Topsham to Melton Mowbray with Cross Country

A cross country journey made mostly with Cross Country Trains. How do these services match up to ones that radiate from London? Twin brother or poor relation? Come along and see how Cross Country performs.
Date of travel: 31-Jan-2022
Route: Topsham (Devon) to Exeter St David's
Exeter St David's to Birmingham New Street
Birmingham New Street to Melton Mowbray
I made this video just to try out how my GoPro Hero8 performs and also give me a chance to muck about with iMovie on the MacBook. Because there's three legs to the journey, I appreciate it is a bit long. In the future I'll be aiming to come in at around 12min for each report. I'm not sure I really have a style yet, so things will change from video to video. We'll just see how it goes!

[@Northerner_Transport_Hub]

An honest, kind, beer-drinking legend of a KZbinr was born.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Aw fanks... ❤️

[@cryzcryz2345]

I finally watched all the episodes on your channel ☺ First as last 😂 Greatings from Hull

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Wow! Well done! Thank you so much for watching them all. That's very impressive 👍 New one out tomorrow 😀

[@transportlegend.shorts]

00:00 - at this moment, a legend was born 🌟

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Aw. How lovely of you to say so. Thank you ❤

[@transportlegend.shorts]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels it’s the truth for sure, I love your content keep up the AMAZING WORK :)

[@kevinellis8869]

Have just come across your channel, really appreciate your relaxed presentation style. Have subscribed and will be working my way through the videos, I've travelled on a fair few of your UK journeys so will be interested in your take on things. Glad you had a double Voyager from Exeter, I used to commute from Attenborough to New Street on a semi regular basis and if a Derby change was needed a seat was a rarity.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Thanks Kevin. I'm getting a big uptick in subs the last few days so "the algorithm" must currently be my friend! I really appreciate your kind words. I'm only 50-odd vids in to this thing so I guess I'm still learning. I have a playlist called "All videos in chronological order" if you want to through the back catalogue in the order I actually took the journeys. Thanks again for subscribing 👍

[@kevinellis8869]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels No problem, I'm using the playlist to work through. Now I'm retired I get chucked out of the house (aka "get out from under foot") once a week during the football season and twice a week in the summer and it's usually a case of "Real Ale and Railways".

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@kevinellis8869 i think you just described my target audience! 🍺

[@colinriley123]

Just re watched this. Brilliant! I note the last time I commented, I got it completely wrong and also said nothing about the video itself. Time to put that right. Visually this is a stunning video; the low shots showing railway insignia on seating, the essay on Melton Mowbray station , right up my street! I also note that the lack of to camera presentations actually facilitates this visual excellence. I enjoy your to camera pieces, and wouldn't want to se them go, but everything comes at a cost! Where did you learn your craft?

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

I need to go back and have another look! Haha! Very good point wrt voice to camera, talking head kinda shots. I agree too many of those burns time when you could be showing something. So good to get the balance right. I often cut away to B-roll to illustrate what I'm saying or just make it less boring for the viewer. Influences? Watching everybody in the genre to try to understand what kind of video i want to see (and hence make). I think GeoffMarshall is still the gold std wrt cinematography. My other most important influence is my son's work. He makes me look like the amateur I am. Check out StormFreerun...

[@colinriley123]

Good driving Or was it good editing?

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Did you mean to comment on the diesel driving experience? If that's the case, then my attempts were definitely improved by the editing. Andy, however, was a natural and was pretty much faultless all day.

[@colinriley123]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels Yes I got muddled. Watching too many of your videos which I am enjoying. I gave a steam locomotive experience day on the Severn Valley Railway as a birthday present to my eldest son, and we were able to accompany him in the trailing coach. Watching your faces brought it all back to me.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

Thanks so much for going through the back catalogue! I'm back in the Czech Republic for next Friday's video, going from Prague to Olomouc on the SuperCity Pendolino.