London is getting more cooler and life is getting more tougher, I mean the weekends.
But now, let me finish my Stratford trip before speaking about theRoyal castle of Windsor.
14-Feb-2003. 2:46PM - The train arrived. A diesel engine train with 3-4 coaches. This is another fact I noticed with surprise. Most of the places the lines are not electrified. The trains are not more than 8 coaches long, that too very long distance express trains. The goods services, even though, are lengthy as in India, with 30-40 wagons attached. So the platforms of most small stations are very short.
3:18 PM : Got down at Warwick station. Just imagine you get down at a small station like the Malgudi described by R K Narayan. It has a posture of the Warwick castle in the public notice board and there is one more notice board which says about all the trains stopping in the station with timings.
The weather which was becoming cloudy when I started from Stratford, is slowly progressing to light drizzle ! Had a tough time walking to the castle up the hill in rain, with a three-fold St. George umbrella which is protesting against the wind. Reached the hill top, saw the castle from outside, I felt it was a glorification to show about the castle as this and that. Entry fee of 12.50 pound seems a bit high for me, and photography was prohibited in the inner areas of the castle and it was raining in the open areas. So I had no second thoughts. Walked back to the station to get the next train to Leamington Spa and then get a connection to Oxford.
4:29 PM : Even though I reached the station by 4, I had to wait half an hour to get the next train. It dropped me in Leamington within 10 mins. And luckily got a connection also immediately. Reached Oxford at 5:30. It was dark already and so I lost all the chance to take some snaps unless the university is lighted properly. I walked to the University
centre. It is a university campus, the whole town. Imagine we had arailways station and bus stand with all super markets, pubs, and traffic in a college campus, that is Oxford ! The rash road crossers, the unpredictable cyclists, a huge cycle stand in the railway station, groups of young people standing here and there, I think we can call it a campus Town !
I found the University memento store also closed ! So bad luck ! Found a store where I bought some postcards of the picture of the University and some popular photos of the town.
6:45 PM: Got a direct train to London Paddington station, took Hammersmith tube home by 9:30. The day was tiring and the weather conditions have made it worse. I cancelled the plan to visit Windsor on Sunday.
The trip was memorable in the sense I was feeling like a dream when the train passed through the routes which I had seen in TV when they show Tour de France. The beautiful houses in between the greenery, the small townships with rows of houses passing like an army parade, the chapel like a flag man, a small stream, a wooden bow bridge across it, every single sight is a postcard !
