I'm going on a train this week. I'm very excited

[GunpowderGelatine]

It sounds pathetic, but we live rurally and seldom take public transport. This week I'm going on a 3 hour train journey for work. I'm very excited to get some peace and quiet from the small children. If you were on a 3 hour train journey what would you do?

Read! I commute by train and I read, read, read

Read, watch a movie on a tablet/laptop - or if me - look at the window and dose/daydream.

Be aware that there may still be small children on the train, or even loud teenagers, don't get too excited.

I have to use them all the time and hate them

when was the last time you used one?

I hope you get lucky and have a nice quiet journey but generally I find people treat train carriages like their front room. So I need good headphones and music to drown out constant munching etc. Don't assume the toilets will be in use/useable either.

Book the quiet coach if you can. If its quiet i read. If its noisy i use audible with headphones or watch netflix.
Take snacks and drinks, the train cart is pricey. Enjoy :)

The last train I went on was Newcastle to Glasgow.
Mid 20' back then (ah!).
A young lad was staring but not in a trying to catch you eye way -
As I got off he had been sketching me!!

Priced a ticket for me +dh to make a £25 fuel each way journey - £125 each!!

Car for me!!

Stare out of the window at the passing scenery and try to spot rabbits, deer and other wildlife. If travelling through built up areas at dusk have a good old nosey in to houses as you pass. I love train travel for this; it's my private meditation time.

I agree, take headphones not earphones, it stops people talking to you. Even if you aren’t listening to anything . I put them on and read a book.

And defo take food and drink, don’t rely on buying anything aboard.

Book a seat in the quiet coach. Three hours will fly by.

Read. Look out of the window - on a three hour journey you must be covering some distance, so there'll be different types of scenery to look at, different types of town to go through. Snooze. Eat snacks and drink tea or coffee.

I enjoy a train journey, especially if it's a route I haven't travelled before. Unless there are noisy people in the carriage, in which I include people talking loudly on the phone.

Take headphones, people talk constantly on the phone very loudly going north from here at least.

Go to the M&S in the train station and get a nice sandwich and crisps

Read

Listen to podcasts

Stare out the window

Enjoy!

@negomi90 I have booked the quiet carriage (would it be a huge faux pas to watch a movie with headphones in still?)

@Grace212 probably about 3 or 4 years!

Love the idea of spotting animals

I always feel to self conscious eating crisps on a train ha, but agree with pp, some lovely food, a good book, I like train travel (if I have a seat..)

I'd have to buy headphones - google tells me Primark do wireless ones for £18

Book a seat if you haven't already.
Take food & drink.
Take wet wipes.

I read or look out of the window especially if the route has interesting geographical features. Usually the person sitting next to me will tell me their life story while I do an imitation of Sybil Fawlty "Oh I knooow"!

Look on amazon, I’m sure you’ll find cheaper and can look at reviews etc!

Book, nice coffee, nice pastry, papers, music. Or just stare out the window. enjoy!

YY to a trip to M&S for your Train Picnic. Plus also podcasts and a good book. And a nice throw to wrap round yourself and have a little nap, too. I always fall asleep on trains.

Also - to ward off potential 'chatters'. Take a big box of tissues, a packet of lockets and some paracetamol and lay them all out on the table in front of you as soon as you board. Guaranteed way to ensure no one sits next to you if at all possible and definitely doesn't engage you in conversation.

Coffee

That’s pretty much it. I like looking out the window.

People watch!

Book the quiet coach if you can. If its quiet i read. If its noisy i use audible with headphones or watch netflix.
Take snacks and drinks, the train cart is pricey. Enjoy :)

^
This

Look out of the window

This was me two weeks ago - I sat and looked out of the window for about an hour just enjoying the novelty of not doing anything.
I shamelessly eavesdropped (angsty teenagers on the way out, middle aged ladies on the return journey).
I did some crocheting and read a book and really enjoyed myself.

Ironically, there was a time when I had to travel long distances by train on a regular basis and by the end I said I never wanted to see a train again but I have to admit a one off was lovely.

I used to have some favourite books for the train journeys when I was in a LDR. Also used to treat myself to some trashy mags.

One tip to avoid chat is a good scary book title, my last one, total of 8 hours on train journey there and back, was about the minds of female serial killers, few strange looks but no one spoke to me. You could read something nicer and just change the book cover.

I enjoy getting on a train to London to see friends there. I always buy a newspaper and a couple of mags. I take a sandwich and a drink from home though, the prices on board are expensive. Enjoy it Op. Take some reading matter and some headphones, listen to music while watching the scenery go by
My best train journey was many years ago just after i got married and my OH had 3 weeks leave, so we decided to backpack our way around Europe on the train, half of the time we had no idea where we were going, we would just look at the info board, decide the name sounded nice and get on the train going to that place. We only came unstuck once, when we got off the train in Finland in what looked to be the middle of an industrial estate and it was the last train. Oh the fun of trying to get comfy on a hard train station bench for the night until the first train came in the morning. Haha.