A Cloudy Trip to Ikea

So this was one of those impromptu journeys to make, like I’ve wanted to do this for a while and might be just a gimmick but with one day off, we can finally get time to do this. So here's the vlog for it. Especially for £9.30 with the railcard discount, it works for a cheap-ish day out.

The recent week

With the amount of work that’s gone on, this day out was feeling needed, sure I can get accounts done and sure there is more paperwork than there already is on the admin side but it may be starting to be less on the urgent repair side to fewer the time to sort out and in this case, it means relax.  But with a cancellation due to stock messing me about, I had a chance to go back to where home used to be and it changed from the field I used to walk Rosie in, As it went, just concrete and brick building from the Vistry group grabbing their hands on Tavi, Yes this has been going on with some of the estate firms under the one group. But after a visit there and sighing, it was time to cycle slowly or take my time to go home.  

The Selfie where the field used to be 

Then it was time to get changed and relax which even by then was about 8 pm, there was nothing at the food fridge to grab, that was fine, So I continued my way  I greeted my parents and we had a nice Tesco meal deal fakeaway which did quite nicely. This was Thai curry with Sweet N sour and rice and spring rolls, this was while watching Dolittle and Fisherman's Friends treat sequel which just has its moments. 

The Fakeaway with sweet n sour chicken, chicken curry, salad, tiger bread, crisps, chips and burger sauce 

The rest of the night was pretty much me doom scrolling but I did get a match on a hinge with a soft-sized cutie from Bristol, there might be a thing going on with a girl from the somerset way which is a hopeful sign of something new to come, but like this other girl I was flirting with from Exeter, it was going to feel a one-sided affair pretty quickly, like no reply one day after follow me on an odd name on the account. But then it led to midnight and it was time to get the surface in the tablet holder for some CTR and then relaxation before crashing out at about 1 am. 

The Morning:

I had my eyes wake up about the 7 am mark with the night becoming lighter since now it is the past summer solstice, so that is going to feel a shame but better than last year of caining it running home from Bere Alston due to training strikes back then. 

After the usual fap, it was time to get up and have a shave at about the 9:15 am mark, with a nice hot kettle and some charcoal gel on the face wash, it was nice to feel that refreshment. But then it was being indecisive. But the foggy weather was clearing up at home, Sure parents had chores to do but it was time to get something done and this was the best way. But the mast was having slow issues so Band 20 meant no signal or hardly any which meant I could not book the journey to Newcourt which was the closest station near ikea.  

After rushing it though, I got ready and then headed off, with a plug I know I should have not taken since it was not going to be powerful enough for the day at hand. But I got on and then found a table before plugging in and attempting to buy the ticket on the station wifi, but for some reason, Sky wifi passwords are a pain, though I’ve used it back when it was called “The Cloud”. 

The Journey There 

So I got one and then the conductor thought I said Newport not Newcourt but managed to make sure which one, But was £14.10 but then used the railcard and scanned it, so £9.30 was paid and then it was £10.40 given, so £1.10 change was fine. The only issue was the Charger was not pushing enough juice to the Surface. So it was bordering. I then started to copy some files from the phone across. GB Since the footage from the ugreen was 8GB and only 7GB free left.  But I started filming once passing towards Bere Alston but it was quite loud for the clacks more than usual.

The view looking towards Saltash

A Closer Part of the tamar bridge

But then it was getting busier with kids as it was getting towards St Bueadoux and the fog was getting worse by the time it was getting to Keyham, I was planning out the next part of the journey and it was going to be the 11:15 to Paddington. Then it was the 10-minute + wait, it was close to being delayed but it was its moments of this one being on time for a change. 

A Selfie while waiting for the train 

I went to the toilet which was quite easy and then waited on the seat which the train arrived around 10 past 11. It was about 3 minutes to find a seat facing forward but that was not the case, this train was HECTIC. So eventually 1 minute earlier, on coach D on the rear set of the train, it was us off to Exeter. It was a quick start but much quieter in terms of rail power. Then the journey began and the Charger was actually pushing the battery to the surface for most of the way until I used wifi which drained it a bit more.  But it was passing landmarks quite quickly and minus kids crying, it was peaceful and felt nice to get this typing up for at least the majority of it.  Plus the views on the coast when getting towards Dawlish are always lovely means it feels a different part of the country when it's across the moors sometimes, in both looks and culture. 

The train was just leaving Plymouth

Passing stations 

The east devon coast is upon us 

Starcross with Exmouth on the other side 

But the issue was the train to Exmouth was 1 minute after the train departed or arrived at Exe St David, so it would be that rush with glass to get the train. But my comfy self started to pack things up when getting towards the M5 Bridge and the fog was clearing into just humid clouds, wait I just passed the bridge and still typing this up and the surface shook as it was getting towards the Devon capital. I was heading my way to the exit on the door to speed time up. 

About to get off the platform 

The train arrived at 14 past 12 so it gave like a few minutes to get over the past steps for the platform, which turns out I had plenty of time, well 2 minutes, running across the platform for like 1 minute 20 was not half bad, then it was another smaller commuter train to get to Newcourt, I got the table then it was 12:16 and it was off. 

Then it was a quiet ride, with a short tunnel to Exeter Central, then it was getting the ticket shown, which it was only 10 minutes from Central to get to Newcourt, So that was not bad. But it was soon getting to the final stop before we got back on, which in itself was only a 2-minute wait, So by 12:30 I was packing up and ready to get off to walk my way for the main journey, across the A30 and seeing the east devon valley 

Arriving at newcourt 

The view of the M5 and the valley 

Seeing industrial complexes 

 The Ikea Experience 

The walk there:

Well, it has to start somewhere and to be honest it comes to its fun bit of magic which was how to get there, which was not as bad a journey as I thought previously.  As I got glass on then to find my way which originally WAS meant to be just go in a straight road then I’ll get there, I saw a playpark just outside the station which in itself was nice and for a change it was going to be its charm, so I got on one of those zip wire and then went on it a couple of times since I had some time to kill. 

Then I made my way and it felt very new how the estate looked, which was in its sandstone colour style buildings and also the posh roads and nice random names for the streets, but then I found the road and stuck to it which in the short distance, was the building for the actual ikea itself and it does have a mammoth appeal to it. The blue and yellow was a very apparent theme. 

The road and the clean style of the estate

As I walked down IKEA Way (Literally the street name) it was like a small slope before heading to the roundabout to then being the plane. But then it was facing the front and the yellow was very vibrant on the front of the building. 

The Sign an d opening hours #throughglass

The Main part of the logo 

The look toward the roundabout and the car park to the left

The start of the tour:

As I breathed myself and took a walk in, it was first with the turnstiles, which then had escalators and the guide was to go up to the top which I did, especially as I needed to go for a toilet as well, so I got up there and nearly got lost in the restaurant which was HEAVING on both sides of the queues, so that was to be avoided when I was finished with the toilet. The toilets itself was nice BUT the key was having to wait for a cubicle to be free, but I was lucky enough that the urinal was not too bad. Once that was done it was time to look at the showroom. 

The Showrooms 

I explored the first part which was the living room spaces and it was very vibrant in different aspects for the ones of some comfort, but it was one of the rooms which was nice with the desk and the records, the paint was a nice sea dark blue. It also felt more of an attraction than an actual store to be honest. But I continued and it was getting to the kitchen and the signs were clear of where you were for each part, well a red square. 

The sign to find where you are on your journey of house decoration

As I continued, it was coming to the kitchen side and some of it was nice, I did plan out to get some of those almond biscuits to start with and there were some little other gimmicks such as an ice cream scooper for like £1 which is ideal for the time of the heat and summer, the one with the scooper, the scooper was a nice silicone but there was a metal option with a lip to lift it to make it proper balls but last I used the steel ones, it was bending very easily.  Then I saw this kitchen which was amazing compact and had its like-face balcony vibe it looked amazing modern for a flat in the city or if lucky one with a good view, but the city appeal would be more for it. 

I carried on and it was then coming to the workspaces and boy there were some interesting choices, the vast range of them looked nice and finally I saw the ASUS ROG x Ikea collaboration to hand with the mouse pad, the bungees and even the pillow for like £29 to have the rog style on the laptops on a pillow is a bit steep but other pillows and cushions were going to nicer prices. The gaming style one was lovely with the pegboard and cabinets, it does give a collectors warehouse style and if I get lucky enough to organise, I would think of that if I get to the studio design options for sure. 

The Kids with other families were fascinated with the other style rooms like a plant ailment style room, plus a girl pink room with influencers on display with it. The nursey parts did have charm for those that need it but a long way for me at the rate things might seem to appear, then it was getting to it the parts of the curtains and the rugs which was soon to be the next floor down. 

The range of rugs for the rooms 

Then Market stall is called 

But then it was going to be the second part of it which was the middle floor, this had more of a department store feel, which came to the first bits of logging and household bits, which the first port of call were candles, so I sniffed some. £1 each for each. There were 3 flavours 

• Milk

• Fresh grass

• Cinnamon

I liked the fresh grass, and the milk had a sweet vibe to it which was nice but the cinnamon was really strong which put me off, but for like £1 was hardly worth saying no to.  Plus there was an Ice cream scooper for £1 too . Also i went for a big candle of lavender for £3 too 

The big pots of candles for like £3 a jar 

The it was coming to the lighting and I kid you not getting an RGB USB LED strip for like £7 is a right bargain, to be honest, there was plugs for like £5, but it was only when I turned around like USB C and micro usb cables like £1 each and  USB C to A for £1.50 each. So really I had to grab it, looked much better quality than Poundland which even has a similar pricing point. So in the end that was added in. Even if it's just left in the rucksack, it becomes handy.  Plus loads of display and art frames you could purchase as well. 

The little cute frames 

A load of frames to choose from

I then continued and it was leading to more of the storage units and office bits, so where you have laptop stands and also cushions too,  but I passed that bit to lead to actually what becomes the inside garden, with literally plastic plants, it looked lovely and reminded me of someone special who we reached out in touch again via Facebook. But it was a vast reminder of how in some cities plants are not as easy to come by compared to where I am. If I do get time for city breaks, I’ll find it out. This then leads to the garden section with some nice furniture ideas and things like the BBQ and the lights to go with it.

A Look back at the market with candles and the mirrors to the left 

Then it was heading to the self-furniture pickup and this was a complete contrast to what I’ve just seen. It was purely like a warehouse and not even something you should be able to visit or more so like a B&Q at the bottom more than a warehouse. It was easily signposted in the final section of the checkouts. 

The look at the self serve section 

Before that check out there was a recycled part on the right side which was good with some bits of reduced to clear part, some interesting bits but not really for me. Then it led to the checkouts and before that were again some more bits which were frozen food counters and other snacks, I saw the meatballs and debated it, like £7.50 for frozen meatballs is a bit steep, but the plant-based ones were under £5 so I ended up going for the plant ones. Daim cake was like £5 which is a no, like lidl is much cheaper for that. 

The frozen section before the checkout 

When it came to checking out, I saw queues but then I heard “Is it less than 15” and I had a weird blip of less than £15 so was a bit hesitant, then I read it and said less than 15 items so I went in and the rep shooed me the till to use. It was card only so that’s fine and I managed to get it checked all out. £21.45 was the total which isn’t too bad for what I got essentially like 3 candles, 2 cables, 1 RGB light and frozen plant meatballs plus £1 chocolate bar. 

The shop total for £21.45

After that was on the lookout for the part of getting some more food bits and was in the queue at the bistro, the hotdogs were ok don’t get me wrong, but they looked too thing and meh for what I; 'm into so I skipped, the meatballs were ok but I wasn’t really hungry. I then walked out and planned my next part of the day, well 2 hours tbh. 

The front of IKEA 

The Afternoon at Central 

So with this part done, there was not much else to look at, I was debating either to £2 bus or just getting the train back to the centre, which since the ticket said one journey only, might get blocked if I took a stop to Exeter central, so I got a single for £2.55 which was easier. Then I ran my way back to Newcourt and just as I got there, the train left, BUT not the train I needed, the train to Exmouth, so I skipped that and then waited for about 10 minutes for the train to arrive. 

The waiting for the next train 

I was snapping with someone at the same time who was feeling a bit in the heat so had that. But then it eventually arrived, which was on its way to Paignton as the route usually goes. So that was that, and a smoother journey led me to get where I needed to be. Plus the surface was charging when it turned off on that plug which means it's not up to the job if it's turned on. But it's 2 x 20W which makes sense in a way. 

Stopping at stations along the way 

Glass and the Surface Charging 

Then it was a smooth ride to Central, I got off and made my way out which then was to explore some places I'd put on a map, well within the time limit for sure. By the time I got there, it was 2:55 or so, and the weather was looking bleak. 

The walk towards the high street 

I walked my way to the high street and itsu was the first port of call, passing streets with Adele cover singers and also the weather was starting to spit. The prices in itsu itself were ok but getting a bit steep but ideal for the seaweed snacks and the sushi bento boxes. After a short look then I walked to John Lewis and looked at the basement where some deals on tech were there. Like the Asus Vivobooks that have been popular in work were there and the laptop didn’t exactly give me the model and neither did the laptop via the Asus app as well. But ah well. 

The walk up the high street 

There were some reduced to clear bits to form the beats side to the other bits, even Xperia and Motorola too. But after that, I was back up the escalators and out of there to have a peek at the next bit, which was this restaurant that was on one of the BBC TV shows the place's name was Eat the Bird which had some fun names, but was pricey for its flavours. A shame but it was also empty on a Sunday afternoon too. 

The walk around the city 

A View past john lewis

Then I walked my way to this oriental store which was just up the road, I walked on the bridge to the carpark in an alleyway where I saw some cute waddles (Most of the day I did see some nice figures in the city compared to Ikea) and then found it was underneath the spiral of the car park. Then I got in and it was small and full of bits to explore for sure, from the sauces, loads of seaweed and bits too. In the end, I went to get some of the seaweed packets for £0.49 each and lovely staff in there too. 

The seaweed snacks for £0.49 each 

Then it started to rain a bit more, as I walked my way to the cathedral via Princesshay, I made my way into the Apple store to have a bit of a peek, which had some iPad airs and also had upstairs the Sandisk iXpand a green lime colour which I’ve never seen before so will indicate what it comes to find if they do exist. But then it was a gentle stroll to see the cathedral and it was starting to rain a bit more spitty. So turned right to head into the shopping centre opposite the high street. 

The view of princesshay

The cathedral 

As I walked there, it was an idea to try to see the too good to go app to see if anything would be there, to my luck,   I would have it, I started Starbucks and went for that in the second choice, Costa was the first but it was ready between 4:30 pm and 5 which the train left at 16:18 which that was going to change as well/.  But I walked into CEX and some  bits in like 1TB Mac SSDs and also some CPUs but nothing fancy, Ridge Racer 6 was not in stock either so I walked out and made my way to the station.  

The journey home 

As I was going to leave,  the train to go from central to St David's left so I had little choice but to run it, I got round on the costa too good to go and went for the Starbucks on and then pelted to run to get there, it was actually like a quick 10 minutes run since of down 1 hill then down a couple of steps to an archway to then get the stories inside the station and waited for it to pick up. 

I showed the rep the order and she told me to wait for a few minutes, the other rep grabbed things from the fridge and gave them to me in the bag. It was originally coming to £28 down to £3.99 which was a bargain, some of it had cheese and some looked like it had cheese but n needed to read the label. I then waited at the platform to wait for the train on the same one I got off the station with on the first part of the journey. I took the lift like I did with the bike since I forgot where the steps were. 

I then gently walked my way to the lift or was starting to panic due to the announcement to ther train that was coming to arrive on platform 4, so I was getting a bit button pressing on the lift to get it down and then it was the case of then the way to find a seat, this time it was not as bad as the previous journey up but I had to go on a different coach. 

The too good to go bundle from Staburcks on the way back

There was a family of kids and a couple in front which were not too bad, and well mannered but some travel jokes here and there plus gossip on the price of Ryanair flights does help itself a lot too. But I was typing this up was a nice way of killing time, especially as having the bacon roll from the too good to go. 

Passing Caravan Parks 

Totness in its odd hippy glory 

After this, it was going to be the nice way to finally get back to the station and the train back home was already there, but it was a good half-hour wait, so it was then time to kill some time and then by 17:30, I was time to go on the train and wait, since now the wifi password I managed to figure out since I had to set up a new account for some reason. It was then a text to Mum on WhatsApp before the train left, the sky was getting quite clear so the summer felt like it was here. 

The selfie for the train on the other side 

Resting while trying to setup Station/ Sky Wifi 

The train ride was nice and quiet and let me get more of this typed up, sure there was sending pics or say seeing a pic of magnum sorbet from a London princess but at the end of the day, maybe it might lead somewhere. Eventually, it was 6:30 pm and it was my final goodbye for this day-out vlog.

The train awaitng 

Bere Alston

The viaduct and the murky estuary 

The sky was coming in grey

So that’s about it, enjoy the day and with the summer now in full swing it leads to the coming up of my 15th anniversary, life changed so much in a short amount of time and it has been a hard time to catch up and with things starting to ease off, it means I get the time to do that before it gets hectic again. 

But for now, cool up and we’ll be catching up in July

omracer