A University Experience: Chapter 4 - Travel

Introduction

Hello everyone and Welcome back!

After a long post last week, I'm aiming to keep this one short for you.

Before I go on however, I have some news I want to share. On the Wednesday just gone, I received a digital copy of my diploma supplement. For those that don't know, this is the slip of paper that tells you what grades you have earned.

My grade for my Bachelor of Arts with Honours Degree in Game Design and Futures is a 2:1 or Upper Second Class Honours.

I feel that it's apt that I am writing about travel after getting my degree results back, it gives me that thought of moving forward and what comes next.

I'm really happy with these grades and hope that I'll land an art based role in the games industry in the near future.

Now, the reason I'm talking about travel is that most student halls won't have a place to park your car. Else they'd need a multistorey carpark for all of the students staying there. So that means, for those in halls, you can't bring your car with you. It's back to basics and learning timetables and bus routes.

Flights

Yes, you read that right. I flew from Bournemouth to Liverpool and back again before the direct route was cancelled. That flight cost me £50 for a return flight and only took an hour to get from A to B. The reason I didn't go indirect was because the price doubled and it would take all day to get to my destination.

The last flight I took to Bournemouth was leaving at something like 7am. I got a train to the airport, realised that I was one of maybe 10 people boarding the plane (staff included). I didn't just have a little row of 3 to myself, I had a fair portion of the plane to myself. So, I sat back and rested my eyes for a bit. After all, I had just woken up at 5 and been playing games that night. Not the smartest move, but someone asked if I wanted to hop online... So I did.

When I got back home, it was surreal. I wasn't fully awake for the train or the flight. So from my perspective, I went to bed in Liverpool and properly woke up at home with a coffee and a bacon sandwich in my hand. Not even 9am yet, back in time for breakfast.

The return flight was a bit later in the day. I remember that I caught the final flight back to Liverpool and it was on Halloween. That flight was packed as nobody wanted to miss the last flight back to Liverpool.

When I got back to Liverpool, I was walking from the bus station and noticed this queue going half the way through the city centre and up Bold Street. What the hell was everyone so hyped about?

Going pass everyone, I was listening to people arguing about who was in front, telling people to get to the back of the line and so on. There was even a police presence to make sure everything went smoothly. It turned out that they were all in line for a costume store. Waiting in line on Halloween for a Halloween costume.

Trains and Busses

Long Distance

For the longer train journeys, I did the sensible thing and got myself a railcard. There are different sorts of railcards but the most common among Students is the 16-25 years. They also do 26-30 years which is what I'm currently using. Railcards take 1/3 off the total price of your ticket. My railcard paid for itself in the first trip to Liverpool. Everything after that felt like a steal.

From Bournemouth there are a couple of routes, you can go via Birmingham or London. Personally, I prefer going through Birmingham as there is only the one transfer. With London, you need to go from Waterloo to Euston using the underground and then on to Liverpool. I'd rather kick back, relax and listen to my music than concern myself with getting to the next station on time.

I actually went via London once when I had flu. There were works being done on the other line, so everything went via London. I get to Waterloo and the underground is blocked off. So I went to the information desk to ask for advice, it turned out that the drivers were on strike.

I asked the guy "what would be quickest for getting to London Euston, taxi or bus?". Neither.

I did not like his answer, but I was about to dislike it that little bit more.

That day, as well as train drivers, it just so happens that teachers went on strike. Only they were marching the streets, meaning that half the roads were blocked off. The quickest way across London was to walk.

Picture this, I've got a rucksack on that is packed to the brim with essentials, most I took back home with me for the holidays. Clothes, electronics, tablets to help with the flu and some snacks for the trip. So I'm walking against the flow of a protest, wearing a fully packed bag and a thick coat to keep me warm because I'm burning up one minute and freezing the next. The march is being guarded by police that are on foot and in the air.

Yeah, hearing radio chatter and being followed for a couple of blocks wasn't the best feeling. Then again, I wasn't doing anything wrong and they were doing their job of trying to keep people safe. I almost wanted them to approach me so I could see about getting a lift... Almost.

I got to Euston just in time to watch my train pull away. I had to wait there for another 2 hours before the next trip to Liverpool, that was if the train actually arrived. Quite a few were being cancelled.

I remember ringing my Mum and she suggested coming back home. I wanted to, but right there that meant walking back through the protest and waiting for yet another train. It was quicker to keep going than to turn back.

Most of the time when I know I'll be travelling for 5-6 hours, I'll download a series or movie to watch on my phone. If I get bored with that, I'll listen to music or read a book if I've brought one with me.

A typical Open Return train ticket would cost me £94 instead of being in the ballpark of £140 or £150 for the same journey.

Short Distance

I didn't often use busses in Liverpool and I would get asked why that was once in a while.

I'll tell you what I told them, the Merseyrail train system goes everywhere. I'd walk maybe 10 - 15 minutes to the tube and I could go anywhere. To Uni, to the shops, to my mates house, to work or even back home (though that would be a 5 hour trip). I didn't really have a need to use busses.

Don't get me wrong, their busses are relatively cheap to use and are reliable for getting you where you need to be. I guess I chose trains because I've got busses back home and this was something a bit different.

I worked out that my weekly spending on travel was £8. To save you the maths, that works out as £32 a month and £384 a year (without the trips back home).

None of that was covered by my student loan as it was being sucked into the black hole known as accommodation.

I hope that this has been an interesting read or at least a bit helpful for students looking to travel up and down the country.

Thanks for reading this far, it really means a lot!

Please feel free to look at some of my 3D work or read another blog post.