Whist the week of the Summer Solstice should have seen us racing the sun from Lowestoft to Arisaig, strike action across the UK rail network meant this wasn’t possible. Having made plans to come home via Manchester so Beth could attend a gig, we decided to drive over to the North-West and spend a couple of days in the ‘Capital of the North’.
With a week off work that should have involved almost a dozen trains having turned into a week off work with none, I decided to make the most of my evening alone in Manchester and make the quick run up to Preston and back to tick off some stations and compare the operators running on the route, Northern and Trans Pennine Express (TPE).
Having thoroughly enjoyed my 24 hours in the Bulgarian capital it was time to head back to the airport for my flight home with Wizz Air. With Wizz having sent out an email specifically advising arriving at the airport 3 hours before the flight, I left the city centre with about 4 hours until departure to allow time for the metro and shuttle bus
Almost five years since my first attempt at visiting Sofia and two further failed attempts later, I had finally made it to the Bulgarian capital on the fourth time of asking.
With a new passport in hand and an itching to explore somewhere new, I booked a trip to a destination that is somewhat cursed for me, Sofia. With trips to the Bulgarian capital booked, and unfortunately cancelled, on three previous occasions, I was hoping for a more successful attempt this time round. Arriving at Luton just after 0530, I had made it further than previous trips and just had to navigate my way through the airport at rush hour.
After some fun exploring around Newcastle and the North East, the ninth part of Exploring the East Coast Mainline saw me returning to more local stations, with me aiming to tick off the six from Hitchin to Hatfield. Vaguely familiar from my days of passing through on fast trains to and from London, all six stations on this bit of the East Coast Mainline are in Hertfordshire.
Flights & Times 