30th April – 2nd May: A weekend trip to Glasgow & London
The idea for this trip came about when I heard that on Sundays as part of the engineering works on the Glasgow Central Low Level line there was going to be a hourly service from Balloch to Milngavie using the rarely used (in passenger service) single track Hyndland chord between Anniesland & Scotstounhill, I started looking at costs for a weekend getaway. I will admit to have completely forgetting about the bank holiday on the Monday until after booking my return journey from Glasgow to London (via Edinburgh due to engineering works on the WCML), as if I had remembered I would have looked at booking a later train to London, or even booking 2 nights in Glasgow to return south on the Monday.
For the Sunday night I booked in the Premier Inn near to East Croydon station as it was cheap, with a few ideas what I could do for the Monday.
Saturday
Sadly my recent luck with the weather came to an end as the weather for Glasgow was looking to be quite wet during the day, with heavy showers turning into light showers, so my original plan to walk from Balloch towards Dalmuir, which was the riverside path along the Riven Leven, old railway route (Lanarkshire & Dunbartonshire Line) then canalside walk (Clyde & Forth Canal). Got put on the backburner (because walking in the rain isn’t much fun, especially when carrying clothes), so my revised plan was to have a random pottering at what lines were actually running (as I didn’t pick a good weekend to travel due to Cambuslang area being closed).
My day began with the 05:59 service from Grateley to take me all the way into Waterloo, a 158+159 formation. With around 90 minutes to waste before my booked train from Kings Cross (09:00) I decided to have a gentle walk towards Kings Cross, going along the South Bank of the River Thames to reach Blackfriars Bridge, crossing over the Thames, following the road to reach the Holborn Viaduct. I climbed up to the A40 to follow that road towards Chancery Lane Underground station, then Grey’s Inn Road towards Kings Cross, swinging via St Andrews Garden & Tesco.
Holborn Viaduct, London
Once I reached Kings Cross, I had a few minutes before the train got announced for boarding, sadly no winner for me as it was 801207. I was in the front coach and it was reasonably busy throughout the journey, good change-over of passengers at Newcastle. The train lost time south of Morpeth, and as a result lost its path from Drem so the last 20 minutes was bit of a drag as it was behind a late running stopper from North Berwick (which itself got delayed by the previous Azuma).
Arrival into Edinburgh was around 14 minutes late, not good when my connection had been cut back to 4 minutes. Especially not good when the train went into platform 19, which in my eyes is an awful platform to terminate a train from London on, solely due to it getting very narrow at one point. However, I somehow made the connection onto a busy pair of 385s (just by the skin of my teeth as the guard was about to close the doors), eventually finding a decent seat in the front coach. I guess I wasn’t the only passenger heading to Glasgow from London going via Edinburgh today.
91109 at London Kings Cross
The 385s took me across to Glasgow Queen Street, with the guard getting to the front coach by Linlithgow checking tickets, I managed to get a Roundabout from him to save a job when I reached Glasgow. At Queen Street I headed to the low-level platforms, jumping on the first train to take me to Charing Cross before a Balloch train rolled in to take me towards Bowling. In the short time I was at Bowling I headed up a path to reach the former railway route for a photo of a tunnel, before returning to the station (it was also to get away from a gang of youths who boarded at Dalmuir who were hanging around in the shelter on the Glasgow bound platform).
318257 departs Bowling
My rough plan changed, as I was going to change at Dalmuir for a train via Clydebank, but I decided to stay on the Balloch – Airdrie service to Drumry, which is currently undergoing works to rebuild the platforms, with the westbound platform being missing. With 30 minutes to kill and the rain easing I decided to have a gentle walk back towards Singer before the next Airdrie service arrived to take me to Coatdyke, a station I visited back in October 2020 but the photo wasn’t the greatest due to having a tight connection.
Platforms at Drumry Station from nearby bridge
Another change of plan, as originally I was going to head out on foot towards Coatbridge Central, going via the Dunbeth Public Park, but decided to try and push to clear 200km of walking in the month, so I took the next Edinburgh train one stop to Airdrie to walk along the old railway route (I believe it was the old Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway, linking into the Airdrie–Newhouse line). Although not much in the way of railway evidence remain other than some bridges and the Sheepford viaduct.
The path along the railway comes to an end near the site of Calder station, although I’m not sure how much of the old line beyond is still walkable (under Scottish Access Rights), but my walk continued along the North Calder Heritage Trail around an area the Monkland Canal used to be. I swung via a Tesco Extra for some dinner items (saved me a job when I reached Motherwell) and ended my walk at Coatbridge Central, having good timing as the rain returned with a vengeance, just as I reached the platforms.
Old Monkland Canal Wharf in Coatbridge
A single 318 rolled in as I braved the rain to board for the run towards Motherwell, where due to engineering works meant a heavily reduced service was running (1 train per hour towards Cumbernauld & 1 train per hour to Glasgow via Hamilton), so faced with a 45 minute wait for the next Glasgow train I decided to have a little walk to Airbles (as the rain had stopped once more). I returned to Motherwell on a 318+320 combo, remaining on board as it departed back towards Glasgow (going from platform 4).
I alighted from this train at Mount Florida, having a short wait before a 380 took me to Pollokshields East, for another 318+320 combo to Queens Park, the same 380 back to Crosshill before my final move was on another 380 to take me to Glasgow Central. The little moves were to get some more photos of those stations, also to waste some time. At Glasgow as darkness had fallen and the rain had returned, I departed from the station to head to my usual accommodation, the Euro Hostel. £18 for a private room on a Saturday night is a bargain, even if it comes with shared bathrooms (2 toilets & 2 showers split between 6 rooms). Yes, I know the private rooms on the 2nd floor are very very basic, but for a place to just crash, ideal.
380111 at Glasgow Central
Sunday
The main goal today was the Hyndland chord, which was only getting limited service due to some services from Balloch going towards Glasgow & Shettleston instead of Milngavie (I assume due to the football). My day started with a walk from the Euro Hostel towards Queen Street (via Tim Hortons), getting my roundabout and taking a pair of 334s on the first train to Springburn.
Felt strange skipping the 3 stations on this line and arriving at Springburn, with platform 4 getting rebuilt since the last time I was here (back in October 2020). I remained on the same pair of 334s for the run back towards Glasgow and onwards to Milngavie using platform 2, another station which has had some work done since I was last here, with both platforms getting made longer to allow trains to be stabled if required.
334008 at Milngavie
Time for the main event, very unusual hearing Balloch as a destination at Milngavie, and the train was lightly loaded at Anniesland as it took the curve to head towards Dalmuir. One small section of track ticked off for coverage, so mission complete, I still need quite a few of the small connecting chords & bits south of the River, maybe one day those will get covered on a railtour. I alighted from the 334s at Clydebank, the start of my walk.
Jordanhill Station from Hyndland Chord
My walk was to head back towards Glasgow city centre, along the old railway mixed used path (mainly on the former Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway line) and then along the Clyde walkway. In hindsight I probably should have gone via Whitecrook Park instead of via the roads of an industrial estate, probably would have been scenic! Anyhow I joined the route of the mixed used path to head towards the Yoker area, where the route of the original line has been built over forcing a divert of the path alongside another former railway, this one even had some track hidden within the trees in places (I think this line served one of the docks and connected within Yoker depot).
Overgrown track towards Yoker Shipyard
It was unusual seeing a couple old coaches at the back of Yoker depot, something I wasn’t expecting to see. I followed the path (which was pretty in places), coming across the remains of the island platform at Scotstoun East. The view from the path was interesting as it was high up in a part of Glasgow I’ve not visited before. Anyhow the mixed-use path on the former railway line ended around the Clyde Tunnel, as it was walking along pavements before heading towards the waterfront at Meadowside Quay (near the old Glasgow Harbour according to signs).
"The next walker to call at Scotstoun East is the service to Glasgow City Centre"
After a break on this part of the river Clyde, I crossed over the dual carriageway (A814) to walk between the road & the railway near Partick station, crossing over the River Kelvin, before going underneath the dual carriageway towards the Riverside museum. I continued along the path, re-joining the river around Stobcross Quay, near the SEC. Carrying on along the riverside path with a small detour away from the waterfront around Finnieston (where there is a large crane), I made it to Glasgow city centre the end of my little walk.
I visited a couple places to try and source a cheap bottle of pop, and also lunch, before making a mistake of thinking the low-level entrance at Glasgow Central was open, causing a longer detour to reach the station. I jumped on a 380 for a quick spin out to Paisley Gilmore Street as a time-wasting move, returning on a 7 coach 380 service to Glasgow Central.
Squinty Bridge over River Clyde in Glasgow
It was time for me to say farewell to Glasgow to make my way back to London, walking to Queen Street for a busy pair of 385s to take me to Haymarket. I will admit to breaking the terms of my advance ticket to London as that had me changing at Edinburgh, but as the Azuma I was catching next came from Aberdeen, I decided that Haymarket would be a far better station to change trains at.
800113 was my ride to Newcastle, I even managed to get to my seat after departure from Haymarket, so I was all relaxed during the passenger changeover at Edinburgh (at a guess 75% of those in my coach changed over). Nonstop to Newcastle as well which was a nice little bonus, allowing me to enjoy the scenery of this area of the ECML. At Newcastle I changed trains to board a “baby” Azuma, a 5 coach 801 (801110) on a semi-fast service (a TrainSplit special, saving me money in exchange for a slightly longer journey time).
Baby Azuma at Newcastle
A few hours later I arrived in London, and headed over to St Pancras, jumping on the first southbound 700 to take me to Farringdon. When I was leaving St Pancras, I noticed a low mileage 700 on the next Kentish Town train, so I waited at Farringdon for 700035 to return from Kentish Town, which I took to Greenwich, returning to London Bridge on a pair of 376s. When these 376s rolled into London Bridge, I noticed my last 12 coach 700 which I needed for mileage was on the Bedford bound, allowing me time to do some research, for it would be back south later on, but be a late finish. Gave me something to think about as I headed to East Croydon on a pair of 377s (with all 4 toilets locked out of use, what could go wrong!).
I was hungry, so for dinner I was going to head towards KFC but decided to swing via Wendys to give the latest American Import fast food chain a try with a burger. Not the fastest service (seems to be made fresh) but was worth the wait. So much better than McDonalds, plus comes with free drink refills. When eating I decided to give that 700 a miss for the night, had I been on a Travelcard I would have gone for it, but as I was on Oyster, I decided against it. It ended the night in Brighton to form an early morning Bedford train so I would try and intercept that service when it returned south.
700042 departs Farringdon
My hotel for the night was at the Croydon Premier Inn, solely as it was the cheaper option in Croydon for the night, usual Premier Inn standards, can’t really go wrong.
Monday
A later than usual start for me on the bank holiday as I walked to West Croydon station to board an Overground to Anerley, returning to Norwood Junction on the next West Croydon train, bit of a time-wasting move before low mileage 700138 rolled in from Bedford. I took this unit to Purley, jumping onto a pair of 377s back to East Croydon, swapping over to a busy 700 to Farringdon. My last 12 coach 700 was now in my book for mileage, which I was quite pleased about, just needing 8 or so of the 8 coach units.
The main aim for today was to do a nice long walk, making the most of the weather. At one stage I was thinking about taking the train to Welwyn Garden City to walk towards Luton along the disused railway path (The old Welwyn – Leighton Buzzard via Dunstable route) but decided against that for a walk in the River Lee Country Park area near Cheshunt. So back to the trains, as a Met line service took me to Liverpool Street, where I headed on a required 720 (720521) on the next Cheshunt terminator (the line beyond Cheshunt was closed for works). I took this 720 to Enfield Lock where I started my walk.
720530 at Enfield Lock Station
I started with walking along the road to reach the River Lee Navigation, walking north along the towpath, going underneath the M25 reaching the Waltham area, where I turned away from the Navigation to enter the park, going along the path alongside the flood relief channel. I carried on heading north, with the first of the lakes appearing (the so called Seventy Acres Lake), carrying on along the path reaching a car park (and more importantly, some toilets!)
After a quick PNB, I followed a path/road away from the water, reaching Holyfield Lake. I followed a footpath between some trees with the lake on the left, and off the beaten track (one of those paths which exist in real life, but doesn’t show on the map) to follow a path along the northern edge of the lake, popping down onto the fishing pontoons for some photos. I eventually arrived at the Kings Weir on the Lee Navigation.
Kings Weir, River Lee
I crossed over the canal, following a path which went between some more bodies of water in old gravel pits, (Railway Pit, Lea Pit, according to Google Maps), getting a bit lost along the way as some of the paths weren’t the best marked. Quite scenic with the trees & the lakes, and peaceful (compared to other parts of the country park). I crossed over the canal once more, via some marshes to follow a path which went alongside another branch of the river, doing a large loop to come across the Lee Valley Wildlife Discovery Centre.
I was back on the main “seventy acre lake”, walking on the opposite bank, with the lakes changing to a bird watching area before coming across some open land, crossing over the canal for the final time, coming out onto a level crossing of the railway between Waltham Cross & Cheshunt. I turned north to follow another path via Bowyer’s Water, passing the Giant’s Chair structure (a large chair!), coming out on the road near to Cheshunt station, the end of an enjoyable 14 and a bit mile walk. It was back to playing with some trains for me, resting my legs (and to get something to eat).
720530 at the Trinty Lane Crossing, Cheshunt
Due to the engineering works north of Cheshunt, GA services were turning back on platform 2, and the next departure was required 720581 which I took all the way to Liverpool Street, returning northbound with 720521 to Enfield Lock, allowing me to intercept required 720530 for the run back to Liverpool Street. When the train arrived, I noticed the next Romford calling service (might have been a Colchester Town service) had winner 720532 up front (and dud 720571 on the back). Needless to say, I took this service to Romford for a short wait before a pair of required units took me back to Liverpool Street (566 & 573).
Back out to Forest Gate on a 345 to intercept required 345018 for the run back to Liverpool Street, not pushing it over ten miles but 5 miles is a start. I wanted to be on the 19:20 service from Waterloo (didn’t want to stay out too late due to work the next day), so with one eye on the time I headed to the underground with a central line service to Tottenham Court Road, followed by a Northern line service to Waterloo.
Seventy Acres Lake, Lee Valley Park
At Waterloo I headed to Sainsburys & Tesco outside the station for some dinner, before finding a seat on the 19:20 service, tonight an 8-coach formation. I settled down to relax for the run back to Grateley, after an enjoyable day of walking in the Lea Valley area. Beautiful weather for it as well.
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