September 12

Aberystwyth to Bourne End

I heard heavy rain overnight but, by the time I left the hotel at about 8.15, it had been reduced to gentle drizzle. I had a last look at the sea and walked into town to collect some money from the bank and a sandwich from Tesco to eat on the train.

No rain but lots of cloud	The flowers still looked good

The café where I had eaten yesterday supplied a bacon roll and a coffee. It also supplied a small piece of wire in the roll, which I managed not to eat. The lady was very apologetic and offered me a free coffee. Having plenty of time in hand, I accepted.

	Half the station is now a pub
Beautiful wrought iron	A few of us waited under cover

I waited at the station with a couple of dozen others, took some photos and boarded when the train arrived dead on time. There was plenty of room - it was the fourth train of the morning - so I relaxed in comfort in my seat. Nothing much happened until we reached Machynlleth, where we were joined onto the train coming in from Pwllheli. I asked the guard about killing time at either Wolverhampton in either Wolverhampton or Birmingham.

He sniggered and we agreed that I meant the stations, not the towns. He said that there was more to see and do in Birmingham New St so that's what I resolved to do.

	Mid Wales was green
The train arrived	The sad sight of the Springfield Brewery

Mid Wales was green, moist and heavily wooded. Photography was difficult. After almost an hour, blue sky started to appear and the sun brightened things considerably.

We stopped at Shrewsbury for fifteen minutes and then set off again having changed direction. On the outskirts of Wolverhampton, we passed the sad sight of the derelict Springfield Brewery, purveyor of many fine pints of mild.

I finally disembarked at Birmingham New St, where the station was in a state of chaos. Two weeks later, it was opened amid much fanfare as an architectural masterpiece. All I saw was a building site. The plethora of serious looking police in evidence, many of them armed, persuaded me not to attempt photos.

The fast train at Maidenhead	The final slow one to Bourne End

The train arrived on time and was packed by the time it left. The weather outside looked good, a major improvement over the morning, but I was hemmed into my seat & didn't have room for photography. We arrived in Reading safely and I caught a high speed train to Maidenhead. Never done that before. This contrasted with the usual slow stopper along the branch line to Bourne End. By the time I reached home, it was warm.