March Comes In like a Lion – 1st & 2nd March Trips

 March Comes In like a Lion – 1st & 2nd March Trips

Originally, I was going to head to South Wales for a couple of walks (A bit more of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal on the Sunday & the Amman Valley Way on the Monday) the weather forecast didn’t look promising on either day so on Saturday afternoon I cancelled my hotel booking and looked for alternative plans based on the weather being dry (or at the very worse light rain).

1st March – Trans Pennine Trail in Doncaster

The walk from Doncaster towards Conisbrough had been on my list for a while, in terms of getting researched, but for various reasons I've not got round to doing it.  So, I decided it would be a good chance to do the walk on a Sunday owing to Conisbrough still having an hourly service on Sundays as it does during the week, a covid era cut which has never been restored.  The day began with a drive to Andover to catch the 07:02 service formed of a lightly loaded 159019, 158886 & 159107 on a semi-fast service towards London, I bailed at Clapham Junction to jump onto 701039 on a suburban service owing to the diesels sometimes taking a day and age to reach Waterloo (normally get put across onto the Windsor lines), but just my luck today the time saving was minimal.

I set off on foot towards Kings Cross, getting lucky with hitting a break in filming for something on Waterloo Bridge just as I approached allowing me to cross with a lot of other walkers & cyclists (saved a detour towards Blackfriars or Charing Cross), arriving at Kings Cross with good time as I was originally aiming for a LNER service to Edinburgh to take me to Doncaster, but made it with time to spare to jump onto 802305 on a Hull Trains service, even getting a decent seat in the front coach.  All was going well until the Peterborough area where there was a loud bang as the Pantograph dropped and the train came to a stop.  10 minutes later the train was back on the move, but running on diesel with overhead wire tripping being blamed as the cause of the delay.  The train switched back to electric during an extended dwell at Grantham, but meant the delay was around 18 minutes, and unusually it went into platform 3 from the south.

802305 at London Kings Cross

My walk began as I left the station, making the wrong turn along the way and having to cross the main road twice before heading over St James's Bridge into the Hexthorpe area of the city, walking along the roads to reach Hexthorpe Park which was quite delightful.  After some photos within the park, I reached the riverside footpath which was quite muddy in places (but thankfully not flooded which was a worry).  This path runs alongside the south bank of the Don, mirroring the walk I did back in December 2021 where I ended up on the north bank.  I reached the railway viaduct carrying the Doncaster avoiding freight line and the viaduct which used to carry the "Hull and Barnsley and Great Central Joint Railway" (if my research is correct), which has been turned into a mixed used path carrying part of the long-distance Trans Pennine Trail).  I managed to climb from the river to the former track bed (before noticing the stairs on the opposite side, doh!)

Crossing the Don, I dropped down back to the riverside to walk more of the slightly muddy path, going underneath the A1(M) heading towards Sprotbrough (skirting round the southern edge).  After getting a couple photos of the lock, the path thankfully changed from mud to tarmac after Mill Lane.  I continued along the path, with the river on my left-hand side (although not the best for photos due to trees & fishermen) with the Sprotbrough Flash on my right, it felt like a perfect day with the sun out.  I moved away from the river a couple of times into some woodland before returning to the river side passing a loading wharf for what looked like a quarry (the River Don is a working river with barges).  I headed underneath the railway on the so-called Rainbow Bridge (no clue!), heading towards the Conisbrough Viaduct which used to carry the Dearne Valley railway, meeting up with a walk I did back in summer 2022.

Conisbrough Railway Viaduct

Climbing up the steep hill from the river side to reach the route of the old railway I followed the Trans Pennine Trail path (which I don't think follows the route of the old railway in this place), passing the path towards Conisbrough station (and onto new ground) as I continued as it skirted round the edge of an activity centre and towards a bridge over the River Dearne to meet up with a walk I did in December last year, doubling back over the hill to reach the access path, crossing over the river Don and to Conisbrough station where I had around 15 minutes to wait.  I was in two minds at which way to head back to London, either towards Doncaster & the ECML or towards Sheffield, but sadly there wasn't any 810s out so decided to head towards Doncaster on 150271.

I popped out of the station to visit the Sainsburys for some supplies before returning, with the train from Hull running late due to issues at a level crossing, when I saw 802305 (again!) was lightly loaded in the rear coach (unreserved seats) I climbed on board, only for my plan to backfire due to an extended dwell at Retford for a LNER from Leeds I was going to catch passed (causing further delays to the 802 due to that Azuma calling at Newark).  At Kings Cross it was to the underground with the Victoria line taken to Oxford Circus (11075/11076) for a Bakerloo to Waterloo (3256/3561), where it was onto a pair of 450s (450114 & 450117) working a Basingstoke terminator (engineering works at Winchester & Eastleigh), where I made a swift connection onto 158882 & 158887 from Reading to take me back to Andover to finish the day.

It was nice to finally clear that walk from my list, more of the Trans Pennine Trail path needs to be researched to which parts I could walk, but that can be a job for another day.

Hexthorpe Flatts Park 

2nd March – Dudley & Stourbridge Canals

After a night trying to decide between heading towards Birmingham or heading west for one of the old railways walks in Devon, I decided on a canal walk in the West Midlands (again based on the weather forecast which was predicting heavy rain in Devon and a worry about flooding).  I've walked quite a few of the canals within the West Midlands area, leaving the Dudley & Stourbridge canals which is a bit wavy within the Dudley & Brierley Hill area.  My research (mainly using Streetview) suggested the towpath was mostly tarmac making it safe for an early spring/late winter walk.

The day began with the 05:55 service from Grateley into Waterloo with 159105 & 158887, where I transferred to the Bakerloo line with 3541 & 3267 to Marylebone, giving me time to grab some supplies before making my walk to the 08:07 to Birmingham which had 68020 up front and some former TPE coaches, the days of the comfy smooth Mk3s will be missed as these modern coaches are awful (hard seats, ride worse than a pacer, rubbish positioning of AC vents), certainly in the future if I was doing such a move I would aim for a 168 (and that’s saying something!).

68020 at London Marylebone

Just over 2 hours later I arrived at Birmingham Moor Street, transferring to platform 2 to board 172337 on a Kidderminster terminator, relaxing in the comfy seats for the run to Old Hill where my walk would begin.  Heading down the stairs from the platforms and across the car park, I soon picked up the Number 2 line of the Dudley Canal near enough outside the station, following the tarmac towpath mostly in a northern direction with some history signs along the way.  This section of the canal started quite industrial before turning more urban (housing etc) as I followed the path towards Windmill Junction where the canal met up with the Netherton Tunnel branch (I still remember walking that tunnel, still a spooky experience) & the Bumble Hole Branch Canal.

I turned in a south western direction, passing a little café & visitor centre, doing the first of 3 planned detours, following the short Bumble Hole Branch Canal, as it skirted a lake into a nature reserve area returning to the Windmill Junction with a short branch, crossing over the canal again I passed the little café again and carried on my walk, the towpath changing from tarmac to being a bit muddy in places along the way, especially around the Netherton/Lodge Farm Reservoir.  This section however was very pretty (and quiet).  One thing I did notice with this canal is the number of old basins which have been infilled, from the days where it was a working canal. 

A mile or so later, the No 2 line canal met with the No 1 line at Parkhead Junction, where I had my second detour along the route of the No 1 line, going up a couple of locks, underneath the former South Staffordshire line viaduct (future route of the Midland Metro) and towards the Parkhead Portal of the lengthy (and narrow) Dudley Canal Tunnel, so narrow that diesel engines are banned (and one of the reasons why the canal companies built the Netherton Tunnel).

Parkhead Viaduct over the Dudley Canal

Doubling back on myself as I returned to Parkhead Junction, passing the Blowers Green Pumphouse, crossing over the canal.  With a return to industrial buildings with the sun shining as I continued my stroll of this wavy canal, passing the Round Oak steel terminal and towards the Brierley Hill Waterfront complex with the canal overlooking the tram works and the massive Merry Hill shopping complex, reaching the Delph Lock flight, dropping down and the Dudley Canal turning into the Stourbridge Canal (not like you would have noticed).  I headed underneath the Round Oak freight line with the canal once more heading north, following the contour lines.

I soon reached another canal junction with the Stourbridge Canal Feeder branches off where I had my 3rd detour, following the short feeder canal towards "the Dell Stadium" near Bromley.  I did a short loop via a nature reserve to cross over the rails of the 'mothballed' Wombourne Branch and along the remaining section of the Stourbridge Extension Canal, returning towards the main canal, with another flight of locks.  Following the towpath, I passed the glass museum within Stourbridge and reached the junction with the Town Branch, the Stourbridge canal continues for a couple more canals where it meets the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal at Stourton.

Dudley Canal (No 1 Line) in Dudley 

The town branch as the name suggests heads towards the town centre (used to connect with the railway before that got cut back to Stourbridge Town station), again a decent towpath although the last section was gated off due to being a marina, but with some nice old buildings at the Old Wharf.  I crossed over the High Street and onto a mixed used path, following various paths to reach a car park and a short walk to reach the interchange where I jumped onto a busy 139002 to take me up the hill to Stourbridge Junction.  
At Stourbridge Junction it wasn’t a long wait before 172103 & 172335 rolled in on the next Whitlock’s End service, quite busy with school kids as I alighted 8 and a bit miles later at Smethwick Galton Bridge, heading downstairs to jump onto a late running 196111 to take me into New Street (because I was being Fabulously Lazy and didn’t fancy the walk from Moor Street/Snow Hill to New Street).  A short wait at Birmingham New Street before 390127 rolled in from Scotland on the next Euston fast service, as I grabbed a decent seat in coach U (being thankful when I purchased my ticket in the morning, I excessed the return portion from a “Via High Wycombe” to the more expensive “Via Birmingham” to allow me to use Avanti for the speed.

139002 at Stourbridge Town

Arrival into Euston was a few minutes late, congestion on the busy WCML, as I headed to the underground with the Northern line to Waterloo (51533 & 51534) and headed towards the 18:23 service for Exeter, grabbing a seat near the front of the train (because generally speaking the coaches furthest from the ticket barriers are quieter) with 159003, 159019 & 159016 taken for the speedy run to Grateley, where I had a gentle stroll home to relax.  Today was a very enjoyable walk, mostly a decent quality towpath with some nice scenery along the way, glad to be back on the canals after the winter months, so much history.

Thanks for reading, as always a lot more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*, back to work for some late shifts before some more rest days, where will I end up next!

Trips 14th February to 22nd February

 Trips 14th February to 22nd February

14th February – Llanelly Railway at long last!

The walk I had planned today I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but all the previous times I’ve had to call it off due to poor weather or TfW changing the timetable removing services on the Heart of Wales line.  Back in 2023 when I was staying in Llanelli on a long weekend, I walked the section of the former “Heart of Wales” line from Gowerton towards Blackpill on Swansea Bay, noticing there was also a path heading north.  With the sun finally popping out I had an early start for 159007 on the first train from Grateley to take me to Basingstoke, connecting into 165113 on the stopper to Reading.  Giving me time to pop out to grab something to eat and a safer connection to the Carmarthen train than the XC service.

I got a reasonable seat on 800013 on the GWR service, all was going well until it stopped between Didcot & Swindon as there was some signalling issues meaning trains to London were using the bi-directional signalling on the “down” line, causing around a 15 minute delay before the 800 could proceed to Swindon, although this did mean after Cardiff the TfW to Milford Haven which would have been behind was in front, taking up the passengers for the likes of Neath or Swansea from Cardiff.  At Swansea it was a short walk to board 197018 on that Milford Haven service which had divided from a 3-coach unit (it’s a long walk from the concourse to the stop mark when services attach/detach).  I took this to Gowerton with a last-minute change of mind as I was originally going to walk south but a play with the timings saw a northbound walk being possible.

197018 at Gowerton Station

Since my last visit to Gowerton the closed path on the platform 2 side had both reopened and been upgraded to a nice smooth tarmac route to the area that side of the railway, it might have even used part of the old railway alignment.  I picked up the start of the mixed used path from Alder Way, being careful to dodge any icy patches (as it did get cold overnight).  A decent quality path, certainly looks to have had some money spent on it in the last few years, with a short detour near the A484 (featuring some slippery wooden bridges over waterways).  I soon reached the town of Gorseinon, the path skirting the eastern side of the town coming to an end near a storage yard for some fairground equipment.

After a short section along a road, I was back on the mixed used path, passing a large Asda and soon leaving the town behind and into the wilderness.  A busy path this with other walkers, dog walkers, joggers, cyclists & even a dog riding a cycle (ok I might have made the last one up), I was glad in a way to walk north to avoid walking in the direct line of the sun, the only slight downside being a spot of road noise from the M4 which was close by (similar to the Bridgewater Canal near Chat Moss, the sound travels across the empty land).  I passed the site of the former Grovesend station (and colliery) and soon reached the end of the old railway route where it meets the Swansea District Line.  It was onto the road, crossing both the Swansea District Line & the M4 (this point a dual carriageway), heading towards Pontarddulais.

Path along route of former Llanelly Railway between Gorseinon & Grovesend

After the Pontarddulais show park, I diverted onto another mixed used path, heading towards the Coed Bach Park woodland, making a mistake to follow Strava which was suggesting there was another decent path along the old railway close to the station, which turned out to be a rubbish unofficial path (bit muddy) and ran into a dead end forcing a double back towards the playing fields to head towards Pontarddulais station, going via the Tesco to grab lunch (and to waste some time).  At the station, I requested for the Swansea bound service (been a while since my last request stop!), formed of AT02 (153353 & 153528) and it was quite busy with a limited choice of seats.

I was toying with bailing at Llanelli to do a short walk towards some retail parks, but decided that could wait for another day (as I didn't fancy trying to board the next Cardiff bound service as it was showing as a 2 coach 197), so I remained on the 153s to Swansea, giving me time to change onto 802109 on the next Paddington service, which I took to Cardiff Central to step back a GWR service.  I've not seen Cardiff Central that busy in ages, it was like December in terms of passenger numbers.  Anyhow it was onto 387143 & 387156 for something a bit different, not costing me anything timing wise due to poor connections at Reading.  These 387s took me to Reading, where after popping outside the station for a couple bits I jumped onto 221139 on the next XC service to Basingstoke and finishing the day with 158890 & 159108 to take me home to Grateley.  An enjoyable stroll between Gowerton & Pontarddulais, certainly one I would recommend.

153528 (AT02) at Pontarddulais Station

16th February – Return to the Cole Valley Path

Back in February last year I had a nice walk with my good friend Jules between Marston Green & Stechford via the Cole River path, ending the walk early at Stechford due to sore feet.  The second section between Stechford & Yardley Wood/Shirley has been on our list to try and do at some point. I was originally going to be spending Sunday night in Birmingham, but called it off due to the heavy downpours forecasted, however with Monday looking better it was a good chance for a good catch-up and to finish the walk.

The day began with the first train of the day from Grateley to Waterloo with 159106 & 159013 to Waterloo, where I had a little explore on the way to Marylebone by foot (another London terminus to London terminus station walk complete) before boarding some Mk3 coaches with 68014 at the business end of the train (and DVT 82309 at the rear), as the first coach was busy (start of half term) I took up a seat in the former business class area for another farewell to the Chiltern Mk3s, even if the PIS was a bit iffy, only announcing stations as the train doors opened rather than on the approach.

68014 at London Marylebone

Along the way I decided to switch the direction of the walk, as the timings were slightly better, even if it did involve a tight connection at Birmingham Moor Street requiring a fast walk from platform 3 (I even relocated towards the front of the train after Solihull to make things easier) to platform 1 to board 172331 & 172005 on a Whitlock’s End terminator for the slow run to Shirley where the walk began.  Heading out of the station, following a couple of roads to reach Green Lane Park, following the river Cole north towards Colebrook Road, where after a failed detour to follow a path which Strava was suggesting existed ended up with a tall fence (clearly had there been a path there once, it was no longer passable), we followed the roads to rejoin the River Cole path near a ford on Slade Lane.  The next landmark was the Trittiford Mill Park and its lake, before a short detour alongside the Chinn Brook, following the tarmac path rather than anything on the grass.  We doubled back towards the River Cole near Yardley Wood station and onto a section which wasn't tarmac but plastic grippy squares set in the mud, not the easily to walk along but thankfully the tarmac soon returned as we entered the Shire Country Park.

Our walk continued mostly heading north and thankfully the rain had ended with the sun coming out, enjoying the countryside within urban Birmingham, crossing the busy A34 road and onto a section which was a bit flooded in places, all that recent rain.  We reached a industrial estate area with a random former Military plane alongside a office block (completely random that).  After crossing the busy A41 road, and via another industrial area we once more followed the river passing an outdoor ski slope and a steep climb towards the Grand Union canal which we dropped down onto for a short section, going underneath the railway and towards the Tyseley Park.  This section whilst it had a decent path wasn't the nicest due to heavy littering and heavy traffic noise from the A45 running close by.

66572 crossing the Grand Union Canal near Small Heath

Thankfully once we left the main road behind, we entered the southern section of the Kingfisher Country Park, following the path heading north towards the Stechford area, hitting a section which was quite muddy going underneath the railway viaducts and near a lake, I was glad this section was the last bit and not the first section as it wouldn't have given the best first impression.  We reached Station Road to complete the walk, and with time in hand we headed to Lea Hall to clear a 3-hour challenge.  Getting lucky when at the station to see a 37 passing towing a 730.  Other than the section near the railway viaducts, quite a reasonable walk, hard to tell at times we were in Birmingham!

At Lea Hall station, we jumped onto 730016 to Birmingham International, when I popped to the ticket office to get a change of route excess for my return journey (something I was hoping to have done at the ticket office at Lea Hall, but it was closed), although it was a case of not needing to rush as the next London train was delayed due to earlier trespassers around Watford (or another reason, which I can’t remember).  We jumped onto 390134 grabbing a seat in coach E which was reserved from Birmingham but had nobody sat in, bidding farewell to Jules at Coventry as he went in hunt of food and I settled down for the slow run to Euston, it might have been non-stop but it was slow due to congestion.

37800 passing Lea Hall Station

I decided to head to the underground, it might have been raining, with Northern line sets 51632 & 51631 taken for the short distance to Waterloo, where I had some time to kill before taking 159003, 159007 & 158883 back to Grateley to end the enjoyable social day, not much in the way of trains but a nice walk.  Another walk I can remove from my West Midlands list.

17th February – Merseyside Day 1

I randomly booked a room in a shared house in Edge Hill, not the place I’ve used a couple times before but a different house, but managed by the same company (judging by the style of emails), with the idea of doing some exploring, although in hindsight booking it for 3 nights would have been better than 2 nights as it would give 2 full days without carrying the mobile house.  The hardest thing was trying to decide what to do as my list of potential walking ideas for this area of the country is quite long, although some ideas were sidelined straight away due to being more summer walks (canals).  Eventually I came up with a rough idea of my walking ideas, as thankfully the weather was looking dryer compared to the previous week.

The trip began with the 07:27 service from Grateley with 159017, 159105 & 159018 for the speedy trip to Waterloo where I had my usual walk to Euston to board the 09:43 service for Liverpool Lime Street, grabbing a seat in the standard class section of 807004 (empty other than one other passenger who alighted at Milton Keynes and some staff travelling), first time I’ve called at Liverpool South Parkway on a 807, with an uneventful trip north, arriving near enough on time allowing a fast walk to the Merseyrail platforms to jump onto 777025 to West Kirby where my walk would begin.

The first section was via roads to reach a path which ran alongside the railway line towards Hoylake with some nice views on the right-hand side.  At Hoylake I followed the King's Gap Road to reach the seafront, heading along the path at the top of the sea wall for some coastal views.  I continued along this path towards Meols before the road disappeared as I entered the North Wirral Coastal Country Park.  A busy path (due to being half term), as I followed the route passing the Leasowe Lighthouse and a posh looking hotel near a golf club.

Leasowe Beach 

My coastal walk continued with a short detour round the edge of Leasowe Beach heading towards Wallasey, the road making a return for the final section towards New Brighton, reaching the shopping centre area where I walked towards Seacombe last year.  I jumped onto 777037 for the short journey to Wallasey Village to start another walk as there was a path which was showing on the maps which looked interesting.  The first section was alongside the road towards Leasowe to pick up a cycle path in the Links View Playing Fields which headed towards a housing estate, this is where things went a bit muddy as Strava (and Google) suggested the path headed across a slightly muddy field to pick up a path alongside a minor waterway which was quite muddy.  Thankfully a hard surface resumed near a crossroads with a path across a golf club heading towards Bidston area and an unmarked access path to the housing estate I had just circled round.  I continued the stroll as I reached the Birket river, following the path towards a road near Leasowe station and on towards a road near Moreton station, doing a little loop towards the Lighthouse for some better photos.  The walk ended at Moreton station where I jumped onto 777017 for the run to Hoylake station to visit a recommended Spoons.

Leasowe Lighthouse

After dinner, I returned to the station and onto 777049 for the run back towards Liverpool city centre, transferring onto a very busy 323226 on a Wigan stopper to take me to Roby (for lack of a better idea and for some better photos), jumping onto 331102 from Manchester to take me to Edge Hill, where after a detour to a nearby Farmfoods shop I followed the route towards the shared house, which was located on Marmaduke Street, near a Tesco.  Once I managed to get the door to open (what didn't help is the digital access code was an unfriendly 9 digits long), I located my room on the first floor, next to a toilet/shower area, getting myself sorted out for the following day and relaxing.  Sounded like I was the only person in the house on the Tuesday night as I didn't hear anybody else, room was at the rear of the house so didn't have much in the way of outside noise, just the window blind was a bit small.  OK during the winter months but I suspect during summer when it gets light early not going to be ideal.  Anyhow, it was a good first day, that coastal path in the Wirral had been on my list for a while, I just need to research the path options heading alongside the Mersey heading towards the Eastham area.

18th February – Scratching the surface of the old Railways in Greater Manchester

My original idea for today was to do the old railway path from Adlington towards Red Rock followed by a route skirting round Wigan towards Platt Bridge and finally towards Tyldersley however the timings from Liverpool didn’t quite work out so that went back on the shelf, instead I dusted off a plan I worked on for January time to do some old railways within the western side of Greater Manchester.

The day began with a stroll towards Liverpool city centre to grab some breakfast before taking 777150 to Headbolt Lane, switching to former EMR 156408 and 150110 on a Blackburn service, the 150 being locked out of use due to short platforms on this route.  I took this combo to Swinton where my walk began, it had been a while since I last did a train from Headbolt Lane towards Wigan and towards Swinton. The first section was via the roads (and Morrisons for lunch items) to go via Victoria Park to pick up the "Swinton Greenway", along the route of the closed London & North Western route from Patricroft & Molyneux Brow via the Clifton Hall tunnel.  Although that tunnel is long since filled in.  I headed along the path, underneath the East Lancashire Road with some nice views along the way, ending up in Monton (close to Eccles) where the rest of the railway route has been lost to history.

150110 departing Swinton (Manchester) Station

A short section via the roads followed before I picked up the "Roe Green Loopline", a path making use of the route of the former Tyldesley Loopline.  This was a little gem of a path for some nice woodland as I headed towards Worsley, going underneath the M60 and reaching Roe Green where the path split.  One side heading towards the former Walkden Low Level station & Bolton and the other side heading towards Tyldesley.  I went underneath the East Lancashire Road on a skew bridge, still with some nice views heading towards the Ellenbrook area, where the former railway line path came to an end on Newearth Road.  The remainder of the Roe Green Loopline is high on my list of things to walk.

The next section of the walk was alongside the Leigh Guided Busway (which was bult along the old railway route, with a good quality mixed used path alongside it.  I continued the walk heading towards Tyldesley, the path swapping sides a couple of times.  After Tyldesley the countryside returned as I headed towards Leigh, where both the guided busway and old railway ends (I believe there is a short section the other side of Leigh heading close to Pennington Flash but that needs more research.

Roe Green Loopline Path, Roe Green 

I headed towards Leigh bus station where I did have quite a few options at bus routes to get me back to the railway, in the end picking a route 582 service to Bolton.  Going via Howe Bridge, Atherton & Hulton to reach Bolton bus station, a high frequency (every 10 minutes) urban route.  Along the way I was looking at options as I was on a Lancs Day Ranger and wanted to do a bit more exploring, so it was onto 150135 on a Blackburn terminator service to Blackburn before boarding 150114 for the trip to Salford Crescent, the long way round!  This 150 got very busy along the way and I was glad to get off at Salford Crescent as it was peak time.  A short wait at Salford before 769448 rolled in on a Southport service as I sat in the motor coach to listen to the motors making that nice noise, switching over to diesel at Ince.  I left the train at Wigan Wallgate, switching over to North Western with the idea to take a Pendo to Preston for a TPE 397 towards Liverpool, but the WCML had fallen over due to a broken-down train around Lancaster so that idea was ditched as I jumped onto 323220 working the next Liverpool stopping service, taking this service to Edge Hill, to call it a night.

I got back to the shared house (detouring via the Farm Foods shop & Tesco), and 15 or so minutes later it sounded like the rain had arrived.  Unlike the previous night I wasn’t alone in the house with one other person on the 1st floor and at least 2 people on the 2nd floor (those above were quite noisy).  An enjoyable day along some decent quality paths, and nice to have finally walked the Leigh busway path.

19th Feb – Merseyside Coastal Walking

After checking out of the shared house, I made my way towards Liverpool city centre and towards Liverpool Central to board 777015 & 777034 on a Southport service to take me to Seaforth & Litherland where my walk began.  Leaving the station, I followed the roads to enter the Rimrose Valley Country Park, although I soon ditched the idea to follow a path due to be going into mud, and headed towards the roads.  Soon I reached the Waterloo Marine Lake within the Crosby Coastal Park.  This was quite a nice lake as I soon reached the waterfront and headed north with the waterfront (Irish Sea?) on my left-hand side.

One stage I needed to walk along the actual beach as the waterfront path had been eaten up by sand dunes, but soon I returned to more solid ground enjoying the views and the seaside air.  I continued north with the built-up area disappearing and the path moving in land a bit due to unstable cliffs (or so the signs said) with the sandy beach disappearing, replaced with broken bricks & other rocks, this was the Crosby Blitz Beach (according to Google Maps).  I soon left the waterfront completely behind as the cycle path went inland towards Hightown.

Waterloo Beach (Crosby Coastal Park)

I followed the roads within Hightown and soon reached a cycle path which ran between the railway & the Altcar Training Camp, one of those paths which had been on my list for a while, although it wasn't that interesting (unless you like fencing).  I did pass the remains of an old station which once served the camp.  After crossing the River Alt, the path moved away from the railway and towards Formby, the walk coming to an end at Formby station where I had good timing as I didn't have long to wait before 777005 & 777010 rolled in to take me back south.

Jumping off the train at Sandhills, I decided to do another short walk, to do something which had been bugging me for a while with the Leeds & Liverpool canal, as when I walked from the city centre area to Sandhills back in 2022 I didn’t do the short Vauxhall basin.  After leaving the station at Sandhills, I soon picked up the canal towpath, heading south towards the Stanley lock flight, crossing over the lock and continued along the canal towards Vauxhall basin.  After reaching the end of the canal I followed the roads towards the city centre area, reaching Lime Street with time to grab lunch from Tesco and onto 390126 on one of the newer Liverpool – London services which call at Runcorn, Lichfield & Tamworth.

A pair of 777s crossing the Stanley Flight on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

On departure, I had a private coach in coach G, which remained empty until Tamworth where I was joined by another couple of passengers, after Runcorn I headed to the toilet and noticed that coach U was also completely empty, such a waste of a 11 coach Pendo.  Anyhow an uneventful run towards London, even though it was crawling along the slow lines after Colwich in order to call at Lichfield & Tamworth (getting passed along the way).  At Euston I had a gentle stroll towards Waterloo to finish the trip on 159021, 159010 & 159002 on an Exeter bound service, to take me to Grateley.  An enjoyable couple of days in the North West, so much to do, so little time.  Sometimes it feels like I’m a kid in a candy shop being told they can only buy one sweet.

20th February – Capital Ring & a random trip to Alton

Originally I was planning to head to Lincoln to finish the old railway path from Bardney, however during the night the weather did a complete change and instead of being light rain from around 3pm it was now forecasted heavy rain most of the day, so after my alarm went off and I did a final check of the weather I went back to bed, waking up a hour or so later.  I headed into London with 158885 & 159013 on a bit of an unplanned day.

The first task after grabbing breakfast was to take a seat on winner 701038 on a Kingston rounder which I was going to take to Twickenham but decided as it wasn’t raining to bail at St Margarets to do a bit more of the Capital Ring.  Leaving the station, I followed various roads (and a footpath) to reach Twickenham bridge over the Thames, dropping down to head underneath the bridge with the river on my right-hand side.  I passed Richmond lock (and the footbridge), heading towards Isleworth moving away from the Thames with a marina.  A poorly signposted junction was missed as I ended up doing a loop near a private gated housing estate, after this double back I continued along the path, passing a pub and reaching the Duke of Northumberland's River.  A short distance later I came away from the Thames, and towards Syon Park, passing Syon House & a garden centre.  I soon reached Brentford with a short walk along the road to cross over the Grand Union canal towards the town centre, swinging via a modern Morrisons for some supplies (as I had the time).  After my supply raid I headed along another road towards Brentford station (which had little or no signage from the town centre), passing a lovely library building.

Syon House, London

It was now onto a bit of an unplanned stuff, deciding on taking 701060 all the way to Weybridge, jumping onto 450027 & 450054 to Surbiton on a semi-fast from Basingstoke (getting lucky as this train was running a couple of minutes late as connections at Weybridge are rubbish.  A short wait at Surbiton before I jumped on 701031 to take me to Guildford as the rain started, as I transferred to 450042 on a Farnham service and onto 450054 & 450027 for a second time with the run to Alton.  I crossed over to the opposite platform at Alton to take a seat on 444003 & 444006 for a pair of 444s had escaped onto the Alton branch.  Just one of those little novelties.

I took these 444s to Brookwood, changing platforms to board 450007, 450040 & 450049 on the Basingstoke stopping service, yes, I could have stayed on to Woking for a 25 minute wait for a Salisbury train, but from experience the middle of the day Salisbury stoppers are best avoided boarding at Clapham & Woking due to being quite busy until Basingstoke (if only the XX:35 Weymouth trains called at Basingstoke).  At Basingstoke it was a short wait for 159017 to roll in, emptying out as I managed to grab a decent seat for the run to Andover where I was met by mum as I wanted to do a couple bits of shopping after visiting the local Spoons for some dinner.

21st February - Marriott's Way (Part 1)

The Marriott's Way is a long distance (25 mile) path running between Norwich & Aylsham linking two disused railways, the Norwich branch of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway & the Great Eastern Railway, linked by the sharp, Themelthorpe Curve.  Due to the distance involved I decided to split the walk at Lenwade which was roughly half-way along the way and enjoyed a half hourly bus service from Norwich (heading towards Fakenham).  The trip began with the first train of the day from Grateley with 158887 on its own to Waterloo, this didn’t get as bad as expected (I would imagine Southampton area being closed reduced passenger numbers).  At Waterloo I headed to the underground with 51602 & 51717 taken to Tottenham Court Road and 345056 to Liverpool Street where I had around 20 minutes to waste, so I popped to the Tesco close to the station for lunch items to save a job for later.

I took a seat on 745006 working the 07:30 service to Norwich, getting myself comfy as I spent the journey looking out of the window.  Arrival at Norwich was on time and I headed towards the city centre towards the Castle Meadows bus stops to board the next First bus run X29 service for Fakenham.  It had rained quite a bit overnight judging by the state of the roads.  This bus went via the Norwich suburbs, towards Drayton before heading into more rural lands as I requested the bus to stop at Lenwade, near Porters Lane (and also near the ROARR! theme park).  The first section was along a footpath alongside the lane, giving some nice views of the Wensum before reaching the Marriott's Way.  This walk was quite rural, with some excellent views of the countryside.  The downside being the path being a bit muddy in places, a walk probably best suited for spring/summer time, but this didn't cause too many issues.  I passed the former Whitwell & Reepham station, with some track laid for a short heritage line.

Remains of Whitwell & Reepham Station

I continued my walk with the former railway path heading in a north western direction in the countryside, reaching the Themelthorpe Curve (one of the last bits of track built by British Rail according to an info board).  The path conditions near the curve was the worst for mud & floods, but thankfully it did improve as I headed east, passing the remains of Reepham station (with a station café now in the building).  A short section along the roads in Reepham followed before resuming the railway walk as once more it was into the countryside, heading towards Cawston where the path diverted away from the route of the old railway (now an industrial estate).  Soon I re-joined the old railway path with the last few miles in countryside before reaching Aylsham.

The path comes to an end near a Tesco and also near the Bure Valley Railway station, I didn’t have long to wait for the next Sanders Coaches run X41 service towards Norwich, I was also considering heading towards Cromer but the timings didn’t work that well with the train.  This was a fast bus and soon I was back in Norwich city centre, heading to the station via the Morrisons as a time-wasting move.  At the station I took a seat on 745003 on the next London train, taking it to Stratford and to Waterloo on the Jubilee line with 96110 & 96109, taking a seat on the next Salisbury stopping service which got very busy, even in the front coach (emptied out at Basingstoke) with 158885 & 159019 to take me back home, where I relaxed for the rest of the evening.  Who knows when I will return to walk the second section!

The Sunday (22nd February) was spent with mum doing some random bus routes within London, including a trip on the Woolwich Ferry, ending up in Crystal Palace, a relaxing way to spend the last day before heading back to work for 6 more early shifts.  Anyhow thanks for reading, scary to think February is nearly over.  More photos can be found on my Flickr Here.