No, not the one in Alabama. The one in England.
We took 8 hours of trains yesterday, from Scotland, to get here for Destination Star Trek, the only Trek convention I’m appearing at this year.
It was an amazing and beautiful ride, and it made me wish that America had a train system that was even half as useful and relevant to where people actually travel as the British Rail System is (I don’t know if it’s supposed to be capitalized, but it earned it, so there.)
We are now in a hotel, and I said to Anne this morning that it feels anticlimactic to be here. After several days in the Scottish Highlands, sleeping in cottages, and driving down tiny sheep roads to get from place to place, it just feels … plain. It’s nothing against the hotel or anything, but if you have an opportunity to travel, even though hotels are familiar and predictable, I highly recommend giving the alternative a try.
I’m going to miss Scotland. In fact, I already miss Scotland. It was so beautiful, and it was such a wonderful experience for me, I feel like I recovered a lot of HP and Mana that I didn’t know had been depleted. I’ll have more pictures to share and more words to write about it once I’ve properly processed and reflected upon the time we spent there.
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So basically, if it’s not Scottish…It’s CRAP!!
Compared to Birmingham yes
If you think trains in the UK are superb, the US system must be really beyond bad…
Glad you enjoyed your road trip through Scotland. I hope you realise how lucky you were with the weather, especially this time of year.
Have fun at Destination Star Trek!
I was going to say that the British train system has generally gotten worse since it was nationalized (or nationalised) but it’s still so much better than in the US, and I wish the US had a national network of trains that was even close to Britain’s. Train travel is the best!
Dammit, I mean privatised, not nationalised!
No, you got right the first time. Can’t you remember how bad BR was? Strikes, slow service, demarcation, and you want that back? Nuts.
Glad you enjoyed Scotland, Wil. Welcome back any time.
The wife and I took Amtrak from the Midwest to Seattle earlier this year. It was the first time we had ever traveled by train and it was a ton of fun. I wish we had more routes around here so that it was a viable option for getting places.
Don’t be too hard on the US trains, Wil – I’m a Brit who’s done NY to LA by train the last two years, and am flying out for a Seattle to LA trip in a couple of weeks. I find Amtrak sleepers a great way to travel (they make me appreciate train travel again after commuting into London every day!) If you haven’t done the California Zephyr from Chicago to San Francisco I can’t recommened it enough – 53 hours of stunning scenery.
The US does not value public transportation.
The British rail system may not be capitalized, but it sure as hell is privatized.
Had I known you were getting a train past my house I would have put up a big ‘play more games’ sign but next time your over go to Wales
Train travel is the best. And don’t let your experience with your brain cheat you out of something that is true. You went from the Scottish Highlands to … Birmingham. Cute places nearby are the medieval walled city of Chester, and Stratford upon Avon. Scotland was the highlight of this trip. And you’re actually in or on the edge of a little suburb of B’ham called Sutton Coldfield, which (fun fact!) is where Richard Hammond from Top Gear grew up. If you have not watched Top Gear, please do watch their Botswana Africa special and/or North Pole special – they are beautifully filmed, and the trio is hilarious.
Most likely you’re in that hotel that’s directly across the pond from the NEC, and while it’s close it is very business oriented and has no charm. If you are staying anywhere else, you are lucky. Every year in March the NEC has the world’s largest dog show, and I had to go to that for my previous job.
Hey man, I’m glad you enjoyed that part! Every time I stay in LA, and go home, I’m stunned at just how rural it is where I live, and I’m in a highly populated area. Getting out away from all the concrete will do you good.
Before you go crapping on American rail, keep this in mind — the United States is much much larger between population centers in the middle of the nation. Sure, we could do a better job of getting rail between LA / San Francisco / Seattle or between Miami / D.C. / New York / Boston but there’s a whole bunch of nothing in the middle of the country. Rail is VERY VERY VERY expensive infrastructure to install and maintain so it’s a losing proposition for whomever would decide to take it on.
Eurrail does it all over Europe, and there’s a lot of nothing in between. Been there, done that.
The US is almost 3X the land mass of all of the European Union (including the UK). Not even a close comparison.
I can’t agree with you more about staying with the locals when you have the chance. My wife and I went to Scotland and Ireland last year, which we stayed in bed and breakfast cottages. Not only do you get fantastic home cooked meals, but you get to experience the local people that live in the towns you are visiting. They can provide you with tips for seeing places off the beaten path, which you may never knew existed otherwise. We met so many wonderful people on our trek, which one may not have the same experiences staying at a big name hotel.
While in Ireland, one of the places we stayed on was a farm, which produced their own food for breakfast. After a conversation with one of the owners, he took us to the house next door, which he built himself, using reclaimed materials from old churches and buildings in the area. It was such a wonderful experience, being brought into their world, so you can see how others live, even if just for a few days.
Wil, visit Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel south of you.
Lundy is 12 miles off the coast of Devon.
Lundy is Britain’s greatest natural wonder.
It’s funny, I do the Oxford->Glasgow run via Brum a bunch of times per year to friends and family and I find it pretty maddening a lot of the time, especially in winter when seemingly the entire rail network is defeated by the wrong kind of leaves falling on the tracks. But I suppose the worst stretch is Brum to Oxford rather than the Virgin Train-run line from Brum up north.
I travel by train when I can, here in the US and elsewhere. You get the chance to really see the countryside, and no one misses out due to being the designated driver. Thanks for the pictures!
We’ve just arrived also! If you have your running gear I’m going to run around the lake tomorrow morning! Refresh that mana a bit more! Glad you enjoyed Scotland!
I appreciate the offer, but I left my running kit at home.
No prob Wil. I really appreciate the response. It’s going to be tough now, after those Enterprise guys causing havoc this evening! But I’m going to dig deep anyway! 😉
Great to meet you Wil. Thanks for squeezing us in at the end of Saturday. Hope you had a good rest of a con! We had a good time playing 7 Wonders Duel on Saturday night in the bar. I’m definitely going to be adding that to my collection! Safe flight back!
Followed your steps in Scotland a few years back. Lovely. I piggy back on your comment about
BritRail…wish we had something similar. Amtrak is a very poor comparison.
[HAGGIS JOKE]
Laugh, you jackals, laugh.
I demand it!
American trains must be awful. The British rail network needs renationalising.
Glad you enjoyed Scotland. The Highlands are my favourite place and where I want to run away to when things get tough. I look forward to your photos! I also recommend some islands like the Isle of Skye and Orkney.
Is Ready Player One still shooting in Birmingham? If so, can we expect a Wil Wheaton cameo?
As one who has had the honor of traveling to the Highlands twice, I totally agree … an amazing place to explore and recharge ones soul.
Wil
So I guess it would be pointless to ask if you had seen any alligators since you said it was not the Birmingham I was thinking of , ha ha
Be safe , enjoy yourself !!
Good wishes to you & yours!!
You’re right on my doorstep — enjoy the convention. 🙂
Watch out for those Peaky Blinders.
Dude, I’m sorry I missed this – I work just round the corner from the NEC & often go over for lunchtime walks. Hope you enjoyed Brum!
Your pic of British industrial town was my home town of Wolverhampton and the building used to be a brewery 👌🏻
My 10 year-old son is very excited that Wil passed less than a mile away from our house in Garstang, Lancashire on his way to Scotland.
Whole family enjoys your work on Big Bang Theory (and the other heroes of Trek who send themselves up so beautifully). I’m also enjoying your eloquent blogs – oh, and sorry about our roundabouts! Glad you mastered them in the end…
England sounds pretty nifty! But I agree, it seems like Scotland was a pleasant little adventure. Maybe you two can swing back next year?
Compared to Birmingham yes
I’ve never been on a train. But I want to be on an old school train, like in the Poirot story.