I’m excited, very excited.

It’s my first overnight stay and my first rail trip for 16 months.

I’m going from Eastbourne in East Sussex to Weymouth in Dorset via Brighton and Southampton.

Departure from Eastbourne

I arrive in plenty of time for my train. I buy a coffee and croissant at the lovely independent cafe Bella’s on Eastbourne station.

I struggle to the ticket barrier trying to juggle my luggage, rucksack, coffee and croissant. The Southern Railway barrier staff take pity on me and, after showing them my ticket, they open the barrier to let me through.

I walk round to Platform 3 and wait on the platform. A seagull eyes up my croissant.

It starts to make a move towards me. I’m not going to lose my food to a bird so I open my rucksack and hide the croissant inside away from prying eyes and eager beaks.

Just in time to see the train arrive before it heads out again.

I’ve travelled the first part of the route before and so I am angling for a seat on the left-hand side as the train leaves Eastbourne in the opposite direction for glorious views of the countryside. But the train started in Hastings and is already fairly full.

Most of the seats on the left are already taken so, in order to maintain social distancing, I take a seat on the right and hide my disappointment (not that anyone could have seen my disappointment since it was well hidden behind my face covering).

Leg 1: Eastbourne to Brighton

Journey time: 41 minutes, 8 stops

My original plan was to have plenty of time to sort out my luggage and get comfortable in my seat in order to line up my phone at the window and take a timelapse video of the departure from Eastbourne station.

But that damned seagull and the croissant concealment, combined with the stress of seat selection, distracted me and I remembered at the last minute as the train was setting off. By the time I’d got my phone out and started recording, all I got was a section of fencing and the start of the on-board announcement saying “Welcome to the …”

I resolve to make sure I timelapse the next leg of the journey with the departure from Brighton station en route to Southampton.

But I’m jumping ahead.

The line from Eastbourne to Lewes contains some wonderful views out the window.

There are lots of scenic rail journeys in the UK. And I love those parts of the network which are designed to make everyone look up from whatever they’re doing and gaze out the window.

The section around Berwick and Glynde has one of those “look up” landscapes.

And this was the view from my seat on the right-hand side of the train. So maybe I chose right after all. And yes, this is through a train window.

Beyond Glynde, the tracks cross the River Ouse and there are the first glimpses of the chalk downs on the outskirts of Lewes.

The track curves into Lewes station with its five platforms taking passengers north towards London as well as east and west along the Sussex coast.

And what a beautifully maintained station it is. The good fortune of sitting on the right enabled me to admire the planted tubs at platform level which are the result of a partnership between local businesses and volunteers.

I sipped my coffee and tucked into my croissant as the train journeyed on through Falmer on its way to Brighton. The “look up” moment on this stretch is the last few hundred metres as the track curves round over a viaduct between London Road Brighton station and Brighton station.

For the best views, you really do need to be sitting on the left-hand side of the train. Although, my view from the other side of the aisle gave me the chance to have a wider perspective on the scene.

The train arrived on Platform 7 at Brighton station right on time.

This gave me 10 minutes to walk round to Platform 2 for the next leg of my journey. Plenty of time, you might think. After all, it’s only a hop, skip and a jump.

But the station concourse was crowded with passengers coming off trains and heading towards the ticket barriers. It was hard to make my way through as I tried to walk at right angles across the flow of people from platform to platform.

But there on Platform 2, waiting for me, was my next train.

(To be continued)