An achievement for a lot of seven-year-olds in 2024 might have been riding a bike without stabilisers or tying their own shoelaces, but for one boy it was visiting every city in England with his dad by train.
Austin, seven, and his father, Ashley, “about 37”, began their quest by visiting Brighton in January and completed it with a trip to Ely three days before Christmas.
They visited all 55 English cities over the course of the year, travelling as far north as Carlisle and as far west as Truro. York, for the father and son from Felixstowe, Suffolk, was a particular favourite.
Ashley told BBC Radio Suffolk that his son had loved trains since the age of two.
They had been having days out on trains for a couple of years and in 2023 Ashley worked out they must have visited about 25 English cities.
He told his son this fact and Austin replied: “‘Well how many are there?’ I looked it up and there were 55 and he said: ‘Well, we should visit them all!’ So I thought … ‘OK, why not?’ I had a look, did some planning and thought this might be possible and then there was no going back. We got started.”
They had to negotiate bad weather and intermittent industrial action, and Ashley said there were times when he thought they had bitten off more than they could chew. But they managed it, he said with pride.
Incredibly, they were only once the victims of train delays. “It was the luck of the draw really, we were only significantly late on one train,” Ashley said.
During their trip the pair also visited depots and had a go at train driver simulations.
Ashley said the biggest thing for him was the time spent with Austin. “I spent a bit of time with my dad on the trains when I was younger so it brings back memories for me.” For his son it’s “the excitement of the adventure”.
They also made friends with other dads and their boys who love trains, and had made plans to meet up with them in York.
Inevitably, the challenge meant father and son spent a lot of time away from home, on trains, but Ashley said he was fortunate: “I’ve got a very patient wife who doesn’t mind.”
“We’ve made friends along the way. It’s given us an excuse to meet up with family who live in different parts of the country and it’s great for Austin. It’s great to see his confidence grow.”
