Lulu and Lightning ... not necessarily in that order - it was a pleasure.  We didn't actually find the 'spare' one: there was a loose greyhound out on the roads in Melksham, apparently. 

 
Yes, it is a timing point: https://bustimes.org/services/x34-frome-trowbridge-chippenham

 
The background and plan

My Interrail pass expires (exhausted!) tomorrow - it has run continuous from 8th May to 7th August 2026, and in that period I will have been in 14 countries and travelled about 270 journey "legs" in that period.  I estimate that around two third of the journey legs have been on the pass, other being little local and UK extras, ferries (4 routes, 8 journeys), and UK personal stuff between the four major travel sets. I have checked into 27 different hotels - one of them twice. Seen places from Aachen to Zwicau and many between - love the majority of them; a couple I (or we) would not return to.

I say "we" - Lisa accompanied me on two of the trips, and my cousins Jennifer and Steve for much of a third. And Lisa's cousins Steve and Dana for a number of the personal legs one day in the UK. Enjoyed all that company - but also very much a lone traveller at times (not so much a lone diner) and enjoy that and meeting people along the way where the happenstance is such that conversation breaks out - Peter in Prague last week, and a conversation snatched with a diner in the Thai takeaway in Aachen two days ago.  In the "travel with"s - not totally all the same journeys; really good to each / all do our own "thing" too.

I started writing a couple of hours ago; leg counting, etc, means my flow of words hasn't been as fast as usual. A real pleasure to be home in my own bed, and to be (physically) cool.  At times, the heat has been intense this summer to the extent of curtailing some plans, and showing for my physical wellbeing the need for cooling / air conditioning.  Some hotels are excellent, but others struggle - and I am reminded of "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun". Some places to be re-visited, perhaps, in spring or autumn, and some potential destinations left for that time of year when Europe is not burning.

My intent in writing during this night is to update / describe the journey home and, hopefully for readers, share experiences that may help in following our footsteps - in principle, if not physically the same places.  Have an (outline) plan - a "Plan A" - and keep it practical.  And think about what your alternatives might be if things don't run perfactly.

48 hours ago, we were in Leipzig in Germany. "Plan A" was to catch the 10:49 train, change in Frankfurt, grabbing a snack there, and arrive in Aachen at around 4 p.m. for an overnight stop.  Start up again 24 hours ago, the 08:04 train to Brussels, Eurostar to London, train to Chippenham and the bus that runs once a day from there to the stop across the road from our home.  What could possibly go wrong?  As it happens, plenty, but yet home on time.  This is the sort of travel that you need to be comfortable making a "Plan B", compromising a bit and still enjoying, and not being really put out if you end up on even on a dynamic "Plan C" and perhaps with a bit of discomfort and extra cost.  Neither Lisa nor I are as fit as we used to be and "running for the [train/bus]" isn't the exhilarating pleasure it used to be!

Tuesday, 4th August 2026

Hotel breakfast in Leipzig - lovely hotel, wonderful breakfast, 10 minutes on foot to the station ... and an indication (not that it mattered) that our train was going to be 10 minutes late. Coming in from Hamburg, carrying on according to the timetable, to Munich - long distance German trains are not as reliable os they used to be. The train arrived - a few minutes late, and at a different platform to planned because of another delayed train being stuck there for "technical reasons".   And ours sat too - passengers advised that the next couple of stops at Erfurt and Fulda would be skipped due to a diversion.  We set out perhaps half an hour late, the high speed line we were supposed to take closed, and went the pretty way.  A scheduled arrival at 13:44 into Frankfurt became an estimated 17:29, and an extra stop at Würzburg was added because there was a connecting train onward to Munich from there, ours now being terminate short at Frankfurt.

The estimated 17:29 arrival pulled forward to a 17:04 estimate - long after our connection to Aachen would have left; that turned out to be cancelled but really that was academic by that point.  And our "Plan B" was to switch to the 17:18 as far as Cologne ... as we pulled in at 17:20 on the end we had (and good luck) a four minute scramble around the platform end onto the (re) planned connection which was actually headed for Essen.  We jumped / loaded on at the very back of the train as did many others, and just found ourselves the last two seats - separate, but we were seated as we really need to be these days, the seats we took reluctantly given up by fellow passenger's hand baggage for the purpose.  Lisa and I texted back and forth on follow up planning - Sieburg/Bonn, Koln Messe, Dusseldorf Hbf and Essen are not Aachen where our hotel was booked.

And so ... off at Koln Messe - a strange station where the through high speed north-south lines curl under the local and east-west lines - just a further 5 minute ride on a local S-bahn service to Koln Hbf at the higher level, except that a lady advised us to use a platform-end lift that left us in the subway under the station, with the lift up to the platform we needed "Defunkt" according to the label. We are - fortunately - practised now at taking "Henry", Lisa's mobility helper, on escalators and so up to the platform.

The line from Cologne to Aachen was shut!  A mixture of relaying work on the main lines, some sort of accidental track damage on the S-bahn lines, and the long distance diversion route via Monchengladbach being out of commission (someone mentioned lightning). Cologne to Aachen is about 60kms and by this time it was around 18:45.  Rail replacement buses, apparently, from Koln Hbf.  So a 5 minute run on another S-bahn train into Hbf followed by a game of hunt-the-lift and the traditional game of hunt-the-bus.  To be fair, finding the bus was easy and it was waiting to take off at 19:00.  A transport worker blocked our way, not allowing us to hop on with our stuff, so the bus could leave on time.

Next bus - 30 minutes later, and people gathered and gathered for it.  Vehicle pulled in a couple of minutes before it was due to leave and we had a classic Darwinian example of "Survival of the fittest". All seats take by the fit folks who scrambled on first, and the mobility and pram space taken up by a lady with an electric bike (really! - in a bus). Lisa got on and - a huge "thank you" to the young gent who gave up his seat for her as it was clearly visible that it wouldn't be a good idea for her to stand.  Really not a good idea for me to stand either for the 85 minute journey, but I did; my disabled railcard does get me some fare concessions in the UK and occasionally wider, but it's not obvious that I struggle at times and I prefer equal to preferential treatment ... but that was a hard journey.  And so along the motorway to Aachen, dropped off across from HbF at 20:55 versus "Plan A" of 15:57 - so that's just shy of 5 hours late.

Ten minutes to hotel - this was the one hotel repeated from earlier in the trip, so no hunting around - but then to find some food and to bring back to eat in the room.  We are kebbaed and Pizzaed out and being Germany fancied a Bratwurst (only got one once and that was the worst wurst I think I have had) - three possible places - all closed by that time, and I ended up with actually a rather good Asian / Thai takeaway at a reasonable price too. And so ended out Leipzig - Aachen day.  Even a further 2 hours - we would have got there; not to be repeated daily, but my logging of the issues gives lie to the day still being a positive adventure, and we got there in the end.

Wednesday, 5th August 2026

"Plan A" was the 08:04 Aachen to Brussel Midi, 10:56 Eurostar to London, tube, 13:00 Paddington to Chippenham, 14:46 bus home. So what happened - "none of the above". Or to be accurate, only the tube.

Evidence from Tuesday suggested that the 08:04 would be a high risk strategy, so we raided the hotel buffet just a few minutes before it opened at 06:30 and made ourselves a packed breakfast (with approval) and got up to the station in good time for the 06:55 cross-border shuttle into Belgium at 06:55 - changed at Werkenraedt onto the Oostende train which, on an interesting  planned diversion, dropped us off at about 10:10 in Brussels, half an hour AFTER the 08:04 should have arrived (it didn't - as expected it had been cancelled).

Eurostar had already notified us of an amendment to our train - 11:26 rather than 10:56 so we had good time to make the connection.  They are rather good / used to handling passengers with reduced mobility and although queues were not dramatically long, we were invited to use the priority lines.   But then not allowed to use the travellator up to the platform - they insisted we wait for the lift, even while they tried to persuades those with pushchairs with babies to use the moving sloping platform.

Left on time, pick up stop in Lille, 10 minute late even on the adjusted timescale into St Pancras. We were mid-train and even before we got off the platform, another Eurostar arrived across from us.  Amazingly, no queue for the lift down to customs - and (as seems routine for British customs) just a walk / ride through their chicane.  Into the zoo of St Pancras!   Two lifts down to the Circle line platform, one of which went out of service as we got there, and a staff member came and reset it.  Let the Chesham semi-fast go and just behind it caught the Hammersmith service - smooth (well - tosses and turns a bit over the points) ride to Paddington.  Lift up, walk along past the taxis, and lift down and onto The Lawn.

The 13:30 rather than than the 13:00 was now our intended plan.  Said to be "on time" but no platform even by 13:20; the industry feed suggested platform 5, and we waited near there - overtaken by a flood of people when it was called, but we found seats mid-train and left on time.  But ... 5 late by Swindon and 10 late by Chippenham.  Train manager apologised for the delay and said they had to run slower because of the hot weather; I suspect there's more to it, as online logging sites did not show trains before or after delayed in the same way.

Scheduled into Chippenham at 14:32, bus at 14:46, just on platform pair and brand new bus facilities directly out f the front - should have been enough?  No, not with Henry. The lifts are to the second footbridge along the platform, and once you get up the lift you have to do a complete circle around it before you can cross the railway, going through a ticket gate that didn't understand Lisa's Interrail pass on the way.  No gate staff on duty - very luckily got through quite quickly (thanks to an industry friend who happened to be passing.

Across to the second lift, down onto the disused platform from where you can exit via the night entrance to the side of the main station building - which we did, and dashed out to the front - according to my phone-watch at 14:45 to see the bus pulling out towards Station Hill.  I don't know whether Chippenham Station is a "timing point" on this journey, or whether the 14:46 published time is just an estimate here - frustrating none the less.

After an early start (my alarm at 05:30 / 04:30 BST) and a meeting to attend it Trowbridge at 17:00, we decided having missed the direct bus to take a taxi.  The first taxi declined to take us ("my car is too small") but the second one was AOK about us - two people, a small suitcase, a pack, and Henry who folds to being just as small as the suitcase. Interesting questions about this - whether the first driver was being discriminatory or not, and if whether he had a right ton be so. And how the public transport rights to get you to destination break down when a connection between one public transport provider and another break down when the interface is between modes.

Summarising

So there you have it - we love doing the Interrail thing and have had a great three months, but happy to be home and not to be going anywhere in the immediate future (OK - I have meeting at Dilton Marsh Station at 12:30 today) but you / we always need to travel with both a "Plan A" and a "Plan B", and not to be too concerned even if you have to switch to a "Plan C" or even unplanned "D" or "E".

Timetables should be treated as guidelines not promises, and if there's a vital element / leg in there, good buffer time in the journeys before.  Observation of what's going on a round is hugely informative as things change.

The vast majority of public transport staff and other officials are hugely helpful, especially so if treated with respect and appreciation shown.   Fellow passengers are a much more mixed bunch.  Some are lovely, helpful but other aren't and see others around them, perhaps, as a nuisance.  But then we don't really appreciate the screaming child from Lille to St Pancras so we're not perfect either.  Actually, I think she was a bit bored and had a low attention span, and Dad was very much aware of the "terrible two"s.

Lulu and Lightning have been sleeping close last night and we were greeted warmly, and thanks to Chris for looking after them and the house.  That's an arrangement that seems to work well for everyone, and that's really how things should be through life.  There will be another story tomorrow - we're looking forward to elements coming together - but just for today, tidy, washing, Dilton Marsh, MEG meeting and another cup of coffee.  Can't better the machine which I liked so much last year in Mosjeon that I bought one when I got home.