Two days of travelling across England and France to the Belfort-Montbéliard TGV train station.
If it were not for a train strike in Britain I could have returned to the GR5 in one day. However, industrial action by train drivers forced me to use a bus to reach London and timings were such that I had to start the previous day and stay overnight in the capital city. In compensation, after leaving my "youth" hostel in central London I enjoyed a morning wandering around Regent's Park, the tulips and cherry blossom especially attractive. Then, after admiring the oversized statue of a giant couple kissing at St Pancras station I caught a busy Eurostar train to Paris. On leaving the Channel Tunnel and entering France a neighbouring passenger squealed with delight as her smart watch automatically advanced one hour to continental time. The wonders of modern technology!
For my second stroll of the day through a capital city, I spent an hour walking across Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, the trees beside the wide boulevards in young green leaf, as yet unsullied by the grime of the passing traffic.
The last stage of my journey through the darkening evening was on the fast TGV train to Belfort-Montbéliard. These train lines look good from a distance as the tracks stride straight across valleys on long, light viaducts. When actually sitting in a carriage it did not seem much different from normal trains, especially in an aisle seat like mine. (I did not like to look out of the window too much, which might have given me an impression of speed, in case the lady next to me thought I was eyeing her up). Busy at first, I was one of the few remaining passengers in the double decker train when I detrained at my destination. Now approaching ten pm I was glad I could see the garish green of my hotel for the night from the station exit.
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| Regent's Park |
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| A walk through Paris |
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