Will be departing from SFO a week from Monday to Heathrow.I have done a similar trip before and my main interest is to ride the trains, meet local people and if time allows to visit a few sites. After arrival, around 11AM I will take the express train to Paddington station and then a train to Cardiff. That night in a two star hotel located near the station. The nexp morning I will be taking the 8:10 "Heart of Wales" train to Swansea and then to Shrewsbury. I have booked the Abbey Court B&B. The next day will be to Glasgow and then to Stirling for the night. Friday to Aberdeen via Inverness, where I will be sending the night with a dear friend. Late Saturday morning I will be going down to Berwick, Sunday to Carlisle, Monday toLancaster via Barrow-in-Furness and then Tuesday to London for the night with a new friend. Morning flight on Wednesday, back home. I will let you all know how things worked out with a brief trip report.

Roger you are an incurable train freak.

Is the a twelve step program?

Know you'll have a great time Roger!

Travel safe!

Hope you understand that British rail is hardly known for its reliability!

Roger, I should send my Dad to Europe with you. He'd love an itinerary like that.

Have a great trip!

Are you going to visit any of the steam railways or railway museums?

Hi, Roger. Please remember to report back. I've always wanted to do a train trip around Britain. Have a wonderful time. J.

Actually, Trevor, reliability of UK trains is not a problem. Over 99% of trains that are supposed to leave do so, and get to their destinations. The problem is punctuality, with only 80% of trains arriving at their destinations on schedule. From what I can tell, Roger's itinerary would not be much affected by late running.

Although I use trains extensively on my visits to the UK, this is not the kind of holiday I would plan. But it takes all kinds. Have a good trip, Roger.

Regardless, as a user of the rail network to get around the country, l can assure you that either those figures are out of date or fake. The UK rail network is possibly one of the worlds worse, poor quality trains, arriving late, leaving late, none arriving. Its crazy!!

Well, Trevor, my experience differs from yours. Of the 18 train journeys I took in Wales and England in 2003, 17 were on time; the one that was not on time did not make me miss my connection, so it did not much matter.

The punctuality data came from the Strategic Rail Authority report for the quarter ending September 2003. The actual number was 80.8% on time performance.

looking forward to next Friday. See you soon.

Hi all, been away for a few days. To answer a question and my comments re Brit rail. Yes to visting steam trains sites. The National Trust Rail Museum in York is truly great. I have never missed a train transfer yet! Yes, I have arrived late on occasion but I generally allow for that. Unlike trains in the US where you might only have one or two trains each day, I have found that in the UK, they run often enought to not worry about being stranded. Thanks for your best wishes and I will report once back.

Roger:

Enjoy your trip. As the myths about Britain's allegedly appalling rail service are so widespread (I take trains several times a week, and overwhelmingly the most delayed trains I've taken in the past year have been French TGVs), would you mind noting the punctuality (or otherwise) of the trains you take and sharing that with us all. As well as how well (or badly) the operators dealt with things if they went wrong

A bit of hard data might illuminate this debate.

I will do a daily journal and will make it a point to note actual times of departure and arrival as well as the route provider. I have a detailed listing of times printed so it will be easy to compare.