March Trips, 19th - 22th March

 March Trips, 19th - 22th March

Due to needing to use up my last few days of annual leave before the holiday year ends in March, I bridged the gap between two long weekends of rest days to give myself a short break at the end of March. 

19th March – A return to the Tarka Trail

Having walked the former railway section of the Tarka Trail between Torrington & Barnstaple last year leaving the final (and slightly harder in term of public transport) section from Meeth to Torrington, I decided it would be a good chance to head to Devon.  The day starting with a drive (wasn’t expecting to have to de-ice my car!) to Salisbury for the 06:10 service to Exeter St Davids formed of 159022 & 159002 to take me to Exeter Central, where I popped out of the station to grab some supplies from the Co-Op before returning to the station to board the 08:34 service for Okehampton formed of 150238.  The next station on the outskirts of Okehampton looks to be coming along well and I suspect will be well used from the start due to the number of houses on that side of Okehampton.

It says something when the last time I was in Okehampton the bus service towards Tavistock was operated by Dartline, but these days it is Stagecoach.  Anyhow I walked down the hill towards the town centre, grabbing some extra liquid as the temperature had started to rise and headed to the bus stop on West Street to await the Stagecoach run route 317 service to Bideford with a modern Solo (48166) running it.  This was quite a nice route for scenery as it climbed out of Okehampton towards the A386, detouring to serve the town of Hatherleigh before I alighted at the start of the Tarka Trail in Meeth (which is a tiny village).  The start of the path is next to the former Meeth railway station with the route split with a footpath running along a slightly muddy path and cycle path making use of the access road to the Meeth Quarry Nature Reserve, I was a bit sensible to stick to the road before the cycle path branched away from the route of the old railway line to head into the woods.

Remains of Meeth Halt (Tarka Trail)

The path was decent quality as it skirted around the former quarry with some beautiful woodland, very peaceful as well.  I soon re-joined the route of the former railway as I headed in a general north westerly direction passing the site of the former Petrockstow station.  The path continued to be very nice in terms of scenery as I continued, passing the Sibelco quarry but otherwise this was very rural in terms of other settlements.  I passed a café near the remains of Yarde station which was a good place to break for lunch (the café was closed, but there were seats nearby).

After lunch I continued back into the wilderness heading towards the former Watergate Halt, crossing a busy B-road with the last section of the walk towards Torrington station (now the site of the Tarka Valley Railway).  With time to hand, I followed the so-called "Station Path" up the hill towards Great Torrington, finishing the walk near the church where as luck would have it, I had timed my arrival with the Stagecoach run route 5B service to Exeter for another scenic run towards Exeter.  Although complete with a bit of a strange character who was wearing a thick coat & thick woolly hat slamming closed any windows on the slightly warm top deck (my phone was suggesting it was around 18C outside).  Even stranger as every time a police car passed, he would duck down, like he didn't want to be spotted.  Anyhow this bus took me to Exeter bus station, giving me time to grab some supplies for dinner before making my way to Exeter Central station.

River Torridge from Tarka Trail Viaduct, Torrington

A very enjoyable walk in rural North Devon, probably my favourite section of the long distance Tarka Trail (the disused railway section).  Anyhow back to the trains, as I noticed the inbound for the 17:25 service running late due to issues at the London end of the network, getting held at Honiton for the 16:25 service to pass it there instead of Pinhoe, so as I had expected it was spun at Exeter Central, the first time I’ve used the bay platform here for quite a few years (and certainly the first time on a SWR service).  It was the return of 159002 & 159022 to take me back to Salisbury followed by a gentle drive home, for it was time to give my little car a break.

20th March – Water Rail Way in Lincolnshire

After doing the first part of the off-road section of the Water Rail way path (between Lincoln & Boston) in January, I decided it would be a good chance to plug the gap between Lincoln & Bardney.  The section between Langrick Bridge & Boston will probably be done later in the year.  The day began with 159018 & 159013 to Waterloo, followed by a gentle stroll across to Kings Cross to board the 08:47 LNER service to Lincoln formed of 800201 for the uneventful trip arriving around 10:30 giving me plenty of time to head to the bus station for the 11:00 departure of the PC Coaches run route 30 service to Bardney (this being a short run only to Southrey, rather than to Horncastle.  Departed Lincoln with around 10 passengers on board with the tour of Washingborough & Heighington with nobody else boarding or alighting before the bus headed onto the fast rural section towards Bardney as I alighted at the first bus stop just beyond the bridge over the Witham.

800201 at Lincoln Station

Like with the Tarka Trail walk the day before, the path of this mixed used path was pretty decent tarmac with the River Witham running on my left hand side before it crossed underneath to reach a lock, starting the section where I had the river Witham on my right hand side (although hidden at times with trees & bushes) and a smaller Drain called "South Delph" on my left hand side, the former railway path being stuck in the middle.  Another path where the scenery was quite nice, flat fenland with the occasional sound of a RAF plane taking off or landing at the nearby Waddington RAF base.

Unlike with the path the day before, this was more straight with only one main bend near Fiskerton Fen with the path heading mostly west.  No evidence of the former Five Mile station, just a bridge over the river giving access towards Fiskerton village and a small car park.  I continued along the mostly featureless path towards Washingborough where the old platforms remain near an access point on Ferry Lane.  This section was nicer in terms of woodland as I reached the point the old railway left the riverbank to join up with the existing Lincoln - Sleaford railway route.  The path headed underneath the modern Lincoln Eastern Bypass with another access point coming in from Washingborough, with the path turning quite busy with other users.  Both dog walkers, joggers and some idiotic cyclists who were trying to break the land speed record.

Remains of Washingborough Station (Water Rail Way)

 

The rural section of the path came to an end on the outskirts of Lincoln, the path ending in the car park of a business park, to run alongside a busy road (doesn't help that I seemed to have hit the time of day where people were going home for the weekend).  I crossed over the Witham on the Titanic Bridge near Stamp End Lock, staying with the northern bank of the river (with a small detour to cross over the Broadgate dual carriageway), to reach Brayford Pool, just to clear a small gap (and to waste some time).  With the walk over, I headed back to Lincoln station, going via a little Tesco for some supplies and taking a seat on a busy 800208 on a London Kings Cross service for another uneventful run to London.

At Kings Cross I headed to the underground, to take the Victoria Line (with set 11093/11094) to Oxford Circus to transfer to the Bakerloo line, but when I saw the next service would be 8 minutes later, I headed back to the Victoria line to jump onto 11031/11032 to Vauxhall, transferring onto 701030 for the short run into Waterloo in order to board 159011 & 159002 for the fast run to Grateley.  An enjoyable at times walk in Lincolnshire, not as nice scenery wise as Devon but still a good way to clear the head, and another old railway path removed from my oversized list.

21st March – Return to the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal

With the weather looking good, I decided it would be a good chance to visit Staffordshire to walk another section of the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal.  The trip starting with the 05:59 service from Grateley (with 158885) to Basingstoke where it terminated due to engineering works in the Wimbledon area.  Next up was a long trip to Birmingham New Street on 221138 which only got busy after Coventry (with the vast majority of those whom boarded at Coventry leaving the train at Birmingham New Street).  After a trip to Tim Hortons, I made my way towards Moor Street to board 172005 on a Kidderminster service for the run to Stourbridge Junction, the guard doing good business with ticket sales to those who think payment is optional.

At Stourbridge Junction, I transferred to platform 1 to take 139002 down the hill to Stourbridge Town where with around 30 minutes to waste I headed into the town centre before returning to the bus station, where I noticed the toilets are free to use.  Next up was the Diamond run route 242 service for Kinver which took me out of Stourbridge towards Wollaston, doing a loop of a housing estate before heading towards Stourton, I left the bus at a bus stop near the junction between the A458 & A449, where my walk began.

139002 at Stourbridge Town Station

First up was a short section along the road before picking up the canal near a lock, dropping onto the towpath.  Soon I reached Stourton junction where the Stourbridge Canal began and continued along the main Staffs & Worcs canal into a woodland paradise, crossing the River Stour on an aqueduct and heading into an area where the only sound was the birds.  The towpath was quite reasonable, a few minor spots of mud but nothing major.  This section of canal was quite curvy as it made it's way in a general northern direction in the countryside, passing a garden centre, the first settlement passed was Greensforge which had a large marina.

I continued the walk in the countryside, reaching Hinksford and Swindon, the towpath switching sides a couple of times.  After Swindon, there was quite a few fishermen as I continued reaching Wombourne, the rural landscape changing to more urban before reaching the Bratch staircase Locks with some pretty buildings.  At the top of the locks, I decided it would be a good place to pause for lunch at a handy bench.  After lunch I continued along the canal, the towpath which had been decent to this point turning a bit more rural, not a towpath to walk during winter as I suspect there would be a bit of mud.

Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal in Swindon (Staffs)

The countryside had returned with some lovely views, passing some lakes at Dimmingsdale.  Sooner than expected countryside had been replaced with the suburbs of Wolverhampton (Tettenhall Wood) and I reached the A454 road in Compton where I had reached last year when I walked from Penkridge.  I headed towards the bus stop at Compton Square and within a minute or so an Arriva run route 9 service popped up which I took towards the bus station, I knew the buses were half hourly but I didn’t look up the actual times so that was good luck.

At Wolverhampton I headed to the station to jump on 197042 & 197026 to Birmingham New Street before waiting for the next Bournemouth bound XC service (I decided it would be safer to board at Birmingham than risk the potential of being unable to board at Wolverhampton), with 221119.  I managed to grab a seat during the turnover, with coach B being quite full until Coventry where it emptied out.  I relaxed as the train took me towards Basingstoke, getting busy again at Oxford (emptying out again at Reading).  With time to kill in Basingstoke, I popped to a nearby KFC for a burger before taking 158880 back to Grateley.  An enjoyable stroll along the canal, some beautiful scenery and weather.

22nd March - Abingdon Branch & Oxford Canal

I was in two minds about what to do today, either a trip towards Oxfordshire or a trip towards South Wales, in the end Oxfordshire won.  The Abingdon Branch was a short railway linking the town of Abingdon with Radley, closing in the early 1960s with part of the track bed now part of cycle route 5.  The trip began with 159015 & 159007 taken for the short journey to Andover, stepping back onto 159107 to take me to Reading where I had time to pop out of the station to visit the little Sainsburys near to the station for some supplies before catching a very late running 800312 to Oxford (over-running engineering works at the London end), this gave a nice connection into a very busy London bound 800026 which I took to Radley station where the first of today's walks would begin.


I turned down my original plan to follow cycle route 5 via the roads towards Radley Lakes as I had noticed an interesting looking path on the opposite side of the railway, a permissive path labelled as the "Sounding Bridge Path".  This path took me across a couple of fields towards the railway, where I soon picked up a section of the branch line, following this into Abingdon with cycle route 5 joining a short distance along the walk.  Within Abingdon I headed towards the Abbey Meadows detouring via a short section of railway route (now buried underneath the car park of Waitrose).

After visiting the town centre of Abingdon I soon picked up the route of the Ock Valley River Walk, which followed the River Ock westwards, coming to an end near a large Tesco Extra.  I returned towards the town centre via the road, finishing the walk at the bus stops on Stratton Way which gave me a few options to reach Oxford.  I decided not to go for the faster option, instead board a Oxford Bus Company run route 35 towards Westgate with a modern electric double decker, going via Radley & Kennington to reach the city centre, where my second walk began.

Abingdon County Hall

The Oxford canal is a canal on my wish-list to try and do, although it won't be done this year due to multiple long-term closures (one related to HS2 construction), however it would be nice to make a start.  I left the bus near the Westgate shopping centre, making my way towards the canal basin near the station, a busy section towards the Isis Lock (connecting the canal with the Sheepwash Channel & River Thames).  I headed north in the Jericho area of the city, the canal reminding me a bit of the Grand Union in Uxbridge in terms of the number of boats moored up.

I continued along the towpath (which was decent tarmac as this section was shared with a cycle route) leaving the city centre behind, passing the grounds of a large posh looking school, before going underneath the Chiltern line towards Bicester Village, the canal running near enough alongside the railway at this section towards the Wolvercote area.  I headed underneath both the Western & Northern By-Pass roads before having a short detour along the path of the Duke's Cut canal, a short link between Oxford Canal & the Wolvercote Mill Stream (linking with the Thames).  This was another section heavy with moored boats (with the bridge underneath the A40 flooded), with the towpath randomly ending in a field near the Mill Stream, as I doubled back towards the main Oxford Canal

Railway Bridge over the Duke's Cut Canal (North of Oxford)

Back on the Oxford Canal with countryside appearing as I headed towards Kidlington, the cycle path leaving the canal on Woodstock Road with the towpath changing from tarmac to a more rural feel straightaway, a case of taking care at times due to erosion leaving some nasty looking gaps.  The towpath skirted round the edge of the town of Kidlington, and I called an end to the walk as it went underneath the railway near Roundham Lock, crossing the railway on a foot crossing with a short walk to Lyne Road where a handy bus stop was located (how handy!).  I had a short wait before the Stagecoach run route 2A with a modern electric double decker rolled in to take me towards Oxford city centre via Water Eaton Park & Ride (alongside Oxford Parkway station).  Thankfully traffic was kind with the bus terminating on Magdalen Street allowing a fast walk towards the station, arriving with a couple minutes to spare for 802107 to roll in from the Worcester direction.

I got a decent seat in the rear coach with the run to Reading, transferring to 159016 on a Salisbury service to take me back to Grateley, the day ending as I needed to get my rucksack packed ready for a trip to Newcastle with Mum.  Two enjoyable walks with decent weather, although the last section of the Oxford Canal the clouds did start appearing.  The three closures I mentioned earlier seem to be located in the Cropredy area, Wormleighton area (for HS2) & near the WCML in Ansty.  So, I suspect I will be able to walk from Kidlington to Banbury (breaking it in 2 parts at Heyford) and the section from Braunston to Rugby, but who knows what I will end up doing later this year, certainly I don't!

Anyhow, as always thanks for reading, a lot more photos can be found on my Flickr *Here*.  Hopefully it won’t be long before I get round to writing out the adventures from the 2nd week.