An achievement for lots of seven-year-olds in 2024 might need been driving a motorcycle with out stabilisers or tying their very own shoelaces, however for one boy it was visiting each metropolis in England along with his dad by practice.
Austin, seven, and his father, Ashley, “about 37”, started their quest by visiting Brighton in January and accomplished it with a visit to Ely three days earlier than Christmas.
They visited all 55 English cities over the course of the yr, travelling as far north as Carlisle and as far west as Truro. York, for the daddy and son from Felixstowe, Suffolk, was a selected favorite.
Ashley informed BBC Radio Suffolk that his son had cherished trains for the reason that age of two.
That they had been having days out on trains for a few years and in 2023 Ashley labored out they will need to have visited about 25 English cities.
He informed his son this truth and Austin replied: “‘Nicely what number of are there?’ I regarded it up and there have been 55 and he stated: ‘Nicely, we should always go to all of them!’ So I assumed … ‘OK, why not?’ I had a glance, did some planning and thought this is perhaps doable after which there was no going again. We acquired began.”
They needed to negotiate dangerous climate and intermittent industrial motion, and Ashley stated there have been instances when he thought they’d bitten off greater than they may chew. However they managed it, he stated with delight.
Extremely, they have been solely as soon as the victims of practice delays. “It was the luck of the draw actually, we have been solely considerably late on one practice,” Ashley stated.
Throughout their journey the pair additionally visited depots and had a go at practice driver simulations.
Ashley stated the largest factor for him was the time spent with Austin. “I spent a little bit of time with my dad on the trains once I was youthful so it brings again reminiscences for me.” For his son it’s “the joy of the journey”.
Additionally they made pals with different dads and their boys who love trains, and had made plans to satisfy up with them in York.
Inevitably, the problem meant father and son spent lots of time away from dwelling, on trains, however Ashley stated he was lucky: “I’ve acquired a really affected person spouse who doesn’t thoughts.”
“We’ve made pals alongside the way in which. It’s given us an excuse to satisfy up with household who dwell in numerous components of the nation and it’s nice for Austin. It’s nice to see his confidence develop.”
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