We're currently experiencing a world where travel is almost non-existent, with government travel guidelines meaning that even those of us that need to use public transport for work are being forced to reconsider how and when we travel. 

However, for those few of us that still need to travel the country by train, social distancing guidelines mean that there will be fewer people to each carriage and that will lead to delays, despite the significantly reduced amount of people travelling to and from work.

With such delays, even a train journey from Hitchin to Cambridge, which might have once taken little more than 30 minutes, could now take up to a few hours or more. So, if you have an incredibly long train commute ahead of you due to COVID-19, you're probably going to have some time to kill and are going to want something to distract you from everything going on around you.

So, without further ado, here are our top ideas for staying safe, entertained and distracted whilst commuting on a train during a lockdown.

Reading - There will never be a proper alternative to disappearing into a good book and with the extra space you'll have around you due to social distancing, you'll finally be able to to do on your train journey without having to awkwardly cramp your shoulders around a tiny paperback

Learn a new skill - So many of us are spending our lockdown time trying to learn how to play an instrument or learn a new language and the great thing about a relatively empty train carriage is that we might just have the room to continue doing so outside the home. Or maybe you can spend your time travelling by train working on that novel you've always said you had in you?

Meditate - You'd be surprised how quickly time can pass when you learn to focus on the here and now and with the extra space you'll have at your disposal, now is the perfect time to learn how to meditate and enjoy all of its health and wellness benefits.

Indulge in entertainment - With your headphones on and your favourite playlist or podcast playing you could quite comfortably sink into yourself and forget about the world around you. Or why not download a new show to binge-watch? With nobody around to look over your shoulder, you could even get away with watching something a little less family-friendly.

Enjoy the view - Finally, with so many of us sequestered in our homes for the foreseeable future, why not take the time to relax and enjoy the view? There can be few things as relaxing as sitting with your face against a windowpane watching the world whizz by. So try to enjoy it. Because we could all do with a little bit more beauty in our lives right now.