SILVER FOX OUTING – No 1: 25 May, 23

SILVER FOX OUTING – No 1: 25 May, 23

 

The outing was suggested and planned by Iain Pate. It
was a highly successful trip and early indications are
that Iain will organise another day-out. There were 10
foxes and one vixen, all proudly waving a Senior Rail
Card. The fare for the Day Ranger was £9.20. A
‘Ranger’ ticket, this got us off to a good start!
It was a lovely sunny day. Shorts were to be seen,
white legs were to be seen, old fashion slacks were to
be seen.
Itinerary
Cardiff Bus, No.96, Depart Wenvoe, Station Road (bus
was late). Arrive Barry station 9.25.
Depart, Barry station, 10,00 for Bridgend.
Arrive, Bridgend station, 10.38.
Depart, Bridgend station, 10.42.
Arrive, Maesteg station, 11,04
Depart, Maesteg station, 11.15.
Arrive, Cardiff Central, 12.06
45 minutes lunch break in Cardiff. (A few said they had
had a salad in the upmarket Pret A Manger fast food
shop, but they were seen in Greggs
with a sausage roll!)
Depart, Cardiff Central, 13.16.
Arrive, Rhymney station, 14.16.
Depart, Rhymney station, 14.27.
Arrive, Cardiff Central, 15.31
Depart, Cardiff Central, 15.41
Arrive, Barry station, 16.05.
Depart, Barry on 96 bus.
Arrive, Wenvoe, later than planned.

Preparation – Iain was meticulous
in planning the outing and created
a WhatsApp group to keep all
informed. However, three of the
group didn’t know how to use WhatsApp. One of the
three asked what’s WhatsApp? Iain explained it was
a modern way of communicating with all in the group
through iPhone. He went on to recommended taking
bottled water, a snack and Tena. Iain kindly agreed to
bulk buy a pack of 10 Tena pads from Amazon.
Everyone turned up at Barry station in good time for
the train. Three of the group took the lift from
Platform 1 to Platform 3, all with walking sticks. An
old ‘Sprinter’ train was the journey to Bridgend
station. The Bridgend ‘Turbostar’ train to Maesteg
went well and the return journey to Cardiff, in time
for lunch.
Prior to lunch at Cardiff, a decision had to be made
on choice of journey for the third leg. The choice was
between Rhymney or Ebbw Vale. Rhymney was
considered the best choice, as it was a two-hour
return journey, whereas Ebbw Vale was almost four
hours; and by this time several in the group were
flagging, mainly those with walking sticks.
So, Rhymney it was to be. To the delight of the group
the Rhymney train arriving at Platform 6 was a
Transport for Wales brand new train, named the
‘Flirt’. Gareth Williams was tickled by this name.
Half an hour into the Rhymney journey, one in the
group started mincing along the carriage; we all knew
why. Tena saved the day until the location of the
onboard toilet in the new train was found. Iain
pointed out that the Rhymney train terminated at
Penarth. Mike Harvey provided a fact of interest, that
Rhymney is one of the poorest towns in Europe,
while Penarth is one of the wealthiest towns in
Europe. Mike is always correct with his facts.
On the one-hour return to Cardiff, we became rather
noisy, with whimsical observations. It took the
group’s Barrister to warn that we speak quietly. No
sooner had he spoken, that he uttered the most risqué
remark of the outing on a passing young passenger.
The group’s vixen came into her own and told him to
shut up.
Arriving at Cardiff Central from Rhymney on
Platform 8 required a change of platform to the Barry
train. The same three who took a lift in Barry station
at the start of our outing, took a lift to change
platforms in Cardiff. Easy. Not so! Exiting the lift at
ground level, they became completely disoriented,
almost missing the Barry train. This was the only
mishap of the outing.
The final train journey was to
Barry, leaving from Platform 6
for the 96 bus to Wenvoe. It
was a great day-out, made
better by all trains being on
time.
Observations – It was a journey
that showed a wedge of the
diversity of south Wales. This
even included the weather. It
was warm when we departed
Wenvoe and remained so along
the coastal belt to Bridgend and Cardiff. The mean
annual temperature in Cardiff is 14 ©, and higher up
the South Wales valleys it is 11 ©. Therefore, more
than a coincidence it became cloudier and cooler the
closer we got to the towns of Maesteg and Rhymney.
Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi
Valley, and Rhymney towards the northernmost end
of the Rhymney Valley.
The railway-line of each valley snugs the western
side of the mountain. Reduced speed as the train
progressed up the valleys, due to stations being just
several miles apart, allowed views of farms, villages
and towns. Being late Spring came the beautiful
greenery of the valleys. Of interest was how close the
trains were, in many places, to rail-side trees brushing
the carriages. Further from the coastal belt, in both
valleys, there were increasing signs of bygone
industries.
Thank you, Iain…By next morning Iain had received
seven plaudits on WhatsApp. The other three who
still couldn’t use WhatsApp thanked him in person at
our Friday, Silver Fox meeting.

 

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