On a Coastway trip from Havant to Hastings earlier in the year (January 2023) I had accidentally discovered that the railcard day return fare of £12.00 (now £12.70) was actually a flat fare, that was valid all the way from Portsmouth or Southampton to Ashford International, a distance via Brighton of 111 miles from Portsmouth and 128 miles from Southampton.
To buy one of these remarkable value tickets you need to book a route via Polegate, but looking at the conditions of this ticket, the permitted routes are those passing either Polegate or Edenbridge, so allowing the intrepid bargain-seeker the chance for a full day circular tour of Southern England, with no restriction on break of journey along the way.
Ever the one to take up a bargain offer, I decided to see what transport delights £12.70 would buy when I took a full-day circular tour from Portsmouth & Southsea on Friday, 14 July 2023, with plans to take breaks at Rye and Tonbridge, on a nine-hour, 223-mile circuit, that would include eight separate journeys and four different rail operators.
First up was an 80-minute trip from Portsmouth & Southsea to Brighton aboard the first permitted weekday off-peak departure at 09.33. Until 20 May 2023 this might well have been a Class 313 unit, but following withdrawal of that fleet it is now formed of a four-car Class 377 unit, with its two first class compartments helpfully declassified.
Given how busy services are to Brighton, and the likelihood of delays, the advertised four-minute connection time into a service towards Eastbourne seemed rather optimistic, but keen to give it a try I sat in the front first class compartment from Portsmouth in order to maximise my chance of making the connection.
A great many Coastway passengers seem to have clocked that first class is declassified on many of these services, as the compartment is full by the time we leave Worthing and the train is full and standing by the time we pulled into Brighton on time at 10.52.
Despite having to battle my way to the door, a mad dash from platform 1 to platform 8 is successful, and I am in time to board red-liveried Gatwick Express unit 387210 for its 44-minute all stations working to Eastbourne, where I must change onto diesel traction for the next leg of my tour
The trip from Brighton to Eastbourne is a pleasantly rural and scenic one that takes you through delightful Lewes, then on into open country with fine views of the South Downs as you pass the remote stops of Glynde and Berwick, before further stops at Polegate and Hampden Park.
From Eastbourne the hour-long journey aboard a Class 171 unit gives you some fine views of the coast along the stretch from Cooden Beach to St Leonard’s then, after passing Hastings and its semaphores, more attractive rural scenery along the single line from Ore to Rye.
Giving myself an hour’s break of journey at Rye meant time to photograph two services passing and then take a short walk to the town centre, only to discover that the renowned Waterworks Micropub did not open until 2.00pm. Retracing my steps towards the station I settled instead for a fine pint of Shepherd Neame Master Brew (3.7% / £4.60) in the Cinque Ports Arms.
A final 22 minutes on from Rye brings me (at 14.10) to the end of my outward journey and a station that really ought to be renamed. It is a disgrace that no Eurostar services have called at Ashford International for the past three years, and there is currently no prospect of services calling here in the future – surely a gap which some enterprising Open Access operator could fill?
From Ashford Domestic it is time for a change of operator as my lengthy return journey to Pompey begins with a 34-minute trip to Tonbridge aboard a South Eastern Class 375 unit and a dead straight route once known as Boat Train Route One, that had significant amounts invested on it to accommodate Eurostar services before the opening of HS1.
I now have a 40 minute interlude at Tonbridge where there always seems to be plenty of activity. During my wait on platforms 1/2 I get a chance to see GBRf 66777 “Annette” pushing its trainload of wagons from Purfleet (6O64) into the West Yard and later the fairly rare sight of a passenger train on the down fast line, as 375917 makes its way empty stock to Tunbridge Wells
From Tonbridge it is back to Southern and the 15.47 school special to Redhill which takes me through the second routing point on my ticket – Edenbridge. At Redhill the heavens open as I wait for a GWR service for Reading at 16.45 that will take me to Guildford on the scenic North Downs Line.
At Guildford it is time to travel with a fourth and final train operator, as my circular tour of Southern England ends with an hour-long ride on the 17.34 (17.00 ex-Waterloo) SWR service to Portsmouth, a nine-car formation comprising units 444045 and 450042.
Reaching Portsmouth & Southsea at 18.31 – a mere eight hours and 58 minutes since beginning my £12.70 day out – what is very good to note is that every one of the eight trains I have travelled on during the day has been spot on time both departing and arriving. If only that was always the case!
RailwayWorld.net 
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