Wednesday, 2 August 2023

Trips in May 2023 Part 1

 Trips in May 2023 Part 1


I’m in a much better place mentally than I was 6 or so weeks ago (still not quite 100%), and I’ve been in a typing mode as of late:

 

May was another busy month for me and my travels throughout the country, including a couple of long weekends away and a railtour.  The extra bank holidays making all the difference.

 

1st May – Kennet & Avon Canal walk

 

For the 1st trip of May I decided to carry on with my Kennet & Avon canal walk, this time with the section from Bath towards Avoncliff, to link up with the part I did on Good Friday.  The day began with the 07:50-odd train from Grateley to take me to Salisbury giving me time to head to Sainsburys for lunch items before a 166 took me to Warminster where I exited into some unexpected rain (thankfully didn’t last for long) and headed towards the bus stop to board a First Discover D1 service (bus 69511).

 

The bus did a loop around Warminster before heading towards Bath via Westbury, Trowbridge & Bradford on Avon (plus many other smaller places along the way).  After Bradford on Avon, it was full & standing with a large crowd waiting for it at Winsley (think everybody managed to get on board).  A few did alight at Dundas Aqueduct & Claverton but remained busy until reaching Bath bus station, where after swinging via M&S to make use of the toilets I headed on my way towards Pulteney Bridge on the River Avon.

 

Pulteney Weir on River Avon, Bath

 

I walked along the River Avon underneath the railway bridge and turning left onto the Kennet & Avon canal and climbed the flight of locks, making a small detour into Sydney Gardens before continuing along the canal away from Bath.  The towpath was very busy with other walkers/cyclists & joggers (seemed there was a jogging club from one of the universities based on a group of students passing wearing the same top), the canal itself was busy with boat movements & also wakeboarders (which is good to see people out enjoying the canal).

 

After Bath the towpath continued towards Bathampton where I had a little detour towards the Bathampton Meadows leading to Batheaston, then followed the road to Bathwick (all the places starting with Bath!)  At Bathwick I picked up a footpath which crossed the River Avon on the railway bridge (Bath – Chippenham) before heading across a field and a level crossing of the railway (Bath – Bradford line) into an area which has massively changed since I was growing up, a lot more houses in what used to be a bus depot area.

 

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165130 approaching the Level Crossing on Ferry Lane, Claverton


 

I re-joined the canal in Bathampton and carried on heading along it as the housing gave way to countryside with some beautiful views of the valley.  At Claverton I took a small detour to see the Warleigh Weir on the River Avon (which was very busy with families out enjoying the water), before carrying on towards Dundas Aqueduct where another small detour took me along the remains of the Somerset Coal Canal before heading back to the Aqueduct, going down some steep steps to get a photo from the ground level.

 

Dundas Aqueduct South Side (Kennet & Avon Canal)

 

I climbed back up to the canal level and continued my walk towards Avoncliff, the towpath becoming a lot quieter (both in terms of other users & also noise levels as there wasn’t any main roads close by).  This section for me was the most enjoyable, for the woodland cover and the sun coming out after hiding away behind clouds.  At Avoncliff I went underneath the aqueduct and carried on walking on the canal, branching away along a path towards the River Avon.  A path which I followed towards Bradford on Avon as it went via the Barton Farm Country Park.  At Bradford I continued along the River Avon path towards the town bridge which felt like a good place to end my walk as I headed towards the station with a few minutes to spare before a busy 5 coach 158 formation rolled up to take me to Salisbury, where I had a 45 minute break in the sunshine (broken up with a passing 66) before a pair of 159s rolled in from Exeter to take me to Grateley, the end of an enjoyable canal walk.

 

Not sure when I will get round to filling in the gap between Devizes & Hungerford (other than breaking it up at Pewsey).  Plus, to do the section from Bath towards Bristol (meeting up with coverage from April 2021).

 

4th May – Onwards to Newcastle

 

I had booked a long weekend in Newcastle, mix of walks, some bus routes & maybe some trains as well.  The trip began with the 17:59 service from Grateley to Basingstoke followed by a pair of 444s to Waterloo, where with around 80 minutes to waste before my booked train north I decided to walk to Kings Cross to waste some time, and to save on the cost of using the underground.  I was booked on the 20:27 Lumo service because it was a lot cheaper than the LNER train at both 20:00 & 21:00.

 

803005 was the unit in charge for the Edinburgh train, where I made a bee-line for one of the unreserved seats at the very front of the train, just for that bit of extra comfort with extra legroom.  The train was reasonably busy but unlike the last time I used Lumo from London it wasn’t hopelessly crush loaded.  Anyhow an uneventful journey (went via platform 3 at York) and soon Newcastle was reached.  Due to the arrival time being 23:05 I didn’t have that many options available for accommodation but when I was booking found the Travelodge down at the riverside quite reasonably priced.  Around 10 minutes after arriving at Newcastle I had arrived at the hotel, got myself checked in and made myself comfortable.

 

803005 at Newcastle

 

5th May – 2 long bus journeys & a disused railway walk

 

The day for me began with a walk in the rain, up some steep stairs towards the city centre, swinging via a Sainsburys Local for breakfast before making my way to the Eldon Square bus station for the 08:45 Stagecoach service to Carlisle (the route 685).  Originally, I was considering going for the 07:30 service but decided on a later start and because the 07:30 normally threw out an Enviro200 rather than a double decker the 08:45 did.  I got the front seat of Stagecoach 11156 as it made its way out of Newcastle staying north of the river until Corbridge.  The bus did empty out at Hexham (allowing me to swap sides) before continuing west via Haydon Bridge, Haltwhistle & Brampton, some nice scenic views from the top of the bus as the rain from earlier was left behind in Newcastle.

 

2 and a bit hours after leaving Newcastle, the bus turned into Carlisle bus station, giving me time to grab lunch and to stalk out for the return of a bus vinyled up to celebrate the Kings Coronation which was this weekend (hence why I ran away to the North East!).  After a couple of photos, I got myself an advance ticket on the day for the next Northern service towards Metrocentre, a nice 158 on a semi-fast service (Haltwhistle, Hexham & Prudhoe, which makes for a better journey than the last time I did this line on a 156 which called pretty much at every station other than Dunston.

 

Stagecoach Bus 10015 (PX12 DLY) in Carlisle

 

Anyhow this 158 took me to Metrocentre, where I had a gentle walk towards the Asda at Gibside Way, the starting point for my next long bus journey, the route 1 to Whitley Bay.  I made myself comfortable on Go North East’s 5460 (a Wright StreetLite) as it headed towards the main Metrocentre interchange, before heading south on a tour of Fellside & Whickham before heading towards Gateshead Interchange before heading across the Tyne, getting very busy in Newcastle city centre for the trip out towards Wallsend (where the bus did empty out).

 

After Wallsend the bus continued towards North Shields, Tynemouth & Cullercoats and finally Whitley Bay.  I alighted from the bus at Whitley Bay and headed to the Dunes hotel to get checked in.  I’ve used this particular hotel a couple times before and found it quite good value for money, although this time I was in a room above the pub rather than above the main hotel (so it was a bit loud at night).  Anyhow I dropped off some weight from my bag, and headed back out.  Originally, I was considering a Metro evening to hunt down some of my last few Metro units needed for a mile but I couldn’t drum up the energy for that.

 

158817 at Metrocentre Station

 

Instead, I headed on a Go North East route 309 service towards Blyth (bus 6116) where I had two options of either walking along the coast back to Whitley Bay or walking along a couple of old railway lines.  In the end I picked the railway lines (which turned out a good move as the wind did pick up).  This walk took me along what I believe was the remains of the old Blyth branch line, before remains of a line only pulled up in recent times (as it still shows on Google Maps).  This path took me towards Newsham where I crossed the railway on the current freight only line which will eventually get reopened to the public.

 

Remains of a railway stop sign at B1523 (Plessey Road), New Devaval

 

After the railway I headed along the Plessey Waggonway, deciding to cut out doing a little loop and onto an old colliery railway route, heading south via some trees.  The path was quite mixed with wood chippings, to mud and loose stones.  It was very peaceful in terms of both traffic noise and other users, some nice views as well.  This path took me towards Seaton Delaval where I had two options to reach my next disused railway line walk, deciding to go via New Hartley, crossing the freight line again at a level crossing on a sharp bend.  I was a bit worried that the pavement would randomly come to an end, but thankfully it remained as I reached the Avenue, passing a strange pillar in woodland, something I have no idea what it was for.

 

Unknown brick structure on St Michaels Avenue, Seaton

 

The next disused railway route was the former Avenue Branchline of the Blyth and Tyne Railway leading towards Monkseaton, a path which judging by signage had recently been upgraded and was fully open once more (always a risk with these walks, getting to a path to find it’s closed for various reasons forcing a detour or replan if no alternative is available).  The surface quality was good as I carried on walking through the countryside, reaching the urban area after an hour or so.  At Monkseaton I joined the road network for the short walk towards the Spoons at Whitley Bay for dinner, before heading to the hotel to rest after an enjoyable walk.  The weather had held out with a couple times where it looked like it was going to rain but thankfully it remained dry.

 

6th May – A revisit to Chathill & pretending to be a train again

 

The area in the North East has plenty of options of old railway line walks, some are easier to reach than others (in terms of public transport), with good weather forecasted I eventually picked a walk along the Bowes Railway Path which led into the Tanfield Railway Path.  The day started with a Tyne & Wear Metro service to North Shields followed by a Stagecoach run Route 11 service to South Shields, mainly to cover the Tyne Tunnel by bus.  Not the fastest way to reach South Shields as after Jarrow it goes via places like Biddick Hall, Harton Moor & Horsley Hill but an interesting route to do nether the less.

 

At South Shields I made a connection to a Metro service to take me to Jarrow where I started my walk heading towards the Monkton Cycleway which led towards Monkton village for a short section of road walking before picking up the Bowes Railway Path, which led towards the Bowes railway centre at Springwell.  I followed the signed path as it went around the railway centre (including some heavy overgrown railway lines near the quarry).  After I picked up the former railway line once again, I carried on towards the A1, taking a small detour to visit the Angel of the North before returning to the railway path.

 

Angel of the North

 

The railway path walk continued towards Kibblesworth and a long climb which felt like it climbed for a good couple of miles, beautiful countryside views and very peaceful.  The Bowes Railway path came to an end near Andrews House station on the Tanfield Railway, another little heritage railway, one on my list to revisit for the famous Causey Arch.  The first mile or so of the Tanfield Railway path followed the railway until Sunniside Station where the heritage line came to an end and the mixed used path went onto the former trackbed until the beautiful Watergate Forest Park, which even included a little waterfall which I had another short detour to visit for some photos

 

Waterfall within Watergate Forest Park, Lobley Hill, Gateshead

 

 

After the Forest Park, the path continued into the urban area of Dunston Hill, coming to an end with a footbridge over the A1 near Dunston station.  I picked up the Teams Cycleway which makes use of another old railway route towards Low Teams, one of the suburbs of Gateshead, where I switched to road to head towards Newcastle station, crossing the Tyne on the Redheugh Bridge, arriving with a few minutes to spare (after swinging via Sainsburys for some extra drink as I had drunk nearly everything I had).

 

A Northern 158 crossing the King Edward VII Bridge over River Tyne, Newcastle

 

My first move on the railway was a XC HST to take me to Alnmouth, I had forgotten how nice the HST interiors are on XC, although it was a slow journey losing around 10 minutes in the Morpeth area.  Alnmouth was a station where I needed to tick off the northbound platform (as when I visited it the first time round in 2016 it was linearly from the morning Chathill – Newcastle train to an East Coast service).  I had around 30 minutes at Alnmouth before 158870 rolled in to take me the final 11 miles to Chathill, solely as a little revisit.

 

Sadly, since my last visit, the waiting shelter on the southbound platform has got fenced off due to the building being damaged (probably during a storm).  I noticed the stones on the platform edge were also in need of some TLC as they were broken up.   With no seats I spent the 40-odd minutes at the station taking some photos of passing trains watching the fog closing in, soon the 158 returned to take me south towards Morpeth, where I stepped back to a required 801218 for the run to Newcastle (Morpeth to Newcastle should be easy enough to cover for 158 coverage on a future trip, although famous last words as no doubt Northern will diagram 156s for the ECML services keeping the faster 158s for stoppers).

 

158870 departs Chathill Station


 

At Newcastle, I headed towards the Metro, doubling back via Gateshead due to a missing service, before heading to Whitley Bay, with all the anti-social behaviour on show as the train carried on.  At Whitley Bay I headed to grab a late-night pizza from a takeaway near the hotel, before relaxing for the remainder of the night (although not like I could go to sleep due to the loud music from the pub below).  An enjoyable walk, if not a bit long (in hindsight I could have finished it at Dunston, or even walked towards the Metrocentre rather than Newcastle city centre).

 

7th May – Visiting the Weardale Railway

 

When reading a magazine, I noticed that the Weardale Railway had resumed running all the way to Bishop Auckland West from Stanhope on selected days, of which this Sunday was one of those.  After researching the timings worked with my booked train to London so I decided a trip on a heritage line would be a good way to spend the Sunday.  Originally, I was planning on using the train each way but looking at Google Maps it flagged up a bus option which would cut the cost down.

 

After checking out of the Dunes Hotel in Whitley Bay (a place I would use again), it was out into the light rain and a gentle walk towards the sea front where I picked up a Go North East route 309 service (bus 6114) from Park Avenue to take me to Newcastle Haymarket bus station for a different view.  Once in Newcastle city centre, I swung via a Sainsburys local for breakfast before having a gentle walk over the High-Level Bridge (via the cathedral) to Gateshead Interchange where I boarded a Go North East operated route X21 service (bus 6357) on the Bishop Auckland service.

 

The Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas, Newcastle

 

This was quite a good run as it ran nonstop from Gateshead to Low Fell, then nonstop to Chester-Le-Street involving some high-speed running on the A1.  An interesting route towards Bishop Auckland (one I would recommend), where it terminated in the bus station area where I had another gentle walk towards the station, swinging via a path alongside the River Gaunless and Morrisons.  I went via the National Rail station first of all for some better photos and making use of the new-ish station connection path to Bishop Auckland West.

 

The train in operation today on the Weardale line was pacer, 142078.  Nice to step back in time a few years where this train would be a regular feature in the North East (I had forgotten how comfy the seats are).  The train was reasonably busy as it set off on the Weardale line, all new track for me and I spent the time looking out of the window at the rolling scenery for the trip to Stanhope, the current end of the line (it used to continue towards Eastgate).

 

A pacer at Bishop Auckland (West)

 

At Stanhope I had a little walkabout before returning to the train, sitting on the opposite side for different views for the run back towards Bishop Auckland West.  One good thing is you can see out of the front of the train, bit like some of those older DMUs.  An enjoyable run, and I can’t imagine it won’t be long before a charter company offers a railtour to Stanhope once more.  At Bishop Auckland station, I headed towards a bus stop outside the station to flag down an Arriva operated route 6 service (bus 1466) to take me to Durham, where I headed up the hill with an on-the-day advance ticket for an Edinburgh bound 801212 (think it was something like £4 purchased on the TVM).

 

This reasonably busy 801 took me to Newcastle (wouldn’t have wanted to book a ticket on the 5 coach Newcastle terminator service which was in front, for that was busy due to kickball in Newcastle).  At Newcastle I had a short wait before 800112 rolled in from Aberdeen [it was the cheapest option when I was booking tickets], getting my seat for the fast run to London (Darlington & York).  Can’t remember if the train arrived on time or was a few minutes late as it was nearly 2 months ago!.

 

66108 passing Durham Station

 

I was booked in a Travelodge in Twickenham, solely to avoid the hassle of a rail replacement bus from Guildford to Andover, so I had a couple of options to reach Twickenham.  As the sun was out I decided to take a walk along the Regent’s Canal towards Camden Road station, getting lucky with a low mileage 378219 for the run to Clapham Junction, changing to a busy pair of 450s for the run to Richmond, where I exited the station for another short walk towards Twickenham via St Margaret’s & the Moormead and Bandy Recreation Ground, reaching the Travelodge near Twickenham station, where after a shower headed to sleep for the Monday was an early start.  A reasonable Travelodge, although probably not one I would want to stay in during summer months as I reckon there would be some outside noise if the window needed to be open for air.

 

455731 arriving at St Margarets Station


 

8th May – A Day on the Buses in Essex

 

It was an early start, so early the night buses were still running when I left the Travelodge and headed to a bus stop on York Road in Twickenham to catch a route 490 service (run by Abellio London, 8839) which got very busy after Hatton Cross as it headed towards Heathrow Terminal 5 via Terminal 4.  At Heathrow Terminal 5 I headed to the Piccadilly line to take a service to Heathrow Terminals 2+3 exiting to head towards the bus station (via WH Smiths for an overpriced breakfast, but options were limited that time of the morning).

 

The main reason for heading to Heathrow so early was to catch one of the 2-hourly Arriva run route 724 services all the way to Harlow, made longer as the bus I caught (3771) went via Terminal 5 before heading towards Uxbridge, Watford, Welwyn, Hertford & finally Harlow.  I was glad to get off at Harlow to have a quick walk (and visit to the toilet) but an enjoyable run looking out of the window at different parts of the country I had never been to before.

 

Arriva Bus 3771 at Heathrow Central Bus Station on the 724 to Harlow.

 

Next up in Harlow was another Arriva bus route, the 510 to Stansted Airport (bus 4113) for another enjoyable run, the bus getting busier as the journey went on (I guess £2 for the bus fare is a lot cheaper than whatever the price is for the train).  This journey ended in the bus/coach area of Stansted Airport with another short wait before the next bus, an Airlink X30 service to Southend.  Normally a bus which costs a bit of money to ride as it’s quite nice inside, so a bargain for £2.  This bus headed towards Southend via Chelmsford and did have some fast running in places, although did get caught up in traffic both ways so I missed the next leg of my rough plan giving me an extra 30 minutes in Southend, time to visit some shops for food + drink items.

 

My next bus journey was on the First run route 28 service to Basildon, featuring bus 47530, another interesting run with some nice views in places.  At Basildon I had around 35 minutes to waste before my next service, so I popped into the town centre area (all the closed-up shops making for a depressing sight, but a sign of the times for high streets), before heading back to the bus station for an Airlink X10 (bus 67168).  Not as nice as the X30 in terms of seating but an enjoyable fast run towards Chelmsford even with the detour of going via a modern housing area with all the new houses (both built and under construction).

 

First Essex Airlink Bus 36837 (YN69 XXU) at Southend Bus Station

 

I was a bit worried as this bus only gave a 10-minute connection into my next bus route (had I made the earlier 28 in Southend I would have had 70 minutes at Chelmsford which I was going for a little explore).  Thankfully the late start was recovered as the bus arrived a few minutes early into the bus station at Chelmsford allowing me time to catch the last route 351 bus of the day to Brentwood, stopping just outside the railway station (bus 44544).  A fitting end for my day on the buses as I headed towards the station, catching a 345 to Shenfield to connect with dud 720565 + required 720116 for the fast run to Stratford, changing to the Jubilee Line to take me to Waterloo and onto a 159 working a Salisbury stopper to take me & my big heavy bag home.

 

First Essex Bus 44544 (YX13 AKF) near Brentwood Railway Station on a Route 351

 

 

An enjoyable day on the buses in Essex, making use of the £2 fares, just what the doctor ordered after a busy few days in the North East.

 

12th May – A trip to Yorkshire on a strike day

 

When both the unions announced strike days for the 12th + 13th May my heart sunk as I had planned a Saturday on the buses towards North Yorkshire, however I managed to change some plans to book on a Grand Central service to Wakefield rather than LNER to Leeds (might have cost an extra £3 but hey-ho).  I had a place in Dewsbury which I had used a couple times before so getting to Dewsbury from Wakefield wasn’t that hard as there was 2 buses an hour.

 

The trip began on the revised 13:3X service from Grateley to Basingstoke, followed by a lightly loaded single 444 to Waterloo (from Portsmouth).  In London I had time for a nice walk towards Kings Cross, swinging via Charing Cross (felt strange being roped off with no trains), then via the theatre district & a couple garden areas to reach Kings Cross in plenty of time to board 180102 for the fast run to Wakefield Kirkgate.  Very strange being on the ECML and seeing no Great Northern/Thameslink trains running and hardly any LNER services, I think the train arrived a good 5 minutes early into Doncaster due to a clear path.

 

180102 at London Kings Cross

 

At Wakefield Kirkgate, I decided on a last-minute change of plan, and instead of heading towards the bus station, headed out on foot towards the Calder & Hebble Navigation via suburban Wakefield due a missing towpath alongside the River Calder (I think the original towpath has been lost to time & flood defence work).  Once I picked up the towpath I headed along the Navigation (both river & canal sections), crossing over the river via the railway bridge (walkway below the tracks).  Quite a few old railway bridges along the way and very rural in places.

 

Calder and Hebble Navigation between Calder Grove & Horbury Bridge

 

I had good timing as it just about started getting dark when I reached the start of the Dewsbury arm of the canal, the point I covered last year, so I headed towards the road network to walk towards the town centre, swinging via Asda before reaching the Wellington Arms pub, my base for the next couple of nights.

 

13th May – Buses to North Yorkshire

 

It was an early start for me as I headed to Dewsbury Bus Station to catch the first route 203 service towards Leeds.  It was on Arriva bus 1924 on a lightly loaded service to Leeds bus station where I had around 45 minutes to waste before the next bus service, so I headed into the city centre to visit a Tesco Express for some breakfast before heading back to join the queue for the Whitby bus.  Probably made longer due to the train strikes limiting services between Leeds & York (I passed the railway station in Leeds, and it was all locked up with some replacement buses outside).

 

It was onto the Route 840 Coastliner for Whitby, one of the main reasons why I didn’t cancel this trip, solely because at the time the £2 bus fares were ending in June and I’ve heard that the Coastliner routes are meant to be very scenic.  It was onto bus 3630 which was quite busy on departure, dropping off passengers along the way out of Leeds (I can’t help thinking these Coastliners should either be limited stop out of Leeds or effectively “pick up/set-down” only to force local passengers onto alternative bus routes).

 

One thing I would say, the seats are not the most comfortable due to the shape of the seatback digging into my back.  During the large turnover of passengers at York I managed to relocate to the front seat for the views as the bus headed towards Malton, then Pickering & a detour into Goathland (Heartbeat country), before heading to Whitby.  Some excellent views of the moors, certainly I can see why this is one of the most scenic routes in England.

 

Coastliner Bus 3630 (BT66 MVN) in Whitby

 

At Whitby, I met up with my good friend Stu who was planning to walk the old railway route towards Scarborough, something I had considered doing but was very wary with the times at the Scarborough end for the last Leeds bus.  I joined him at the start with the short section of old railway route in Whitby, swinging back towards the bus station before it reached the viaduct.  A nice catch-up.  Next up for me was the Arriva run route X4 (with bus 1436) towards Middlesborough.  I had previously done this bus route back in 2020 from Saltburn to Whitby and enjoyed the views as it headed towards Saltburn via the coast & Loftus, before going towards Redcar then running nonstop to Middlesborough.  Certainly, an enjoyable bus route for the sea views.

 

At Middlesborough I had around 35 minutes to waste before the next Scarborough bus, so I headed out of the bus station into the town centre in search of a free toilet and to get some fresh air.  Back to the bus station and it was onto the X93 service (Arriva Poppy bus 7401) which was meant to be going all the way to Scarborough but due to a driver shortage was only running to Whitby today.  A nice fast run out of Middlesborough towards Guisborough before following the main road across the moors towards Whitby.  Even more scenic than the Coastliner bus in my eyes, even if I was near the back of a busy bus.

 

View from bus (X93) between Charltons & Moorsholm

 

Back at Whitby again, with a bit of chaos as there was a large crowd waiting for this cancelled bus, and it was a 30-minute wait before the next X94 from Whitby to Scarborough rolled in, a single decker 1435 which left passengers behind due to being too full.  A nice run towards Scarborough going via Robin’s Hood Bay (where the bus did empty out somewhat).  I took the bus to the end at Scarborough railway station, seeing the queue for the next Leeds bus which was behind this one.  However, I was never planning to take the Leeds bus from the railway station as I set out on a gentle walk picking up the old railway line path and cutting via the very scenic Peasholm Park.

 

I was heading to the starting point of the route 843 to Leeds, ironically the same bus as I had in the morning to Whitby (3630) and as I boarded before the crowds in the town centre, I managed to bag the front seat, making sure to bag the one on the left-hand side because the ones on the right-hand side had collapsed cushions.  Needless to say, the bus picked up a lot more passengers as it headed towards Scarborough station where there was another large queue.

 

Coastliner Bus 3630 (BT66 MVN) at the Alpamare bus stop in Scarborough

 

Away from Scarborough rather full, going via Seamer & towards Malton (where the bus went into the garage where I presume it got topped up with some windscreen washer fluid).  After Malton it was back towards York, where the busy bus got even busier in the city centre with a large crowd waiting for it at the railway station.  Sadly, for the many waiting not many were allowed on due to the bus being full (the driver ensuring he didn’t go over the maximum allowed).  For those waiting they had an hour wait for the last bus to Leeds, where I hope some would have been more sensible and walked into the city centre area to try and board the bus before it reached the station.

 

The run out of York was fast, only stopping to allow passengers to exit the bus.  A few alighted at Tadcaster but the bus remained full all the way to Leeds bus station, the driver going set down only at the many bus stops within the city.  I alighted at the bus station to see the dreaded C word popping up on the departure board for the next Huddersfield via Dewsbury bus, so with an hour to wait before the next bus I headed towards the railway station as a replacement bus was showing (the line via Dewsbury was closed this weekend for planned engineering works).

 

I reached the railway station, which like in the morning was all locked up with just some replacement buses outside and a bit of confusion before a coach rolled in (Blue Sky Coaches BF63 ZPV) on a service for Dewsbury & Huddersfield so I got on board for the trip towards Dewsbury, before walking back to the pub to relax for the remainder of the evening.  An enjoyable day on the buses in North Yorkshire, looking out of the window at the passing scenery.

 

A closed up Leeds Station

 

14th May – Old railway lines to Huddersfield

 

Today was one of those “I’ve got many ideas, which one to go for” style of days, eventually deciding on a walk from Dewsbury towards Huddersfield.  After having a cooked breakfast, I checked out of the pub and headed towards the Calder Greenway path leading towards the River Calder, where I did some footpaths following the river (although not like there was many views due to the trees) towards Thornhill Road, switching sides to head towards the Calder & Hebble Navigation, leaving the waterside near Ravensthorpe station.

 

However, a blocked bridleway due to railway improvement works, meant I had to do a U-turn back to the water to walk along the path to pick up the Bridleway a bit further on.  This bridleway had elements of old railway line (maybe from the days the line used to be 4 tracks) as I headed towards the road, returning to the water near Shepley Bridge Marina to walk back towards Ravensthorpe to cover the towpath of the Greenwood Cut, and a path on the north side of the river back to the road bridge near the station.

 

Railway bridge over the River Calder in Dewsbury

 

I joined the road network for a short period, walking towards a short section of the old Spen Valley Line remained as a mixed used path into Mirfield.  In Mirfield I joined the road once more to pick up the Calder Greenway path once more where it runs along the remains of the old Huddersfield Branch line of the Midland Railway, heading via Battyeford and the Bradley Viaduct into the Bradley area of Huddersfield, before picking up the Birkby Bradley Greenway (which again, used the former Midland Railway branch line).

 

Bradley Viaduct (Former Midland Railway Huddersfield Branch Line)

 

One pickle was at Deighton station where the greenway was closed due to railway upgrade works with a poorly signposted diversion, eventually I picked up the greenway after a trip via some woodland.  This greenway went towards Huddersfield town centre itself, the “new town” area.  It was a short walk from the end of the greenway path towards the station, swinging via Tesco for some food & other supplies where I would board my last TPE service run by First Group.  This was a moderately busy 185103 + 185104 on a York service for the novelty of a trip via Wakefield Kirkgate & Woodlesford to reach Leeds (as the mainline via Dewsbury was closed).

 

I exited the station at Leeds for another short walk, this time picking up a path along the River Aire switching to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal going underneath the railway.  I carried on towards Whitehall Road, doing a short double back via the River Aire and via the city centre to visit some shops for dinner items before heading to the station to board my booked London train, sadly it was an Intercity 225 set, and I had an aisle seat so I had to hope the window seat would remain empty to allow me to use the plug socket.  91127 was pushing the train with no seat reservations showing which was causing confusion at every stop as it was a busy train and people wanted their reserved seat.

 

Eventually the train arrived at Kings Cross, around 10 minutes late, caused by it being a 91 pushed set and the bouncing Mk4 coaches (which simply don’t ride at all well and bounce worse than a pacer).  I had time for another cross London walk to avoid paying out for the underground, this time going via some back streets, swinging via Lincoln Inn Fields and the Strand before reaching Waterloo with time to spare before a pair of 158s took me to Grateley in comfort.  An enjoyable weekend away in Yorkshire, I’m glad I didn’t cancel the trip due to the strikes as I had a good day on the Saturday with the buses.

 

Go Ahead London Bus LT511 (LTZ1511) on Melbourne Place, London

More photos are available here: Flickr Album

 

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