Trips in August (Part 1)
August was a busy month, some (enforced) time off work and some nice (and not so nice) weather.
6th August – Cardiff & Bristol – Bath Walk
My original idea for this Saturday was to walk the disused railway path from Braintree towards Bishops Stortford, however when I woke in the morning to see that both my remaining Welsh 769s were out, including the lesser spotted 007, I changed my plan and drove to Salisbury for the 07:30 service to Cardiff, getting a seat in the former 1st class area of a 166 (with a 165 for company).
At Cardiff I made a tight connection to board a 769 to take me to Heath High Level, changing platforms for winner 769421 to roll in, a trip to Penarth & back to Heath safely pushed it over ten miles, before I had my fingers crossed before 769007 rolled in, once more taking me to Penarth before I returned to Cardiff Central. I guess in hindsight I could have stayed a bit longer in Cardiff, but there was some sort of event on in the city centre, so I decided to make an escape.
769007 at Cardiff Central
After watching a bit of chaos as 175s were swapped over (the one which came in from Manchester was returning towards Manchester, the one which arrived from Carmarthen was returning towards Carmarthen, this delayed the Taunton HST by a few minutes which I took to Filton Abbey Wood, stepping back to board a Filton – Bristol stopper which was very lightly loaded (3 passengers for 2 coaches). I took this stopper to Lawrence Hill, before starting my walk along the former Midland Railway route towards the former Magotsfield station, a junction where the routes split.
Inside Staple Hill Tunnel
I carried on with the walk, following the Bristol & Bath railway path, joining up with the heritage Avon Valley Railway, although my timings were a bit rubbish and didn’t pass the steam train when it was moving. I got lucky as the old Warmley signal box was open, needless to say I popped up to have a look inside (because I do like an old signal box with all the levers). I carried on along a busy path (both cyclists & other walkers/joggers) going via some woods before reaching the outskirts of Bath where the main path continued along the river Avon for the last couple miles to reach the city centre, however I followed a couple footpaths which used the old trackbed before joining up with the riverside path to reach the city centre (swinging via the Sainsburys at Green Park for both supplies for dinner & also a photo of the old station).
Inside Warmley Signal Box
At Bath Spa I had a short wait before a pair of 165s rolled in, the air cooling was very much welcomed for the journey back to Salisbury, before driving home. The railway path might be long, but a good all-year round path in terms of surface (which is getting upgraded in places as I had to do a little detour in the Bristol suburbs as a short section was closed).
7th August - Weymouth
A trip with mum, originally, I was going to head towards Devon to do a “Dartmoor Round Robin”, using the Sundays only bus from Gunnislake to Okehampton (via Tavistock) however due to staffing issues GWR had pretty much binned the entire Gunnislake line during the middle of the day, forcing a replan. So, I ended up deciding on a trip to Weymouth, as on a Sunday it was possible to do it as a near round trip.
A pair of 159s took us from Grateley to Yeovil Junction, where we changed platforms to board a solo 159 on a Yeovil Junction – Westbury – Salisbury – London service to take us down the hill to reach Yeovil Pen Mill, changing once more onto a 166 (busy in the front coach, rear coach was empty) for the run towards Weymouth. At Weymouth we had a gentle walk following the route of the old Quay Tramway to reach the Commercial Pier, returning towards Weymouth station via Tesco & the busy seafront.
One of the Weymouth Harbour Tramway Info Boards
Next train was a 444 to take us towards Bournemouth where it joined up with another unit to go semi-fast towards Basingstoke, where we swapped over to board an Exeter train for the run to Andover for a 30-minute fester for the Salisbury stopper. In my eyes Andover is a much nicer place to wait for the stopper than Basingstoke, a lot quieter in terms of announcements.
166213 & 444022 at Weymouth
10th August – Hertford East
The start of my semi-enforced holiday from work, and after a few options I decided on a trip to Hertford East to walk the Lea River towards Broxbourne. The day began on a very busy 09:59 service to Basingstoke (full & standing after Andover), changing over to an even busier pair of 444s from Weymouth (I was lucky to get a seat). I changed at Clapham Junction for a pair of 455s to Vauxhall for a Victoria line service to Tottenham Hale.
A short wait at Tottenham Hale before winner 720555 rolled in to take me to Hertford East, where after swinging via the nearby Tesco my walk began. It was quite warm on the riverside path as it followed the railway route towards Ware, Stansted St Margaret’s & Rye House, before breaking away to go underneath the main line towards Harlow, before turning a bit more rural.
720523 & 720555 at Hertford East
I continued along the path, reaching the outskirts of Broxbourne, and following another path to reach the station itself, and straight onto winner 720575 on a Stratford service (I was aiming for a service from Cambridge, so an extra bonus). I changed at Tottenham Hale for another 720 for the slow journey into Liverpool Street, where I popped outside the station to visit Tesco for some more drink.
River Lea between Dobbs Weir & Broxbourne
Back at Liverpool Street and it was onto another 720 for the run to Cheshunt, one of the peak-time Hertford services which goes via Seven Sisters (for the novelty of a 720 on this line), a short wait at Cheshunt before 720560 rolled in to take me to Broxbourne, before returning to Liverpool Street nonstop (needless to say it was lightly loaded!). At Liverpool Street it was time for me to switch to 3rd rail as both of my remaining 465/9s I needed for mileage were out on Tunbridge Wells services.
An Elizabeth line service took me one stop to Farringdon, changing over to a Thameslink service to London Bridge, where I joined a Tunbridge Wells service to take me to Chelsfield, for no reason other than to waste some time. I returned north to Orpington on a pair of 376s before switching over to platform 2 for 465925 to roll in with another 465. I took this pair of Waterloo East, returning to London Bridge on a pair of 376s (another time-wasting move).
465026 departs Chelsfield
I had a short wait before the next service arrived from Tunbridge Wells with featured 465904 in the middle, the run to Charing Cross where it got swapped over to a Sevenoaks stopper, before heading back to London Bridge was enough to push it over ten miles. All active 465s cleared for ten miles (I need one of the 465/2s if they ever return to service), so I was a bit happy as I returned to Waterloo East on a pair of 376s before a pair of 159s took me home on the 21:20 service.
A train which was very busy in the front coach as the AC had failed in the other coaches, I was thankful when it emptied out at Basingstoke.
11th August – Another trip to London
It was another warm day as I headed to the station for the 09:59 service, changing over to the 10:35 London train at Basingstoke, which was a 450+444 combo. Once more I was lucky to get a seat on the 444. I took this combo to Waterloo, heading towards the Waterloo & City line to take me to Bank (well not like I could take it anywhere else!), changing over to the central line to Liverpool Street.
The next Stansted Airport service was required 745110 and due to issues around Clapton junction, was being diverted via Stratford. A slow and steady trip towards Stratford before it picked up speed towards Harlow Town but still arrived 20-odd minutes late. I popped outside the station for a quick break before returning for the next London train, which was advertised as going via Seven Sisters, however it carried on towards Stratford getting caught up in issues caused by a trespasser at Forest Gate, arriving at Liverpool Street 32-odd minutes late. Although this gave me a chance to sample 1st class as randomly it was a Norwich 745 on Stansted Express services (and it is very nice indeed).
720547 at Harlow Town
Sadly, the required 745 which should have been on the 14:30 service was spotted departing on the 14:00 Norwich train, but instead I took required 720105 leading another 720 to Shenfield (a Southend train) followed by a 321+322 combo (no prizes at which unit I sat in) to Chelmsford, changing over to board required 745109 on the next London train, which I took to Stratford.
I swapped over to a Jubilee line service to London Bridge, before a pair of 707s took me to Lewisham for a short wait before 466002 rolled in at the front of a ten-coach service. I took this service to Charing Cross, remaining on board for the return to London Bridge pushing the 466 over ten miles. At London Bridge I crossed over to platform 1 to board a very warm 466030 on the back of an 8-coach working to take me to New Eltham, another 466 taken over ten miles. My last active 466 was reported as being in Doncaster for works, along with another which is in store.
466030 departs New Eltham
The next London train was a pair of 707s, and the AC was a delight on this hot day. I took them to Cannon Street to walk the short distance to Liverpool Street (noticing that the pubs in the city of London were doing a good trade on this hot Thursday evening). Once I was at Liverpool Street it was onto a pair of required 720s (720106 & 720570) for the run to Shenfield, followed by a pair of 321s to Chelmsford for a short wait before required 745004 rolled in from Norwich. I took this 745 to Stratford, changing for the Jubilee line to Waterloo, followed by a pair of 159s on the 21:20 service.
321903 at Shenfield
It was a successful day in London, other than the delays to/from Harlow earlier in the day, would have been nice if that 745 did go via Seven Sisters for the novelty of a 745 on that route, but can't have everything.
12th August – Isle of Wight
It was another day where I had a few ideas, other than wanting an early finish due to an early start on the Saturday, the Marston Vale was out due to 230005 not being out, but a glance on RTT highlighted that both 484s out on the Isle of Wight were needed and so a plan was formed.
A 159+159+158 combo took me from Grateley to Salisbury, followed by a fast dash to Sainsburys for food as I had noticed the GWR service was running late. A 166+165 combo took me to Portsmouth Harbour as I sat in the 165 for a higher chance of working AC. It made back some of the time along the way but still arrived around 10 minutes late, but all that did was cut down the waiting time before boarding a very busy Wight Ryder 2 for the trip across the water to Ryde Pier Head.
I did start the trip on the sunshine deck, but it was very overcrowded, so I popped to the inside deck (via a trip to the loo) remaining inside for the remainder of the crossing. Once the ferry had docked at Ryde Pier Head it was a fast walk to board winner 484004 for the run to Sandown, where I had a gentle walk along the sea front path to reach Shanklin, a very beautiful part of the island. 484004 returned to take me to Ryde Esplanade where I had a short walk over the hill to reach Ryde St John’s Road for the afternoon peak starter. Both trips were very busy.
484004 at Ryde Pier Head
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| Waterfront between Sandown & Shanklin |
484003 was sitting on the usual Shanklin bound platform, after doing a shunt move from the bay platform. I was expecting it to be like an oven (sat in the sunshine for a few hours) but it wasn’t that bad as I took it to Shanklin and back to Ryde Esplanade (where it terminated). I had a gentle walk along the pier to reach the ferry terminal, more relaxing than taking the train (which doesn’t have the best of connections). Onto Wight Ryder 2, sitting inside for the trip back to Portsmouth.
484003 at Ryde St Johns
At Portsmouth Harbour I headed towards the next GWR service getting given a nice pair of 158s (with working AC!), although once the train reached Fareham it was diverted via Eastleigh, doing 20mph the entire way due to speed restrictions (that was slow!) I got caught out by thinking the 444 on the London train would also be delayed but it seems the speed restriction got lifted to help with the extra traffic (single track section causing delays). I changed at Southampton onto a pair of 444s to Basingstoke, changing over to a 159+158+159 combo which was starting from Basingstoke instead of London due to late running.
A good thing I changed at Southampton as the GWR service would have missed the connection at Salisbury giving an extra hour wait, whereas going via Basingstoke gave more options, but still getting home nearly 2 hours later than planned wasn’t the best due to an early start on the Saturday (I did look for a hotel in the London area for the Friday to avoid an early start but didn’t find anything under £60). 2 more of the 484s into my book, plus an enjoyable sea front walk.
158762 at Portsmouth Harbour
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