The Edinburgh Nerdfighter Gathering Part 1. The Journey.

This Thursday just gone, I took a 10 and a half hour train journey to Edinburgh for the big Madness in the Meadows gathering to meet loads of Nerdfighters and have fun!

My train departed at 9:42pm from Lincoln, and that train would take me to Newark, then from Newark to Newcastle. A four hour stop in Newcastle and then finally from Newcastle to Edinburgh, arriving in Edinburgh the next morning at 8am.

I usually find that majority of my train journeys go far from smoothly as I would like them too. This one was not going to be an exception to that rule.

Part of that reason  - that reason being I wasn't expecting Edinburgh to be so hilly, I thought it would be a great idea to take me bike with me. To take your bike with you, the train people like you to book your bike on your train journey in advanced, rather then just showing up with it - as there might not be enough room to store it, and you could risk having to leave your bike behind at the station. I booked my bike in days before, so I knew my bike was safe for the whole journey there, and back.

At the Lincoln train station, I hauled my bike from the platform onto the far end carriage, the only carriage labeled to store bikes. It was neglected to be mentioned from any of the train staff that the front three carriages would only fit on the Newark Castle platform. Not only that, but the carriage I was in was the one that would be furthest away from the platform. The train driver thought to only mention this once we were just approaching the platform. No way enough time to work my bike all the way down three carriages in time to jump off onto the platform before the train continued its journey to Nottingham.

I bolted down three carriages and swung my head out of the carriage door screaming at the top of my lungs; "HELP! CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME, PLEASE?!" I could see the driver down the far end, opposite end to me, either ignoring my cries for help, or simply couldn't hear me.

I continued to shout, as loud as I could. Another passenger helped me, as I flailed my arms wildly in the air and continued to shout, he managed to shout louder then myself, and finally, the train driver turned and glanced our way, showing recognition of my pleads for help. He walked swiftly down the platform and asked me what the problem was.

"No-one told me that the end carriage wouldn't meet the platform. My bike is down there. How am I supposed to haul it all the way back up here with all my other stuff and before the train leaves?" I panted, breathing rapidly in blind panic.

"Bring the bike through the carriages and be quick." The train driver replied simply. I was flabbergasted at his blunt, yet unhelpful answer.

"Will you wait then, as it is three carriages I need to get through!" I exclaimed.

"Yes. But hurry." He replied. With the other passenger helpfully accepting to look after my handbag while I charged down the three carriages to retrieve my backpack and bike. In my blind panic of thinking how the hell am I supposed to get this bike through three carriages "quickly" the only thing I could think of was to haul my backpack on my back, as it's supposed too, then I lifted my bike above my head, and started to run through each carriage, looking like a total idiot with a puffy red face and sweating like an arse, hitting the odd seat, or luggage shelf as I made my way down the carriages. Half way down the second carriage, the train driver meets me and tells me to stop.

"Wheel it down on the back wheel." He tells me. Confused by what he meant, I just stare at him puzzled. "Here, give it to me." He says, and takes the bike from me, propping my bike on it's back wheel and wheeling it down the rest of the train. Feeling like a total fool for not thinking of the same thing, my red cheeks of unfitness of running down the train with a bike over my head was now redness of embarrassment for not thinking of that obvious solution. I hastily followed after the driver, and thanked him for his help once I met him back on the platform. "That's alright, I'll just charge you double!" He joked before he jumped back on the train and set off. I laughed nervously not knowing for a brief moment if he was being serious or not, and then shaking my head to myself, tutting at my stupidity that he couldn't possibly charge me extra.

I wheeled my bike away from the platform and away from the station, noticing my handbag felt slightly damp. Weird, I thought. I stopped and lent my bike against the fence and took my backpack off before examining what was going on with my handbag. The two energy drinks I had purchased earlier to keep me awake for the whole of my over night journey had burst! Everything in my bag was now drenched in sweet smelling energy juice. "Argh!" I couldn't help exclaiming. For fuck sakes. The liquid is stored in a tin. How on earth did I manage to burst them in my handbag? When I was running down the carriages with my bike, and the handbag hitting the edge of all the seats as I was running? Somehow denting the tin to the point of a terrible leakage? That is the theory I assumed anyway. One can seemed to have burst quite badly, so I took it out my bag and attempted to down what was left in it, before checking over the second can. It seemed alright, I couldn't see any sign of leakage from it, but to be on the safe side, I propped it the right way up securely in my backpack. I checked the rest of my stuff in my backpack. Yep. It had got the majority of my things inside the bag soaked. My "Catching Fire" (2nd book to the Hunger Games series) book was fine, but my two note books, make-up bag, "Mockingjay" book (3rd book to the Hunger Games series) and purse were soaked. Sighing with frustration, knowing there was nothing I could do about it right now, I hopped on my bike and headed to the Newark Northgate station.

As I arrived at the Newark Northgate station, a train was just departing. To Newcastle. For a moment, I panicked, thinking it was my train, but then quickly realizing that my scheduled train wasn't for another hour yet. I spoke briefly to one of the train staff about what happened at the Newark Castle station, and then he ran through with me the procedure for checking in my bike for the next train, which was a lot different to what I had to do on the previous train. Apparently they had a carriage for just luggage and bikes etc that was separate to the passenger carriages, which was reassuring to the fact that my bike wouldn't be easily at risk of being stolen on each stop.

The journey from Newark Northgate to Newcastle went smoothly, I got off on the platform, retrieved my bike and locked it up safely where a load of other bikes were kept too. Now I had a four hour wait until my next train. The four hour wait had to be spent in the train station too, as the station was closed, and I was locked in. Nothing was open. So I sat in the waiting room on platform three, and read. Read until I was so tired, that the words I was reading on the pages started to make no sense anymore, and my eyes couldn't focus properly. I decided to attempt some sleep for at least a little while. I tried lying down on the seats, but this wasn't easy. Each seat had arm rests, and so I had to slide my legs through them, and yep, not at all comfortable. I think I lasted ten minutes before giving up on the idea. So I tried half lying on a seat and table, and used my bag as a makeshift pillow. This worked for about twenty minutes before I gave up on this idea too. Eventually, a few more trains pulled in the station, and people started to fill the once empty, bar myself, waiting room.

Eventually, two hours since I had arrived passed, which meant the Costa shop was finally open, and I could get coffee and a breakfast roll to wake myself up and obtain the energy to continue reading my books for something to do whilst waiting for the next train which wouldn't be for another two hours.

Four hours finally passed, and I was waiting at the platform with my bike for my next train that was the final stretch to Edinburgh. Again, I popped my bike in its designated carriage with no problem and sat in my designated seat, and drifted in and out of sleep for a little while. The train was quiet, but at each stop, more people got on. I was surprised at this for it being so early in the morning. I had a booth to myself at first. Three out of four chairs vacant with a table. Myself in the occupied fourth seat. About twenty minutes away from Edinburgh, we stopped in Dundee, and three middle-aged women got on, and sat in my remaining three seats of a majoritivley empty carriage. I was a bit annoyed about being boxed in, and having to listen to them natter away whilst I sat isolated and quietly in the corner. So I closed my eyes after smiling awkwardly at them and pretended to be asleep until we arrived in Edinburgh. I probably would have fallen asleep properly if they didn't keep nattering loudly and quickly. Thank goodness this only lasted twenty minutes.

The train eventually pulled up in Edinburgh, and I gathered my things, waiting impatiently for people to move off the train so I could run and fetch my bike from another carriage that was quite far away from the carriage that I was on. One of the train staff people, whatever their official name is, I'm unsure, off loaded my bike for me just as I was approaching the carriage. I thanked him, and wheeled it down the platform towards the exit. It took me a good five or ten minutes to navigate my way out the station, stepping onto a surprisingly busy high street for eight in the morning. I took my surroundings in. Finally! I was in Edinburgh. Now... to hunt down my hostel.

Edinburgh! Here I Come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2voYfe1XJ4&feature=youtube_gdata_player



As always... My train journeys are never smooth and simple!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Oyu3MZRjg&feature=youtube_gdata_player