Trips 4 to 6th May (Nottingham, Ashby & Oxford Canals)

 Trips 4 to 6th May

4th May – A bank holiday Monday explore of the Trent & Attleborough Nature

After 6 late shifts it was time for 3 days off, featuring a bank holiday Monday which opened up more options due to the lack of morning peak restrictions (however closed up options due to potential engineering works & reduced bus options).  Felt like a good chance to do a walk I’ve been wanting to do for a while, the section alongside the river Trent between Trent Lock (near Long Eaton) & Nottingham.

The day began with the 05:27 service from Grateley formed of 159007 to take me into Waterloo, where I made use of the Underground to reach St Pancras (Bakerloo & Victoria line) due to wanting to catch the 07:30 service to Sheffield, formed of a lightly loaded (at least in the front coach) 222015 for the speedy run to Long Eaton, where I managed to get a photograph of a passing 810 before starting my walk.  The first section was along a road to pick up the Erewash canal to head towards the river Trent at Trent Lock, turning east into the Cranfleet Cut.

222015 departing Long Eaton Station

I followed this section of the Trent, going underneath the railway bridges, heading towards the lock, alongside quite a few moored boats.  After the lock the main river resumes with the path being generally a decent surface (ignoring the puddles from recent rain), the biggest issue was the width was a bit more restrictive in places.  Only wide enough for one person.  Anyhow the river Trent was on my right-hand side, although mostly hidden from view by trees with lakes on my left-hand side (again mostly midden by tall hedges).  I continued walking the path giving some nice countryside views when the trees opened up and soon reached the Attenborough Nature Reserve where I decided to change my walking idea to explore the Nature reserve.

I continued along the path, river on my right, lakes on my left, reaching the "Main Path" detouring away from the Trent to follow the "Wet Marsh Path" between the Clifton & Tween Ponds.  This took me to another path which I followed (now with the Conneries Pond on my left), heading towards the visitor centre and busy car park.  After the car park I headed along Church Path & Brookside Path to reach Corbett's Meadow, taking another detour towards the village green towards the "Works path", although my walk came to an end with a bridge on the waterway linking Works Pond with the Main Pond being closed, so I doubled back towards the Village Green and headed back towards the Trent via the "Main Path".

A 222 alongside Church Pond, Attenborough Nature Reserve

Once back alongside the Trent I continued my walk towards Beeston with one more detour when I reached the "North Path", following this path towards a foot crossing of the railway, pausing for a photograph of a passing XC 170 before heading along the Delta Path towards the closed footbridge.  After reaching the footbridge I followed "The Bund" path back towards the Trent (the names of the various paths taken from a information board I photographed).  Certainly, a very nice place to spend a bank holiday Monday as it was quite busy with families.  Anyhow I was back alongside the Trent, following my tracks from earlier towards the junction with the North Path. I exited the Nature Reserve and headed towards Beeston Marina where the Beeston canal branches away from the Trent.  I crossed over the canal, heading onto what was signposted as "The Big Track", pausing for a photograph of the large Beeston weir.

My walk continued as I headed back towards what felt was countryside (which considering the area was quite surprising) with the Trent on my right and fields on my left.  Although like before the Trent was hidden from view with various trees, but nice to get the occasional glimpse of the river.  I continued along the path heading alongside a sporting complex used by one of the universities before going underneath Clifton Bridge, the off-road section of the path ending at Queens Drive as I walked along the pavement with the river on my right and road on my left.  I left the road behind and headed underneath the Wilford Toll Bridge before saying farewell to the Trent.

The next section of my walk followed the route of the tramway, crossing over the Trent & passing Wilford Village tram stop before having a detour towards the Iremongers Pond.  I returned to the path alongside the tramway as it passed various schools with my walk ending at Wilford Lane, detouring via a handy Co-Op for a late lunch.  My original idea for this walk was to end near Clifton, detouring via the Wilford Farm Cutting Nature Reserve, but that can be done on another day.

Nottingham Tram 213 approaching Coronation Avenue Curve, Wilford

I jumped onto tram 227 to Nottingham Station, switching platforms for tram 202 to take me towards Beeston Centre for no reason other to waste some time, and to visit the large Tesco in Beeston.  After the visit to Tesco I headed to Beeston station, jumping onto 170618 into Nottingham, where I looked up options as I didn’t want to finish too late.  It was onto dud 810013 to take me to Leicester on a fast service, where I had a 20-minute break before boarding winner 810014 on a fast service to London, easy to grab a seat in the rear coach.

An hour or so later I arrived in London, having around 75 minutes to get to Waterloo for the next Salisbury stopping service, so headed towards the sub surface line, getting lucky with a sub mile Metropolitan S8 set (21041/21042) to take me to Baker Street.  A jubilee line service took me to Westminster where once more I was lucky as a sub-mile S7 set (21479/21480) was heading west on a district line service, which I took to Victoria.  I made a quick dash across to the opposite platform for a short wait before 21499/21500 rolled in on a circle line service to take me back to Westminster, another sub-mile S7 set pushed over a mile (leaving 4 of the S7s & 2 of the S8s).  The Jubilee line took me one stop under the river to Waterloo, as I headed to board 158884 & 159015 on the 18:50 service to Salisbury, losing time around Basingstoke due to signalling issues. 

810014 at St Pancras

These sprinters took me back home to Grateley, where I had a gentle stroll home after an enjoyable day in Nottinghamshire.

5th May – Ashby Canal to Battlefields

On Monday night, I couldn’t decide between heading towards Daventry for an old railway line & the Oxford Canal towards Rugby or heading towards Hinckley to make a return to the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal.  Eventually I decided to head to Leicestershire as I could do an Oxford canal walk on the Wednesday instead.   The day began with the 06:19 service from Grateley with 159108 & 159004 to Waterloo where I had a gentle stroll towards Euston, arriving with time to spare to board 350113 & 350105 on the 08:46 service to Crewe, taking the 350s to Nuneaton where I had around 25 minutes to kill before the next Leicester service.

After visiting the nearby Asda store, I returned to the station, sorting my rucksack out before boarding a busy 170105 for the short journey to Hinckley where my walk began.  The first section was via residential roads to reach the Premier Inn and the canal, picking up where I left it the previous Sunday.  I dropped down onto the towpath heading north, passing a marina with the towpath being reasonable, the biggest issue was some low tree branches & bushes.  After passing an industrial unit on my left and a Triumph factory on the right, the canal headed into the wilderness of the Leicestershire countryside.

170105 departs Hinckley Station

The canal was quite busy with boat movements, and the towpath was as expected variable with some areas being a bit dicey due to erosion (mind the gap!).  I continued the walk in the peaceful countryside as the canal headed towards Stoke Golding & Dadlington, twisting & turning to avoid hills.  I reached Sutton Cheney wharf near the site of the historic Battle of Bosworth, with the towpath becoming quite decent quality for the section towards an old railway bridge which once carried the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway line.

I detoured away from the canal to have a stroll via the woodland Shenton Cutting to reach Shenton station on the Battlefield Heritage Railway for some photos before heading back towards the canal.  The towpath returned to being more rural as I continued my walk on the canal in some more countryside, heading towards Market Bosworth, leaving the canal near the wharf on Station Road.  The last section of today's walk was the mile walk towards the Market Bosworth town centre, crossing over the railway at the start.

Ashby Canal between Dadlington & Sutton Cheney Wharf 

The walk ended in the town square, where there was a handy bench near the bus stop as I relaxed.  The next bus to Leicester for some reason wasn’t tracking on the BusTimes website, but I had the backup of a daily bus towards Atherstone (the LC12).  However, Arriva bus 3805 rolled into the bus station on the next route 153 service for Leicester.  This bus headed towards Leicester via Barlestone, Newbold Verdon & Desford (where it got quite busy with school kids).  After Desford it headed towards Leicester via Kirby Muxloe & Leicester Forest East, before going into the suburbs.  I decided to leave the bus at the bus stop near the Jewry Wall, not the shortest of the options but probably the fastest due to traffic.

I went via the city centre, swinging via a little Tesco for some supplies as I had time, before making my way to the station.  Winner 810015 rolled in but was put on platform 4 (rather than the more usual platform 3) as it needed to be turned off and on again.  Thankfully whatever the fault was must have been cleared as the 810 set off for London, passing a 222 from Nottingham which passed it when at Leicester in the Bedford area.

Market Bosworth Station on the Battlefield Line Railway

The 810 arrived into St Pancras and I had a walk to the Thameslink platforms to jump on a heavily delayed 700121 on a Brighton service from Cambridge, for a very slow crawl towards London Bridge.  At London Bridge I transferred onto 707014 & 707003 on the first available service towards Waterloo East, where I transferred to the main station and onto 158886 & 159014 on the 18:50 service for Yeovil Pen Mill.  An on-time arrival into Grateley followed with a stroll home, where I relaxed after another enjoyable walk in the countryside, another section of the Ashby canal done, leaving the section from Market Bosworth towards the current limit of navigation at Snarestone.  The towpath continues along the route of the old canal towards Measham where I plan to walk along the old railway towards Donisthorpe & and isolated restored section of canal near Moira.  Depending on time and how my legs feel.

6th May – Rural Oxford Canal

I was originally going to leave the section between Heyford to Kidlington for a summer Sunday (as Heyford only gets a Sunday service during the summer months) but decided to do it today as it was a later start compared to the previous couple of days.  The trip starting with the 08:29 service from Grateley to Basingstoke with 159006 & 159018, where I popped to Tesco for some supplies before boarding 165111 to Reading.  My original idea was similar to the start of April where it was going to be a service to Didcot to board the Banbury Turbo there, however 800305 on the next Oxford service was running late.

At Oxford I had around 25 minutes to waste, so after making use of the toilets, I relaxed watching a game of how many passengers can you squeeze onto a Manchester bound 4 coach voyager before 165120 rolled in, emptying out and I headed to Heyford where my walk began.  Crossing over the railway with the footbridge, getting lucky with timing of a passing voyager before I joined the canal, this time turning right, to head south.

A voyager passing Heyford Station

As expected the canal towpath was rural, even passing quite a few moored boats.  Soon the boats finished and the countryside arrived with the canal on my left and railway on the right.  It was quite peaceful with some nice views, as I strolled along the towpath, passing Northbrook lock and reaching Pigeons Lock.  I decided to have a little detour away from the canal, heading along a bridleway towards Tackley station for a photograph of the temporary footbridge before it gets replaced with a new bridge (forcing the southbound platform to be closed).  I decided to follow a footpath on the opposite side of the railway back towards the canal, picking up part of the long distance Oxfordshire Way.

I returned to the canal towpath, carrying on being careful in some areas where the towpath was eroded or the path had some low trees.  I soon reached the first of a trio of railway bridges in the Enslow area, passing a busy wharf (in terms of boats moored up), before pausing at Baker's Lock for some lunch at a handy bench.  Also I needed to remove a couple of stones from my boot.  The next section the canal runs into the River Cherwell, crossing underneath the railway a second time.

Junction between Oxford Canal & River Cherwell between Enslow & Shipton-on-Cherwell

The section shared with the river ended at Shipton Stop Lock, passing a lift bridge and crossing underneath the railway for a 3rd time (the canal is quite twisty).  This is where the long closed branch line to Woodstock crossed the railway with evidence of the former bridge abutment.  The next section headed towards Thrupp where the path became busy with other walkers, the towpath swapping sides at a tight turn so the canal was now on my left-hand side, along with many moored boats.

This section was a bit noisy due to running close to the A4260 road, heading towards Kidlington, skirting around the western edge of the town with some nice views of the countryside before I reached Roundham Lock, saying farewell to the canal as I headed across Roundham foot crossing of the railway with a fast walk to the bus stop near Chamberlain Place, where I jumped onto a Stagecoach run route 2 service to Oxford, going via the Kidlington suburbs before heading towards the city centre, terminating at Magdalen Street.

Railway Bridge over the River Cherwell (Oxford Canal) between Enslow & Shipton-on-Cherwell

I had a stroll towards the station, jumping onto a busy 800032 to take me towards Paddington as I had a social event near Euston for around 18:30.  Along the way I was looking at LU options to waste a bit of time, taking 21393 & 21394 to King’s Cross St Pancras, transferring onto the Piccadilly line to take 116/193 to Caledonian Road where I had a short wait before sub mile 168 & 175 rolled in to take me back to King’s Cross where I had another short wait before my last sub mile Piccadilly line set (129) rolled in on the rear of 180 which I took to Leicester Square.  Bish Bash Bosh.  51710 & 51560 took me to Euston on the Northern line where I had my social event before taking 51614 & 51615 to Waterloo and back to Grateley with 159016 & 159003.

A very enjoyable day in the Oxfordshire countryside, another section of the rural Oxford canal complete.  I dread to think how many times I’ve been on a train over those bridges, the next section will likely be a bus to Fenny Compton to walk towards Banbury or the Braunston to Rugby section (with a bus to Daventry with the old railway line).  Anyhow thanks for reading, a lot more photos can be found on my Flickr album for May, link is *here*.  Also featured are some photos from a random post work walk from Dean to Downton.

Trips 25th April – 27th April (Amman Valley, Ashby Canal & Stourport)

 Trips 25th April – 27th April (South Wales & West Midlands)

25th April – A visit to the Amman Valley 

The day began with the 05:59 service from Grateley to take me direct to Reading (as there was engineering works between Basingstoke & Woking) with a quiet 158890 & 159004.  At Reading I popped out of the station to visit the little Sainsburys Local for some breakfast items before taking a seat in the front coach of 800031 on a GWR service towards Carmarthen, taking the unit as far as Swansea where thankfully it arrived near enough on time, giving me around 10 minutes to dash to the little Tesco Express outside the station for lunch items and to make my way to the bus stop for the First run X6 service bound for the town of Ystradgynlais.

This bus route got quite busy at times as it headed away from Swansea via Landore & Morriston, before going via Clydach & Pontardawe, featuring some steep hills and corners before I alighted from the bus an hour later in Ystalyfera.  Where my walk began, the first section was along the route of the long-closed Swansea canal on cycle route 43, featuring an old aqueduct over the Afon Twrch.  Once I returned to the roads, I followed the road towards Cwmtwrch (giving some nice views of the river), as I wanted to research a path which was shown on Open Street Maps along the route of the former Swansea Vale Railway.  As expected, there was no evidence of the path at the southern end near a river crossing, so I carried on towards Ystradowen, featuring a steep hill.  I left the road and followed a footpath leading to the start of the Amman Valley Cycleway in Cwmllynfell (and there was no evidence of that phantom path at the northern end).

Twrch Aqueduct on the former Swansea Canal in Ystalyfera

The first section of the Amman Valley path follows the route of the Swansea Vale Railway (if my research of old maps is correct), skirting round the edge of Cwmllynfell, crossing over the road before heading into the wilderness near Rhosamman with some beautiful views of the hills on my right hand side (as I was close to the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park).  The path detours away from the old railway route near Brynamman with a steep & twisty path towards the road for a short section before the off-road cycle route (437) resumed heading towards the river Amman and following the river towards Station Road in Brynamman.

After I crossed the road, and passed a rugby ground I was onto the former GWR Garnant Branch, heading away from Brynamman on a nice tarmac path heading towards Garnant with some lovely woodland.  In Garnant the old railway line path ceases to exist (as the railway line is still in place with the freight branch to Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, although I suspect these days effectively disused).  After a photo of the freight line at a level crossing I headed back towards the cycle route, as it followed the River Amman going via the Parc Golwg Yr Aman.

Amman Valley Cycleway between Cwmllynfell & Brynamman (Former Swansea Vale Railway)

I continued the walk in the park, following the path as it headed towards Glanaman, switching sides near a football ground, as the urban area turned countryside once more with some nice views of both the river & the scenery.  I had a little detour via a suspension bridge (and foot crossing of the freight line) before carrying on towards Ammanford on a very pretty section with woodland.  The cycle route ends on the High Street (although I'm sure the cycle path which heads towards Pantyffynnon is also part of the path, something I walked many years ago when doing the stations on the Heart of Wales.

The last mile (or so) was via the roads as I picked up a bit of speed as I had fallen a little bit behind my target (due to stopping for photographs), thankfully getting to the station at Ammanford in time for the 15:02-odd train for Swansea.  150208 took me towards Swansea, getting delayed in the Llaneli area due to a delayed train towards Carmarthen and losing more time outside Swansea due to a fallen branch.  At Swansea I had the option to take the next GWR service towards Reading but my eye caught a 2 coach 197 waiting for a 3-coach unit to attach for the next Manchester service, as it was winner 197032.  Considering the large area the TfW 197s cover I decided it was worth the extra hour as I relaxed for 197105 to arrive and couple up (seemingly the practise of the trains stopping half-way down the platform to attach has ceased considering the 2-coach unit was at the buffers).

Gwaun-cae-Gurwen Branch Line from Ystrad Amman Foot Crossing

I decided to leave the 197s at Port Talbot with the idea to head into the town centre to visit Tesco, but as the 197s were around 10 minutes late (caught behind the 150 on a stopping service which itself was delayed by the previous GWR being caught up with the branch), I didn’t go that far.  Back at the station I boarded 800012 & 800024 on the next London bound service, making myself comfortable for the journey to Reading, arriving near enough on time.  After popping out of the station to visit Wendys (for the first time for what felt like ages) for dinner, I boarded 159007 on a Salisbury service to take me back to Grateley and to walk home.  A very enjoyable walk in the Welsh countryside.  I know I could have skipped on some of the road walking at the start with an Adventure run bus to Cwmllynfell, but knowing Wales, that would have probably been £5+ (whereas the First bus was £3.10 which isn’t that bad in my eyes).

26th April – Ashby Canal & Camp Hill

This was a bit of a short notice overnight trip to the West Midlands after picking up a cheap hotel room in the city centre with the idea to visit the recently opened stations in the West Midlands (and the extension on the trams).  When the day began, I was going to walk the Kenilworth Greenway path (even with its current diversion with HS2 construction) but as always, I had a late notice change of plan.  Anyhow the trip began with 159106 & 159010 for the short trip to Andover where it was onto a rail replacement coach, the first coach which soaked up most of the passengers was the stopping service with the fast arriving afterwards.   It was a coach from the operator called “Trafalgar” (BF24 AHV) which followed the A303 towards the outskirts of Basingstoke before randomly following the A30 via the suburbs to reach Basingstoke station where the coach got caught up in a bit of a farce.

The area outside Basingstoke station isn’t designed for rail replacement buses for multiple locations, and hence that coach departed Basingstoke around 10 minutes late as it was behind another coach (either Andover or Winchester).  For me I was sitting outside in the sunshine waiting for the next bus for Reading with a large crowd building, to the point where the 09:15 service had 2 buses running.  I boarded a red coach of an unknown operator (BN17 JAU) with a blue Aldermaston Coach Hire double decker behind for the run towards Reading (a route I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever done in darkness).  At Reading the coach arrived with plenty of time to allow me to visit Sainsburys Local for some supplies before boarding a busy 221110 on a Manchester service (which had been diverted via Guildford).

I took this voyager as far as Leamington Spa, switching over to platform 4 and onto 196004 on the Nuneaton service, which is when I had the crazy idea to ditch Kenilworth and instead make a start with the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal (which for ease of writing I will call it the Ashby Canal).  This is a canal linking Bedworth with Hinckley, Market Bosworth, Snarestone & Moira, although most of the section north of Snarestone is closed.  The canal runs close with the heritage Battlefield Line Railway between Shenton & Shackerstone.  So, with the idea to walk in the sunshine from Bedworth towards Hinckley I took the 196 to Bedworth where the walk began.

196004 at Bedworth Station

The first section was via the Bedworth suburbs to reach Marston Lane where I crossed over the Coventry Canal, joining this canal for a short section to reach Marston Junction where the Ashby canal begins.  I followed the rural towpath (certainly not one to walk during winter!) heading in a generally north east direction, going underneath the WCML (getting lucky with a photograph of a Pendo crossing over the canal with a narrowboat going underneath).  The canal passed close to Whitestone before returning to countryside, passing close to Bramcote & Burton Hastings.

The towpath condition was quite changeable; some areas were a bit tough with dried mud creating bumpy ground with the odd section where the towpath had been eroded.  For a dead-end canal it was reasonably busy with boats with the towpath being popular with dog walkers & others enjoying the sunshine on this canal which was a bit curvy.  The countryside came to an end as the canal headed underneath the A5 on Watling Street and into the large town of Hinckley.  After passing a couple of wharfs I ended my walk on the B4666 near Whitworth Avenue where there was a handy bus stop.

A Pendo crossing a narrowboat on the Ashby Canal between Bedworth & Whitestone

I didn’t have long to wait before the Stagecoach run 148 service rolled in from Leicester on a Coventry service with one of the modern electric single decker buses.  It headed towards Nuneaton before going towards Coventry, although in hindsight I ought to have jumped off at Nuneaton considering the bus got caught up in some very heavy traffic heading towards Coventry due to the football finishing in the stadium.  The bus finishes near the large Sainsburys near the Pool Meadows bus station.  I was considering a little walk around the War Memorial park close to Coventry station, but with the bus running late, I had one eye on the clock so that idea was parked for another day and I boarded 807009 from the railway station to take me to Birmingham New Street giving me around 25 minutes to kill before the next Kings Norton service.  I rushed to the station to avoid a 4-coach voyager on the following Manchester service.

After a little walk to Tesco before it closed up for the day (getting a couple of reduced to clear goodies) it was onto 196108 on the Kings Norton shuttle (which is hourly on Sundays).  Departure was late for some unknown reason, as I took this service to Pineapple Road, crossing over to the opposite platform to take the same unit to Moseley Village, hanging back on the same platform for a photo of a 56 passing on a BLS tour (making a lovely noise in the tunnel).  For suburban Birmingham this was quite a nice station to hang around for 20-odd minutes, even had squirrels making an appearance.

56103 passing Moseley Village Station (on a BLS Charter)

Anyhow 196108 returned from Birmingham to take me one stop to Kings Heath, where if I had more time, I would have explored Highbury Park, but it was a short wait for that 196 to return from Kings Norton to take me back to Birmingham New Street.  As a time-wasting move, I jumped onto a late running 730017 & 730040 to take me to Kings Norton, returning to Birmingham on 730037 & 730015 before taking 390008 to Wolverhampton.  I had another short time-wasting walk around Wolverhampton station (making use of the re-opened subway giving easy access to the Premier Inn) before jumping onto winner 197038 to take me back to Birmingham New Street.

Once back in Birmingham city centre, I had a short walk to the Travelodge on Newhall Street, getting checked in getting a room on the 3rd floor, and relaxing for the rest of the evening.  An enjoyable day, with an unexpected walk on the rural Ashby canal, ticking off the stations on Camp Hill plus getting a 197.

27th April – A Visit to Stourport on Severn & Darlaston

The day began checking out of the Travelodge and making my way to New Street station via a couple of shops, the first train for me today was the 08:26 Shrewsbury service with 196113 to take me to Willenhall.  I had a little stroll in the area, passing the old station sign before taking 196107 to Darlaston station.  Unlike Willenhall which is very close to the town centre, Darlaston station is a good mile out of the town centre, the large car park featuring 10 vehicles parked up.  One of those stations where if the emergency walkway at the southern end of the Wolverhampton bound platform was opened up, would be more sense for anybody wanting to head into the town centre (rather than having a dog-leg via the car park to reach the roads).

Anyhow after getting various looks from the 2-security staff on duty, I boarded 196114 to take me to Wolverhampton, where I made a tight connection onto a busy 350403 on a service from Liverpool which ended up running late due to signalling issues around Dudley Port.  With the weather being beautiful I decided to change my mind from visiting the tram stops & Edgbaston Reservoir to head into the Worcestershire countryside.  I made my way across to Moor Street, getting treated to the sound of a 68 idling away before I boarded 172345 & 172217 on a Worcester bound service to take me to Hartlebury station where my main walk began.

Platforms at Darlaston Station from Kendricks Road Bridge

The first section of this walk was along the road, going underneath the A449 before joining it at the northern edge of Hartlebury, heading towards the former railway bridge which used to carry the branch line to Stourport on Severn, now called the Leapgate Old Railway Line path.  This part from the A449 doesn't show on Google Maps, but unlike the path on Saturday it does exist.  After climbing to the old track-bed, it was a walk into the countryside with some nice woodland and views, the surface being changeable from dirt to tarmac as a cycle path joined up near Charlton Lane.  This old railway line path took me towards the town of Stourport on Severn, crossing over the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal before turning into a road, the rest of the old railway being lost under modern developments.
I followed the roads in Stourport, heading towards the bridge over the River Severn, grabbing a couple of photographs of the river before heading towards the various canal basins.  After a little explore of the various basins I picked up the main towpath of the canal and followed the canal as it snaked around Stourport, going underneath the old railway viaduct.  The towpath quality was quite good as this part forms part of a cycle route (this was one of those walks I was hoping to have done during the winter months).

River Severn in Stourport-on-Severn

Leaving Stourport behind, I headed back into countryside, heading towards Kidderminster & going underneath the Severn Valley Railway viaduct, with countryside replaced with the urban area of Kidderminster.  My walk ended near the Premier Inn close to the bus station (lots of Diamond buses), and I put on a bit of speed to head towards the station to board 172219 & 172334 which was starting at Kidderminster so ran nonstop to Stourbridge & all stops to Birmingham Snow Hill.

I headed across to Birmingham New Street, getting lucky with a decent seat in coach B of 221111 on a Bournemouth bound service, which did its usual emptying out at Coventry.  An uneventful trip to Basingstoke, the only time it lost time was outside Basingstoke station itself.  A 25-minute fester at Basingstoke (featuring a 68 passing light engine) before I boarded 159009 & 159006 to take me to Grateley to end my little long weekend adventures.  A very enjoyable walk in Worcestershire, one more step closer to finishing the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal, plus some more stations in my book.

Anyhow as always, thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*, what will May bring I wonder.

15th – 20th April Trips (Oxfordshire, North East, London)

 15th – 20th April Trips

15th April – Thames Path in rural Oxfordshire

It was back in late 2022 I reached Oxford on my exploring of the long-distance Thames Path, deciding to put the rest of the path towards Kemble on hold as the sections required bus moves due to the rural nature of where the Upper Thames (or River Isis as it’s otherwise known by) bus options were a bit more limited.  When I was doing research, I identified a potential split in the settlement of Newbridge and at the time it was served by a rough 2 hourly bus shuttle between Witney & Abingdon.  However, since I noted that down, the bus has increased to hourly and running to/from Oxford (to Witney) which makes things a bit easier.

The day began with the 07:57 service with a busy 158882 & 159014 taken to Basingstoke where I managed to board 220013 on a slightly late running Newcastle service to take me to Oxford, the train getting very busy at Reading with folk heading to Oxford due to this service being slightly quicker than a 9 coach IET which calls at Didcot Parkway.  At Oxford I popped out to the little Sainsburys near the station for lunch items before boarding the Oxford Bus run X15 service to Witney, taking it to the bus stop outside Newbridge (which features a couple of pubs).  This bus headed towards Abingdon, Marcham & Kingston Bagpuize and took a fair while.  I guess in theory I could have taken a Swindon bound (S6) bus to Kingston Bagpuize to change there to save some time, but hey-ho.

The walk began as I made my way round the Rose Revived pub and onto the Thames Path, passing a few moored boats with some views of the "New Bridge" (13th Century) before heading into the peaceful wilderness.  Keeping the river on my right-hand side as I followed the path as it weaved towards Northmoor Lock & the settlement of Bablock Hythe.  Many years ago, there used to be a ferry across the river here as the towpath switches banks, however like a few of the Thames ferries it no longer runs forcing walkers into a detour away from the river.

River Thames (Isis) at Bablock Hythe

The detour took me via a caravan park onto a country lane before picking up a farm track to head in a general northern direction, passing close to the Thames a couple of times before joining back up with the river at Pinkhill Lock, where there is a footbridge across the weir allowing me to cross the river so that it was now on my left-hand side.  Thankfully that was the only major detour required although another short detour was needed a short distance further on due to a marina and private land.  Once I passed the marina and re-joined the riverside I soon returned to the ruralness as the path headed towards the Swinford Toll Bridge, passing another lock.

I continued the walk, now entering a woodland section before fields resumed, the river changing direction a few times reaching King's Lock with the direction of the river changing to be more southernly, the sound of traffic from the A34 getting louder as I reached the A34 bridge of the Western By-Pass and towards Godstow Lock (passing the remains of Godstow Abbey).  This section of the Thames Path was a lot busier than the previous 10 or so miles as I headed towards Oxford, the Port Meadow being on my left-hand side as well as the river.  Sadly, this is where it started to rain as I reached the section of the Thames I've previously walked back in the summer of 2021 as a time-wasting move.

River Thames (Isis) between Eynsham Lock & King's Lock

The last section took me towards the Sheepwash Channel, going underneath the railway, passing the Rewley Road Swing Bridge and a final push to Oxford station, arriving with a minute to spare before 221120 rolled in on time (knowing my luck had I arrived with 15-20 minutes to spare, it would have been late!).  I grabbed a seat in coach B and relaxed for the trip to Basingstoke, where after popping out of the station for some supplies I returned to Grateley with 158880 & 159107 to enjoy some live comedy from Lenny Henry & get my rucksack packed ready for my North Eastern adventure.  It was nice to be back on the River Thames, although I have no idea why I had it in my head it was less than 10 miles where it was closer to 14 miles, not as bad as the next section between Newbridge & Lechlade at 16 miles of ruralness.

16th April – North East Day 1, Ponteland & Wylam

Originally for this long weekend I did book accommodation in the Greenock area for a Scottish adventure, before finding out the WCML was out of action, taking the option to switch location to Newcastle instead due to the time penalty of using the ECML to reach Inverclyde, also for the same price I could have 3 nights away instead of 2.  As usual for my North East trips I was staying in Whitley Bay, using a guest house I’ve used a couple of times before.

The day began with the 06:57 service into Waterloo with a busy 158880, 159013 & 159018, where I had just over an hour to stroll towards Kings Cross for the 09:30 Edinburgh fast service.  As expected with the WCML being closed, 801221 was very busy, even in coach G as it took me to Newcastle calling only at York (and strangely going via platform 4 at Peterborough instead of the usual down fast line).  At Newcastle I picked up a “TNE Day Saver” ticket which for £7.50 is good value for money. For it includes Metro, train between Blaydon to Sunderland and buses (not only in Tyne & Wear, but also Durham & Northumberland, making it ideal for cross border adventures).  I got lucky and landed straight onto dud 555019 on an airport service to take me to Newcastle Airport where my first walk began.

555019 at Newcastle Airport

The Ponteland railway path runs along the old track bed of the railway line to the town of Ponteland, part of the railway was used by the Tyne & Wear Metro when it opened in the 1980s, diverting at the airport end to serve the airport.  Once I made my way out of the Airport itself, I crossed over the A696 road at the airport roundabout and onto a blocked off lane (which used to serve some industrial thing).  The path quality was good as I made my way in a mostly north westerly direction in the countryside crossing over the B6545 to reach Ponteland.  Along the way were some information boards which is always a nice touch giving some history of the line & the area.  I reached Ponteland Park, doing a little loop before picking up cycle route 10 which runs along the Darras Hall branch.

This was more woodland as it headed to the suburb of Darras Hall, I carried on for a short section reaching Western Way where it looks the railway path continues along an old colliery railway, but with one eye on the time I headed back towards the Broadway near some shops, to catch the half hourly Stagecoach run X78 service to take me to Eldon Square bus station.  This bus route passed some quite expensive looking houses & the Airport heading towards Kingston Park and a fast-running section via Cowgate to reach the city centre.  After grabbing some bottles of Pepsi Max from a Poundland I headed to Monument, jumping onto 555028 to take me to Whitley Bay going via North Shields as there was a large gap in services going via Benton.

Darras Hall Branch of the Ponteland Railway, Ponteland

After checking into my accommodation, dropping off various things from my rucksack, I returned to the station, taking 555034 to Monument, once more going via North Shields, where I had a fast walk to Central Station to jump onto 158848 to take me to Wylam where I started the second of today’s walks.  This walk had been on my massive list for a while, the Keelmans Way path running close to the south bank of the Tyne towards Blaydon & beyond.  After a couple of photographs near the station and the signal box high above the road, I located the start of the path in the car park.  Very much a woodland path giving the occasional glimpse of the Tyne at the bottom of an embankment.  The surface was quite good as I headed along the Tyne skirting round the edge of Ryton golf club & Ryton Willows to reach Newburn bridge.  Good to see the river being used by rowers and the path being used by cyclists, dog walkers & joggers.

After Newburn Bridge the path continued towards Stella and a modern looking housing estate with the path following the roads for a short distance before returning to the riverside and another section of woodland.  I passed the start of the Blaydon Burn path which is another short path on my list (my plan is to combine it when I walk from Winlaton Mill).  The walk ended at Blaydon station where there is a handy access path between the platforms & the riverside.  As I only had a 7-minute wait before the next train to Newcastle I remained at the station, as the backup option was one of the frequent buses towards Newcastle or Gateshead. 156479 rolled in from Prudhoe to take me to Newcastle station where once more I headed to the Metro to take 555028 to Northumberland Park.

Keelmans Way Path between Wylam & Ryton

This was a bit of an unplanned trip, but I made the connection onto 156451 on the next Ashington service to take me to Bedlington to tick off the line for stations visited.  I made use of the time to visit the nearby Co-Op to grab some supplies for dinner before crossing the tracks via the level crossing to board 156451 back to Northumberland Park, transferring across to the Metro station getting lucky with 555015 arriving within a couple of minutes to take me to Whitley Bay, complete with security staff on board (I guess to counter some of the anti-social behaviour the Tyne & Wear Metro suffers with out of the city centre.  I will return to Bedlington again at some point to walk into the town centre as there is an interesting looking path, and I can exit via a bus.  Anyhow back at Whitley Bay I had a gentle stroll back to the guest house, making myself comfortable for the remainder of the evening, as I was weighing up various walking options.

17th April – A trio of old railway walks

I headed out of the guest house towards the station, jumping on 555015 for the trip to Monument via North Shields as there was a gap in service heading the other direction, at Monument I headed to Central Station on 555007 with the idea of grabbing breakfast before making a final decision at where to head to, as I wanted a walk in County Durham.  That plan changed when I saw a stopper for Middlesborough being delayed as the inbound was late, and I climbed onto 156487 to take me towards Seaham, a place I’ve wanted a decent explore as I had only ever been around the station area.  After-all who doesn’t like a visit to the seaside?

The first section once away from the station was to follow the route of what I believe (looking at old maps at least) to be the former Rainton & Seaham Railway towards the harbour area.  A lot different these days compared to the height of coal production no doubt.  I headed towards the harbour itself, climbing up the stairs to the Red Acre Point for some decent views.  After enjoying the sky I headed via an Asda to grab some supplies for lunch and also something for a late breakfast (for I was getting a bit hungry at this point).  After a bacon sandwich I followed some of the streets to reach the route of the former South Hetton Railway.

View from Red Acre Point in Seaham

This was a long climb away from Seaham passing a golf course before the urban area gave way to ruralness before I reached a section where the path detours away from the original railway due to the construction of the A19 dual carriageway, the cycle route crossing this busy road on a roundabout with the A182.  This is where I could have got wrong and followed the signs for cycle route 1 which instead of following the old railway runs alongside a road heading towards the modern Jade Business Park, but I was careful and picked the route of the old railway (although not like there was any clues to the path's former existence.  At Jade Business Park the original route (and cycle path shown on Strava) has disappeared under construction with an alternative path following the access road with various business units (some under construction), before the cycle path resumed on it's own with the section towards the settlement of South Hetton, which was a railway junction back in the olden days.  I carried on with a link path (which wasn't the best of surface quality) to link up with the route of the former Sunderland & Hartlepool Railway, now called the "Hawthorn - Ryhope Way".  I headed south towards South Hetton before doubling back, to save a job for when I get round to walking from South Hetton towards Shotton Colliery, Wingate & probably Hartlepool (although there is a path all the way towards Stockton).

The surface quality of this path was decent (for it was part of cycle route 1 according to some signs) as it headed north (ish), skirting round the side of the settlement of Murton with some nice countryside views on this peaceful path.  I soon reached the small settlement of Seaton, not that far from my starting point in Seaham, crossing over the A19 once more, the next part running close to the A1018 road so wasn't as peaceful, as soon countryside was replaced with the urban environment as I reached Ryhope, located to the south of Sunderland.  This path ended at the former Ryhope station, the only evidence remaining being the old footbridge (now fenced off).


I had the option to finishing the walk at the village green where there was a frequent bus service towards Sunderland, but decided to carry on, following some roads to reach what I think was the route of the former Silksworth Colliery Railway, heading towards the site of the former Ryhope Colliery, finishing the walk with an uphill stroll towards Silksworth, but finishing on Tunstall Bank where a Go North East route 63 rolled in, running late, to take me towards Sunderland city centre, terminating at the bus stop outside the Winter Gardens.  I can only guess Go North East control instructed the driver to run set-down only once within the city areas due to late running as it was quite fast.  Anyhow when I was waiting for the bus, the weather turned a bit wet (which was expected from the forecast).  I was toying with ideas of what to do next as I remembered the route 56 service to Newcastle, which felt like a good way to waste some time as I boarded a double decker for a different view as the bus headed via Southwick & North Hylton (passing Hylton Castle).

After crossing over the A19 it passed the massive Nissan factory to head towards Concord (to the north of Washington) before heading towards Gateshead via Springwell (passing the Bowes Railway).  I decided whilst I was in the area to alight at a bus stop in the Wrekenton area to walk a path along the route of the former Team Colliery Waggonway towards the Angel, picking up the Angel Cycleway path to take me towards a housing estate in the Low Fell area.  I was glad I did this walk from Wrekenton as it was mostly downhill.  Anyhow once more I was trying to decide on a potential bus move, part of me wanted to visit Saltwell Park, but in the end I jumped onto a route 93 bus towards Gateshead Interchange, going via the large Team Valley trading estate.

Path along the Team Colliery Waggonway, Gateshead 

At Gateshead Metro station, I headed to the platforms, jumping onto 555005 to take me to Gateshead Stadium, simply as a way to get more fresh air (as I don’t really like hanging around too long at the underground Metro stations).  A short wait at Gateshead Stadium saw me score 555032 for the trip to Central Station, jumping on dud 555012 back to Gateshead Stadium, followed by winner 555030 which I took to Pelaw (nicer to hang around at than Heworth).  I noticed when looking at the path a potential future walking idea from Pelaw as a winner unit rolled in on a Pelaw terminator (as this week the South Shields branch was replaced by buses with engineering works), so it was a case of waiting for 555036 to return from the sidings to take me back underground where I decided to remain on board to Palmersville as it was such a beautiful evening, felt a waste not to do a short walk.

Leaving the station at Palmersville, it was via an industrial estate to reach the Killingworth Waggonway Path within the large Rising Sun Country Park.  Quite busy with other walkers (and jogger) as I followed this path via the scenic country park towards a housing estate (Addington Drive) in Wallsend.  A short walk along the road followed before I picked up another path heading back towards Palmersville station, some more good views within the country park.  At the station I had a 16-minute wait before 555035 rolled in to take to Monkseaton where I went via the large Morrisons for some supplies before making my way back to the guest house via the local Spoons for something warm for dinner.  Today was quite productive for walks, even scoring a trio of 555s into my little book.  I didn’t sleep that well for some reason.  Didn’t help there was a couple of other people staying in the guest house who kept going outside for a smoke during the night and weren’t that quiet about it.  

18th April – South Tyne Trail between Alston & Haltwhistle

This was a walking idea which came to my attention in February when I was looking at the maps around the Tyne Valley line, seeing the tell-tale green line to the south of Haltwhistle, looking at the OS Maps saw it heading towards Alston (also the same time I spotted the short path from Brampton station into the centre of Brampton).  Bus options to Alston are somewhat limited to 3 buses a day from Haltwhistle, with the timings slightly nicer on a Saturday compared to a weekday, 10:52 instead of 09:14.

The day began from Whitley Bay heading towards Central Station on 555036 where I grabbed some breakfast and as I was slightly ahead of time, jumped onto 156484 to take me to Hexham for a little stroll towards a large Tesco to waste some time, before returning to take 156496 the 16 or so miles to Haltwhistle.  After visiting the little Co-Op for some lunch items (as the Hexham Tesco was a bit bare boned) & the public toilets I hung by the bus stop near the station also used by the AD12 bus route between Carvoran & Hexham (a bus route which had gone onto my list to do) for the route Go North East operated 681 bus to Alston with a little Solo.  A handful of passengers alighted within Haltwhistle (the bus comes from Birdoswald via Greenhead) leaving just myself and 2 other passengers to enjoy the scenic delights of this bus route.



This was a beautiful route heading away from Haltwhistle via some small villages (Coanwood, Lambley, Halton Lea Gate, Slaggyford) with some fast running and some steep hills.  Nobody else boarded or alighted from the bus as it reached the town of Alston where my walk began, going down the hill heading towards the railway station (served by the South Tynedale Railway) crossing over the River Nent.  The first section was a footpath skirting the edge of the station site following the river before picking up the permissive path which runs alongside the heritage track (reminded me of the path between Hoveton & Wroxham & Aylsham).

The path quality was reasonable, probably not a path you would want to cycle along (as there were a few gates along the way), nor probably do during winter time.  As soon as the path headed away from Alston the views opened up for this is one beautiful part of the country (North Pennines National Landscape), just a shame the weather was a bit changeable with some light rain a couple of times along the way, nothing that major but it did reduce the scenic views.  A steam train passed me near a bridge over the River South Tyne, but other than that the path was very peaceful.

Steam engine Nakło on the South Tynedale Railway between Alston & Kirkhaugh

I continued the beautiful walk passing Kirkhaugh & Lintley Stations before reaching Slaggyford the current northern terminus of the railway, complete with cute little buffet coach parked in a north facing bay platform.  The track ran out but the South Tyne Trail continued, with the path quality being quite changeable for the next couple of miles with some muddy & flooded patches but nothing that major.  Some beautiful woodland featured still with some views of the valley on the right hand side before I reached the area of the former Lambley station, where due to the station & land being sold into private hands when the line was closed, the footpath diverts down some steep stairs to go underneath the viaduct before going up some more steep stairs to re-join the old track bed to the south of the viaduct before crossing over the Lambley Viaduct which was the last time I saw the River South Tyne for a while.

After the viaduct came some woodland and sadly a heavy downpour lasting only a couple of minutes but long enough to get wet as I reached the former Coanwood station site where cycle route 68 (which detours via the roads due to the stairs at the viaduct) re-joined the old railway line route.  This area the path wasn't the nicest to walk, but that was mainly due to puddles from the heavy downpour, thankfully though the rough surface soon improved into tarmac, as did the views as I headed towards Haltwhistle in the sunshine.  The old railway path ends on Plenmeller Road with a short section along the road, crossing over the A69 Haltwhistle bypass before picking up another footpath leading towards the Alston Arches viaduct over the South Tyne before the last section towards Haltwhistle station where my walk ended, had I had a bit more time I might walked back towards the viaduct for some photos from the ground, but that could be a job for another day.

River South Tyne from the Alston Arches Viaduct, Haltwhistle

I was glad I ignored the platform information display which was suggesting the next train was running 20-odd minutes late as 156469 rolled in near enough on time with the next train to Newcastle, although this is when I noticed it would arrive into Newcastle around a quarter of a hour after the kickball had finished so came up with a revised idea to avoid the city centre & potential overcrowding on the Metro, so jumped from the 156 at Metrocentre, heading to Blaydon with 158842 to cross over the roads into the shopping centre area (although most of the shops at this time were closed). After grabbing something for dinner from Morrisons I headed to the little bus station, randomly jumping onto a route 69 service up a steep hill towards Winlaton, switching to a route 49 service on a little tour of the area to head towards Gateshead Interchange, returning to Metrocentre on the X66 shuttle (with a modern electric bus).

My last bus of the day was a busy 10A service towards Newcastle city centre, which got caught up in traffic so I jumped off at a bus stop near Central Station, heading towards the station and onto 555005 to take me to Whitley Bay, to relax for the rest of the day.  A very enjoyable stroll in the countryside, a beautiful part of the country.

19th April – A little explore of Sunderland

With the WCML being closed, mixed with the end of Easter Holidays for some areas, I was expecting LNER services from Edinburgh to be very busy so decided to play it a bit safer and use Grand Central from Sunderland, on the 10:30 departure as I didn’t want a late finish due to going into early shifts at work, especially as there was replacement buses between Andover & Grateley today.  After checking out of the guest house, a place I will use again if I’m back in the North East, I headed to the station, using my POP PAYG smartcard (as using that is £2.50 for a single ticket, compared to £5.50-odd buying a paper single).  I said farewell to Whitley Bay with 555005 to West Jesmond where I was a little bit naughty and dashed to the nearby Sainsburys Local for breakfast items before returning to take 555017 for the journey towards St Peters where my little explore of Sunderland began.

I headed away from St Peters heading towards the stadium and an area undergoing redevelopment at the Riverside, which includes a modern wide crossing of the River Wear (Keel Crossing) designed to cope with the football traffic from the city centre.  I need to research the cycle path which runs along the north bank of the Wear towards North Hylton, but that's a job for another trip.  Anyhow after crossing the Wear, I headed towards the city centre area, detouring via the Minster before heading towards Mowbray Park.

River Wear from Keel Crossing Bridge, Sunderland

I entered Mowbray Park at the northern end near the winter gardens building, taking a little stroll within the park before picking up the route of an old railway line which used to link the line from South Hylton & the docks.  One of those random short old railway line paths which headed towards an industrial estate.  I followed the roads heading towards the Town Moor, before heading back towards the city centre, swinging via Tesco to grab lunch items for later on.  I left the sunshine to head underground to get one of the unreserved seats at the southern end of 180103 when the train was lightly loaded.  Departure was on time, and it was the first time I’ve called at Seaham on Grand Central, and I sat back looking out of the window with the journey towards the ECML.  As usual for these trains they got very busy at York and had a nice fast run towards London.

At London I headed towards Waterloo on foot, meeting up with my good friend Jules who was in the area on a London trip for a short stroll and catchup before I jumped onto 159108 & 159101 on the next Andover service to take me to Andover where it was time to wait for the replacement bus.  Previous times there has been 3 buses used at Andover, one for Gillingham only, one for Salisbury and a smaller bus for Grateley & Tisbury, however today there was a coach for Gillingham with a smaller coach (from an operator called Bugler, IIG 7705) which departed Andover leaving folk behind wanting Salisbury.  The bus took me to Grateley, where I had a gentle stroll home, to sort my rucksack out after a long weekend in the North East.

20th April – A stroll along the Thames in London

For my last day of my current time-off it was an early start to get my body into early starts again, with 159106 & 159009 towards London Waterloo.  I was hoping to make some progress into the latest 701s which have entered service since my last London day trip, but only 2 were out, so I came up with an idea for a little walk in the beautiful weather (originally it was going to be a path alongside the Duke of Northumberland’s River).

After grabbing some breakfast it was onto 458420 & 458425 for a time wasting spin to Barnes, followed with 701052 to Brentford, returning towards Clapham Junction on a busy 458419 & 458424 before winner 701008 rolled in on a Hounslow loop service which I took to Kew Bridge, going via Twickenham where my walk began, for today I had decided to walk along the Thames Path on the northern side of the river, I had previously walked on the Thames Path on the ‘south’ side a few years ago. After leaving the station, I swung via Sainsburys to grab some lunch items, before heading towards Kew Bridge, going underneath the bridge and heading east.  The first section was along roads before picking up the riverside path in the Strand-on-the-Green area, going underneath the Kew Railway Bridge before the path headed inland.

An Overground service crossing Kew Railway Bridge 

After walking along roads for a short distance, I returned to the riverfront near Chiswick Bridge, crossing over a yacht marina and a boat club, before going underneath Chiswick Bridge, heading towards Dukes Meadows.  This path took me towards Barnes (Railway) Bridge, where I made use of a modern bridge which goes underneath the railway bridge but above the river.  I was now into Dukes Meadows walking along the Promenade, the views of the river being more limited due to trees, but soon the river view returned as the Thames Path headed towards Chiswick Eyot on the Chiswick Mall path.

The next section was more walking along minor roads in Chiswick before heading back on a riverside path towards Hammersmith Bridge, where I crossed over the Thames on the closed to traffic bridge, returning to the north bank on the opposite side before continuing on a busier section of path, passing various cafes & other buildings, even going underneath one of the stands of Craven Cottage (home of Fulham FC).  This led towards Bishops Park where I continued towards Putney Bridge, where I could have kept going towards Imperial Wharf but decided to call it a day as I needed to visit the bathroom.

North Side Approach to Hammersmith Bridge

I followed the main Putney High Street, crossing over Putney Bridge to reach Putney station, where I had timed it just right to board winner 701023 on a Windsor bound service which I took to Staines.  I switched platforms fast to board 458408 & 458413 from Reading which due to late running was running nonstop to London from Feltham, although it wasn't that fast as it caught up with a stopper in the Wandsworth Town area.  At Waterloo I headed towards 159012 on the next service bound for Salisbury to take it to Andover where I met up with mum as we had some food from the local Spoons before visiting Tesco for some shopping for the week ahead before driving home.  Once home I got myself ready for work, which involved being in bed by 7pm for a 3am alarm for the Tuesday (and this is the time of year where those early starts are bit more painful due to trying to sleep when it's still light outside).

Anyhow thanks for reading, a lot more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*.  Keep safe

7th & 8th April Day Trips

 7th & 8th April Day Trips

After a run of 7 early shifts at work, I had a couple of rest days, deciding on a couple of day trips, although like with most day trips the hardest part was trying to make my mind up at where I wanted to head (taking into account engineering works).  The weather was looking beautiful so I was happy with that.

7th April – A stroll in the countryside along the Oxford Canal

For the first day, I decided to visit the Oxford Canal to walk one of the rural sections with the theory that the towpath would have dried out and would be clear from overgrown hedges or long grass which can happen on rural canals in the summer months.  The day began with the 08:27 service from Grateley to take me into Basingstoke on 159012 & 159008 where I popped to the shops to grab some supplies before jumping onto 165111 on the Reading stopping service to take me to Reading (as I had noticed the following Voyager was only 4 coaches).  At Reading I connected into 800007 on a Cheltenham Spa bound service to take me to Didcot Parkway where I had a short break on a busy platform for 165105 to roll in on the stopping service to Banbury.

The Turbo departed Didcot, losing a couple minutes sitting near the junction (for I presume for the Malvern bound 5 coach IET), calling at Culham & Radley before heading into Oxford where the platform was very busy as the Manchester bound voyager was running late.  The 165 departed Oxford before coming to a stop near the Castle Mill Stream bridge, held on a red for the voyager to pass 15 minutes later (I guess the signaller was expecting the voyager to have a short dwell at Oxford where in fact it was at the platform for a good 5 minutes, probably due to overcrowding).  Anyhow eventually the 165 got moving and I alighted at Heyford where my walk would begin, the canal at Heyford being alongside the railway.

165105 departing Heyford Station

On leaving the station, I headed left to follow the canal heading towards Banbury, with the towpath skirting round the edge of Lower Heyford before the first section of countryside.  The towpath passed Upper Heyford with some expensive looking houses near Allen's Lock before returning to countryside once more, the only sound being the odd helicopter, birds & occasional train.  I crossed underneath the railway with the countryside opening up to be beautiful fields with the Cherwell River running close by.  Certainly, this is a towpath you couldn't easily ride a bike along due to the number of gates.

There was one section in this area where the original towpath has been lost to erosion, with the path heading a bit inland up a bank with the canal hidden from view, but soon the towpath returned to the canal edge as it neared the small village of Somerton.  After Somerton the towpath continued turning more woodland than open countryside in places, still very beautiful and peaceful.  Although the peace didn't last as the canal neared the M40 and Souldern Viaduct (carrying the Chiltern lines, where annoyingly I was 30 seconds too late to grab a photo of a passing train.  I soon reached Aynho Wharf near the site of the long closed Aynho station.

A voyager alongside the Oxford Canal between Upper Heyford & Somerton

I continued the walk, enjoying the countryside even if the towpath was a bit dodgy in places due to erosion, a case of avoiding the holes. It doesn't help when you get hire boats ignoring the speed limit on the canal and creating waves behind, which eat away at the banks.  The towpath switched sides (so the canal was now on my left-hand side, rather than right hand side) near a lock, with a handy bench which I used for a lunch stop.  The noise from the M40 increased as the canal passed underneath the motorway, heading towards the King's Sutton area.  This area was probably the worse for towpath condition, nothing unpassable but some areas where I had to slow down my pace to avoid having an unexpected bath.

The canal passes the King's Sutton area, even seeing the railway station but there is no access from the canal towpath towards the village, the next road crossing being at Twyford Wharf.  I continued the walk as the canal passed underneath the M40 again, heading towards the southern reaches of Banbury and a modern looking housing estate.  This area was another part of the towpath which was rough which I found a bit surprising for the area.  Anyhow soon the path did get better for the last section towards the Tramway Road bridge, where I made a little detour towards the Morrisons for some food before returning to the canal towpath for a time-wasting stroll passed the station towards the town centre area, a section I did walk a couple of years ago when on a railtour which had a break at Banbury.

Remains of the Lock Keepers Cottage at Lock 30 on the Oxford Canal between Twyford Wharf & Banbury

The walk finished at Banbury station, where I had a short wait before a busy 221134 rolled in from Manchester, passing the vestibule dwellers to get a decent seat in coach B for the speedy run towards Basingstoke, where the day ended with 159014 & 159013 back to Grateley, spending the evening relaxing and sorting out my photos.  A very enjoyable rural canal walk, lots of countryside fresh air.

8th April – Wherryman’s Way alongside the Yare

My original idea for the Wednesday was to head towards Norwich to finish the Marriot’s Way path from Lenwade into Norwich, however on Tuesday night I had a crazy idea to instead have another countryside walk before the grass & hedges grow.  The walk from Great Yarmouth towards Reedham via Berney Arms has been on my list to do for a while so with the weather looking good, I decided it would be nice to explore that area.

The day started with the 06:57 service towards Waterloo, being Easter Holidays the loading wasn’t as heavy as usual on 158888, 159012 & 159003, and as I had some time to kill before the 09:30 service from Liverpool Street I had a little stroll towards Liverpool Street, picking up supplies along the way (whilst dodging cyclists whom think red traffic lights don’t apply to them and smartphone zombies whom walk around eyes glued to their phone, even saw someone watching a video when walking, no attention being played to where they are walking). I made it to Liverpool Street in good time to grab a seat on 745001 for the speedy trip to Norwich.

745001 at London Liverpool Street

At Norwich, I transferred to 755422 working a Great Yarmouth service, one of those oddity services which head towards Great Yarmouth via Berney Arms rather than the route via Acle, which did make my life a bit easier as I alighted at Reedham where my walk began (deciding the previous night the riverside path from Cantley towards Reedham can be done on another day).  The first section is along the road (only because I didn’t notice the footpath option until it was too late), passing some expensive looking houses.  I soon reached the River Yare for a short distance passing a couple of cafés & some public toilets before going underneath the railway near the railway swing bridge to join Holly Farm Road following the signposts for the Wherryman's Way.  Soon the farm access track gave way to a grassy embankment alongside the River Yare (with what seemed to be another unofficial path at the bottom of the embankment which I guess would be useful if the wind was strong).  I spotted an ECS of the Eastern Rail Mk2 coaches heading somewhere but other than that it was very peaceful.

The walk continued alongside the river bank, although mostly the river was hidden from view due to reeds & other waterways, the first sign of life I saw was near Cadge's Mill before the wilderness resumed as I snaked my way towards Berney Arms enjoying the sunshine and countryside views.  The windmill at Berney Arms came into sight and 20 or so minutes later I reached the area known as Berney Arms with a couple of isolated houses.  I detoured away from the river bank following the Weaver's Way path towards the isolated station, although I did get caught out with an unexpected waterlogged path, hidden somewhat by the grass, the first I noticed is when my foot got wet.  I reached the station, for a couple of photos and a lunch break sitting on a handy bench before I made my way back towards the river, attempting to avoid the waterlogged patch didn't work as my other foot got wet.  Doh!

Berney Arms Windmill alongside the River Yare

After passing the former pub at Berney Arms (looked to be a private house) the path split with a hard surface track at a lower level with the grassy embankment, with a couple of areas where someone had cut the grass back.  Still very peaceful and beautiful, the first person I saw was someone working on a sluice gate near where the hard surface track crossed the railway.  I also saw a cyclist making their way towards Berney Arms (also saw them later making their way back towards Yarmouth so I have no idea if he was a local or just someone exploring the area).  The path at the bottom of the embankment was more farm track like so passable on a mountain bike, but I was at the top with the views of the countryside & river.

The path continued along the north bank of the Yare, heading closer to Great Yarmouth with road traffic on the Acle New Road being nonstop, as I reached the railway near the junction.  I continued along the path, alongside the railway line passing the carriage sidings now used to store various coaches owned by Eastern Rail, a mix of coaches from various operators plus a seemingly random 321434, which was quite unexpected.  After pausing for some photographs, with the path circling the edge of the wide river to go underneath Breydon Bridge (which carries the A47).  I detoured into the Asda store for some supplies before I made my way towards the busy station, the end of the delightful walk.

321434 stored in the Yarmouth Carriage Sidings (Eastern Rail Services)

I was considering taking the fast bus towards Norwich, but it didn’t save me any time, so waited for 755422 to roll in from Norwich, grabbing a seat at the front (where it was quieter) and relaxing with the run towards Norwich going via Acle, for I hadn’t been along this way since late 2020.  At Norwich I made the connection onto 745002 on the 17:00 service to London (spotting a refurbished purple 158 on the EMR towards Nottingham, very purple).  I relaxed for the speedy journey towards Stratford, where I transferred to the Jubilee line with 96112 & 96111 for the trip to Waterloo, to finish the trip with a busy 19:20 service bound for Exeter with 159004, 159108 & 158880.  Made busier due to the part cancellation of the 18:50 service due to signalling issues (and a good thing I made this train as the 19:50 was starting from Basingstoke with no connection from London).  Soon I arrived back at Grateley, to have a gentle stroll home to relax for the rest of the evening, getting ready for 6 late shifts.

Anyhow as always, thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *Here*, next week sees a return to Whitley Bay, just a case of deciding which walks to do.