21st January – 25th January Trips

 21st January – 25th January Trips

The idea for this short break from work was a 4-night trip based in Edinburgh to do some odds & sods within the Scottish capital & surrounding area, with 1 night in Haymarket & 3 nights in Cameron Toll Travelodge (to the south of the city, with a lot of bus routes).  The reason for the split in hotels was due to originally booking 3 nights only to extend to use up a day of annual leave (got to use it or lose it), with the Travelodge in Haymarket being cheapest for the Wednesday night.  However, to quote Robert Burns, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, the weather forecast was looking a bit wet causing a few hours of weighing up options before making the “Go/No-Go” decision on the Tuesday, cancelling (good thing I was on flexible rate) the Cameron Toll hotel but keeping the Haymarket hotel as I could still do a couple of random things.

21st January – Twilight of the Innocent (Railway)

Originally in my longer stay, this was going to be a bit of a later start to do the 12:24 Lumo service all the way from London to Glasgow Queen Street, however as the weather forecast in Edinburgh was suggesting it would be dry until around 4:30pm giving me a couple of ideas for some shorter walks in Edinburgh.  The day started with the 06:57 service from Grateley (158887, 159105 & 159106) on this busy peak time service to Waterloo, where I had a stroll to Kings Cross, gambling on the weather remaining dry didn’t quite work out as it started to rain when I was in the Brunswick Square area, but I carried on to Kings Cross.

I was a bit smart the night before when I was thinking up with this idea to get myself a seat reservation for the 09:30 service to Edinburgh to avoid the rush to grab one of the few unreserved  seats in the small area of coach C, so when the train came up as available to board, I headed towards coach G of 801203 which was around a quarter full on departure on the new ECML timetable with an hourly fast service calling at only York & Newcastle, arriving into Edinburgh around 13:35 after a timetable wait outside the station area for a London bound train to depart.  The on-time arrival meant I had a chance to make an unofficial connection to a Tweedbank service formed of 170429 to take me to Brunstane (complete with revenue staff checking tickets before boarding as it went from an open platform).

170429 departing Brunstane Station

When I reached Brunstane, I had to decide between two ideas which I had, deciding to head west (the other idea was to follow the Brunstane Burn Path towards the waterfront and walk towards Leith via Portobello beach).  After crossing over the railway, I picked up cycle route 1, which my Strava was calling the "Innocent Path" as it followed the small river towards Bingham, not the most exciting of paths due to the urban environment but thankfully it did open up a bit in a green area as the path headed towards running alongside the Edinburgh Suburban freight line in the Duddingston/Craigmillar area of the city.  A short while later I started the Innocent Railway path, a path on the route of the closed Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway route to the former St Leonards Goods station.

Mostly uphill as it passed Duddingston Loch and giving some nice views of Arthur's Seat before heading into a tunnel leading to the St Leonards area where the path ended.  I was toying with the idea of catching a bus towards Corstorphine to walk the short branch line towards Balgreen tram stop but was wary of the time (as I wasn't sure what time twilight would fall in Scotland).  I put that idea back on the shelf for another trip and continued my walk heading towards The Meadows green area (which was quite nice, but also quite busy) and the University area before heading into the city centre area, wasting some time visiting a couple of shops before heading to the station for the Lumo.

Innocent Railway Path in Edinburgh

In December, Lumo extended a couple trains a day to Glasgow Queen Street and it had been a while since I last had a 803 (since my last trip, the seat coverings have been replaced with a new material).  803003 rolled in, and nearly emptied out in the rear coach as I got settled in for the slow trip to Glasgow Queen Street, might only call at Falkirk High but there were some congestions caused by delays to ScotRail services.  In Glasgow it was quite wet as I dashed to a nearby Poundland to grab some supplies before dashing back to Queen Street, not much point hanging around with the dark weather, I'm pretty sure the trio of Subway units I need haven't entered service and are being kept back for testing of the new signalling.

Back at Glasgow Queen Street, I jumped back onto 803003 as it was the next service back towards Edinburgh (runs to London, whereas the 2nd service goes back ECS).  Early arrival into Falkirk due to the service it was meant to follow being late, however the train lost around 10 minutes in the Edinburgh Park & Haymarket areas due to congestion, as I left the train at Haymarket to locate the Travelodge.  I'm pretty certain I used this hotel back in December 2014 as a random memory, an older building where the rooms had proper keys as I had a single room.  For the lack of a better idea (for it wasn't even half seven) I settled in with a movie on my tablet, listening to the rain.  An enjoyable day, I'm glad to have done one disused railway line in Edinburgh with a fast run on LNER.

803003 at Haymarket Station

22nd January – A trip to Dundee via Perth

Due to engineering works, the line via South Gyle & the Forth Bridge were closed this week with a limited direct service from Edinburgh to/from Aberdeen diverted via Perth, this was a day I was hedging my bets on what the weather would actually be doing on Tayside as the forecast was predicting heavy rain from 9am, another forecast it was from 11am.  I checked out of the Travelodge, making my way to Haymarket station (via a handy Tesco Express for some breakfast items) and onto a lightly loaded Aberdeen bound HST formed of 43168 & 43148.  My first long-distance trip on a Scottish HST for a few years (pretty sure it was back in February 2023 when Inverness Airport station opened) so I had forgotten how nice the interiors are (compared to what they were like on GWR).

Although the run towards Dundee was in darkness as it paused at Stirling & Perth for staffing stops, daylight only breaking on the approach to Dundee, I decided to carry on to Broughty Ferry which was local door only on this 2+5 formation to start my walk.  It was dry but that wind was strong (and chilly). The walk along the mixed use path which follows the Tay from Arbroath towards Dundee has been on my oversized list of things to do for a while so today felt like a good chance to make a small start with the section towards Dundee as I made my way to the waterfront to pick up the path which ran between the railway line & river, before moving inland to run between the railway line & a large fence securing Dundee Docks (noticing a little café which had a separate area for walkers/cyclists & for dock workers.

43148 departs Broughty Ferry Station

I soon reached Dundee Marina, following a couple of paths to cross the water near HMS Unicorn to reach the Tayside near a modern housing development on Marine Parade.  I carried on my walk alongside the Tay, going underneath the Tay Road Bridge and detouring inland near the RRS Discovery (and the V+A) before picking up the path as I had time to kill before the next London train from Dundee station and where it had threatened to rain nothing had come of it, other than drizzle.   Passing the Premier Inn I headed towards the railway bridge, before making my way back towards the station via a park path, reaching the station just as the rain returned.  After a visit to the little Tesco Express located within the station building (how very handy), I headed to the platforms to await 800110 to roll in on the next London Kings Cross service.

Once more, I was a bit smart to have reserved a seat in coach G (forgetting this was a coach which didn’t have an engine underneath, which was a nice bonus).  I spent the next hour (or so) looking out of the window, at the rain and of the scenery as the Azuma ran through Perth nonstop, slowing around Dunblane to change over to AC power before carrying on towards Haymarket & Edinburgh where the coach I was in did empty out a bit.  As a bonus, due to the increased journey time at going via Perth, the Azuma slotted into the path of a fast London (rather than the path of the semi-fast), with coach G never really having more than a dozen passengers in with calls at Newcastle & York before heading into London.

Dundee Harbour 

As London was a bit wet, I headed to St Pancras, jumping on 700144 to London Bridge and onto the first available South Eastern service, which happened to be a service from Tunbridge Wells formed of 465155, 465164 & 466035 for the short hop to Waterloo East, where I made a tight connection onto the 17:53 service formed of 159106 & 159018 where I ended up standing until Basingstoke (because after-all it was prime commuter time and I boarded the train at the very last minute).  This pair of sprinters took me home, where I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and trying to figure out a plan for Friday, eventually deciding on a London day due to the poor weather forecast (ending up grabbing 3 more 701s & a 730 for my little book)

24th January - Trans Pennine Trail on the South Yorkshire Railway

Today my plan was to head towards South Yorkshire to walk along a disused railway path which used to form part of the South Yorkshire Railway network, a walk I’ve postponed a couple of times previously due to poor weather or changing my mind.  The day began with the 05:27 service to Waterloo with 159004 doing the honours, where I switched to Waterloo East with 376026 & 376019 to London Bridge, followed by 700149 to St Pancras.  Felt strange skipping Farringdon as due to LU engineering works, Thameslink weren’t calling there today.

After grabbing some food from Tesco near Kings Cross, I headed to the EMR platforms at St Pancras and onto 222018 on the next Sheffield service for the speedy run to the steel city and a 30 minute break (good time to head up the hill to grab lunch from one of the shops) before 150206 rolled in fresh from the sidings to take me to Silkstone Common where my walk began.

150206 departing Silkstone Common Station

The first section of my walk was around the route of the Worsbrough branch line, which used to run between Penistone (connecting with the Woodhead route) and a junction in Wombwell.  However around Silkstone Common there are a couple of tunnels which have been blocked off, forcing a mild detour via a slightly muddy path as I headed towards a tiny country lane (Blackergreen Lane) near to where the junction used to be located (although this section the mixed used path was high on an embankment with the occasional glimpse of the former railway route, including a tunnel portal).  I doubled back towards Silkstone Common and headed east as the path dropped down onto the route of the old railway where thankfully the muddy path turned into a smooth surface made of tarmac mixed with old rubber tyres (judging by some information boards).

My walk continued, as I left behind Silkstone Common and headed into the countryside with some beautiful views, with the occasional glimpse of Wentworth Castle as the path skirted round the southern edge of Dodworth with the railway path crossing the M1 before heading towards the southern edge of Worsbrough, passing close to the Worsbrough Mill Country Park.  After a quick break I resumed my walk headed away from Worsbrough back into the countryside with this section of path being quieter in terms of other users, crossing underneath the Barnsley - Meadowhall railway on a large viaduct (sadly mostly hidden by the trees) with the path continuing, joining up with the route of another disused railway (pretty sure part of the Blackburn Valley Line, or else another colliery branch) with the branch line ending at a junction on the northern edge of Wombwell with the former South Yorkshire line between Mexborough & Barnsley.

Path along the remains of the South Yorkshire Railway (Mexborough - Barnsley Branch) (Trans Pennine Trail) in Wombwell

The next section of my walk saw myself heading in a general south eastern direction skirting round the edge of Wombwell passing the site of the former Wombwell Central station (no evidence remaining) heading underneath the A6195 near Brampton where I turned onto what was signposted as the Elsecar Greenway.  A bit noisy as the first section ran close to the Dearne Valley Parkway, close to Cortonwood Shopping Park before moving away from the route of an old colliery railway to follow an old canal (the Elsecar branch of the Dearne & Dove Canal).  Another busy path this as it skirted close to Hemingfield before heading towards Elsecar itself.  I ended the walk at the basin rather than the Heritage Centre (somewhere on my list to visit), followed with a steep uphill climb to the station, arriving with a few minutes to spare before 158870 rolled in from Leeds to take me to Sheffield.

I turned down the first available St Pancras train because boarding a 222 with minutes to spare on a Saturday is a bit crazy, so hung around before 222007 rolled in on platform 8, grabbing a seat in coach D and settling down for the run to London, where amazingly it arrived near enough on time.  I headed to the Thameslink platforms to take 700101 to London Bridge (again speeding through Farringdon felt strange, as Thameslink were changing to DC at City Thameslink today, although I had to laugh at some of the responses of some youngsters pretending to be gangster like panicking as they probably didn’t have tickets (and were planning to touch into the oyster network at Farringdon).  Anyhow at London Bridge I jumped onto the first available South Eastern service to Waterloo East, tonight this was 377523 & 377514 from Maidstone, and after grabbing some dinner headed across to board 159104 on the 19:50 service to Salisbury before the masses boarded.

222007 at Sheffield Station

This 159 lost some time outside Woking due to congestion, but otherwise was uneventful as I got home, and relaxed.  An enjoyable walk in South Yorkshire, nice to break the 13-mile mark for the first time this year, and other than the area near Silkstone Common a decent surface in some sunshine.

25th January – An unplanned trip to King’s Lynn

Originally I was going to head towards Birmingham today, solely for the novelty to do a West Midlands 196 from Birmingham Snow Hill towards Worcester via Kidderminster doing a large loop, however I was very much on the sidelines due to the WCML being closed as doing a Chiltern service which would be busy, especially as some of the hired in staff at Marylebone are a bit unpleasant to the point I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed a triple turbo formation, so I looked into other ideas for a lazy day trip (as I didn’t fancy having a day in London with the weather being a bit changeable).

The day started with a stroll to Grateley for 159003 to Waterloo, with the usual Sunday morning crawl at the London end, which gave me just under an hour to get to Kings Cross.  Thankfully it had stopped raining allowing me to walk to Kings Cross, the rain only returning when I was near Euston Road waiting for the traffic lights to change, however I shouldn’t have rushed as the next Great Northern service for King’s Lynn was delayed as the inbound was running late, eventually it rolled in as I took a seat near the front (where it was quieter) on 379006, with 379017 in the middle & 379010 on the rear.

379006 at London Kings Cross

I had forgotten how nice the interior is on these former Greater Anglia units, considering I hadn’t ridden one since 2021.  Good to see them having a second life on Great Northern as the train headed towards Cambridge, going via Hertford North due to engineering works.  A bit of a short delay at Cambridge station (where the front coach got busy due to being the closest to the entrance) with 379010 detaching, the train continued across the fens to reach King’s Lynn (delaying a London bound service at Downham Market as Sunday the trains pass there instead of at Littleport).   At King’s Lynn I made use of the time to pop to the nearby Morrisons for some supplies & lunch trying to decide between jumping off at Littleport to walk towards Ely alongside the river or changing at Cambridge.  I decided the river walk would probably be better done in the spring time in the event of mud (or even flooding), so returned to the station, switching to 379017 for the ride back to Cambridge.

A short wait at Cambridge before the next Stansted Airport service rolled in, formed of 755403 which did empty out and I managed to get a decent seat for the ride towards Stansted Airport, making a cross platform change onto a busy 745105 on the next Liverpool Street service, calling only at Bishop Stortford (and Tottenham Hale), so nice to get a bit of speed before it caught up with a pair of 720s I would have caught from Cambridge had the 755 been cancelled (and the interior of the GA Flirts is a world apart from the 3+2 seating on the 720s).  At Liverpool Street I had just under an hour to make it to Waterloo, thankfully the rain had stopped allowing a gentle stroll towards London Bridge & Southwark to reach Waterloo, probably not the quickest route but I wanted to go via London Bridge as a backup in case it started to rain again.

745105 at Stansted Airport

At Waterloo, I took a seat on a busy triple 159 set bound for Exeter (159004, 159007 & 159002) to take me to Andover for a 30-minute fester before 158882 & 158890 rolled in from Reading to take me the final 6 miles to Grateley, deciding that Andover made for a nicer change than Basingstoke (for at least it would be the same platform).  At Grateley I strolled home in the light drizzle to get myself ready for the week ahead and sorting out my photos.  Anyhow thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr Here, a shame my Scottish trip had to be cut short with the weather, but travelling in January always carries risk of poor weather.

Trips in January 2026, Part 1

 Trips in January 2026, Part 1

4th January – Walking in East Devon

With the railway closed in the Basingstoke area, it limited my options for my first day trip of 2026, deciding to head west to walk an old railway line path from Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton.  The day starting with the 08:30 service from Grateley to take me to Exeter Central, where I had time to dash to the Co-Op for some supplies before taking 166220 to Exmouth and a walk to the bus stops on the Parade for a filthy stagecoach bus on a route 157 to Sidmouth, forcing a little rethink as I decided to take the bus to the village of Otterton.

Leaving the bus, I soon picked up national cycle route 2 heading via the village (up a steep hill) and onto a former road (Park Lane) for an enjoyable stroll heading south towards the Otter Estuary giving some nice views of the river and another footpath running alongside the river (ideas for the future).  I reached the end of Park Lane, crossed over the river and departed from the route of the cycle path and onto a footpath which formed part of the long-distance Coastal path, running towards the seafront with some lovely views of the estuary marshlands.  I reached the sea and after a little trip to the mouth of the river I headed along the seafront at Budleigh Salterton, finishing the walk near Cliff Road (maybe one of these days I will return to this area to walk the coastal path all the way towards Exmouth, so much to do, so little time).

Budleigh Salterton Beach.

The next section was via the roads (and a small area called the Green) to head towards Knowle, where I picked up cycle route 2 along the way and headed onto the off-road section on what was called the Budleigh Salterton - Exmouth Greenway, picking up the route of the former railway line for a gentle stroll in the countryside (with some traffic noise at times), heading towards Exmouth.  The next section involved some roads due to the route of the railway being lost under modern developments, before picking up the railway line again to take me towards Rhear Park where I was considering heading towards Lympstone but decided instead to head towards Exmouth station as the clouds were getting darker.  At the station I jumped onto 166218 to take me to Exeter Central where I had a nice connection onto 159101 & 159002 to take me back to Grateley, walking home in the snow.  An enjoyable day of riverside path, a seafront path & a smooth former railway line.

5th January – Avanti via Settle.

The plans I had for the Monday & Tuesday completely changed on the Sunday night due to the forecast of heavy snow, as I was originally going to stay overnight in Chester on the Monday night after doing a walk, doing the novelty of an Avanti service via the S&C line on the Tuesday (heading back to London via Newcastle), even the hotel got changed in the morning from Chester to Birmingham as I decided Birmingham offered more options for the Tuesday than Chester, deciding on the Easy Hotel for less than I had paid for a Travelodge in Chester (making use of paying extra for free cancellation).

Anyhow the overnight trip began with a walk in the snow to Grateley station and onto 158881, 159004 & 159101 for the run into Waterloo, where I had a stroll to Euston (where I made my decision to switch hotels).  Onto the 09:30 service to Preston formed of 390009, after noticing there was no power in coach C I changed to coach D with plenty of options on this lightly loaded Pendo for the run towards Preston, all was going well until it got diverted via Northampton due to another train having issues on the route via Weedon, causing a 20 minute delay, it managed to get back some of the lost time before sitting outside Wigan for nearly 10 minutes for a stopper to depart and reached Preston where thankfully Avanti control had held the connection (I was glad to have grabbed food when in London), and I grabbed a seat on 805009 which eventually departed, thankfully ahead of the Colne stopper and passing the Clitheroe stopper at Blackburn.  A trip looking out of the window at the snow-covered scenery.  The 805 reached Carlisle around 25 minutes late, cutting down time to grab supplies (especially since that handy Tesco near the station closed).

805009 at Carlisle Station

I returned to the station, after visiting Booths and M&S (mmm doughnuts) and grabbed a seat in the driving end coach (aka standard premium due to not having an engine underneath), sitting on the opposite side for the trip back south, daylight giving way near Settle so I spent the rest of the trip watching videos.  The train was delayed on the outskirts of Blackburn for some unexplained reason, which had it following the stopper to Preston.  I think there were a few annoyed passengers when the 805 arrived into Preston for a delay as it attached to another unit as a fast London train pulled out before the doors were released.  Thankfully this didn’t affect me as I was waiting for the via Birmingham service which eventually arrived and departed around 10 minutes late with 390153, losing more time around Crewe to arrive at Birmingham around 25 minutes late.

The temperature had certainly dropped when I got out of the station and made my way to the Easy Hotel to get checked in, well I would have done if I could actually check in as there was nobody at the front desk, with the phone ringing and a crowd building.  Eventually a member of staff did pop up to clear the crowd and I made my way to my room to empty out my rucksack and relaxed.  15 minutes later I headed back out to the freezing cold air, swinging via Tesco for some late evening munchies and onto the 22:00 service to Worcester Shrub Hill, which had winner 196010 leading 196005.  I wasn’t expecting to get 010 until Oxford – Milton Keynes opened up as its one of the half dozen leased to Chiltern rather than West Midlands, but I guess it’s been sub-leased back to the West Midlands until the Oxford – Milton Keynes service start to operate.

196010 at Bromsgrove

I took this 196 to Bromsgrove, changing over to the opposite platform for 196102 back to Birmingham New Street, which even featured a ticket check! (I wonder how many tickets that guard sold).  At Birmingham New Street, my phone was reading minus 5C as I made my way back to the hotel, trying to be careful with ice, and got myself warmed up.  The novelty of Avanti via the S&C line was done as I began to think trying to decide what to do on the Tuesday.

6th January – Walking the snowy Tame 

After a reasonable sleep (could have done with another pillow) I departed from the hotel, grabbing some breakfast from Tim Hortons and headed to the station.  I was still in two minds between heading to Perry Barr or to university for a walk, keeping the snowy conditions in mind (it wasn’t snowing this morning but the ground had snow on it).  Deciding to head to Perry Barr, jumping onto 730031 on the Walsall stopper.

After leaving the station (first time using it since the building was rebuilt for the commonwealth games) and headed towards the large "One Stop" shopping complex, I picked up a path which headed towards the Perry Hall Park and followed the River Tame. I followed this path round the park, going underneath the railway and towards the Hamstead area.  A short section of walking along the roads followed before I picked up a footpath alongside the Tame (being careful with any hilly areas), this led towards the Sandwell Valley area, picking up cycle route 5 near Forge Mill Lake (complete with signs warning that this area was part of the flood plain so to stay out if the lights were flashing).

River Tame in Sandwell Valley, Birmingham

Following the path, now between the River Tame & the Lake, I headed underneath the railway line once more with the path coming to an end in the Newton area.  A short section along a road followed before picking up a path which headed towards the Tame Valley Canal, near to various bridges related to the M5.  I followed the towpath of the snow-covered canal (which did look very pretty) towards Tame Bridge Parkway station where I managed to jump onto 730035 on the next Birmingham International service (I was aiming for the 196 which was following, but it was a bit cold now I had stopped walking).  An enjoyable little stroll, one of those walking ideas which had been on my list for a while, one of these days I might even walk the footpath towards Bescot Stadium, but that will probably be best done in the summer time.

Once I reached Birmingham city centre, grabbing a late lunch & other stuff, I decided on a little time-wasting stroll towards the Jewellery Quarter.  On arrival I took 172345 & 172214 to Moor Street giving me plenty of time to grab a couple of photos of the next Chiltern service.  68013 was on the buffer stop end with DVT 82305 at the London end, as I got a decent seat in for the former 1st class area for a little personal farewell to the Mk3 coaches on Chiltern before they get replaced by the bone shakers.  Always nice to have a nonstop run after Bicester North to London, reminding me of the days when Chiltern offered competition to the WCML with an hourly fast service.

DVT 82305 at Birmingham Moor Street

At Marylebone, the temperature was a lot colder than it was in Birmingham, as I headed to the Bakerloo line for my first spin on the Bakerloo of the year (3262 & 3536) to Waterloo, to finish the trip with 159107, 159017 & 159005 on a train to Grateley, getting home to relax and getting ready for the week ahead.

13th January – An overnight trip to Lincolnshire

The aim for this trip was to do a couple of little novelties which required staying in Lincon overnight, a city which can be quite expensive for accommodation in the tourist season so I was happy to pick up a room above a pub close to the station for £40 (although I completely forgot there was a Travelodge in the city centre).  I had a few ideas for walks in the general area, all depending on the weather (which was quite changeable), with the day starting with the 06:16 from Grateley to Waterloo with 159004 & 159106, followed by a gentle stroll towards Kings Cross where I had a few options as I wanted to be in Lincoln to catch a bus departing at 13:00.

In the end, I decided to give my eyes a break from the red and boarded 802302 on a Hull Trains service to take me to Doncaster (in the rain, where I noticed the Leeds stopper is back to being a 3 coach 331).  After grabbing some supplies from Sainsburys I boarded 170513 on the next Lincoln bound service, going from platform 2 (bringing back memories of how it took me 3 attempts to get this bay platform a few years ago).  I always forget how remote this line gets in places, as it arrived into Lincoln near enough on time, giving me plenty of time to make my way to the bus station for the next P&C Coaches run route 30 to Horncastle via Bardney service to take me to Bardney. Via Washingborough & Heighington with some fast running on the remote countryside section.

170513 at Doncaster

My walk today was part of the former Lincolnshire Loop Line, now branded as the Water-Rail Way.  The first mile was along a farm track (as the route of the railway has been lost), a bit muddy & flooded in places, but thankfully the path did turn into smooth tarmac as it headed towards the former Southrey station site.  The path was running close to the River Witham as I continued towards the former Stixwould station, not the busiest of paths, but was very relaxing with the only sound being aircraft above the clouds.

The walk ended in the Kirkstead area of Woodhall Spa, with the platforms of the former Woodhall Junction station visible but fenced off, beyond this point the railway line disappears into private land with the Water-Rail way using country lanes until the Langrick Bridge area where it goes off-road following the Witham River into Boston itself, a place which at a glance has limited bus services but needs more research.  Anyhow I left the cycle path and headed onto the roads to reach a bus stop for a Brylaine Travel run route B5 service to take me towards Lincoln where darkness had fallen

Remains of platforms at Southrey Station

On arrival at Lincoln, I decided the best thing would be to head to my accommodation, to get myself checked in (although it was self-service check-in with access codes emailed the day before), after going the wrong way via the university campus (I failed to see the path near the railway level crossing on Brayford Wharf, ending up crossing over the railway on a footbridge to find the Swan pub (which google was suggesting is temporary closed), access via a passageway by the side and I found my room with a good view over Brayford Pool.  After dropping off stuff from my rucksack I returned to the outside, heading to the station via a Tesco for some dinner items and onto 170532 on the 17:39 service for Crewe.  When I arrived at the station at 17:35 I was expecting to have to stand (owing to the time of day), but I was completely surprised that the train was barely half full, I even had a private table seat on the slow train to Nottingham, calling at nearly every station.

I will also admit to forgetting about the 810s as my original idea was to head to the tram stop for a short tram hunt, for lack of a better idea, until I noticed on RTT I could get in my first 810 with a run to Loughborough with an outside chance of making a minus 1 connection onto the 2nd diagram.   Anyhow after buying my day return to Loughborough, I took a seat on 810006 for the run to Loughborough, getting lucky with the connection to jump onto 810010 heading back towards Nottingham, where I sat around on the platform to await the arrival of the 20:45 service for Boston, a warm 158864, for a farce to start.

810010 at Nottingham Station

A pair of 3 coach 170s rolled in on platform 1 heading to Norwich, but were having some sort of issue as they just sat on the platform with the signal changing back from green to red to allow some ECS shunts to happen, the Boston train getting delayed in case the Norwich train was ready to depart due to the long signal sections on the line towards Grantham.  15 minutes later the stopper departed (with the Norwich train still sitting on platform 1), calling at a few stations along the way, reversing at Grantham and taking me to Sleaford where I was connecting onto the last train towards Peterborough, which was formed of a refurbished 170, 506.  Quite a decent job with the new seats, carpets etc, the plug socket coming in handy to charge my phone when I was watching videos with the run to Peterborough, going via the dive under.  The next service was one of those novelty trains with the 23:09 service back towards Lincoln, for it used the Sleaford avoiding line (I presume due to the signal box at Sleaford being closed that time of night).  I didn’t need the track as I’ve done it on charter trains and diverted long distance services when the ECML has been closed, but it’s a novelty to do it on an EMR service, to see the calling pattern being Splading then Ruskington.

Anyhow an hour or so later, the 170 arrived in Lincoln after doing the unusual track, the ticket barriers still being in operation was a bit of a surprise (although I suspect more to do with keeping people out of the station than revenue), as I made my way to the pub (going the right way this time!) and relaxed ready for an early start on the Wednesday.

14th January – Walking Peak Rail & Cromford Canal

Today was one of those days where I had a few options in my head, a couple of the rejected options included a walk in Derby from Spondon, walking from Long Eaton into Nottingham via the Trent or even returning to Bardney to finish the old railway path with the 9 and a bit mile into Lincoln alongside the river.  In the end I decided on a trip to Matlock with a couple shorter walks linked by a bus.  Anyhow it was an early start with a walk to the station (via a Tesco for some breakfast items) for the 06:40 service towards Nottingham, a service which continues to St Pancras, as Lincoln gets 2 direct trains a day to St Pancras but with nothing going in the other direction.

222019 eventually rolled in running quite late (the ECS being late from Nottingham, and I will admit to staying in bed until it actually departed as it would seem pointless heading to the station to find the service cancelled.  I got a seat in the rear coach, which was empty until one of the stations after Newark Castle (and was off the platform at all the various stations), the section between Swinderby & Nottingham being new coverage for a 222 (as back in 2019 I managed to do a 222 to Swinderby from Lincoln back when East Midlands Trains had a DMU shortage and used a 222 to cover some Lincoln – Leicester services).  Anyhow back to the present day and I alighted from this 222 at Nottingham, heading towards Tesco to grab some supplies (I would have used the Co-Op but it was cash only and membership discounts weren’t getting applied).

222019 at Lincoln Station

I retuned to the station and onto a busy 170513 to take me towards Matlock (ironically the same unit I had to Matlock last year!), where the first of today’s walk began.  Leaving the station, dodging some icy patches due to the temperature dropping overnight, I joined the Derwent Valley Way path running between the river and the A6 with some nice views of the river before going underneath the A6 as I reached the area of the Matlock Riverside station (Peak Rail), going underneath the railway bridge and up some stairs to reach a permissive path alongside the railway heading towards a cycle path which forms part of the long distance White Peak Loop, alongside the railway.  Quite a busy path with walkers (and a couple of cyclists) with some nice views of the countryside, I would imagine on days where Peak Rail are running steam trains it would make for some good photos.

The path splits away from the railway near Darley Dale, and runs alongside roads towards the station before going via Whitworth Park (once I managed to get the gate open!).  After the park, the path returns to running alongside the railway track as it headed towards their base of operations at Rowsley South, although no real chances of photos due to the path moving away from the tracks to the south of the station area.  I continued along the path as it passed a council depot and moved onto the route of the old railway line (which used to continue towards Buxton, with a short section towards Rowsley itself, the walk ending at a bus stop outside the outlet shopping mall at Peak Village.  (The cycle path continues along the A6 towards Bakewell and the famous Monsal Trail)

Darley Dale Station (Peak Rail)

I didn’t have long to wait for the next High Peak ‘Transpeak’ bus service to take me back towards Matlock, where I stayed on towards Matlock Bath & Cromford, alighting from the bus near High Peak Junction for the second walk was going to be the Cromford Canal.  I previously had walked from High Peak Junction towards the wharf at Cromford last year when I did the High Peak Trail from Parlsey Hay so it made sense to start the walk here, considering the bus stopped there.  The towpath was quite reasonable, a bit muddy in places but overall reasonable as I headed towards Whatstandwell via a short tunnel.  Some nice views along the way as well.  Once more the towpath was quite busy with other walkers enjoying the sunshine (even if it was a tad chilly) and soon I reached Ambergate, staying on the towpath to the end of the canal, the section between Ambergate & Langley Mill being lost to history, although parts of it are still walkable.

Anyhow I reached Ambergate station just as 170532 was rolling in on the next Matlock service, which I took to Matlock to visit the large Sainsburys next to the station, making use of the extended turnaround time the Matlock trains now have compared to before December.  I took the same unit back towards Derby where I changed onto the next London bound service, formed of a shiny 810013 on its first day of service, I found a seat and relaxed with the run towards St Pancras, the train losing time in the Luton area due to a points failure causing some congestion, so it arrived into London around 10 minutes behind schedule.

End of the Cromford Canal, Ambergate

I decided to walk to Waterloo owing to the weather forecast on the Thursday being a bit wet, arriving with time to spare to board the 17:23 service to take me to Grateley, the end of a little overnight trip to Lincolnshire (and Derbyshire), both novelties I wanted to do got done, I’ve made a small dent into the Water-Rail Way path, plus a couple more walks on the Matlock branch line.  The Thursday I had a lazy day at home, only popping to Basingstoke for some shopping before meeting up with a dear friend, I was toying with having a spot of 701 hunting but alas lady luck wasn’t on my side.  Thanks for reading, more photos can be found here, next week hopefully sees a hopeful return to Scotland, weather dependent.

Trips in December 2025

 Trips in December 2025

5th December – Peak Forest Canal & a muddy bypass

The day started with a single 158 on a peak time London service, which being Friday coped with the crowds (would dread to think how busy it would have been on a Wednesday), where I had a little stroll to Euston to jump on 390047 on a Manchester service via Crewe to take me to Stockport as today was the day I was hopefully going to put a large dent in the Peak Forest Canal, I will still have a short section to walk in the Bugsworth Basin area, but I’ve got a plan for that area.  At Stockport I headed to the bus station to jump on the next route 330 service for Ashton which was a busy service, however I couldn’t help thinking that the timings of some of the traffic lights at the end of bus lanes could have been better as it felt like the bus was waiting on the Portwood Roundabout for a fair while.

Anyhow I alighted from the bus at Apethorn Lane on the edge of Hyde, walking the short distance along this lane towards the disused railway path I walked earlier in the year from Godley, and joined the canal where I headed south via the Apethorn Woods towards Woodley.  I continued along the reasonable towpath (bit flooded in places but nothing that serious), going through the tunnel, and skirting round the edge of Romiley.  Urban gave way to rural before a short bypass due to the Hyde Bank tunnel not having a towpath.  I joined the canal the other side of the tunnel, heading towards Marple Aqueduct and started the climb via the Marple Locks towards Marple itself.  The towpath switching sides a couple of times during the climb where I reached the junction with the Macclesfield canal (a job for the spring/summer time due to the towpath being a bit more rural in places).  I left Marple behind and headed into the countryside where the views of the peak district started to appear, until reaching a swing bridge between Marple & Strines where the towpath was closed for winter improvement works.

Peak Forest Canal in Marple

 

I won't repeat what I said as it was a bit rude, as I looked at the map, picking out a couple of footpaths which I was hoping would allow me to get back on the canal the other side of the block, heading towards Turf Lea and a very muddy & flooded footpath via woodlands, where thankfully I was able to re-join the canal to head towards Disley and finishing at New Mills, where I headed to New Mills Central to board 195006 from Sheffield.  I was surprised to get a seat considering this was short formed, however the train did fill up along the way into Manchester, where the rain had returned.  I made a tight connection onto 390016 on the next Euston service, getting a seat in a busy coach C, settling down for the fast run to Euston, where I had a little stroll to Waterloo for a triple 159 to take me back to Grateley.  An enjoyable, if not annoying canal walk, I suspect when the time comes to do Macclesfield to Marple I will extend the walk towards Strines to cover the section I missed.

6th December – Tour of Toton

When I noticed that both Cross Country & East Midlands were diverting via Toton (although at the start it wasn’t XC due to the strike but that got called off) I came up with a rough idea, even trying to fit in a sample of one of the shiny new 810 units from Nottingham.  Anyhow the day began with the first train of the day from Grateley to take me to Waterloo, where I headed to St Pancras via South Eastern & Thameslink to take a seat on 222013 on the Sheffield train, the lack of Derby showing on the departure board looked a tad strange.  Anyways, a couple of hours later I was at Sheffield, felt strange going via the Erewash Valley line without stopping, and I transferred to 150007 on the next Leeds via Moorthorpe stopper to take me to Bolton Upon Dearne for a little stroll.

Today's stroll, in the changeable weather was along the long distance Trans-Pennie Trail, as I headed south from Bolton Upon Dearne to pick up the path near the River Dearne for a stroll towards the Barnburgh Colliery Woodland and onto a footpath alongside the River Dearne to the south of Harlington before picking up the route of the former Dearne Valley Railway line towards Denaby Ings before heading towards Conisbrough where I followed an unofficial path (which was a bit muddy in places) to lead towards the River Don & the Mexborough Low Lock on the Kilnhurst Cut of the River Don Navigation.
I followed the waterway, dodging some of the larger puddles and trying not to slip on mud, as thankfully the towpath did improve as I reached Mexborough, running close to the railway I did have the option to bail at Mexborough station but decided to carry on, crossing the waterway on a bridge alongside the railway and headed onto the roads, as there was no towpath.  I was toying with doing another short section of the towpath in the Swinton area but the timings didn't work out.  Swinton might get 2 trains an hour towards Sheffield, but what doesn't help is they are less than 10 minutes apart.  When I was close to the station, I followed part of the towpath along the disused Dearne and Dove Canal before heading into the centre of Swinton to visit a handy Co-Op for some supplies (and also to waste some time).  After visiting the Co-Op I headed to the station, making use of the toilets within the building before squeezing onto 150008 to take me to Rotherham Central where I managed to see the 2nd of the trams out on the Rotherham route (as I still need one of the 399s for a mile).  After this I caught a busy 150273 into Sheffield, I dread to think how much revenue is disappearing due to overcrowding and the stations being open.

150007 at Swinton (Yorkshire) Station

This is where I noticed there was a few cancellations due to an incident around Kettering, with the next EMR being cancelled, so I jumped onto 220005 & 220016, easily getting a seat near the front of the train for the trip towards Derby via Toton, where I was considering boarding the EMR service which was starting at Derby but it was the time where football fans had arrived, complete with countless police officers so I decided not to bother with the 222 and staying on the voyagers to take me towards Birmingham New Street, where I transferred to 390136 on a service from Scotland to take me to Euston.

On arrival at Euston, I had a gentle stroll across to Waterloo to take a 158+159 combo back home to Grateley, where I dried off and relaxed.  I wasn't planning to do the canal section as my plan was to head towards Doncaster via the Trans-Pennie Trail, but that can be done on another day.  The Sunday was spent in London, hunting down various Piccadilly & District line units for a mile, as I decided to ditch my hotel stay in Torquay due to the weather being a bit rubbish.

8th December – Saying Farwell to the HSTs on GWR

This was a bit of a short notice plan due to ditching my hotel booking in Torquay due to the weather being wet, although even my original plan was thrown in the bin due to the Exeter – Penzance HST getting cancelled due to a train fault.  Anyhow I took a pair of 159s from Grateley towards Exeter St Davids on the 08:31 service, where I made the connection onto a pair of voyagers on the next Plymouth service.  At Plymouth I braved the rain to head to the large Sainsburys for some lunch items before taking a pair of 158s to Truro for a short wait before 43093 & 43198 rolled in on a Plymouth bound service, my last GWR HST service.

43093 arriving into Truro

At Plymouth, I transferred onto 802111 on the next London service to take me to Exeter St Davids where I joined a busy single 159103 on the next Waterloo service, getting very busy at Central due to being college kid time, I took this to Salisbury where I swapped over to another 159 for the run back home to Grateley.  An enjoyable if short day in the wet South West.

16th December – Return to the Tarka

I spent the 15th December in London, with a short walk following the Crane Park from Twickenham towards the Feltham area after roping in another 701 before clearing the active DLR units for a mile (I missed out on one of the older units outright due to being withdrawn before 2014 and one more for a mile as it was an early withdrawal).  Anyhow with the weather being suitable for walking I decided it would be a good chance to return to the Tarka trail, splitting the section from Meeth to Bideford at Great Torrington.

The day started with an early morning drive to Salisbury and onto a pair of 159s to Exeter Central, where they arrived near enough on time allowing me time to dash to the Co-Op outside the station (positioning myself near the front to beat the college students), before walking down the hill to St Davids due to conflicting information regarding bus stops.  I took a seat on the Stagecoach route 5B service which eventually gets to Barnstaple.  This route was quite pleasant for views, even on a grey day.  As it headed away from Exeter, heading towards Crediton (never realised how large the town is), Copplestone, North Tawton, Winkleigh, Dolton and finally Great Torrington where I alighted in the town centre area (as I could have alighted at the former station now a heritage railway)

My walk began heading south towards a steep footpath dropping towards the River Torridge, where I ran into a blocked footpath, forcing a short detour along a slightly muddy path alongside the banks of the river, before picking up the closed Rolle Road towards the railway viaduct over the river, climbing up onto the old trackbed and heading to the site of the station, now home to the short Tarka Valley Railway (complete with pacer rotting away).

Path along Rolle Road in Great Torrington

I continued along the route of the Tarka Trail, as it crossed over the River Torridge a handful of times with signs pointing towards an old canal.  The decent quality path continued running close to the A386 so not the quietest of paths, but still pretty with the woodland as it headed towards Landcross (passing the remains of the Rolle Canal Tide Lock down in the valley).  In Landcross there was a short tunnel before the path breaking away from the main road and crossing the Torridge for one last time on an Iron Viaduct and into the Seven Oaks Nature Reserve.  The walk ended a mile (or so) later at the former Bideford station and I dropped down onto the road to pick up a busy bus on a route 21A service to take me into Barnstaple.

My original idea was to have a little stroll in Barnstaple as there is an old railway line to the east of the station, but as the following train was shown as cancelled, I gave that a miss and headed to the station to jump on 150238 to take me into Exeter St Davids, where I had a stroll towards a nearby Spoons to meet up with Stu for a little catch-up before I returned to the station and onto a pair of 159s to take me back to Salisbury.  Another short section of the Tarka Trail complete, I got lucky as I was originally going to walk from Meeth on the 8th December, but when I joined the old railway at Torrington, I saw a sign saying the path was closed towards Meeth for improvement works.

River Torridge from the Tarka Trail between Landcross & Bideford

17th December – An unexpected stroll on the Capital Ring

Today didn’t get off to a good start, due to signalling issues at Salisbury the 07:27 at Grateley was cancelled (the train ran nonstop Salisbury – Basingstoke) and with the following service being delayed by around 15 minutes I decided to jump on the school kids express to Salisbury (thankfully some of the schools in Salisbury had already finished for the year so I was able to get a seat!)  I made it at Salisbury before the next London train rolled into the station with the announcement that it was only calling at Andover on the way to Waterloo (so getting lucky considering it was freezing cold this morning!).  A busy 3 coach unit, where it felt very strange passing Basingstoke, bringing back memories of the timetable from a few years ago where there was a handful of Waterloo – Salisbury services which were nonstop Clapham to Andover.

Thankfully I made it into Waterloo with time to spare to stroll to Euston to get 730222 into my little book with the run to Watford Junction, however it was running late so the connection with the Southern service was missed (as I was going to take that Southern service to Imperial Wharf for a short section of the Thames Path on the north bank of the river).  For the lack of a better idea, I took the next Overground service (710379) to South Kenton to have a walk on the Capital Ring, something I had been wanting to do more of this year (well 2025) but never got round to it.

710379 departs South Kenton

 

I decided to head east, towards Preston Park and via the roads passing Preston Road Underground to reach Fryent Country Park and the Barn Hill Open Space.  A bit muddy in places (and steep) but it was quite nice with the woodland.  After crossing the A4140 road I explored a bit more of the Fryent Country Park (although a bit of guess work at the route of the Capital Ring in the maze of footpaths).  I left the country park and into roads in the Kingsbury area, reaching a cycle path alongside the Brent Reservoir in the Welsh Harp Nature Reserve.  This took me towards Hendon, crossing over the M1 and headed north to Hendon station where my walk ended.

The next section of the Capital Ring in north London will be Hendon towards East Finchley underground, but who knows when I will get round to doing that.  I was toying with the idea of taking 700053 all the way to Herne Hill to have a little stroll around Brockwell Park but decided to alight from the train at West Hampstead Thameslink, for a little visit to Tesco for a late lunch before heading to West Hampstead Overground station, hoping for a 710 to Richmond but sadly that was a 378, before taking 378203 to Clapham Junction, finishing the day with a single 159 back home to Grateley, where I could relax and get ready for the next 7 early shifts at work.

Jubilee Line Set 96087 heading towards Wembley Park, near Fryent Country Park

27th December – A Day of frustration in South Wales

For my final walking trip of 2025, I decided on a trip to South Wales, originally my idea was to head towards Pantyffynnon to walk towards Gowerton, which changed the night before when I noticed TfW had decided to axe half the services on the Heart of Wales, deciding instead to walk north from Gowerton towards Pantyffynnon which would be reasonably tight but I would have a bus route to fall back on.

The day started with 159008 taken to Reading (due to the block between Clapham & Waterloo), grabbing some supplies for breakfast from a limited choice in the Sainsburys closest to the station before taking a seat on 800032 on a Carmarthen train, all was going well until it lost 15 minutes near the junction to the south of Yate due to a points failure, and a further 10 minutes at Bristol Parkway due to waiting on a signal (the signaller [or most likely the hopeless Automatic Route Setting] giving preference to an ECS service for Temple Meads.  With the delay being at 25 minutes I decided to cut my losses and bailed at Cardiff Central, it would have missed the connection at Swansea for Gowerton (although it would have made it, due to that train being late as well).

After grabbing my Valleys Day Ranger, I headed across to platform 7 to board a late running Treherbert service with the aim to visit the reopened (and rebuilt) Ynyswen station with 756117 for this service running around 30 minutes late, where it ran all stations to Pontypridd before running limited stop to Treherbert, calling at only Dinas Rhondda & Ystrad Rhondda.  I decided against visiting Ynyswen due the following service getting spun part route, and instead took this 756 towards Porth with the aim to walk the path towards Maerdy.  The first section was via Wynshir & Wattstown, where it was nice in places it's certainly a path I wouldn't rush back to.  When I reached Tylorstown, at the part where it was old railway, I ran into an unexpected closure of the path in the shape of a large fence.  I headed via the roads to another access point near a surgery but that was also closed, which was a bit annoying, but thankfully I was close to a bus stop to take a Stagecoach route 132 service towards Pontypridd (one reason for buying a Valley Day Ranger was the validity on Stagecoach routes in the Valleys).

Blocked off section of the Rhondda Fach Path near Tylorstown

 

At Pontypridd I got lucky with the next southbound service being winner 756001 which cleared the class with the run to Cardiff Central, where I changed onto 231004 to take me to Aber, I was hoping to get to Energlyn & Churchill Park but TfW weren't having a good day on this route, cancelling half of the services meaning it would be a 30-minute wait for the next train calling at Energlyn & Churchill Park.  My goal was to walk the old railway line path towards the village of Senghenydd, so after going via the roads towards the Hendredenny Park area I picked up the "Aber Greenway", which was quite scenic (although uphill).  I reached the village of Abertridwr, and once more I found my path blocked by a fence forcing an early finish to the walk as I headed towards the village centre and onto a route B bus towards Caerphilly bus station (which quite helpfully is next to the railway station).

At the railway station it was a short wait before 231001 rolled in to take me towards Cardiff Central where I had a bit of a wait for a late running GWR service (which was so late it was terminating at Reading).  Eventually 800003 & 800016 rolled in nearly an hour late, I managed to grab a seat near the rear of the train, which lost more time around Bristol Parkway, terminating at Reading around 70 minutes late (where it formed a service towards Weston).  After a short wait I boarded 159015 for the run back to Grateley to end the day.  A bit annoying to have to cut short walks once, yet alone twice (these were marked up cycle paths, so not minor footpaths), but at least I cleared the 756s.

Anyhow thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr for December Here, not the most productive months for walking due to the poor weather.

Trips in November, Part 2

Trips in November, Part 2

24th November – Coastal Path Walking in Kent

The Sunday was spent heading to Ramsgate with the novelty of a diverted South Eastern 395 via Canterbury East due to engineering works and an evening with my good friend Dan having a good catch up staying overnight in a hotel near the Westwood Cross shopping centre.  After we had breakfast and said farewell, I had a stroll towards Ramsgate station and onto a pair of 375s to Birchington on Sea where I had an enjoyable stroll along the coastal path towards Herne Bay via Reculver and remains of St Mary’s Church.  After visiting the pier at Herne Bay, I headed to the station (complete with a new footbridge with lifts) for 395002 to St Pancras for some High Speed before making my way to Waterloo (via Thameslink & South Eastern due to the weather being a bit more damp in London) and to Grateley to get myself ready for a few days in the North East as this was my week of autumn annual leave.

Remains of St Mary's Church at Reculver

25th November – Tyne & Wear Day 1

The day started early with a run into Waterloo and a gentle stroll to Kings Cross to board 180106 on the morning Grand Central service to Sunderland, once more it departed London quite busy in the rearmost coach, lost a handful at Peterborough before losing 75% of the passengers at York.  I continued for the trip via the Durham coast to Sunderland where after buying my Tyne & Wear Metro Day ticket, headed to East Boldon for a short disused railway line walk towards Tyne Dock.  One of those walks which had been on my list for this area, but one not worth shouting about, reasonable quality path but not a lot of evidence of the former railway line.

At Tyne Dock, I headed to South Shields to do the ferry across the Tyne to North Shields before another short walk heading towards the Royal Quays Marina, doing a loop of the marina towards Chirton Dene Park before heading towards Redburn Dene Park (climbing up the hill for some nice views).  After a detour to the Newcastle Quays retail park, the rain started so I soon made my way towards Percy Main station, my original aim was to continue a bit further as I've got some walking ideas for paths in the area circled by the Metro.  This was a week where the Metro wasn't the best in terms of frequency with missing trains causing long gaps, thankfully I didn't have to wait for long for a pair of older units to take me to Whitley Bay where I got checked into the accommodation I used earlier in the year, even getting an upgrade to a double bed rather than the single bed I paid for.

Metrocar 4029 near East Boldon Station

After checking in and emptying out my rucksack, I headed back out to take a 555 to Haymarket for a little stroll in the busy city centre before a spot of 555 hunting getting 004, 006, 017 & 018 into my book before heading to the Regent Centre to visit the large Asda for some supplies before making my way back to Whitley Bay to relax for the rest of the night as it was getting cold!

26th November - Derwent Valley Walk

The cold day started with a run towards Monument (via North Shields) on a pair of older Metro units, before I made my way to the Eldon Square Bus Station for the next X45 bus towards Consett, which I took as far as Blackhill on the northern edge of the town, where in the summer time I had a change of plan and instead of walking towards the Metrocentre I ended up walking towards Durham.  The Derwent Valley Walk is a path along (mostly) the route of the former Derwent Valley Railway branch line, and soon as I left the built-up area around Shotley Bridge, being careful with some icy patches (especially on some minor road crossings where it was a sheet of ice), the views opened up.

The path runs high in the hills overlooking places like Ebchester & Hamsterley, it even had the remains of a few stations’ platforms, certainly an enjoyable walk for scenic views and of forests.  At Rowlands Gill the route of the old railway has been lost forcing a detour via the roads before re-joining the old railway route in woodland heading towards the Derwenthaugh Park, an area with many walks where the cycle route leaves the old railway to follow the river Derwent itself.  The old railway line walk ends in Swalwell where I switched to following a path in the Derwenthaugh Riverside Park alongside the river to take me towards the Tyne & the railway bridge over the Derwent.

Remains of Lintz Green railway station on the Derwent Walk 

The last section was a cycle path which ran close to the railway line towards the Metrocentre, I was going to head towards Dunston but the last section of this path after the former Cross Lane was flooded so I headed to the Metrocentre station itself to take 158849 into Newcastle, changing onto 156496 on the next train to Ashington to visit the recently opened station at Blyth Bebside.  After a couple of photos (the rain had returned), I took the same 156 back to Newcastle changing over to 156475 to take me to Sunderland via the King Edward Bridge, where I jumped onto a 555 to Park Lane and onto winner 555038 which was delayed for some unknown reason, moving forward into Sunderland station for a further delay before setting off towards Newcastle.  I bailed at Pelaw deciding it wasn't worth hanging around due to various issues and took 555018 all the way to Whitley Bay, where I visited Spoons for something hot before relaxing for the rest of the night.

27th November – Deerness Valley Railway & Bishop Auckland Walk

Today I got a bit carried away with my walking due to the reasonable weather, for my original idea was to finish in the Langley Moor area (on the outskirts of Durham).  The Derrness Valley Railway path runs from the town of Crook towards Broompark where it meets up with the Lanchester Valley Railway route & the railway route towards Bishop Auckland via Brandon.  The day started with winner 555012 to Central Station where I boarded 802209 on a TPE service which unusually departed from platform 1 to head via the High Level Bridge (and the former station at Gateshead), to take me to Durham where I had a short walk to the bus station (getting lost along the way at signage is a bit rubbish), before jumping on an Arriva run X46 bus to Crook Market Place.

Crook looked to be a nice little town as I followed some roads to pick up the start of the railway path to the north of the town centre.  The first section was a decent quality footpath but had a long climb, something I wouldn't have expected from a railway line.  The path took me towards Stanley Crook and Waterhouses via some nice countryside & woodland.  After Waterhouses it was a short section towards Esh Winning before the woodland returned with the section towards Ushaw Moor and finally Broompark where I reached the point I reached earlier in the year.  I turned right onto the cycle path towards Bishop Auckland, down a steep hill to cross over the River Deerness before a steep climb back up to the route of the old railway line, the former bridge (I presume) has been lost to history.

I was now on the path towards Bishop Auckland via Brandon, where I decided on an extension towards Willington as it was only an extra 5 miles.  Some detouring around Langley Moor & Brandon due to the route of the railway being lost under modern development before the countryside opened out & I reached the site of the former Brancepeth station.  Although no evidence of the station remains other than a sign saying "the station was here".  Continuing along the path and I reached Willington where once more I decided to extend the walk as it was only an extra 3 miles to Bishop Auckland.

River Deerness near Broompark

In the Willington area, the route of the railway has been lost so it was a case of following the signs for the cycle path before joining up with the route of the old railway line for the last section towards Bishop Auckland the path ending at the northern edge of the town with the old railway line now part of the A689 road, including the Newton Cap Viaduct over the River Wear.  I had the option of either a bus towards Durham (or Newcastle) or using the train.  Based on the crowd waiting for the bus I decided to head towards the railway station via the town centre, after buying my ticket to Newcastle I took a seat on a delayed 156487 to Darlington as darkness was falling and 801212 to Newcastle.

At Newcastle I decided to jump on a pair of 156s on a Whitby service to take me to Sunderland where after a glance of RTT saw there would likely be a long wait for the next northbound Metro (as the previous couple of services hadn't run) I escaped onto another 156 back to Newcastle, heading to the Metro grabbing winner 555035 to Gateshead Stadium and onto 555018 (again!) to Whitley Bay, where once more I ended up in the pub for food.  A long walk (17.8 miles!) but it was worth it for the views and the decent quality paths.

555018 at Whitley Bay Station

28th November – A stroll in Blyth

A later start than the previous couple of days as I checked out of the accommodation, certainly a place I will use again if the price is right.  After grabbing breakfast I jumped onto an Arriva route 308 bus to Blyth bus station, doubling back towards Ridley Park to pick up the England coastal path heading towards the Quayside before heading inland due to industrial units along the bank of the River Blyth.  I soon re-joined the riverside picking up a cycle route running alongside (mostly) the southern bank of the river.  I headed underneath the A189 road (where the coastal path heads across the river and towards Cambois) and the railway viaduct heading towards the Dene Park near the former Bedlington Ironworks.

I continued my walk close to the river Blyth heading towards Bedlington finishing at Attlee Park, where I joined the roads to walk towards Blyth Bebside station, arriving with good timing as the rain returned a few minutes after I boarded 156444 for the run to Newcastle.  An enjoyable little stroll from Blyth town centre towards the new station, going via Bedlington.  Once in Newcastle I grabbed some lunch items before getting a seat on 801205 on a semi-fast London service, getting very busy after York due to issues at Wakefield.

Bedlington Viaduct over the River Blyth

Once I reached London, I headed towards Waterloo via Thameslink & South Eastern to take a pair of 159s to Grateley to rest for the rest of the evening, sorting out my rucksack & making a start with the many photos taken during my trip.

29th November – A trip to Eastbourne

The weather had turned a bit damper and colder, and after a busy week I fancied a quieter Saturday.  I headed towards Woking, changing onto winner 701033 to Clapham Junction where I spent the next couple of hours grabbing 701048, 701026 & 701050, including a stroll from Fulwell towards Teddington as a time-wasting stroll during a break in the rain.

After finishing with the 701s I headed across to Waterloo East, jumping onto a pair of 375s for the run to Hastings on a semi-fast service, changing over to 387127 to Eastbourne on a Brighton service and onto 387209 & 387203 on a Victoria service to take me to East Croydon, an area of the country I hadn’t visited for a while.  At East Croydon I headed to the tram platforms, noticing how much different it looks since the former Post Office building has been knocked down (and all the new high rise tower blocks springing up).

40 or so minutes later, just as I was about to give up, tram 2561 rolled in on a service to Beckenham Junction which I took to Blackhorse Lane to clear it for a mile, returning to East Croydon on tram 2541, all the active trams in Croydon now cleared for a mile (I missed out on the tram which was involved in the accident which I believe has been written off).  Back at East Croydon it was a case of jumping on the first available train towards London, which was 377203 & 377431 to Clapham Junction, heading into Waterloo on a pair of 450s to get a decent seat on 159019 back to Grateley.  A reasonable productive day with the wet weather where I didn’t have the drive to head to the underground due to the time of year.

London Tram 2561 at Blackhorse Lane

30th November – A Trip to Portsmouth

For the last trip in November, I didn’t want a late finish due to starting work on an early shift on the Monday, so after a quick play on RTT I drove to Andover to take 159103 & 158886 to Clapham Junction going via Isleworth.  After a short wait at Clapham Junction, it was onto 377442 & 377410 on a Portsmouth Harbour service which due to engineering works was diverted via Dorking, a line I hadn’t been along for a while.

I left the 377s at Havant for a short wait before former GWR 387173 rolled in on a Portsmouth Harbour service from Brighton, which sadly got cut short at Portsmouth & Southsea due to signalling issues near Portsmouth Harbour.  After a short stroll in the city centre, I jumped onto 444028 & 444008 which was starting from platform 3 (due to the signalling issues) on the next fast service towards London, a train which got busy at Guildford due to the limited service towards London due to the works near Wimbledon.  At Woking I jumped onto another pair of 444s to Basingstoke before a pair of 158s to Andover, calling it a night with a visit to the big Tesco for some supplies.  I might not have been successful in getting a 387 to Portsmouth Harbour, but Sundays are probably the best day due to the units interworking between Portsmouth & Southampton.

387173 at Portsmouth & Southsea

Anyhow, thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr Here