Hello Wales, I Am In You - Episode 33, Day 55 - Shrewsbury to Porthmadog
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ค. 2017
- It's the 30th June, and having come up the Heart of Wales line yesterday, we now head into west Wales, to Dovey Junction, Aberystwyth, drop into the Vale Of Rhjeidol Railway, and then up the line across the amazing Barmouth Bridge ...
Website with all the information you need about the project and progress map is at: www.allthestations.co.uk/
ROUTE:: Shewsbury - Machynlleth - Aberystwyth - Dovey Junction - Tywyn - Harlech - Pwllheli - Abererch - Porthmadog
The drone footage over the bridge was fantastic!
Yes, it was superb.
adotswan I also agree, lovely! Dan's editing superb too. Loved the merge from the sketch to the shot!
Worthy of a Bond movie. Nice that they credit the drone photographer at the end.
please have more drone footage. they are fantastic.
More drone footage is planned for other locations
One that's great to see is how much more relaxed Vicky seems on camera now since the start of the project. Thank you for another greatvideo
We love you all the stations the theme tune will never die
It's difficult to put into words how much I'm enjoying these videos, they are such a joyous little interlude in my day. I hope you realise you aren't allowed to stop travelling, you must go on and on and on and.... I'm loving the Wales videos as spent so much time in North Wales in my formative years. Looking forward to the Wirral, my birthplace. Hope you enjoy the splendour of Eastham Rake, a station that wasn't there when I was growing up but is so useful now to visit my parents.
This video reminds me of my own railway adventure back in the early 2000s where i was travelling from Worthing to Aberystwyth to visit friends at Uni there. What should have been an 8 hour train journey with 3 took over 10 hours with 5 changes on the day that pretty much most things went wrong.
Travelling in the middle of February I was concerned that being so far away and my timings very close that should it snow whilst i was in Wales that I could be stuck and not able to get to work after my holiday. After discovering what to do in the event of being stuck in wales i felt myself prepared for the journey ahead. Except i didnt take into account the snow falling in Worthing. (we dont get snow on the south coast)
So I decide, just in case, to get to the station 20 mins early and potentially catch the earlier train and hopefully give myself a little wiggle room should there be any problems. However when i arrived at Worthing there had been delays on the line already and the train that turned up (at the time i originally should have caught the train) was the one that should have arrived an hour earlier. Unperturbed I jumped on and began my journey.... until i got to Haywards Heath where the train was supposed to connect with a train from Hastings on its journey to Victoria. This train was also delayed however with issues at the Ore tunnel and we had to wait. Unfortunately issues were compounded at this point as the Driver of my train had left for whatever reason and the Hastings train was due to be driving us to London. The guard informed us and advised we might be better off catching the train on the next platform and changing at Clapham Junction as this was still a weekday and very much packed with commuters many of us made the change over. However by the time we had got to Clapham the next train due into Victoria was the one we had previously just got off. The generous time I had to cross London and catch my connection at Euston was now gone. I had ran to underground managed to run straight on a tube train and get to Euston in double quick time which i was hoping would have saved me. Looking up at the departure boards the next train to Birmingham New Street was listed on the board as Now Boarding and thinking it meant that, like at an airport waiting for a plane, you'd better get on the train quick as its about to leave i rushed to the train thinking it was about to leave any second and that against all odds i had managed to make up time and catch the train on time.
Jumping on the first door that I see I was greeted by the entire carriage of about half a dozen people all staring back at me. All dressed in smart uniforms and currently preparing lunch for the train. I had gotten on the catering car, whoops. After passing what seemed like 5 cars of first class I managed to find myself a seat and then realised my mistake. that the train was not just about to leave but had just finishing being prepared for departure and people could now board early. Although i had missed my original train I slightly lucked out with this one as it was one of the new Virgin Pendolino and it was a fast service so there was a chance of making up time to get to Birmingham. Additionally all the snow had cleared once I had left the London environs so there shouldnt be any further problems.
Unfortunately i didnt have a mission control to help me find the best possible routing otherwise i would not have gotten off a Clapham instead and stayed on til Watford Junction and possibly made my Birmingham connection there. What i did have was a bunch of mates waiting for me at Aber and continually would tell me how rubbish Arriva Trains Wales were (bearing in mind this was roughly 2004) that they were constantly late and i might find myself catching the train anyway.
Making up enough time to be only 5 minutes late i rush off the train and try to find the platform i need to be on. Unfortunately my train is not on any boards and it soon becomes clear that the train i needed had been on time and i missed it. No problems i thought, I'm used to catching the trains on the south coast now and there should be one in 20 mins half an hour perhaps and i shall be on my way again. No. of course this is rural branch lines territory where trains run very infrequently and i had to wait at Birmingham New Street for 2 hours where there are lots of diesel engines and the fumes were so strong that you were not permitted to smoke on the platform (and this was before the smoking ban).
So I wait out my 2 hours, the portable DVD player i had brought with me to entertain me on just such an occasion as this had decided to conk out and leave me to entertain myself. My friends had warned me to be in the correct part of the train, that it often splits and to be at the front of the train. A small 4 car train arrives, and with my naivety and sheltered experience of the Southern trains along the south coast I was confident there was no smaller type of train than 4 carriages (with the exception of the odd 3) that the train would not split and besides i had already worked out the direction of travel and got a seat in the front carriage of the train just in case.
Job done... or so i thought.
By this time of the day it was at the peak evening rush and, unbeknown to me, seemed to have caught the smallest commuter train. I would like to have thought sardines would have had more room as im trying to hold on to my rucksack and my suitcase on my lap and look out at the now darkening sky. Thankfully by the time we got to Shrooouusbry the vast majority of people had gotten off and I was able to breath again but it soon became apparent that my earlier good job of getting a front seat had backfired as we exited the station the same way we came in and im now at the back of the train.
Fear not, i tell myself, this train is too small to split you will be fine and get to your destination fine. Yeah right. So anyway now the train is walkable the guard now starts to make his rounds and check tickets. On seeing my destination he informs me, in a rather thick welsh accent, that im in the wrong part of the train and i need to be in the front, but not to worry as they didnt split until !*$&(ehjk() and that he would let me know. The train was still relatively busy and there wasnt a guarantee that i would be able to sit down with all my luggage.
So for the rest of the journey i stare out at the pitch black darkness trying to see if any of the station names even remotely resembled the sound the conductor made. eventually i gave up thinking even if i had managed to work out what he had said i knew nothing of welsh to be able to convert the sounds he made into letters i could read on the station platform. In hindsight he had said Machynlleth, a word that will always stay with me now, and thankfully he came and got me at the right time and made sure i was on the right part of the train. But for the entire journey until that point i was on edge expecting to vacate my seat and bring all my belongings with me at a moments notice trying desperately not to fall asleep after my epic journey.
Eventually i arrive in Aberystwyth safe and sound, although tired, in the pitch black, and hoping that the little B&B i had booked for my stay was still open and were not too mad that i had arrived 2 hours later than expected. But it does make for a rather epic story i feel.
I live on the line you stated. Nowadays trains aren't every 2 hours, but every 45 minutes or so
Watched all these in three days back in 17...Loved it
Next Sunday, my Dad and I will be in Wales for a week to travel on 12 preserved railways. Going to be knackered but so looking forward to it!
Geoff: So Vicki, trains or castles.
(Geoff helps by pointing at the train)
Vicki: err, Trains.
Loving the drone footage again. You should have done some of that on the Isle of Wight ... if you had actually done the Isle of Wight.
Please do the Great Little Trains of Wales next summer!
All the Little Wales Trains!
Given there are both lots of heritage railways in Wales and lots of castles, 2 projects in 1: All The Heritage Railways + All The Castles.
Beautiful shot of the Barmouth Bridge, with the train then passing alongside the beach. Makes me really want to go there .
a1white I've been to Barmouth
a1white if you go to Hafan Y Mor Holiday Park, you are about 300 metres away from the Penychain Train Station
I see it everyday
I seem to come back and watch a chunk of these once a year since 2017!
If you're keen to return to Wales and have a look at the heritage lines in more detail, an interesting little venture I did once was to alight at Fairbourne and catch the miniature railway from there down to the beach, then catch the ferry (which is little bigger than a rowing boat!!) over to Barmouth!! Great fun, but pick a good weather day, it can be a bit uncomfortable on the boat otherwise!
Ian Mcclavin I luvs Fairbourne!!!Gorgeous railway
You were in Pwllheli one day before I was, I used Penychain station though, also a request stop. That line, by the way, is the only line in the UK to run ERTMS which I don't think you mentioned.
Only because I enjoy your videos so much, ...may I be so bold as to suggest a separate "clip" , maybe a map of the particular train line of the days travels.. I love the geography of the travel so much that I stop the videos several times, and google a map of each station so I get a feel for the adventure. P.S. Have ordered my coffee mug.
John, Daytona Beach
this line is where I work! a lot of my work can be seen here, we removed vegetation from opposite Llandanwg station as well as around Abererch level crossing. also did you notice Harlech straight? the line is dead straight from Harlech to a point just short of Llandecwyn station, more than 6 miles in length.
Love the drone shots! Thanks for another great video!
Next project.
All the Premier Inns!
But they're all the same...
As i recommended to a friend of mine on TH-cam, All The Spoons. A tour of every single Wetherspoons in the country.
in America every Econolodge is slightly different. each has a varying number of rooms and public spaces.
'Spoons all have unique carpets. All the carpets 2018.
Good to see you enjoying your time with the gogs
The trains have the wonderful advantage that they take you to castles. Therefore you can have both. Wise decision by Vicky!
Superb drone footage of Barmouth bridge.
I don't know if any one has already mentioned the knitting yet but I walked the Coast of Wales for charity last summer and was told that the knitting at Llwyngwril was because the International Sheepdog Trials were being held there, not only the station but the whole town is covered in knitted bunting, animals and farmer figures! The effort gone into it was amazing!
Well done guys, used to go to Wales on holiday with parents as a kid, and we always walked across Barmouth bridge. Good drone footage from Martin. Oh, and not forgetting Dan. *golf clap*
Loving these videos more and more. Think I am watching more TH-cam videos than terrestrial TV at the moment, certainly it's more enjoyable content. Vicky you are a natural when it comes to being on our screens.
Lovely video! Making me late for work AGAIN....I have to look before I leave for work as no signal/WiFi there 😮.
Great episode you two. Packed full of fun and interest. The train buzzer has made me ache for a train journey on a Sprinter now! 😊
All the Stations were in proper Hinterland country for this episode! I've been to Wales many times, even been to Pwllheli, but never Harlech Castle. Looks like fun!
Cheers from Connecticut, USA (where there are no castles, no real ones anyway.)
Dan; see your signature cutting style right in sync with the beat of the audio, smooth transitions and matching shots. Pro Moves (!!) Interlacing aerial footage a hit… Solid Drone work really gives a sense of the majesty of Whales. Can see how much really hard work goes into each episode for such a quick turnaround. Best of Luck guys you’ve got a winner.
Totally agree, some great work on these videos.
John Talbot whales? 😂😂😂
Sam Ashton guessing autocorrect...
+Danbob 210 Agreed!!!! Love Dan's work!
Geoff, it's not just rural Wales which has limited bus services; here in less than rural Hampshire we only get four on a weekday, two on a Saturday and none on Sunday
That transition at 5:50 is awesome. Congratulations to whoever put the time in to that couple of seconds.
I've never been on a train over Barmouth Bridge, but I've walked across it.
Colin Baker ive done both
being an Aberystwyth boy, i'm always up to date on the rail scene here. my uncle worked on the Vale of Rheidol and the actual Vale of Rheidol station has been massively changed since you were last here. Also, the train services in Aber which was originally run by arriva has now changed to Trafnidiaeth Cymru (Transport For Wales) just like most if not all rail services in Wales.
I’d love geoff and vicki to return to wales soon
Thank you again Martin Clitheroe, the drone footage is AMAZING. FABULOUS. FANTASTIC. STUNNING. Hope there will be lots more!!!
God damn, Wales is feckin' gorgeous! Reminds me of home but also different
I've just discovered these videos and I find the quality to be excellent and Geoff and Vicki to be incredibly charming. Really enjoying these
Love that camaraderie between companies.
Love the remote stops in Wales, used to go all the way to Pwllheli on the 158's. Want to do the trip again but I can't due to lockdown. :(
Drone shots are a really cool improvement! :-) Adds a nice touch to the great videos, keep going guys!
Guillermo Gallego Lora we've had them previously in the Okehampton video and the Isle of Wight. (which we've not been to yet).
True! Did not remember that one...so many stations :D
You'll have to use one for the Settle to Carlisle line, oh, and the West Highland Line, for sure!
Vicki so adorable 🥰 "call it Shrawsbury" 😂😂
My old stomping ground, I worked at Butlins so used to get on and off at Penychain. It's also a request stop. The railway line cuts the holiday park (Now a Haven) in half. There used to be a tiny bridge you could duck under to go through the park without using the road way, it was a staff short cut. We used to use it to scream our frustration out as the train went past.
The drone footage was incredible. The viaduct is beautiful, even in February when it was wet and cold.
As you can tell, a little bit of my heart lives in that part of the world, I call it my university of life year.
Loving getting my breakfast fix watching all these while the sun comes up in NZ. Great memories of Aberystwyth & Portmadog with my parents a few years ago 👍
Wow! I can I add a comment over 4 years after the last comment. I have just discovered this whole series and I'm slowly making my way through it, one or two episodes a day.
Here in canada, passenger rail usage is quite uncommon. We don't have the density of population to make it happen. I see so many remote stations in the series where very few people are, and the trains seem empty-ish in general, so density of population does not appear to enter into it!
It always seems to me that Vicki is always carrying the biggest rucksack! It looks quite heavy. Hope Geoff carries his fair share!
Probably only when he is recording
It's a shame that Vicky didn't mention (didn't know?) when visiting Caersws that "caer" is the Welsh for castle (well, fortress...) and that it is named after a Roman fort that once stood there. Also, why didn't they stop at Criccieth Castle... or Aberystwyth Castle... or Castell y Bere...
Brilliantly produced and really enjoyable, so much on this line to try and fit in! Hope you enjoyed your run. Greetings from here in Tywyn - ciggy stop extraordinaire, good luck with continued adventures.
Amazing drone footage!
VICKY DIDNT SAY "QUAINT" AT ALL! WHAT MANNER OF MADNESS IS THIS??? Lol
Why all caps
Wales isn't quaint. It's bloody wales.
Thank you for visiting Aberystwyth! I hope you enjoyed it!
The Mrs & myself have watched a lot of your you tubes. We have been well amused by both of you. Keep the videos up
Addictive viewing. Love the series. Makes me want to travel by train more.
Best cinematography yet !
Currently in Wales on that line. Often go on Holiday TO Pwllheli and near Porthmadog
Another great video.
I can't believe I recognised two conductors from the episode x great video
I enjoyed this video especially as I made my first trip back to ‘the old sod’ and hiked from Hereford (where I went to High School) to Dolgellau ,Mchinllyth, Barmouth, Harlech, Snowdonia etc in 1979*, July.Lovely country
Wales.
* I hiked the footpath up Snowdon only to witness a rescue helicopter winch the bodies of two young women who had slipped on the icy rock at the top and fallen to their deaths the previous night. Moral sadly is to give yourself plenty of time to arrive at the top and take the train (!!!) back to the valley on the other side I hiked both ways and had to take a haunting break in thick fog while climbing the knife edge ridge.
Hi, As with everyone else I like the footage of Barmouth bridge Also no surprise for rain in Wales, it was the last time we went to Barmouth.. Nice to see 9 3/4 again. Look forward to the next video.
At 10:56 you'll notice the spiral staircases in castles almost always turn clockwise as they go upwards. This is to give advantage to a defender wielding a sword, assuming he's right-handed.
Or spear - swords are expensive bits of kit - LindyBeige!!
What a beautiful corner of the British Isles.
This is my favourite train journey pretty much in the whole of the UK... Far better than the Settle Carlisle route... the crossing over Barmouth is fantastic.
Brilliant places! Was there last weekend!
Wow! I really picked some cool stations when I adopted them on the kickstarter. Llwyngwril at 7:40 was mine as well, and the knitted Dalek was cool! :-D
Kudos to Martin Clitheroe, that's some damn good drone footage :D
Cheers! But Dan is the hero. He did wonders with it, this was a hard work shoot due to the wind
I love Vicki's Christopher Walken moment with "shrowsbry"
Congrats on the first 100k
This has been my local line for over 30 years, both my parents worked on it and it's very much part of my family... Cymru am byth!
Oh it brought back many memories of that lovely route ..
You should of had a quick look at Penhelig halt..
It’s a Station in between two tunnels .
At Harlech right opposite the level crossing below the castle is a cottage with a coal yard to its side .
In the early 2000’s a Ex girlfriend of mine’s Uncle & Aunt Lived there.
Also dear Aberystwyth family connections for myself there, You should of gone in the Wetherspoons pub on the station .
Next up, All the Remote Stations!
Please do a behind the scenes of how you got drone shots like this one: 8:27
Ray Hunt
I llve in Harlech and can travel on the train between Pwhelli and Mac for free in the winter months with my bus pass, never tired of the views.
What will be your most visited station?
What a pity it rained on the day you were here; it's been so hot ans sunny recently.................Mike in Llanblethian
Still another excellent clip
Very good scenic shots, as with the previous day’s videos.
You went to Aber and didn't even go for a look at the sea!
Oh, I love a good wooden trestle bridge, the scene almost looks like it could be in Victoria or Tasmania. :)
One of the best train journeys in the uk
I was born in Shrewsbury and we always pronounced it as in shrew, but an old local pronunciation is soosbury.
That person drawing made me just realise that the one train drawing I did back in 2009/2010 which I have on my art page on my site, is a sprinter haha. Trust me drawing what's now turned out to be my favourite type of train :p
all the heritage railways PLEASE
We would all get the train if it wasnt so bloody expensive!
Pete. Two thing! i. Get a railcard. ii. Book in advance. Some bloody cheap fares available when you do those two things.
Llwyngwril station is a lot more colourful than the last time I caught a train there 10+ years ago...
Fantastic 🤓
The best just got better.
Snowdonia is simply stunning
Vicki - ch in Welsh is like the CH in Loch, not the CH as in Church.
It's lovely commuting in these areas. My grandmother lives in Harlech and the train passes through right behind her back garden. Back when we went to Harlech as children, we always got the car, but more recently I have experienced the pleasure of using the train and I love how scenic and remote as it is especially due to the fact that I live in built up West London.
Would you rather fight 1 Castle - sized train or 10 Train sized Castles?
tfkfungu y found the redditor!
tfkfungu y Train sized castles
The community spirit in some of these places you're visiting is fabulous! More of it, I say!
WHO DARE DISLIKE THIS VIDEO???
Tina Onions - was a Marshall once. I agree
Any reaction is getting them up in the listings, so don't be too mad at them ;)
Joseph Hardman idiots
When I was in Wales last year, I came to this station, and was stuck there for about 2 hours ans it was tipping down with rain ans I got soaked.
Which one there are many
love Vicky's pronunciation of the Welsh language
You should have told Arriva Trains Wales to clean up the window so that the window shots could have been cleaner. 8:22 (drone footage) is my favourite scene of the entire series until now though :)
I love how you struggle with the Welsh ch sound ;) , as it's also used in my language, so quite familiar for me. For any Germans around, it's like our ach sound.
If you ever get a chance and are up Shrewsbury way again, Ludlow is a great little town, station itself isn't anything amazing but the castle, churches, river and gallows bank are great places to have a look around
Great to see Wales by train and hope you are still enjoying the trip when you reach Wick, Caithness. Hope to hear how you get on with Scottish Gaelic pronunciation of stations - if you thought Welsh was difficult you better start practicing while in the north of England stations. Keep it up we are all enjoying the trip.
Bill Fernie The signs on nearly all the stations in Scotland have the Gaelic translation on them now, but this was a more recent thing, within the last 6 or 7 years. In Wales, they've always been bilingual as far as I can remember (except where there's no English translation for a place name!!)
I'm getting an urge to play the MSTS Cambrian route again after watching this
Awww, love 9¾! 😍
The dalek and related knitting are most likely examples of yarn bombing where people who knit and crochet cover things in fabric. Because they can!
Wow this is a coincidence on June 30th this year I went to Barmouth
Edit 7 months later: Still amazes me seeing Barmouth Bridge! I've been across this bridge before.
The Cambrian Coast is an absolutely stunning journey. Once you got off at Porthmadog, did you go on the Ffestiniog to Bleanau?
Wdzes
6:03: Tight fit :-).
Mm that line north of Harlech has at Minffordd (1) a link with the narrow gauge Festionog Railway and (2) the very nearest rail station to the famous "Prisoner" Italianate Village of Portmeirion..