Carless in Cumbria

After dropping back the little hire car, it was time to utilise public transport again. Initially for the captain to travel to Hythe again for the latest appointment in the dental implant saga. The train was mildly amusing - in retrospect. Three legs, the first in an antique 2 carriage DMU with a guy who very loudly told the captain about how he suffers from ADHD and autism and then about how shaving in the shower was not a good move. Then he moved on to pronounce about anything he could think of so that he could keep talking, very loudly. After a while the inbuilt sympathetic reaction of the captain turned to a "please be quiet or sit somewhere else" sentiment. The Whitehaven to Carlisle train is very slow, unfortunately.

Leg 2 involved an elderly lady sitting in the seat that was reserved for the captain. The last leg needed a frantic dash between platforms in Wolverhampton thanks to a late running leg 2, only to find that the reserved window seat was free but there was no window, just a huge mullion to look at. Enough about the shortcomings of Northern / Virgin / Cross Country trains. They are well documented already.

The return provided similar fun, this time one train with a Spanish lady who wore a very short skirt but had the hairiest legs in existence outside the Zoo and another train with a train spotter who spent the trip prodding the captain with his camera tripod whilst looking at video of trains he had recorded earlier on. Riveting stuff.

We decided to have some light relief. A train run into Carlisle for a look around the castle was good. The castle has a fascinating history, being fought over between the Scots and the English for many years. The most besieged castle in England apparently:

Amazing there is anything left really. Inside the castle is the museum of the Border Regiment (look at museum website). There was a very moving special exhibition about their role in Afghanistan with a video interview of  some veterans. Go and see it if you have the opportunity before it closes.

We also took the train the other way, to the home of the BAE systems warship / submarine building empire in Barrow. A serious operation with build sheds that dominate the town skyline. Here is an idea of their scale:

The town is kind of what you would expect from a major dockyard operation but clearly wealthier than Whitehaven. To be fair, that is not difficult.  A cinema trip to see Rocketman rounded off the day nicely.

Keeping an eye on the forecasts we saw a gap in the relentless series of depressions heading across the Atlantic to ruffle the sea:

Might be time to leave the nice folks from Whitehaven marina and get on the move again before we have to pay council tax.