A Quintessential English Train Journey

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I am still making the most of having a train station within walking distance and on Thursday I used it to travel to meet a friend. She'd arranged to meet me at my destination station of Huddersfield with her car so that we could travel onwards to Wentworth Castle Gardens and Deer Park. 

When we organise one of our monthly get togethers it is invariably to somewhere we can walk, talk and have lunch. Wentworth did not disappoint on any of those scores and included the added attraction of wildlife, songbirds and meadow flowers, not to mention an occasional bench to sit and admire the view on our stroll.

The problem with train travel and a rendezvous is, of course, punctuality. Imagine my excitement therefore when I was able to text to verify that I had left on time and then, just over seventy minutes  later, confirm the same thing as we pulled out of Leeds, triggering my friend's departure from her home to meet me.

In recent years Transpennine Express has become a notorious misnomer for tardiness. With only ten minutes to the scheduled arrival time, it did not disappoint.  We ground to a halt and waited and waited. The driver made an announcement over the tannoy, apologising for the lack of movement and indicating that he was trying to establish the reason a red light was refusing to allow him to advance. 

Two trains came slowly by from the opposite direction and after each had passed, we inched forward a little. Fellow passengers with connections to make in Manchester were clearly becoming frustrated. Then, we received the explanation: "There is a cow on the line ahead of us," proclaimed the driver, "and we are following it!"

The speed we were moving, I could be forgiven for thinking he'd mistaken a snail for a beast. However, the information seemed to cheer up those who were now hurriedly sending apologies for their lateness; a genuinely understandable excuse that brought with it their acceptance.

Eventually the farmer appeared and the four legged interloper was reunited with its herd in a field adjacent to the track. As we drew level, the driver advised that if we looked to our left we would see the villain of the piece. I swear the number of cameras clicking, there were people on that train who had never seen a cow before (my own photo above was taken from our garden, not the train), or who perhaps thought their picture would bring some authenticity to what might otherwise seem a ludicrous excuse, easily on par with leaves on the line or the wrong kind of snow.

Fortunately the delay was only 22 minutes in the end and it did indeed bring an extra smile to what was another great retirement day out. 





Comments

Treaders said…
That's quite sweet actually isn't it, although I bet people who had connections to make weren't finding it sweet at all!
16 June 2024 at 08:39
Caree Risover said…
Surprisingly the lady opposite me who was becoming increasingly tetchy burst into smiles and relaxed once she heard the reason for our delay, telling a colleague across the aisle that whilst they’d definitely miss their connection, those with whom they were meant to meet would just have to wait!
16 June 2024 at 16:27
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