Day Trips in September 2025

 Day Trips in September 2025

13th September – Shropshire Union Canal

The weather forecast for the whole weekend was looking poor at times (to such a degree I cancelled an overnight stay in Cardiff for the Sunday night due to the heavy rain forecasted on the Sunday followed by the strong winds), although there was some promising on the Saturday and after considering a few options I decided to return to rural Staffordshire on the Shropshire Union, the section of towpath between Brewood & Wolverhampton is closed long term, however I could split the remainder as Brewood is served by an hourly Stafford – Wolverhampton bus service.

The day started with the 06:59 service to Waterloo with 159018, followed by 51660 & 51659 on the Northern line (for the first time in what felt like ages) to take me to Euston with plenty of time to spare to board 805004 on the 09:00 Holyhead train, complete with lots of football fans drinking various brands of cheap supermarket lager (so a case of putting in my earphones to drown out the singing).  At Stafford I had a short walk to a bus stop outside the Guildhall shopping centre for the Select Bus operated route 876 (with bus 14) on a busy route, heading via the Stafford suburbs to the south of the town centre before leaving the urban environment to run towards Penkridge and towards Wolverhampton, diverting from the A446 at Four Ashes towards the town of Brewood where I alighted in the town centre to begin my walk.

805004 at Stafford Station

I soon reached the canal on the western side of the town, dropping down onto the towpath to walk northwards, passing a good number of moored boats before the countryside arrived.  I crossed the A5 on a nice aqueduct (although one which is better looked at from below) and continued with the scenery changing from woodland cuttings to running along an embankment with views of rural Staffordshire.  I soon reached the village of Wheaton Aston with some locks which was the only settlement of note along the walk today.  The towpath was changeable in quality from the good (tarmac) to the rough (mud), but nothing that major.

Leaving Wheaton Aston behind I continued along the towpath, enjoying the countryside and peace, having to dive for cover a couple of times due to passing showers, although pausing for one heavy downpour which I spent underneath a tree near some fishermen (hiding underneath their large umbrellas).  Thankfully the downpour didn't last for long and I continued along the wet ground towards Gnosall.  The section in Cowley cutting was the worse for mud & puddles but I was expecting that.  A short tunnel (of which used to be longer but got opened out) with Cowley tunnel before the final section into Gnosall where I ended the walk at the bus stop near the canal crossing (rather than walking into the village like I did the week before).

Inside Cowley Tunnel on the Shropshire Union Canal

It was back to Stafford on the Arriva run route 5 service (with bus 3780) coming up with an idea for the journey home, but first job was to visit Tesco near Stafford station to purchase a new tee-shirt as the one I was wearing was a bit damp.  With my purchase made, I headed to the station and onto winner 730232 to Wolverhampton for a 30-minute fester before winner 730220 followed to take me to Birmingham New Street.  I got lucky at Birmingham as a Scotland - London service was running late enough to be behind the 730 so I headed across to platform 1 to board 390127 when it rolled in, departing a few minutes late.

I took this busy Pendo to Milton Keynes Central, transferring to 350117 & 350126 on the next stopping service to take me to Tring where I had a 20-minute fester (watching the passing trains at speed) before taking 730230 & winner 730218 to Watford Junction on a Tring starter to take me to Watford Junction for another 30-minute fester for winner 730235 to Euston.  Linear hopping like crazy to grab some winning 730s, just like the olden days!  At Euston it was straight to the underground for 51668 & 51669 to Waterloo, where I made a tight connection onto 159101 & 159002 on a busy (to Woking at least) Salisbury service to take me home to Grateley where I could relax for the remainder of the evening.

730218 at Watford Junction

14th & 15th September – London Days

With the poor weather (mainly the strong winds) I decided to play it safe, staying local (ish) in London, scoring my last 2 active Greater Anglia 720s (720503 & 720534), leaving just 505 for whenever that enters use.  Also scored another 730 with 730216 as well as getting a trio more 1973 stock units into my book for a mile, spotting my first new DLR unit (on test) and having a random trip to Sevenoaks solely to cover Sevenoaks to Orpington on a Thameslink service (something I was hoping to do back in March 2022 only to get bowled out with cancellations).

The Monday was spent getting some more 701s into my book, as well as having a walk from Hampton Wick towards Surbiton along a path on the south side of the Thames, one of those paths which had been on my list to do for a while but like many walking ideas in London it’s getting the time to actually do it without getting side-tracked.  A bonus was getting 701021 into my book on its first passenger service (which wasn’t actually planned as I was going to take 701013 to Surbiton but missed that unit at Waterloo due to being held outside the station).

700017 at Sevenoaks Station

23rd September – Disused Railway in Horncastle

With 3 days off and with the weather looking quite decent for walking, I decided to head towards Lincolnshire to walk a short disused railway route which required buses at both ends.  The Woodhall Spa – Horncastle branch line, which came off the former Lincoln – Boston railway route.  The day started with the 06:18 from Grateley with 159107 & 159017 which unexpectedly terminated at Basingstoke due to signalling issues at Waterloo.  Good thing I had a good buffer at the London end as 15 minutes later a busy 444044 & 444016 rolled in, I got lucky with a seat in the rearmost coach, away from the masses waiting nearer the front of the train.

At Waterloo, after grabbing supplies I headed towards King’s Cross arriving with 20-odd minutes to spare before the 09:06 York stopping service, featuring my first 91 for over 2 years with 91106 hauling the Mk4 coaches with DVR 82214 on the rear.  Onwards to Newark Northgate and a connection onto 170516 working a Lincoln service to take me into Lincoln station where I had around 50 minutes to kill before my first bus move, as annoyingly both hourly bus services depart Lincoln bus station on the hour.

91106 at London Kings Cross

I headed towards the city centre area, up the steep hill (which was quite steep!) towards the cathedral and castle area, doing a loop around the cathedral being amazed at the detail of the stone work, before heading back down the hill towards the bus station and onto the Stagecoach run route 56 service to Skegness.  With double decker 11740 on this busy service.  A bit slow leaving Lincoln city centre area due to traffic, but once out of the city it was following the A158 towards Langworth, Wragby, Baumber & finally Horncastle where I alighted from the bus to begin my walk.

After crossing over the road, I followed a path alongside the River Waring to where it met the River Bain, having a small detour towards the area of the former Horncastle Station (not much evidence remains).  Heading back to the Bain I followed the path running alongside the river (and the former Horncastle Canal) before picking up the route of the old railway branch line, heading into woodlands with the river on my left-hand side (and a popular dog walking route from what I can gather).  The path continued eventually leaving the river behind (complete with scary looking fence to stop people looking at the site of a former lock), heading underneath the B41191 and into a cutting (and passing a Viking longboat, as this path forms part of the long distance "Viking Way" path).

Spa Trail (former railway line) between Horncastle & Woodhall Spa

The cutting changed back to some lovely woodland for the last section of old railway towards the Roughton Moor area where the railway path ends at Sandy Lane (the section beyond here lost to modern developments or private land).  I followed Sandy Lane for a short distance picking up a footpath which crossed a golf course leading towards Woodhall Spa, after visiting a Co-Op for some supplies (and some handy public toilets) I headed towards the bus stop on the Long Avenue to pick up the Brylaine Travel run route B5 service (runs between Boston & Lincoln) with a 20-year-old Solo (YJ05 JXG) for this reasonably busy route.

After the bus cleared the traffic caused by road works within Woodhall Spa, it headed towards Kirkstead (and the River Witham where there is a 16-mile cycle path heading towards Lincoln along the route of another old railway line).  This route had some fast running as it headed towards the former RAF Metheringham where I noticed a chance to get home an hour earlier by bailing at Metheringham station (also a chance for a random revisit considering the last time I visited this basic station it was for a matter of a few minutes).

170512 at Metheringham Station

It was a short wait before a busy 170512 rolled in from Lincoln on a Peterborough working as I settled back for the run towards Sleaford & Spalding as I hadn't been along this route for a good few years (probably December 2021 when I did a LNER Lincoln divert).  At the Peterborough end, this service took the dive-under underneath the ECML to terminate on platform 7 where I had a reasonable connection to platform 3 to board 801221 on a service from Bradford which arrived a good 5 minutes ahead of schedule.

This Azuma took me to Kings Cross where I had a short walk across to St Pancras to jump onto 700102 to London Bridge, followed by a trio of South Eastern 375s (375813, 375703 & 375812) for the short hop to Waterloo East.  After grabbing dinner, I headed to the 18:50 Salisbury service formed of 158883 & 159008 to take me back to Grateley, relaxing after an enjoyable walk in the Lincolnshire countryside.

24th September – Return to the Caldon Canal

I decided to return to rural Staffordshire to finish my walking coverage of the Caldon Canal from the remote Hazelhurst Junction towards Birches Head in Stoke.  The day starting like the Tuesday with the 06:18 service towards Waterloo with 159014 & 159007, giving me plenty of time to grab some supplies and stroll towards Euston where 350401 & 350374 were waiting to take me to Rugby on the 08:46 LNR service for Crewe.  A short wait at Rugby before 390011 rolled in on a very lightly loaded London – Manchester service, with a Scottish 320 passing the Pendo when it was at Rugby heading back to Scotland after visiting Wolverton works.

Leaving the Pendo at Stoke on Trent, I headed towards the bus stop outside the station to jump onto the First operated route 25 service (with bus 35943) to take me towards the Hanley Bus Station where I had around 35 minutes to waste before the next route 18 service for Leek (with bus 63364).  I was planning on alighting at the bus stop near “Leek Old Road” in the Dunwood area, and the next stop announcement even said it was the right bus stop, but there was a random disused bus stop flag beforehand (and before I noticed it was in the wrong place, the bus had already gone towards Leek).  

390011 departing Stoke on Trent Station

Thankfully I was able to recover with a poorly signed footpath across a slightly bumpy field, crossing the Endon Brook and the mothballed Leek - Stoke railway line before reaching the canal with a steep slope to drop onto the towpath.  The first point of call was to walk towards Hazlehurst Junction before heading back towards the bridge and then onwards (on the decent quality towpath) towards Endon.  The canal running alongside the old railway route in this area giving the occasional glimpse of overgrown track.

The canal skirted round the edge of Endon and headed towards Stockton Brook heading underneath the A53 and also the mothballed railway route.  Clearly the old railway is used by locals as there were paths visible but nothing shown on the map (so likely something completely unofficial), there were even worn paths leading from the canal towpath towards the railway (where I couldn't turn down for some photos of the trees growing between the tracks.

Remains of Stoke - Leek Railway line in the Stockton Brook area

Back on the canal as it entered a rural section between Stockton Brook & Norton Green with some nice scenery, entering into Stoke on Trent with another crossing of the mothballed railway route (which from the ground looked like it was fenced off, but heading from the towpath saw the fence only covering part of the tracks, all very strange.  Anyhow the ruralness soon turned into the urban environment as the canal snaked its way towards the Birches Head area where I left the towpath at the road, another canal into my little book.  Although in hindsight I ought to have stayed on the canal as there was a steep hill as I headed towards a bus stop with a frequent bus route (called the Cheshire Cheese), again in hindsight looking at the map I was close to the Central Forest Park so I could have detoured that way for a little explore.  Ah-well.

The first Hanley bound bus was a D&G run route 9A (with bus 90) taken to Hanley Bus station, for a short walk onto the D&G operated route 9 service (with bus 6002) to take me to the railway station where I headed towards platform 1 and onto 390049 on the next London service for my last 720 had finally entered traffic and was on an evening Braintree service.  This Pendo took me to London Euston, where I headed underground with a Northern line to Tottenham Court Road for a spot of linear hopping towards Stratford, getting lucky with 4 more 92 stock sets being cleared for a mile (could have had a 5th had I jumped blindly on the first train at Tottenham Court Road).  At Stratford it was a short wait before 720573 & winner 720505 rolled in on the Braintree service, standing room only in the front coach of 505 but after today I won’t need to head to Shenfield for a while.

720505 departing Shenfield Station

Crossing over to platform 1-2 at Shenfield it was a short wait before 720101 & 720545 took me back to Stratford, where I headed to Tottenham Court Road, this time via the Eliabeth line and 345064, turning down the first Northern line set to get rewarded with a sub mile set on the following service to take me to Waterloo where I jumped onto 158881 & 159015 on the 18:50 service for Salisbury to take me back to Grateley.  An enjoyable day with a nice walk along the Caldon Canal in the sunshine.

25th September – “From the Trent to the Thames” – Soar Navigation Part 3

A slightly later start for me this morning with the 07:27 service (159001, 159106 & 159019) to Waterloo and another cross London stroll to reach St Pancras with plenty of time before the 10:05 EMR service for Nottingham with 222101 on the speedy run towards East Midlands Parkway where my walk began.  Leaving the station area walking towards a roundabout and onto a road leading towards Redhill Marina, picking up the Soar Navigation near Redhill flood lock and the towpath (if you could call it that!).  I followed the path going via a field (complete with cows & sheep), running towards the Trent where the River Soar flows into the Trent.  I guess in the olden days there would have been a ferry across the Trent but these days the towpath of the Soar ends on the southern bank, opposite the entrance to the Erewash Canal) and to continue walking towards Nottingham requires a detour towards Sawley Marina near the M1.

I did a little loop following a footpath to head back towards Redhill Marina, heading south as the river snaked its way towards the A453 dual carriageway with a "footpath ahead closed sign" (my heart having the sinking feeling).  My walk continued along the Soar, mostly across a field, eventually reaching the area where the towpath was closed at Kegworth Flood lock, thankfully there was a parallel path to bypass the section closed due to lock improvement works so I could continue my walk.

Cooling towers of Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station overlooking the station at East Midlands Parkway

The towpath flipped sides on the outskirts of Kegworth for some delightful countryside walking towards Zouch (with Sutton Bonington not being that far away), where once more the towpath flipped sides as it crossed over a flood lock with the towpath being replaced once more with a path across a field with Normanton on Soar being on the opposite bank (complete with a little chain ferry across the water).  I continued the walk in the countryside as thankfully the path did improve as I reached the outskirts of Loughborough, leaving the Soar River for the final time as I followed the Loughborough Cut, heading towards the town centre and a Travelodge overlooking the basin.

I finished my walk with a short double back to the junction with the short town arm to head towards the A60 bridge near the railway station, being able to say Soar Navigation is now complete.  From the Thames to the Trent the Grand Union is complete.  Thankfully the next London bound service at Loughborough was running a few minutes late and I even got a decent seat on 222013 for the slow run towards Leicester.  I have no clue why it was so slow, even for the nonstop run towards London it kept on losing time eventually arriving 29 minutes late.

Soar Navigation between Sutton Bonington & Zouch.

At London I headed to the Thameslink platforms for 700147 to London Bridge and onto a delayed 375911, 375917 & 375818 which was being delayed due to an incident at Waterloo East.  Thankfully the train did depart towards Waterloo East giving me time to head to the 18:23 service for Exeter formed of a busy (even at the front of the train!) 159017, 159107 & 159010 to take me back to Grateley to end my 3 days of late September walking in the sunshine.

As always, thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr Here.  September is nearly over, scary that.

4 – 7th September – A Long weekend based at Crewe

 4 – 7th September – A Long weekend based at Crewe

My original idea for this weekend was to head to Scotland, but when there was a new railtour announced for the North West, I swapped my accommodation to Crewe.  Whereas the railtour didn’t quite float my boat I decided to keep the booking in Crewe & cancel Scotland.  Unlike previous trips based in Crewe I did have a rough idea what I wanted to do on the Friday & Saturday, the Sunday was a bit more up in the air, as was the Thursday.

4th September – A return to the Cumbria Coast

The weather was looking a bit ropey so I decided to break out a wet weather option to heading back to the Cumbrian Coast for the first time in a while, made more interesting with the recent extension of 195s to Corkickle due to the tunnel between Corkickle & Whitehaven being closed.  The day started with 159019, 159015 & 159017 for the run to Waterloo where I had my usual stroll to Euston, however not being quick enough to make the 09:30 Glasgow service, instead I had the option of taking the 09:39 Blackpool train to Preston for a fester or waiting round for the 10:30 service to Glasgow.  I decided to jump onto a very quiet 390013, one of the few times I didn’t go straight to coach C as there were plenty of available seats in the other coaches.

The train hit quite a heavy band of rain in Staffordshire (to the point where it started to leak inside the train at the vestibules), but I got lucky as the Edinburgh bound train which was meant to be in front of this Pendo was behind it, so I stepped back at Wigan North Western (for it’s a nicer place to wait than Preston with it’s endless platform alternations) and took 390148 to Lancaster where I headed out of the station to grab some food.  A good thing I took that Blackpool train as the following Glasgow service was running 20-odd minutes late and would have missed the connection at Lancaster!

90014 passing Wigan North Western

I made my way across to platform 1 to board 195124 on the Corkickle service, which was strange to hear a 195 announce, considering until recently they only had a token service to Millom for workings beyond Barrow in Furness, the coastal route between Barrow & Carlisle being solid 156 otherwise (gone the days of the Northern Random Unit Generator which saw a mix of 156s, 153s, 142s and even the Loco Hauled stock).  I relaxed in the front coach for the run to Cumbria, looking out of the window, picking up ideas for future walks (Kents Bank to Grange Over Sands etc), a few hours later the unit arrived at Corkickle where it turned back near enough straight away due to delays.  Part of me was tempted to step back at Sellafield to walk the coastal path towards Seascale but I decided against it due to the late running and that it would have been a tad tight (and I wouldn’t have been able to take my time and get photos of the water).

All was going well as I came up with a rough idea to get a required 730 into my book, that was until the train arrived at Barrow in Furness where it randomly terminated due to a “Train Fault”, not like we were told it was getting cancelled as we were asked to leave the train so it could be “reset”, the next thing we knew the train was heading to the sidings with a large crowd on the platform.  Would have been nice for the station staff to announce something over the PA to say sorry about the delay etc, but I guess that would have been putting the customer first.

195124 at Corkickle

45 minutes later 195118 rolled in from Corkickle, thankfully continuing towards Lancaster, I noticed on RTT there was a potential +15 at Carnforth onto a train from Leeds, giving me time to pop to the Co-Op at Carnforth (rather than the longer walk to either Tesco or Sainsburys at Lancaster).  On return to the station, I took 158755 for the short trip to Lancaster, waiting 20-odd minutes before 390121 rolled in on a London Euston service which kindly was calling at Crewe, rather than running nonstop after Warrington (connects into a Crewe – London via Birmingham service).  At Crewe I had a short wait to the shared house accommodation, same room as always, basic but functional and reasonably quiet (and cheap considering how much accommodation can be in Crewe these days seeing as a few of the shared houses no longer exist).

5th September - Caldon Canal

The Caldon Canal is a short canal which runs from the Trent & Mersey Canal in Stoke to Leek & Froghall, part I walked back in December last year when doing the old railway line from Congleton and has been on my list.  Leek itself is easy to reach by bus (3 buses an hour from Hanley Bus Station plus other routes), with a few access points along the way, the hardest part was the Froghall end.  Whereas there is a semi-regular bus service to the nearby Kingsley Holt, the walk to the wharf area didn't look the nicest (either along the A52 or the A521).  Froghall itself (with a station on the Churnet Valley Railway) only gets a few buses each way a day, taking some research into the best way to reach the place.  I came up with an idea so I headed away from the accommodation to Crewe station, boarding 350261 for the run to Stoke on Trent, making my way to the bus stop outside the station to jump on a route 25 bus (First Bus 35687) to Hanley Bus Station, purchasing a "Knot" Ticket,  £7 for all day travel on buses within Stoke & Staffordshire isn't a bad price, considering I would be looking at potentially £9 for the buses without it.

At Hanley I headed towards a large Tesco to grab some supplies for lunch before taking the D&G operated route 16 to Leek (Bus 169), going via Bucknall, Werrington & Cheddleton to reach Leek, where I had just over an hour before the next bus so I headed for a little explore, heading towards Brough Park (which was a nice little park).  Back at the bus station, making use of the toilets (a motto of mine is to try and use the toilets when provided as you never know the next time you will have access).  It was onto an unbranded former Preston Bus Solo, PO56 ROU for my first experience of Aimee's Buses on the route 30 to Upper Tean (via Cheadle).  Heading out of Leek along the A523 it didn't go the booked route via Ipstones due to a road closure, instead going via Whiston and the curvy A52.  Some beautiful views from the bus mind, especially with the ruralness of the Staffordshire Moorlands.

Brough Park in Leek

I was the only person to leave the bus near Froghall Wharf with a short section of a minor road towards the actual wharf (alongside Hetty's Tea Shop), this is near the area where the former Uttoxeter Canal joined with the Caldon Canal, the only bit remaining is a small (and empty) marina beyond a lock.  I picked up the towpath running alongside the canal reaching the very low Froghall Tunnel forcing a little detour over a small hill towards the closed B5053 road and onto the canal the opposite side of the tunnel.

Leaving the former industrial area of Froghall behind the canal soon turned rural with some beautiful woodland and a reasonable quality towpath, soon the railway line came alongside the canal with the southbound platform of Consall counter-levelled over the canal itself.  I crossed underneath the canal as it ran into the River Churnet.  This section in terms of the path quality was the worse for mud and I was glad when I reached Oakmeadowford Lock where the canal resumed, although would be nice for a photograph of a passing steam train in a couple of places.

Platform of Consall Station alongside the Caldon Canal

I continued along the towpath, the surface quality being a bit changeable in places, but nothing major in terms of mud or thistles, as the ruralness continued with the walk towards Cheddleton with a nice view of the railway depot, before reaching built up area, completed with some industrial units before reaching the former Flint Mill and ruralness returned with the walk towards Wall Grange and the mothballed railway route between Stoke & Leek (which looking at the map suggested it was possible to walk along the route in a couple of places).  The canal now headed west, going underneath the Hazelhurst Aqueduct (which carries the Leek branch) and rising with some locks as I reached Hazelhurst Junction where the Leek branch joins up with the "Main arm".

I turned off the main arm of the canal onto the Leek branch, near enough double backing on myself for the first section crossing the canal on the aqueduct & also the route of the former railway as this branch turned quite woodland (with a decent towpath). I continued along the Leek branch reaching Leek tunnel with a steep hill for the towpath to go up and over the hill.  The last section of the canal was towards the current terminus, the section into Leek itself being lost to modern developments

Hazlehurst Junction on the Caldon Canal

Part of me was tempted to continue my walk along the route of the Canal Feeder which leads towards the Rudyard Lake, but I decided that could wait for another day (as there is also an old railway line path in that area), and I ended the walk with a stroll along the main road towards Morrisons (which was built on the site of the former Leek Station), picking up the First run route 18 bus (with fleet 63178) for the trip back towards Hanley Bus Station going via Endon & Sneyd Green, following the route of the A53, a busy bus route this, made even busier as it was school kicking out time in Endon.  At Hanley bus station, I decided to have a little stroll towards Stoke on Trent station as I wanted another explore of the Hanley Park, and to waste some time.

Back onto the trains and it was onto a late running 221125 on a XC service to Stafford, picking up winner 730215 for the run to Wolverhampton, annoyingly the service following 30 minutes later was also a required 730 but it was running late enough to risk the connection at Birmingham New Street onto a particular Crewe service, so I gave up and took 221114 into Birmingham New Street.  Although the 730 did make up some of the lost time and would have easily made the connection onto a slightly late running 807006 on a very quiet Crewe service, which is booked to go via Bescot & have a 15-minute dwell at Wolverhampton.  After Wolverhampton it heads to Crewe, going via Stoke on Trent for the novelty of having an 807 via Stone.  At Crewe I headed back to my accommodation to relax for the rest of the evening.  An enjoyable walk along the Caldon Canal.

6th September - Shropshire Union Canal, the Return to Woodseaves

Back in May 2024, a distant world away, I attempted to walk the Shropshire Union Canal between Market Drayton & Gnosall, only to hit on a landslip a couple of miles south of Market Drayton in the Woodseaves cutting (forcing a U-turn and a longer walk to Nantwich).  I’ve been keeping my eye on the Canal & River Trust website for any news on when the towpath will reopen and around June time it disappeared from the website and after querying, it was confirmed the towpath had been reopened.  I hence booked a trip to Shrewsbury (in late August, which I ended up cancelling due to severe weather) so today was a recovery of a recovery walk.  My original idea was to head towards the East Midlands but that could wait.

I delayed my departure from the shared house an hour, solely to score 197036 running with 197111 on a Shrewsbury terminator (engineering works towards Hereford & Newport), giving me time to grab some supplies in Shrewsbury town centre before making my way to the bus station to board the Arriva run route 64 bus to Market Drayton (hourly to Market Drayton and 2 hourly beyond to Hanley).  Bus 3693 took me away from Shrewsbury serving such Shropshire places like Harlescott, Shawbury, Hodnet & Tern Hill Barracks before terminating at the small bus station at Market Drayton.

My walk began as I made my way towards the canal at the eastern side of the town, picking up the path heading towards Tyrley Locks, reaching the point where I had to turnback last year within the Woodseaves cutting.  Yes, the landslip had been cleared with the towpath reopened, but it was very narrow passing it.  I can see why this cutting gets a mention in my inland navigation guidebook as being impassable during the winter months as it was already quite muddy in places.  I was glad when I reached the end of the cutting and the towpath turned back to being not so muddy.

Shropshire Union Canal between Tyrley Locks & Goldstone Wharf

I continued my walk, in rural Shropshire, very peaceful at times as the canal made its way curving at times, passing a factory near Knighton which was a good place to pause for lunch.  After lunch I continued along the towpath passing into Staffordshire (not like I could tell anything on the ground), passing groups of fishermen and the High Bridge carrying the A519 (and a telegram pole) with the towpath being very changeable from the good, to average and a couple times quite rough (mainly within cuttings, all due to the recent rain).

I reached Norbury Junction where the former Shrewsbury & Newport Canal joined up with the Shropshire Union, the first section being used for private moorings (reminds me of the Somerset Coal Canal), I continued for the last push towards Gnosall where I did have the option to heading towards Newport for a short walk along the rewatered canal there, but decided that could wait for another day.  The walk ended at Gnosall and a short walk along the road towards the old railway line route (now the Newport – Stafford greenway walk) and it was onto the Arriva run route 5 bus to Stafford (bus 3784).

High Bridge on the Shropshire Union Canal between High Offley & Norbury Junction

At Stafford station, I headed towards Crewe on a busy 390006 for a short wait for winner 730210 back to Stafford, returning to Crewe with 730226 for another short wait before getting winner 730213 back to Stafford, the 730s can certainly fly along the WCML.  At Stafford I managed to get a photo of the UK Railtour charter arriving causing delays (as charters normally end up doing) before boarding 730215 back to Crewe, and I headed to the accommodation via a takeaway.  Another enjoyable (if not a bit muddy at times!) walk along the Shropshire Union canal.  A canal sadly I won’t be able to complete just yet as there is another closed section to the south of Brewood.  I spent the rest of the night relaxing and looking at options for the Sunday, keeping an eye on the weather being a bit changeable.

7th September – Old Railway in Godley & Peak Forest

I decided to park up my idea to walk from Chester to Mickle Trafford & from Runcorn to Warrington and instead picked up on a disused line near Godley in the Hyde area of Manchester, a short railway line which gave me a chance to cut and run in case the weather turned back.  After leaving the accommodation (I would use it again if the price was right, although these days Crewe can be quite expensive).  To the station and onto 197050 & 197036 with the first train to Manchester Piccadilly, going via Styal (I’ve probably gone via Styal more times than via Handforth in the last few years!) and a short break to board 323210 on a Hadfield/Glossop ‘rounder’ service (Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Piccadilly) to Godley where my walk began.

The first section was via some housing to reach an access point to the former Cheshire Lines Committee line from the Woodhead line at the former Godley East towards Apethorn junction near Woodley.  Not the easiest to locate due to Google Maps suggesting there is a connection at the eastern end near the site of the former Godley East station, but these days that is fenced off.  After joining the route of the railway, I headed east, passing the site of the Godley Railway Turntable and to the remains of Godley East (the platforms being heavily overgrown).  After reaching the fence, I retraced my steps towards the turntable (thankfully now without kids playing in the area so I could get a photo) and continued along the route of the former railway, now a busy mixed used path heading towards the former Apethorn Junction site.

Godley Old Railway Turntable

This is where I had the option to walk the short distance to the main road to pick up a frequent (every 20 minutes) Bee Network bus to Stockport (or hourly bus to Manchester), but as the weather was still looking reasonable, I headed towards the Peak Forest Canal, picking up the towpath to walk north towards the centre of Hyde.  A lot better than I was expecting for an urban canal (in terms of litter and other dumped items).  The towpath was in a reasonable condition as I crossed over the canal a couple of times before heading underneath the M67 and towards Dukinfield (crossing underneath the railway a couple of times, nice to see the Guide Bridge - Stalybridge link line now having overhead wires, although I can't imagine much uses them at the moment (assuming they are even live) due to that line being mostly 185s.

I reached the end of the Peak Forest Canal at Dukinfield Junction (junction with both the Ashton Canal & the Huddersfield Narrow Canal) with a short walk towards Guide Bridge station, taking a footbridge over the railway (and yard area) to approach the station from the south.  An enjoyable walk, as I waited at Guide Bridge for a slightly late running 323210 to take me back to Manchester as the heaven's opened with a thunderstorm (timed that right!). 

323210 departing Godley Station

At Manchester Piccadilly I didn’t have a long connection onto 390136 on a Euston service, grabbing a seat in coach C near the front (as the Pendo was running in reverse formation with first class at the Manchester end) for the fast run towards London, calling at Stockport, Stoke & Nuneaton (how much I miss the days when these trains were nonstop after Stoke on Trent).  The train lost time along the way due to being held for a diverted Glasgow – London train and signalling issues around Rugby, getting into London around 20 minutes late.  I was going to head towards Waterloo, but I noticed there was some issues on the tour of Staines with signalling at Egham with ticket acceptance on GWR, so instead of walking to Waterloo (as it was nice and dry in London compared to the monsoon I left behind at Manchester) I headed towards Paddington, via Euston Road.  Not the most of interesting routes but probably the easiest.  At Paddington it was onto a late running Swansea service formed of 800015 & 800012 to take me to Reading, for a nice connection onto 165104 to Basingstoke for a longer connection onto a late running 159101, 159104 & 159021 to take me to Andover, where I got picked up to head home via the Fish & Chip Shop.

Altogether, an enjoyable weekend, decent weather on the Friday & Saturday allowing me to do some rural canal walks, followed by an urban canal (and old railway line) on the Sunday.  A small start with the Peak Forest Canal, as always more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*, thanks for reading.

August Exploring (Part 2)

August Exploring (Part 2)

19th August – Making a start with the Soar Navigation

The Soar Navigation is a continuation of the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal, running from Leicester to the River Trent near Long Eaton, I decided today would be a good day to make a start as I split the route into 3 sections (although in theory it can be done in 2 sections, all be with one longer walk).  The day started with 159108, 159006 & 159021 to take me to Waterloo, where unusually I walked to Elephant & Castle to take 700019 to St Pancras (mixing things up compared to walking to St Pancras direct).

At St Pancras, I went upstairs to board 222015 on the 10:05 service to Nottingham to take me to Leicester, stepping back to board 170509 on the stopping service towards Lincoln for the 9 and a half mile run to Barrow Upon Soar, probably the first time in a fair few years I’ve called at those stations.  My walk began with a detour towards a handy Co-Op before picking up the Navigation at a road bridge.

170509 departing Barrow Upon Soar Station

This section was one of the canal sections of the navigation (creating a short-cut as the river heads towards Quorn).  As a result, there were quite a few boats moored up along this section as I skirted round the edge of Barrow Upon Soar, re-joining the river at a marina and left the decent quality towpath behind for a bumpy field, keeping the river on my left-hand side as I followed the path with multiple gates (not a path you could cycle along by any means).  I headed underneath the A6 heading towards the northern end of Mountsorrel, going underneath an old railway bridge as well as the A6 again.

I passed Sileby Marina before the path turned very rural heading in a generally southern direction (picking the path with the river on my left-hand side, as it seems there are path options on both sides of the river here), coming close to the A6 near Rothley.  The Navigation leaves the Soar near Cossington Lock and follows the route of the River Wreake, the towpath improving near Junction Lock where a cycle path joins.  I continued along the path, as the Wreake river branches away and navigation heads south with the A46 close by (the Leicester Western Bypass).

Former Mountsorrel Railway viaduct over the Soar Navigation in Mountsorrel

The towpath switched sides as I entered the Watermead Country Park, as the cycle path headed away from the towpath (giving me an idea for a future walk from Syston station to explore the various lakes in this large country park).  I followed the canal heading towards Leicester city centre, the river Soar re-joining the route which was now quite busy (it was a sunny day during the school holidays after-all).  I followed the course of the river, although at times I couldn't see it due to the trees (or private moorings), reaching Birstall.  After a brief pause for some food, I continued with the river on my right-hand side, the path becoming a bit overgrown for a short section (I presume most people & cyclists use a more modern bridge underneath the Thurcaston Road Bridge)

I continued with the river on my right-hand side, heading towards the city centre, leaving the river for a short section at the Belgrave Meadows (looked like the path has been lost to erosion), although in hindside I ought to have switched sides at Thurcaston Road Bridge as the path that side looked better.  I was soon back alongside the river as it reached a junction near Swans Nest Footbridge with the scenery now turning quite industrial, both good & disused on another lengthy canal section skirting round the southern edge of Abbey Park before I reached North Lock which is the point I left the Navigation earlier in the month.

All that was left was to head towards the station via the city centre area, pausing for some dinner items before boarding 222020 for the fast run towards St Pancras, switching to Thameslink with 700021 to Blackfriars for a short walk to Waterloo to finish the day with 158885 & 159101, back home to relax ready for the week ahead.  A good first section of the Soar Navigation complete, mix between the rural, urban & industrial with a changeable towpath.

River Wreake (Between Rothley & Syston) (part of the Soar Navigation)

26th August – Return to the Soar & Beeston

Originally for these days off, I had booked accommodation in Shrewsbury with the idea to do some exploring around Shropshire, but due to the poor weather forecast I decided to ditch that plan and switch to some day trips.

The Tuesday after the bank holiday weekend, and after looking at various options I decided on doing a couple of shorter walks, the day starting with 159007, 159022 & 159005 to Waterloo, and a gentle stroll to St Pancras to board 222018 on the 10:05 to Nottingham to take me to Loughborough to start the first walk, heading towards the Soar Navigation close to Loughborough station, heading with the canal on my right hand side in the sunshine, passing some industrial buildings and going underneath the currently disused Great Central railway bridge (which hopefully will eventually bridge the gap to connect the two sections once more).  I left the Loughborough area with the towpath turning rural, running close to the railway at a couple of places before the River Soar re-joined the Navigation with a large weir & flood locks (complete with "Do Not Proceed when red light flashing" warning boards)

Soar Navigation between Loughborough & Barrow Upon Soar

The last mile (or so) was alongside the river as it headed to Barrow Upon Soar reaching the road bridge where I started my walk last week (although this is where I missed a trick in not heading towards Quorn on a mixed used path to return along a footpath close to the river doing a little loop).  Anyhow I headed to the station (with no seats or anything on the Loughborough bound platform) and took 170270 to Beeston for the 2nd of today's walks.  Beeston is a station which has certainly changed since I was last here with new lifts and removal of stairs, not a station where you want to have a tight connection by any means.

I headed away from Beeston station, passing a B&B I used back in June 2016 when I was in this area doing the stations, and headed towards the Nottingham & Beeston Canal, and the junction with the canal with the River Trent.  There are two paths here towards the city centre, one alongside the river & the other alongside the canal (the walk along the Trent from the Long Eaton area is on my list of things to try and do this year if I get round to it).

222104 passing Barrow upon Soar Station

The towpath in comparison to the earlier walk was a lot smoother, although the first section I was high above the canal due to private moorings but soon the urban area of Beeston was gone, replaced with some industrial area but this was a lot better than I was expecting from an urban canal in terms of being peaceful as it headed towards the railway bridge (Nottingham - Beeston) & the A52.  I headed underneath the tramway & also the railway bridge near Lenton North junction passing an marina and the final section near the old wharf (complete with old British Waterways branded warehouse), finishing my walk at the point where I joined the canal back in September 2022 when I did a time-wasting loop towards the Trent.  An enjoyable stroll in the sunshine as I headed to the station, turning down a 5 coach 222 on a semi-fast service (as in my experience it is better to board those trains with plenty of time to get a decent seat), although I didn’t know it at the time there had been an incident near Market Harborough meaning the next couple of departures towards St Pancras were cancelled.

Nottingham & Beeston Canal in Notingham

 

With Plan B in my head, I headed towards 170417 working the Skegness service for the slow trip to Grantham, it might only be 22 and a bit miles but it feels so much longer due to the multiple stops this 170 makes (I think everything other than ELO).  However, I got lucky at Grantham with a late running LNER service pulling in alongside the 170, allowing me a quick dash across the footbridge onto 801220 as the doors were closing (and before the masses made it across).  A nice nonstop run to Kings Cross, arriving into the rain as I headed across to St Pancras for 700008 to London Bridge (on a late running Rainham train I recall) and 707022 & 707030 to Waterloo East, changing to 159107, 159101 & 159020 on a SWR service to take me back to Grateley.

Former British Waterways Warehouse overlooking the Nottingham & Beeston Canal in Nottingham

An enjoyable day in the East Midlands, two completely different walks, one step closer to finishing the Soar Navigation and a long-term canal aim complete.

28th August – Medway Exploring

After the wet Wednesday was spent in London, hunting down various units (getting a couple more 701s into my book as well as another 730/2 & my last 807, I looked up options for the Thursday which was suggesting Maidstone/Tonbridge would be mostly dry with some showers, allowing me to dig out a plan which I had on my list of things for a while, to finish a couple of gaps on the River Medway in Kent, a river I had started back in March 2022 when revisiting stations for photos.  The only downside of doing it this week is that the Medway Valley had been cut to hourly for some unknown reason

The day began with 159006, 159008 & 159017 to Waterloo, where I had some time to kill before making my way across to Waterloo East for 377512 & 377510 on a Maidstone East semi-fast service from Charing Cross, taking me to Maidstone East where the first of my walks began.  I headed away from Maidstone East along the path leading towards Maidstone Barracks, but before crossing the Medway I took the stairs down to the path running north with the river on my left hand side (a path which doesn't exist on Google Maps).  Quite nice with trees as it headed away from Maidstone town centre, passing various boat yards, heading towards Allington Lock which marks the start of the tidal river (site of a Premier Inn).  After a couple photos of the lock, I continued going underneath the M20 towards the Forstal area of Aylesford, where the path alongside the river is currently closed forcing a detour onto the road passing various industrial units before I reached Aylesford itself.



Crossing over the Medway on the old Aylesford bridge I picked up a footpath which ran alongside the south bank of the river towards the area the station is located, getting extremely lucky crossing over the railway at a level crossing as it started to active as soon as I reached the opposite side, with the final section to the station itself, boarding a busy 375304 to take me to Beltring where the second walk would begin (after having lunch along the way).

Leaving the remote station of Beltring, I followed Torbay Road (a dead-end road) towards the A228 at East Peckham services to pick up the Medway path at the road bridge.  The first section was close to an outdoor activities place for kids but soon as I left the noise of the kids playing it went very quiet & very rural as I headed in a general western direction on a path which doesn't exist on Google Maps and even looking at Google Maps shouts out how rural it is (says something when I went to label the photos I did it Lock to Lock to break up the walk).

I needed to pause for a while near one of the locks as there was a heavy downpour, one of those downpours which lasted a couple of minutes, but I was thankful to be under a tree.  Once the downpour finished, I continued, going underneath Hartlake Road bridge (the only road bridge between East Peckham & Tonbridge).  An enjoyable walk for the isolation in rural Kent, but all good things come to an end as I reached Tonbridge with the final section towards the Town Bridge and finishing at Tonbridge station, just as the rain resumed.  There is another short section from Tonbridge towards Leigh which looks interesting (marked on Open Street Maps as "Tudor Trail" & the OS Map as "Eden Valley Walk" which could be interesting for next year.

River Medway at Eldridge Lock

Anyhow back to the trains and the next departure for London Charing Cross was a reasonably busy 375614 & 375908 from Hastings which was unusually (?) using platform 1 at Tonbridge, taking me to Waterloo East where I had a short walk across to Waterloo to take 159105, 159107 & 159018 back to Grateley to finish the day and finish the month for my exploring.

As always, more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*, thanks for reading my random tales of exploring random inland navigations and Hoshi ga Matataku Konna Yoru ni .