Weekend train travel is something of a lottery. The destination is not as important as the point of departure. My local station, High Wycombe is manned regularly at weekends, but when you try and start your jouney from a village on the Buckinghamsire/Berkshire border, it is a very different prospect. It is also worth noting that the stations are run by two different rail franchises, Chiltern Railways and First Great Western, respectively. With the ticket machine out of order and no human being in the ticket office (the whole office and waiting area was closed off) I had no option but to purchase a Permit to Travel for the princely sum of five pence.