Hopefully the image of me setting out on this trip has not scared you off!
The train service from Llanishen to Cardiff is now brilliant. 6 trains an hour during the working day means that you can just about forget referring to a timetable. I knew however that I should catch the 10:10 train to Bridgend, but get off at Cardiff Central to take advantage of the split-ticketing and get the more direct train through to Carmarthen. This was all done without a hitch.
I just sat back and let the train take the strain and enjoy looking out of the window without worrying about road users on the M4 and beyond. One great pleasure of travelling by train is that you get to see views that you don’t get from the road. The views over Carmarthen Bay from Llanelli, through Burry Port and Pembrey, and then the view from Ferryside to Llansteffan …
So … into Carmarthen, just a short crossing of the road to get to the T1 bus stop, and a short wait of just 20mins . The bus arrived on time and I took my seat towards the back in the raised seating. I was immediately surprised – given the bus was going quite a distance, and journey time was a bit over 2hrs, that the bus didn’t have safety belts.
Given that the roads it was going to use were twisty and turny , and given the need to keep to a reasonable timetable – so the bus got up to 50mph I would imagine most of the time it was able to – I found the lack of a seat belt rather surprising.
Through Lampeter and Aberaeron, a first glimpse of Cardigan Bay – holiday parks and grey skies and seas (just as I remember it); a quick glimpse of Crugiau Lodge at the top of the hill as you climb out of Rhydyfelin , where we first lived in after getting married …
… and we were into Aberystwyth – a place I never tire of going back to.