My plan today was go to Portsmouth from London Waterloo and return to London Victoria. This would involve two new routes for me, namely Woking to Havant via Petersfield and Havant ( again!) to Three Bridges via Horsham and Arundel. I had booked my first class tickets well in advance.
The day began badly. I am at a Premier Inn on Docklands. When I arrived at Prince Regent station I discovered that the Docklands Light Railway was suspended due to a major signal fault. My first thought was to take a bus to Canning Town, the first bus was so full it could not take anymore passengers – also a queue was forming for the next one. I took a risk and got on a bus to Stratford hoping to get off at Plastow tube station. This paid off and I eventually arrived at Waterloo station using the District Line and Northern Line.
By the time I got to Waterloo I had missed my booked train. I went to see if I could use my ticket for another service. I was advised to board the 11am to Portsmouth and take it up with the train manager. I must admit I was not hopeful and I was prepared to pay for a new ticket or split the difference with my existing ticket. However, there was no ticket check! so all was well. When I arrived at Portsmouth, I discovered my train back to Victoria was going to start from Fratton, the next station on the line. I did manage a have a sandwich and a drink at the Canvas Cafe at Portsmouth Station, it was rather good. The journey back was uneventful, apart from getting a good view of Arundel Castle and Cathedral.
Fr Paul Harrison' Blog. 