Trips in March 2023:
March was a busy month with a couple overnight stays in Crewe, along with a couple days focusing on buses to explore parts of the country I have never visited (and abusing the £2 single fares). Also I did manage to do a handful of canal walks & disused railway routes
3rd March – To Crewe
My first trip of the month was a 2-night stay in my usual shared house in Crewe with a trip to Merseyside on the Saturday to meet up with some friends. It was a fast turnaround at home to get dropped off at Andover for the 17:37 service (which I very nearly missed due to congestion on the roads, but thankfully was running 5 minutes late), although unlike previous trips I didn’t go straight for the Northern line to catch the 19:46 Euston to Crewe train as that was formed of a pair of 350/2s. So, on arrival into Waterloo, I had a gentle walk towards Blackfriars, City Thameslink, with a loop of St Pauls Cathedral before heading towards Barbican.
St. Paul's Cathedral
After Barbican, I headed towards Farringdon before following various roads to reach Euston, arriving around 20:40 so I decided to take a look at how busy the 20:46 to Crewe was (which I knew was a pair of 350/2s, with a single 350/1 on the 21:46 service). Busy at the rear but the front coach had hardly anybody in, so I grabbed a bay of 6, made myself comfortable with my tablet on the seat opposite and settled down for the run to Crewe. Yes, I could have waited an hour, but the train was quiet, busiest part was between Rugeley & Stafford and I think most of the passengers in the front coach were like me on the train for the long haul.
Anyhow at Crewe I met up with
my good friend Stu, swinging via McDonalds for a late-night ice-cream (I was
hungry) before saying farewell as he headed towards a Travelodge and I headed
towards the shared house, getting my key and sorted my bag out for the morning as one good thing with staying in the same place for multiple nights is the ability to leave clothes & other stuff behind.
350253 at Crewe Station
4th March – Liverpool
I was due to meet up with my group of friends at Crewe station around 09:00 (with the aim to catch the 09:27-odd Pendo to Liverpool [with the back-up option of the 09:30 LNR Liverpool train, because the timetable is a bit rubbish]). I decided to do a gentle walk with something I had eye-balled up a few times, starting off with a walk along the A534 (with a temptation to carrying on to Nantwich) reaching the area of Wistaston and onto a path alongside the Gresty Brook, going underneath the Crewe – Nantwich railway in the Gresty Green area. I continued along the roads to Shavington, heading east towards Basford over the main West Coast railway on Weston Lane.
Gresty Brook in Wistaston
After the railway it was following a farm track, underneath the A500 dual carriageway before going across a field on a footpath, crossing over the Crewe – Kidsgrove line on a foot crossing near where the loop comes to an end, then back onto the road network onto Weston Road for a quicker walk to the station. Originally, I was going to use the TVM near the side entrance but that had a queue, so I went to the main entrance to pick up my return to Liverpool (sadly one of those tickets not available as an e-ticket which was my first pick). I made it to Crewe with 5 minutes to spare meeting up with the others (I knew I should have stuck with the idea to walk to Nantwich!).
A refurbished Pendo took us to Liverpool, my first experience with a refurb unit and I’m a bit indifferent, legroom at the table seats isn’t the best (in my eyes they could have removed the bump underneath where the old plug socket used to be), but I will need to see what the airline seats are like for legroom. At Lime Street, most of us headed to the Northern run ticket office to buy a saveaway ticket (as Northern issue it on paper rather than paying an extra £1 for a smartcard), before heading to Liverpool Central, getting lucky with the first Kirkby train being 777018. My first impression of the new Merseyrail units was quite good, yes there are a couple minor flaws (mainly they should have gone down the same route as Great Northern and ordered fixed formation long units) but legroom was quite decent and where the seats are harder than the older units, they are suitable for the metro services the Merseyrail units will operate.
777018 at Liverpool Central
This 777 took us to Kirkby, where we caught a route 20 bus from outside the station (for Tower Hill) which took us via the bus station in Kirkby to reach the site of the future Headbolt Lane station. Still quite a lot of work to be done here, but access was reasonable from a path the opposite side of the road (even if the path did lead nowhere). We headed back to Kirkby station, swinging via Morrisons for lunch items, and headed to Rainford on a pair of 150s, the last time I will be catching a train from platform 2 at Kirkby as it will soon become disused when Merseyrail extends to Headbolt Lane (running on battery power).
150134 passing the future Headbolt Lane station
At Rainford, we picked up the route of the Rainford Linear Park, a mixed used path along the trackbed of the old railway line which ran towards St Helens. This was an enjoyable walk which gave good views of countryside in places (and not so good views of a scrapyard). After the railway path came to an end, it was to a bus stop alongside the Rainford bypass for a route 38 bus into St Helens bus station. A gentle walk took us to St Helens Central where it was onto a busy 319 calling all stations to Lime Street (sadly no semi-fasts operating today due to engineering works around Preston). At Lime Street we jumped onto a 195 to Hunts Cross (working a Warrington Central service), swapping to a 508, saying farewell to a couple of the group at South Parkway as they needed to head back south.
We took this 508 to Sandhills, changing for 777009 for the run into Liverpool Central (Kirkby services were missing a diagram today so only 2 units were out), we remained on this busy 777 to Kirkby, returning to Rice Lane. I said farewell to the other 2 members of the group who were going towards a Spoons for an early dinner, and I jumped onto the next 777 to Liverpool Central to push it over ten miles. For the lack of a better idea, I jumped on the next Southport train to Bank Hall (as I needed some better photos) with the Hunts Cross train running a couple minutes late so I jumped on that (the original idea was to walk to Kirkdale).
508138 at Liverpool Central
Back into Liverpool Central, I walked to Lime Street, jumping onto a busy Wigan bound 319 to Wavertree Technology Park for a ten-minute connection for another 319 back to Lime Street (another station where I needed some better photos, and it wasted time). I headed across to the high numbered platforms (Liverpool to Crewe is 2 trains within 10 minutes with the LNR service going first) with the LNR service being a pair of 350/2s so I headed across to the 9 coach Pendo, getting a seat in coach C putting my phone on charge. An uneventful run to Crewe as I headed to the shared house via a pizza place (where I had pre-ordered my food, so it was ready when I arrived).
After food, it was back out to the station with an EMR 170 to Alsager, for a gentle walk before 170532 took me back into Crewe as I needed that 170 for renumbering. I headed back to the shared house, had a nice shower and relaxed for the remainder of the evening in the room, an enjoyable day with a good social catch-up, the first time all 6 in our little twitter group have met up in person.
Platforms at Alsager Station from footbridge
5th March – Old Railway lines near Alsager
My original idea for today was to head to Stafford to catch a bus to Newport (the one in Staffordshire, not the one in Essex nor South Wales) to walk the old railway line back to Stafford, but due to SWR doing the “Tour de Staines” I decided it would be better to get back to London earlier to allow me to go via Reading to avoid Staines (because after-all it is a slow crawl). It was onto an alternative plan with took me onto the Birmingham bound 350 from Crewe to Alsager, following a couple paths to reach the “Merelake way”, a mixed-use path along the old North Staffordshire Railway route, on the Audley branch.
This was a rural path (went alongside a golf course at one point) for around a mile, at the southern end I did a U-turn to head back towards Alsager, then towards the site of the former Lawton station on the former North Staffordshire Railway branch line towards Sandbach. Nothing remains of the former Lawton station site (not that was visible from the road), as I picked up a permissive path which ran along the old alignment via some fields (including some hairy pigs), reaching a woodland area before turning into the “Salt Line” trail in the Lawton Heath End area.
A bridge over the Merelake Way, Alsager
The Salt Line was very rural as it went via woodland, with some info boards along the way giving history into the old railway route, as it came to an end just beyond the M6 bridge in Hassall Green. The old station building still exists but no evidence of platforms. At this point the Salt Line route came to an end with the next section of railway going across private ground, so it was onto a footpath to reach the towpath of the Trent & Mersey Canal, passing some unusual twin locks (2 narrow locks side by side). The towpath was a bit muddy in places and was steep near the locks (wouldn’t want to ride a bike along this particular towpath). Soon I had reached the start of the “Wheelock Rail Trail”, picking up on the Sandbach branch line.
This was another nice walk, other than a flat crossing of the busy A534. The old platform at the former Wheelock & Sandbach station remains in place with an info board, with the building converted into another business, and this area was by far the busiest section with other walkers, joggers, dogs & the odd cyclist (good to see a path being well used).
Remains of platform at Wheelock & Sandbach Station (Wheelock Rail Trail)
The Wheelock Trail ended by a roundabout in Ettiley Heath as I headed onto the road network, heading towards the Trent & Mersey Canal once more, near where the railway line goes over (and near where an old branch to a Salt Works used to run, only remains being part of an old bridge). I got lucky with timing as a TfW 150 was heading south as I had arrived, and after visiting the railway bridge, I did a U-turn. My original plan had me following a couple footpaths to reach Crewe, but I decided that can wait for another trip, as I followed the canal towpath, before going via a modern looking housing estate to reach Sandbach station, where I needed to be aware that the next train on platform 3 wasn’t due to call there (endless announcement from the PA system).
A Welsh 150 crossing the Trent & Mersey Canal, Ettiley Heath
It was back to the trains with 323238 being my ride to Crewe, followed by a short wait for a pair of 350s from Northampton (which seemed to have run nonstop from Rugby due to late running) to take me to London Euston. My fingers were crossed with 350240 on the rear, but thankfully 350116 was on the front (woohoo at avoiding another pair of /2s). The 350s took me to London, getting busier as they got closer to London, arriving around 8 minutes late (it was late departing Crewe and had slow running for the first couple miles, time it never made back). I headed to Euston Square for a Hammersmith train to take me to Paddington, where it was onto an Oxford bound 5 coach 800031 for the run to Reading. As expected, the train got very busy on departure from Paddington (hence why I wanted to board it as soon as it got announced, as I know how busy Sunday trains can be from Paddington).
At Reading, I swung via Boots for a sandwich for dinner, before heading towards platform 1 where a pair of 158s were waiting to take me on the last Reading – Salisbury service (after this train, the Salisbury trains were all starting from Basingstoke). These 158s took me to Grateley without anything of note, followed by a gentle walk-home in the twilight, relaxing for the rest of the evening. It was an enjoyable little walk, along some old railway lines.
158884 at Reading
11th March – Walking the Brampton Valley Way
The Brampton Valley Way is along the former railway line which ran between Northampton & Market Harborough, a line which closed in the early 1980s. It was an early start for me with the 05:27 service from Grateley to Clapham Junction, where I managed to make a tight connection onto a Southern 377 for Watford Junction. At Watford Junction it was a short wait before a pair of 350s rolled in for Birmingham, a 350/2 leading a /3 so no prizes at which unit I sat in.
These 350s took me to Northampton, where I exited the station to begin my walk. As like a few weeks ago in Sussex, I decided to walk north to keep the sun behind me. I headed away from the station going via Victoria Park to reach Gladstone Road which I followed north via a housing area (turning more industrial), followed by another couple roads to pick up a farm track, dodging the puddles of ice to reach the start of the Brampton Valley Way (a good couple miles from Northampton station). My walk nearly came to an end as I reached the railway bridge over the River Nene as that was flooded however there was raised area which was water-free (but was low and I went very slowly to avoid slipping over).
350249 crossing the River Nene (Brampton Branch) north of Northampton
I crossed the Nene viaduct alongside the railway line as the path ran close to the railway for the next couple of minutes before branching away. I continued along the path (tarmac in this area), reaching Boughton railway station on the heritage Northampton & Lamport Railway line. In this area the Brampton Valley Way runs alongside the heritage line, passing a collection of coaches of various ages, plus 31289 & 47205. Carrying on along the path, the heritage line gave way to more countryside, with some road crossings (thankfully nothing too busy) before reaching Kelmarsh Tunnel the first of 2 tunnels along this route.
Southern portal of the Kelmarsh Tunnel on the Brampton Valley Way
A bit spooky in the tunnel, which is unlit, but an interesting experience trying to escape getting wet from water dripping down. After the tunnel I carried on the path to reach Oxendon tunnel, before reaching the county boundary exiting Northamptonshire and entering Leicestershire for the final section into Market Harborough itself, the original trackbed has been built over with housing. I swung via Sainsburys for some late lunch before making my way to The Square, originally, I was considering taking the bus to Leicester to return to Northampton but decided against it as I took a Stagecoach bus on a X7 service to Northampton bus station (making use of the £2 bus fare scheme).
Centrebus 313 (YJ16 DXX) on a route 44 in Market Harborough
At Northampton bus station, I had just over an hour to reach the railway station for the next London train which called at Watford Junction (to change for the 377) so I headed towards Morrisons (coming away empty handed) and did a small walk along a path alongside the river Nene, reaching the station area, as I headed to the station with my fingers crossed that I would avoid a pair of 2s. My luck was in as the train was the same pair of 350s I had earlier in the day (so into the 350/3 for the plug socket).
I took these 350s to Watford Junction, changing over to a 377 for the trip towards Clapham Junction (as I had a “Via Kensington O” ticket), popping out of the station (once I found a member of gate line staff who understood the concept of breaking a journey) before a busy 158+159 combo rolled in to take me back to Grateley. Had the later services not been single 159s I would have been tempted to take a bus from Northampton to Milton Keynes, just for the different views, but I decided avoiding a single 159 on a day of rugby was a wise decision.
377213 at Watford Junction
An enjoyable long walk in the countryside, I can see why the line closed for passenger use as it didn’t really pass any major settlements, a few small villages (which might have popped up since the line closed as Northampton expands). The path was decent enough, a bit muddy in places, but after the week of rain/snow it was to be expected. I was glad I went for my original plan rather than doing a bus day to walk the old railway line from Marlborough towards Swindon.
12th March – A day on the buses around Berkshire
After the long walk on the Saturday, I decided a lazy day of making use of the £2 bus fares was in order. The day began with the 07:38-odd from Grateley to Andover, stepping back to the Reading train 10 minutes behind. This took us (as I was with mum on a day out) to Reading, where we had a walk towards the bus stop on Friar Street to await the first bus of the day, a Merc bus on the Arriva Route 800 (Bus 3014) to High Wycombe (via Henley & Marlow). A bus where some of the seats were wet, I presume due to rain coming in via an open window.
Arriva Bus 3014 (BJ12 YPZ) on Friar Street, Reading
This bus took us to High Wycombe, where after a quick visit to the toilets, we jumped on the First X74 (Bus 63316) route for Slough, a bit slow heading out of High Wycombe before it joined the M40 for a short section (who doesn’t like bus routes which run on motorways or dual carriageways?). After the motorway section, the bus passed the ‘motorway’ service area which I believe includes a Spoons (I put it in quote marks because you can access the service area without going on the motorway). The bus continued via Farnham Common, getting busier the closer to Slough, before terminating on a road outside the bus station (which had a thermal event last year, probably trying to pretend it was a 175 😉).
First Bus 63316 (SW65 LNN) at High Wycombe Bus Station
A short walk across the road at Slough, and we were onto the next bus, a smart looking Volvo hybrid working a route 8 for Heathrow terminal 5 (bus 69922). This bus was busy departing Slough but soon emptied out in Windsor, picking up more passengers along the way (a few in Egham) before emptying out again in Staines, before a fast run into Terminal 5 bus station. Sorry but the bus area at Terminal 5 is horrible, underneath a car park with poor light and limited seats, certainly wasn’t the nicest place to have lunch (purchased from Boots at the airport for lack of a better solution).
First Bus 69922 (BV13 ZCK) at Heathrow Terminal 5 Bus Station
The 4th bus was the first double decker of the day with the Reading Buses run Greenline 703 service from Heathrow towards Bracknell (via Slough, Windsor & Legoland). I was expecting a branded bus, but it was a “Thames Buses” branded decker, number 1209. We managed to get the top seats on a lightly loaded bus as it headed away from Heathrow, via Colnbrook & Langley to reach Slough before carrying on towards Windsor (which was a lot busier than it was a few hours earlier). After Windsor it went towards Legoland, both the staff entrance (also the Windsor Park & Ride) and the main entrance, before returning to the main road, heading via the villages of Cranbourne & Brookside (which I believe are only every 2 hours). A detour via Ascot before heading into Bracknell, to arrive at the bus station area, a bus station which could do with a bit of TLC.
Thames Valley Bus 1209 (SN11 BTF) on a route 703 at Bracknell Bus Station
Originally the 5th and final bus of the day would have been the X4 to Reading, a bus route which Google Maps didn’t want to admit the existence of (only showed the route 4), however a route 4 for Reading rolled in running around 15 minutes late, so we jumped on board the Lion branded bus 217 for the trip via the suburbs of Bracknell, including a business park before heading via Wokingham, Winnersh & the suburbs of Reading with a little tour of Reading town centre to terminate at St Mary’s Butts.
Reading Bus 217 (SN11 BVY) at St Marys Butts, Reading
The day on the buses was over, as we headed towards the station, swinging via Sports Direct (as I needed some more socks) and Wendys for dinner. At the station it was a pair of 158s on the 17:12 service for Reading to take us back to Grateley, without needing to change at Basingstoke (always a bonus). An enjoyable day with looking out of the window on various bus routes, certainly something I wouldn’t have considered doing had it not been for the £2 bus fares, as I dread to think how much those 5 buses would have normally been.
18th March – Buses in South Hampshire
I was in Winchester for my car to get serviced, so after picking the car up (deciding the weather forecast didn’t look that promising to do any rural walking) headed to some on street parking on Chilbolton avenue (solely because it was free) and I walked towards the hospital for my first bus of a roughly unplanned trip. First up was a Stagecoach run E2 service towards Eastleigh, with bus 37423. Moderately busy with a few passengers getting off along the shared route out of Winchester before going via Stanmore to follow the route of the more frequent Bluestar route 1 service via Compton & Otterbourne.
This bus didn’t stop for passengers again until the outskirts of Eastleigh (Boyatt Wood area), arriving at Eastleigh bus station a couple minutes early, giving me time to pop to the large Sainsburys located at the bus station (how handy). My next bus was my first taste of Blue Star (a brand of Go-Ahead) with the route 5 service for Romsey (roughly 2 hourly on a Saturday). It was bus 5 which departed busy(ish) but dropped a few passengers off along the way in the suburbs of Eastleigh. More passengers boarded in the North Baddesley area, where the route is shared with the Romsey – Southampton service (and those looked busy due to the train strikes).
Stagecoach Bus 26047 (SN16 OPA) (Winchester Park & Ride) in Winchester
I alighted from this bus at Romsey bus station and had a gentle circular walk to waste the 30-odd minutes before my next service. I spotted one of the lesser spotted Salisbury Reds services for Salisbury, before the next Winchester bus arrived, bus 37415 on a route 66 service, another busy service but it did empty out at the modern housing development at Abbotswood. A few pick-ups along the way (Hursley) before reaching Winchester and the suburbs in the south. Due to a tight connection, I alighted from this bus on City Road, crossing over the road to await the next E1 service towards Eastleigh.
Bluestar Bus 2763 (HF66 DPO) at Romsey Bus Station
This bus (37419) was by far the busiest of the day as it followed the route of the E2 I took earlier on, but headed underneath the M3 to go towards Twyford and some of the other villages (Brambridge/Highbridge) dropping off some passengers, picking up other passengers but a good few passengers who were on the bus at Winchester were still on it as it arrived at Eastleigh, as it joined the route of the E2 in the Allbrook area going via the northern suburbs of Eastleigh to arrive at the bus station a few minutes early giving me a better chance to make the 15:25 route 3 service for Southampton.
I was following the inbound working on the Bus Times website, seeing that it was running around 30 minutes late, which reflected with the little information display at the bus station. I spent the time taking some photos and trying to stay dry, as the countdown counted down the minutes until it went to “Due”, a Bluestar double decker arrived but departed empty. On checking the website, it seems the 15:25 started late as a depot throw out at Bishopstone (area to the east of Eastleigh), no communication at the bus stop, much to the annoyance of around 20 passengers who were waiting for the hourly service.
Xelabus 427 (YY66 PDZ) at Eastleigh Bus Station
Eventually the 16:25 rolled in, and instead of the expected double decker, in rolled another Enviro200, this time bus 271. It was busy on departure, but soon emptied out as it went via Fair Oak, Botley, Hedge End to approach the city of Southampton from the east, going via the suburbs (Bitterne). The roads were very busy (due to the football, not sure how much was down to displaced rail passengers, or the roads were normally that busy). The bus did loss some time due to the heavy traffic as it terminated on a bus stop near West Quay. I looked up Bus Times to see that the route 1 service for Winchester had somewhat collapsed and saw the massive queue for the 17:55 service so decided to give that bus route a miss for the day (would have gotten dark before it reached Chandlers Ford) so headed towards the station for the final Basingstoke train of the day.
It was strange being at Southampton Central with only one departure on the screens, a triple 450 which was very busy, even in the rear unit. This took me back towards Winchester, followed by a mile walk to where I had parked the car (worth it to save money on parking). After swinging via the large Sainsburys at Badger Farm for some shopping I drove home, relaxing for the remainder of the day. An enjoyable day (although I have found out I could have saved £2 by buying a “Solent Go” ticket, but that is something to keep in mind for future trips as I can explore more of South Hampshire).
450009 at Southampton Central
19th March – A little day trip to Devon
Originally the plan for today was to take mum towards the Seaton Tramway (bus from Honiton to Sidmouth for another bus to Seaton) however when news broke earlier in the week that the Dartmoor Explorer was going to be temporarily paused from April to allow the timetable to get rewritten, I decided that was more of a priority to do when the £2 single offer was on (as I believe the Dartmoor Explorer is normally £10).
Therefore, the day began with an early morning drive to Salisbury to take the 06:54 service to Exeter Central, a train which was very quiet on departure and remained quiet most of the way. At Exeter we had just over an hour to reach the bus station, so had a little time-wasting loop of Northernhay Gardens & Exeter Cathedral to reach the modern Exeter Bus Station to catch the 10:10 bus as a good thing we arrived early as there was quite a queue building for when the bus (37019) rocked up and the waiting passengers were welcomed on board.
First Bus 37019 (WX55 VJG) at Exeter Bus Station, Dartmoor Explorer
The bus departed from Exeter and headed towards Moretonhampstead where a few passengers alighted (a few boarded in the smaller villages between Exeter & Moretonhampstead) passing the Exeter bound bus during a short layover before the bus continued into the wonderful bleakness of Dartmoor, hats off to the bus driver as the roads were not built for double decker buses, neither built for some of the larger SUVs. The bus did empty out at Postbridge & Princetown with tourists heading for a few hours exploring the moors and it continued to reach Tavistock after an amazing journey.
At Tavistock, we had just over an hour to have a little walk (via the canal & river) before swinging via a Co-Op for lunch and waited for the late running route 1 Stagecoach service for Plymouth, late running due to heavy traffic. One thing I did notice when at Tavistock bus station is they had timetables on display for a few routes (even the more limited served routes) but nothing for the more frequent route 1. Anyhow it was onto double decker 10462 for the run south towards Plymouth, all new ground for me (and mum) so was quite interesting with the various buildings along the way.
A weir on the River Tavy in Tavistock
The bus arrived at Plymouth on the Grand Parade which I presume is Plymouth’s main bus area due to the numerous buses parked up on the side of the road waiting time, and again with some time to waste we did a loop via a former Tesco Metro (now an Express) for supplies for dinner before heading towards the Hoe (overlooking the water front). Interesting toilets where you could use them for free but had to pay 50p if you wanted to lock the door, so for groups not such an issue as someone could stand outside to “guard” but a cost for any solo visitors.
Anyhow after a visit to the Hoe we returned towards the bus stops on Grand Parade, located the correct bus stop and sat down (although I kept popping out to photograph passing Plymouth Citybuses, including a Poppy bus and one supporting Ukraine). Stagecoach’s 15803 rolled in to form the next X38 service for Exeter, a good load as it departed Plymouth a few minutes late and headed out of the city centre, via the suburbs to pick up the A38 dual carriageway for some fast running towards Ivybridge where around 15 passengers alighted in the town centre.
Plymouth Citybus 521 (WJ65 BYM) in Plymouth (Royal Parade)
The bus continued, joining the dual carriageway a couple more times for short sections between other settlements before arriving in Exeter and the bus station near enough on time (at 17;15). A short walk from Exeter Bus Station to Exeter Central, making use of the New North Road entrance as a shortcut to board a moderately busy pair of 159s for the run to Salisbury, the train emptying out at the Devon end before filling up. At Salisbury it was a short walk to the car to drive home after an enjoyable round trip in Devon.
23rd March – Onward to Crewe (again)
Another long weekend (using up my last day of annual leave before the balance resets at the start of April) based in Crewe, a good place to base myself for a railtour on the Saturday. This trip began with a short turnaround at home to get a lift to Grateley station (I could have walked but it was throwing it down with rain) for the 17:33 service, due to engineering works around Taunton (with GWR diverting via Yeovil) the timetable for Salisbury – Basingstoke got reversed, hence the need for a fast turnaround. Anyhow I boarded the single 159 to Basingstoke, exiting the station to grab food from Sainsburys to return for the 18:35 service to London, a pair of 444s where I easily got a table seat near the rear.
At Waterloo, the weather had dried up allowing me to have a time-wasting walk towards Euston, originally, I was going to stick to the direct route (Waterloo Bridge – Holborn – Euston) however I forgot to turn left near Bush House and did a small loop via the Royal Courts of Justice and Lincoln’s Inn before a less direct route (going via the shopping centre at The Brunswick Centre). Eventually I made it to Euston in good time for the 20:33 Avanti service for Preston on a 9 coach Pendo to take me to Crewe, calling at Tamworth, Lichfield & Stafford.
Lincoln's Inn, London
The Pendo arrived at Crewe near enough on time, as I had a gentle walk to the shared house to get myself settled into room 3 (which was a new room for me, as I had previously only ever been in room 1 on the ground floor or room 2, a nice double bed in a large room. Not as quiet as the other two rooms due to the location of the ensuite bathroom in room 4 being behind the bed, and it was quite warm, even with the radiator switched off & window open.
390049 at Crewe
24th March – Walking the Middlewich branch of the Shropshire Union
For the Friday I had 3 plans, the first was to head towards North Wales but that got pushed back until later in the year where hopefully TfW was running trains on the Conwy Valley, the second plan was a canal walk from Middlewich towards Nantwich but with the weather forecast over the week changing I came up with a 3rd plan to have a random bus day heading to Preston (via Northwich, Warrington & Wigan) then onto Liverpool where I had a booked train.
On the Friday morning I saw the weather forecast had got better, mainly dry during the day, so I dusted off the canal walk (making the decision when I was on the actual bus). The first bus was the Arriva route 37 bus (double decker 4409) from the temporary bus station at Crewe to Middlewich, going via Sandbach. I alighted near the entrance to the Wardle Canal from the Trent & Mersey, the shortest canal in the country (47 metres long!). This canal turned into the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union canal.
Arriva Bus 4409 (J900 ABW) at the temp Crewe Bus Station
The first section of the canal towpath was on solid ground, as the urban scene of Middlewich gave way to rural countryside, and the solid towpath gave way to grass which was quite muddy in places (including some areas of deep mud). A relaxing walk along a quiet canal with the occasional passing boat, going underneath both the West Coast Main Line and the Crewe – Chester line. I walked to the end of the Middlewich branch as it joined up with the main Shropshire Union canal at Wardle.
I had the option to break the journey here, but I decided to turn south to follow the canal towards Nantwich, similar towpath to the Middlewich branch, turning into solid ground in the Nantwich area. I finished the canal walk near Marsh Lane and headed towards Morrisons via a park with the River Weaver before going to the little bus station to catch the slightly late running Arriva route 84 service (bus 3160) for the run into Chester, for a different view of the countryside that you would see from the train. I enjoyed my 16-odd mile canal walk, even with the mud. The weather did try raining a couple of times but those were short-lived and my little experiment with wearing a cheapo dress to stop the issue I normally have where my tee-shirt tends to ride up my back when I wear a jumper, to stop that area getting cold was a success, even if highly unusual (but I simply don’t care what others might think, it worked).
A 68 crosses the Middlewich Branch Canal
The Arriva bus took me into Chester bus station where I made a tight connection to a Stagecoach route 1 service for Liverpool, formed of double decker 15596. This is a long service which goes via the Chester suburbs, via the zoo and Cheshire Oaks outlet shopping centre to reach Ellesmere Port, before heading towards Merseyside via Great Sutton to join the New Chester Road to head towards Birkenhead, before going under the Mersey using the Queensway Tunnel to drop off in the Whitechapel area.
Bus under the Mersey... Doesn't have quite the same ring to it ;)
A gentle walk towards Moorfields and buying a daysaver ticket and it was onto winner 777013 to Kirkby, returning to Kirkdale (as the next was a PEP) then onto winner 777049 back to Kirkby remaining on board for the run to Liverpool Central, taking a pair of 507s on a Hunts Cross service to Brunswick, where I headed towards the waterfront to walk along the waterfront path back into the city centre, with the sun slowly setting.
Liverpool Three Graces (Royal Liver, Cunard and Port of Liverpool Buildings)
Back in the city centre, I grabbed some food before heading to the station, and onto 185115 working my booked train to Manchester, going via Warrington Central. At Piccadilly it was a short wait before a busy 150281 took me to Crewe where I decided to call it a night and headed towards the shared house for a nice warm shower and to relax when I listened to the heavy rain.
25th March – Marsh Magician Tour
My first railtour of the year, something I’ve had to cut back on due to the costs of both the tours themselves and also costs of accommodation (which in some places can exceed the cost of the tour). Anyhow this tour was going towards Knowsley Freight Terminal (near Kirkby) and Liverpool Docks and did sound interesting for me to book on. A later start than normal on the Saturday as I went via the large Tesco Extra near the shared house and did a little loop to reach the station (which was a bit in chaos due to signalling issues). The tour arrived with DB’s 60062 leading the Mk2 coaches, as I found my coach and made myself comfortable (although the coach itself was quite warm).
The tour headed towards Chester, where GBRf’s 60076 got attached to the rear of the train (the light engine getting diverted into Chester as it was meant to join at Crewe). The tour continued onto the Merseyrail network, via a goods loop and via “platform 0” at Hooton into the remains of the loco run round line for the first reversal. 60076 set off towards Ellesmere Port, via a goods loop the other side of the station and with a brief photo stop at Ince & Elton. I dare say that is the busiest Ince & Elton has been in a good few years!
60076 at Ince & Elton
After the photo stop, the tour continued towards Warrington Bank Quay, going on the goods line, before a little tour via Newton-Le-Willows, before taking the goods lines south of Wigan to dive-under the WCML and head via Wigan Wallgate (where the train made a special pick-up for some passengers who missed the train earlier in the day due to the issues around Crewe). After Wigan Wallgate it was onto the Kirkby line and into the Dale Lane head-shunt (alongside the running line close to the future Headbolt Lane station) to reverse into the Knowsley freight terminal, going via the warehouse to the end of the line. Another couple reversals and the tour returned on the passenger network with an 18-minute break at Pemberton, so I popped out for a photo (and for some fresh air).
60062 at Pemberton station
After the photo stop at Pemberton, the tour headed back to Wigan, and onto the St Helens Line going via a goods loop beyond St Helens Central before carrying on towards Huyton and taking the single-track Olive Mount curve giving access to the Canada Dock Branch, passing some old railway stations and into Liverpool Docks. The first section was an area where the water tanks got topped up before heading onto the dockside of Gladstone Docks. Visit to the docks over and the tour went back towards the passenger network and into Tuebrook Sidings (the area alongside Edge Hill) reversing just within an old tunnel, with 60076 detaching.
The tour train joined back onto the passenger network and headed towards Rainhill, then towards Warrington Bank Quay (doing another goods line, before going towards Crewe along the WCML. I alighted from the train at Crewe (it would eventually return to Bristol) and headed towards the shared house via Tiger Bite for a nice pizza & garlic baguette (yum yum). After the pizza I returned to Crewe station to jump on 170271 for the run to Alsager, returning to Crewe on required (for renumbering) 170535 (just leaves me with 4 of the XC 170/6s & the trio of former Scottish/Southern 170/9s).
170535 at Crewe
I returned to the house, to relax for the remainder of the evening, a nice lazy day on an enjoyable railtour, yes in terms of mileage not the best value for money but accommodation in Birmingham was just ridiculous money when the tour went on sale.
26th March – Walking the Trent & Mersey Canal
Like the Friday I did have a few plans for today, the first was the old railway line from Newport to Stafford, but that got knocked on the head due to engineering works between Basingstoke & Woking and a rather poor timetable going via Reading (an unofficial +4 into the hourly Basingstoke – Exeter trains which were calling additionally at the villages). Had the weather remained poor I would have done a bus move towards Stafford via Hanley bus station but as the forecast was dry, I decided to head towards Kidsgrove to walk the Trent & Mersey canal, to plug a couple of gaps from when I did the disused railway line walk earlier in the month.
350117 took me to Kidsgrove where I started my walk, picking up the canal just outside the station, the first few miles the towpath was on solid ground, a bit flooded in places due to the recent rain. The aqueduct carrying the Macclesfield canal over the Trent & Mersey was quite nice. I continued along the towpath as it eventually turned into grass mixed with mud but that didn’t bother me as I had similar if not worse on Friday. Although I did have to stop along the way to change from my tee-shirt into my dress as the back of the tee-shirt kept on riding up my back and was annoying.
Trent & Mersey Canal in Church Lawton
The towpath soon turned into countryside, very peaceful & beautiful, before going underneath the M6 (which was very busy with traffic). I continued along the path on the section I did earlier in the month before going underneath the old railway bridge and into Wheelock. After Wheelock countryside returned as I approached the railway bridge in the Ettiley Heath area, turning onto a footpath which followed the railway line, going over the River Wheelock and onto a country road before going across a field on a poorly signposted path (a case of keeping a look out for the gates and aiming towards them), this turned quite muddy and slippery as it went into some steep climbs. I nearly slipped over a couple times trying to climb up those hills, causing damage to my hand as I tried to grab onto a tree for support without noticing it had thorns.
Twin Lock 66 on Trent & Mersey Canal
This path would be lovely in the summer time as it did have some nice views, but in the mud was awful, I’m glad I didn’t do it back in January as I suspect parts would have been unpassable due to flooding. I was also glad when I reached the road in Maw Green but the time it took me to get across the mud meant my original target of the 13:13 train was now in the bin. So, with the 14:13 in sight I did a little loop in the Maw Green area of Crewe involving the Lime Tree Park before following a long (and steep climbing) path alongside the railway line closer to the town centre, swinging via Tesco for some lunch (and to change back into my tee-shirt as my dress was quite muddy).
After sourcing lunch, I headed to the station, with my fingers crossed to avoid the dreaded pair of 2s on the London train. 350250 was on the rear but thankfully 350406 was up front allowing me a nice table seat to rest my legs and to eat my lunch for the trip towards London. The train lost some time and got put onto the slow lines after Bourne End (north of Hemel Hempstead) which meant the train was 15 minutes late into Euston cutting down my connection to reach Paddington.
Thankfully the train went into platform 8 at Euston meaning easy access to the underground, and the Northern line took me to Tottenham Court Road for a fast walk to the Elizabeth line platforms with a 345 to Paddington. Getting lucky with the position for the exit as I just about made the 17:03 GWR service for Penzance (I think), getting a seat for the trip to Reading, followed by a very busy 2 coach 165 to Basingstoke, fighting through the crowds at Basingstoke (because who would want to play replacement coach gamble when they could use a train?)
165122 & 165119 at Reading
I wasn’t the only passenger making a fast walk at Basingstoke for the unofficial 4-minute connection to the hourly Exeter train, which to my surprise was lightly loaded in coach 3 of 6 as it took me to Grateley, followed by a gentle walk home to unpack & relax after a bit of a stressful return journey but everything worked out.
Two enjoyable canal walks, nice countryside and scenery, decent weather, other than the muddy towpaths but that was always going to be a risk doing canal walks this time of year. Hard to picture that 2023 is near enough a quarter complete, time does fly!
Anyhow more photos taken throughout the month are here: Flickr Link. Thanks for reading, have a cute pig :)
Oink!
