okay then guys i am at exeter st david's railway station first time i've ever been here and it's
quite a hive of activity in my opinion lots of comings and goings anyway i'm just waiting for a
train now a great western railway train which is going to take me down to penzance and i'm going to
be doing that in first class i'm really looking forward to this because i've never been on that
route either and there's some fantastic iconic landmarks along the way so please join me for this
it's going to be great the weather is fantastic so i'll tell you what i'll see you again on the train
So as you can see, a class 802 was my ride down to Penzance today - 802109
I boarded the train on coach H just to take a quick walk through standard class to show you
what it was like. My impression of this area was a good mix of table and airline style seating but
a bit of a ‘plasticky’ feel to it all but decent enough luggage storage was good on the overhead
racks and at the end of the carriage which looked like it was certainly needed on this trip anyway!
So I went through to coach K and headed to my allocated seat which was on the single side
in the last coach, coach L. It looked like a nice seat but
it was on the wrong side of the train for me and you’ll see why that is in a minute.
I checked with the train manager first, then re-allocated myself to an available table seat
in coach K on the left-hand side of the train.
Shortly after leaving Exeter, the train skirts the estuary of the River Exe
towards Starcross which I think is one of the best station names out there and
right on the waterfront. Have you got a favourite station name? Please let me know in the comments below.
After the enchantingly named Starcross, we head towards the famous Dawlish Warren to Teignmouth
stretch as the train continues to hug the coast. It almost feels as if you’re travelling over the
water doesn't it? It’s not only spectacular to view this from onboard the train but also from the perspective of
the people on the beach and sea wall where I reckon you must feel really close to the action.
Now this section of track has been frequently damaged by storms over the years, most recently in 2014
when rough seas and high winds washed away around 40 metres of the track. It closed the line for 2 months.
Note that work is ongoing here to improve the sea wall defences which should be completed
in 2022 and that will afford more protection to the line and it’s trains for many years to come.
We then reached what could have been mistaken for the ‘station with no name’
but we finally noticed a nameboard on platform 2 and it was Newton Abbot significant only in that
it was shortly after leaving here that I decided to take a proper look at the first class carriage.
Well the seating is laid out in a 2-1 configuration as you can see here
and like I said before, you want a seat on the double side for views of the coast
in whichever direction you happen to be travelling in.
There is no antimacassar on the seat but the headrest does have
extra padding which is nice and it looks quite posh in my opinion.
The seats are wide and there is good table space in the airline
style seating as well as the normal table seats that face each other.
There is a push-button recline function (which works) and power is located between
the seats as you can see here - one conventional socket and one usb slot.
Going back to the seats, I like the colour scheme - it’s certainly plush
enough for first class on these newer class 802 trains and the ride overall was
pretty quiet. The table is plenty big enough and feels sturdy and well-built.
A blind is provided for the window - I prefer curtains to be honest but
that’s just because I’m old-fashioned and blinds give better protection
from the sun really at this time of the day.
I do think the digital seat reservation displays for these GWR trains are
extremely well done. The green lighting (or otherwise) is clearly visible from the aisle
and the seats are clearly numbered and identifiable.
A coat hook completes my review of the seat. Now let’s get back to some of the views
We sped towards Plymouth and basking in the sun as we arrived was the class 43 that I’d
travelled on earlier in the day between Bristol and Exeter (part 1 of my journey). This was its final call but we were
pressing on west travelling through the suburbs of the last large conurbation
before reaching our next landmark, the iconic
and imposing Royal Albert Bridge, which marks the boundary between Devon and Cornwall.
Designed by the famous Isombard Kingdom Brunel, wikipedia informs me that its unique design
consists of two 138.7 metre lenticular iron trusses which are 30 metres above the River Tamar below.
The bridge took 5 years to build and was completed in 1859. Total length is 666.8 metres.
As we slowly crossed, I gazed out of the window just thinking about how many famous
people and trains have made this crossing in the past. The views from here back
towards Plymouth and Plymouth Sound are simply breathtaking - especially on a day like this
Once you get to the other side, there’s the lovely little station at Saltash
and at this point, you really do feel as if you’re in another country! Welcome to Cornwall!
Right so after passing several more stations on the way,
it was time to do a quick loo review before I forgot! The toilet in first class was
rather small, necessitating just sliding door access with a latch lock to close.
First impressions for me were it was a bit like the sort of space you’d get in a medium-sized touring caravan.
I did manage to rotate myself enough to show you the big mirror
and baby changing table which folded down over the toilet. There was a bit of rubbish on the floor disappointingly,
not disastrous by any means but I did wonder if they were checked during our journey
Soap and water was provided and the hand drier worked as expected.
On exiting the toilet, note the large space for extra luggage or bicycles which
I thought was really good because it would appear from the overhead display that you
could book this space - a major plus at busy times especially for cyclists.
And it also looks like the whole area is lockable which gives you extra piece of mind.
Have you ever used these areas, please let me know in the usual way.
As we neared Penzance, it was time to review the service on offer. Well, it was ok I guess,
no more than that. It was only about 10 minutes after leaving Exeter earlier on that
somebody came round with the trolley. There was a small selection of snacks available,
I had a cup of tea some crisps and some lemon drizzle cake which was nice.
I also grabbed a bottle of water, like I said earlier,
it was pretty hot on the train for most of the journey.
The ‘free’ trolley did make another appearance during my journey for much of the same and
I had a coke and some biscuits at that point.
I paid £22.30 for this journey which was around two-and-a-half hours in length. I think that’s a good price for first class BUT,
bearing in mind most passengers would have probably paid a lot more,
I wasn’t overly impressed with the catering on offer. I would expect something more substantial
on a journey of this length - sandwiches at least - like the good old days before
train companies (and airlines) began using the current situation as an excuse for penny-pinching.
As with many of the long-distance journeys I’ve taken over the last year or so, a nice train and
a comfortable ride has been rather let down by the poor standard of food and drink available.
Anyway, we were approaching Penzance by this time and I was looking forward to some nice,
traditional fish ‘n chips overlooking the sea.
Let's go!
okay guys finally made it penzance all the way down from exeter st david's about two
and a half hours that took not bad first class it was an average service in terms of food and
drink offered nothing more than that i would say it's probably just about worth the money
to travel first class as opposed to standard but yeah not bad tidy enough
coach seats nice and comfortable great scenic journey i really enjoyed that
especially the first bit down past dawlish warren and onto dawlish and teignmouth
and round there anyway i've really enjoyed it it's the first time in penzance for me so i'm gonna
have a little look around now and i'll be back here in about four hours time to catch the sleeper
and i'm going all the way back to london paddington on that tonight
so thanks for watching this i hope to catch you on the next one and cheers for now