4 - Ipswich - Bedford

Day 4

After a couple of days visiting local attractions around Ipswich, namely the quaint coastal town of Southwold, I returned to London for a connection back up north to Bedford. Crossing east to west in England is never easy, by road or rail, partly because the Romans built most roads north/south. Railways however suffered particularly badly in the 1960s when the 'Beeching' cuts were put into effect, recommending the closure of over 50% of the stations and 30% of the tracks. This led to much of the cross country network disappearing, leaving empty buildings, viaducts and strips of land. At least getting in and out of London was reasonably quick, even if it did double the distance.

A very British seaside resort

Now I was familiar with the English railways and London underground the trip to Bedford was easily accomplished in just over two hours. There was still no WiFi at Kings Cross station and their own system seemed to block out others like MacDonald's and Starbucks. When I inquired at one cafe, the waitress told me it was probably because there were too many people. Looking at the crowds milling around the station concourse it was easy to believe. I visited the information desk, located at one end of the station and just about as far away as possible from travelers who might have questions. It looked more like a lost luggage booth and when I asked about WiFi they claimed to have no knowledge of it. Information kiosks in many stations I visited were either non existent, shut or were difficult to find, often tucked away in some corner. I suspect these days travelers have so many questions operating information centers becomes just too difficult and costly.

Southwold pier

I resigned myself to traveling through England without an Internet connection, though this was remedied not long after discovering the nationwide free 'Cloud' network. The trains did have WiFi but it was not free and having to keep registering and thinking up new passwords detered me from trying them. I emerged from Bedford station and headed for the town center following large red painted footsteps on the pavements, cleverly guiding you into town. I located a Burger King restaurant where finally, after four days in England, I was able to connect to the Internet. It was enough for me to discover my location in the town and how to reach my next destination. My departure from the restaurant was postponed temporarily when a sudden storm blew violently through the shopping precinct destroying numerous umbrellas in a torrential downpour. I watched the mayhem unfold in comfort, sipping my coffee. When the storm finally abated after less than 15 minutes, I exited into the refreshed air and headed for my next overnight stop.