I especially loved how the port was literally round the corner rather than some obscure place on the outskirts of the city. The architecture around the city was really unique with the grey granite and the Maritime Museum was definitely a real treat and free to explore. As for Plymouth, the wide pedestrianised boulevard going right through the city from the train station (also loved the spacious pathways going under that roundabout) all the way down to Hoe Park was definitely a unique feature, as was Hoe Park itself with its stunning coastal views and things to see/do. Gunwharf Quay by Portsmouth Harbour was the perfect part of Portsmouth for me to enjoy a quick visit, as the main sights were all concentrated around that area and the station was certainly unique, being built directly above the water and one of the few integrated train/ferry type stations still in operation to this day.

For smaller, more historic cities, Bath is definitely up there with its stunning Roman architecture. What's more, Bath Spa station definitely has to be the most picturesque railway station I've been to, especially with balconies at the ends of the platforms where you can get superb views of the city. Perth in Scotland has a surprisingly grand station for a city of its size, with a whopping 7 spacious platforms in many directions and some brilliant architecture to boot. Even though I only had time to quickly pop to the Tesco Express in the city centre before catching the next train onwards to Aberdeen, I still had plenty of time to admire Perth's stunning station. Truro in Cornwall did an amazing job feeling far bigger than it really is, given its population is only around 20k but it easily felt like a larger city around 150k (somewhat on par with Exeter) thanks to the stunning views from the viaduct of the massive cathedral surrounded by an illusion of sprawl, combined with the massive mix of chain and independent shops/eateries scattered around the city centre. Lemon Quay with its big M&S and Primark stores could easily be found in a place the size of Plymouth, yet here it is bang-splat in a place 1/10 of that size. Despite being no bigger than your average market town (or most of the notable towns in Cornwall), Truro still makes sense being a city due to what it has to offer and how it feels overall.

 

[Snapper37]

dependent upon personal circumstances you would perhaps enjoy looking at inter rail. In the 80’s they were a wonderful was of hitting Europe. Of course nowadays most of the cities look much prettier, but the trains are less interesting. Would recommend a trip round the RHB in Switzerland.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

dependent upon personal circumstances you would perhaps enjoy looking at inter rail. In the 80’s they were a wonderful was of hitting Europe. Of course nowadays most of the cities look much prettier, but the trains are less interesting. Would recommend a trip round the RHB in Switzerland.

I was actually considering Interrail, but I wanted to explore more of Britain first before going into that. ALR has more of a turn-up-and-go vibe to it, whereas with Interrail you actually have to plan a lot of things in advance such as reserving certain trains where required and booking overnight accommodation. Maybe next year; I actually was planning a tour around the Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland with that pass, given those countries don't require reservations on most long-distance trains, even the high-speed trains like ICE and RailJet.

 

[Snapper37]

The inter rail app is very good, and allows you to make reservations. In the day, there were wonderful overnight trains, and the German compartment stock allowed you to slide the seats together and make up beds. Nowadays the internet makes cheap hotels much easier, and that is the way I would go. Start somewhere easy such as Holland, and then work your way up from there. Switzerland is a particular favourite, and you can reduce the costs by staying outside in a neighbouring country.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Detailed ALR Itinerary:
So here is a more detailed list of the trains I rode each day, with brief commentary on what I got up to in-between riding trains. My local station is Cherry Tree in Blackburn. Videos coming soon, as I have started editing the first day.

Day 1 (6/8/2023):
Northern Class 156 - Blackburn to Manchester Victoria
** Walked from Victoria to Piccadilly **
CrossCountry Class 221 - Manchester Piccadilly to Birmingham New Street
CrossCountry Class 220 - Birmingham New Street to Exeter St Davids
** Explored Exeter City Centre **
GWR Class 158 - Exeter Central to Exeter St Davids
GWR Castle HST - Exeter St Davids to Plymouth
** Explored Plymouth City Centre & Hoe Park; Stayed Overnight in Travelodge **

Day 2 (7/8/2023):
GWR Castle HST - Plymouth to Truro
** Explored Truro City Centre **
GWR Class 800 - Truro to Penzance
** Explored Penzance & Ate Cornish Pasty **
GWR Castle HST - Penzance to Plymouth
CrossCountry HST - Plymouth to Birmingham New Street
Avanti Class 390 - Birmingham New Street to Preston
Northern Class 156 - Preston to Cherry Tree

Day 3 (8/8/2023):
Northern Class 150 - Cherry Tree to Preston
Avanti Class 390 - Preston to Crewe (goes to London via Birmingham)
Avanti Class 390 - Crewe to London Euston (FAST via Trent Valley)
** Walked from Euston to St Pancras **
Southeastern Class 395 - London St Pancras to Canterbury West
** Explored Canterbury City Centre **
Southeastern Class 395 - Canterbury West to Ashford International
** 1 hour delay due to faulty level crossing at Chilham, so had to change at Ashford as a consequence; got the delay repay tho **
Southeastern Class 395 - Ashford International to London St Pancras
** Walked from St Pancras to Euston **
Avanti Class 390 - London Euston to Preston (FAST via Trent Valley)
** Train home cancelled, so I walked to Church Street to catch a bus instead **

Day 4 (9/8/2023):
Northern Class 150 - Cherry Tree to Preston
Avanti Class 390 - Preston to Crewe
LNWR Class 350 - Crewe to Tamworth
CrossCountry Class 170 - Tamworth to Gloucester
GWR Class 165 - Gloucester to Bristol Temple Meads
GWR Class 800 - Bristol Temple Meads to Bath Spa
** Explored Bath City Centre **
GWR Class 158 - Bath Spa to Salisbury
** Explored Salisbury City Centre **
GWR Class 166 - Salisbury to Southampton Central
** Walked to City Hall & Back **
SWR Class 444 - Southampton Central to London Waterloo
** Northern Line from Waterloo to Euston **
Avanti Class 390 - London Euston to Crewe
** Did a bit of shopping in a nearby B&M and Lidl retail park to kill time **
Avanti Class 390 - Crewe to Preston
** Train home cancelled (again), so got a lift home instead **

Day 5 (10/8/2023):
Northern Class 195 - Cherry Tree to Preston
Avanti Class 390 - Preston to Glasgow Central
** Walked from Central to Queen Street **
ScotRail HST - Glasgow Queen Street to Perth
** Walked to city centre and back to grab a few things from Tesco **
ScotRail HST - Perth to Aberdeen
** Explored Aberdeen City Centre **
ScotRail HST - Aberdeen to Edinburgh
Avanti Class 390 - Edinburgh to Preston
** Train home cancelled (again), so ditto like previous day **

Day 6 (12/8/2023):
Northern Class 195 - Cherry Tree to Preston
Avanti Class 390 - Preston to London Euston
** Walked from Euston to St Pancras **
Thameslink Class 700 - London St Pancras to East Croydon
Southern Class 377 - East Croydon to Barnham
Southern Class 377 - Barnham to Chichester
** Explored Chichester City Centre **
Southern Class 377 - Chichester to Portsmouth Harbour
** Explored Gunwharf Quays and Went Up Spinnaker Tower **
SWR Class 450 - Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo
** Northern Line from Waterloo to Euston **
Avanti Class 390 - London Euston to Preston
** No Prizes for Guessing What Happened Next **

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Day 1 has finally been edited and uploaded. Hopefully I plan to get each part uploaded every week.

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Day 2 was uploaded two weeks ago, but I just realised I forgot to post it here:

Day 3 has just been uploaded now; been a bit slow cos I've been busy, but I'll get round to it eventually:

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Day 4 has been edited and uploaded; brace yourselves, this one is intense!

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Day 5 is now online; been slow with the editing lately since becoming a dad, but just one more video left before the entire series is complete!

 

[Ayman Ilham]

Day 6 (well, 7 given I skipped what would've been 6 to have a break) is now up, so I've finally completed putting together the entire series for you all to enjoy!

Here is the full playlist if you wish to binge-watch the entire series:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwWOKTpQ0Ss5pIZx452x28M9PIqJuUEuI