I chose the wrong day to head home from Leeds. The worst gales for 17 years had left a trail of devastation, bringing the country to a standstill. The departure board at Leeds station told the story: trains cancelled or hours late. So when my GNER train left for Doncaster just 10 minutes late yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised. Until we came to a halt after just 10 minutes, on the outskirts of Wakefield.

The train crew were great, taking free tea, coffee and biscuits throughout the carriages. They updated us on what little news there was. Eventually, we headed back to Leeds.

Back at Leeds, the chaos was mounting  – yet the inspectors were still insisting on checking everyone’s tickets, causing yet more problems. I had by this stage decided to book a hotel room, which proved a very smart move.

This morning, trains had started running again to London. I got a train from Leeds to Doncaster and waited for a train that had room for me to get on. The first was packed and on the second there was only room in first class. Needless to say, GNER demanded I pay a supplement, despite the fact their failure to run a service yesterday had cost me over £100 in hotel and meal costs. (I can claim these back from work; many won’t have this luxury.)

I was impressed by the patience and good humour shown by rail staff and passengers alike. A lot of travellers said, "You must have had a nightmare!" to train and station crews. Less impressive was the lack of information available at stations and on trains. At Leeds yesterday afternoon, when I asked about London trains the information man told me there was a service to Doncaster – without adding there were no services south from there. At Wakefield, the train crew said there would be bus services to Doncaster but didn’t mention whether there would be any way of getting further south. The storm caused the railways huge problems but they should have been far better at providing information.

Happily, I got to London far earlier than I had expected, and in comfort – but then I had paid through the nose for the privilege!