I had never travelled on so fast a train before.  Its speed was nearer 150mph than 125. It didn’t even slow for the stations, but instead whipped past the platforms  in a terrifying haste.

The train only slowed when it reached the Midlands canal basin. Here TPR had the bright idea of disembarking for a short while so that we could play on the boats that bobbed in the water. GW joined us, tugging his very own dinghy behind him.

We immediately regretted our decision when the train started up again and left us stranded in the canal. There was no way that we could row fast enough to catch up with it, and we were now sure to miss all our appointments in London.