In message , at 08:50:37 on Tue, 15 Sep
2015, Someone Somewhere remarked:

I've given up counting the number of times I've got on a FGW train at
Paddington on a full price walk up fare to be greeted by a sea of
fluttering reservation tickets that are rarely taken up

That's because most online booking sites seduce people into making a
seat reservation for walk-up tickets, and when their plans change
there's no mechanism to cancel the reservation (not that most people
would bother anyway).

leaving me scrabbling to find a seat.

Look at the tickets - they won't all be for journeys starting at
Paddington. Or just grab any seat and be prepared to move if asked.
--
Roland Perry