Farewell class 483s (1938 stock)

This was a trip I almost didn't get to make. By early September, my plans for the autumn involved a trip to the Isle of Wight on 2nd November, followed by a possible trip in the first week of the school Christmas break, just before the 1938 stock was retired. And then, something in my gut told me to go now, and I'm so glad I did. That November trip didn't happen, and neither did the December one. 

I decided to get the catamaran across from Portsmouth, although at some point I do want to give the hovercraft a go, and they were running at the time I went, albeit on a reduced timetable. I had something on in the evening that I had to be home for, and so I was on an early train down to Portsmouth to connect with a ferry, arriving on the island at around 11.30am. By early, I mean 9am, so not all that early, but I decided to wait for the first off peak train as it was quite a lot cheaper. My original plan had been to get the train down to Shanklin, spend 40 minutes there until the next train arrived, buying lunch whilst I waited, and getting the train back up to Ryde. The ferry timings meant that I had to be on the 1.45 ferry back to Portsmouth in order to make the train that would get me home in time, which then essentially meant that I'd be heading straight back to the ferry terminal from Shanklin. But the trains had other ideas, namely the fact that there was only 1 train per hour running in each direction because there was only 1 unit working. 

And so, on the train to Portsmouth Harbour, I came up with a plan. I didn't really want to be that person who literally stayed on the train when it turned around at Shanklin, but I wanted to maximise what turned out to be my last ride on the 1938 stock, and so I decided to get out at Lake and wait there for the train to head to Shanklin and back. I ended up waiting in the shelter on the platform, and in fact I spent the time booking theatre tickets and a hotel! I should probably explain that: I got off the train and checked my phone to see that one of my favourite musicals, & Juliet, had announced a reopening date in March, and of course I wanted to go! The reopening has been postponed to May, and of course I've transferred my tickets.

Anyway, by the time I'd done this, the train was on it's way back to me and so I waited to head back up to Ryde. Alighting at the Esplanade, I took a quick lunch break (fish and chips) before walking up the pier ready to catch my ferry back over to the mainland.

I then took the opportunity to walk around to Gunwharf Quays to go to the Cadbury shop, as I had 45 minutes before I needed to be on the train home. 

It was only a short visit to the Island, but I'm glad I had done it because it turned out to be my last time on the 1938 stock. 

I'm looking forward to getting back over to the Island once the upgrade is over to try out the new class 484 trains, made from upcycled old district line trains. Provided I'm allowed to travel, I'll be over on the island at the end of May to explore and see what's changed. I've got some theatre tickets booked either end of my trip, so will have some time to tick off stations in London, and I also have plans to tick off some stations in both East Sussex and Kent.

The next post on here will be a bit different, with it being the second of my girl on a hike series detailing my training for the marathon walk I'm doing in September, which will be live on saturday, with another train post the following weekend.