Holme Moss Transmitter

It proved to be a very long trip home. I was amazed at the amount of snow as we flew over the hills of Wales and the Pennines. In fact, we circled over the hills to the north east of Manchester a few times, put in a holding pattern, apparently waiting for a snowstorm to pass. I'm always frustrated that it's so hard to recognise features on the ground from the air, especially when I know I must have walked and run over the hills I'm looking down on. This mast could only be Holme Moss so at least that was one reference point.

Once landed at Manchester, a smooth and painless journey from Sintra became distinctly rough. I hate to say it, but getting from arrivals to the station at Manchester airport made me feel like I'd arrived in a third-world country. And then it only got worse. There was nothing against Leeds on the departure board and Huddersfield had a replacement bus service operating, with no clear indication of where to go to catch it from. My first reaction was that the snow must have closed the transpennine line. There was no ticket office open to find out any information. I bought a ticket anyway and that suggested the trains were running with a route with two changes to Leeds. I went to the platform to find a service to Llanddudno in Wales, announcing the stops in Welsh. The conductor told me that I needed a different train. I then found a machine through which you could plan your journey. This gave me a different option, with no less than three changes to get to Leeds. Somewhat flustered, I forgot which platform I needed and went through the process again, only this time to get another different option, requiring only one change. With the weather freezing, that was certainly a better option. My one change was at Newton-le-Willows. I didn't even know where that was but I decided to trust the computer. I was pointed back to the train to Wales from which I started, jumping on just in time. To cut a long story short, it was a very odd route choice, not helped by the return service from Newton-le-Willows being heavily delayed. It seems like the route planner isn't linked to live updates! Two and a half hours after leaving Manchester Airport on the train, I still hadn't left Manchester. It took me five hours to get home. It's the failure of communication that gets me more than anything else. It's utterly shameful that the north's two major cities are so poorly connected. It was a deeply depressing experience.

I might be grumpy because I'm posting this two days after the event, two more awful train journeys behind me, and having come down with a stinking cold. I've also since found out about this service, which would have saved me a lot of grief. It's independent and it works. Using this means you have more up to date information than the railway staff themselves. No kidding. Bookmark https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk