Dear LPG, 

Perhaps I am one of a limited edition when I label myself as an older train traveller, but I do get out and about on trains regularly.  My children and a few other friends and relatives that I visit allow me to keep life interesting because, while I still can, there is something very special about being invited to stay somewhere else for the odd few days from time to time, and I think that many of us who now live alone also look forward to a bit of regular entertaining and being entertained.   My days of driving from A to B are over now but BR and my freedom pass allow me to still get where I want to go with a degree of independence.  

There are the journeys that I have made frequently enough to know what to expect when I get to the platform but, every now and then, I find that I have to change at a station I am not familiar with and a couple of days away can constitute a fair bit of luggage.  After all, I think that most ladies of a certain age will agree that starting the day at home demands the need for more and more preparation as you get older.  Just to be able to maintain the same visual persona as the years go by is a challenge that demands increasing amounts of paraphernalia, and it all needs to be with us wherever we start the day.  Luckily, the invention of luggage on wheels has lightened the load as my little essentials have got heavier, which minimises the reminders that it is following behind me.  But the big problems arrive when you get to the bottom or the top of the steps at either end of the overhead footbridge.

With busses there is usually only one step, but trains stations are usually blessed with those overhead bridges and steps while there are fewer and fewer staff to help these days, so it is nice to know if there is a lift before you get there.  

I have finally found a website which gives this information and so much more about every one of the 2,563 BR railway stations in the country.   It tells if you will be able to get a snack there or go to the loo, if Wi-Fi is available, if you can store your bicycle there (if you have one that you want to leave behind), if there are visual and audible announcements and even when the ticket office is manned.   

I thought it worth sharing for those who travel by train from time to time and have not yet discovered this little gem. 

GA, Bromley 

GA shares her find… 

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