22nd & 23rd June – Overnight Trip to the Midlands

 22nd & 23rd June – Overnight Trip to the Midlands

After visiting the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway on the Friday and a lazy Saturday (due to the heat) it was time for an overnight trip to the Midlands to do a random novelty at Northampton.

22nd June – Pinging around the West Midlands

The trip began with the 07:38 from Grateley to take me to Andover with 159008 & 159020 stepping back for the Reading train 10 minutes later with 159105 for the trip to Reading where I popped out of the station to visit the ticket office to buy my West Midlands Day Ranger and to grab some breakfast items from a little Tesco Express before boarding coach B of 221122 which had 220031 along for the ride.  My original idea was to bail at Birmingham New Street and await the arrival of my good friend Jules from Hereford however he was being delayed due to an incident around Bromgrove (ended up getting diverted into Snow Hill for some unusual 196 coverage), but I noticed if I stayed on these voyagers, I could grab a winner 807 on a late running Liverpool service.

In terms of loadings, coach B got busy after Oxford and remained busy, at Birmingham during the dwell I switched to the rear unit which was a lot quieter for the run to Stafford (with some rain falling).  A short wait at Stafford before winner 807009 rolled in on a 20-odd minute late Euston – Liverpool train (signalling issues at the Euston end of the WCML) to take me to Crewe.  Where once more my plan changed as it just missed a London via Birmingham Pendo and I noticed the late running LNR service was being displayed as “Express to Rugby”.  So, after popping out of the station to visit B&M for some supplies I returned to a very busy platform 7 to join 350248 & 350409 on a service which was also getting spun at Milton Keynes.

807005 passing Stafford Station

One of the few times I aimed for the 350/2 (and the former 1st class area) due to the crowding at the buffer stops, paid off as this end of the train was lightly loaded for the speedy run towards Rugby, going via the platform loop at Stafford and unusually passing a London bound Pendo at Lichfield Trent Valley when on the fast line.  At Rugby I had a gentle stroll outside the station when I was waiting for Jules to catch up from the Coventry direction I headed out of Rugby station on the south side, heading west to pick up the so called "Black Path" which crosses the WCML close to the station, carrying along this path to the River Avon (near a Tesco) before following a path alongside the river and a short section on the road to the entrance to the Broughton Road Recreation Ground, meeting up with Jules.  We followed a path towards the Oxford Canal before an overgrown path leading towards a railway bridge which used to carry the Great Central route.  A steep climb on an access point and we took the path to the end where it used to cross the canal, the bridge long since gone.

Heading back on ourselves we took the path towards the Brownsover area of the town before the urban area gave way to countryside heading towards the settlement of Newton where the walk came to an end near a 5-arch viaduct.  Changing from old railway to rural paths as we followed various footpaths heading to an industrial/office park to the north of the town, carrying on with the roads to the A426 crossing over with some large distribution centres and a lot of modern housing.  Eventually we reached the route of the former Brownsover arm of the Oxford Canal, now a feeder canal.  Quite a pleasant walk back south following the banks of this old canal near the Swift Valley Country Park, ending up with the junction with the main Oxford Canal, near a Premier Inn.

Route of former Great Central line in Newton

We headed towards Rugby station (following the Black Path to "Technology Drive" near Rugby College) where we decided it would probably be better to head to Northampton now to get ourselves checked into the town centre Travelodge to save a job for later that night.  350247 & 350243 took us to Northampton where we soon located the Travelodge, getting checked in (separate rooms as it was booked at different times), and removing stuff from my rucksack before heading back to the station and onto 350242 & 350369 to Rugby, stepping back onto 805005 for the run to Coventry (which was a winner for Jules) and back to Rugby on 350374 & 350120 where we noticed things had started to change as the next Avanti to Birmingham hadn't left Euston 40-odd minutes after it was meant to depart and there was delays from the Northampton direction.

For the lack of a better idea we jumped onto a busy Crewe bound 350113, 350375 & 350262 to Nuneaton, returning to Rugby on a slightly late running (and very busy as the previous train had been cancelled) 350256 & 350108.  I don’t know why travelling with London Northwestern makes me a bit annoyed, maybe it’s due to some guards hiding away in the middle cab with gangway doors locked out of use, with no announcements even when the automatic system is broken (considering this pair still was showing “The next Station is Crewe”).  Anyhow rant over and back at Rugby (again!) and onto dud 805007 & winner 805002 for the run to Birmingham New Street, which for me clears the class.  I have no idea what made me look it up on RTT after the walk considering it wasn’t showing as being out earlier in the day, but I was happy considering the 805s are a bit harder to bag from the London end (compared to the 807s which generally call at Milton Keynes).

350262 at Nuneaton Station

Sadly, due to the 38-minute delay into Birmingham, the original idea to take something to Shrewsbury to come back to Birmingham on a 197 went out of the window, likewise taking a pair of 350s to Crewe to intercept the Pendo due to the inbound running 20-odd minutes late.  Eventually we decided on taking 730030 & 730014 to Lichfield Trent Valley (which for me clears Shenstone – Lichfield for 730 coverage) and having a little stroll to waste some time.  Heading out of the new(ish) car park entrance on the London bound platform, and following a path towards the Burton Old Road crossing over the railway near the junction where the WCML connecting chord goes off.  We followed this road to the end where it met the A5127 and headed back towards Lichfield Trent Valley station, detouring via a Co-Op.  Back at the station and it was onto 807003 on a London bound service from Liverpool to take us to Nuneaton, where we transferred to 196007 onto the slow train to Coventry.  Doing this randomly ticks Lichfield Trent Valley for Avanti usage and to waste time before the main random event of the day, the main reason why we stayed in Northampton.

Lichfield Trent Valley Junction Signal Box

After turning down the late southbound LNR service at Coventry, we waited a few more minutes before 390123 rolled in from Glasgow, grabbing a table seat in coach B for the trip to Northampton.  Yep, this was one of the random Avanti services which calls at Northampton (set down only).   Sadly a 11 coach Pendo takes up most of platform 1 so no real decent photo could be had, but for me is ticked a box in my randomness box (coming from someone who stayed in Birmingham a few months ago solely to head to Coventry on a late night 730).  Anyway, we exited the station, making our way to the Travelodge to rest for the night, being thankful we had checked in earlier to save time (so we could go straight to the rooms).

A Pendo departing Northampton

23th June – Rural Walking of the Stratford Upon Avon Canal

I met up with Jules in the morning, and after swinging via Morrisons in Northampton we made our way to Northampton station which was in a bit chaos due to a broken-down freight train earlier that morning between Northampton & Rugby.  Thankfully the line had reopened but as with all delays crews were out of place and the next northbound train was delayed by 20 minutes awaiting a driver.  350120 & 350252 eventually departed and we were expecting LNR to do their usual ripping out stops to make up time (or even spinning it at Birmingham International), but they didn’t do either as it got caught behind a Rugeley stopper after International to crawl into New Street 30 minutes late.

This delay meant our cross Birmingham connection was shorter and would put us onto a Chiltern service rather than a West Midlands service as I wanted to visit Tesco to grab lunch items for later in the day.  After visiting Tesco, we headed to Moor Street and onto 165023 on the Leamington shuttle from platform 4 and soon we had reached Lapworth where our walk began.  I still need Shirley – Stratford Parkway (and a short section in Stratford Upon Avon itself) for the canal, whereas Jules was ahead of me and only needed Lapworth – Wilmcote to complete the canal, so we decided doing that section would be good for both of us.

165023 departing Lapworth

We left the Turbo at Lapworth station, following a footpath across a field to reach a country lane to reach the canal, dropping down from the road onto the towpath in the long Lapworth lock flight.  We headed along the canal, detouring onto the "Lapworth Link".  This is a short section of canal linking the Stratford Canal with the Grand Union, where the Chiltern line crossing overhead (on a newish looking bridge).  We paused for a couple of photos of passing trains (including a 68 hauled set) before heading back towards the Stratford canal and headed south into the countryside.

The towpath was quite variable in quality, but in a decent condition in terms of erosion.  We headed underneath the M40 heading towards Lowsonford where an old railway line embankment swung across the land (an old line which connected Lapworth with Henley-on-Arden I believe looking at the maps).  We continued along the canal in the lovely countryside swapping over a couple of times before reaching the Wootton Wawen area and an aqueduct over a road (which unusually has the towpath dropping to the base of the canal).

DVT 82305 crossing the Lapworth Link (between Stratford Upon Avon & Grand Union Canals), Kingswood

After Wotton Wawen we continued the towpath, reaching Edstone Aqueduct, taking us over the railway line on the longest aqueduct in England (near Bearley station), shame the only way to get a decent shot of the aqueduct is to either trespass on private land or with a drone (where there is a public road it is near the end and views are blocked by trees).  We continued along the towpath reaching Wilmcote and another lock flight which has only recently reopened after one lock getting major repairs.  The towpath in this area was a bit rough in places due to broken tarmac but thankfully it did get better for the last section towards Stratford Upon Avon itself, going underneath the busy A46 and reaching Bishopton Lane which is where I had previously joined the canal back in 2021 when I walked towards Honeybourne.  Although I'm 99% sure I had previously rode along the towpath between Stratford Upon Avon Parkway & Wilmcote back in August 2015 when visiting the stations.

Anyhow the walk was done and we reached Stratford Upon Avon Parkway station, which was a bit chaotic due to an issue around Birmingham Moor Street with multiple West Midland services cancelled, so it was onto a very busy 168328 to take us towards Leamington Spa (it would give a nice-ish connection at Warwick Parkway to a Birmingham bound service, but this service skips Warwick Parkway).  We exited the station at Leamington Spa to pop to a nearby Morrisons for some supplies before heading back to the station saying farewell with Jules heading towards Coventry on a 196 and I managed to grab a seat on 221131 which had 220026 along for the ride (which was locked out of use until Reading).

These voyagers took me to Basingstoke, where I had an extended dwell due to a late running Yeovil bound 158888 & 159005 due to congestion caused by a power failure in the Wimbledon area earlier that day.  These sprinters took me to Grateley where I had a gentle stroll home, getting myself ready for 7 early shifts at work.  An enjoyable social canal walk and a good catch up.  A good weekend overall with 2 more winning Avanti units into my book, leaving just 807010 for when that enters passenger service (probably not for another couple of months I reckon).  I suspect I will be returning to Lapworth sooner rather than later to complete the canal myself (as it is always a nice feeling to complete another canal for walking).

Edstone Aqueduct on the Stratford Upon Avon Canal

As always, thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*.  Scary to think June is nearly over, just where is this year going?

12th June – 15th June. Long weekend in Yorkshire

 12th June – 15th June.  Long weekend in Yorkshire

I had a long weekend from work, and with the Wednesday spent walking in Leicestershire I was going to Yorkshire for a 3-night stay in a shared house in Wakefield.

12th June – Castleford Greenway

The trip began with the 06:58 service from Grateley to take me into London Waterloo with 158881, 159003 & 159016 into the capital where I had my usual stroll across London to reach Kings Cross arriving in plenty of time for the 09:33 LNER service for Harrogate via Leeds, a busy train due to the previous train being cancelled with signalling issues around Wakefield.  I got a decent seat on 800109 for the run towards Wakefield Westgate arriving near enough on time, meaning the connection onto the Knottingley bound 150228 & 150277 was easily made for the short trip to Pontefract Tanshelf where my walk began.

The first section once away from Pontefract itself was onto a path (The Wakefield Way) near Pontefract Park and the racecourse (running alongside the racecourse at times), heading towards the M62 before a woodland path alongside the motorway diving underneath and alongside the railway line.  I had a little detour towards Glasshoughton station before continuing my walk on this bridleway which runs alongside the railway line towards the Cutsyke area and a nice signal box alongside the level crossing.

It was a short detour via the roads before picking up cycle route 69 and part of the Castleford Greenway path, which made use of the former Pontefract and Methley Junction Line which allowed trains to avoid Castleford when heading towards Leeds.  A decent surface on this former railway line route, passing the area of the former Castleford Cutsyke station (no evidence remains), crossing the railway near Whitwood Junction (where trains can head towards Woodlesford or Normanton) and crossing the River Calder (which was one of my original ideas for today, to do the river path from Castleford to Wakefield).  The old railway path came to an end near Methley where the route of the Methley Joint Railway has been lost although I could make out where it used to run due to an old station house (Methley South) and a couple of bridges.

150277 at Whitwood Junction near Castleford

The third section of my little walk took me via the streets in Methley (and a lot of modern housing) and onto cycle route 67, which runs along the route of the former Methley Joint Railway.  A decent surface again and some nice woodland.  The long distance Trans Pennie Trail joined up after the first mile or so (with a "Welcome to Leeds" signpost near the M62.  I continued along this route towards Bottom Boat where the old railway disappears under modern developments forcing a detour via the streets before picking up a path which made use of the old railway route near Lofthouse Gate, doing a little U-turn at a Co-Op near Outwood (I will admit to being tempted to call this walk to an end at this point considering Outwood station wasn't that far away).

I doubled back on the old railway route, taking another path heading towards Stanley and Stanley Ferry on the banks of the Aire & Calder Navigation.  I headed south along this navigation before heading across the city suburbs (Eastmoor) to reach my accommodation in the Pinderfields Road area.  Once I managed to get access to the key safe I dropped off my stuff and headed back out towards Wakefield Westgate station swinging via a large Sainsburys at Trinity Walk Shopping Centre for some supplies, before heading towards the station via the city centre.  An enjoyable walk taking in some different views, another thing I can take off my list for this general area.

Castleford Greenway (Route of former Methley Joint Railway) between Methley Junction & Bottomboat 

Time to play with some trains and since the last timetable change, Northern have started running the 333s on Leeds – Doncaster services, so it was time to be welcomed on board the Doncaster Train by Martin Oldfield with a busy 333002 taken to Doncaster, changing onto 170473 on a Sheffield train (complete with failed AC) for the run into Sheffield.  A short wait at Sheffield before boarding 150268 on an Adwick train to take me towards Rotherham Central, returning to Sheffield on 150214 & 150270, finishing the day with 195021 on a train towards Leeds via Barnsley (as the voyager I was waiting for was running quite late and this 195 was surprisingly lightly loaded).

Back at Wakefield and a short walk north (following the A61) saw me getting to my accommodation on Berne Grove.  The room was a bit warm (due to the window being a bit on the smaller side) but it was moderately quiet (unless it sounded like someone in the room above me was having issues in the early hours, but that can happen in any hotel).

150001 alongside 399202 at Rotherham Central

13th June – Leeds & Liverpool Canal

It was time to head towards Skipton to hopefully complete the Yorkshire side of the Leeds & Liverpool canal, although I did have a breakout point at Crossflatts if I felt like I had enough.  A lazy start to my day as I made my way to Wakefield Westgate (via Sainsburys for breakfast as they do hot bacon baps as part of the meal deal).  First train of the day for me was 333010 on a Leeds service which completes the Leeds – Doncaster route for 333 coverage.  At Leeds it was a short walk over to board 158754 on a Carlisle service to take me towards North Yorkshire, alighting at Long Preston (for some better photos).

25 minutes in the sunshine later and 158849 rolled in from Lancaster to take me back the overhead wires and Skipton where my walk began.  Before I headed towards the canal I swung via Morrisons for some lunch supplies, and I was a bit tempted to walk the short Springs Branch Canal towards Skipton Castle but decided that could wait for another trip (as I could work in a visit to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway).

158754 departing Long Preston Station

Lunch (and other supplies) purchased I joined the canal at Belmont Bridge heading in a general southern direction, going underneath the freight line towards Swinden quarry and towards Low Snaygill before leaving Skipton behind.  The towpath was decent quality with some beautiful views, but the road noise from the A629 was quite loud at times (as the road follows the rough route of the canal other than near Bradley where the canal curves to serve).

I was glad when I reached Kildwick where the Skipton Road finally headed on it's on way leaving the canal to be peaceful as it headed towards Silsden before going into a rural section towards Riddlesden (to the north of Keighley town centre).  I continued my walk towards Sandbeds & Crossflatts deciding to continue when I reached the potential escape route towards the station.  I carried on reaching the top of the Bingley Five Rise Locks (a set of 5 staircase locks) and a steep hill for the towpath.

Bingley Five Rise Locks on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal

My walk continued down the Bingley Three Rise Locks, passing close to the station before the canal headed into a woodland section, crossing over the River Aire and towards Saltaire.  I passed the Salts Mill with the final section into Shipley reaching a footbridge to the point I had previously walked to from Leeds back in September 2023 and hence completing the Yorkshire section of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, the end is very much in sight with a short section in Lancashire & the Rufford branch. 

I headed to Shipley station and onto 331007 on a Bradford Forster Square train to take me into Bradford Forster Square, ticking off the recently opened platform 0, before taking 333013 into Leeds, transferring to a busy 221131 for the short run to Wakefield Westgate, celebrating my long walk with a burger from a takeaway called “Mr Ts” which was located close to the shared house, and I rested for the remainder of the evening.

331007 on platform 0 at Bradford Forster Square

14th June – “It’s all gone a bit wrong”

Today was the day of a forum walk from Saltaire towards the Bradford area on the remains of the Shipley Great Northern Railway route, meeting up in Roberts Park in Saltaire after midday so in my crazy wisdom decided it would be a good chance to visit the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway seeing as I would be in that area, train to Oxenhope for a bus back to Keighley for a train to Salitaire.  Well, it went a bit wrong.

The day began with a gentle stroll to Wakefield Westgate station and onto a Harrogate bound 800102 (the coach I was in pretty much emptied out at Leeds), and onto 333009 on the Skipton train to take me to Keighley where after buying my ticket to Oxenhope I settled down to relax watching as a passing downpour came and went.  Steam engine 41241 (LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T) rolled in with coaches in tow and after grabbing a photo of the steam engine running round I took a seat in the front coach.

Steam 41241 running round train at Keighley Station (KWVR)

Departure was 10 minutes late due to signalling issues as the train headed towards Oxenhope, pausing in the loop at Damens Loop for a 144 to pass, eventually arriving at Oxenhope around 25 minutes late, the bus I had hoped to connect into was long gone.  So, I had a stroll into the centre of the settlement to where the bus would start from (cut back from Hebden Bridge due to roadworks).  The next B3 (Brontëbus) service to Keighley rolled in with fleet 1752 (A Volvo Wright Eclipse Urban from the Keighley Bus Company).  I purchased my single towards Keighley for a nice run towards Keighley (even though there were some youths at the back deciding to treat everybody with their own selection of noise).  I bailed at Victoria Road as I had spotted an interesting looking route alongside the River Worth branded as the "Worth Way" on signs.  This took me back to Keighley station where after a 47 rolled in with a private train for a wedding, I headed to the Northern platforms and caught a busy 331005 to Saltaire heading towards Roberts Park and the Shipley Glen Tramway.

Sadly, when I arrived at the tramway I was told it was closed for the rest of the day due to mechanical issues, so I headed back to Saltaire coming up with another plan (as by this time the forum walking party was half-way to Idle).  I decided to look at Cleethorpes to see if there was any booked use of platform 4 (because Cleethorpes clearly needed a 4th platform to deal with the 1.5 trains per hour it gets), coming up with a crazy idea as 333003 rolled in to take me to Leeds, transferring onto 801107 & 801108 to take me to Doncaster.

47714 arriving into Keighley Station on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

I turned down the TPE to Cleethorpes, instead headed over to platform 0 to board 150206 on the 2 hourly Northern service to Scunthorpe, a route which saw me having my last 144 on in March 2020 before the world went crazy).  This 150 took me to Scunthorpe, where I had 40 minutes to wait before the next TPE so I headed into the town centre to visit Sainsburys for dinner items, before returning to the station, only to see the train had lost more time due to a police incident.  185115 & 185118 rolled in and departed towards Cleethorpes where I had my fingers crossed as this was one of the 2 services which was booked to use platform 4.  Booked to use the platform is one thing, actually using it is another matter (considering there was nothing else at Cleethorpes station).  Thankfully it did use platform 4, and after a couple photos I returned to Grimsby Town on the same pair of units.  I was toying with doing the refurbished EMR 170 to Barton on Humber but that was running late, as was the next TPE (which looked like it was getting spun at Barnetby of all places).

It was onto another new plan as I crossed over to platform 3 at Grimsby Town (probably a good few years since I last used this bay platform!) onto former GA 170270 getting a seat in the former 1st class area for the extra comfort for the run towards Lincoln, another line I hadn’t done in a while.  At Lincoln I transferred to 170510 on the Doncaster train, I always forget how long it is between Gainsborough & Doncaster, although a chance for the 170 to get some speed up.  At Doncaster it was a short wait before boarding 801214 on the next service towards Leeds to take me back to Wakefield Westgate to walk to my accommodation for the last time of this trip.

185118 at Cleethorpes Station (platform 4)

A day of two halves, a nice trip to Oxenhope behind a steam engine, but missing out on the forum walk due to late running.

15th June – Blackburn Valley & Rotherham

I had several ideas what I could have done today, annoyingly when I booked this trip, I didn’t notice the ECML was closed at the London end, but thankfully a Wakefield – London single is valid via the Midland Main Line.  After weighing up various options I decided on a short disused railway line walk in South Yorkshire (one of many on my list of things to do) from Chapeltown towards Meadowhall.  The day began with checking out of the shared house, having to leave my key in the door of my room as it seems the code for the key safe had been changed.  I headed to Wakefield Kirkgate via a Tesco Express for breakfast items, reaching the station with plenty of time before 158795 & 158872 rolled in on the first Sheffield stopper of the day (forms the Sheffield – Carlisle service so probably wise to have it as a 4-coach set).

These 158s dropped me off at Chapeltown station and my walk began as I headed towards the older platforms (now used as an access path) and up Station Road to reach the start of the Blackburn Valley Trail, the name given to the former South Yorkshire Railway's Barnsley to Sheffield line.  The first section was via Chapeltown park with some nice woodland before heading towards an industrial estate where signage wasn't the best but I managed to follow the path as it followed the existing railway line passing Ecclesfield and other parts of Sheffield reaching Meadowhall, passing a Travelodge.

158872 departing Chapeltown Station

In hindsight I ought to have called my walk a day at Meadowhall but along the way I decided to extend the walk considering the weather was fine, weighing up the option of heading towards Rotherham along the canal or heading into the city centre via a path which follows the Don (the Five Weirs Way).  I decided on the canal considering I did the section from Sheffield towards Meadowhall back in December 2021.  After getting a bit lost with the road network I crossed over the tram line near Meadowhall South, and reached the Sheffield & Tinsley canal, heading underneath the M1 (and Tinsley Viaduct).

Soon the canal came to an end as it met up with the River Don and I continued along the path as it reached the start of the Holmes cut of the Navigation, heading towards Rotherham heading underneath the railway from Barrow Hill before reaching Ickles Lock where the towpath flips sides near a level crossing near the C F Booth scrapyard.  The towpath continued skirting round the edge of the New York Stadium on a recently upgraded section of the route for flood protection (judging by some signs).  I passed a flood gate giving access to the Rotherham cut and soon reached the area of the station.  This being a good place to finish as after this point the towpath diverts away from the water.

150228 near Booths Scrapyard, Rotherham

After visiting Tesco for food & drink items, I headed to Rotherham Central and jumped on 150276 on a service from Leeds (2 hourly on Sundays), taking me to Sheffield where I headed across to platform 8 to join the crowd building for the next EMR to London, watching a 3 coach 185 roll in from Cleethorpes looking extremely cosy and leaving a good 50+ behind.  A bit of confusion as there was announcements that the London train would be stopping at the London end of platform 8 meaning the crowds headed that way, only for 222101 to stop in the centre of the platform.  I made a bee-line for coach D, which thankfully as being one of the former 4 coach sets had a lot more standard class seating compared to coach D on one of the other 5 coach units.  Not sure what it was like near the front of the train but coach D had a small number of seats available from Sheffield (although might be due to the hopeless overhead luggage racks), by Derby those seats had gone with standing in the vestibules by Leicester for a nonstop run to St Pancras.

When I got off the train at St Pancras, I was in quite a bit of pain with my back, no clue what caused it.  But it was a gingerly walk to the Thameslink platforms for 700116 to Blackfriars and a slow walk to Waterloo (as it was going via Tulse Hill rather than via London Bridge) and onto 159012, 159013 & 159005 on an Exeter train to take me to Andover, where I got picked up by mum to drive home via a local Chippy.  I got home and was careful when emptying out my rucksack but it wasn’t long before I was forced to lay down to rest my back, thankfully it’s back to normal which I suspect was simply a trapped nerve from sitting down on that 222.

Rotherham Cut Flood Lock on the River Don Navigation, Rotherham

Anyhow, an enjoyable weekend with a lot of walking, I might use that place in Wakefield again if the price was right in comparison to other places.  More photos can be found on my Flickr here, thanks for reading. 

25th & 26th May – Overnight Trip to Blackpool

 25th & 26th May –  Overnight Trip to Blackpool

When I first saw that over this weekend Avanti were diverting services via Manchester due to engineering works at Warrington, I originally gave it a “would be nice to do” moment, before noticing that the Sunday it was via Bolton and the Monday going via Eccles potentially giving two different routes for unusual Pendo coverage.  A search for accommodation found plentiful options in Blackpool at various prices, eventually going for something reasonably close to North Station which had good reviews.  Sadly, the walking I had planned needed to be put back on the shelf due to the changeable weather forecast.

25th May

The day began with the short walk to Grateley for the first London service of the day with 158881, 159006 & 159103 to take me towards Waterloo diverting via Staines & Isleworth, the train only getting busy at Woking.  At Waterloo I had around 90 minutes to get to Euston for the next Glasgow train so I did my usual walk, diverting via the Co-Op near Waterloo, across Westminster bridge and along the north bank of the Thames then towards Euston via Tottenham Court Road, arriving with plenty of time as I hung near the top of the ramp before boarding.

River Thames from Westminster Bridge

I managed to get a decent seat on 390153 which departed quite busy, reduction of trains due to the engineering works on the Trent Valley, the train catching up with a LNR service near Leighton Buzzard and sat at Milton Keynes for around 10 minutes due to running early.  After Milton Keynes the train headed towards Rugby, Coventry pausing for another few minutes at Stechford due to early running (the Pendo was in front of a late running LNR stopper).  After Stechford it took the connecting line towards Ascot for the trip via Bescot and towards Wolverhampton avoiding the station before heading towards Stafford & Crewe where the train emptied out (at least in coach G).

After a dwell at Crewe (as again the train was running quite early) it headed towards Wilmslow for a set down only stop and towards Manchester.  Felt strange going nonstop through Stockport on a Pendo before getting a decent path (probably helped with Northern having their usual Sunday service meltdown) via Piccadilly & the Castlefield corridor for the run towards Bolton & Chorley.  The train joined the usual route at Leyland and arrived into Preston something like 25 minutes early, although I decided against a walk in the Preston area and instead headed across to platform 1 to join the large crowd to squeeze onto 195120 on a Blackpool North service for the trip to the coast.

390153 at Preston

As the weather was currently dry, I decided to take a stroll towards the coastal path, deciding to head south (the theory being if the weather turned, I wasn't that far from the tramway).  Some nice views of the seafront, trying to keep my eye on the trams in case my last one I needed for a mile popped up.  I reached the end of the main path in the Squires Gate area of the town, seeing tram 15 heading north on a Fleetwood service so I decided to give chase once I managed to get to Starr Gate tram stop.  One of these days I will continue the walk along the coast towards Lytham as well as the northern section from North Pier towards Fleetwood.

It was onto tram 003 on the next Fleetwood service, and with good time a couple minutes into the journey the rain decided to come, causing some delays.  The tram did get quite busy heading north but emptied out at the stops serving some of the hotels like Cliffs & Norbeck.  I decided to bail at Anchorsholme Lane, crossing over to the opposite platform for a short wait before tram 015 rolled in on a North Station service, taking this tram to Sandhurst Avenue to clear it for a mile and crossed over to the northbound platform for tram 004 to take me towards Fleetwood as it had been a few years since I last visited the northern part of the network.

Blackpool Tram 015 near Starr Gate

I had a recommendation to visit the Spoons in Fleetwood for some nice dinner before returning to the tramway for a wait before tram 015 rolled in on a southbound service which I gather from the timetable would have been one of the last to go direct towards North Pier stop rather than going via the station.  The heaven's opened when on the way south as I alighted at Tower, locating my accommodation on Hornby Road, self-serve check-in and the room was quite reasonable for the £24 I paid.  A good thing I ended the day there as I laid on the bed having a catch-up on the interweb listening to the rain arriving again.  It wasn’t perfect by any means, as there was a small window above the door which allowed light to escape into the room from the hallway.

An enjoyable first day of this little overnight trip, a nice walk along the coast and getting my last Blackpool tram for a mile.

26th May - Cuerden Valley Park

My original idea for today was to walk the Rufford branch of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, maybe even fitting in a visit to the West Lancs Light Railway but owing to the wet weather the previous night and more rain expected around midday I decided it wasn’t worth the risk of hitting mud or floods, instead I looked at some options for the Preston area and decided on a visit to the Cuerden Valley Park.

After checking out of the guest house, I headed towards the town centre (and a handy Co-Op) and Blackpool North station, jumping onto 195110 on a York bound service for the hop to Kirkham & Westham for a random revisit and a short wait before 323227 & 323242 arrived on the next Manchester Airport service to take me towards Buckshaw Parkway where my walk began.

323234 at Kirkham & Wesham Station

I headed north away from the station towards the modern Buckshaw Village following a mix of paths to reach the Lower Kem Mill car park of the Cuerden Valley Park on cycle route 55.  I followed the path via the park enjoying the scenery as it headed towards Clayton-le-Woods with a break at Town Brow.  I continued the path keeping track to make sure I was on the correct path as there are many paths in this area, eventually crossing over the M6 and coming to an end at Wigan Road, to the south of Bamber Bridge.

After reaching Bamber Bridge, I followed another path which followed the river Lostock before heading north underneath the railway line where I could have finished the walk and headed to the station but decided to carry on as the weather was dry, heading towards a path I covered a couple of months ago but taking a detour via the Dog Kennel Wood to reach Hennel Lane in Walton-le-Dale.  I picked up another path heading towards the River Darwen and underneath the A6 with the idea of following this path along the south bank of the Ribble towards Preston.  However, my plan needed changing as this path was closed (I presume related to the construction of the new Tram Road bridge) with a detour via a sewage works to pick up the old railway line route to take me into Preston.

Cuerden Valley Park, Clayton-le-Woods

After grabbing lunch from the Tesco near Preston station, I headed to the platform the next London train was due to depart from at a very busy station, grabbing a decent seat on 390153 (again!) for the southbound run.  Along the way we passed a 156 for Ormskirk which looked wedged out and platform 6 at Wigan North Western was rammed as the Pendo emptied out.  Next stop was Crewe, going via the Parkside curve onto Chat Moss via Eccles for a bit of unusual Pendo coverage.  All was going well until the train reached the chaos of Manchester's Castlefield corridor, going from 5 minutes early to 42 minutes late, at one point I counted 7 trains stuck in a traffic jam.

Eventually the Pendo cleared the chaos of Piccadilly, passing Stockport to reach Crewe, where the train got busy once more.  After Crewe, it continued south towards Stafford & Wolvermhampton heading via Darlaston, Bescot & Aston to Stechford where thankfully the signaller decided to hold an LNR stopper for use to go out in front with a spirited run towards Coventry & Rugby only slowing down on the approach to Milton Keynes where it had caught up with a Manchester - Euston service.  Arrival into Euston was 19 minutes late, and it was bad to hear the Train Manager claiming to get delay repay you needed to speak with the retailer in which you purchased the tickets from, rather than via the Avanti website.

Anyhow, with the rain making its appearance a walk to Waterloo was out of the question, and with time to kill I headed over to board 710379 to Willesden Junction for 378217 to Clapham Junction, exiting the barriers with my Oyster and coming back in with my staff pass and heading over to board 455723 & 455741 to Waterloo before taking 159011 (for the first time since February) & 159020 to Grateley to end my little overnight trip to Blackpool.  An enjoyable day with a nice walk via the Cuerden Valley Park, keeping dry as well as enjoying some Pendo mileage via unusual routes.

As always, thanks for reading, the Tuesday was a red pen day in London (and Essex) due to the wet weather, grabbing a few more 720s & 701s (and 458/4s for renumbering), before heading back to work for 6 late shifts.  More photos can be found on my Flickr, May is at an end, have a 701.

701046 departing Stoneleigh