St Pancras Grand; 11 Mar 11

The train ticketing systems in the UK defy logic but fortunately if you can find your way around them there are some super deals to be made. Last Friday I needed to begin my day in Catalonia and to end in Sheffield. I didn’t really want to be driving north late at night so the only solution seemed to be EasyJet to Gatwick and then the train via St Pancras.

Trainline (www.thtrainline.com) offered me a ticket for about £130 which seemed a bit steep, However individual tickets direct from the web-sites of  the train operating companies got me a package with my railcard for just £30, first class!

EasyJet was on time and I got to St Pancras with an hour to spare . There didn’t seem much prospect of any more than a snack on the train so I looked for somewhere to eat. St Pancras boasts the longest champagne bar in Europe and although I wasn’t going to eat there there is a splendid brasserie right next to it: Searcy’s St Pancras Grand (www.searcys.co.uk).

In an hour I wasn’t going to eat much so I stuck to a main course and since it was Friday I had fish and chips. It was excellent. It was lightly battered, perhaps not as crunchy as the Histon Frier, and the fish was fresh, moist and suitably fishy. I washed it down with a Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc (surprise, surprise) and followed that with an espresso. No problem about this restaurant having a proper coffee machine. The service was slick and speedy, the ambience classy, and it was not exactly cheap. But for a treat on a Friday it was just right and think about what I saved on the train fare!

My weekend continued in Sheffield where I enjoyed two meals at Ask! Normally that would be nothing to write home about but on both occasions the waiter asked ‘how did you enjoy your meal’. None of the ‘is everything OK’ rubbish which I’ve blogged about before (click here)  which tells the restaurant nothing but a good honest open question which really can provide valuable information. Well done Ask!

My journey home on Sunday was again by train: £13. I reckon the round trip at about £45 was pretty good value for money and with every (all three) trains being on time it was a pretty satisfactory experience.