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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
There are two types of people - those who love the adventure and romance of train travel and those who'd rather take the car. If you fall in the former group then you can't fail to enjoy this marvellous book.
Tom Chesshyre takes us round the world on a number of trains - and not always the obvious ones (although he does a few of those too). He is an entertaining writer and his tales about the places he visits, the trains he travels in and the people he meets on them are all equally interesting and enjoyable. I particularly liked the chapters on Kosovo and Macedonia & Turkey and Iran. Towards the end he adds a chapter of highlights and anecdotes from previous train trips too - this chapter is rather bitty compared to the rest of the book, but it would be churlish to complain about too many trains in a volume such as this.
By the end of his travels, Tom is closer to understanding the fascination of trains and the nature of the train sp... sorry, rail enthusiast. He's considerably closer to becoming one too - don't be too surprised if you spot him at the end of a platform with a thermos and a notebook one day.
If you count watching that nice Mr Portillo tootle around clutching his trusty Bradshaw's as one of your guilty pleasures (and I do), then this one is most definitely for you.
Tom Chesshyre takes us round the world on a number of trains - and not always the obvious ones (although he does a few of those too). He is an entertaining writer and his tales about the places he visits, the trains he travels in and the people he meets on them are all equally interesting and enjoyable. I particularly liked the chapters on Kosovo and Macedonia & Turkey and Iran. Towards the end he adds a chapter of highlights and anecdotes from previous train trips too - this chapter is rather bitty compared to the rest of the book, but it would be churlish to complain about too many trains in a volume such as this.
By the end of his travels, Tom is closer to understanding the fascination of trains and the nature of the train sp... sorry, rail enthusiast. He's considerably closer to becoming one too - don't be too surprised if you spot him at the end of a platform with a thermos and a notebook one day.
If you count watching that nice Mr Portillo tootle around clutching his trusty Bradshaw's as one of your guilty pleasures (and I do), then this one is most definitely for you.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Since we can't go anywhere, might as well read about travel, right? Ticket to Ride is an interesting account of various train travels all over the globe. Of course, it's given me major locomotive wanderlust, but one thing I didn't expect was for this book to remind me of how little I actually know about the world. This is especially true of the idiosyncrasies of train travel or the [recent and tumultuous] history of young countries such as Kosovo.
I have traveled by train a few times (short trips in France, the Chunnel from Paris to London, and an overnight from Paris to Berlin), and I agree with the author that there is a certain romance to train travel - the relaxed pace, the countryside steaming past. After finishing this read (book 17 for the year), I'm adding a few more trains to my bucket list.
I have traveled by train a few times (short trips in France, the Chunnel from Paris to London, and an overnight from Paris to Berlin), and I agree with the author that there is a certain romance to train travel - the relaxed pace, the countryside steaming past. After finishing this read (book 17 for the year), I'm adding a few more trains to my bucket list.
As someone who spent three weeks in 2019 travelling Europe by train, this was a brilliant book. I can totally relate to Tom’s identification of trains as such a satisfying and enjoyable mode of transport because of their more calm and sedentary nature, how they expose you to the beauties of the areas which you travel through, and how they can be so much more sociable than air travel. This book was particularly enjoyable for me because of their focus on the more abstract nature of rail travel, rather than any too specific detail on railways and trains. A lovely and relaxed travelogue, well-written and well-described, that is perfect for anyone who has enjoyed rail travel and understands its advantages and the unique perspective it offers on the world. Probably not for someone looking for a trainspotter’s bible, but very good for someone who likes to take the train.
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced