Back in March earlier this year, I decided to dabble in my first multi-day rover in order to tick off the cities I had remaining for the North of England: Hull,
Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle, Durham and
Doncaster (de-facto cities in italics, as they applied for city status in the Platinum Jubilee, but it was uncertain at the time which would win so I decided on both just in case). Conveniently, the North East Rover covered those very cities I wanted to visit and on top of that, I could also enjoy some Northern Turbostar bashing and ECML action. Went for the 4-in-8-day flexi version as it allowed me to balance work with the travelling, although I was only able to use 3 of the 4 days due to the workload I had (mix of part-time job and PhD studies) but even then, I think I still made it worthwhile. I did a vlog for each day and was satisfied with the variety of trains I rode. As Huddersfield and Halifax were the nearest stations on the rover from where I lived in Oldham, I was able to get a 184 bus to Huddersfield to start my rover, but on the third day I decided to get a tram up to Rochdale to buy an off-peak return to Halifax (stayed on all the way to Leeds) for a bit of a change as the bus rides were starting to drag.
DAY 1: 23/3/2022
Firstly, after the scenic bus ride across the Pennines, I walked to the grandiose building that is Huddersfield station and bought the rover. Was deciding where to go as I walked over to the platform and looked at what trains were next, but decided cos the weather was nice, I'm gonna wanna go to a beach as well as tick off a city so Hull and Scarborough was the perfect combo; this would also give me a Northern 170 bash as a bonus. Had a nice variety of DMU action that day.
- TPE 185 Huddersfield - York
- Northern 155 York - Hull
- Northern 170 Hull - Scarborough
- TPE 68 Mk5 Scarborough - York
- TPE 802 York - Huddersfield
The Turbostar bash was definitely the highlight of that day, as I finally get to ride my favourite DMU on a full-length journey (i.e. over an hour) with plenty of stopping points on the way, with some nice views of the towns and countryside I went through. I also got to ride some of the new Transpennine Express stock for the first time so that was a plus. Hull was a decent city centre to explore, especially the shopping centre next-door to the station, but once I got to Scarborough ... let me just say, I totally underestimated how stunning it would look! The beach was just amazing with the hill views and castle, as well as the town centre itself. Had a nice cool shake while enjoying the seaside, then walked up the steps (great exercise I'll tell you that) so I can run back to the station and catch a Mk5 back to York; I literally just caught it a second before it was about to close doors for departure. Loved the air-conditioning underneath the windows on these units, as they were just what I needed, especially after that workout and a half in that weather to catch this train. At York, I had a little wander outside the station while waiting for my train back to Huddersfield, which was my first time on a TPE 802.
DAY 2: 24/3/2022
This day was a LOT more action-packed in terms of ticking off cities, as I decided to head up to the North East for the first time ever and explore three cities (Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle) in one go (one hour in each one). Yes, Middlesbrough is technically 'not' a city according to the titles granted by the Royal Family, but I counted it in case it got city status (Doncaster did instead, surprisingly, but more on that later) in the Platinum Jubilee as it had a great chance.
- TPE 185 Huddersfield - Middlesbrough
- Northern 158 Middlesbrough - Sunderland
- Tyne & Wear 599 Sunderland - Newcastle
- TPE 802 Newcastle - Huddersfield
Middlesbrough and Sunderland were rather interesting in their own right (the industrial nature of Middlesbrough and the underground station of Sunderland), but the Durham Coast line between them had some stunning coastal scenery and Hartlepool surprised me, as it looked a LOT bigger than I thought. Afterwards, the Northern service I was planning to get to Newcastle was cancelled so I decided I needed to hop on a metro instead, as the next service would be in an hour and I already spent more than enough time in Sunderland. I asked an LNER staff who was riding the service with me if my rover was valid on the metro given my circumstances, to which he replied he wasn't sure, but he talked to the barrier staff at Newcastle and they let me through so that was nice of him. Of course, Newcastle was a LOT of effort to explore in an hour as there were far more sights to see in the city centre than the other places, but it was a nice exercise. Definitely have to visit here again on a separate trip, but I won't have the pressure to visit the other nearby cities anymore if I do venture there again. The IET ride back to Huddersfield was a very smooth cruise down the ECML with iconic views over the Tyne and Durham Cathedral on the way. I was actually planning to get an LNER service to York but managed to catch a delayed TPE service instead which was convenient.
DAY 3: 30/3/2022
As only Durham was remaining (and Doncaster although I didn't think it'd win city status at the time), I decided I might take a little detour on the Harrogate Line to switch things up a bit, which means more Northern 170 bashing (YAY!) plus a quick stop at Knaresborough. Also did some ECML bashing in the end for a change of pace (pun intended).
- Northern 195 Rochdale - Leeds
- Northern 170 Leeds - Knaresborough
- Northern 170 Knaresborough - York
- CrossCountry 220 York - Durham
- LNER 801 Durham - Doncaster
- LNER 800 Doncaster - Leeds
- Northern 195 Leeds - Rochdale
After a relaxing ride along the Caldervale line to warm up (it was literally summer the week before and now it's snowing), had to check out Knaresborough as it was on my bucket list, and I had the chance so why not? Decided to walk to the castle and back to get some iconic viaduct shots within 30 minutes so I can catch the next train; luckily, it's a small town so it was easy. Afterwards, I proceeded to York to get an XC service up to Durham, where I got a much-needed hot chocolate off the catering trolley as it came round shortly after departure. It was definitely very cosy inside the Voyager. I had a nice walk round Durham thereafter, which was definitely a stunning city to explore, with some lovely riverside retail / leisure areas. Following this, I hopped on an 801 down the ECML with LNER, where I was planning to go to York but decided to stay on to Doncaster (good call as that ended up becoming a city instead of Middlesbrough) instead to vary things a bit more. Definitely got some great high-speed action down here, as I believe this may be the fastest section of the ECML. Afterwards, had a nice quick wander around Doncaster station and Frenchgate shopping centre before getting an LNER back up to Leeds.
