Departure

I left on the Fishguard boat train today (that's one of the two that connect with the Irish ferry every 24 hours.)

Once, this was a busy station serving passengers on transatlantic liners. Fast trains delivered them direct from London or swept them thither straight from the ships. An early morning service set off each day laden with Pembrokeshire rabbits for the dining tables of the metropolis. Stopping trains ferried local people between tiny rural halts along with their goods and chattels which sometimes included farm animals.

Over the years the services were whittled away. Nowadays this is not even an official railway station: it is a rail terminal owned by the ferry company. It's not at all unusual to see the platform empty like this. Most passengers step straight from the train into a departure lounge en route for Rosslare. And few realize that, owing to its unconventional status, Fishguard Harbour platform is the only one in Britain on which it is permitted to smoke. Not Many People Know That!

Things are about the change. Because I decided to leave earlier than planned - Hurricane Katia's dying gusts threatening to cause some minor travel havoc - I will be missing the inauguration tomorrow of a new railway service for Fishguard. Several trains will now be providing daily connections further down the line as well as making it possible for people to travel around South Wales with greater ease. It will be a big day for Fishguard but I won't be there to share it, I'll already have started my journey to America.