Trains: Why a 49-mile journey in Wales takes seven hours

How far could you travel in seven hours?

A flight from the UK could get you all the way to Dubai, and by using the Tube you could go east to west across London seven times.

But for people living in west Wales, travelling between the region's two biggest towns - Carmarthen and Aberystwyth - takes the same amount of time.

So with the Welsh government wanting more people to use greener modes of transport, I wanted to get a taste of what it's like getting around by train as a west Walian for the day.

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Driving by car from Carmarthen directly to Aberystwyth would take only about one hour and 15 minutes, while a bus service takes about two hours and 15 minutes.

But since the railway line between them closed back in 1965, there is no longer a direct rail line.

The Traws Cymru bus that took me from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen

To get from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen down the west coast of Wales by train, I first needed to head over the English border to Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

At 12:30, a Transport for Wales train arrived, and off I went.

Lucy, a very friendly conductor, came to check my ticket and despite having worked the Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury line for three years, said she had never met anyone taking the route I was about to use.

A quick photo from the five minutes I spent enjoying Aberystwyth seafront

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" asked another passenger who overheard our conversation, who introduced herself as Laura Hockenhull-Smith, from Aberystwyth.

She found it "ludicrous" passengers needed to travel all the way into a different country just to get from town to town in another.

In between all the chatting I was doing, I must say, when I did look out of the window, the route was gorgeous.

Rolling hills, coastline, lush green fields dotted with sheep - it really had it all.

I'd quite enjoyed my journey so far up to Shrewsbury, but I didn't know what was coming next

By 2:15pm, I had crossed the border and arrived at Shrewsbury with a 45-minute pit stop to stretch my legs, so I ventured into the historical town to grab a coffee.

I must say, of all the train stations I have seen in my time, Shrewsbury's building has to be right up there.

A slight delay meant I got a bit more time at arguably the world's nicest train station, so I spoke to some more friendly station staff.

"Blimey, you could bike faster," one remarked.

Almost 30 minutes later than planned, my second Transport for Wales train pulled up.

The prospect of another four hours on a train didn't exactly fill me with joy - but to add insult to injury, I could see straight away there was no chance I would get a seat.

Built in 1848, Shrewsbury railway station is a grade II listed building

Luckily, I only spent about 30 minutes on my feet in the end before grabbing myself somewhere to sit for the remaining hours I had to endure.

After six stops in England, Abergavenny saw my return back in Wales with just under three hours to go.

Then, 30 minutes later, I pulled into Newport and a realisation dawned on me.

We would arrive into Cardiff at about 5.30pm - so an already-rammed train was about to get a whole lot busier.

The Welsh capital at rush hour.

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The train was boiling hot, severely overcrowded, and coupled with being surrounded by the glum faces of workers just desperate to get home, I'd already been on trains for five hours.

The two hours from Cardiff to Carmarthen felt like a lifetime.

Gone were the rolling hills and stone cottages, replaced with looming autumn darkness from town to town.

But amid the gloom came a sight to warm my heart.

After a journey that started seven hours earlier, at 7:30pm I finally managed to reach a town just 49 miles from where I started.

The end of a long day - reaching this sign couldn't have come fast enough

Thirty-five stations, a documentary series, half a book and one film later - I was in Carmarthen.

For anyone interested, I could have flown to Dubai from Heathrow about 30 minutes faster.

Mind you, it wouldn't have had the views.

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