Colours Of October

 Colours Of October

My writers block I’ve been suffering with has departed, so time for a big catch up, although mainly focusing on my walking trips.

22nd October – Worcester & Birmingham Canal

I decided to head towards Worcestershire to complete a bit more of the Worcester & Birmingham canal, being the section from the Droitwich area towards Worcester itself (meeting up with a part I walked a few years ago).  An early start saw me heading towards Droitwich Spa via the Cotswolds line picking up the Droitwich canal and headed east via the suburbs before going underneath the M5 (no towpath in this section as this was rebuilt with the original route of canal lost).  After re-joining the canal, it was via more rural setting heading towards the end at Hanbury Junction where it met with the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

The next section of canal was quite rural with the occasional sound of traffic from the M5 and sound of Voyagers from the nearby railway line as I headed generally in a southern direction via Shernal Green & Dunhampstead before heading west away from the railway towards Tibberton, going underneath the M5 where the rural towpath turned more urban as a cycle route joined the path as the canal reached Worcester, passing close to the Sixways Stadium.  I continued with the walk along the towpath heading towards the city centre, reaching Worcester Shrub Hill where I made good timing to catch a train an hour earlier than I was expecting with 800002 starting from Shrub Hill to take me back towards Reading before I made my way back home.  An enjoyable walk, but like with the Shropshire Union, the last section needs to wait until the towpath is repaired as it's closed near a tunnel in the Alvechurch area.

Hanbury Junction between Droitwich Junction & Worcester and Birmingham Canals

28th & 29th October

The 28th October, I decided to head towards Essex to visit the recently opened Beaulieu Park station, one of those stations I can see getting well used in the future due to the location and more houses due to pop up (similar in a way to Barking Riverside).   The 29th was a London day focused on my Sub mile London Underground units, clearing the Northern line and putting a large dent in the Central line driving units, the trailer units will be an old-school sit and hang around.  I also ticked off a few more 730s before taking the sleeper to Glasgow Central for a return to Scotland.

30th October – Exploring the Airdrie to Bathgate railway path

The Airdrie to Bathgate railway path is part of cycle route 75, this path was built when the railway line between Bathgate & Airdrie was rebuilt, one of those paths which had been on my oversized list for a while, although it was a bit chilly this morning.  After grabbing breakfast from Glasgow city centre, I headed to Drumgelloch on a pair of 334s where my walk began.  The first mile or so being alongside a road towards Plains before the off-road section began heading towards Caldercruix (dodging various icy patches).

After Caldercruix the path head towards the Hillend reservoir with some good views of the water, running close to the railway line.  Near Blackridge I took a little detour along the route of an old railway line path, doubling back on myself to carry on the walk as it headed via woodlands to the south of Blackridge station the path being a bit twisty before it returned to running alongside the railway line, I decided to end the walk at Armadale station, the rest of the path and cycle route 75 can be followed on another day with a walk towards Livingston, maybe ending at Uphall station (one of those walks I will need to play with Google Maps for distances).

DR98960 alongside the Airdrie to Bathgate Path (Cycle Route 75) between Blackridge & Armadale

A pair of 334s took me back one stop to Blackridge where I wanted some better photos before the same pair of 334s as I had earlier (033 & 040) took me to Haymarket, changing onto a delayed pair of 385s on a Glasgow Queen Street service.  Once back in Glasgow I headed across to Glasgow Central and onto a pair of 156s to East Kilbride in the pouring rain, doubling back to the rebuilt and relocated Hairmyres station.  I returned to East Kilbride on the next southbound service and back to Glasgow Central heading to the Subway which wasn’t having a good day with only one side working when I first arrived.  I managed to get another Subway unit into my little book, before heading back upstairs and onto a pair of 385s (104 & 115) to Polmont where my accommodation was located.

31st October – Union Canal

Finishing the Union Canal was one of my big goals for 2025, but for whatever reason I hadn’t gotten around to doing it on my previous trips this year, a bit of a risk owing to the forecast looking a bit damp in the early afternoon.  One reason for picking accommodation in Polmont was mainly the cost (considering it was the cheapest place which was close to a station), but mainly for the location near to Linlithgow.  One of these days I will return to Linlithgow to have a little walk around the loch, but that can be a job for another day as today's walk was going to be a long one, I had the option of a break point along the way.  The day started with a pair of 385s to Linlithgow from Polmont and a short walk to the canal towpath, which for the majority of the way was solid tarmac.  I headed east away from Linlithgow towards Philpstoun & Winchburgh, the canal coming close to the railway in a couple of places.

After Winchburgh the canal skirted round the edge of the Greendykes Shale Bing leaving countryside behind and into Broxburn, where I had the option of an exit point with a frequent bus towards Edinburgh.  I decided to keep going and soon departed Broxburn going underneath the M8 and back into countryside.  This section was a lot better than I was expecting in terms of noise from the motorway and featured an aqueduct over the River Almond.  The next settlement I reached was Ratho and I carried on with some lovely woodland.  The rain decided to make its appearance with a mile or so to go as I was in the Hermiston area, crossing over the City of Edinburgh Bypass into the capital.  I reached the goal and headed towards Edinburgh Park station via the large Tesco, mainly to dry off and mainly for some more supplies.

Union Canal between Broxburn & Ratho

I decided to have a little spin on the trams, taking one tram to Ingliston Park & Ride before riding tram 276 all the way to Newhaven where I was going to have another gentle stroll but the rain returned as soon as I got off the tram, so ended up heading to a nearby Asda before taking another tram back to St Andrews Square with a tight connection onto a LNER 800 to Stirling where I headed to a nearby Spoons for a celebration meal before heading back to Polmont on a pair of 385s, relaxing in the comfortable bed.  A bit on the noisy side due to Halloween and it being a Friday night, but similar sort of noise in the accommodation I've used before in Hamilton, nothing is perfect when on a budget (and I'm not the sort of person who will pay out £75+ a night for a fancy hotel)

Anyhow more photos can be found Here