Before we had a car we used to go on holiday by train. We used to pack
a case of clothes and send it on in advance as there was too much to
carry when we went. We used to take another case with us. We always went
to the West Country - Devon or Cornwall. Sometimes we had a long wait to
change trains at Exeter and I remember picking conkers in the park there.
Trains always reminded me of egg sandwiches and small stations (now closed)
beautifully decorated with flowers (especially lupins). On the way home
the train had to get an extra engine to push us up the Lickey incline into
Birmingham. At the seaside were nice sandy beaches and rows of bathing
huts for people to hire out for a day or a week. They could sit in these
if the weather was bad or get changed in them when going swimming.
