Trips in October 2023, Part 1
1st October – Milton Keynes to Andover via Cambridge?
I had a few ideas on how to get home on this Sunday, part of me wanted to have a quieter start and head towards London using a Milton Keynes Travelcard, part of me was tempted to head towards Oxford, but in the end, I decided on a trip towards Cambridge (pretending to be the eastern section of East-West Rail if it ever gets built).
The day began with checking out of the Easy Hotel and heading towards the railway station via Wetherspoons for breakfast (not a lot of other choice on a Sunday morning in Milton Keynes). We headed towards the bus stops located outside the station and waited for an Uno operated route C1 service to roll in on a Bedford service (a Mercedes-Benz Citaro). This service went out of Milton Keynes, going via Monkston, the Milton Keynes Coachway, Cranfield, Wootton & Kempston before reaching Bedford bus station. An enjoyable ride via Central Bedfordshire with some nice views along the way.
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| Uno Bus 301 (BX56 VSJ) at Bedford Bus Station |
At Bedford bus station, we had some time to waste so after visiting the toilets (never know when nature shall call) we headed towards one of the stands (Bedford bus station could do with a lot more signage of where particular bus routes depart from) and a wait before Stagecoach’s 10879 (an Enviro 400) rolled in on the next route 905 for Cambridge. This was a busy service which headed out of Bedford, going via Great Barford & St Neots before running fast towards Cambridge on the A428. Within Cambridge the bus got caught up with traffic so the last section towards the Parkside bus/coach stops did drag (reminded me a bit of London buses with all the traffic lights).
Originally, I was toying with the walk towards Cambridge station, but decided on another bus route to waste some time, so we headed towards the Drummer Street Bus Station to catch the next route B “Busway” service (with an Enviro400XLB, 13909) to Cambridge North station. I was toying with staying on to Huntingdon but the connection between bus & railway was a bit rubbish so that can be a job for another day (probably out via the Busway, returning via the Whippet X3 service, but at least the £2 bus fares have been extended to the end of next year (so a lot more adventuring!)
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| Stagecoach Bus 13909 (BU69 XYK) near Cambridge North Station |
At Cambridge North station it was a short wait watching the various trains (XC, Great Northern) come and go before 755419 rolled in from Norwich. This took us to Stansted Airport where it was a simple cross platform change to a delayed and very busy (not helped with the passenger information saying “platform 3c” so rather than passengers spreading out they were all the fresh air end for 745004 to roll in. It took a while for the train to empty out before refilling as we headed into the 1st class area for the run towards Liverpool Street, the train emptying out at Tottenham Hale. 1st class is quite nice on these units, declassified when a “Norwich” set pops up on a Stansted diagram.
Anyhow the train arrived at Liverpool Street, and we had a gentle walk via the City of London passing the various buildings (both big & small, old & new) to reach Cannon Street where a pair of 376s took us to London Bridge, where we swapped to a pair of 465s to Waterloo East where we walked across to Waterloo. Due to the reduced timetable fast trains between London & Basingstoke were running 10 minutes apart (and we had just missed the last of that flight) so the next fastest was the stopper, formed of a triple 450 throughout (engineering works on the Alton branch meaning passengers for Ash Vale -> Alton were to change at Farnborough for replacement buses (assuming SWR could be bothered). This meant a quiet journey in a bay of 6.
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| 450079 at Basingstoke |
A good decision as when the next Bournemouth train rolled in (a pair of 450s) it looked very busy throughout. As was the single 159 on the next Basingstoke – Andover shuttle, we were lucky to get a seat as it headed to Andover, where thankfully the chaos of the replacement taxi queue was avoided due to walking to the car to drive home (via a local Chippy for dinner). I dread to think how much SWR forked out for taxi fares as the Andover – Gillingham buses had all been cancelled (leaving only a random Basingstoke – Gillingham nonstop service). But at least there was staff at the station for I had predicted it would have been locked up with no staff in sight (like it usually is on a Sunday evening).
An enjoyable little day trip, a couple more bus routes covered with some Flirt mileage, the end of a good weekend away.
6th October – Cheshire Weekend Getaway, Reaching Crewe
I had booked another couple nights stay at my usual shared house place in Crewe so the Friday would have been a nice easy trip to Crewe after work. But SWR don’t make things easy as they decided to delete the 17:47 service from Salisbury to Basingstoke the night before (so that it didn’t exist) which caused a change of plan to start from Andover as the following service would have been a bit tight for the 20:46 London – Crewe LNR service and with the 21:46 being a single 350/2 that is something I would want to avoid.
So, it was a bit of a rush to get home after-work, thankfully I wasn’t delayed too much by roadworks on the road, and away again. Nearly got derailed by some slow-moving traffic on the road into Andover but thankfully the 17:37 service was running around 5 minutes late allowing me a bit of extra cushioning with a lift. It was a busy 158+159+159 combo from Exeter as I aimed for the 158 as that only attached at Salisbury and was quieter for the sprint to Waterloo, where arrival was around 18:45 [and a good thing I made this particular service as the following train from Andover was running late so the call got ripped out with the following stopper being delayed again, but that’s typical of SWR].
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| River Thames from Waterloo Bridge at twylight |
To waste time (and to save money) I walked from Waterloo to Euston, going via Waterloo Bridge, Holborn & Russell Square, dodging the theatre goers around Aldwych (and also the cyclists delivery drivers who decided to ride on the pavement at full speed to bypass the slow-moving traffic on the road). At Euston I had a short wait before the platform got announced for the 19:46 service with 350242 leading 350372 and I managed to get the extra legroom table seat behind the cab of the /3, setting down to watch some videos on the tablet as the train slowly filled up.
I first noticed something was a bit adrift when the train crossed over to the Northampton line after Wolverton as a Pendo had failed around Weedon so everything was going via Northampton, and an announcement was made that after Rugby the train would be running nonstop to Crewe. Arrival into Rugby was around 15 minutes late so overall not a massive delay as the coach I was in pretty much emptied out for passengers for stations like Nuneaton/Tamworth/Stafford facing an hour+ delay before the next LNR service. Anyways the train continued nonstop to Crewe, I can only presume control wanted to minimise the delay so that the return service towards Rugby departed on time due to the overtime ban, considering the previous service ran near enough 30 minutes late without any stops ripped out (although the return of said service ran nonstop to Rugby to claw back all of 3 minutes).
Arrival into Crewe was near enough on time, would have been early had it gone straight into platform 7, as I made my way to the shared house to get myself checked in and bag emptied out ready for the Saturday as the weather was forecasted to be dry, so a walk was in order.
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| 67025 at Crewe |
7th October – Trent & Mersey/Bridgewater Canal Walk
As the weather forecast was good, I decided a nice towpath walk was in order, just to try and clear my head. After weighing up various options I decided on the Trent & Mersey canal, mainly the section from Lostock Gralam towards Preston Brook where it turns into the Bridgewater canal for the section to Runcorn, leaving a gap between Lostock Gralam & Elworth (Sandbach station) but in theory that can be done using buses.
Anyhow I headed towards Crewe station, going via Tesco at the nearby garage for breakfast (in hindsight I should have also got lunch items) before catching 197014 on the Chester shuttle, where I changed to 150138 on the Northern service to Manchester Piccadilly (featuring some idiotic cyclists who couldn’t be bothered pushing their bikes along the platform instead rode along at full power, one even managed to wheelie to ride into the train (needless to say they didn’t have tickets either)
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| 150138 at Chester |
This 150 took me to Lostock Gralam station, where I began my walk towards the canal and onto the towpath. The first section varied in quality of the towpath; some parts was a hard surface (stones) others was grass with some mud in places (especially with some narrow sections). The towpath took me past the Lion Salt Works and towards Anderton (and the world-famous lift), it also passed the scenic looking Marbury Country Park, certainly an area I will add to my list to explore at some point. I continued along the canal as it reached the first of 3 tunnels on the canal, Barnton.
As the tunnel was built without a towpath, the path went up and over the hill (with some nice views from the top), and soon I re-joined the canal for a short section before another hill with Saltersford Tunnel. After this tunnel the scenery changed to be quite rural as the canal runs close to the Weaver Navigation (although at a higher level) giving me different views of what I had when I walked that navigation back in June time. Quite quiet in places, the only sound being the wind.
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| Eastern portal of Barnton Tunnel on the Trent & Mersey Canal |
I continued along the towpath (still varied in quality), passing some nice-looking woodlands before reaching the Dutton stop lock and Preston Brook tunnel (a tunnel where you had a ten-minute window each hour to navigate due to being narrow). This tunnel marked the boundary between the Trent & Mersey Canal with the (privately owned) Bridgewater canal, although the path over the top of it featured a busy road (the A533) which needed crossing on the flat (the sort of crossing where a little traffic island in the middle would have been easier).
Anyhow I came down the hill towards the canal at the northern portal of Preston Brook Tunnel joining the Bridgwater Canal for a short section towards the M56 bridge meeting up with the part of the canal I walked in August. So not wanting to follow to much in those footsteps I followed a footpath which led to Norton bridleway crossing on the WCML, where I had a 10-minute break to allow me to photograph a passing Pendo before I continued. Norton crossing is on that section of WCML between Weaver junction & Warrington, I dread to think how many times I’ve passed over that crossing over the years.
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| A Pendo approaching Norton Crossing on the WCML |
Anyhow I followed the closed “Red Brow Lane” towards the Bridgwater canal in the Norton area of Runcorn (not to far from Runcorn East). This part of the canal had paths both sides and I picked the eastern side (which I think was the better option for views of the canal). The towpath quality had changed to be mostly solid ground, although still had areas of puddles & mud. I was now in the Runcorn area, heading towards the Windmill Hill area of the town, where I noticed a Co-Op, a few minutes’ walk from the canal, so I had a little detour to grab lunch items (for I was getting quite hungry) and also some more drink.
After my lunch break, I returned towards the canal for the next section via some lovely woodland before the towpath switched sides and the canal went a bit more urban with road bridges (including the modern ones built for the Gateway crossing bridge). This section there was a towpath next to the canal for walkers (and joggers) with another path alongside designed for cyclists. Anyhow I continued along the canal until reaching Waterloo Bridge where the canal comes to a sudden end, it used to continue further to join up with the River Weaver/Manchester Ship Canal, but that section was lost in the 20th century.
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| Remains of the Bridgewater Canal in Runcorn... and a Pendo |
The canal walk ended; I headed the short distance to Runcorn station turning down the first train to Liverpool (a pair of 350/2s) for winner 197101 was following a few minutes later (the plug socket coming in handy to give my phone a little boost). This 197 took me towards Lime Street where I had a short walk to Liverpool Central before boarding winner 777142 to take me to the newest station in this country, Headbolt Lane where it used platform 2. After a couple of photos, I returned to the 777 to take me towards Moorfields, I will need to return to Headbolt Lane another time when the frequency is better to allow me to cover the track into platform 1 & also platform 3 on the Northern side of the Kirkby Wall.
I was considering having a 777 hunt, but decided against it as I took a 507 to Liverpool Central to walk back towards Lime Street, where I boarded the next East Midlands Rail service for Peterborough, with old SWT unit 158889 leading 158810. Needless to say, I sat in the former 1st class area of 889 for the trip towards Oxford Road via Warrington Central. I had a short wait at a busy station before winner 197020 rolled in on a Chester train, even getting a seat. It was running a couple minutes late, so I was torn between a tight connection at Warrington Bank Quay or a safer connection at Earlestown. In the end it gained back the lost time, so I stayed on to Warrington Bank Quay.
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| 777142 at Headbolt Lane Station |
The connection to winner 197047 was easily made for the trip back towards Manchester, with the train terminating at Manchester Piccadilly due to one of the lines being closed between Piccadilly & the junction with the airport (meaning a reduced number of services from Piccadilly towards both Stockport & the Airport). The next train to Crewe was a 323 on the stopper and as I approached it was very cosy (first train for stations Wilmslow – Crewe since the last stopper an hour earlier). I decided to give it a miss as I noticed the 20:30 TfW service had been “uncancelled” and was running towards Manchester.
It was worth the wait as 197021 & 197013 arrived to form the first TfW service from Manchester towards Crewe since half six in the morning. It was quite lightly loaded and the 197s certainly don’t hang around on that fast section towards Crewe where it arrived a couple of minutes after that overcrowded stopper. After leaving the station I headed towards a pizza place to pick up a pre-ordered pizza before munching said pizza in the lounge of the shared house, relaxing after a busy day. An enjoyable walk along the canal in some lovely Cheshire countryside with glorious sunshine.
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| 197021 at Manchester Piccadilly |
8th October – Newport – Stafford Greenway
The Newport to Stafford Greenway path along the track bed of the old Telford – Stafford railway line had been on my list to walk a couple times this year, however it was met with either bad weather or engineering works. The Sunday forecast was for glorious sunshine and there was no engineering works on either LNR or with SWR so I decided today was going to be the day (also making use of the £2 bus fares as I dread to think how much Stafford – Newport would have been otherwise).
A later start compared to usual with the 09:52 train from Crewe to Stafford, a busy pair of 350s (123 leading 254), where I had a short walk towards the bus stops on Chell Road to await the next Arriva run route 5E for Telford, with an Wright Pulsar (fleet 3780) on a lightly loaded service going via the villages of Haughton & Gnosall to reach the bus interchange at Newport where my walk began as I followed a couple of roads to reach a retail park where the greenway path began.
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| Arriva Bus 3780 (FL63 DXM) in Newport on a Route 5E to Telford |
The surface of the path was a bit rough in places (with some areas of mud), a few places where it narrowed to be single file but was overall decent enough. It travelled via some nice woodlands and some Staffordshire countryside with only one missing bridge in Gnosall (but the road had some traffic lights to make it easy for users to cross the road). It crossed the Shropshire Canal in this area giving a different view (and I suspect that Stafford – Telford bus will be used again when I get round to walking the canal as Gnosall is a good breaking point between Market Drayton & Wolverhampton).
Anyhow back to the old railway line path as it continued towards Stafford, no real evidence of the former stations but some nice old railway bridges. The next area of settlement it passed was Derrington before going underneath the M6 and into Stafford itself with a lot of new houses either already built or in the process of being built with the path coming to an end in the Burleyfields area of the town.
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| Newport to Stafford Greenway between Gnosall & Derrington (Stafford) |
Back onto the roads as I headed towards the station, and towards the Tesco where I deemed it would be a bit tight to get to the actual store and ended up in the petrol station shop to grab something to eat (and a cold drink). It was back to the station, where I noticed the next LNR to London was running 10 minutes late (the O2 mobile signal in Stafford isn’t the best as that extra time would have allowed me to visit the actual store for a wider range of things). Anyhow the train rolled up and sadly Desiro Roulette landed on a double 2 (350265 & 350254) which was very busy as I made a beeline to the former 1st class area on the rear unit, getting lucky with a seat.
The train emptied out at Tamworth (with a lot of people heading up to the Birmingham bound platform), I presume passengers avoiding the replacement buses between Wolverhampton & Stafford, sadly for those passengers the next service looked to have been in 45 minutes and was a single voyager. I shifted to one of the big tables and relaxed for the remaining journey towards London, arriving around 20 minutes late, meaning I had around an hour to reach Waterloo.
I headed out on foot, following the route I used on Friday, and swinging via Tesco near Waterloo station itself for some dinner, before making my way to the 18:45 Salisbury train (158883 & 159014) to head towards Grateley. Unusually the train went via platform 2 at Woking but nothing out of the ordinary (other than someone being sick near the disabled toilet on the 158, something I only noticed when the time came to alight to walk home.
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| Waterloo Sunset over the Thames (from Waterloo Bridge) |
I got home, first job being to remove my boots & socks to give my feet some fresh air, before sorting out my bag and relaxing for the rest of the evening. An enjoyable weekend away, glad I managed to do that Greenway path to get it taken from my list, there is another disused railway route in the Stafford area I wouldn’t mind exploring, but that can wait for another day (as there seems to be a path alongside the River Sow, plus the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal as future exploring ideas, although not until next year as it’s coming into that time of year where days are slowly getting shorter and rural canals can become more muddy).
Anyhow, more photos taken can be found here:
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