Trips in January 2026, Part 1

 Trips in January 2026, Part 1

4th January – Walking in East Devon

With the railway closed in the Basingstoke area, it limited my options for my first day trip of 2026, deciding to head west to walk an old railway line path from Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton.  The day starting with the 08:30 service from Grateley to take me to Exeter Central, where I had time to dash to the Co-Op for some supplies before taking 166220 to Exmouth and a walk to the bus stops on the Parade for a filthy stagecoach bus on a route 157 to Sidmouth, forcing a little rethink as I decided to take the bus to the village of Otterton.

Leaving the bus, I soon picked up national cycle route 2 heading via the village (up a steep hill) and onto a former road (Park Lane) for an enjoyable stroll heading south towards the Otter Estuary giving some nice views of the river and another footpath running alongside the river (ideas for the future).  I reached the end of Park Lane, crossed over the river and departed from the route of the cycle path and onto a footpath which formed part of the long-distance Coastal path, running towards the seafront with some lovely views of the estuary marshlands.  I reached the sea and after a little trip to the mouth of the river I headed along the seafront at Budleigh Salterton, finishing the walk near Cliff Road (maybe one of these days I will return to this area to walk the coastal path all the way towards Exmouth, so much to do, so little time).

Budleigh Salterton Beach.

The next section was via the roads (and a small area called the Green) to head towards Knowle, where I picked up cycle route 2 along the way and headed onto the off-road section on what was called the Budleigh Salterton - Exmouth Greenway, picking up the route of the former railway line for a gentle stroll in the countryside (with some traffic noise at times), heading towards Exmouth.  The next section involved some roads due to the route of the railway being lost under modern developments, before picking up the railway line again to take me towards Rhear Park where I was considering heading towards Lympstone but decided instead to head towards Exmouth station as the clouds were getting darker.  At the station I jumped onto 166218 to take me to Exeter Central where I had a nice connection onto 159101 & 159002 to take me back to Grateley, walking home in the snow.  An enjoyable day of riverside path, a seafront path & a smooth former railway line.

5th January – Avanti via Settle.

The plans I had for the Monday & Tuesday completely changed on the Sunday night due to the forecast of heavy snow, as I was originally going to stay overnight in Chester on the Monday night after doing a walk, doing the novelty of an Avanti service via the S&C line on the Tuesday (heading back to London via Newcastle), even the hotel got changed in the morning from Chester to Birmingham as I decided Birmingham offered more options for the Tuesday than Chester, deciding on the Easy Hotel for less than I had paid for a Travelodge in Chester (making use of paying extra for free cancellation).

Anyhow the overnight trip began with a walk in the snow to Grateley station and onto 158881, 159004 & 159101 for the run into Waterloo, where I had a stroll to Euston (where I made my decision to switch hotels).  Onto the 09:30 service to Preston formed of 390009, after noticing there was no power in coach C I changed to coach D with plenty of options on this lightly loaded Pendo for the run towards Preston, all was going well until it got diverted via Northampton due to another train having issues on the route via Weedon, causing a 20 minute delay, it managed to get back some of the lost time before sitting outside Wigan for nearly 10 minutes for a stopper to depart and reached Preston where thankfully Avanti control had held the connection (I was glad to have grabbed food when in London), and I grabbed a seat on 805009 which eventually departed, thankfully ahead of the Colne stopper and passing the Clitheroe stopper at Blackburn.  A trip looking out of the window at the snow-covered scenery.  The 805 reached Carlisle around 25 minutes late, cutting down time to grab supplies (especially since that handy Tesco near the station closed).

805009 at Carlisle Station

I returned to the station, after visiting Booths and M&S (mmm doughnuts) and grabbed a seat in the driving end coach (aka standard premium due to not having an engine underneath), sitting on the opposite side for the trip back south, daylight giving way near Settle so I spent the rest of the trip watching videos.  The train was delayed on the outskirts of Blackburn for some unexplained reason, which had it following the stopper to Preston.  I think there were a few annoyed passengers when the 805 arrived into Preston for a delay as it attached to another unit as a fast London train pulled out before the doors were released.  Thankfully this didn’t affect me as I was waiting for the via Birmingham service which eventually arrived and departed around 10 minutes late with 390153, losing more time around Crewe to arrive at Birmingham around 25 minutes late.

The temperature had certainly dropped when I got out of the station and made my way to the Easy Hotel to get checked in, well I would have done if I could actually check in as there was nobody at the front desk, with the phone ringing and a crowd building.  Eventually a member of staff did pop up to clear the crowd and I made my way to my room to empty out my rucksack and relaxed.  15 minutes later I headed back out to the freezing cold air, swinging via Tesco for some late evening munchies and onto the 22:00 service to Worcester Shrub Hill, which had winner 196010 leading 196005.  I wasn’t expecting to get 010 until Oxford – Milton Keynes opened up as its one of the half dozen leased to Chiltern rather than West Midlands, but I guess it’s been sub-leased back to the West Midlands until the Oxford – Milton Keynes service start to operate.

196010 at Bromsgrove

I took this 196 to Bromsgrove, changing over to the opposite platform for 196102 back to Birmingham New Street, which even featured a ticket check! (I wonder how many tickets that guard sold).  At Birmingham New Street, my phone was reading minus 5C as I made my way back to the hotel, trying to be careful with ice, and got myself warmed up.  The novelty of Avanti via the S&C line was done as I began to think trying to decide what to do on the Tuesday.

6th January – Walking the snowy Tame 

After a reasonable sleep (could have done with another pillow) I departed from the hotel, grabbing some breakfast from Tim Hortons and headed to the station.  I was still in two minds between heading to Perry Barr or to university for a walk, keeping the snowy conditions in mind (it wasn’t snowing this morning but the ground had snow on it).  Deciding to head to Perry Barr, jumping onto 730031 on the Walsall stopper.

After leaving the station (first time using it since the building was rebuilt for the commonwealth games) and headed towards the large "One Stop" shopping complex, I picked up a path which headed towards the Perry Hall Park and followed the River Tame. I followed this path round the park, going underneath the railway and towards the Hamstead area.  A short section of walking along the roads followed before I picked up a footpath alongside the Tame (being careful with any hilly areas), this led towards the Sandwell Valley area, picking up cycle route 5 near Forge Mill Lake (complete with signs warning that this area was part of the flood plain so to stay out if the lights were flashing).

River Tame in Sandwell Valley, Birmingham

Following the path, now between the River Tame & the Lake, I headed underneath the railway line once more with the path coming to an end in the Newton area.  A short section along a road followed before picking up a path which headed towards the Tame Valley Canal, near to various bridges related to the M5.  I followed the towpath of the snow-covered canal (which did look very pretty) towards Tame Bridge Parkway station where I managed to jump onto 730035 on the next Birmingham International service (I was aiming for the 196 which was following, but it was a bit cold now I had stopped walking).  An enjoyable little stroll, one of those walking ideas which had been on my list for a while, one of these days I might even walk the footpath towards Bescot Stadium, but that will probably be best done in the summer time.

Once I reached Birmingham city centre, grabbing a late lunch & other stuff, I decided on a little time-wasting stroll towards the Jewellery Quarter.  On arrival I took 172345 & 172214 to Moor Street giving me plenty of time to grab a couple of photos of the next Chiltern service.  68013 was on the buffer stop end with DVT 82305 at the London end, as I got a decent seat in for the former 1st class area for a little personal farewell to the Mk3 coaches on Chiltern before they get replaced by the bone shakers.  Always nice to have a nonstop run after Bicester North to London, reminding me of the days when Chiltern offered competition to the WCML with an hourly fast service.

DVT 82305 at Birmingham Moor Street

At Marylebone, the temperature was a lot colder than it was in Birmingham, as I headed to the Bakerloo line for my first spin on the Bakerloo of the year (3262 & 3536) to Waterloo, to finish the trip with 159107, 159017 & 159005 on a train to Grateley, getting home to relax and getting ready for the week ahead.

13th January – An overnight trip to Lincolnshire

The aim for this trip was to do a couple of little novelties which required staying in Lincon overnight, a city which can be quite expensive for accommodation in the tourist season so I was happy to pick up a room above a pub close to the station for £40 (although I completely forgot there was a Travelodge in the city centre).  I had a few ideas for walks in the general area, all depending on the weather (which was quite changeable), with the day starting with the 06:16 from Grateley to Waterloo with 159004 & 159106, followed by a gentle stroll towards Kings Cross where I had a few options as I wanted to be in Lincoln to catch a bus departing at 13:00.

In the end, I decided to give my eyes a break from the red and boarded 802302 on a Hull Trains service to take me to Doncaster (in the rain, where I noticed the Leeds stopper is back to being a 3 coach 331).  After grabbing some supplies from Sainsburys I boarded 170513 on the next Lincoln bound service, going from platform 2 (bringing back memories of how it took me 3 attempts to get this bay platform a few years ago).  I always forget how remote this line gets in places, as it arrived into Lincoln near enough on time, giving me plenty of time to make my way to the bus station for the next P&C Coaches run route 30 to Horncastle via Bardney service to take me to Bardney. Via Washingborough & Heighington with some fast running on the remote countryside section.

170513 at Doncaster

My walk today was part of the former Lincolnshire Loop Line, now branded as the Water-Rail Way.  The first mile was along a farm track (as the route of the railway has been lost), a bit muddy & flooded in places, but thankfully the path did turn into smooth tarmac as it headed towards the former Southrey station site.  The path was running close to the River Witham as I continued towards the former Stixwould station, not the busiest of paths, but was very relaxing with the only sound being aircraft above the clouds.

The walk ended in the Kirkstead area of Woodhall Spa, with the platforms of the former Woodhall Junction station visible but fenced off, beyond this point the railway line disappears into private land with the Water-Rail way using country lanes until the Langrick Bridge area where it goes off-road following the Witham River into Boston itself, a place which at a glance has limited bus services but needs more research.  Anyhow I left the cycle path and headed onto the roads to reach a bus stop for a Brylaine Travel run route B5 service to take me towards Lincoln where darkness had fallen

Remains of platforms at Southrey Station

On arrival at Lincoln, I decided the best thing would be to head to my accommodation, to get myself checked in (although it was self-service check-in with access codes emailed the day before), after going the wrong way via the university campus (I failed to see the path near the railway level crossing on Brayford Wharf, ending up crossing over the railway on a footbridge to find the Swan pub (which google was suggesting is temporary closed), access via a passageway by the side and I found my room with a good view over Brayford Pool.  After dropping off stuff from my rucksack I returned to the outside, heading to the station via a Tesco for some dinner items and onto 170532 on the 17:39 service for Crewe.  When I arrived at the station at 17:35 I was expecting to have to stand (owing to the time of day), but I was completely surprised that the train was barely half full, I even had a private table seat on the slow train to Nottingham, calling at nearly every station.

I will also admit to forgetting about the 810s as my original idea was to head to the tram stop for a short tram hunt, for lack of a better idea, until I noticed on RTT I could get in my first 810 with a run to Loughborough with an outside chance of making a minus 1 connection onto the 2nd diagram.   Anyhow after buying my day return to Loughborough, I took a seat on 810006 for the run to Loughborough, getting lucky with the connection to jump onto 810010 heading back towards Nottingham, where I sat around on the platform to await the arrival of the 20:45 service for Boston, a warm 158864, for a farce to start.

810010 at Nottingham Station

A pair of 3 coach 170s rolled in on platform 1 heading to Norwich, but were having some sort of issue as they just sat on the platform with the signal changing back from green to red to allow some ECS shunts to happen, the Boston train getting delayed in case the Norwich train was ready to depart due to the long signal sections on the line towards Grantham.  15 minutes later the stopper departed (with the Norwich train still sitting on platform 1), calling at a few stations along the way, reversing at Grantham and taking me to Sleaford where I was connecting onto the last train towards Peterborough, which was formed of a refurbished 170, 506.  Quite a decent job with the new seats, carpets etc, the plug socket coming in handy to charge my phone when I was watching videos with the run to Peterborough, going via the dive under.  The next service was one of those novelty trains with the 23:09 service back towards Lincoln, for it used the Sleaford avoiding line (I presume due to the signal box at Sleaford being closed that time of night).  I didn’t need the track as I’ve done it on charter trains and diverted long distance services when the ECML has been closed, but it’s a novelty to do it on an EMR service, to see the calling pattern being Splading then Ruskington.

Anyhow an hour or so later, the 170 arrived in Lincoln after doing the unusual track, the ticket barriers still being in operation was a bit of a surprise (although I suspect more to do with keeping people out of the station than revenue), as I made my way to the pub (going the right way this time!) and relaxed ready for an early start on the Wednesday.

14th January – Walking Peak Rail & Cromford Canal

Today was one of those days where I had a few options in my head, a couple of the rejected options included a walk in Derby from Spondon, walking from Long Eaton into Nottingham via the Trent or even returning to Bardney to finish the old railway path with the 9 and a bit mile into Lincoln alongside the river.  In the end I decided on a trip to Matlock with a couple shorter walks linked by a bus.  Anyhow it was an early start with a walk to the station (via a Tesco for some breakfast items) for the 06:40 service towards Nottingham, a service which continues to St Pancras, as Lincoln gets 2 direct trains a day to St Pancras but with nothing going in the other direction.

222019 eventually rolled in running quite late (the ECS being late from Nottingham, and I will admit to staying in bed until it actually departed as it would seem pointless heading to the station to find the service cancelled.  I got a seat in the rear coach, which was empty until one of the stations after Newark Castle (and was off the platform at all the various stations), the section between Swinderby & Nottingham being new coverage for a 222 (as back in 2019 I managed to do a 222 to Swinderby from Lincoln back when East Midlands Trains had a DMU shortage and used a 222 to cover some Lincoln – Leicester services).  Anyhow back to the present day and I alighted from this 222 at Nottingham, heading towards Tesco to grab some supplies (I would have used the Co-Op but it was cash only and membership discounts weren’t getting applied).

222019 at Lincoln Station

I retuned to the station and onto a busy 170513 to take me towards Matlock (ironically the same unit I had to Matlock last year!), where the first of today’s walk began.  Leaving the station, dodging some icy patches due to the temperature dropping overnight, I joined the Derwent Valley Way path running between the river and the A6 with some nice views of the river before going underneath the A6 as I reached the area of the Matlock Riverside station (Peak Rail), going underneath the railway bridge and up some stairs to reach a permissive path alongside the railway heading towards a cycle path which forms part of the long distance White Peak Loop, alongside the railway.  Quite a busy path with walkers (and a couple of cyclists) with some nice views of the countryside, I would imagine on days where Peak Rail are running steam trains it would make for some good photos.

The path splits away from the railway near Darley Dale, and runs alongside roads towards the station before going via Whitworth Park (once I managed to get the gate open!).  After the park, the path returns to running alongside the railway track as it headed towards their base of operations at Rowsley South, although no real chances of photos due to the path moving away from the tracks to the south of the station area.  I continued along the path as it passed a council depot and moved onto the route of the old railway line (which used to continue towards Buxton, with a short section towards Rowsley itself, the walk ending at a bus stop outside the outlet shopping mall at Peak Village.  (The cycle path continues along the A6 towards Bakewell and the famous Monsal Trail)

Darley Dale Station (Peak Rail)

I didn’t have long to wait for the next High Peak ‘Transpeak’ bus service to take me back towards Matlock, where I stayed on towards Matlock Bath & Cromford, alighting from the bus near High Peak Junction for the second walk was going to be the Cromford Canal.  I previously had walked from High Peak Junction towards the wharf at Cromford last year when I did the High Peak Trail from Parlsey Hay so it made sense to start the walk here, considering the bus stopped there.  The towpath was quite reasonable, a bit muddy in places but overall reasonable as I headed towards Whatstandwell via a short tunnel.  Some nice views along the way as well.  Once more the towpath was quite busy with other walkers enjoying the sunshine (even if it was a tad chilly) and soon I reached Ambergate, staying on the towpath to the end of the canal, the section between Ambergate & Langley Mill being lost to history, although parts of it are still walkable.

Anyhow I reached Ambergate station just as 170532 was rolling in on the next Matlock service, which I took to Matlock to visit the large Sainsburys next to the station, making use of the extended turnaround time the Matlock trains now have compared to before December.  I took the same unit back towards Derby where I changed onto the next London bound service, formed of a shiny 810013 on its first day of service, I found a seat and relaxed with the run towards St Pancras, the train losing time in the Luton area due to a points failure causing some congestion, so it arrived into London around 10 minutes behind schedule.

End of the Cromford Canal, Ambergate

I decided to walk to Waterloo owing to the weather forecast on the Thursday being a bit wet, arriving with time to spare to board the 17:23 service to take me to Grateley, the end of a little overnight trip to Lincolnshire (and Derbyshire), both novelties I wanted to do got done, I’ve made a small dent into the Water-Rail Way path, plus a couple more walks on the Matlock branch line.  The Thursday I had a lazy day at home, only popping to Basingstoke for some shopping before meeting up with a dear friend, I was toying with having a spot of 701 hunting but alas lady luck wasn’t on my side.  Thanks for reading, more photos can be found here, next week hopefully sees a hopeful return to Scotland, weather dependent.

Trips in December 2025

 Trips in December 2025

5th December – Peak Forest Canal & a muddy bypass

The day started with a single 158 on a peak time London service, which being Friday coped with the crowds (would dread to think how busy it would have been on a Wednesday), where I had a little stroll to Euston to jump on 390047 on a Manchester service via Crewe to take me to Stockport as today was the day I was hopefully going to put a large dent in the Peak Forest Canal, I will still have a short section to walk in the Bugsworth Basin area, but I’ve got a plan for that area.  At Stockport I headed to the bus station to jump on the next route 330 service for Ashton which was a busy service, however I couldn’t help thinking that the timings of some of the traffic lights at the end of bus lanes could have been better as it felt like the bus was waiting on the Portwood Roundabout for a fair while.

Anyhow I alighted from the bus at Apethorn Lane on the edge of Hyde, walking the short distance along this lane towards the disused railway path I walked earlier in the year from Godley, and joined the canal where I headed south via the Apethorn Woods towards Woodley.  I continued along the reasonable towpath (bit flooded in places but nothing that serious), going through the tunnel, and skirting round the edge of Romiley.  Urban gave way to rural before a short bypass due to the Hyde Bank tunnel not having a towpath.  I joined the canal the other side of the tunnel, heading towards Marple Aqueduct and started the climb via the Marple Locks towards Marple itself.  The towpath switching sides a couple of times during the climb where I reached the junction with the Macclesfield canal (a job for the spring/summer time due to the towpath being a bit more rural in places).  I left Marple behind and headed into the countryside where the views of the peak district started to appear, until reaching a swing bridge between Marple & Strines where the towpath was closed for winter improvement works.

Peak Forest Canal in Marple

 

I won't repeat what I said as it was a bit rude, as I looked at the map, picking out a couple of footpaths which I was hoping would allow me to get back on the canal the other side of the block, heading towards Turf Lea and a very muddy & flooded footpath via woodlands, where thankfully I was able to re-join the canal to head towards Disley and finishing at New Mills, where I headed to New Mills Central to board 195006 from Sheffield.  I was surprised to get a seat considering this was short formed, however the train did fill up along the way into Manchester, where the rain had returned.  I made a tight connection onto 390016 on the next Euston service, getting a seat in a busy coach C, settling down for the fast run to Euston, where I had a little stroll to Waterloo for a triple 159 to take me back to Grateley.  An enjoyable, if not annoying canal walk, I suspect when the time comes to do Macclesfield to Marple I will extend the walk towards Strines to cover the section I missed.

6th December – Tour of Toton

When I noticed that both Cross Country & East Midlands were diverting via Toton (although at the start it wasn’t XC due to the strike but that got called off) I came up with a rough idea, even trying to fit in a sample of one of the shiny new 810 units from Nottingham.  Anyhow the day began with the first train of the day from Grateley to take me to Waterloo, where I headed to St Pancras via South Eastern & Thameslink to take a seat on 222013 on the Sheffield train, the lack of Derby showing on the departure board looked a tad strange.  Anyways, a couple of hours later I was at Sheffield, felt strange going via the Erewash Valley line without stopping, and I transferred to 150007 on the next Leeds via Moorthorpe stopper to take me to Bolton Upon Dearne for a little stroll.

Today's stroll, in the changeable weather was along the long distance Trans-Pennie Trail, as I headed south from Bolton Upon Dearne to pick up the path near the River Dearne for a stroll towards the Barnburgh Colliery Woodland and onto a footpath alongside the River Dearne to the south of Harlington before picking up the route of the former Dearne Valley Railway line towards Denaby Ings before heading towards Conisbrough where I followed an unofficial path (which was a bit muddy in places) to lead towards the River Don & the Mexborough Low Lock on the Kilnhurst Cut of the River Don Navigation.
I followed the waterway, dodging some of the larger puddles and trying not to slip on mud, as thankfully the towpath did improve as I reached Mexborough, running close to the railway I did have the option to bail at Mexborough station but decided to carry on, crossing the waterway on a bridge alongside the railway and headed onto the roads, as there was no towpath.  I was toying with doing another short section of the towpath in the Swinton area but the timings didn't work out.  Swinton might get 2 trains an hour towards Sheffield, but what doesn't help is they are less than 10 minutes apart.  When I was close to the station, I followed part of the towpath along the disused Dearne and Dove Canal before heading into the centre of Swinton to visit a handy Co-Op for some supplies (and also to waste some time).  After visiting the Co-Op I headed to the station, making use of the toilets within the building before squeezing onto 150008 to take me to Rotherham Central where I managed to see the 2nd of the trams out on the Rotherham route (as I still need one of the 399s for a mile).  After this I caught a busy 150273 into Sheffield, I dread to think how much revenue is disappearing due to overcrowding and the stations being open.

150007 at Swinton (Yorkshire) Station

This is where I noticed there was a few cancellations due to an incident around Kettering, with the next EMR being cancelled, so I jumped onto 220005 & 220016, easily getting a seat near the front of the train for the trip towards Derby via Toton, where I was considering boarding the EMR service which was starting at Derby but it was the time where football fans had arrived, complete with countless police officers so I decided not to bother with the 222 and staying on the voyagers to take me towards Birmingham New Street, where I transferred to 390136 on a service from Scotland to take me to Euston.

On arrival at Euston, I had a gentle stroll across to Waterloo to take a 158+159 combo back home to Grateley, where I dried off and relaxed.  I wasn't planning to do the canal section as my plan was to head towards Doncaster via the Trans-Pennie Trail, but that can be done on another day.  The Sunday was spent in London, hunting down various Piccadilly & District line units for a mile, as I decided to ditch my hotel stay in Torquay due to the weather being a bit rubbish.

8th December – Saying Farwell to the HSTs on GWR

This was a bit of a short notice plan due to ditching my hotel booking in Torquay due to the weather being wet, although even my original plan was thrown in the bin due to the Exeter – Penzance HST getting cancelled due to a train fault.  Anyhow I took a pair of 159s from Grateley towards Exeter St Davids on the 08:31 service, where I made the connection onto a pair of voyagers on the next Plymouth service.  At Plymouth I braved the rain to head to the large Sainsburys for some lunch items before taking a pair of 158s to Truro for a short wait before 43093 & 43198 rolled in on a Plymouth bound service, my last GWR HST service.

43093 arriving into Truro

At Plymouth, I transferred onto 802111 on the next London service to take me to Exeter St Davids where I joined a busy single 159103 on the next Waterloo service, getting very busy at Central due to being college kid time, I took this to Salisbury where I swapped over to another 159 for the run back home to Grateley.  An enjoyable if short day in the wet South West.

16th December – Return to the Tarka

I spent the 15th December in London, with a short walk following the Crane Park from Twickenham towards the Feltham area after roping in another 701 before clearing the active DLR units for a mile (I missed out on one of the older units outright due to being withdrawn before 2014 and one more for a mile as it was an early withdrawal).  Anyhow with the weather being suitable for walking I decided it would be a good chance to return to the Tarka trail, splitting the section from Meeth to Bideford at Great Torrington.

The day started with an early morning drive to Salisbury and onto a pair of 159s to Exeter Central, where they arrived near enough on time allowing me time to dash to the Co-Op outside the station (positioning myself near the front to beat the college students), before walking down the hill to St Davids due to conflicting information regarding bus stops.  I took a seat on the Stagecoach route 5B service which eventually gets to Barnstaple.  This route was quite pleasant for views, even on a grey day.  As it headed away from Exeter, heading towards Crediton (never realised how large the town is), Copplestone, North Tawton, Winkleigh, Dolton and finally Great Torrington where I alighted in the town centre area (as I could have alighted at the former station now a heritage railway)

My walk began heading south towards a steep footpath dropping towards the River Torridge, where I ran into a blocked footpath, forcing a short detour along a slightly muddy path alongside the banks of the river, before picking up the closed Rolle Road towards the railway viaduct over the river, climbing up onto the old trackbed and heading to the site of the station, now home to the short Tarka Valley Railway (complete with pacer rotting away).

Path along Rolle Road in Great Torrington

I continued along the route of the Tarka Trail, as it crossed over the River Torridge a handful of times with signs pointing towards an old canal.  The decent quality path continued running close to the A386 so not the quietest of paths, but still pretty with the woodland as it headed towards Landcross (passing the remains of the Rolle Canal Tide Lock down in the valley).  In Landcross there was a short tunnel before the path breaking away from the main road and crossing the Torridge for one last time on an Iron Viaduct and into the Seven Oaks Nature Reserve.  The walk ended a mile (or so) later at the former Bideford station and I dropped down onto the road to pick up a busy bus on a route 21A service to take me into Barnstaple.

My original idea was to have a little stroll in Barnstaple as there is an old railway line to the east of the station, but as the following train was shown as cancelled, I gave that a miss and headed to the station to jump on 150238 to take me into Exeter St Davids, where I had a stroll towards a nearby Spoons to meet up with Stu for a little catch-up before I returned to the station and onto a pair of 159s to take me back to Salisbury.  Another short section of the Tarka Trail complete, I got lucky as I was originally going to walk from Meeth on the 8th December, but when I joined the old railway at Torrington, I saw a sign saying the path was closed towards Meeth for improvement works.

River Torridge from the Tarka Trail between Landcross & Bideford

17th December – An unexpected stroll on the Capital Ring

Today didn’t get off to a good start, due to signalling issues at Salisbury the 07:27 at Grateley was cancelled (the train ran nonstop Salisbury – Basingstoke) and with the following service being delayed by around 15 minutes I decided to jump on the school kids express to Salisbury (thankfully some of the schools in Salisbury had already finished for the year so I was able to get a seat!)  I made it at Salisbury before the next London train rolled into the station with the announcement that it was only calling at Andover on the way to Waterloo (so getting lucky considering it was freezing cold this morning!).  A busy 3 coach unit, where it felt very strange passing Basingstoke, bringing back memories of the timetable from a few years ago where there was a handful of Waterloo – Salisbury services which were nonstop Clapham to Andover.

Thankfully I made it into Waterloo with time to spare to stroll to Euston to get 730222 into my little book with the run to Watford Junction, however it was running late so the connection with the Southern service was missed (as I was going to take that Southern service to Imperial Wharf for a short section of the Thames Path on the north bank of the river).  For the lack of a better idea, I took the next Overground service (710379) to South Kenton to have a walk on the Capital Ring, something I had been wanting to do more of this year (well 2025) but never got round to it.

710379 departs South Kenton

 

I decided to head east, towards Preston Park and via the roads passing Preston Road Underground to reach Fryent Country Park and the Barn Hill Open Space.  A bit muddy in places (and steep) but it was quite nice with the woodland.  After crossing the A4140 road I explored a bit more of the Fryent Country Park (although a bit of guess work at the route of the Capital Ring in the maze of footpaths).  I left the country park and into roads in the Kingsbury area, reaching a cycle path alongside the Brent Reservoir in the Welsh Harp Nature Reserve.  This took me towards Hendon, crossing over the M1 and headed north to Hendon station where my walk ended.

The next section of the Capital Ring in north London will be Hendon towards East Finchley underground, but who knows when I will get round to doing that.  I was toying with the idea of taking 700053 all the way to Herne Hill to have a little stroll around Brockwell Park but decided to alight from the train at West Hampstead Thameslink, for a little visit to Tesco for a late lunch before heading to West Hampstead Overground station, hoping for a 710 to Richmond but sadly that was a 378, before taking 378203 to Clapham Junction, finishing the day with a single 159 back home to Grateley, where I could relax and get ready for the next 7 early shifts at work.

Jubilee Line Set 96087 heading towards Wembley Park, near Fryent Country Park

27th December – A Day of frustration in South Wales

For my final walking trip of 2025, I decided on a trip to South Wales, originally my idea was to head towards Pantyffynnon to walk towards Gowerton, which changed the night before when I noticed TfW had decided to axe half the services on the Heart of Wales, deciding instead to walk north from Gowerton towards Pantyffynnon which would be reasonably tight but I would have a bus route to fall back on.

The day started with 159008 taken to Reading (due to the block between Clapham & Waterloo), grabbing some supplies for breakfast from a limited choice in the Sainsburys closest to the station before taking a seat on 800032 on a Carmarthen train, all was going well until it lost 15 minutes near the junction to the south of Yate due to a points failure, and a further 10 minutes at Bristol Parkway due to waiting on a signal (the signaller [or most likely the hopeless Automatic Route Setting] giving preference to an ECS service for Temple Meads.  With the delay being at 25 minutes I decided to cut my losses and bailed at Cardiff Central, it would have missed the connection at Swansea for Gowerton (although it would have made it, due to that train being late as well).

After grabbing my Valleys Day Ranger, I headed across to platform 7 to board a late running Treherbert service with the aim to visit the reopened (and rebuilt) Ynyswen station with 756117 for this service running around 30 minutes late, where it ran all stations to Pontypridd before running limited stop to Treherbert, calling at only Dinas Rhondda & Ystrad Rhondda.  I decided against visiting Ynyswen due the following service getting spun part route, and instead took this 756 towards Porth with the aim to walk the path towards Maerdy.  The first section was via Wynshir & Wattstown, where it was nice in places it's certainly a path I wouldn't rush back to.  When I reached Tylorstown, at the part where it was old railway, I ran into an unexpected closure of the path in the shape of a large fence.  I headed via the roads to another access point near a surgery but that was also closed, which was a bit annoying, but thankfully I was close to a bus stop to take a Stagecoach route 132 service towards Pontypridd (one reason for buying a Valley Day Ranger was the validity on Stagecoach routes in the Valleys).

Blocked off section of the Rhondda Fach Path near Tylorstown

 

At Pontypridd I got lucky with the next southbound service being winner 756001 which cleared the class with the run to Cardiff Central, where I changed onto 231004 to take me to Aber, I was hoping to get to Energlyn & Churchill Park but TfW weren't having a good day on this route, cancelling half of the services meaning it would be a 30-minute wait for the next train calling at Energlyn & Churchill Park.  My goal was to walk the old railway line path towards the village of Senghenydd, so after going via the roads towards the Hendredenny Park area I picked up the "Aber Greenway", which was quite scenic (although uphill).  I reached the village of Abertridwr, and once more I found my path blocked by a fence forcing an early finish to the walk as I headed towards the village centre and onto a route B bus towards Caerphilly bus station (which quite helpfully is next to the railway station).

At the railway station it was a short wait before 231001 rolled in to take me towards Cardiff Central where I had a bit of a wait for a late running GWR service (which was so late it was terminating at Reading).  Eventually 800003 & 800016 rolled in nearly an hour late, I managed to grab a seat near the rear of the train, which lost more time around Bristol Parkway, terminating at Reading around 70 minutes late (where it formed a service towards Weston).  After a short wait I boarded 159015 for the run back to Grateley to end the day.  A bit annoying to have to cut short walks once, yet alone twice (these were marked up cycle paths, so not minor footpaths), but at least I cleared the 756s.

Anyhow thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr for December Here, not the most productive months for walking due to the poor weather.

Trips in November, Part 2

Trips in November, Part 2

24th November – Coastal Path Walking in Kent

The Sunday was spent heading to Ramsgate with the novelty of a diverted South Eastern 395 via Canterbury East due to engineering works and an evening with my good friend Dan having a good catch up staying overnight in a hotel near the Westwood Cross shopping centre.  After we had breakfast and said farewell, I had a stroll towards Ramsgate station and onto a pair of 375s to Birchington on Sea where I had an enjoyable stroll along the coastal path towards Herne Bay via Reculver and remains of St Mary’s Church.  After visiting the pier at Herne Bay, I headed to the station (complete with a new footbridge with lifts) for 395002 to St Pancras for some High Speed before making my way to Waterloo (via Thameslink & South Eastern due to the weather being a bit more damp in London) and to Grateley to get myself ready for a few days in the North East as this was my week of autumn annual leave.

Remains of St Mary's Church at Reculver

25th November – Tyne & Wear Day 1

The day started early with a run into Waterloo and a gentle stroll to Kings Cross to board 180106 on the morning Grand Central service to Sunderland, once more it departed London quite busy in the rearmost coach, lost a handful at Peterborough before losing 75% of the passengers at York.  I continued for the trip via the Durham coast to Sunderland where after buying my Tyne & Wear Metro Day ticket, headed to East Boldon for a short disused railway line walk towards Tyne Dock.  One of those walks which had been on my list for this area, but one not worth shouting about, reasonable quality path but not a lot of evidence of the former railway line.

At Tyne Dock, I headed to South Shields to do the ferry across the Tyne to North Shields before another short walk heading towards the Royal Quays Marina, doing a loop of the marina towards Chirton Dene Park before heading towards Redburn Dene Park (climbing up the hill for some nice views).  After a detour to the Newcastle Quays retail park, the rain started so I soon made my way towards Percy Main station, my original aim was to continue a bit further as I've got some walking ideas for paths in the area circled by the Metro.  This was a week where the Metro wasn't the best in terms of frequency with missing trains causing long gaps, thankfully I didn't have to wait for long for a pair of older units to take me to Whitley Bay where I got checked into the accommodation I used earlier in the year, even getting an upgrade to a double bed rather than the single bed I paid for.

Metrocar 4029 near East Boldon Station

After checking in and emptying out my rucksack, I headed back out to take a 555 to Haymarket for a little stroll in the busy city centre before a spot of 555 hunting getting 004, 006, 017 & 018 into my book before heading to the Regent Centre to visit the large Asda for some supplies before making my way back to Whitley Bay to relax for the rest of the night as it was getting cold!

26th November - Derwent Valley Walk

The cold day started with a run towards Monument (via North Shields) on a pair of older Metro units, before I made my way to the Eldon Square Bus Station for the next X45 bus towards Consett, which I took as far as Blackhill on the northern edge of the town, where in the summer time I had a change of plan and instead of walking towards the Metrocentre I ended up walking towards Durham.  The Derwent Valley Walk is a path along (mostly) the route of the former Derwent Valley Railway branch line, and soon as I left the built-up area around Shotley Bridge, being careful with some icy patches (especially on some minor road crossings where it was a sheet of ice), the views opened up.

The path runs high in the hills overlooking places like Ebchester & Hamsterley, it even had the remains of a few stations’ platforms, certainly an enjoyable walk for scenic views and of forests.  At Rowlands Gill the route of the old railway has been lost forcing a detour via the roads before re-joining the old railway route in woodland heading towards the Derwenthaugh Park, an area with many walks where the cycle route leaves the old railway to follow the river Derwent itself.  The old railway line walk ends in Swalwell where I switched to following a path in the Derwenthaugh Riverside Park alongside the river to take me towards the Tyne & the railway bridge over the Derwent.

Remains of Lintz Green railway station on the Derwent Walk 

The last section was a cycle path which ran close to the railway line towards the Metrocentre, I was going to head towards Dunston but the last section of this path after the former Cross Lane was flooded so I headed to the Metrocentre station itself to take 158849 into Newcastle, changing onto 156496 on the next train to Ashington to visit the recently opened station at Blyth Bebside.  After a couple of photos (the rain had returned), I took the same 156 back to Newcastle changing over to 156475 to take me to Sunderland via the King Edward Bridge, where I jumped onto a 555 to Park Lane and onto winner 555038 which was delayed for some unknown reason, moving forward into Sunderland station for a further delay before setting off towards Newcastle.  I bailed at Pelaw deciding it wasn't worth hanging around due to various issues and took 555018 all the way to Whitley Bay, where I visited Spoons for something hot before relaxing for the rest of the night.

27th November – Deerness Valley Railway & Bishop Auckland Walk

Today I got a bit carried away with my walking due to the reasonable weather, for my original idea was to finish in the Langley Moor area (on the outskirts of Durham).  The Derrness Valley Railway path runs from the town of Crook towards Broompark where it meets up with the Lanchester Valley Railway route & the railway route towards Bishop Auckland via Brandon.  The day started with winner 555012 to Central Station where I boarded 802209 on a TPE service which unusually departed from platform 1 to head via the High Level Bridge (and the former station at Gateshead), to take me to Durham where I had a short walk to the bus station (getting lost along the way at signage is a bit rubbish), before jumping on an Arriva run X46 bus to Crook Market Place.

Crook looked to be a nice little town as I followed some roads to pick up the start of the railway path to the north of the town centre.  The first section was a decent quality footpath but had a long climb, something I wouldn't have expected from a railway line.  The path took me towards Stanley Crook and Waterhouses via some nice countryside & woodland.  After Waterhouses it was a short section towards Esh Winning before the woodland returned with the section towards Ushaw Moor and finally Broompark where I reached the point I reached earlier in the year.  I turned right onto the cycle path towards Bishop Auckland, down a steep hill to cross over the River Deerness before a steep climb back up to the route of the old railway line, the former bridge (I presume) has been lost to history.

I was now on the path towards Bishop Auckland via Brandon, where I decided on an extension towards Willington as it was only an extra 5 miles.  Some detouring around Langley Moor & Brandon due to the route of the railway being lost under modern development before the countryside opened out & I reached the site of the former Brancepeth station.  Although no evidence of the station remains other than a sign saying "the station was here".  Continuing along the path and I reached Willington where once more I decided to extend the walk as it was only an extra 3 miles to Bishop Auckland.

River Deerness near Broompark

In the Willington area, the route of the railway has been lost so it was a case of following the signs for the cycle path before joining up with the route of the old railway line for the last section towards Bishop Auckland the path ending at the northern edge of the town with the old railway line now part of the A689 road, including the Newton Cap Viaduct over the River Wear.  I had the option of either a bus towards Durham (or Newcastle) or using the train.  Based on the crowd waiting for the bus I decided to head towards the railway station via the town centre, after buying my ticket to Newcastle I took a seat on a delayed 156487 to Darlington as darkness was falling and 801212 to Newcastle.

At Newcastle I decided to jump on a pair of 156s on a Whitby service to take me to Sunderland where after a glance of RTT saw there would likely be a long wait for the next northbound Metro (as the previous couple of services hadn't run) I escaped onto another 156 back to Newcastle, heading to the Metro grabbing winner 555035 to Gateshead Stadium and onto 555018 (again!) to Whitley Bay, where once more I ended up in the pub for food.  A long walk (17.8 miles!) but it was worth it for the views and the decent quality paths.

555018 at Whitley Bay Station

28th November – A stroll in Blyth

A later start than the previous couple of days as I checked out of the accommodation, certainly a place I will use again if the price is right.  After grabbing breakfast I jumped onto an Arriva route 308 bus to Blyth bus station, doubling back towards Ridley Park to pick up the England coastal path heading towards the Quayside before heading inland due to industrial units along the bank of the River Blyth.  I soon re-joined the riverside picking up a cycle route running alongside (mostly) the southern bank of the river.  I headed underneath the A189 road (where the coastal path heads across the river and towards Cambois) and the railway viaduct heading towards the Dene Park near the former Bedlington Ironworks.

I continued my walk close to the river Blyth heading towards Bedlington finishing at Attlee Park, where I joined the roads to walk towards Blyth Bebside station, arriving with good timing as the rain returned a few minutes after I boarded 156444 for the run to Newcastle.  An enjoyable little stroll from Blyth town centre towards the new station, going via Bedlington.  Once in Newcastle I grabbed some lunch items before getting a seat on 801205 on a semi-fast London service, getting very busy after York due to issues at Wakefield.

Bedlington Viaduct over the River Blyth

Once I reached London, I headed towards Waterloo via Thameslink & South Eastern to take a pair of 159s to Grateley to rest for the rest of the evening, sorting out my rucksack & making a start with the many photos taken during my trip.

29th November – A trip to Eastbourne

The weather had turned a bit damper and colder, and after a busy week I fancied a quieter Saturday.  I headed towards Woking, changing onto winner 701033 to Clapham Junction where I spent the next couple of hours grabbing 701048, 701026 & 701050, including a stroll from Fulwell towards Teddington as a time-wasting stroll during a break in the rain.

After finishing with the 701s I headed across to Waterloo East, jumping onto a pair of 375s for the run to Hastings on a semi-fast service, changing over to 387127 to Eastbourne on a Brighton service and onto 387209 & 387203 on a Victoria service to take me to East Croydon, an area of the country I hadn’t visited for a while.  At East Croydon I headed to the tram platforms, noticing how much different it looks since the former Post Office building has been knocked down (and all the new high rise tower blocks springing up).

40 or so minutes later, just as I was about to give up, tram 2561 rolled in on a service to Beckenham Junction which I took to Blackhorse Lane to clear it for a mile, returning to East Croydon on tram 2541, all the active trams in Croydon now cleared for a mile (I missed out on the tram which was involved in the accident which I believe has been written off).  Back at East Croydon it was a case of jumping on the first available train towards London, which was 377203 & 377431 to Clapham Junction, heading into Waterloo on a pair of 450s to get a decent seat on 159019 back to Grateley.  A reasonable productive day with the wet weather where I didn’t have the drive to head to the underground due to the time of year.

London Tram 2561 at Blackhorse Lane

30th November – A Trip to Portsmouth

For the last trip in November, I didn’t want a late finish due to starting work on an early shift on the Monday, so after a quick play on RTT I drove to Andover to take 159103 & 158886 to Clapham Junction going via Isleworth.  After a short wait at Clapham Junction, it was onto 377442 & 377410 on a Portsmouth Harbour service which due to engineering works was diverted via Dorking, a line I hadn’t been along for a while.

I left the 377s at Havant for a short wait before former GWR 387173 rolled in on a Portsmouth Harbour service from Brighton, which sadly got cut short at Portsmouth & Southsea due to signalling issues near Portsmouth Harbour.  After a short stroll in the city centre, I jumped onto 444028 & 444008 which was starting from platform 3 (due to the signalling issues) on the next fast service towards London, a train which got busy at Guildford due to the limited service towards London due to the works near Wimbledon.  At Woking I jumped onto another pair of 444s to Basingstoke before a pair of 158s to Andover, calling it a night with a visit to the big Tesco for some supplies.  I might not have been successful in getting a 387 to Portsmouth Harbour, but Sundays are probably the best day due to the units interworking between Portsmouth & Southampton.

387173 at Portsmouth & Southsea

Anyhow, thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr Here

November Trips (Part 1)

 November Trips (Part 1)

1st November – Warrington to Runcorn via the Ship Canal

The weather on this Saturday in the Polmont area was quite rubbish in terms of being wet so I ditched my original plans for any walking (I was toying with the old railway line route from Paisley Canal towards Johnstone (or most likely the other way round) and headed into Glasgow on a pair of 385s, having a short walk in the city centre to get some supplies before taking a seat on 390121 working a London service, started off quiet before getting extremely busy, especially after Preston as the ECML was closed for engineering works at York.  As the weather was looking better in Cheshire I decided to bail at Warrington Bank Quay, just to get away from the chaos of an overcrowded train (when it’s standing along the aisles it isn’t much fun).

I dug out a plan I had originally pencilled in for a potential Sunday walk for the times I stayed at Crewe (before my usual accommodation closed up and prices have generally shot up), which was a stroll towards Runcorn along a footpath close to the Ship Canal.   The first section was leaving Warrington Bank Quay station to head south along Slutchers Lane towards a newish housing estate, picking up a path to lead me onto a footbridge over the river Mersey (the footbridge is alongside the railway line).  I headed underneath the railway and picked up a footpath leading along the remains of the Runcorn & Latchford Canal before heading along a reasonable quality path towards the Moore Nature Reserve, a place I wouldn't mind returning to when the weather was a bit sunnier.  I soon turned off a little lane, dodging various fly tipping and onto a footpath running between the Ship Canal & the Mersey, giving some nice views of the Ferrybridge Power Station.

In all fairness I was heading to the point where the footpath just ends on the OS Map, Open Street Map/Strava was suggesting it would continue, but there is always that little doubt that I will run into a high gate/fence, thankfully where I did run into a road block, it was only for vehicles and not walkers (or cyclists) as I reached Wigg Island, picking up the route of the disused canal and headed underneath the modern Mersey Gateway bridge, before heading towards the former quays area, crossing the Ship Canal, and walking alongside it towards the Silver Jubilee bridge, doing a little loop to cover the Runcorn Locks Greenway along the route of the former Bridgwater Canal (as it used to connect into the Ship Canal).

Manchester Ship Canal from the Runcorn Promenade (and a bridge)

I reached Runcorn with time to spare, even getting there earlier than I was planning (was aiming for a direct London train), and jumped onto 730212 to Crewe, changing to a nearly empty coach on 805003 & 805005 from Chester to take me towards Euston.  I was foolish after walking to Waterloo to jump onto winner 701060 to Twickenham, foolish even more to leave the train at Twickenham and into the organised chaos of the post-match queuing system (in hindsight I should have stayed on to Feltham or remained on the platform for a 701 towards Kingston).  In the end I ended up at a busy St Margarets, squeezing onto a very busy 701 to Clapham Junction, where I just about made a connection onto a busy pair of 450s towards Basingstoke, before taking a rail replacement coach to Grateley (getting lucky with having one of the Newbury & District coaches used for the Basingstoke – Heathrow bus route, those interiors are quite nice.  Needless to say the Sunday I was quite lazy after a busy few days in Scotland!

7th November - Sett Valley Trail & Peak Forest

This was a Friday where my plans did change along the way, originally I was heading into Manchester to take a train towards Patricroft to walk a disused railway line path & the Leigh busway into Leigh, but for whatever reason (which I can't remember) decided to change at Stockport for a plan to catch a bus towards Hyde to pick up the Peak Forest Canal from Apethorn Lane to head towards Marple or New Mills.  Anyhow after taking a busy 9 coach Pendo (390049) to Stockport, and headed towards the bus station, my plans changed when I saw a bus to Hayfield, and a chance to walk the short disused railway line path called the Sett Valley Trail.

It was a former Stagecoach bus on the route 358 (part of the Bee Network), and fitting for the time of year it was a bus for Remembrance (rather than the usual custard colour).  Quite an interesting run towards Hayfield, heading away from Stockport town centre via the suburbs (Offerton) and into Marple.  After Marple the views did start to open out a bit with the run towards Strines (pretty sure I used this bus route many years ago when I took a bus from Marple to Strines station, back when Strines station was 2 hourly and quite awkward due to the trains passing there).  Into New Mills and finally towards Hayfield with some nice views from the top deck.

My walk began picking up the Sett Valley Trail in a car park near the bus station, and was soon heading towards Birch Vale and back towards New Mills, not the most scenic of old railway line walks other than views of a reservoir, but good to get it removed from my oversized list.  In New Mills I headed via the Torrs Park, heading towards Newtown station to pick up the Peak Forest Canal.

Sett Valley Trail between Birch Vale & New Mills

I decided to head towards Whaley Bridge, with some beautiful scenery (although not the best day for scenery with cloud and a light drizzle at times) leaving New Mills to head towards Furness Vale, the canal following the route of the railway as it headed south towards Whaley Bridge, the branch towards Bugsworth Basin heading away (I've got a plan to walk that section alongside the Peak Forest Tramway Trail path).  I had time to swing via the Tesco for some supplies before carrying on to the basin in Whaley Bridge, the drizzle turning more into light rain for the last short section, this being the remains of the Whaley Bridge Incline on the Cromford and High Peak Railway.

After reaching the top of the hill, I headed towards Whaley Bridge station, with time to spare to take a pair of 150s towards Stockport, making a connection onto a busy 9 coach Pendo for London (390040) on a fast service.  Once in Euston I had one further walk across to Waterloo to take a 158+159 home.  An enjoyable day, even if the weather did turn wet near the end.

8th November – Erewash Canal

Another late notice change of plan, as I was aiming to walk the path between Long Eaton & Nottingham via the River Trent, but decided when heading towards London to look at the Erewash Canal instead.  I headed to St Pancras via South Eastern & Thameslink (to make a change from walking) and got seated on a Nottingham bound 222.  Departure time came and went, eventually there was an announcement about the original crew getting held up somewhere with 222009 departing near enough 25 minutes late, time it never made back up or lost more time.

At Nottingham I had time to pop out to the Co-Op to grab some lunch items, before watching 195013 roll in from Leeds, doing an impression of a clown car in just how many passengers squeezed onto the 2-coach unit.  The return towards Leeds was also quite busy, as I alighted at Langley Mill to start my walk.  After a short section along the road I soon reached the Erewash Canal, the basin area is all fenced off for private moorings as I headed towards Ilkeston, the towpath quality being mixed in this section, but nice scenic views of woodland.  I continued towards Ilkeston having a detour towards the Bennerley Viaduct to walk across the Iron Giant (although at the moment it's a dead end as construction work continues at the eastern end).  After a U-turn it was back to the canal, where the towpath quality had improved to tarmac as it skirted around the eastern edge of Ilkeston.

195004 heading underneath the Bennerley Viaduct

Eventually another cycle path joined in, using an old railway line route (?) towards Shipley Country Park, something else to research as this area of the East Midlands has so many old railways line paths to explore.  I continued going underneath the M1 and towards Sandiacre where the former Derby Canal joined, quite a few fishermen in this section, some being a bit grumpy at having to move their fishing equipment for walkers.  I soon reached Long Eaton and Sawley where the canal did a sharp turn south where I left it at Fields Farm Road, near the railway bridges and the point I reached last year when I walked the last section of the Trent & Mersey Canal.  Another canal ticked off my list as I headed to Long Eaton station.

It was a short wait before 170639 rolled in on a Nottingham bound service which I took to Beeston, a station which has changed quite a bit since my last visit with new lifts getting installed.  I headed towards the town centre via a handy Co-Op (bringing back memories of the first time I stayed in this area back in 2014, time flies).  It was onto the trams as it had been a while since my last decent run on the Nottingham Tramway with tram 231 taken towards the city centre, spending the next 40 or so minutes doing some linear hops, keeping my eyes out for any of my last trio of sub mile trams, eventually tram 202 popped up which I took to Meadows Way West, the last of the original batch of trams cleared for a mile.  I walked back towards the station as darkness was falling and I decided enough was enough.

Nottingham Tram 202 at Meadows Way West

I managed to get a decent seat on 222013 working the next ‘fast’ St Pancras service, departed on time before a complete and utter farce as it was held for 5 minutes at the junction near East Midlands Parkway for a late running stopping service from Sheffield (bare in mind at the time this 222 stopped the one from Sheffield had just arrived at Long Eaton).  The train from Nottingham eventually got going but at a crawl due to following a stopper, getting into Leicester something like 20 minutes late (and delaying the following fast service from Sheffield as well).  The delay only increased due to being out of path and following a 360 from Corby after Luton getting into St Pancras bang on 30 minutes late.

Before I headed to my accommodation, I took a stroll to Euston to jump onto winner 730207 to Harrow & Wealdstone, just about making a connection into winner 730223 back to Euston due to 207 being 6 minutes late.  Two more 730s into my book as I took a Hammersmith & City line service to Paddington where a delay worked to my benefit as a Didcot Parkway semi-fast was running 10 minutes late and only had started to board (this was an evening where the Elizabeth line had fallen over).  I jumped onto 387166 & 387170 to take me one stop to Slough, where after visiting the big Tesco, I located my accommodation in the Slough Travelodge.  Mainly as a replacement bus avoidance move for the Sunday.

9th November – Lichfield to Brownhills Railway Path

I checked out of the Travelodge on Sunday morning, heading to the station for a late running pair of 387s on a stopping service towards Paddington (probably the first time I’ve called on the mainline platform at Langley).  Today was another day where I had a few ideas of walks as I took a gentle stroll towards Euston to board 807005 on a Liverpool service, mainly for the novelty of an 807 via Northampton.  Along the walk to Euston, I decided on the recently opened up path along the route of the former South Staffordshire line from Lichfield to Brownhills, a route so new it doesn’t even show on Google Maps!

I left the 807 at Lichfield Trent Valley and started my little stroll going out via the secondary car park towards an industrial estate before picking up a path in Darnford Park, this took me towards the part restored section of the Lichfield Canal before I headed towards the Sandfields Pumping Station on Chesterfield Road where the new greenway path began.  I will admit the path quality wasn't the easiest to walk along as it felt like railway ballast, but it's still early days (and I would imagine give it a couple of years and it will be smooth tarmac).  I continued along the route of the old railway, crossing Fosseway Lane with an old signal box (all boarded up) with the path heading into countryside, passing the remains of Hammerwich station (complete with footbridge, but no platforms).

Footbridge at site of former Hammerwich Station on the Lichfield to Brownhills Greenway

The path crossed the M6 Toll and soon came to an end near Watling Street where a fence which was there a couple weeks earlier when I was in this area had vanished as it connects with the existing McClean Way path.  I was back on roads as I walked towards the centre of Brownhills as I was unsure about messaging regards bus route changes with parades.  It was soon before a National Express bus rolled in on a route 10 to take me to Walsall bus station, getting diverted itself due to road closures along the way so a comfortable connection to a stopper suddenly became a bit less comfortable, but I still managed to make it (even had time to buy a ticket from the ticket office) before boarding 730044 on a stopping service to Birmingham New Street.

After popping out of the station for some food, I was soon back to board winner 730229 to Wolverhampton, returning to New Street on another 730, where I started to plan my way towards Bristol where my accommodation was located.  I spotted on RTT a Very Short-Term Plan service to Bristol Temple Meads which was being advertised as Gloucester as 170636 rolled in and I managed to grab a seat in the former 1st class area for the trip towards Gloucester, losing time along the way.  On the approach to Cheltenham Spa (where it was behind the GWR stopper for Bristol) it was announced that after Gloucester it would run to Bristol Temple Meads, so I stayed on board for the reversal at Gloucester for some unusual track coverage on a XC 170!

170636 at Bristol Temple Meads (on arrival from Birmingham)

At Bristol Temple Meads, I headed towards the nearby Spoons for some dinner before making my way to the Travelodge ready for an early start on the Monday for some strange random reason.

10th November – A maze of old railways in Taffs Well

Originally an idea for this Monday was to head towards Swansea & Pontarddulais for an old railway line path towards Gowerton but the weather forecast out west wasn’t looking promising.  So, I ditched that idea to stay closer to Cardiff coming up with some ideas.  I checked out of the hotel making my way to the station and onto 170636 (I was expecting it would have been this unit again) on the daily Bristol – Cardiff XC service for some more unusual track coverage on a XC 170 (why else did you think I would stay overnight in Bristol lol).

After grabbing breakfast, I met up with my good friend Jules as we took 756105 to Trefforest Estate for a little walk.  Heading towards the industrial estate and towards a cycle path along the route of the long closed Cardiff Railway route near Nantgarw towards Taff's Well before heading onto the Taff Trail for a short section along the former Rhymney Railway route before climbing onto the Old Taff Trail (it still has signs saying Taff Trail but it has since been removed from the OS Map) which made use of the former Barry Railway route towards the former Walnut Tree Viaduct (this part of Wales used to a be a maze of railway lines!)

After departing from the route of the old railway line, the rain began as we headed into the Fforest Fawr, an area we both agreed was worth a revisit when the weather was nicer, after a very steep downhill section we reached Castell Coch where a footpath had been closed forcing a detour via the roads towards Tongwynlais and towards Taff's Well along the Taff Trail, doing an U-turn back towards Tongwynlais, pausing for a coffee at a local café before we picked up a footpath alongside the River Taff leading us underneath the M4 and another detour, this time towards the Long Wood Nature Reserve & the remains of the Glamorganshire Canal, reaching Forest Farm Road where we headed towards Radyr station, swinging via a local Co-Op for some lunch & other supplies.

Castell Coch

The first northbound train was 150245 which we took to Trefforest before taking 756114 to Aberdare to tick off the new arrival’s platform where we decided to have another short walk, heading away from Aberdare station and onto a path following the route of the former Aberdare canal and a road to reach Cwmbach station to take 756108 back towards Cardiff Central where after grabbing food we said our farewells as Jules headed on a 197 and I took 166203 to Salisbury for 159022 to Grateley to end my little long weekend of travels.

15th November – Tour of Middlewich

Using up a day of annual leave because who knows when the next time Avanti will divert services via Middlewich (and it’s one of the novelties I tend to do).  It was onto a lightly loaded 805003 at Euston on the Holyhead service, complete with dodgy PIS listing various random station calls, a train which never got that busy even for the rare section between Crewe & Chester going via the slow freight line at Middlewich, pausing in the loop along the way for another service to pass.

At Chester I had a gentle stroll towards Mickle Trafford along the route of the former Cheshire Lines Committee route (part of the Chester Millennium Greenway), where I caught an Arriva bus back into the city centre (had I missed that bus I would have probably walked it via the roads considering it's only hourly and not even clockface, I guess in hindsight I should have caught the bus to Mickle Trafford to walk back to Chester so I could take some more time.

805003 at Chester (from Hoole Way bridge)

After grabbing some bits in Chester city centre, I headed to the station and onto 777018 to Liverpool Lime Street and onto a late running 807008 on a Euston service (departing 15-odd minutes late) enjoying a private coach until Milton Keynes where it did fill up.  Once in London I headed home, after an enjoyable random day trip.

Part 2 to follow at some point, but more photos can be found on my Flickr album *here*.