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.