Trips 14th – 17th May

 Trips 14th – 17th May

14th May – Macclesfield Canal

When I was looking at ideas, I searched for hotel costs for the Thursday night as I know sometimes Thursdays can be as cheap as Sunday nights, selecting a Travelodge in Salford Quays.  A hotel I’ve used before and knew it was quite reasonable for noise and ease to reach.  The only thing for me to do was to decide on a walk, eventually deciding on making a start with the Macclesfield Canal.  The day began with the 06:57 service from Grateley formed of 158887, 158890 & 159022 on a fast train to Waterloo where I had a gentle stroll to Euston.  In hindsight I could have probably had an extra 25 minutes in bed and caught the service at 07:27 as I hung around Euston for a while before the 09:53 service to Manchester was announced for boarding as I got a decent seat on 390152 for the run towards Macclesfield where my walk began.

The first section was across a busy road alongside the station before following Buxton Road up a long hill towards the canal, dropping down onto the towpath and headed north.  The towpath was quite reasonable (solid ground) but there were a few places where the edge had been eroded.   This section of the canal was on the edge of Hurdsfield with some nice views of the countryside and some nice woodland as the first shower arrived.  Thankfully the shower was light and only lasted a couple of minutes at most before the sunshine returned as soon, I left the Macclesfield area behind to head towards Bollington, running close with the Middlewood Way path along the old railway line.

222002 at London Euston

After Bollington (and a lovely old mill), the countryside returned as I continued heading in a generally northern direction skirting the edge of Poynton.  Such a beautiful day along a scenic canal, running along an embankment in places.  I soon reached an area which had a question mark as Open Street Maps was suggesting the towpath was closed with no mention of it on the Canal & River Trust website.  I suspect it was closed over the winter months (as it did look like there had been some heavy machinery around with the condition of the surface in places) but had reopened.  This area crosses the Buxton railway line near Middlewood, however no decent views of the railway due to woodland.

I soon reached High Lane, pausing for a short time for a break on a handy bench (as my boots seem to have gained stone magnets for, I keep getting stones inside my boots).  After leaving the built-up area of High Lane, the sky was looking moody like a storm was approaching.  Another short section of countryside and I soon reached the Marple area, taking shelter from a heavy downpour underneath a bridge.  Like before the rain didn't last that long and I soon continued passing a golf club & old mill building before I reached the junction with the Peak Forest Canal.

Macclesfield Canal between High Lane & Marple

Back in December when I walked the Peak Forest canal towards New Mills from the Woodley area, I had to do a detour near Strines as part of the towpath was closed for winter improvement works, so with the sun returning, it felt like a good chance to cover the missing gap.  The scenery on the Peak Forest canal was very good as it was in December, as I headed towards Strines, passing the lift bridge where the towpath was closed to reach the footbridge where I gained access again.  At this point I did a U-turn to head towards a footpath along a steep hill towards the main road and had a fast walk towards the station arriving with a minute to spare before the next Manchester bound service (I was aiming for the New Mills bound service 10 minutes later).

Surprisingly the stopper from New Mills Central was 195127 (I was expecting a 150), as I took this to Brinnington for some better photos, doubling back to Bredbury on 195128 before taking 195103 towards Manchester Piccadilly.  A friend was heading towards Manchester on a TfW service which I was planning to intercept at Stockport, but before hand I headed to the tram platforms buying a zone 1 & 2 day ticket to take 3106 & 3069 to Cornbrook, returning to Piccadilly on 3009 & 3052 just to waste some time.  After popping out of the station to the nearby Co-Op for a bottle of water before deciding to jump on the 18:30 service to Cardiff with 67012 at the blocks and DVT 82200 up front.

195127 at Strines

This where things went a bit wrong, the train pulled away from Piccadilly before coming to a stop before the rear of the train had left the station, before resuming.  The train stopped again near Longsight North, losing power.  After the driver attempted to restart the 67, it was deemed a failure with 67007 called for to act as a thunderbird loco to haul the train towards Crewe.  Arrival into Stockport was around 200 minutes late, with my friend long since gone I jumped on the first available train back to Manchester (a late running 390148), grabbing dinner from the Co-Op before taking trams 3022 & 3117 to Salford Quays.  I had a short walk to the hotel, noting how different things looked with a lot more housing popping up since my last visit.  After checking in (asking to confirm my address, email address, phone number, confirmation number) I relaxed for the remainder of the evening.

67007 hauling DVT 82220 at Stockport

15th May – A visit to Saddleworth

Another day where my plan changed overnight, as originally I was planning to head towards Bolton to finish the Roe Green Loopline & do some other old railway lines in that general area, but when I was heading to the hotel on the Thursday night I had the idea to instead head east towards Mossley for a mix walk of an old railway (the former Micklehurst Loop) and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, connecting with a walk I did back in April 2022.

After checking out of the hotel, I popped to a nearby Tesco Express for breakfast items before having a walk towards Salford Crescent station to board 323202 & 323233 on a Manchester Airport service for the slow crawl towards Piccadilly, once I managed to get past the vestibule dwellers there were plenty of seats.  At Manchester Piccadilly I transferred across to platform 1 to take a seat on 185121 working a Huddersfield stopping service which took me to Mossley where my walk began.

185121 departs Mossley Station

Dropping down the steep hill from the station, I crossed over the canal before turning left into Station Road, picking up the mixed used path along the route of the long closed Micklehurst Loop line.  This section was quite nice with woodland even if the surface was a bit muddy due to recent rain.  I followed the path towards the northern edge of the Mossley area, crossing over the A635 giving some nice views of the scenery.  The woodland returned as I headed towards Greenfield dropping down to cross the Chew Brook as the old railway route has been lost.

After walking along some roads I soon resumed along the old railway heading towards Uppermill, carrying on to the area where the southern portal of Butterhouse tunnel would have been, a bit of an uphill climb but it was worth it for the views.  After pausing for some more drink I crossed over a field following a footpath which I presume at one stage would have been a foot crossing of the railway (owing to the signage) but has since been replaced with a footbridge.  I paused on the footbridge for a passing freight train before heading along Old Lane to reach the Huddersfield Narrow Canal near Wool Road in Dobcross.

A TPE 185 heading towards Manchester in Dobcross

On the canal towpath I headed uphill, with the towpath running along both banks of the canal.  The water level in a couple of the pounds between locks looked to be quite low as I headed towards the Diggle portal of the Standedge canal tunnel.  After a couple of photographs (including a passing train for I do have a soft spot for the 185s) I headed back down the lock flight, this time on the towpath on the opposite side, enjoying the views of the scenery.

My walk continued as I headed back towards the Uppermill area, going underneath the railway as it crossed the canal on a high viaduct.  I passed a crossing of the River Tame on some stepping stones before the towpath swapped sides near the start of the old railway line path towards Delph.  Anyhow I passed the Saddleworth museum heading towards Greenfield with some beautiful woodland on a decent towpath which was reasonably busy with other walkers/joggers & occasional cyclist.

Standedge Tunnel on Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Diggle

I continued along the towpath enjoying the weather as I returned towards Mossley and onto part of the canal I walked back in 2022 when I walked from Mossley towards Manchester city centre, for there was another section of the old Micklehurst railway line which was walkable.  The water level was very low near Scout tunnel as I continued the walk heading away from Mossley towards Stalybridge.  On reaching Grove Road I headed away from the railway, climbing up a slope to reach the route of the old railway for a short distance towards Stalybridge.  After the old railway path ended, I dropped back onto the canal to walk towards the large Tesco to grab some supplies before making my way to the station via the town centre.  Had the next Northern service been a 769 I would have taken that towards Victoria but as that was a pair of 156s I turned that down for 185121 to take me towards Piccadilly arriving a few minutes early.

This gave me time to head towards 390001 on the next London train to see how busy coach C was, getting a reasonable seat to put my phone on charge and to relax with some cookies (mmm cookie).  All was going well until it got caught up in a bridge strike near Rugeley, losing around 20 minutes, time it didn’t manage to claw back.  As I had been given news that the 17:23 service to Exeter was short formed to be 3 coaches instead of 8 I decided it wasn’t worth rushing to Waterloo, instead I took my time to walk to Waterloo to catch the 17:53 service formed of 159002 & 159014 to take me home.

An enjoyable day, one of those walks which had been on my list of things to do for a while but never got round to it, or bad weather forcing a change of plan.

Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Diggle 

16th May – Lost in Wharncliffe Wood

A trip to South Yorkshire was on the cards today, mainly to visit the recently opened tram stop near Rotherham, but also for a mixed walk of the former Woodhead route, a woodland path & a riverside path.  The day started with the 05:27 service from Grateley with 159104 for the trip to Waterloo, where I headed towards Waterloo East jumping onto 707018 & 707024 to London Bridge and 700120 to St Pancras, giving me time to grab some supplies before making my way to the annex of the shopping centre known as St Pancras (where most of the seats have been placed on the arrival side of the fence).  Anyhow it was onto 222008 working the next fast Sheffield service, a train which was busy even in the front coach (which bare in mind this was parked on top of another 222 on the platform).

The train lost time heading towards Leicester as it got caught up with a late running charter train near Kettering, losing around 10 minutes, time it never recovered and lost some more time on the outskirts of Sheffield with congestion caused by the 10:00 Sheffield – London train having issues of some description.  I remained on the station for the next train towards Lockwood (Huddersfield area was closed again today) with 150002 on this service marked with some idiotic teenagers attempting to dodge the fare when heading to Silkstone Common.  Peace was restored once they alighted at Silkstone Common for the final section to Penistone where my walk began.

150002 departs Penistone Station

Back in the day Penistone was a busy railway junction with the electrified Woodhead line towards Manchester & Sheffield.  One of these days I will walk the old railway towards Hadfield, but today once I left the station I headed left.  I had a little detour towards the old railway turntable & tank loading ramp before continuing along the path alongside the railway before heading towards woodland near Oxspring.  Quite a busy path in places, but at times it was quiet, some beautiful views of the scenery in the places where the woodland opened up.

I crossed over the Rumtickle Viaduct and went via the 1947 built 'Up bore' of the Thurgoland Tunnel (the older down bore has lost since been closed up).  The next section of the path was a bit muddy in places due to recent rain as I continued passing the former Wortley station heading towards the A616 where the surfaced section of the old railway ceased as the cycle route followed Plank Gate within the large Wharncliffe Wood.

Western Portal of the Thurgoland Tunnel on the former Woodhead Railway (Trans Pennine Trail)

This is an area with a few paths of interest, especially heading towards Deepcar & Stocksbridge itself, but today I followed the route of the old railway, now a slightly muddy path between trees.  Hard to picture this being an electrified railway linking Manchester & Sheffield but it was mostly peaceful. I didn't expect the path to simply end on the actual existing railway (all be mothballed) near the former Deepcar station, I was expecting the path to end with some sort of security fence.  Anyhow I turned back on myself, getting a bit lost trying to follow some paths leading back to the main Plank Gate path, having to turn back a couple of times as the path I was following had a dead end with some cliffs.

I found my way to the main path (labelled on the maps at Plank Gate), which was a hilly track with some beautiful woodland.  Busy with other cyclists as this woodland is popular for mountain bike riding (for it has many paths), the only negative being the constant sound of traffic from the A6102 road the other side of the River Don.  I paused for some lunch at a bridge over the freight line (maybe one of these days it will come back into use considering the steel terminal it was kept to serve has closed).

Plank Gate Path within Wharncliffe Wood (between Deepcar & Oughtibridge)

I continued my walk within Wharncliffe Wood, heading away from Plank Gate along another path towards Oughtibridge, which at times was very steep as it dropped down to run alongside the railway (protected by a fence this time), and onto Oughtibridge Lane.  I headed along the road towards the centre of the settlement and onto the Upper Don Trail path which ran alongside the River Don.  This was another nice path for woodland views as it was part of Beeley Wood, with some nice views of the river in places.

The River Don was crossed on a footbridge near Middlewood with the path ending on Middlewood Road in Sheffield.  One final detour via Middlewood Park before I headed to the tram stop jumping onto tram 123 to take me towards the Cathedral stop.  With 25 minutes to kill before the next tram towards Rotherham, I popped to a couple of the nearby shops to grab some supplies before taking a seat on 399202 to take me to Magna.  I will admit to expecting to see the car park a bit busier for a Saturday afternoon, but it had half a dozen vehicles in.  Not a lot else in the area other than the platform announcements shouting to stand back for the tram as I guess it was thinking it was a freight train.

399202 departs Magna Tram Stop

399202 returned from Parkgate to take me back towards Sheffield city centre, alighting at the Fitzalan Square stop for a gentle walk towards Sheffield station as I had no idea when the next tram would be due to the lack of departure screens at this city centre tram stop.  At Sheffield station, I took a seat on the next London service which was winner 810016 on a fast service, which was lightly loaded in the front coach, even having an empty table from Leicester.  This train arrived into St Pancras near enough on time (even though it felt it was running on diesel), however Thameslink was a bit chaotic with a 25 minute wait for the next train towards London Bridge due to multiple cancellations, so I jumped onto a Sutton bound 700051 to take me to Blackfriars where I walked the short distance to Waterloo, waiting for 159016 to roll in on the very busy 20:50 service (what doesn't help is the 30 minute gap between fast services to Basingstoke).

This service took me back home to Grateley, where I relaxed before heading to sleep.  An enjoyable mixed walk, the woodland was very nice, certainly makes me want to head back there on another trip to explore some more of it.

17th May – Two Walks in Dorset

The day began with a drive to Romsey to pick up the first service towards Southampton with 158882 on the anti-clockwise loops today (Salisbury was closed with the timetable changed with the 158s doing loops).  At Southampton Central I had time to pop to the little Tesco outside the station, even had time to walk towards the Co-Op which used to be near the theatre, however since my last visit that had changed hands to become a “Simply Fresh” charging a lot more money for stuff compared to Co-Op, so something for me to bare in mind if I ever find myself in Southampton on a break at work.

Anyhow back to the station and onto 444003 on a Weymouth train which took me to Parkstone where the first of today’s walks began. I followed various roads to reach the Whitecliff Harbourside Park giving some views of Parkstone Bay within Poole Harbour.  This path was followed around the bay, with a detour underneath the railway to reach Poole Park.  There was some sort of motorcycle event happening this morning as there was a lot of motorbikes of various sizes & types heading around the lake.  I did a circle of the boating lake (with a detour towards the Poole Park Railway Station) before making my way back towards Parkstone Bay.

Parkstone Bay from Whitecliff Harbourside Park, Poole

Back alongside Parkstone Bay, I followed the busy path (split with a path for cyclists and another for walkers/joggers) heading towards Poole Harbourside Park, reaching Poole Quayside.  Being here did bring back memories of the past when I visited with family over the years.  I continued my walk alongside the quay with many boots moored up, both little & big boats.  Originally, I was only to walk this far, cutting via the town centre to reach the station, but I was running ahead of schedule (due to being unable to count).  With this in mind I crossed over Poole Bridge, heading towards Hamworthy, following a couple of roads leading to a footbridge over the Hamworthy freight line (which I believe these days is effectively disused).

I returned to the waterfront at Hamworthy Park, before following various roads in the "Lake" area, passing a MOD place with high security fences and attempts to block view with fake plastic bushes (which had broken off in places).  Once again, I returned to the waterfront at Lake Pier, before walking along the beach for a short section.  After getting sand in my boots, I headed inland following a "Fire Break" road on Ham Common coming out near Haven's Rockley Park.  I followed another path which ran between the Holiday Park (on my left) and another MOD area on my right, crossing over the railway into Turlin Moor.

Poole Harbour from Ham Common, Hamworthy

Once back on the roads, I headed towards the Rock Lea River, part of Lytchett Bay, following a path towards a little view point across the bay, although not the best for views due to vegetation.  I returned to the roads via some open grassland, swinging via Lidl for some lunch before making my way to Hamworthy station, boarding 444002 to take me to Weymouth, returning to Dorchester South on 444023 for the short walk to Dorchester West station.  Next up was 158748 & 158760 on a Bristol bound service to take me one stop to Maiden Newton, which is where trains normally pass, but this service on a Sunday passes the southbound at Yeovil Pen Mill which gave me nearly an hour.

I picked up the path which runs along part of the disused Bridport branch line at Maiden Newton station, running alongside the former branch platform, it’s a short old railway path of just over half a mile, but one which had been bugging me for a while.  When the path came to an end, I headed on a footpath across a field to follow another footpath alongside the River Frome, one which did get quite muddy in places.  I was back at the station with time to spare, relaxing before 158769 rolled in to take me back to Dorchester West.

158769 at Maiden Newton Station

In Dorchester I had time for a quick visit to a nearby Co-Op for some food before making my way to a busy Dorchester South station, and onto a slightly late running 444034 back to Southampton, running into the back of 444010 at Bournemouth.  At Southampton Central it was a short wait before 158882 rolled in to take me back to Romsey, going via Eastleigh where the rain started.  At Romsey I made a quick dash to my car to drive home, the end of another enjoyable day.  Two more Dorset area walks complete in some nice weather.  I got lucky with the weather for all 4 days with only Thursday getting a bit wet at times.  Thanks for reading, as always many more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*, what will the bank holiday weekend bring (other than hot weather).

Trips 4 to 6th May (Nottingham, Ashby & Oxford Canals)

 Trips 4 to 6th May

4th May – A bank holiday Monday explore of the Trent & Attleborough Nature

After 6 late shifts it was time for 3 days off, featuring a bank holiday Monday which opened up more options due to the lack of morning peak restrictions (however closed up options due to potential engineering works & reduced bus options).  Felt like a good chance to do a walk I’ve been wanting to do for a while, the section alongside the river Trent between Trent Lock (near Long Eaton) & Nottingham.

The day began with the 05:27 service from Grateley formed of 159007 to take me into Waterloo, where I made use of the Underground to reach St Pancras (Bakerloo & Victoria line) due to wanting to catch the 07:30 service to Sheffield, formed of a lightly loaded (at least in the front coach) 222015 for the speedy run to Long Eaton, where I managed to get a photograph of a passing 810 before starting my walk.  The first section was along a road to pick up the Erewash canal to head towards the river Trent at Trent Lock, turning east into the Cranfleet Cut.

222015 departing Long Eaton Station

I followed this section of the Trent, going underneath the railway bridges, heading towards the lock, alongside quite a few moored boats.  After the lock the main river resumes with the path being generally a decent surface (ignoring the puddles from recent rain), the biggest issue was the width was a bit more restrictive in places.  Only wide enough for one person.  Anyhow the river Trent was on my right-hand side, although mostly hidden from view by trees with lakes on my left-hand side (again mostly midden by tall hedges).  I continued walking the path giving some nice countryside views when the trees opened up and soon reached the Attenborough Nature Reserve where I decided to change my walking idea to explore the Nature reserve.

I continued along the path, river on my right, lakes on my left, reaching the "Main Path" detouring away from the Trent to follow the "Wet Marsh Path" between the Clifton & Tween Ponds.  This took me to another path which I followed (now with the Conneries Pond on my left), heading towards the visitor centre and busy car park.  After the car park I headed along Church Path & Brookside Path to reach Corbett's Meadow, taking another detour towards the village green towards the "Works path", although my walk came to an end with a bridge on the waterway linking Works Pond with the Main Pond being closed, so I doubled back towards the Village Green and headed back towards the Trent via the "Main Path".

A 222 alongside Church Pond, Attenborough Nature Reserve

Once back alongside the Trent I continued my walk towards Beeston with one more detour when I reached the "North Path", following this path towards a foot crossing of the railway, pausing for a photograph of a passing XC 170 before heading along the Delta Path towards the closed footbridge.  After reaching the footbridge I followed "The Bund" path back towards the Trent (the names of the various paths taken from a information board I photographed).  Certainly, a very nice place to spend a bank holiday Monday as it was quite busy with families.  Anyhow I was back alongside the Trent, following my tracks from earlier towards the junction with the North Path. I exited the Nature Reserve and headed towards Beeston Marina where the Beeston canal branches away from the Trent.  I crossed over the canal, heading onto what was signposted as "The Big Track", pausing for a photograph of the large Beeston weir.

My walk continued as I headed back towards what felt was countryside (which considering the area was quite surprising) with the Trent on my right and fields on my left.  Although like before the Trent was hidden from view with various trees, but nice to get the occasional glimpse of the river.  I continued along the path heading alongside a sporting complex used by one of the universities before going underneath Clifton Bridge, the off-road section of the path ending at Queens Drive as I walked along the pavement with the river on my right and road on my left.  I left the road behind and headed underneath the Wilford Toll Bridge before saying farewell to the Trent.

The next section of my walk followed the route of the tramway, crossing over the Trent & passing Wilford Village tram stop before having a detour towards the Iremongers Pond.  I returned to the path alongside the tramway as it passed various schools with my walk ending at Wilford Lane, detouring via a handy Co-Op for a late lunch.  My original idea for this walk was to end near Clifton, detouring via the Wilford Farm Cutting Nature Reserve, but that can be done on another day.

Nottingham Tram 213 approaching Coronation Avenue Curve, Wilford

I jumped onto tram 227 to Nottingham Station, switching platforms for tram 202 to take me towards Beeston Centre for no reason other to waste some time, and to visit the large Tesco in Beeston.  After the visit to Tesco I headed to Beeston station, jumping onto 170618 into Nottingham, where I looked up options as I didn’t want to finish too late.  It was onto dud 810013 to take me to Leicester on a fast service, where I had a 20-minute break before boarding winner 810014 on a fast service to London, easy to grab a seat in the rear coach.

An hour or so later I arrived in London, having around 75 minutes to get to Waterloo for the next Salisbury stopping service, so headed towards the sub surface line, getting lucky with a sub mile Metropolitan S8 set (21041/21042) to take me to Baker Street.  A jubilee line service took me to Westminster where once more I was lucky as a sub-mile S7 set (21479/21480) was heading west on a district line service, which I took to Victoria.  I made a quick dash across to the opposite platform for a short wait before 21499/21500 rolled in on a circle line service to take me back to Westminster, another sub-mile S7 set pushed over a mile (leaving 4 of the S7s & 2 of the S8s).  The Jubilee line took me one stop under the river to Waterloo, as I headed to board 158884 & 159015 on the 18:50 service to Salisbury, losing time around Basingstoke due to signalling issues. 

810014 at St Pancras

These sprinters took me back home to Grateley, where I had a gentle stroll home after an enjoyable day in Nottinghamshire.

5th May – Ashby Canal to Battlefields

On Monday night, I couldn’t decide between heading towards Daventry for an old railway line & the Oxford Canal towards Rugby or heading towards Hinckley to make a return to the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal.  Eventually I decided to head to Leicestershire as I could do an Oxford canal walk on the Wednesday instead.   The day began with the 06:19 service from Grateley with 159108 & 159004 to Waterloo where I had a gentle stroll towards Euston, arriving with time to spare to board 350113 & 350105 on the 08:46 service to Crewe, taking the 350s to Nuneaton where I had around 25 minutes to kill before the next Leicester service.

After visiting the nearby Asda store, I returned to the station, sorting my rucksack out before boarding a busy 170105 for the short journey to Hinckley where my walk began.  The first section was via residential roads to reach the Premier Inn and the canal, picking up where I left it the previous Sunday.  I dropped down onto the towpath heading north, passing a marina with the towpath being reasonable, the biggest issue was some low tree branches & bushes.  After passing an industrial unit on my left and a Triumph factory on the right, the canal headed into the wilderness of the Leicestershire countryside.

170105 departs Hinckley Station

The canal was quite busy with boat movements, and the towpath was as expected variable with some areas being a bit dicey due to erosion (mind the gap!).  I continued the walk in the peaceful countryside as the canal headed towards Stoke Golding & Dadlington, twisting & turning to avoid hills.  I reached Sutton Cheney wharf near the site of the historic Battle of Bosworth, with the towpath becoming quite decent quality for the section towards an old railway bridge which once carried the Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway line.

I detoured away from the canal to have a stroll via the woodland Shenton Cutting to reach Shenton station on the Battlefield Heritage Railway for some photos before heading back towards the canal.  The towpath returned to being more rural as I continued my walk on the canal in some more countryside, heading towards Market Bosworth, leaving the canal near the wharf on Station Road.  The last section of today's walk was the mile walk towards the Market Bosworth town centre, crossing over the railway at the start.

Ashby Canal between Dadlington & Sutton Cheney Wharf 

The walk ended in the town square, where there was a handy bench near the bus stop as I relaxed.  The next bus to Leicester for some reason wasn’t tracking on the BusTimes website, but I had the backup of a daily bus towards Atherstone (the LC12).  However, Arriva bus 3805 rolled into the bus station on the next route 153 service for Leicester.  This bus headed towards Leicester via Barlestone, Newbold Verdon & Desford (where it got quite busy with school kids).  After Desford it headed towards Leicester via Kirby Muxloe & Leicester Forest East, before going into the suburbs.  I decided to leave the bus at the bus stop near the Jewry Wall, not the shortest of the options but probably the fastest due to traffic.

I went via the city centre, swinging via a little Tesco for some supplies as I had time, before making my way to the station.  Winner 810015 rolled in but was put on platform 4 (rather than the more usual platform 3) as it needed to be turned off and on again.  Thankfully whatever the fault was must have been cleared as the 810 set off for London, passing a 222 from Nottingham which passed it when at Leicester in the Bedford area.

Market Bosworth Station on the Battlefield Line Railway

The 810 arrived into St Pancras and I had a walk to the Thameslink platforms to jump on a heavily delayed 700121 on a Brighton service from Cambridge, for a very slow crawl towards London Bridge.  At London Bridge I transferred onto 707014 & 707003 on the first available service towards Waterloo East, where I transferred to the main station and onto 158886 & 159014 on the 18:50 service for Yeovil Pen Mill.  An on-time arrival into Grateley followed with a stroll home, where I relaxed after another enjoyable walk in the countryside, another section of the Ashby canal done, leaving the section from Market Bosworth towards the current limit of navigation at Snarestone.  The towpath continues along the route of the old canal towards Measham where I plan to walk along the old railway towards Donisthorpe & and isolated restored section of canal near Moira.  Depending on time and how my legs feel.

6th May – Rural Oxford Canal

I was originally going to leave the section between Heyford to Kidlington for a summer Sunday (as Heyford only gets a Sunday service during the summer months) but decided to do it today as it was a later start compared to the previous couple of days.  The trip starting with the 08:29 service from Grateley to Basingstoke with 159006 & 159018, where I popped to Tesco for some supplies before boarding 165111 to Reading.  My original idea was similar to the start of April where it was going to be a service to Didcot to board the Banbury Turbo there, however 800305 on the next Oxford service was running late.

At Oxford I had around 25 minutes to waste, so after making use of the toilets, I relaxed watching a game of how many passengers can you squeeze onto a Manchester bound 4 coach voyager before 165120 rolled in, emptying out and I headed to Heyford where my walk began.  Crossing over the railway with the footbridge, getting lucky with timing of a passing voyager before I joined the canal, this time turning right, to head south.

A voyager passing Heyford Station

As expected the canal towpath was rural, even passing quite a few moored boats.  Soon the boats finished and the countryside arrived with the canal on my left and railway on the right.  It was quite peaceful with some nice views, as I strolled along the towpath, passing Northbrook lock and reaching Pigeons Lock.  I decided to have a little detour away from the canal, heading along a bridleway towards Tackley station for a photograph of the temporary footbridge before it gets replaced with a new bridge (forcing the southbound platform to be closed).  I decided to follow a footpath on the opposite side of the railway back towards the canal, picking up part of the long distance Oxfordshire Way.

I returned to the canal towpath, carrying on being careful in some areas where the towpath was eroded or the path had some low trees.  I soon reached the first of a trio of railway bridges in the Enslow area, passing a busy wharf (in terms of boats moored up), before pausing at Baker's Lock for some lunch at a handy bench.  Also I needed to remove a couple of stones from my boot.  The next section the canal runs into the River Cherwell, crossing underneath the railway a second time.

Junction between Oxford Canal & River Cherwell between Enslow & Shipton-on-Cherwell

The section shared with the river ended at Shipton Stop Lock, passing a lift bridge and crossing underneath the railway for a 3rd time (the canal is quite twisty).  This is where the long closed branch line to Woodstock crossed the railway with evidence of the former bridge abutment.  The next section headed towards Thrupp where the path became busy with other walkers, the towpath swapping sides at a tight turn so the canal was now on my left-hand side, along with many moored boats.

This section was a bit noisy due to running close to the A4260 road, heading towards Kidlington, skirting around the western edge of the town with some nice views of the countryside before I reached Roundham Lock, saying farewell to the canal as I headed across Roundham foot crossing of the railway with a fast walk to the bus stop near Chamberlain Place, where I jumped onto a Stagecoach run route 2 service to Oxford, going via the Kidlington suburbs before heading towards the city centre, terminating at Magdalen Street.

Railway Bridge over the River Cherwell (Oxford Canal) between Enslow & Shipton-on-Cherwell

I had a stroll towards the station, jumping onto a busy 800032 to take me towards Paddington as I had a social event near Euston for around 18:30.  Along the way I was looking at LU options to waste a bit of time, taking 21393 & 21394 to King’s Cross St Pancras, transferring onto the Piccadilly line to take 116/193 to Caledonian Road where I had a short wait before sub mile 168 & 175 rolled in to take me back to King’s Cross where I had another short wait before my last sub mile Piccadilly line set (129) rolled in on the rear of 180 which I took to Leicester Square.  Bish Bash Bosh.  51710 & 51560 took me to Euston on the Northern line where I had my social event before taking 51614 & 51615 to Waterloo and back to Grateley with 159016 & 159003.

A very enjoyable day in the Oxfordshire countryside, another section of the rural Oxford canal complete.  I dread to think how many times I’ve been on a train over those bridges, the next section will likely be a bus to Fenny Compton to walk towards Banbury or the Braunston to Rugby section (with a bus to Daventry with the old railway line).  Anyhow thanks for reading, a lot more photos can be found on my Flickr album for May, link is *here*.  Also featured are some photos from a random post work walk from Dean to Downton.

Trips 25th April – 27th April (Amman Valley, Ashby Canal & Stourport)

 Trips 25th April – 27th April (South Wales & West Midlands)

25th April – A visit to the Amman Valley 

The day began with the 05:59 service from Grateley to take me direct to Reading (as there was engineering works between Basingstoke & Woking) with a quiet 158890 & 159004.  At Reading I popped out of the station to visit the little Sainsburys Local for some breakfast items before taking a seat in the front coach of 800031 on a GWR service towards Carmarthen, taking the unit as far as Swansea where thankfully it arrived near enough on time, giving me around 10 minutes to dash to the little Tesco Express outside the station for lunch items and to make my way to the bus stop for the First run X6 service bound for the town of Ystradgynlais.

This bus route got quite busy at times as it headed away from Swansea via Landore & Morriston, before going via Clydach & Pontardawe, featuring some steep hills and corners before I alighted from the bus an hour later in Ystalyfera.  Where my walk began, the first section was along the route of the long-closed Swansea canal on cycle route 43, featuring an old aqueduct over the Afon Twrch.  Once I returned to the roads, I followed the road towards Cwmtwrch (giving some nice views of the river), as I wanted to research a path which was shown on Open Street Maps along the route of the former Swansea Vale Railway.  As expected, there was no evidence of the path at the southern end near a river crossing, so I carried on towards Ystradowen, featuring a steep hill.  I left the road and followed a footpath leading to the start of the Amman Valley Cycleway in Cwmllynfell (and there was no evidence of that phantom path at the northern end).

Twrch Aqueduct on the former Swansea Canal in Ystalyfera

The first section of the Amman Valley path follows the route of the Swansea Vale Railway (if my research of old maps is correct), skirting round the edge of Cwmllynfell, crossing over the road before heading into the wilderness near Rhosamman with some beautiful views of the hills on my right hand side (as I was close to the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park).  The path detours away from the old railway route near Brynamman with a steep & twisty path towards the road for a short section before the off-road cycle route (437) resumed heading towards the river Amman and following the river towards Station Road in Brynamman.

After I crossed the road, and passed a rugby ground I was onto the former GWR Garnant Branch, heading away from Brynamman on a nice tarmac path heading towards Garnant with some lovely woodland.  In Garnant the old railway line path ceases to exist (as the railway line is still in place with the freight branch to Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, although I suspect these days effectively disused).  After a photo of the freight line at a level crossing I headed back towards the cycle route, as it followed the River Amman going via the Parc Golwg Yr Aman.

Amman Valley Cycleway between Cwmllynfell & Brynamman (Former Swansea Vale Railway)

I continued the walk in the park, following the path as it headed towards Glanaman, switching sides near a football ground, as the urban area turned countryside once more with some nice views of both the river & the scenery.  I had a little detour via a suspension bridge (and foot crossing of the freight line) before carrying on towards Ammanford on a very pretty section with woodland.  The cycle route ends on the High Street (although I'm sure the cycle path which heads towards Pantyffynnon is also part of the path, something I walked many years ago when doing the stations on the Heart of Wales.

The last mile (or so) was via the roads as I picked up a bit of speed as I had fallen a little bit behind my target (due to stopping for photographs), thankfully getting to the station at Ammanford in time for the 15:02-odd train for Swansea.  150208 took me towards Swansea, getting delayed in the Llaneli area due to a delayed train towards Carmarthen and losing more time outside Swansea due to a fallen branch.  At Swansea I had the option to take the next GWR service towards Reading but my eye caught a 2 coach 197 waiting for a 3-coach unit to attach for the next Manchester service, as it was winner 197032.  Considering the large area the TfW 197s cover I decided it was worth the extra hour as I relaxed for 197105 to arrive and couple up (seemingly the practise of the trains stopping half-way down the platform to attach has ceased considering the 2-coach unit was at the buffers).

Gwaun-cae-Gurwen Branch Line from Ystrad Amman Foot Crossing

I decided to leave the 197s at Port Talbot with the idea to head into the town centre to visit Tesco, but as the 197s were around 10 minutes late (caught behind the 150 on a stopping service which itself was delayed by the previous GWR being caught up with the branch), I didn’t go that far.  Back at the station I boarded 800012 & 800024 on the next London bound service, making myself comfortable for the journey to Reading, arriving near enough on time.  After popping out of the station to visit Wendys (for the first time for what felt like ages) for dinner, I boarded 159007 on a Salisbury service to take me back to Grateley and to walk home.  A very enjoyable walk in the Welsh countryside.  I know I could have skipped on some of the road walking at the start with an Adventure run bus to Cwmllynfell, but knowing Wales, that would have probably been £5+ (whereas the First bus was £3.10 which isn’t that bad in my eyes).

26th April – Ashby Canal & Camp Hill

This was a bit of a short notice overnight trip to the West Midlands after picking up a cheap hotel room in the city centre with the idea to visit the recently opened stations in the West Midlands (and the extension on the trams).  When the day began, I was going to walk the Kenilworth Greenway path (even with its current diversion with HS2 construction) but as always, I had a late notice change of plan.  Anyhow the trip began with 159106 & 159010 for the short trip to Andover where it was onto a rail replacement coach, the first coach which soaked up most of the passengers was the stopping service with the fast arriving afterwards.   It was a coach from the operator called “Trafalgar” (BF24 AHV) which followed the A303 towards the outskirts of Basingstoke before randomly following the A30 via the suburbs to reach Basingstoke station where the coach got caught up in a bit of a farce.

The area outside Basingstoke station isn’t designed for rail replacement buses for multiple locations, and hence that coach departed Basingstoke around 10 minutes late as it was behind another coach (either Andover or Winchester).  For me I was sitting outside in the sunshine waiting for the next bus for Reading with a large crowd building, to the point where the 09:15 service had 2 buses running.  I boarded a red coach of an unknown operator (BN17 JAU) with a blue Aldermaston Coach Hire double decker behind for the run towards Reading (a route I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever done in darkness).  At Reading the coach arrived with plenty of time to allow me to visit Sainsburys Local for some supplies before boarding a busy 221110 on a Manchester service (which had been diverted via Guildford).

I took this voyager as far as Leamington Spa, switching over to platform 4 and onto 196004 on the Nuneaton service, which is when I had the crazy idea to ditch Kenilworth and instead make a start with the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal (which for ease of writing I will call it the Ashby Canal).  This is a canal linking Bedworth with Hinckley, Market Bosworth, Snarestone & Moira, although most of the section north of Snarestone is closed.  The canal runs close with the heritage Battlefield Line Railway between Shenton & Shackerstone.  So, with the idea to walk in the sunshine from Bedworth towards Hinckley I took the 196 to Bedworth where the walk began.

196004 at Bedworth Station

The first section was via the Bedworth suburbs to reach Marston Lane where I crossed over the Coventry Canal, joining this canal for a short section to reach Marston Junction where the Ashby canal begins.  I followed the rural towpath (certainly not one to walk during winter!) heading in a generally north east direction, going underneath the WCML (getting lucky with a photograph of a Pendo crossing over the canal with a narrowboat going underneath).  The canal passed close to Whitestone before returning to countryside, passing close to Bramcote & Burton Hastings.

The towpath condition was quite changeable; some areas were a bit tough with dried mud creating bumpy ground with the odd section where the towpath had been eroded.  For a dead-end canal it was reasonably busy with boats with the towpath being popular with dog walkers & others enjoying the sunshine on this canal which was a bit curvy.  The countryside came to an end as the canal headed underneath the A5 on Watling Street and into the large town of Hinckley.  After passing a couple of wharfs I ended my walk on the B4666 near Whitworth Avenue where there was a handy bus stop.

A Pendo crossing a narrowboat on the Ashby Canal between Bedworth & Whitestone

I didn’t have long to wait before the Stagecoach run 148 service rolled in from Leicester on a Coventry service with one of the modern electric single decker buses.  It headed towards Nuneaton before going towards Coventry, although in hindsight I ought to have jumped off at Nuneaton considering the bus got caught up in some very heavy traffic heading towards Coventry due to the football finishing in the stadium.  The bus finishes near the large Sainsburys near the Pool Meadows bus station.  I was considering a little walk around the War Memorial park close to Coventry station, but with the bus running late, I had one eye on the clock so that idea was parked for another day and I boarded 807009 from the railway station to take me to Birmingham New Street giving me around 25 minutes to kill before the next Kings Norton service.  I rushed to the station to avoid a 4-coach voyager on the following Manchester service.

After a little walk to Tesco before it closed up for the day (getting a couple of reduced to clear goodies) it was onto 196108 on the Kings Norton shuttle (which is hourly on Sundays).  Departure was late for some unknown reason, as I took this service to Pineapple Road, crossing over to the opposite platform to take the same unit to Moseley Village, hanging back on the same platform for a photo of a 56 passing on a BLS tour (making a lovely noise in the tunnel).  For suburban Birmingham this was quite a nice station to hang around for 20-odd minutes, even had squirrels making an appearance.

56103 passing Moseley Village Station (on a BLS Charter)

Anyhow 196108 returned from Birmingham to take me one stop to Kings Heath, where if I had more time, I would have explored Highbury Park, but it was a short wait for that 196 to return from Kings Norton to take me back to Birmingham New Street.  As a time-wasting move, I jumped onto a late running 730017 & 730040 to take me to Kings Norton, returning to Birmingham on 730037 & 730015 before taking 390008 to Wolverhampton.  I had another short time-wasting walk around Wolverhampton station (making use of the re-opened subway giving easy access to the Premier Inn) before jumping onto winner 197038 to take me back to Birmingham New Street.

Once back in Birmingham city centre, I had a short walk to the Travelodge on Newhall Street, getting checked in getting a room on the 3rd floor, and relaxing for the rest of the evening.  An enjoyable day, with an unexpected walk on the rural Ashby canal, ticking off the stations on Camp Hill plus getting a 197.

27th April – A Visit to Stourport on Severn & Darlaston

The day began checking out of the Travelodge and making my way to New Street station via a couple of shops, the first train for me today was the 08:26 Shrewsbury service with 196113 to take me to Willenhall.  I had a little stroll in the area, passing the old station sign before taking 196107 to Darlaston station.  Unlike Willenhall which is very close to the town centre, Darlaston station is a good mile out of the town centre, the large car park featuring 10 vehicles parked up.  One of those stations where if the emergency walkway at the southern end of the Wolverhampton bound platform was opened up, would be more sense for anybody wanting to head into the town centre (rather than having a dog-leg via the car park to reach the roads).

Anyhow after getting various looks from the 2-security staff on duty, I boarded 196114 to take me to Wolverhampton, where I made a tight connection onto a busy 350403 on a service from Liverpool which ended up running late due to signalling issues around Dudley Port.  With the weather being beautiful I decided to change my mind from visiting the tram stops & Edgbaston Reservoir to head into the Worcestershire countryside.  I made my way across to Moor Street, getting treated to the sound of a 68 idling away before I boarded 172345 & 172217 on a Worcester bound service to take me to Hartlebury station where my main walk began.

Platforms at Darlaston Station from Kendricks Road Bridge

The first section of this walk was along the road, going underneath the A449 before joining it at the northern edge of Hartlebury, heading towards the former railway bridge which used to carry the branch line to Stourport on Severn, now called the Leapgate Old Railway Line path.  This part from the A449 doesn't show on Google Maps, but unlike the path on Saturday it does exist.  After climbing to the old track-bed, it was a walk into the countryside with some nice woodland and views, the surface being changeable from dirt to tarmac as a cycle path joined up near Charlton Lane.  This old railway line path took me towards the town of Stourport on Severn, crossing over the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal before turning into a road, the rest of the old railway being lost under modern developments.
I followed the roads in Stourport, heading towards the bridge over the River Severn, grabbing a couple of photographs of the river before heading towards the various canal basins.  After a little explore of the various basins I picked up the main towpath of the canal and followed the canal as it snaked around Stourport, going underneath the old railway viaduct.  The towpath quality was quite good as this part forms part of a cycle route (this was one of those walks I was hoping to have done during the winter months).

River Severn in Stourport-on-Severn

Leaving Stourport behind, I headed back into countryside, heading towards Kidderminster & going underneath the Severn Valley Railway viaduct, with countryside replaced with the urban area of Kidderminster.  My walk ended near the Premier Inn close to the bus station (lots of Diamond buses), and I put on a bit of speed to head towards the station to board 172219 & 172334 which was starting at Kidderminster so ran nonstop to Stourbridge & all stops to Birmingham Snow Hill.

I headed across to Birmingham New Street, getting lucky with a decent seat in coach B of 221111 on a Bournemouth bound service, which did its usual emptying out at Coventry.  An uneventful trip to Basingstoke, the only time it lost time was outside Basingstoke station itself.  A 25-minute fester at Basingstoke (featuring a 68 passing light engine) before I boarded 159009 & 159006 to take me to Grateley to end my little long weekend adventures.  A very enjoyable walk in Worcestershire, one more step closer to finishing the Staffordshire & Worcestershire canal, plus some more stations in my book.

Anyhow as always, thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*, what will May bring I wonder.