Trips in September 2023
September was another busy month for me with a few overnight trips before the weather turns cold & days get shorter.
2nd September – A day on the buses to Heathrow
Originally
the idea for this strike day was to drive to Salisbury and catch the bus
towards Pewsey to walk towards Devizes to fill in a gap of my Kennet & Avon
canal walking, however when I saw that Newbury & District buses had started
a Basingstoke – Heathrow bus service, where for the first couple of weeks it
was a £1 each way, I decided to give it a spin purely for the novelty factor.
The day began with me & my mum (along for a day trip to get her out of the house) walking to Grateley station for the 07:27 London train, formed of a 159+158+159 combo which took us to Basingstoke giving 40 minutes before the next route 731/730 would depart (changes route numbers along the way), allowing time to pop to Sainsburys for breakfast items. I was a bit worried when looking at the bus tracker on the Bus Times website as the inbound service which would have formed the 08:40 hadn’t tracked. Thankfully around 08:35 bus 785 (an Enviro 400) rolled up, where I paid my £1 for my single to Heathrow (and mum got on for free using her OAP pass).
Around 15 others were on the bus as it departed Basingstoke, heading towards Old Basing on the A30 (no takers) before joining the M3 at junction 5, heading towards Frimley and junction 4. Double decker on the motorway! (I believe this service now uses more suitable coaches on certain journeys, but those coaches weren’t ready for when it launched). Oddly the bus didn’t go via the railway station, and called at the stop near Lyon Way, not sure why it didn’t go via the railway station (maybe road works closing the road or a double decker not fitting underneath a low bridge?).
Anyhow after Frimley, the bus continued towards Camberley & Frimley picking up more passengers before re-joining the M3 at junction 3 and joining the M25 for a short section to use the Terminal 5 Spur road to arrive near enough on time (if not early due to the motorways being free flowing) at Heathrow Terminal 5 bus station.
"This bus is from Basingstoke"
After some photos of various buses (and a coach) at terminal 5, it was a short walk to the railway station, with the first option being a pair of 387s on a busy Heathrow Express service (making use of the toilet) to Heathrow Central, before heading out towards the bus station, where I resumed taking photos of various London buses (including the rebranded Superloop routes) before a Mercedes-Benz Citaro rolled up (Bus 883) on the next Carousel route 102 to High Wycombe. This bus goes via Uxbridge, Gerrards Cross & Beaconsfield to reach High Wycombe bus station, an interesting route looking out of the window, even if the bus did loss time due to roadworks along the way.
At High Wycombe, we had 55 minutes before the next Arriva route 850, so we headed to the large Sainsburys for some lunch items. Where I had my first experience of the exit gates in the self-service area where you need to scan a receipt to exit. After lunch was consumed it was onto another Mercedes-Benz Citaro (3010) on the Arriva route to Reading. This service ran into some serious traffic for roadworks before reaching Marlow & Henley on Thames. After Henley it breaks away from the shared section with route 800 to go towards Wargrave & Twyford before running reasonably fast into Reading. However, the damage from the roadworks was done when the bus something like 20 minutes late.
Arriva Bus 3010 (BJ12 YPV) in Reading town centre
I did have a crazy idea had that bus arrived on time to do the daily Thames Travel route 143 service to Goring and Streatley station, but that will need to wait for another day. So, for the lack of a better idea, and after swinging via a couple of shops we headed to the station for a busy 165 to Basingstoke, popping out to grab bits & pieces for dinner before heading back to Grateley on a triple 158. An enjoyable day spent looking out of the window doing a large loop. I suspect that the new route from Basingstoke to Heathrow will be popular, even at the full fare of £25 for a period return (£20 for a single).
3rd September – Walking the Great Western between Southall & Slough
My good friend Stu (Every Last Station) is walking from Paddington to Penzance for charity (and at the time of writing he was currently in Cornwall), and I was honoured to get invited to join him on one of the legs, this being the section between Southall & Slough. So, the day began with the 07:37-odd train from Grateley to take me one stop to Andover where I stepped back to board the Reading bound train 10 minutes later.
At Reading it was a short walk to board a pair of 387s (which got quite busy) on the next semi fast to London to grab some supplies before taking an Elizabeth line 345 to Southall where I met up with Stu and Jack. Away from Southall station and onto Beaconsfield Road towards the Paddington arm of the Grand Union canal which we walked towards Bull Bridge junction (with the main Grand Union Canal). Along the main Grand Union until Hayes where we came away so Stu could get a photo of the station and a break.
802110 passing Southall Station
After the photo stop, it was back to the canal for the next section towards Stockley Park coming away from the canal at Horton Bridge, across the railway tracks to reach West Drayton station via Warwick Road. Another brief stop for photos before returning back on the walk, heading towards the Slough branch of the canal via Tavistock Road & the West Drayton Regional Park. One slightly overgrown path in this part but thankfully we soon reached the canal.
We continued along the canal crossing into Buckinghamshire and a detour towards Iver station before returning to the canal towpath. The next stop was near Langley station afterwards we continued along the canal towards Slough, coming away from the canal near Bloom Park, going via Goodman Park to reach the main road to cross over the railway line. We followed the roads (going via Diamond & Wellesley Road to avoid the main road traffic) reaching Slough station, the end of the walk.
Grand Union Canal (Slough Branch) in West Drayton
After some photos, we headed towards Paddington on the next nonstop service formed of a pair of 387s (having turned down an extremely busy looking 5 coach IET) so Stu could pick up his bag and grab some supplies before we jumped on a Plymouth train to take us to Reading where both me & Jack said farewell to Stu as he continued towards Newbury and it was onto a 159+158 on the SWR service towards Salisbury with Jack alighting at Andover. I continued the next few miles to get back to Grateley, time to relax and have a shower for it was quite warm (this was the week of the heatwave).
It was a nice catchup with a couple of good friends, I wish Stu luck on his quest (although by the time this blog post gets uploaded, he would have probably finished), it’s an amazing challenge he is doing to raise funds for the Samaritans.
9th September – Roasting on The Anglian Angel Tour
The latest UK Railtour went up for sale a couple months ago, I decided to book on it because freight line tours are getting few & far apart at the moment. The pick up/set down times would allow me to stay home on the Friday and get back home on the Saturday to avoid the cost of hotels. The day started with the 05:27 service (in the dark) from Grateley towards Basingstoke where I attempted to be a bit smart and do a “Staines avoidance move” and go via Reading [which would have got me into London earlier]
However, it all went a bit wrong when I took 165117 to Reading, to find the station in a bit of chaos due to a lineside fire knocking out the overhead wires. We were told to board the slow train to Waterloo, a pair of 458s and along the way I noticed trains had started running again so I double backed at Winnersh. Mainly to get away from the 458 which failed AC (which was quite warm on board, as it was one of the former 460 sets with no windows). A pair of 450s took me back to Reading where I jumped on a 5 coach 800 for the slow run towards Paddington (running on diesel until Maidenhead).
165118 at Reading
Sadly, the damage had already been done, as I headed to the depths of hell, known as the Bakerloo for a Bakerloo to Oxford Circus for an even warmer Victoria line service to Finsbury Park. This service felt like it was being an Elizabeth line and dwelling for what felt like ages at the stations meaning the little hope I had of meeting the tour at Finsbury had disappeared as it was just departing when I climbed the stairs. Close but no cigar, it was only a couple of microgricing crossovers to the Graham Street curve I would miss out on.
Next up was a 717 to Moorgate, and it felt absolutely beautiful with the AC as it took me to Moorgate where I decided to walk towards Liverpool Street swinging via Tesco for some supplies for lunch before boarding the charter. 66767 was at the country end at Liverpool Street (overhanging the signal, oops) with 66774 on the buffers. I boarded the coach where the AC was working, trying to make myself comfy on the low seats with crap legroom with word spreading that the train would be diverted due to overhead wire damage at Broxbourne.
66774 at London Liverpool Street
66767 departed Liverpool Street, going back towards Finsbury Park (via Graham Road & Canonbury Curves), staying on the slow line to go round the Hertford loop with a decent run (as the next stopper was behind the charter). At Stevenage it joined the ECML before taking the Hitchin Flyover and headed towards Cambridge, amazingly arriving a few minutes earlier than what was booked (although the booked times did have the charter sitting in a couple of loops for 10 minutes for passing trains). Sadly, this is when we noticed the AC in the coach I was in (and the coach behind) had stopped running so the temperature was rising.
A trip via the Cambridge carriage sidings and the freight area behind Cambridge North before the tour continued towards Ely, branching off to siding 17 at the Potter Group sidings (where old HSTs/153/156s are stored. A reversal saw 66774 taking charge for the slow trip towards the Southfarm Sidings, reaching siding 13. Passing some more HST coaches, 465/2s & the 3 of the former Hull Trains/EMR 180s in storage, will those trains ever carry passengers again, who knows?
465249 in storage at Ely Southfarm Sidings
The train reversed once more back towards siding 17 before re-joining the main passenger network with the run to Ely station where we had a break. I made use of the time with a walk alongside the Great Ouse towards the railway line (getting lucky with a photo of the 66 as it was getting retanked on the single-track Soham branch). I crossed the river on the footbridge alongside the bypass road and headed back towards the station, carrying on doing a loop underneath the railway and to the marina area. After the walk, I headed back to the station going via Tesco for some dinner items and something cold. Ely to Waterbeach (as well as Ely – Littleport) are walks on my massive list of things to do, most likely will be next year as I’m not sure what the surface quality will be like (potentially lots of mud!)
66774 from the former Newmarket Bridge Crossing on Soham branch outside Ely
Back into the sauna (so glad I had my shorts on today) and the train set off heading towards Kings Lynn, heading into the yard area (running to the end of the line). It reversed and headed towards the former Middleton Towers station on the freight line used for sand trains, stopping at the Network Rail boundary just before the level crossing. Back towards Kings Lynn yard for one further reversal to put the train back onto the main line back towards Ely for the first set down. I made use of the extended time (as it was an extra pick-up for those passengers who didn’t want to visit Middleton Towers) to find a table in a coach with working AC which only had one person sat on it. Good news that the people he was with had exited the train at Ely so yes it was free, and he didn’t mind me joining him, so I said farewell to the 3 people I was sat with in the sauna to relocate (and I don’t think I was the only person).
The train continued towards Harlow Town, pausing to get looped by a couple of service trains before carrying on, sadly the planned route via Seven Sisters (and the South Tottenham chords) had to be ditched due to signalling issues so it was straight towards Tottenham Hale and onto the Stratford line. One more loop near the sidings before the train arrived at Stratford a few minutes early. This is where I did something stupid and instead of waiting for the next Elizabeth line to take me to Paddington I jumped on the Jubilee towards Baker Street, changing to the Bakerloo.
Paddington was a scene of chaos and with nothing moving (other than a crush loaded 4 coach 387 on the next semi-fast) I decided it wasn’t worth the risk of not making the connection at Reading to a voyager to Basingstoke. So, I headed towards Waterloo going via Tottenham Court Road & the northern line, to get a seat on the Salisbury train, sitting near the front for a quieter journey (well until Clapham) for the crawl via Staines & a 15-minute dwell time at Woking. I was glad to get home to have a quick shower to wash the sweat off and to collapse into my bed, for it had been a long day.
159018 at London Waterloo
10th September – Walking the Coast from Starcross to Teignmouth
Even to the Saturday I had 5 options of what I could do on this Sunday, I just couldn’t make up my mind. Eventually I picked up the coastal path option from Starcross towards Teignmouth to continue with a walk I did in July (other options included the River Avon between Bath & Bristol plus the old railway line from Brockenhurst towards Ringwood). So, the day began with a walk to the station to catch the 08:33 service towards Exeter, where I alighted at Exeter Central to get some supplies for lunch (due to the 45-minute connection) before returning to board a pair of 150s for the short run to Starcross.
After leaving the station, I followed the road towards Cockwood Harbour, heading inland towards a holiday home park at Crofton, following a footpath up a steep hill (which gave some rewarding views of the countryside once at the top in between the trees). This path led me towards the Dawlish Countryside Park which was quite peaceful and scenic. I carried on via the Countryside Park to reach the Shutterton area of Dawlish (getting a bit lost in a modern housing estate as my Strava was showing some paths which didn’t currently exist.
View within Dawlish Countryside Park
Anyhow once in Shutterton, I joined a mixed used path which ran alongside a waterway, leading me to Dawlish Warren with the many, many holiday parks. I followed the road, deciding to ditch my planned trip towards the Dawlish Warren Spur (for that could wait for another trip) and headed towards the Cliff Top Path [taking a detour towards the railway getting lucky with a XC HST passing within a couple of minutes after arriving]. I returned towards the cliff top path, not really a path I would recommend as you can’t see much due to the trees & bushes.
I carried along the cliff path reaching the outskirts of Dawlish town centre, taking the Rockstone footbridge to access the main Dawlish Wall to carry on past the station (with a new footbridge/lift combo being constructed) and towards the “Boat Cove”. I made use of some free public toilets before running into a blocked path forcing a little U-Turn back towards Dawlish station to access the Teignmouth Hill road along a narrow pavement on a busy road. Not ideal for a busy path.
Thankfully I re-joined the South West Coastal Path on an old road before heading towards the coast near Holcombe for a section of downhill followed by a seemingly endless hill climb, the sort where just as you think you see the end some more climb appears. Some nice views of the sea mind.
150238 heading towards Clerk's Tunnel between Teignmouth & Dawlish
After this trip towards the coast the path returned to the road in Holcombe for a short section before I took Smugglers Lane downhill, passing some food kiosks and going underneath the railway to pick up the Teignmouth sea wall. It was worth the climb as I prefer this sea wall to the one at Dawlish. I continued along this sea wall passing the large “Teignmouth” sign that I must have passed hundreds of times in the last 10 years of exploring and I reached the town of Teignmouth.
I followed the waterfront path towards the Grand Pier (sadly only part of it is in use, with the section at the waters end fenced off). After the pier I continued towards the lighthouse, the “Point” and the Back Beach, passing the busy looking ferry from Shaldon. I carried on via some busy back streets, passing a music festival and reached the railway near the quay. Annoyingly I couldn’t quite reach the station in time for the next Exmouth train (the footpaths are not that direct due to a main road) so I headed into the town centre for a Co-Op for supplies before 800013 rolled in on a Cardiff (although terminating at Bristol today) train for the trip to Exeter St Davids.
43304 on the Teignmouth Sea Wall
A short wait at Exeter for the following Exmouth train to arrive and depart before 159018 + 159013 rolled in from the sidings. Normally this would be the train I would avoid on a Sunday as it’s between a 90-minute gap in services but due to the weird & wonderful timetable the stops at the villages were being made on the Exeter trains with the Salisbury – Basingstoke stoppers not running. So, a bonus of getting home an hour (or so) earlier after an enjoyable (bit tough in places with steep hills) walk. Teignmouth certainly is quite pretty.
15th September – Yorkshire Weekender, The Trip to Wakefield
A couple of months ago I was looking into having another long weekend based in West Yorkshire, the main aim being for some walks. When looking on an accommodation booking website, I saw a place pop up in Wakefield, from the looks of it suggested it was a room in a shared house and after a couple messages with the owners it confirmed that it was a shared house with self service check-in with codes texted on the day of the stay. I booked it to see what it is like as it could potentially be my Yorkshire version of the shared house in Crewe with late(ish) night arriving. However, for the first stay I decided to help up to get checked in during support hours just in case I ran into issues.
I booked a half day holiday from work, and come half twelve was dashing home, to get changed and a fast walk to Grateley station to catch the 12:59 service (I picked up my tickets for this trip the night before to potentially save a couple of minutes at the single TVM). The 159 rolled in to take be towards Basingstoke where I made an unofficial connection into a pair of 444s for London. Looking at the timetable the 12:47 Salisbury – Basingstoke has an extra 2 minutes of padding at the Basingstoke end meaning it’s a timetable +4 rather than a +6 meaning the 444s don’t show up as an official connection.
Anyhow these 444s took me to London, where I had a few time-wasting walking options available, deciding on a walk via the Graffiti Tunnel on Leake Street underneath the station. I crossed the Thames on a very busy Westminster Bridge, passing a place where much hot air is generated (and Big Ben) to head towards Whitehall. I went via King Charles Street to reach St James's Park. After St James's Park I reached the Mall to head towards Buckingham Palace before following paths via Green Park to reach the underground station of the same name.
St James's Park Lake, London
I joined the road network, following Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus then via the city centre streets to eventually reach Kings Cross (swinging via the Tesco Express outside Russell Square), an enjoyable walk to waste some time before I boarded the Bradford Forster Square train at 16:33. 801104 & 801103 was the pair of baby Azumi on this service which was a bit stop start for the first 30 minutes (I can only presume congestion). These took me to Wakefield Westgate allowing me time to locate the shared house on Balne Lane, not the easiest to find due to a lack of house number visible on the outside but someone confirmed it was the place I was after, and even showed me how to active the door lock.
First impressions of the room were reasonable, big bed, ensuite bathroom. Not somewhere I would want to stay in the height of summer as it only had a small(ish) window which could open [overlooking a back garden] so potentially could be a tad toasty. I quickly sorted my bag out and headed back out towards the station jumping onto XC’s 221121 on a Bristol service. To be honest I was a bit nervous with this particular train (for we all know how bad XC can get for overcrowding) so much to my surprise I actually got a table seat in coach B!
This voyager took me towards Sheffield, where I had time to pop out into the darkness to visit Tesco up top of a hill near the universities for something to munch on before returning to say farewell once more to the XC HST. 43378 was leading 43321 for the trip back towards Wakefield Westgate, not putting a foot wrong and not being that busy (for what was the last public service northbound XC HST via Moorthorpe)
43378 at Sheffield
In Wakefield I had a couple of options, either a stopper back towards Sheffield or a walk to Kirkgate for a 2 coach 195 on a semi-fast via Barnsley. I decide to reduce my 150 milage and walked via the cathedral (quite pretty lit up) to reach Kirkgate station, boarding a reasonably busy 195021 for the trip towards Sheffield (featuring a group of men boarding at Barnsley deciding to spend the entire journey vapping away without any sort of care).
Back at Sheffield, a quick trip to the fresh(ish) air near the tram stop before another voyager, this time 220024 on a Leeds service (front coach was near enough empty), this time on the slow train to Leeds (says something when it gets overtaken by an all-station Northern stopper via Castleford!) The reason for the extended journey time was due to this particular service going via Tinsley (the freight line which runs alongside the Meadowhall tram line) and also Doncaster. Solely for the novelty factor of a XC service from Doncaster to Wakefield, it certainly got some speed up along that section of track!
Wakefield Cathedral at Night
The voyager arrived at Wakefield near enough on time, so it was back towards the shared house to make myself comfy for the night. The window blind was better than some I’ve had but felt like it was too small and allowed light to escape around the edges. Quite peaceful, bit of road noise but nothing that long lasting.
16th September – Yorkshire Weekender, to the Eastern Frontier
When I heard the news that from December timetable the 68+Mk5 coaches would be finishing on TPE, I decided it would be a good chance to head towards East Yorkshire to say a sort of farewell, also to tick off Scarborough to York for coverage by 68. The day began with the 06:3X odd train to Leeds (with 331108, which unusually ran into platform 1 at Leeds) giving me time to pop out to Sainsburys for some breakfast before taking 158850 on the next York stopper. It was interesting to see the progress of the overhead wires from York towards Church Fenton, maybe one of these days they will carry on to Leeds, but we all live in hope.
At York, I had a short walk from platform 1 to platform 2 to board a Mk5 set with winner 68020 at the buffer stop end as I took a seat for the slow run across the countryside (and Malton) to Seamer where I made the connection to 68032 giving the next York train a good push back towards York. Had the 3rd diagram been a 68 my rough plan was to bail at Malton to take the 3rd set to Scarborough but that was a 185. Anyhow 68032 took me back to York, where after grabbing lunch, I headed outside to photo some of the various buses before the next Hull bus arrived.
68032 at York
The next route X47 was in the hands of an East Yorkshire Enviro400 (fleet 925), a bus with a very posh interior (although the red LED lights around the tables did get a bit annoying as they reflected in the window). I took this route out of York (very slow due to traffic) before heading towards the town of Market Weighton going via such pretty places like Kexby, Wilverfoss & Pocklington. It was time for a walk, this time walking the “Hudson Way”, a path along part of the former Beverley – York railway route.
I gained the path within Market Weighton and had an enjoyable walk in the East Yorkshire countryside, the path surface changed from tarmac or other hard ground to dirt with some areas of mud (not a walk to do during winter). I passed the former signal box & platforms of Kiplingcotes station and also the slightly overgrown platforms at Cherry Burton but this railway line path didn’t really pass any areas of big population until it reached the outskirts of Beverley itself (arriving into the Molescroft suburb).
Remains of Kiplingcotes station
The path continued towards a sports pitch, ending up near the railway where I could make out the junction layout, before I headed towards the station. Originally I was planning to making a Scarborough train but Northern being northern cancelled it beyond Hull so it was a faster walk in order to make a busy 155345 on a York train which took me to Hull, giving me time to notice the new gate-line (which in my eyes is far too small and will simply cause congestion at busy times, especially when you get 2 trains arriving within a couple minutes of each other). I popped to Tesco to grab some bits to eat before returning to the station to grab a seat on a busy 170477 on the next Scarborough train.
I always forget how far apart some of the stations are on this line, especially on a semi fast service which skips some of the smaller ones. The train soon arrived at Scarborough, where I had a short fast walk towards platform 1 to board a Mk5 set on the Leeds train with 68026 on the rear. This was a busy train, so I had to go nearer the front in order to get a half decent seat but allowed me to cover Scarborough to Seamer for 68 coverage as I headed to York.
68026 at Scarborough
At York I changed platforms to board an extra busy 158 on the next Hull train (going via Church Fenton rather than the more direct route via the ECML). I alighted at Selby to step back to board the daily LNER service to Hull (800111) for the novelty of an Azuma between Selby & Hull (still need Temple Hirst Junction on the ECML to Selby). Originally, I was planning to take the Northern service towards Doncaster which also went via Selby but after checking RTT saw something else I could do so instead of boarding the 170 I boarded 802303 on the Hull Trains Beverley service (which was lightly loaded due to following a Northern service).
802303 at Beverley Station
The novelty of the limited Hull Trains service at Beverley done, it was onto a busy 158870 on the next Sheffield train. I was glad to have boarded at Beverley as it got quite busy at Hull, but I settled down to relax for the trip to Doncaster via Goole. Bit of a delay outside Doncaster due to congestion (I’ve got no idea what happened but 180110 was on platform 3 but reversed to the south of the station to come back via platform 6 to head towards Bradford).
Doncaster was very busy with race goers heading home and with delays on the ECML. Eventually 91119 rolled in with a Leeds service which I jumped on for the run to Wakefield before walking to the shared house the end of a good day to North & East Yorkshire. Managed to cover another disused railway line path from my big list plus some novelty services and had some 68 based pushing.
17th September – Yorkshire Weekender – Walking the canal.
I had another short notice change of idea, as originally, I was going to walk from Wakefield towards Castleford via the Aire and Calder Navigation but due to engineering works reducing trains at Castleford from hourly to 2 hourly (with a replacement bus to Leeds) I changed my plan to walk the Leeds & Liverpool Canal instead. I departed the shared house (somewhere I would stay again if the price is right) heading to Wakefield Westgate to catch a pair of 195s on a stopper from Sheffield for the run into Leeds where I went via Sainsburys for breakfast before setting out on foot along the River Aire before picking up the Leeds & Liverpool canal in the Whitehall area.
91111 at Wakefield Westgate
The towpath was quite good surface, busy with cyclists, joggers & other walkers enjoying the sunshine as I walked away from Leeds city centre towards the Armley/Burley area of the city. To be honest the canal was a lot better than I was expecting from a city canal, some older buildings but mostly it was quiet (in terms of noise) and had some nice woodland. The canal towpath came close to the Leeds – Shipley railway line a couple of times, including near Kirkstall Forge station (but sadly time wasn’t on my side to wait round for a photo of a passing train)
Railway line alongside the Leeds & Liverpool Canal (near Kirkstall Forge)
I continued up hill, passing some staircase locks on this pretty section running close to Bramley Fall Park, an area on my list to return to for another explore. The canal twisted and turned a few times as it reached Rodley before going into open countryside to reach Apperley Bridge, the final escape point I had. I checked the estimated timings and decided to carry on towards Shipley going underneath the railway line and passing a smelly sewage works near Esholt (however the woodland did make up for it).
The canal walk continued as I reached the Shipley area, where I pulled away from the canal at a footbridge to head towards the station, buying a ticket along the way for 333011 for the short run into Bradford Forster Square station, where I headed towards Bradford Interchange going via Sainsburys in the city centre for some lunch items. Although I shouldn’t have rushed as Grand Central had cancelled the 15:12 departure due to train fault (shocker!). So, it was a wait until the 15:58-odd service to London, but a case of fastest boarder to one of the few unreserved seats when the doors on 180112 got released.
333011 & 333003 at Bradford Forster Square
I got lucky to get a seat as the train departed but turned left towards New Pudsey rather than going via Halifax due to issues at Mirfield (some of the Northern services to Manchester looked extremely cosy when I was at Bradford chilling out). The 180 continued towards Leeds, taking the Whitehall curve to head towards Woodlesford, going via Kirkgate station to reverse to the south of the station so it could gain access to platform 3 where the train got very busy.
The train departed Wakefield Kirkgate and headed towards Doncaster, where it got held up with congestion meaning it was around 20 minutes late into Kings Cross, which was good news for me as it pushed the overall delay over an hour (as Grand Central are a bit tight when it comes to paying out for delays, only paying out if the delay is over an hour, and even then, it’s not the full amount). Unusually the train arrived at one of the suburban platforms which meant a longer walk to the Victoria line.
180112 at London Kings Cross
The Victoria line took me to Oxford Circus, where I made a nice connection into a Bakerloo line service, as a train was pulling in just as I reached the platform. Onward to Waterloo and out to the main concourse and onto 159010 on the 19:45 service to Salisbury where I relaxed for the run to Grateley. I would recommend that canal for a nice walk, and I’m looking forward to continuing the walk, the next section logically looks to be Skipton (as looking at the map it pulls away from the railway).
22nd September – Trip to Scotland
I wanted to sample an LNER Azuma on the autumn diversion route via the Tyne Valley so I put together a plan to use the sleeper to reach Glasgow where I would do some exploring on the Saturday before a lazier Sunday.
The trip began with the 17:59 from Grateley, a train which got delayed by 10 minutes due to the London train from Exeter running hopelessly late. The delay to the stopper meant it had missed the onward connection to Waterloo at Basingstoke and with various other delays the next faster Waterloo train was a 4 coach 450 on the stopper. So instead of taking the stopper I got lucky to get a seat on 220013 for the run to Reading, changing to 800308 on the next available Paddington train.
I headed to the Elizabeth line to take the first available train (345056) towards Liverpool Street where I made use of the connection at Moorgate to reach the Great Northern platforms at Moorgate to take 717015 to Finsbury Park, changing over to a pair of 387s on the next Kings Cross stopper, where I simply walked (getting a bit lost, oops) to Euston taking my seat on the Highland Sleeper behind 92023 for the usual night of noises and rough riding towards Scotland.
92023 at London Euston
23rd September – Forth & Clyde Canal Walk
As I had booked onto the Fort William part of the sleeper, it meant a change of coaches at Edinburgh in the early hours, watching the various splits with the Aberdeen part departing first (at a guess 2 thirds of the seated coach left the Aberdeen portion, how long before the operation changes so any Aberdeen seated passengers are forced to change?)
The gamble of using the Highlander (booked to Dumbarton) paid off as dud 66740 & winner 73968 attached to the front of the train (with a 92 being used to attach the lounge & seated coach). I settled into the coach to get some light sleep on the trip towards Glasgow Queen Street low level, Dalmuir & finally Dumbarton Central where the train arrived near enough on time. Along the way I had my usual last-minute change of plan for my walk as I picked up a Roundabout ticket jumping onto a pair of 334s on an Edinburgh service, running via Singer (calling at all the stations) due to engineering works on the Clydebank route.
320310 at Dumbarton Central
I changed at Hyndland to a 320+318 combo to take me to Glasgow Central Low Level in order to pick up something to eat from one of the many supermarkets in the city centre before I made my way to Queen Street to board a single 4 coach 385 on an Edinburgh service to take me to Croy the starting point of my walk (as I watched a HST depart for Glasgow on one of the few Scottish HST services to call within the Roundabout area).
Heading away from the railway, going via Croy village I reached the Forth & Clyde canal at Auchinstarry and for the next couple of hours followed the canal towpath (which was mostly tarmac with a few areas of bricks). Once away from a parallel road this was a very peaceful and pretty towpath walk, views of some of the hills as it reached the town of Kirkintilloch (served by Lenzie railway station). I continued along the canal reaching Cadder & the edge of Bishopbriggs before reaching Glasgow itself near the Possil Marsh
Forth & Clyde Canal in Kirkintilloch
I carried on the canal, going over the Maryhill railway line in the Lambhill area of the city, carrying on reaching Stockingfield Junction where the Glasgow arm of the canal branched away to head towards the city centre at Port Dundas. This felt like a good time to stop for 15 minutes to have lunch and putting my phone on charge to give it a little boost as I looked at options at distances. Originally when I came up with this revised plan in the early hours my first target was Westerton station, but I was feeling good, so I looked into the next target, this being Dalmuir station.
So, after lunch, I carried on with the canal going over the 3-way bridge at Stockingfield Junction and down the Maryhill lock flight, crossing over the River Kelvin (and the Kelvin Walkway, which is on my list of things to potentially do). The towpath was still good quality but was a lot busier in this section, which is good to see, some nice eye candy as well. I continued going past Kelvindale station and over the railway line a couple more times (first being the Maryhill – Anniesland line, then the Anniesland – Westerton line).
Railway line from Forth & Clyde Canal aqueduct (near Kelvindale Station)
I passed a busy looking pub before continuing passing Westerton station, and some unusual split lift bridges, bit like Tower Bridge, something I’ve not seen before on canals, and looks like a nightmare to operate. Anyhow I carried on as the canal went underneath the Great Western Road before gaining a towpath on both sides of the canal as the path continued towards Clydebank and the shopping centre. I continued as the canal went a bit more woodland going over the railway line (with members of the Orange Army hard at work doing improvement works, this area is a part I was a bit worried about as I knew Network Rail were working on the railway, I was a bit worried they would have closed the towpath but thankfully they hadn’t.
Forth & Clyde Canal in the Clydebank area
Passing the unique Drop Lock at Dalmuir, built to drop boats so they could pass underneath Dumbarton Road which I believe used to be a swing/lift bridge which got removed during the period the canal was closed. I had the option to calling it a day to head towards the station or to carry on towards Bowling. My legs were feeling a bit tired but the idea of beating my current longest walk (Culham to Cholsey on the Thames Path) made me continue.
A mile or so later, the towpath & canal passed underneath the Erskine Bridge in Old Kilpatrick as I continued reaching Bowling Basin where an old railway bridge goes over the canal. I headed towards the river Clyde at both the disused sea lock & current sea lock giving access to the Clyde. I had run out of canal! I carried on with the loop of the basin, picking up some roads to walk towards Bowling station (the old railway line path can wait for another trip, where I could potentially attach it to a walk towards Balloch). I was glad to reach Bowling station where I decided to jump on a Balloch bound 318 to take me to Dalreoch, solely as a time-wasting move. My legs were a tad sore after nearly 24 miles!
The Clyde River Lock on the Forth & Clyde Canal at Bowling
At Dalreoch I crossed over the bridge to board a pair of 334s (same pair as I had earlier in the day) to Dalmuir where I waited for a Larkhall bound service to roll in from the siding with 320401 leading 320305 as I took a seat in the motor coach of 401 for the long run (time wise, not distance wise) to Hamilton Central, where I headed to locate the guest house I was staying in (solely on grounds of cost as it was the cheapest place I could find which had reasonable access to the railway).
I located the Aaron Bed & Breakfast, got checked in by a very friendly landlady (who appears lives downstairs with 3x guest rooms upstairs along with a shared bathroom). I had a feeling I was the only person she had staying that night (as there was another set of keys on the table and another room had keys in the door). Room was comfy with twin beds; window blinds weren’t the best at blocking out all the light. Originally, I was considering heading back towards Glasgow to play with the subway, but decided not to as I was tired.
After 30 minutes of rest, I headed out into the night of Hamilton heading towards a Morrisons & Sainsburys near Hamilton West station to get some supplies for the Sunday and picking up a very tasty pizza from a place called “Pizza Daddy” on Muir Street, which was consumed sitting near an old water fountain before I made my slow way back to the guest house to relax for the rest of the night. Based on my stay, would I use this guest house again? Most likely yes, if the price is right (think it was something like £35 for the night, which considering even the Euro Hostel in Glasgow wanted £100+ for a room on the 2nd floor (the days of the £20 cheap & cheerful ultra basic rooms in that place seem to be long gone).
Cameron II Horse in Hamilton
24th September – Walking the Glasgow Arm of the Forth & Clyde Canal
I had a couple of ideas what to do today, my legs were a bit sore from the long walk on the Saturday. The first option was the Clyde Walkway path from Hamilton towards Uddingston, but I put that on the back burner as I needed breakfast. In the end I decided to head back towards the Forth & Clyde canal to walk the Glasgow Arm from Stockingfield Junction towards Port Dundas as it was short, and rain was due to arrive around midday.
I checked out to have a fast walk to Hamilton Central station as I was running a bit late, jumping onto 318270 on the first departure towards Glasgow Central, where I headed towards Queen Street going via Sainsburys for some breakfast (mmm bacon sandwich & croissant) taking a seat on the Glasgow - Maryhill - Anniesland shuttle, which today was 170396. I can’t help thinking that a 170 on the shuttle service is a tad over the top, especially as it’s not the busiest of lines, surely a 156 would be a better fit. Anyhow this 170 took me to Gilshochill where my walk began as I dropped towards the canal at the junction, climbing up the hill to reach the canal (which was above the road level).
170396 departs Gilshochill Station
The next hour or so was spent walking along the towpath of the canal, passing Firhill stadium and the Hamiltonhill Claypits Local Nature Reserve. Had the weather been better (very overcast) I might have gone up to the viewing area for some views of the city but that will need to wait until a day of blue skies. I continued along the canal passing an unusual siding bridge before reaching the M8 where the original alignment of the canal has been built over.
A new(ish) section got built to carry on towards Pinkston Basin in Port Dundas, an area used by water sports rather than boats. With the canal at an end, I headed over the motorway and towards the city centre, changing my mind a couple of times to end up at Glasgow Central to jump onto 380007 to Paisley Gilmour Street and a busy 380009 back to Glasgow Central for no reason other than wanting to get a 380 into my book for 2023. I headed towards St Enoch subway and to the outer side jumping onto a service which had rolled in when I arrived.
Forth & Clyde Canal (Glasgow Arm), Glasgow
I had my eyes on the screens for the next inner (as services were a bit bunched together), jumping off at Cessnock, making a note that it was 106, 207, 120 making up that service. I was happy as I needed car 120 for a mile. Anyhow I jumped on the next inner service to take me to Shields Road, being formed of cars 104, 204 & 132. I was happy once more as car 132 was my last driving car needed for a mile (and I only found out when it was pulling out).
To waste time between services I jumped on the next outer to Kinning Park (119, 203 & 103) returning to Shields Road on the next inner (107, 129, 116). A few minutes later the next outer arrived, and I was a happy bunny as it had trailer car 202 sandwiched between 121 & 133, my last of the Glasgow Subway stock needed for a mile (excluding long term withdrawn/scrapped 122). My mission was complete, and I even had a little farewell to the old stock as who knows the new stock might be running the next time I get to Glasgow (oh look a flying pig)
Glasgow Subway Trailer 202 at Partick
I took this subway service to Partick, making a connection onto a pair of 334s on an Edinburgh service which I took to High Street for a gentle walk from this massive revenue loophole towards the city centre (it hasn’t got barriers fitted and without a lot of money spent on upgrading the station, like what TfL did for stations like Acton Main Line and building a new building with lifts and access from a side street). Anyhow I reached the city centre, grabbing something to drink from a shop (and buying a Highland Cow toy for my mum) before heading to Queen Street to board 385103 & 385115 for the run to Edinburgh Waverley (because buying a Glasgow – London via Edinburgh ticket was only a pound more than Edinburgh – London).
I had around 35 minutes to kill at Edinburgh before my booked train to London (it sat at Edinburgh for around 20 minutes) so I headed to Sainsburys for some food for later in the journey before making my way to 800107 on the Aberdeen – London train. This 800 gets the slight honour of being my first 80X unit to be cleared for a thousand miles (as I had it earlier in the year from Inverness to London). I found my seat (nobody sat there but the table was filthy with empty bottles & cups, so the first job was to clear it away and give the table a wipe with some water).
800107 arriving into Edinburgh Waverley
The train was busy in the coach I was in (the one which is split with standard & first class) as it headed towards Carlisle, going slowly at times due to speed restrictions due to the potential bad weather. After Carlisle the diesel engines fired up for the trip towards Newcastle via Hexham, a slow and steady run, arriving in Newcastle near enough on time for a 15-minute dwell. I made use of the dwell to get some fresh air as the AC wasn’t the best in the coach, I was in.
Anyhow the train was back on the ECML so back on electric and up to speed. A strange calling pattern for this train as it skipped Durham to call at Darlington, but also called at Northallerton. Then York before running nonstop to Grantham of all places then finally nonstop to London. In my eyes, on days where Edinburgh – London is reduced to hourly, surely those trains should be more limited stop to manage overcrowding? Maybe York only to set down passengers after Newcastle?
The train arrived at Kings Cross a couple of minutes early, as I made my way to a very busy Waterloo for the 21:20 service, which I took to Andover to have an hour fester on the station bench in the peace before the 22:20 Waterloo - Salisbury service rolled in. When I was booking this trip, I was tempted to drive to Andover to get home earlier but decided against it on Friday. Anyhow the 159s took me to Grateley where I had a gentle walk home and did some mild unpacking before crashing out for the night.
29th September – Onwards to Milton Keynes
Back in April time me and mum was booked on the UK Railtour to North Wales, which sadly got pushed back to September due to some strikes. So, this weekend saw the tour happen. Due to accommodation prices in London being extremely expensive (£200+ for even the crap Travelodge next to the North Circular) I ended up booking the Easy Hotel in Milton Keynes, might have ended up paying a couple quid extra than one of the Travelodges but I knew from experience Easy Hotel had proper single beds in twin rooms, and not a fold away camp bed.
In hindsight this decision to book Milton Keynes was a bit of a life saver when the drivers announced a strike on the Saturday, for I would dread to think how long it would have taken to get from Croydon to Euston on the Saturday morning (probably using multiple night buses to Brixton or another Underground station). Anyhow the Friday was spent reaching Milton Keynes as I had booked advance tickets on the 20:46 service, however it didn’t start that well as we reached Andover station for the 17:37 service (using Andover was a planned move when I saw there were replacement buses operating on the Sunday, which turned out to be a wise move as SWR decided not to bother running the buses, probably too much like hard work. We arrived at Andover to see the dreaded C word pop up on the screen, cancelled due to running 15 minutes late (and hence SWR doing what SWR do best and ripped out stops).
To make things worse the stopper was also showing as running 15 minutes late so bang would go the connection to the London train at Basingstoke so effectively any passengers (around 40 were waiting) would be delayed by at least an hour and put onto a train which Journey Check was describing as “reported full & standing”. Oh, what fun…
A late running 158884 passing Andover
The 158+159+159 combo sped through Andover and eventually the busy 159 on the stopper rolled in to empty out before around half the waiting crowd boarded (I guess the other half decided to wait for that Exeter – London service knowing it would be the same arrival). This 159 arrived at Basingstoke and delayed the Manchester voyager by around 5 minutes waiting to clear the platform (as it goes ECS to the sidings whilst a 4 coach 450 sits on platform 4 having arrived from Bournemouth to form the next stopper). We managed to get seats on 220014 for the run to Reading, changing to a late running pair of 800s (simply as the first available service, delayed due to signalling issues at Swindon). Onwards to Paddington where we popped to the Sainsburys for some late food (in hindsight we could have got something from Andover during the 45-minute fester, but hey ho).
After grabbing food, we walked to the bus stop near the Elizabeth line entrance for the next route 205 bus (Stagecoach London 12320) to slowly head to the bus station outside Euston, all the traffic caused by multiple traffic lights. We headed towards the platform to take a seat in the former 1st class area of 350127 with 350401 on the rear (standard class seats are far better in my eyes, lot softer). This train was quite busy due to Avanti throwing in the towel but soon it reached Milton Keynes where after swinging via a large Sainsburys to get some supplies for the Saturday we located the Easy Hotel, getting checked in and sorting the bags out ready for the long day on the Saturday.
Usual Easy Hotel style room, I went for a windowless room to save some money which was located on the ground floor. AC was quite effective at keeping the room nice and cool; however, the shower could have done with more power for it was a bit weak. Could have also done with more than just a single pillow which was a bit soft but hey ho, the main thing is that we made it.
350127 at London Euston
30th September - The Snowdonian Tour
An early start from the hotel as we headed towards Milton Keynes station, swinging via Morrisons for some breakfast related items. It was strange seeing the departure boards at Milton Keynes only showing one departure, a Carlisle charter (hauled by the blue 86) due to the latest strike. Passengers for the UK Railtour (a good number) were asked to wait at the concourse for the other charter to clear before going down to platform 6 where the purple 67007 rolled in (which gets the honour of being my first class 67 loco to be cleared for a thousand miles, all the trips in Scotland when it was on the sleeper add up!).
We found the low seats with poor legroom (the usual for a Mk2 coach), said hello to the people on the table (who had joined at Watford after driving there) and settled down for the fast run along the WCML. Very strange not seeing any passenger trains floating around, only freight, but meant the 67 could go full power mode after a final pick up at Rugby with no hanging around. The train paused at Crewe to change drivers giving passengers a chance to get some fresh air as it was due to follow a busy pair of 197s on the Chester shuttle (all the race goers).
67007 at Crewe
Anyhow back on the train (at the time there were 3 charters in Crewe, our train towards North Wales, that 86 hauled set for Carlisle plus something for Stratford on Avon hiding away on platform 12 (all I knew it had a 47 on the rear). Another case of being strange seeing the departure boards looking quiet with only TfW running (and running badly due to issues at Church Stretton blocking the line). The train continued passing Chester and into Wales where it had a storming run until the Colwyn Bay area where it caught up with the train in front. Worth noting that this train used the non-platform “Main” line at Rhyl so a little tick for me (last year when I did the Holyhead train which ran nonstop to Llandudno Junction it used the platform loop).
The train paused at Llandudno Junction where passengers had options to visit some gardens (in the rain) or the heritage lines doing it either clockwise or anti-clockwise. When the staff were coming through to dish out the “boarding passes” I decided to go anti clockwise, solely based on the times allowing more time in Porthmadog & more time in Bangor. Connection to Blaenau Ffestiniog was via a coach operated by Alpine Coaches, sadly the weather had turned to being a bit wet, so views of the countryside were limited as the coach headed to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Ffestiniog Railway No 10 Merddin Emrys at Blaenau Ffestiniog
At Blaenau Ffestiniog it was a simple change between the car park to the Ffestiniog Railway platforms with Double Fairlie number 10, Merddin Emrys leading the train. As expected, the seats in the posher coaches had gone first but we found a table of 2 in a coach midway along the train (although in hindsight a table of 4 would have been better due to the smallness of the table). The train set off heading towards Porthmadog Harbour via some beautiful countryside (even if marked by the rain), pausing a few times along the way at stations for signalling (I presume) passing a Blaenau train at Minffordd.
The train headed into the bay platform at Porthmadog Harbour giving us around 35 minutes before the Welsh Highland Railway service would depart, so we headed into the town centre, getting a freshly made sandwich from one of the local cafes before heading to the station to board the train with a former South African Garratt steam loco, number 130, as the train headed towards Caernarfon via some more beautiful scenery.
Welsh Highland Railway Loco NG130 at Caernarfon Station
At Caernarfon it was a short walk to board a waiting coach, this one operated by “Just Go” Holidays for the run towards Bangor where we had around 55 minutes before the train was due to depart back towards London, so we made use of the time to walk to a nearby Morrisons for some dinner items (thankfully the rain had stopped). After the trip to Morrisons it was back to Bangor station to wait for 67005 to arrive with the coaches from Holyhead depot, picking up at Llandudno Junction and an uneventful trip back towards Milton Keynes, going via Bescot & Aston after Stafford due to engineering works on the main Trent Valley line (although not like you could see anything as darkness fell around Crewe).
The train arrived at Milton Keynes pretty much on time, and we had a slow walk back towards the hotel going a slightly different route to avoid some pubs & the Saturday night drinkers, getting back to relax for the remainder of the evening, although it wasn’t long before sleep, the end of an excellent railtour. Well worth the wait as those lines in North Wales had been on my list to do for a while.
Anyhow more photos taken throughout September can be found here:Flickr Link
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