31st January – 3rd February Trips
After the Thursday was spent collecting my car from the garage where it had been fixed up following a nasty oil leak which involved needing a new cam belt, I was back out exploring.
31st January – Westerleigh to Bristol Walk
Back in 2022, I walked the old Midland railway path from Bristol towards Bath, now turned into a mixed used path, however I still had to cover the section of path from the junction station at Mangotsfield towards Westerleigh, with the section from Westerleigh to Yate still in use as a freight terminal. I had a couple of options to reach the starting point in Westerleigh, either using a bus (either the hourly 525 from Yate to Emersons Green or the infrequent 620 from Bath towards Stroud) or to walk the first section from Yate, I decided to walk considering connections to the 525 weren't the best.
Anyhow the day began with 15888 & 159012 on the 09:07 from Grateley to take me towards Warminster with 159012 detaching at Salisbury, a short wait at Warminster before 166206 rolled in on a Gloucester service which started at Warminster (all the better to grab a decent seat in the former 1st class area). This wasn’t the quickest as it dwelled at Bristol Temple Meads for around 20 minutes but eventually took me to Yate where my walk began.
The first section was along a slightly muddy footpath along the side of Yate Common before joining the northern end of a disused dual carriageway. The so called "Road to Nowhere" was built in the 1970s for a Yate bypass but costs spiralled and the project was ditched (now sees a second life as a filming location). I will admit it felt strange walking in the middle of a dual carriageway, just one of those weird senses.
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A disused dual carriageway in Yate |
This road ended at Westerleigh Road on the south western corner of Yate with a short walk underneath the railway where I had the option of a footpath or risk walking along a road which lacks a pavement. In hindsight I should have risked it as the footpath turned out to be quite muddy near some fields, although it did involve a bridge underneath the main railway (plus a bridge at the start under the freight line). Thankfully I soon reached solid ground near Westerleigh itself and a shared used path towards the main road where the main railway line path began.
The first section (after crossing the freight line on a foot crossing) ran close to the freight line leading towards the M4 where the freight terminal ended and path moved onto the route of the old railway as I headed towards Bristol via the former Brandy Bottom Colliery (with some old history boards with the former buildings). The old railway line path came to a brief end where it meets the Bristol Ring Road (which was built on the route of the old railway in places), with a shared used path running alongside the dual carriageway for a short section before heading away and towards the former Mangotsfield Station.
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Yate - Bristol Cycle Path along route of former Midland railway line near Emersons Green |
I had a couple of options here, either call it a day and find a bus stop for what seemed to be a slow bus going round the houses to reach the city centre or to carry on the path I've already walked. My decision was made when I remembered when I did this path there was a short section which was closed for rebuilding forcing a divert via housing estates. My walk continued towards Staple Hill and the tunnel (and old platform) then towards Fishponds & Lawrence Hill. A busy path with other walkers, cyclists plus runners.
After Lawrence Hill the path has a gap (I presume from the days there used to be a waste terminal which used the old track, maybe one day the gap will be plugged since that waste terminal is long gone). I put on an extra bit of speed on the roads before re-joining the path for the final section across the Floating Harbour channel and to Bristol Temple Meads where I just about made it onto 165102 on a Westbury stopper (and even got a seat in the former 1st class area). This 165 took me to Westbury where I had a short wait before 159008 rolled in from Yeovil Junction to take me to Salisbury where I popped out of the station to grab some supplies from the supermarket before returning to take 159007 & 158884 to Grateley.
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59205 passing Westbury Station |
A mostly enjoyable walk in Bristol, another walk I can take off my list, a good way to end January.
1st February - Sirhowy Valley & Taff Extension Walk
This is a walk which has been on my (large) list of things to do in South Wales for a while, although a couple times I had it pencilled in has been changed due to bad weather but today the forecast was looking promising. I booked accommodation near Dingle Road in Penarth which was quite reasonably priced for being close to Cardiff city centre. Anyhow the day began with 159008 on the first train from Grateley to take me to Basingstoke where I had a short wait before 165117 took me to Reading, where I discovered there was a new Sainsburys Local located a stones throw from the station entrance (which I suspect will come in handy for times where I've got time but not enough time to reach Tesco).
After returning to the station it was onto a quiet 800033 on a Carmarthen service (giving me an idea in how to do the disused railway walk from Llanelli to Crosshands involving a bus from Carmarthen, but something for the summer when days are longer). I settled down for an uneventful trip to Cardiff Central where I had a short wait before boarding 197115 on platform 0 on a Maesteg - Ebbw Vale service, grabbing a seat in the standard premium section of the train which was quiet. This service took me to Crosskeys where after a photo of the train my walk began.
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197115 departing Crosskeys station |
The first section was along roads to reach the start of the Sirhowy Valley Country Park, running alongside the Sirhowy River before climbing a steep hill to reach the car park. This was an old railway route which used to run between Nantybwch via Blackwood towards Risca, two sections seem to be walkable. Between Holly Bush & Blackwood plus the section I was on towards the settlement of Pontllanfraith where it had a junction up with the Taff Vale Extension Railway.
Back to Crosskeys as the path quality was quite good and views of woodland beautiful as the railway path ran along the "wrong" side of the river to serve Wattsville Cwmfelinfach, running close to Ynysddu & Wyllie before terminating at Gelligroes. The next section wasn't much fun as it ran alongside the A472 dual carriageway towards Maesycwmmer before the old railway line path resumed, now onto the remains of the Taff Vale Extension Railway, crossing close to Hengoed station on the Hengoed viaduct. The next section I had walked as a time wasting move when the 769s were operating in Wales so it was nice to come back to it.
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Sirhowy Valley Country Park Trail (former railway line) between Wattsville & Cwmfelinfach |
I had a little detour from the Taff Vale Extension line to walk part of the former Penallta Colliery Branch before doubling back on myself to carry on towards Tredomen and towards Parc Penallta. This was now part of cycle route 47 rather than old railway (as the tracks still exist as they served the former Cwmbargoed colliery). I will come back for a bigger explore of the large Parc Penallta site. After the mixed used path left Parc Penallta, it ran alongside the freight line towards Nelson & Trelewis. After Trelewis I crossed over the Taff Bargoed River towards Treharris, visiting a Co-Op for some more drink before dropping down a steep hill (one which multiple switch-backs) dropping to the River Taff and the Tram Road Side with a final dash near the end to reach the rebuilt Quakers Yard station (complete with new passing loop & second platform)
An enjoyable walk, mix of scenery and mostly a decent quality surface for the winter time. But it was now time to play with some trains, as since my last visit to South Wales, the 756s had started to be introduced on the Valley lines, working as “Tri-Mode” trains being powered by the new overhead wires plus diesel & battery power on the sections deemed too hard to wire up. First up was a trip to Merthyr Vale on 150282, returning south with a busy 150251 to Abercynon where I met up with my good friend Jules whom was out on a day trip to Cardiff. It wasn’t long before my first 756 rolled in with 756105 on the next Merthyr Tydfil service. Similar to the Greater Anglia Flirts, it was low floor and quiet.
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150282 arriving at Quakers Yard Station |
We remained on board the 756 during the turnaround at Merthyr Tydfil (scoring the new loop between Pentre-Bach & Merthyr Tydfil) and bailing at Abercynon for a short wait before winner 756111 rolled in on the service from Aberdare to take us to Cardiff Central, going via the city line (via Ninian Park). Due to engineering works Cardiff Queen Street was closed so everything was turning back at Cardiff Central. We headed towards platform 4 to board dud 197045 & winner 197028 on the next service towards Swansea, taking this pair of units to Bridgend turning down a 2-coach unit on a stopper from Swansea which did clear the platform at Bridgend for 197009 & 197111 to roll in from the Swansea direction to take us back to Cardiff Central.
Next up was a trip to Cogan (for me, Jules remained on board to Barry Island) on 150260 & 150262 where I had a walk up the hill towards my accommodation, located pretty much outside Dingle Road, a station which today was lacking trains. After checking into the guest house, I returned towards Cogan jumping onto 153922 & 150252 for a little time wasting spin to Cadoxton to meet up with Jules on 231004 for the run back to Cardiff Central, where we exited the station to grab some dinner items from Tesco.
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756105 at Merthyr Tydfil Station |
Lady luck was on my side today as when I looked earlier in the day 197123 was showing as staying in North Wales all day on Manchester – Llandudno services but it escaped Chester and made it on a service to Cardiff and was on the next departure towards Manchester allowing me to get it into my little book with a run to Newport, saying farewell to Jules who was hiding in the front of the train on the posh seats (which was a lot quieter than the rear coach!)
I had around 20 minutes to wait before winner 197126 rolled in from the Shrewsbury direction on the first day of service for this particular 3 coach unit (and my last 3 coach 197) to take me back to Cardiff Central where I made a tight connection to 153922 & 150252 on the next Barry Island train, which I decided to take to Barry Island (for the novelty of having a 153 to Barry Island). I remained on board to take the same pair of units back to Cogan, where I had a gentle stroll (up the hill) to my accommodation near Dingle Road station. Certainly, a place I would use again if the price was right, not perfect (the window blind didn’t want to stay fully down) but the room was quiet and had a comfy bed.
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Entrance to Dingle Park, Penarth |
2nd February – Exploring Hereford
A quieter day compared to the last couple of days with a later start, I was toying with walking towards Cogan to head towards Bridgend had that service been a 153 but that was a 150 so after checking out of the guest house, I headed towards the centre of Penarth passing many shops before reaching the station (this was more a time wasting move) for the first train towards Cardiff, formed of 231004 for the quiet journey to Cardiff Central, which was in a bit of a pickle due to a points failure near Swansea delaying services from the Swansea direction. Quite a few announcements for passengers wanting London to catch a service to Bath and change at Bristol Temple Meads.
Eventually 197103 made it through the chaos to attach to 197043 which was waiting on platform 2, it’s interesting to see how different TOCs cope with train attachments, some will attach first before releasing the doors. Others will release the doors first before closing the doors to allow the attachment to take place before re-releasing the doors. Anyhow eventually the train departed around 25 minutes late, but the front coach of 197043 was nice and quiet to enjoy the scenery for the run to Hereford where I was met at the station by Jules who was giving me a little guided tour of a couple old railways in the city.
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Platform at Penarth Station |
The first section was a walk towards the Widemarsh area of the city and the disused freight line which formally served a chicken factory, doing a little loop before heading towards the "Great Western Way" path which made use of the former GWR route which served Hereford Barton station. Once away from the urban area where parts of the line has been lost for modern developments, the route crossed the River Wye heading towards the Belmont part of the city.
This was a busy path with other cyclists, dog walkers & joggers and came out in some green space near the southern end, the cycle path moving away from the original route of railway to finish near Grafton. Along the way we saw a triple 158 leading a pair of 153s on an ECS service towards Cardiff. We doubled back on ourselves heading back towards the River Wye, before heading towards the city centre via the riverside path towards Bishops Meadow and the cathedral.
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Hereford Cathedral |
After a visit to Morrisons I headed back to the station to board 802114 on the next London Paddington service, taking a seat in the rearmost coach (which only opened at Worcester Shrub Hill & Worcestershire Parkway) so it was nice and quiet until Oxford where it did fill up (hitting Oxford around the time when all the day trippers start heading home). The train did loss around 10 minutes along the way cutting my connection at Reading down to 5 minutes so I was thankful to have grabbed supplies in Hereford for dinner before transferring to 158881 & 158880 on a Reading - Salisbury service to take me to Grateley to end this little weekend getaway in South Wales (even if I didn't spend much time in South Wales on the Sunday). There is another short old railway line path in Hereford on my list to do, but that is a job for the summer so I can include more of the River Wye path on the section which gets a bit muddy this time of year.
3rd February – River Cole Valley Path in Birmingham
Today was a walk which had been on my list for a while in the West Midlands, one which didn’t involve an old railway line nor a canal, but a path from the Marston Green area which was labelled as the River Cole Greenway, one of those urban paths which looked interesting. Anyhow the day began with 159006 & 158884 to London Waterloo with a gentle stroll to Euston to board 390104 on a Birmingham New Street service which was first stop Coventry. At Birmingham New Street I exited the station for a tram hunt (something which will be easier to do when it’s pay on board rather than buy before you board which is coming soon judging by the posters).
I ended up at Bull Street, and got lucky with winner tram 52 to take me to Soho Benson Road, along the way passing a sub mile tram, so I headed back towards the city centre on tram 41 to Five Ways for a short wait before sub mile tram 33 came back with the next Wolverhampton service. I prefer the seats on the newer trams as they are far more comfortable than the seats on the original batch of CAF trams. I took this tram to Bull Street to push it over a mile, walking back towards New Street station via Tesco for a lunch supply raid.
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West Midland Metro Tram 52 at Soho Benson Road |
221141 & 220015 took me (and Jules) to Birmingham International where we transferred to 730029 on the next Rugeley Trent Valley service to take it one stop to Marston Green where the walk began.
We exited the station heading towards the airport viewing area but before reaching that spot we turned right onto a path which follows the Hatchford Brook which turned into the Kingshurst Brook a short time later. This path let us towards Chelmsley Wood (and a massive Asda) and to Meriden Park where the brook met the River Cole. Ditching a plan to do a loop due to the path conditions looking muddy, we picked up the path on the south side of the River Cole (this is a section where there was a path on both the north & south sides), now into the Kingfisher Country Park.
The path quality was mostly decent, a couple parts were a bit rougher but nothing bad. I guess in hindsight we should have done the north bank as that passes the Babbs Mill Lake, but it was hard to picture this area being close to Birmingham city centre as it was quite peaceful (other than the passing planes coming into land at the airport). The walk continued in the green space staying close to the river but never too close for the path to be in danger of flooding as this was part of cycle network 53 (The Cole Valley Route as signposted). Originally, we were going to continue all the way towards Yardley Wood, but when we reached the Stechford area (and had lunch) we called it a day. The next section could wait for another trip but it was better than expected.
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Meriden Park, Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham |
We headed to Stechford station and boarded 730009 for the run to Birmingham New Street, jumping onto a busy 730022 on a Wolverhampton stopper to Smethwick Galton Bridge before 172212 & 172333 for the tiny distance to The Hawthorns for a spot of tram hunting. Sadly, neither of our requirements were out so we called it quits and headed to Moor Street on 172003 & 172340 parting ways as I headed to Coventry on 390044 as I heard a required 196 was out on Leamington – Nuneaton services but didn’t know which one it was. 196006 was the first I spotted heading towards Nuneaton before winner 196005 rolled in on the Leamington Spa service, which is a good thing as it means I’ve cleared Coventry to Kenilworth for 196 coverage.
After popping out of the station at Leamington Spa to visit the nearby Morrisons (a store I hadn’t been to in years), I took the same 196 back to Coventry to get it cleared for 10 miles before boarding a busy 390010 to Birmingham New Street for a final meet up with Jules whom had been out 730 hunting. I hung back to ID the 196 coming into New Street from the depot in case it was a pair of 2 coach units, but it was a 4-coach unit. I suspect 196007 will simply have to wait until it’s operating on Oxford – Milton Keynes services along with 010 unless it randomly pops up when I’m in Birmingham in a couple weeks’ time.
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196005 at Leamington Spa Station |
My time in the West Midlands was at an end as I took 390006 for the run to London, thankfully getting a decent table in coach C (generally if I haven’t got a seat reservation, I will aim for the 11 coach sets as they have more unreserved seats for longer journeys). This lost time heading towards London so I played it safe and used the Northern line (sets 51547 & 51548 which were a bonus sub mile 95 stock pair) to Waterloo before boarding 159022 & 159010 on a service back to Grateley, having a gentle walk home to get my rucksack ready for another adventure with mum involving Manchester.
Summary of 4th Feb – 8th Feb
A couple of novelty services in the Manchester area with a TPE 397 on a Manchester – Preston service which was booked to go via Wigan, returning on a pair of 323s on the same route. The Saturday the weather was a bit rubbish at times, but I managed to walk the Belmont Railway path in North London which turned out to be a muddy mess of an overgrown path, not one I would recommend (Harrow & Wealdstone – Belmont). With a good Piccadilly line hunt afterwards. But sadly, all things come to an end and my time off work ended with going back to the work on the 9th February. Anyhow more photos can be found on my Flickr account Here, I shall leave you with a photo of a Sheffield tram:
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Sheffield Supertram 122 near Station |