May Trips Part 2
20th May – A day on the buses in Berkshire
The idea of today was a random day on the buses in Berkshire with only a rough plan in mind which changed a few times during the day. The day began with the 05:59 service from Grateley to Basingstoke, followed by a voyager to Reading, exiting the station heading to the bus stop just outside the station (after a detour via the toilets because it made sense). The first bus service was a Greenline 702 service to London Victoria, run with Reading buses 762 which was moderately busy from the start as it headed out of the town, picking up the A329 (M) before joining the M4 on a non-stop section exiting at junction 7 to head towards the Slough suburbs (Cippenham) to pick up a good load in Slough town centre itself.
After Slough it was some slow-moving traffic (roadworks) before once more picking up the M4 at junction 5 for another nonstop run along the M4 all the way towards Hammersmith which did see a few of the passengers on board alighting (which I guess makes sense as it is a cheap way into London) before some more slow-moving traffic towards Victoria, seeing some of the sights of Kensington, Knightsbridge & Hyde Park. Eventually the bus arrived at Victoria and both me & mum were glad to get off (as the seats are not the best for a long-distance service) with some fresh air.
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| Reading Greenline Bus 762 (YY15 OYD) at London Victoria on a Route 702 |
Next up was a trip towards Victoria station itself, swinging via Sainsburys for some lunch items before attempting to find the bus stop the C1 departed from, for an electric Enviro 200 (BE37016) service towards White City via more of the city, even if a bit slow in the traffic. I do like travelling by bus in London as I get to see more than I would do if travelling on the underground, or even walking. All the little pocket parks which look promising for an explore. Anyhow the bus arrived at White City bus station, and we had a short wait before the next route 607 for Uxbridge (bus VMH2562) for a limited stop service running alongside the route 207 towards Hayes Bypass (going via Acton, Ealing & Southall) before carrying on towards Hillingdon & finally Uxbridge. An enjoyable route.
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| Metroline London Bus VMH2562 (LA68 DXF) at Uxbridge on a Route 607 |
After a quick search in Uxbridge for the toilets in the shopping centre (some bad signage) it was time for lunch before a First Bus operated route 3 for Slough, with bus 63316. The driver was a bit heavy with the brakes at times as it headed out of Uxbridge towards Iver & Langley picking up the heavy traffic in Slough with the roadworks eventually reaching the bus stop near the burnt-out bus station around 15 minutes late. This is when I changed my rough idea for the day (originally, I was going to head towards Heathrow) but instead decided to change plans to board a Carousel Bus route 106 for Amersham (with an Oxford City branded 223 decker). A quiet route and once it was out of Slough it was quite scenic going via Gerrards Cross & Chalfont St Peter.
At Amersham, it was a short wait before the next move, which was onto another Carousel bus, this time a route 1A to High Wycombe (a Mercedes-Benz Citaro 876 with an unusual seating layout near the rear of the bus). I can’t really remember much of this route other than it was busy and had some nice views of the countryside. Another change of plan at High Wycombe as I was considering heading towards Reading on the Arriva bus which goes via Twyford (850 I want to say) but as that gave an hour wait decided on an Arriva run route 37 (with bus 3007) to Maidenhead going via Bourne End, Cookham & Furze Platt.
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| Carousel Buses Bus 223 (MF10 OXF) in Amersham on a 107 |
Another change of plan once we reached Maidenhead (for I was originally considering calling it a day, heading to the station to use the train to Reading), so after visiting a Sainsburys Local for some dinner items it was back to the bus stops on Frascati Way for a Thames Travel operated route 16 (with bus 669) to Windsor, a very quiet bus going via Bray and other villages to reach Windsor, where we had a 35 minute wait (wasting time swinging via Windsor & Eton Central station) before the final bus of the day, which was another Greenline 702 service (formed of bus 795 which was far better than the Greenline bus we had earlier in the day, it even had table seats).
This Greenline 702 was quite busy as it headed towards Legoland before extending towards Ascot, Bracknell before a fast run towards Reading along the A329 (M). At Reading it was a short walk towards the railway station to board a busy 165121 on the Basingstoke stopper, changing to a busy 159 on a Salisbury stopper to take us back to Grateley. An end of an enjoyable day on the buses, looking out of the window in places I’ve never been to before and allowed me to tick off some more bus routes when the £2 fare scheme is on.
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| Reading Greenline Bus 795 (SN66 WLK) at Reading |
21st May – Itchen Way Walk (Shawford to Southampton via Sholing)
The idea of today was to walk the Itchen Way from Shawford towards Southampton, a walk which had been on my list to do for a while. The day started with a trip to Basingstoke, where I changed to a pair of 444s to take me to Winchester before another pair of 444s to Shawford (ensuring I was in the front coaches due to a short platform). The Poole service was a lot busier than the Weymouth train, with a lot of luggage blocking up the wheelchair spaces. At Shawford I started my walk picking up the Itchen Way path which runs alongside the Itchen Navigation (an old canal). The path was a bit overgrown in places (not one to walk in shorts) but was some nice countryside views as it headed towards the Eastleigh area, diving underneath the railway a couple of times to reach Bishopstoke Road.
The path beyond this point went quite bad in places (bit overgrown, and some areas of deep mud) as it left the water near a smelly sewage works. After a bridge underneath the Eastleigh – Fareham line the Itchen Way follows the remains of the old canal, some areas had water in and was quite remote. Southampton airport was on the right-hand side and a nature reserve was on the left, very peaceful (both in terms of other walkers & noise). Thankfully the path quality had improved massively but was still a bit rough in places.
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| River Itchen between Brambridge & Allbrook |
A detour near the M27 from the old canal path towards the main river was needed before I returned to civilization at Swaythling and the “Riverside Park” (where the old canal joined the river itself). The path quality was now tarmacked and due to the sunny weather, it was quite busy. I made a small detour to take a spin on the Bitterne Park Railway, a miniature railway run by the Southampton Model Railway group, with a couple loops of the lower track behind a little electric loco. Gave my legs a rest for 20 minutes before I continued along the Itchen Way.
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| Model Electric Loco on the Riverside Park Railway, Bitterne (Southampton Society of Model Engineers) |
The riverside path came to an end at Cobden Bridge in the Bitterne Park area of Southampton as the Itchen Way followed some residential roads and some city green areas (Peartree Green) as I went underneath the Itchen Bridge where I could have finished the walk as Woolston station was close by, but the train times didn’t work out. So, I continued along the Itchen Way as it re-joined the waterfront at Weston Point before, I headed inland via the very scenic Shoreburs Greenway, my favourite part of this walk (and quite unexpected). The Itchen Way came to an end at Sholing station but sadly my timings were a bit rubbish and had a 50 minute wait for the next train towards Southampton so I joined the road network, going across the Itchen Bridge (something which had been on my list for years) and making my way towards Southampton Central station, swinging via a newish Tesco Express located outside the station (which I suspect will eat into the takings of the Co-Op).
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| Shoreburs Greenway between Weston Shore & Sholing, Southampton (Itchen Way) |
I had a couple of options to get back to Grateley from Southampton, either via Salisbury or via Basingstoke. The fastest option at the time of arrival was via Salisbury so it was onto 166209 for the trip towards Salisbury making a connection onto a pair of 158s on a stopper for London, a connection I didn’t want to miss as the next train to call at Grateley would have been 90 minutes later due to the timetable switching from a separate Salisbury – Reading/Waterloo service to the trains from Exeter calling. Anyhow soon I was back at Grateley and walking home. An enjoyable (if long, 19 miles!) walk of countryside leading into urban. I have no clue when I might do the northern end of the Itchen Way from Winchester towards Hinton Ampner as that will require research into buses. It is certainly a walk not to do during the winter months as I suspect some areas of the path would get flooded quite easily and some turning into muddy quagmires.
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| River Itchen from Itchen Bridge, Southampton |
27th May - The Powerful Parkeston Panorama
Today was the latest UK Railtour aimed more towards the track bashers rather than the general public, and with the times it picked up & set down in London meant I could save on the cost of a hotel room in London and start from home. Although it did mean using the 05:27 service (getting too old for such early starts!). An uneventful run into Waterloo, where I changed over to the Underground with the Bakerloo to Oxford Circus before the Victoria line to Finsbury Park, where I headed out of the station to the little Tesco Express to grab some supplies.
The tour train was delayed by a few minutes due to signalling issues but eventually required 66748 rolled in (with 66765 on the rear) with the usual Mk2 coaches (complete with dripping AC unit above the luggage rack). The first leg was from Finsbury Park towards Stratford, via the Canonbury curve to the North London Line and a 15-minute dwell at Stratford allowing for photos & time keeping on a busy section of railway.
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| 66748 arriving at Finsbury Park |
After departing Stratford, the train used the flyover bypass line to go onto the “electric” lines before Ilford, then via the Gidea Park carriage sidings & via platform 5 at Shenfield for the lesser used connection at the eastern end of that platform (normally only served by Elizabeth line services). The next big bit of track was a visit to the Chelmsford Lower Yard, reversing at Chelmsford before continuing heading east. A trip on the goods lines just before Colchester station with a couple more loops thrown in as the train continued via Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds to reach Ely. The station at Ely itself was bypassed via the goods lines before the train headed towards Norwich where we had a 90-odd minute break.
The weather was nice and sunny, so I decided to have a gentle walk following the riverside path in Norwich, doing a loop via the Cow Tower (Moo) & the wonderful cathedral [which is free to enter]. After visiting Morrisons for supplies for dinner, it was back to the station to board the train as it headed south from Norwich, via Diss back towards Ipswich (after various loops). After Ipswich the train headed towards Harwich International, going via the freight sidings before the station.
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| River Wensum from the Prince of Wales Road bridge, Norwich |
The next hour was full of reversals as the tour gained access to the Parkeston Carless Curve via the Up Tip Sidings, before returning to the mainline around 15 minutes late (so standard railtour timings). After the many reversals it was back towards Manningtree then back towards London. I’m pretty sure it went via platform 1 at Witham for some slightly unusual track and crossed over at Chelmsford to allow a GA service to pass. After Chelmsford the train continued towards Stratford where I alighted deciding it wasn’t worth trying to rush to Waterloo for the 22:20 service (25-minute connection) so had a slower route via the Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road for the Northern line to Waterloo for the 22:50 service.
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| Inside Norwich Cathedral |
This service (a 159+158 combo) took me to Grateley but ran late due to various issues involving some drunks pulling the emergency stop button after they overshot Woking (which caused them to miss the last train from Basingstoke back towards Woking). I was glad to get home as it was a long day, and those Mk2 coaches are not the best when the AC isn’t effective on a warm day, but overall, a good tour full of unusual freight track & loops.
28th May – Walking in Exeter
With the Basingstoke area closed today, I decided to head west towards Exeter, alighting from the train at Pinhoe to start a walk which took me via the Arena, before dropping towards the Honiton Road Park & Ride and Sowton industrial estate to pick up a path alongside the railway line towards Newcourt & Topsham where I changed to heading along a footpath alongside the river Exe. A footpath I wouldn’t really recommend as the surface was a bit rough in places, but it did give some nice views of the river before it went via some marshland.
At Countless Wear I joined the road network for a short distance before picking up the path alongside the river once more, near a university playing field. I continued along the path as it headed towards Exeter Quay before heading towards the city centre via part of the old city wall path. Sadly, this is when I noticed the next SWR service had been cancelled giving me an hour delay (grr) so to waste the extra time I headed towards the university via a mixed used path returning via Hoopern Valley and some steep steps to Exeter St Davids station.
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| River Exe from path between Topsham & Lower Wear |
The next SWR service was busy but also got delayed due to a late running Exeter service at Pinhoe, meaning it got sent via platform 2 at Gillingham (which is the first time I’ve gone into platform 2 at Gillingham from the west) to wait time for the next Exeter train to pass it at Gillingham (rather than at Tisbury loop), which did push the delay over an hour (as they tend to arrive at Grateley a couple of minutes early after a 10 minute dwell at Salisbury).
An enjoyable day, nevertheless, that walk had been on my list of things to do for a while (having completed Exmouth to Topsham in October 2021).
29th May – A Bank holiday Canalside Walk
I decided as the weather was nice to carry on with my Kennet & Avon canal walking, this time deciding to focus on the section from Pewsey towards Hungerford. Had it been a Saturday I could have caught a bus direct to Pewsey from Salisbury to save time, but sadly those don’t run on bank holidays. I headed from Grateley towards Basingstoke changing for a GWR service to Reading before a time wasting 387 on a Newbury stopper before finally 802005 for the run to Pewsey on a busy Exeter service.
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| Platforms at Pewsey Station |
I exited the station at Pewsey, heading towards the wharf picking up the canal towpath heading east towards Wootton Rivers climbing up to the submit of the canal. Next area was Burbage before having to leave the canal-side due to Bruce Tunnel in Savernake, with a slightly overgrown footpath. I re-joined the canal towpath at the eastern end, heading towards Crofton. A slight detour on the roads was needed near the Beam engine at Crofton itself due to a closed towpath which was slightly annoying, but I soon re-joined the canal once more near a level crossing of the railway.
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| The Chimney of the Crofton Pumping Station |
Continuing along the canal I reached Great Bedwyn, then Little Bedwyn as the towpath turned a bit overgrown and narrow. Thankfully the path condition did improve near Froxfield allowing me to get back up to normal speed for the section into Hungerford, meeting up with the section of canal I walked back in February. I headed towards the station, swinging via Tesco for some supplies (mainly drink as it was quite warm).
At the station I turned down the 165 on the Newbury shuttle because it didn’t connect into anything for Reading, the next connection being the late running IET from Exeter (signalling issues) so I decided to stay at Hungerford to board 802009 for a better chance of a seat (which turned out to be a good move as it got very busy at Newbury). However, the damage had been done with a connection missed at Reading, meaning another delay. After popping out of the station to Wendys for something hot it was onto a 165 to Basingstoke, where I decided to jump on the Exeter train to take me to Andover as I find Andover station a nicer place to wait than Basingstoke.
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| A London bound 800309 alongside the Kennet & Avon Canal near Crofton Lock |
My final train was the Salisbury stopper for the short distance to Grateley to walk home, the end of another nice canal-side walking trip. Just leaves Devizes to Pewsey & Bath – Bristol to walk of the Kennet & Avon. This section did feature some nice Wiltshire countryside as it is quite rural, the path quality varying and was quite busy in places.
More photos taken in May can be found here: Flickr
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