“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”

 I have plans for four levels of transport problem:

A/ All my scheduled trains are running to time or within acceptable limits of lateness.

B/ I missed my scheduled train or it was cancelled. All later trains are running normally and will get me to the next hotel at a reasonable time.

C/ There is a problem on the route such as emergency engineering works closing the line. An alternative route must be taken to the next planned station or the next hotel.

D/ There is industrial action affecting many trains on this route. A possibly major detour must be taken to the next, or later, hotel by any means of transport.

Plan "A" is my intended route, consisting of two to six trains each day for 12 days. This was more-or-less finalised last November and all six hotels were booked.

Plan "B" was then constructed out of Plan A, mostly taking later trains on the same planned route.

• - Day 8: One troublesome leg is the return from MLG to CNR because the planned train is the last through train of the day. There is a later train to Fort William in time to catch the Caledonian Sleeper which stops at CNR. I have an email from them assuring me I can use that train BUT I can not book it until 5th June. Otherwise it'll be a £100 cab fare!
• - Day 9: Another problem could arise at GLQ because the planned train is the last through train to ABD of the day to catch a connection to INV. In this case there are trains direct to INV.
• - Day 10: Yet another is that there is only one return trip each day between INV and WCK. Miss it means a day at leisure in Inverness.

Plan "C" becomes a little more serious. Most days this would mean missing a scenic line altogether.

• - Day 2 it is possible to be almost stranded in Cornwall
• - Day 4 it might be necessary to get two buses back from MCN
• - Day 6 BIF could be unreachable by any means so a hotel in LAN has been booked just in case.
• - Day 7 there could be a major problem getting to CNR but two buses could do it in good time.
• - Day 8 see Plan B above
• - Day 9 there are buses to INV
• - Day 10 depending on the problem, either cut trip short at Helmsdale and return from there or from WCK it'll have to be an early bus next morning
• - Day 11 probably best to abandon this leg altogether but there are busses from KYL to INV.
• - Day 12 can return to London changing at ABD and Edinburgh

Plan "D" can be a major headache. I have worked out alternatives catering for just one Train operating Company (ToC) being on strike at a time, and for only one day.

• - Day 1: [-GW] no trains from PAD, today is abandoned and another ToC is taken to Bristol hotel. Following morning the planned train via TAU is taken on the Cornwall leg.
• - Day 2: [-GW] abandon today's plan, explore Taunton and/or Bristol
• - Day 3: [-GW] various options via Birmingham to SHR
• - Day 4: [-AW] abandon today's plan, explore Shrewsbury
• - Day 6: [-NT] there are alternatives for most legs except the last one to BIF, see PlanC
• - Day 7: [-SR] there are alternatives to Glasgow and then buses to CNR
• - Day 8: [-SR] abandon today's plan, explore around hotel
• - Day 9: [-SR] see Plan C above
• - Day 10: [-SR] abandon today's plan, explore Inverness
• - Day 11: [-SR] abandon today's plan, explore Inverness
• - Day 12: [-GR] trains via Stirling, GLQ-GLC and Euston, or via Edinburgh and Crewe or York to Euston or KGX

There are just five scenic routes I haven't done before. If I fail to do any of these it may just be possible to do one of them in the two days remaining on my 14-day Rail Rover. They are:

• Oxford to HFD
• SER to SIV
• SHR tp PWL
• Bamford to Grindleford
• Settle to CAR

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