Trips in July, Part 2
13th July – Onwards to Scotland
My 2nd big trip of July was a long weekend in Scotland, making use of a Central Scotland Ranger. Sadly, a lot of what I had planned needed to get paused due to the weather forecast being a bit indifferent and changeable.
The trip began with the 17:59 from Grateley taking it to Basingstoke to change to a pair of 444s to Clapham Junction. I jumped on the first Southern service towards East Croydon, just about boarding it with the luggage on board (a Gatwick Express rolled through beforehand and it was a case of counting the passengers, just about getting onto my 2nd hand). The network was in a process of collapsing with the trip to East Croydon being very much stop-start.
Thankfully I made the connection to the Turbostars from Uckfield to tick off 171808 with the run into London Bridge. One more bites the dust leaving just the single reformed 171 to get. Anyhow at London Bridge, I exited the station, headed towards the Thames picking up the Thames Path on the south bank of the river for an enjoyable walk towards the Rotherhithe area with views of Canary Wharf and the old buildings repurposed as living accommodation.
River Thames in Rotherhithe
I finished my walk near the Greenland Surrey Quays Pier, mainly with one eye on the time due to darkness starting to arrive, as I headed away from the Thames following a path alongside the Greenland Dock, swinging via a large Tesco Extra before heading Surrey Quays Overground station where darkness had set in. An Overground 378 took me to Highbury & Islington where I changed to the Victoria line for the trip to Euston, swinging via the toilets before heading to the lowland sleeper. 92018 was up front of a busy train (not many empty seats in the Edinburgh seated portion).
14th July –
Edinburgh Trams & Getting Wet at Thornton, Central Scotland Day 1
After a so-so night on the sleeper, it reversed at Carstairs with required 92020 doing the leg to Edinburgh, which I believe clears the 92s which have been modified to run Sleeper services. Anyhow an on-time arrival into Edinburgh as I left the station, going via Sainsburys for breakfast before heading to the tram stop at St Andrews Square buying a day ticket for the trams. I spent the next 90 minutes (or so) pinging back and forth on the new extension towards Newhaven (2 stops forward, 1 stop back). Some of the trams heading towards the city were busy with morning commuters (whom I presume have switched from using the bus). The new tram extension is slow in places due to traffic lights, but good that it has finally opened.
I reached Newhaven and decided when the weather wasn’t as bad as forecasted to have a little walk, following the disused railway line path heading towards the Haymarket area. A decent path with a couple of the old platforms from closed stations still being in situ, one of a few old railway line paths in the Edinburgh area long closed to trains. At Haymarket, I headed towards the tram stop to take sub mile tram 270 to Princes Street before tram 266 (another sub-mile tram) took me to Edinburgh Gateway where I gave the ticket office a challenge in selling a Central Scotland Rover.
Edinburgh Tram 270 at Newhaven Tram Stop
First Scotrail train of the trip was a 170+158 combo which took me towards Cowdenbeath where I had another short walk along an old railway line, doing a loop towards the Cowdenbeath Community Woodland near Hill of Beath. I returned to the station, swinging via Morrisons before a pair of 158s took me to Dunfermline City where I had another walk, although this time not getting lucky with the weather as the rain started when I was a third of the way along another disused railway path towards Dunfermline Queen Margaret station. Another enjoyable woodland path, even with the rain. At Dunfermline Queen Margaret it was onto a 170 for the run to Inverkeithing where I changed to an LNER service for the short trip along the coast to Kirkcaldy where I had my accommodation for this long weekend (Ashgrove Bed and Breakfast).
I checked into the Bed & Breakfast (although I don’t think they do breakfast anymore), a reasonable room with the oddity of having an ensuite shower & sink but the toilet was shared. With the weight of clothes gone from my bag, I was back to the station, taking a 158+170 combo one stop north to Markinch for no reason other than to waste time (the timetable at Kirkcaldy is rubbish compared to what it was before Covid, hardly any Scotrail fast services, only a stopper from Dundee & a stopper from Perth, whereas before Covid those trains were generally fast to Inverkeithing with the stoppers being from Glenrothes with Thornton.
158702 departs Dunfermline City Station
At Markinch it was a short wait for a late running service from Perth (delayed due to a late running HST from Aberdeen going first at Ladybank), a pair of 158s. These 158s took me all the way to Edinburgh Waverley, where I simply remained on board as they headed back towards Fife, this time going via the inner circle to terminate at Glenrothes with Thornton. As the units went ECS to Perth after arriving at Glenrothes it was one of the few trains booked to use platform 2 (giving access to the curve towards Markinch).
Originally my plan had the weather been nice was to walk towards Kirkcaldy, via bit of the coast, but as the weather was quite wet that plan went into the bin as I headed into Thornton village, finding a busy Fish & Chip Shop where I ordered a battered burger (because whilst in Fife…). It was quite nice along with the chips as I ate it when sitting in the shelter on platform 1 at Glenrothes with Thornton station, watching a 158 arrive from the Dunfermline direction before doing a little trip to just beyond the platform to reverse (something with the signalling). The backup had this train been cancelled was forking out for one of the Stagecoach buses to Kirkcaldy which pass the station.
158716 at Glenrothes with Thornton Station
This was a very quiet train as I took it to Edinburgh Gateway (solely to waste time) before the final train of the day with another pair of 158s on the stopper to Kirkcaldy, where I headed to the guest house to relax for the rest of the evening, but mainly sleeping as the poor night sleep on the sleeper had caught up with me.
15th July – Central Scotland Day 2
The weather was a bit wet & windy outside today, so my planned long walk along the old railway line from Dunfermline towards Alloa was put back into the box (not much fun to be caught in a sudden downpour when in the middle of nowhere) so I came up with a random idea as I headed towards Kirkcaldy station, later than I had hoped but the train I was aiming for got cancelled (so I had an extra 20 minutes in bed).
Needless to say, the 170 which rolled in was already busy, and only got busier the closer to Edinburgh it got (I went straight into the first-class section which is declassified on the stoppers). At Edinburgh I had a short walk to board a pair of 385s on the Dunblane service for the trip to Dunblane, mainly to tick off the loop platform (last time I arrived at Dunblane on a terminator it used P2 as there was nothing due to pass. Had the weather been nicer I would have had a little explore of Dunblane, but trains were running with heavy delays due to speed restrictions which worked in my benefit as it meant the connection to a Dundee – Glasgow service was a +12 rather than a +2.
385045 at Dunblane
A busy 158+170 rolled in, and
unusually I went towards the 170 as it was a lot quieter in terms of passenger
loadings for the trip towards Glasgow Queen Street, where I changed to a pair
of 385s on the next Edinburgh service.
At Edinburgh I popped out of the station for some lunch (and to buy
another ticket) before boarding a 158 on the next Perth stopper for the trip
back towards Fife remaining on board all the way to Perth where this was a
completely random service which instead of using either platform 5 or 6 is
booked to use platform 3. I’ve been
caught out before at Perth, so I was delighted when it landed into platform 3,
going right up to the buffer stops (which means my little spreadsheet I made up with "required" platforms is cleared, woohoo!)
158732 at Perth (platform 3)
Like with Dunblane, had the weather been better I would have gone out for a little explore, but as soon as the train arrived the heavens opened with another downpour, so I simply headed towards platform 5 to board a 170 on the next Edinburgh train, where the rain came to an end and I bailed at Markinch for a random unplanned walk along an old railway line path (the Leslie railway) for a little loop towards the edge of Glenrothes before returning via the Balbirnie Viaduct back to Markinch for a 158 to Burntisland where I picked up the Fife Coastal Path to walk along the beautiful coast (alongside the railway line in parts) to Aberdour.
Walking for the day complete as I headed back towards Edinburgh on a 158+170 combo, grabbing dinner before boarding a pair of 3 coach 385s for the trip to Glasgow Central, going via Carstairs (as I wanted to have a look at what the new track layout was like). Also, a bit of a novelty being on a train to call at both Kirknewton & Carstairs. Delayed a bit in the Carstairs area due to a late running TPE train but the time was made up by Motherwell. It ran nonstop to Glasgow Central but went via Bellshill rather than the direct route towards Glasgow, I can only presume either due to pathing or that the drivers don’t sign the direct route from Motherwell to Uddingston.
River Forth from Fife Coastal Path between Burntisland & Aberdour
Anyhow the train arrived at Glasgow Central as I set out towards Queen Street, deciding against taking another pair of 385s on the fast route to Edinburgh, instead going underground for a pair of 334s on the run to Haymarket via Bathgate, discovering that the airline seats behind the cabs have excellent legroom. At Haymarket, it was a tight connection across the platform to the last Edinburgh – Aberdeen train of the evening, a single 170 which unusually was nonstop to Kirkcaldy. I was expecting it to be busy, but I was surprised to get a pair of seats to myself in the rear coach. This 170 took me to Kirkcaldy where I walked to the guest house, which was a bit noisy due to a couple in a nearby room having a domestic argument (but you can’t really hold that against a guest house as those things can happen anywhere).
An enjoyable day, highlight being platform 3 at Perth, shame the weather didn’t improve until the afternoon but I did manage to do some decent walks, the coastal path was beautiful.
16th July – Central Scotland Rover, Day 3
The last day of my Scottish trip as I left the guest house to head towards Kirkcaldy station for the first southbound train of the day, a single 170 (so I dived into declassified first class) on a train which got extremely busy the closer it got towards Edinburgh. I decided to gamble with the weather forecast which couldn’t make up its mind and jumped off at Dalmeny, following a footpath away from the station towards the south shore of the Forth in South Queensferry, watching all the tourists arrive from a cruise ship with many buses & coaches waiting to take them to places far & wide. After getting some photos of the bridges I picked up the route of the South Queensferry Branch of the North British Railway. Started off being a woodland tarmac mixed used path before the woods ended and the path came alongside the railway near Dalmeny itself before branching away towards Kirkliston.
The path after Dalmeny was quite quiet in terms of use and noise as it headed across the countryside in a woodland cutting, a complete change to what it was like after Kirkliston on the section towards Newbridge where the path runs close to the M9 coming to an end near Ratho Station. The last mile & a bit was alongside the busy A8 heading towards Edinburgh, passing a motor show being held at the Highland Centre. The walk ended at Ingliston Park & Ride just as the drizzle started so I had good timing.
Forth Bridge (Rail) from South Queensferry
I couldn’t believe my luck when the first tram towards the city centre was my last tram needed for a mile (273), a big bonus as it saved me time as I took it to the Saughton tram stop for a gentle walk along a path which runs alongside the tram line towards Balgreen tram stop, something which had been on my list to do for a while. I still need to walk the old railway branch line from Balgreen but that will be a job for another day.
Another Edinburgh tram took me to Haymarket where I caught a single 385 for the run to Falkirk Grahamston, returning on the LNER service from Inverness (after visiting Morrisons). At Edinburgh I changed over to a pair of 385s on a North Berwick service to take me to Musselburgh where I followed a mixed used path near the university towards the Newcraighall area before going onto another disused railway path which I think used to form part of the North British Railway route towards St Leonards station but not quite sure.
385021 departs Musselburgh Station
I took this short railway line path towards Brunstane, ending up at the station where my last train of the Central Scotland Ranger took me to Edinburgh, a busy 170. At Edinburgh I went towards Boots for some dinner items before boarding winner 801202 on the London train, I was booked on, making myself comfortable as this train ran nonstop to Newcastle. This is where things started to go wrong where the train was delayed going into Newcastle due to congestion caused by overhead wire damage between Thirsk & York.
Eventually the train got going, pulling up alongside the platform at Thirsk (well on the fast line) switching over to the emergency diesel engine for a slow trip to York, maybe 25mph max but at least it kept moving. At York it switched back to electric for the run to London, arriving around 100 minutes late (glad I got food in Edinburgh!). Anyhow in London it was a trip to Waterloo via the underground (Victoria Line & Bakerloo Line) to board the 22:20 service formed of a pair of 159s to take me to Grateley.
801202 at London Kings Cross, a mere 2 hours late
An enjoyable weekend in Scotland, other than the delay in reaching London (which to give LNER credit for, an email was received later that evening with one click delay repay with the money back by the Tuesday). I will use that guest house in Kirkcaldy again if I do another Central Scotland Rover, just a shame the train service has been downgraded massively since Covid.
22nd July – Strike Day Buses in Hampshire
The weather forecast today was quite damp, so any planned long walks got put on the shelf and I dusted off a rough plan for some bus routes around Hampshire. The day started with a triple 158 on the Salisbury – Basingstoke shuttle service which operates on RMT strike days for the short hop to Andover where I had a gentle walk towards the housing area of River Way & Cricketers Way in the north of town before the rain was due to come, ticking off some random routes I wanted to walk which had been on my list for a while.
Anyhow the rain soon arrived as expected so it was to the nearest bus stop, picking up Calder Court on River Way for the route 10 service to Andover bus station, a service which went round the houses of Admiral’s Way & Sheep Fayre on a lightly loaded Enviro200 (Bus 36026). It was interesting to look out of the window in a part of my local town that either I’ve never been to before or haven’t been in many years. The bus arrived at Andover bus station and based on the time I had before my next move I decided to hop on board (I was using a Stagecoach South Gold Day Ticket today) the next P20 service.
It was onto an Enviro300 (bus 27829) for this route which headed towards the modern housing area of Picket Twenty on the outskirts of town, a route which had been on my list to do for a while as it uses some bus only roads to reach the housing area, including a bridge underneath the Ring Road. I stayed on for the entire route via the houses and back to the bus station where I had time to pop out to the toilets before the next Stockbridge bus.
Buses at Andover bus station
Stockbridge is a small town which I can remember when at school having a much better bus service than it currently has, something I used during my youth when doing GCSEs when my old moped was off the road, having a morning exam with nothing in the afternoon. Anyhow over the years it’s been reduced to a handful of services from Andover & from Winchester, some which have poor connections. Anyhow back from a trip down memory lane and it was onto an Optare Solo (47544) working the 12:05 route 15 service (a service which is better on Saturdays than during the week).
The bus was lightly loaded as it headed away from town, heading towards the villages of the Clatfords, Wherwell & Chilbolton before reaching Stockbridge town hall. An interesting route, passing parts of the old railway line (bridges etc). At Stockbridge the rain had resumed so I didn’t go far before my next bus service, this being a route 16 for Houghton. I was surprised as I was expecting another Optare Solo, but it was a lightly loaded Enviro200 (37148). I remained on board after it “terminated” at Houghton to form the 13:00 service to Winchester going via the village of Broughton before reaching Stockbridge then running towards Winchester via the villages of King’s Somborne, Little Somborne, Crawley & Littleton.
Stagecoach Bus 47544 (GX57 DJO) at Stockbridge
This bus picked up a handful of passengers along the way, reaching the outskirts of Winchester with 6 passengers on board (it picked up a further 4 passengers on the section of the route shared with some of the other bus routes in Winchester). This was quite interesting for me as it was mostly parts of the country I had never been to before. Anyhow at the bus station I had around an hour before my next service, so I headed for a little loop near the cathedral as the rain had thankfully ceased.
River Itchen in Winchester
After my gentle loop I returned to the bus station for the next route 86 service to Whitchurch, on another Enviro200 (bus 37148) which was by far the busiest bus of the day as it headed away from Winchester towards the northern suburbs before going via the settlements of South Wonston, Sutton Scotney before a fast section along the A34 to reach Whitchurch. I made a mistake in not staying on board for the loop beyond the Bell as it would have saved a walk in the rain to reach Whitchurch station (ah well, a job for another day, but this bus route is one of those which have multiple once a day extensions (Andover, Newbury & Basingstoke) which makes the map a mess on the Bus Times website (although I’m not sure looking at future dates if the Newbury extension has been ditched).
Anyhow my day on the buses at an end as I walked to the railway station for the next Salisbury train (a triple 158 which was quite busy) to Grateley, walking home to relax for the remainder of the evening. An enjoyable day on the buses in my local area.
159019 departs Whitchurch (Hampshire) Station for London
23rd July – Visiting Marsh Barton & Exploring the Exeter Canal
I wanted to visit the recently opened station of Marsh Barton and whilst the weather was good to walk towards Starcross along the Exeter canal & Exe. So, the day began with the first train towards Exeter from Grateley, alighting at Exeter Central where I made use of the time to pop to Sainsburys in the city centre to grab lunch items before returning to the station to take the Paignton train (a pair of 150s) to Marsh Barton (located between Exeter St Thomas & Starcross). A popular station with number of passengers alighting (and even waiting to board), I guess the location being close to the Riverside Country Park might play a part in the number of leisure users.
Anyhow my time at Marsh Barton wasn’t long as I crossed over to the opposite platform to board another pair of 150s back towards Exeter St Davids where I began my walk after a brief shower. I picked up the path alongside the River Exe, but stayed on the higher path as it went towards Exwick and via a sports ground before picking up the river once more, joining the path as it headed towards St Thomas and the quay area.
150261 at Marsh Barton Station
At the Quay I picked up the Exeter Ship Canal for the short walk south towards the Marsh Barton area, turning off the canal to follow a path along the Alphin brook towards the Alphington area of the city. I carried on via an industrial estate to reach a path which skirted around the edge of the RSPB Matford Marshes reaching the main road. After a trip along the road, I headed back towards Exeter city centre via the River Exe Country Park which turned into the Riverside Country Park carrying on towards Trews Weir before having lunch in the sunshine.
After lunch I picked up the Exeter canal once more, this time picking the towpath on the eastern side (there is a towpath on both sides of this canal pretty much all the way from the Quay to the lock at the southern end, although like with some of the canals in Birmingham which also have dual towpaths one side is more used than the other). I carried along the canal towpath passing Marsh Barton, the Double Locks pub and to the bridges at Countless Wear (one lift bridge & one swing bridge) where I swapped to the towpath on the western side.
Countess Wear Swing Bridge over Exeter Ship Canal[
The canal continued into countryside with the RSPB Exminster and Powderham Marshes to the west and views of the River Exe on the east. I went underneath the M5 bridge where the towpath splits with the cycle path located at the bottom of an embankment with a footpath (with a lot of “no cycles allowed” signage) which ran alongside the canal on the top of the embankment (which was quite nice as some cyclists ride like they are trying to set a land speed record even when the path is busy with other users).
I passed the remains of Topsham lock (which linked the canal to the River Exe near Topsham), passing Topsham Ferry carrying along heading in a mostly southern direction with the canal to my left-hand side and cycle path on the right. A very peaceful and scenic walk as I reached the end of the canal at Turf Lock (alongside another pub which was busy). The canal changed into the Exe which was rather beautiful as I walked along the top of the river wall (this is certainly a path which is better to walk than to cycle). Although all good things must come to an end as the path reached the Powderham area crossing the railway on a modern bridge (I suspect before the bridge was built it was a foot crossing?)
River Exe between Exminster & Powderham
The riverside path came to an end, and it was onto a quiet country lane for the next mile with the railway on the left giving the occasional view of the river. The pavement resumed near Starcross as I continued to reach Starcross station with around 10 minutes to spare before the next northbound train (the backup had I missed the train was to use the half hourly Stagecoach operated route 2 bus towards Exeter). A short wait before 166205 rolled in from Paignton as I took a seat in the former 1st class area for the run to Exeter Central where I popped out to head towards the Sainsburys Local near the bus station (which was a quite handy discovery as there isn’t much else in Exeter city centre at 6pm on a Sunday, other than the gamble of the Co-Op).
Back at Exeter Central station and it was a short wait before a pair of 159s rolled in from Exeter St Davids on the first direct train of the evening to Grateley, arriving at 20:33 giving me time to walk home and relax for the remainder of the evening. A highly enjoyable walk which had been on my list for a while, next section being Starcross towards Teignmouth, maybe even towards Newton Abbot (but I suspect that won’t be until next year as that footpath looks like it needs to be spring time).
30th July – Lee Valley Navigation & New River
After a Saturday doing a local area walk due to the strikes, I was back out on the Sunday with the first train towards London from Grateley, changing to the underground with the Bakerloo to Piccadilly Circus for the Piccadilly line to Hyde Park Corner, where it terminated due to engineering works. I stepped back a service as it departed from the westbound platform for a random LU microgricing move as I settled down for the run via Central London to reach Turnpike Lane where I exited the underground making my way to the bus station.
I caught the next route 217 service (operated with Sullivan Buses E70) for the run to Waltham Cross bus station where I started my walk, passing the station and to the Lee Navigation where I headed north via the River Lee Country Park (an area I explored in May last year). An enjoyable towpath walk, with a decent surface and both path & water being busy (I overheard a cyclist moaning that the path was too busy, probably the sort who would try and set a land speed record forcing others into long grass).
River Lee Navigation between Cheshunt & Broxbourne
A very rural canal this is, with no real settlements until it reached Broxbourne, where I met up with part of the canal, I walked in August last year (to fill in the gap to ‘finish’ the Lee Navigation from Hertford to the Thames). I swapped from the Lee Navigation onto the “New River” path. The new River is not new nor is it a river, it’s an artificial waterway built in the 1600s to supply fresh water to London. I did part of the New River path last December at the London end and when I was in Broxbourne it made sense to continue as rain was expected in the afternoon.
I passed Broxbourne station following the path alongside the new river, with a slight detour needed in the Hoddesdon area due to the path being closed (detour via some local roads). I soon picked up the New River again, as it reached Rye House station before continuing towards St Margarets (St Margarets Wood was quite pretty). I did like some of the old pumping station buildings, full of history. After St Margarets the path went quite rural with woodland cover before reaching Ware, where the rain started where I was around a mile outside the station area, quite heavy rain as well.
New River in Hoddesdon
So, with the weather turning rather wet I called short my walk when I reached Ware station, although I believe reading reports the New River Path is cut off between Ware & Hertford where it crossed the railway on a foot crossing. But that needs investigating as I could always try and walk that section when I do the disused railway line path from Hertford to Welywn Garden City. Back to the trains and it was winner 720520 which rolled in to take me towards Stratford where I had many ideas where to hunt, deciding to take a 745 from Stansted for the short run into Liverpool Street. I spent the next hour or so pinging back & forth between Liverpool Street & Seven Sisters getting 710s for over ten miles (as where there were no Chingford trains, the trains via Seven Sisters were paired up).
720520 at Tottenham Hale
After playing with the Overground, I headed towards Waterloo via the underground (nice fast run on the Victoria from Seven Sisters) before boarding the 17:45 service for the trip back to Grateley, as I was watching the rain coming down like anything. An enjoyable walk along the towpath of the Lee Navigation, followed by the New River Path which was a complete contrast in being quieter. Shame I couldn’t make it all the way to Hertford but walking in heavy rain just isn’t fun.
More photos taken throughout July can be found here: Flickr Album
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