Tag: train travel

Remarkably unremarkable – the longest tunnel in the world

Yesterday I wrote about my remarkable journey southbound across Switzerland via the breathtaking Bernina Express.  For the homebound journey we opted for a faster itinerary: the Milan-Zurich express….

Bernina Express

I recently traveled to Italy and back overland, seeking an alternative to the usual high-speed Paris-Milan service, which had been blocked for many months due to a landslip….

Glasgow Central Cinema – notes from the Caledonian Sleeper

There’s a magic about boarding a night train in a big city terminus. At that hour, some people are ending their nights out. For others their night out…

The joy of the ‘train classique’

France is well-known for its TGVs. But there is a place in my heart for the ‘trains classiques’, the older, long-distance trains that still trundle round the older…

Provins – Tour de Femmes stage 2

From stage one of the Tour de Femmes in Paris to a very different stage two finish in Provins. The stage in Paris was of ceremonial importance, but…

Ouistreham to Paris

The port of Ouistreham is about 15km from the city of Caen. Journey today began with a cycle along the canal de Caen à la Mer. The canal…

Following abundance versus desire

At our local allotments, permaculture teacher Mike Fiengold re-distributes food waste in the community. Even after he has sent food to various local charities there is lots left…

Restorative versus regenerative design

Restorative and regenerative are two words I am hearing used interchangeably. Both are relevant to engineering and design. Both are approaches to design that are valuable. But they…

Humbelievable

Last Friday I took the train from York to Hull. Onboard I was speaking on the phone to Will Arnold about our Net Zero Structural Design Course. As…

Analogue Skill 009: Sketch what you see

Take out a piece of paper and draw a sketch of what you can see. You will notice more than you ever would by taking a photograph. Sketching…

Why isn’t Lands End called Lands Start? – parenting with the weather pages

From hospital waiting rooms to long-distance train journeys, the weather page is a great conversation starter for my daughter and me, full of questions about geography, mathematics, history,…

Ticket to ride winning strategies – weekend engineering works

This week’s Weekend Engineering Works post is about Ticket to Ride winning strategies. The game involves racing against other players to build a network of railway lines across…

Reading Proust – volume 5 update

It wasn’t what I was expecting but volume 5 of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time ends on a cliff-hanger. It is incredible how such separate threads from…

Still waiting

I’ve realised that quietly, in the back of my mind I am waiting. It hasn’t happened yet, so I just have to wait a bit longer. I am…

Appreciating concrete in Marseille

One of the thing things that I like about Marseille is the quality of the concrete tower block design. I’ve been riding in taxis back and forth across…

Transformative infrastructure goes both ways

Marseille In my previous post I was talking about the experience of distance, and how, when understood as an experience, distance is no longer a fixed entity. That…

Surface travel – Münster to London

Overview Six trains and one monorail Leisure 709km £130 Today I take my journey home from Münster to London via a different route from my way out. Outbound…

Travelling on Eurostar with a baby

This week we took our 5-month old by Eurostar to Paris. The experience of travelling with a baby is adding a new perspective to my journeys. Long-distance train…

Hello St.Pancras

For all the publicity in London about the opening of the new Eurostar terminal at St Pancras, passengers leaving Paris on its inaugural day wouldn’t have been any…

Au revoir Waterloo

Last Tuesday evening I bid farewell to Waterloo International, the last day that Eurostar will serve this station before it transfers to St Pancras ‘in the (other) heart…