In 1993 I got married to the now Mrs Track Basher. When this happens priorities change and you suddenly have commitments (mortgage bills etc) and a lack of funds to spend on railway tickets. The number of trips was drastically reduced as you can no longer afford them.

In the summer of 1994 we needed a holiday so we had both booked time off work and in mid July booked 2 weeks in Gambia in a 4 Star hotel. A week before we were due to fly away civil war broke out and the holiday was cancelled.

This was a major let down as we were really looking forward to this trip however it was not to be. As we were now very last minute there were no holidays we fancied. Nothing was going to match up to this trip to Africa. We did not know want to do.

With a few days to go until our holidays I hit on an idea. Why do we not go Inter-Railing but rather than back packing and camping we will stay in hotels every night. Let’s just set off and see where we want to go the next day.

Eurostar only commenced operation in November 1994 so were yet to start. TGV operation to the northern part of France was very limited. This made travelling the conventional route by ship very slow. After a little research I discovered Pacific were offering a very cheap one way fare from Manchester to Paris Charles de Gaulle. So we pack 2 weeks worth of clothes into a large rucksack each and we are ready for the off with no idea where we were going. We have become snails (travelling with our house on our back).

The Plan:

We didn’t have one! We have a travelling by train guide book, a Thomas Cook railway map and timetable, passports and credit cards and we know how to use them.

Monday 08 August 1994

We commence our journey with an early morning lift (mum and dad) to Manchester Airport. We seek out the check in for the flight. The destination of the flight is Hong Kong. It was very tempting prospect to stay on the flight as Hong Kong is much more exotic than travelling round Europe by train. We unfortunately have to leave the flight in Paris. Job number one: find somewhere to stay for a couple of days. We head for the tourist information office in the airport and ask them to book us a room in a hotel for two nights. We want to see Paris as I have never visited before.

We are booked into the a hotel and given direction how to get there from the bus stop in the centre of Paris. The RER had not reached Charles de Gaulle yet and the only transfer was by bus. If you have never been to Charles de Gaulle airport it is massive with a number of large separate terminals. It is a very confusing place to try and navigate round but we eventually find the bus stop into the city.

We spend the next couple of days seeing the sites of Paris, Louvre, (is’t the Mona Lisa small) Eifel Tower, Pompidou Centre etc, etc. On Tuesday we decide our next destination will be Lyon and we visit Gare de Lyon to reserve seats on a TGV the following day. There are massive queues at all the desks and we have to take a number to wait our turn. Standing is not permitted on high speed trains in Europe and you must have a reservation and compulsory supplement. If you do not have one you do not get on. If you travel on fast trains you have to pay supplements, the travel is included in Inter-Rail tickets so you can get round without paying these using slower trains.

Wednesday 10 August 1994

TGV 58 at Lyon Parrach

We arrive at the station and we find our TGV, There is a difference while travelling in France by train. You have to self validate your tickets otherwise the conductor on the train will fine you. Self validation machines are provided around the station, you insert your ticket and it is validated by date stamping it. Trains are also referenced by train number which are not used in the UK where trains are identified by time of departure. You look at the departure screens for the train number.

This is the first trip for both of us on a TGV. We find the train and discover it is two sets coupled together. We find our seats and the train sets off. The speed is phenomenal compared to the UK, we are going nearly twice as fast. We conductor arrives to check tickets and issues a fine to a person down the coach. He just checks our tickets and reservations and moves on. It appears we have done everything correctly.

As we travel south we have a further discussion where to go. We check our guide book and there is not a lot to see in Lyon. It is the home in Interpol but very little else. There was a Tourist Information Office at Lyon Part-Dieu station and we see a leaflet for Chambery in the French Alps. The Tourist Office are very helpful and will book you a room ahead for your for about 20FFR (about £2) this is long before Euro.

We have a few hours looking round Lyon and catch the afternoon train to Chambery which has a final destination in Northern Italy. This is an unusual concept for us from the UK. Trains can pass seamlessly from one country to another without you having to change. This concept has evolved with the arrival of Eurostar a few months later in 1994 but purchasing tickets for these journeys is actually more difficult in 2010 than it was in 1994 as they are virtually not sold at all in the UK.

The journey between Lyon and Chambery is amazing as the railway winds it’s way though the Alps. We arrive in Chambery armed with our town map and head for the hotel. The hotel is 3 star and a very nice place to stay with mountain views out of our window. We have to go out and find something to eat and cannot find any restaurants. The only place we can find is le restaurante Quick, this is like McDonalds with garlic, which I am not a fan, but we have no choice. It is this or starve.

After our meal we go to explore the town. It is at this point we discover if we had walked the other way from the hotel we would have discovered the old town which has loads of small French restaurants with interesting food smells coming out. Never mind you can’t win them all. We give some though to our next destination. Mrs Track Basher wants to show me Venice. I work out a plan of how to get there. I want to travel through the Alps and to make best use of time and save the cost of a night hotel we will travel in Couchettes on the overnight train from Nice to Venice. Couchettes are compartments with 6 bunk beds (3 on each side) and are mixed sex. They also do not have air conditioning but only cost about £10 each so better than a seat. We eventually settle on Chambery – Grenoble – Veynes – Marseille – Nice then overnight to Venice.

Thursday 11 August 1994

TGV 65 at Chambery working the 10:55 to Paris Lyon

We get to the station earlier than we need to as we need to book the Couchettes for tonight’s overnight train. We go into the huge information office which is empty and we get served straight away, the complete opposite of Paris a couple of days ago.

The first leg of the journey is on another international train to northern Italy but we are only going a couple of stations down the line to Grenoble. We alight and find our train which is a very small 2 car diesel multiple unit. Facilities can be described as somewhat limited and this is a two hour journey. We purchase drinks before we board. The train is not busy and there are only about 10 passengers on board.

Monestier de Clarmont signalling centre between Grenoble and Veynes taken from the train.

This train cannot be described as fast but the journey is breathtaking. The train hugs the mountain edge for virtually the whole journey. The train is steaming hot as it does not get up much speed and the only ventilation is through the small opening window. No air conditioning here. This is a fantastically scenic journey is you ever get the chance.

We have an hours wait for the next leg of the journey to Marseille and this is another 3 hour journey. Compared to the UK France is much larger in size and what can appear to be short between two towns is actually much longer, you forget this because of the speed of TGV trains. This train of formed of a 4 car push-pull commuter type train seen throughout France train with a real engine on the front. This train also does not have air conditioning and you have to rely on the wind coming in through the window. This train is much faster than the previous one and it is more pleasant with the hot weather and the wind blowing through.

In this section of the journey the landscape has changed and the railway runs down the Seine Valley. The scenery is more green than on the previous leg of the journey. It is still great scenery but different.

We reach Marseille in the late afternoon and have to find something to eat as we have not eaten since breakfast as the opportunities en route to buy food were non existent. We decide not to go and explore the town and to carry on to Nice.

The journey between the two towns is another superbly scenic journey and you can see why this is called the Cote de Azure (Blue Coast). The railway hugs the coast on this route and has amazing views over the deep blue sea. This is the third amazingly scenic journey as we have come from mountains to Seine valley to coast.

This train is a SNCF long distance train which is a much better quality train and had air conditioning so is very nice and cool. We travel along watching the view change as we pass through the exotic towns of St Raphael, Cannes and finally arrive in Nice.

We have had a bit if time to read on this leg of the journey and I have been reading through the exploring Europe by train guide. It is full of lots of helpful information. There is one piece of advice I took from this book and have subsequently used many times. You best friend on this type of holiday should be the left luggage locker. Most major stations in Europe have lots of left luggage lockers. You can place all you luggage and valuables in here for 20FFR (now probably 2 Euro) for all day and just carry what you need. If you are carrying a huge rucksack on your back you are probably also going to be carrying all your money with you as well and are more likely to be a target for crime. If you have no rucksack this is far less obvious. We have always used this advice well and it also makes seeing a place much more enjoyable as you are not lugging a heavy bag around.

We deposit or bags in a locker and go in search of food. We have not eaten a decent meal since leaving Paris.

Walking a few streets away from the station we find back streets with lots of small restaurants. We select one we like the look of and take seats. I look at the menu and select Steak au Poirve (Peppers Steak) and pomme frites (Chips). Went it arrives the steak is huge and covered in ground in crushed peppercorns and peppercorn sauce. The taste is very peppery but amazing. This is the best Steak au Poirve I have ever tasted and to this day I have never found anything close. If I ever return to Nice I would like to eat this again. Shame I cannot remember where the restaurant.

We walk back to the station and retrieve our bags from the locker and await the overnight train to Venice.

The train is quite crowded and stops at all the stations between Nice and Ventimiglia. The train is being used by locals and tourists to return home after an evening out in Nice. We find our compartment and only two of the other bunks are occupied by two Swedish girls also going to Venice. Although it is approaching midnight we still want to see the light of the towns we pass through one of which is Monte Carlo. I would not like to have been sharing the compartment with me as the peppered steak has caused an unpleasant windy problem.

At Ventimiglia the SNCF loco is removed and replaced by and SF loco. This was the norm during this period then locos ran to the border point and were exchanged for one of the next railway. Locos very rarely left their owner railway. This changed with European railway operation liberalisation where locos now take trains cross border. Time to get some sleep as best we can. The weather is extremely hot and couchettes are not air conditioned. You have to keep the window open to keep cool and it is very noisy and hot rattling along during the night. I does however help peppered steak problem.

I do not sleep well.

Friday 12 August 1994

We arrive in Venice not at all refreshed as we have slept (or not slept much) in our clothes all night. Venice Santa Lucia station is chaos. There are people everywhere trying to sell you stuff you don’t want. We seek out our best friend the luggage locker and deposit our heavy luggage.

We have done some research and the next task is to purchase a day vaporetto (water bus) ticket. This is the best way to get around as they are cheap and frequent. This is going to be quite tricky. In France we have managed to get by with our French from school. Neither of us speak a single work of Italian. 

Somehow we manage to purchase the tickets and obtain a map of the routes where the vaporetto run. We head for St Marks Square in an attempt to find breakfast. We realise that we are about to be ripped off for a very expensive breakfast but what is a few thousand lira between friends. I am not wrong it is an expensive breakfast as you are paying for the location not the food. We visit some of the main sites of Venice. After a few hours I decide I don’t like Venice, it is too full of people, everything is very expensive and it smells.

Mrs Track Basher says I am uncultured, she is probably right. We had had enough walking round so find at water bus out to Lido Island. This island has a large beach and we plan to spend the afternoon here. To get to the beach you have to walk to the other side of the island, about a 10 minute walk. On the way across we spot a small shop to buy lunch. We get our change including some small sweets. With Italian Lira having such high denominations (£1 was about 1,500 Lira) no coin was issued under 100 so you get the outstanding change in sweets.

We spend the afternoon on the beach. It is very hot and sunny all afternoon. We discuss where to stay tonight. I don’t fancy Venice as it is smelly and rooms like everything else are likely to be very expensive. I think we ought to go back to Verona. We know absolutely nothing about Verona. We catch the water bus back to Venice, collect our bags from the luggage lockers and catch the train.

We arrive in Verona and discover it was built by the Romans. In the main square there is a very well preserved amphitheatre which is used for opera performances. We find the local tourist information office which is located in the main square. We ask them to book us a room they say there are not many rooms available. The book us a room and give us a map and directions. We find the hotel and it is located on a massive roundabout and looks like an absolute flee pit. We don’t even set foot in the place. We decide to find our own room. We ask at all the hotels including the 4 star but none have any rooms.

As we walk around we stumble across the balcony from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette but not a hotel room. We seem to have asked at every hotel in the town. The reason for this is that we are in the main open air opera season and we are between Placido Domingo and Maria Callas singing. There are therefore no rooms in Verona. We are very hot and exhausted by this stage because of the lack of sleep the night before, we have to do something…… 

There is only one thing for it. We need to catch a train to somewhere else or catch a night train and sleep on the train. As we get back to the station we see a sign for motel. This is worth a go. We walk across to the motel. They have one room available it is in the attic and the bathroom is on the floor below at the other end of the hotel. It is not shared with anyone else as all the other rooms in the hotel are en suite.

We take it. We are pleasantly surprised. The room is in the attic but very nice and has air conditioning so is lovely and cool. We are going to have showers, as we have not washed for two days then walk back into town and get something to eat. I decide to go first. After showering I go back to the room and while Mrs Track Basher is showering a lie on the bed before dinner. I wake up next morning!

Saturday 13 August 1994

The place we are heading to next is Pisa. This involves 3 trains Verona to Bologna, Bologna to Florence and finally Florence to Pisa. We have slept quite late but are fully refreshed and after breakfast are ready again. We make our way back across the road to the station and catch the train.

It is lunch time when we have to make the change in Bologna we need to find food so head to the station buffet. This is more restaurant than buffet. I have pasta with a tomato sauce. This costs a couple of pounds and tastes superb. This is our first proper meal in Italy and I am starting to like Italy. One cultural think I keep getting wrong is the acceptance of change after purchasing something. You put you hand out as in the UK and they place the change on the counter or in a saucer on the counter. This keeps happening in every café and shop. It is very bad manners to take anything from someone else’s hand but I still keep doing it as I have always done it.

We join the next train and this is very long and very busy we eventually find two seats. I go to seek out coffee. If you have never visited Italy the coffee is industrial strength. If you spill it on the counter it would start dissolving it. I love it, Mrs Track Basher doesn’t. If I have a few of these I am awake for 2 days.

On my way back through the train I see an internal window in the carriage which has electrical equipment behind it. I see a metal plate inside and I cannot believe what I see “Stones of Wolverhampton”. To the majority of readers this will mean nothing but it may do to older rail enthusiasts, these carriages have the same air conditioning equipment as BR Mk2 carriages, I can’t believe this. I think this is great Mrs Track Basher doesn’t seem affected by my news.

The train arrives in Florence and we need to change trains. This station is incredibly big and busy. We eventually find the train to Pisa.

On arrival in Pisa we see that the Tourist Office is on Central station. The first thing we decide to do is find a room. We can then book in and leave our bags in the room and explore the town. We finally get to the front of the long queue and ask to book a room. The lady says they don’t book room here. We ask could you give us a map and direct us towards a 3 star hotel. She gives us a map and tells us to wait. She makes a phone call and books us a room then gives us directions!!

We find the hotel and deposit our bags in our room. The then head down the one tourist road in the town between the station and the tower. The tower is located in a large lawned area. What is a shame is that there is a church next to the tower in the same architectural style which would be spectacular in it’s own right, but this does not get a look in because of the leaning tower. We are typical tourists having ice creams and sit a while on the grass looking at the tower.

It is starting to get dark so we need to seek out dinner. We head a couple of streets back from the tourist trail and find a small square with a restaurant. The one road in Pisa is very touristy selling the usual novelty items, but once you get away from this the town is very nice and quaint. We have a fine feed at this restaurant three courses, water and wine for two for less than £20. Great food and a good price.

We head back to the hotel for sleep. Pisa is a pleasant place to spend an evening.

Sunday 14 August 1994

636.278 at Campiglia Marittima

Over dinner we have finally come up with a destination – Corsica. We are used to travelling by train in the UK on Sundays. You cannot get anywhere because the railway is being maintained. In Europe this is not a problem, long distance trains run seven days a week. We arrive at the station at 07:00 in time to catch the train but are not actually expecting it to turn up.

We are wrong. There is a 16 carriage train with virtually no passengers. This train is formed of compartment stock. This type of rolling stock had disappeared from the UK a number of years earlier. We have a compartment to ourselves as the train heads south to Campiglia Marittima where we have to change to get to Piombino Marittima from where the ferry sails to Bastia in Corsica.

We somehow manage to purchase tickets for the ferry. The customs and passport check were

445.1039 at Piombino Marittima

a little unusual. You walk down the dock and two policemen stop you at the door to the ferry. We show our British Passports and are waved straight on board. The reason for the passport check is that we are sailing from Italy back to France.

We join the ferry and find seats. This is an former UK or Irish ferry as it is was fitted with UK three pin electric sockets and these are only used in the UK or Ireland. Ferry journeys are not very exciting as there is very little to see except the sea.

We arrive in Bastia and decide that the best option is to rent a car. We rent a Renault Clio for a week and drive south. After a while we leave the town and a few miles further on we see a sign for a hotel by the beach. We go and check it out. It is in a great location and quite modern. We book in for 6 nights planning to sail back to mainland France the following Saturday.

Monday 15 August 1994 – Friday 19 August 1994

We explored much of the island which is a mix of French and Italian culture as it has passed between the two several times. Corsica is a mix of beach resorts, mountains and history, also a mix of both French and Italian food. This island is not a popular destination from the UK which is a shame as it is a great place to visit and we thoroughly enjoyed it. If the coast gets too hot you just escape the head in the mountains.

Saturday 20 August 1994

Our train being shunted at Bastia

We are starting our journey home today. The ferries between the French mainland and Corsica operate from a number of mainland ports to a number of ports on Corsica. The combinations will generally operate once a week. We want to get to Nice as this has the easiest transfer to the mainline rail network. We have to return the car to the car hire office in Bastia but the ferry on Saturdays to Nice sails from Calvi, on the other side of the island.

We have only once choice, catch the train across the island. The best way to do this logistically is for us to take the bags to the station leave Mrs Track Basher to look after them and I return the car to the hire office.

Driving round the island on the wrong side of the road has not presented me with any problems. I normally have to concentrate for the first few hours but from that point on I do not have any problems. As I turn into the station to drop off the bags I make my first mistake. As there are no road makings I turn into the left hand side of the road (wrong side) and we are very nearly wiped out by a van who is also on the same side (correct side) we narrowly miss a head on collision but the van driver swerves to miss us. This shakes us both up. I drive very carefully the mile of so to return the car. This was a very close call. After dropping the car I walk back to the station.

The railway on Corsica is operated by SNCF but is narrow gauge. The railway has three spokes with the three lines meeting at a junction in the mountains in the middle of the island. The service between the towns is very infrequent with only a couple of trains in each direction. All the major towns of the island are situated on the coast. This means the train has to climb to the junction and then descend to the town across the island. We discover that our Inter-Rail ticket is not valid on this railway and have to purchase tickets.

This rail journey is another one which is very scenic as the train climbs from coast to mountains and back down to the coast. The last section of the journey is very busy as it has a much better service serving the beaches between Ile Rousse and Calvi.

We have some time in Calvi before the ferry so we explore the old city as best we can as we have to carry our bags again.

We join the afternoon ferry and head back to the French mainland. On reading the on ship magazine they have an offer with the hotel Ibis in Nice. If you show a ferry ticket you can buy a fixed price room. We know we are going to arrive after dark and need to find a room. We decide this looks like the best option.

On arrival in Nice we get a taxi to the hotel and get the room at the fixed price. On entering the room it is like all Ibis hotels basic but clean. I enter the bathroom and cannot believe what I see. The shower tray, bath toilet and wash basin are all bright orange. I am lost for words as I have never seen anything like this before. It is French design allowed to run wild. I wish I had got a picture.

We have to go and find food and while we do so ring home to check the train situation. When we had left the UK there had been ongoing industrial disputes and strikes were being called and on some days trains were not operating. We did not want to arrive back on the day of a strike. If one were taking place we would explore more of France until we could arrive back on a day they were back on again. This did not matter to either of us as we both had the next week booked off work.

The phone call back to my parents in the UK confirmed there was no strike planned for Monday the day we would arrive back in Dover.

Sunday 21 August 1994

A direct TGV operated from Nice to Lille in northern France. The plan was to catch this TGV and stay overnight, then make our way to the channel ports the following morning. This looked like a good plan until we arrived at the ticket office and tried to reserve seats, the answer was “C’est complete” It’s full. And this was in both Standard and First Class. The TGVs to Paris were also full. This is prior to the building of the TGV Meditarranee line so they had to operate on the conventional line south of Avignon. This problem meant we could not get anywhere near home and make a strike for the ports in the morning. We needed to rethink this plan.

The ticket office at Nice is extremely busy so rather than wait we head along the coast on a conventional train to Marseille and consider our options. At least we are getting slightly nearer home. I have an idea. A sleeper train runs from the south of France to Calais and ran into the Maritime station next to the port.

We head for the ticket office. This is another very long journey on an overnight train and we are going to have sleepers this time rather than couchettes. It is difficult to get the man in the ticket office to understand this he keeps saying couchette and we keep saying “Non, wagon lit” which is no sleepers. He books something that cost over £100 so we think we have the right thing and it looks OK on the tickets. We just have all day in Marseille before the evening sleeper departs. It is time to go and see our best friend Mr Luggage Locker again. We make our deposit and walk down the port area. We stumble onto le petit train a la plage, the small train to the beach. This is a pretend train that seem to have now sprung up in many European and UK holiday resorts. Even Weston Super Mare now has one.

We have a very nice afternoon at the beach then head back in plenty of time for the train and to buy supplies from the supermarket.

The train we are catching comes in from Nice and reverses before continuing. The train is in the platform when we arrive and I am surprised to find open two decked car carriers in the platform used in the UK for transporting new cars around the country rather than an enclosed type. I don’t know what I was expecting. The train is formed of freight wagons, seating coaches, couchettes and sleepers.

We find our sleeper carriage and it is wonderfully cool and the air conditioning is working well. We are lucky as the door to our cabin faces the sea. We sit on the steps of the cabin watching as the sun sets and we pass through a massive thunder and lightening storm, this is spectacular, lighting up the whole sky as we travel along. This is a far better night’s sleep than the previous overnight train. The ride of the train is smooth and the temperature good for sleeping.

Monday 22 August 1994

We have had a loco change at Amiens and now have two diesel locos on the front. The train arrives in Calais Ville on time. I now regret not travelling into Calais Maritime as this has now closed. I know there is a free bus from the main square in Calais to the Hoverport. We are going to travel back on the hovercraft as this is much quicker than the conventional ferry crossing in half the time. It is however incredibly noisy. This operation has now ceased since the opening of the channel tunnel.

The English channel is quite choppy but the crossing is OK. There used to be a free bus between the hoverport and Dover Priory station but we discover this has been replaced by a fixed fee taxi service. We ask the taxi driver to take us to the station the reply is “You’ll be lucky, they are on strike today”. We go to the station anyway and see what is happening. It appears the strike starts at midday and as it is only 10 a.m. we can get to London. We join the first train and hope for the best. We are not impressed as we had checked this out just in case. We had been give duff information by my parents.

We reached London and caught the tube to Euston to see what was happening. There were some trains running but only as far as Birmingham and from Crewe to Lancaster but nothing between Birmingham and Crewe. This is not much use.

The only option rent a car. There is no point doing this in Birmingham as it will cost the same and we would also have to purchase railway tickets. We get a one way rental from the Hertz office on Euston station and will return it to Preston station by 12:00 tomorrow. This is possible as the trains will be back on then to get home again.

It is a long drive home. It take a couple of hours to get from Euston station to the start on the M1. We do eventually get home.

This has been a most amazing holiday. It has been great to see some of the countries that you normally fly over and sample the local food. I would recommend this as a holiday to anyone but you have to accept you will make mistakes but you have to go with the flow

Top tips for travelling this way:

I would love to do this again but it is much more difficult when you have children in tow.

Useful resources if you are considering this type of trip

• – Useful website on rail travel outside the UK

• Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable – Full European Timetable shows most lines and major stops

• German Rail website has a cross Europe journey planner

 

Traction Log:

Wednesday 10/08/94
Paris Lyon - Le Crusot TGV - Lyon Part Dieu	TGV59 + TGV73
Lyon Part Dieu - Aix les Bain - Chambery	7282
Thursday 11/08/94
Chambery - Grenoble	67369+67350
Grenoble - Veynes	2740+7740
Veynes - Marseille	67580
Marseille - Nice Ville	22324
Nice Ville - Ventigmlle	25623
Friday 12/08/94
Ventigmille - Genova - Milano - Verona - Venezia SL	656220
Venezia SL - Verona	652xxx
Saturday 13/08/94
Verona - Bologna	652037
Bologna - Firenze	444018
Firenze - Pisa Central	646074
Sunday 14/08/94
Pisa Central - Campiglia Marratima	656494
Campiglia Marratima - Piombina Marratima	4451036
Saturday 20/08/94
Bastia - Calvi	Railcars
Sunday 21/08/94
Nice Ville - Marseille SC	22297
Marseille SC - Lyon Part Dieu - Amiens	26125
Monday 22/08/94
Amiens - Calais Ville	67459+67605
Dover Priory - Charing Cross	15xx