Trips 19 – 21st July, West Yorkshire & South Wales

 Trips 19 – 21st July, West Yorkshire & South Wales

19th July – Aire & Calder Navigation

I had booked a Sunday night in the Travelodge in Bradford (a lot cheaper than Leeds and has easy access to a station, which is sadly a downside of several other hotels in West Yorkshire) with the idea of doing a couple of walks.  For the Sunday I decided on the Aire & Calder Navigation between Leeds & Castleford, linking up with the Leeds & Liverpool Canal in Leeds and a tiny section in Castleford I walked a couple of years ago when doing the old railway line from Garforth.  I was also tempted with the section from Wakefield to Castleford (linking up with the navigation towards Dewsbury & beyond) but decided that could be a weekday trip.

The trip began with the 07:37 service from Grateley (159005 & 159019) towards Waterloo, where I made the mistake of remaining on board after Clapham Junction as the train lost 10 minutes between Clapham & Waterloo with the Sunday morning timetable which sees the service using the Windsor Lines, just meant my stroll towards Kings Cross was a bit faster than expected.  I took my seat in a lightly loaded coach G of 801209 on a Leeds service, first time having this 801 within England as the only previous time was between Edinburgh & Glasgow Central.   Anyhow the trip to Leeds was uneventful and my walk began.  I exited the station, heading down some stairs to reach Swinegate my route towards the Aire blocked due to Leeds Pride forcing a little detour to pick up the river near Dock Street.

River Aire in Leeds (city centre)

The first part of the walk was along the Trans Pennine Trail, passing a busy Leeds Dock, heading in a gentle south eastern direction with the river on my left-hand side, partly hidden with various trees & bushes on a decent path.  I crossed underneath the A61 heading towards the Knowsthorpe area of the city, crossing to the opposite side of the river near an old flood lock.  Industrial & residential buildings gave way to woodland and a security fence protecting the freight yard at Hunslet East with a 66 at the end of the freight line with evidence of the former bridge over the river at Knostrop Weir, marking the start of the first canal section of the Aire & Calder Navigation.

I passed the lock & Stourton Stone Circle (random) with the river on my left & canal on my right.  I crossed over the canal on Thwaite Lane into another woodland section of path heading towards Skelton Grange Road, with a minor panic when I saw signs ahead saying "path closed" but thankfully all that was closed was a section underneath a bridge with a detour leading to the road on the northern side rather than the southern side.  Crossing this bridge and down some steps (which for a cycle path was a bit unexpected) with the river once more being on my left and canal on my right, not like I could see either waterway due to the trees.

A 66 at the end of the Hunslet Branch Line alongside the River Aire

However, this section was very scenic with the woodland and peaceful with occasional glimpse of the working river at Stourton.  The peace ended near the M1 with the woodland section ending for a walk alongside the Navigation, going underneath what looked to be an old railway bridge.  I saw signs of the Rothwell Country Park giving me ideas for the future as I continued alongside the water towards Woodlesford, swapping sides so the canal was on my left-hand side skirting round the edge of the village.

After Aberford Road bridge, the canal gains paths on both sides, I decided to remain with the canal on my left as I headed towards Lemonroyd marina & lock where the navigation joins back with the River Aire and where the Trans Pennine Trail heads away from the waterside near Methley.  The next section the river disappears from view as the path on the south side comes close to the railway before going into woodland, I decided to cross over to the northern bank on one of the footbridges.  This section skirted round the southern edge of the St Aidan's nature reserve giving some nice views of the various lakes from former coal workings.  The hard surface path ended near a section of path which goes a bit wavy and gets a mention in my guidebook as being muddy in the winter months.

RSPB St Aidan's from the path alongside the River Aire (3)

I returned to the river edge on a rural section heading towards Allerton Bywater having to detour away from the river on a couple of roads before resuming the walk alongside the water heading towards Castleford Junction where the River Calder flows into the Aire and another short section of Navigation begins to bypass the town centre & a large weir.  I followed this section of canal towards the road bridge, crossing over to the opposite bank to follow a path alongside the River Aire towards the Millennium Bridge.  After leaving the water’s edge for the last time I headed via a quiet town centre (it was after 4pm on a Sunday where all the shops had closed), heading to the station to end my walk.

As my hotel was in Bradford I had a couple of options, either wait for a 150 from Sheffield to take me to Leeds for something to Bradford Interchange (engineering works meant Forster Square was closed) or a 185 to Wakefield for a Grand Central service.  I opted for a very lightly loaded 185139 with the AC hitting me hard when I boarded to Wakefield Kirkgate, losing time due to signalling issues (which meant anybody on board would have missed the 2 hourly train up the hill to Westgate).  I had a short wait in the sunshine before 180102 arrived to take me towards Halifax where I decided to pop out of the station into the town centre to visit the Spoons (via a steep hill!)

180102 at Halifax

After a decent meal in a nice Spoons, I headed back down the steep hill and onto 195016 & 195011 for the near 8-mile trip to Bradford Interchange, heading to the hotel via the city centre (which has massively changed since cars & buses were pushed to the edges), getting a room on the top floor overlooking a large area of wasteland with the station in the background.  I spent the remainder of the evening relaxing after an enjoyable stroll from Leeds to Castleford in the sunshine.

20th July – Huddersfield Narrow & Broad Canals

The idea for today was to complete my walking of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal from Standedge Tunnel towards Huddersfield, linking up with the short Huddersfield Broad canal.  I left the hotel making my way to Forster Square and wasn’t welcomed onto the Leeds train as 333012 took me to Leeds complete with the new announcements.  After grabbing some supplies within the city centre, I boarded 185139 for the journey to Marsden, looking out of the window at the various upgrades being taken.  Unusually this service went into the loop platform at Marsden to allow a late running Liverpool service to pass.

My walk began as I joined the towpath of the canal near the station, walking the short distance within a woodland cutting towards the railway bridge, with the canal making a sharp turn to the Standedge Visitor Centre and Marsden portal of the long Standedge (canal) tunnel.  After a couple of photos I returned towards Marsden (this time using a woodland footpath alongside the canal).  After re-joining the canal at the lock near the station I headed along the decent towpath, passing many locks reaching Sparth Reservoir.  The water level within the reservoir was quite low due to the recent hot weather (to such a point where this canal was closed for traffic due to low water levels at times).

Huddersfield Narrow Canal near Standedge Tunnel (Marsden Portal)

I continued the walk in the countryside with the sound of trains from the nearby railway line heading towards Slaitwaite and towards the outskirts of Huddersfield where the countryside gave way to the more urban area of both industrial & residential buildings.  I soon reached the impressive railway viaduct carrying the line towards Barnsley over the canal and reached the short Bates tunnel forcing a detour via the roads and some steps onto a section of towpath high above the canal (which was in a deep cutting), the towpath dropping down further on.  This is the area where the Narrow canal turns into the Broad canal (however due to the width of the Wakefield Road bridge this section is effectively a narrow canal.

Another detour was required around Aspley Wharf (near a Premier Inn) and onto a section of the broad canal which has dual towpaths.  After a little detour into a large Sainsburys for some supplies I crossed over the canal on the Turnbridge Lift Bridge in this industrial area of the town with the towpath looking like it has had some money spent on improving it recently (making it wider).  This area was a lot busier with other walkers & cyclists (plus the occasional jogger) as I made my way within the Huddersfield suburbs, passing close to the building site of Deighton station and underneath a couple of old railway viaducts (Whitacre Mill Viaduct & Deighton Viaduct).

Railway Viaduct over the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Huddersfield

 

I continued the walk along the towpath of the Broad canal, passing various industrial units and locks, going underneath a modern railway bridge built for the line upgrades (making it 4 tracks rather than 2 I believe) with the final section heading towards Cooper Bridge lock where the canal flows into the River Calder (near a large weir).  Originally, I was going to end the walk at a bus stop on the bridge itself but saw there was a Tesco Express close by and with the next bus expected in 15 minutes I headed towards the Bradley area of the town to grab a late lunch.

An enjoyable walk with changing scenery, and mostly a decent towpath (the only section which could get muddy in the winter is near Bates Tunnel, but that wasn’t a cycle path due to the steps).  Anyhow I jumped onto an Arriva run route 229 service towards Huddersfield Bus Station having a short walk to the railway station, jumping on 185109 on the Manchester Piccadilly stopping service, turning down a late running Liverpool bound 802 as I wanted Manchester Piccadilly.  At Piccadilly I boarded the next London bound service with 390115 on a service going via Crewe.

Huddersfield Narrow Puddle between Slaithwaite & Huddersfield

An uneventful run towards Euston, arriving a couple of minutes early due to a train from Liverpool running late with issues near Runcorn.  As my legs were a bit sore I decided to take the Northern line to Waterloo making a decent connection onto a busy 159108 & 158890 on a short formed 17:53 service for a speedy trip to Basingstoke before heading to Grateley where my trip to West Yorkshire ended.

21st July – Not the Heart of Wales

My original idea for today was to take mum on a trip on the Heart of Wales line, however that plan went into the bin due to a planned part cancellation of the train from Shrewsbury we were hoping to catch (it was only running as far as Llandrindod, something which changed during the day but by then it was too late to go back).  Anyhow we drove to Salisbury with the idea of catching the 07:22 service to Cardiff Central, but as the 07:03 Bristol service was heavily delayed due to a points failure we boarded 166202, which ran nonstop to Bristol Temples Meads after Westbury due to the lateness (speedy Turbo!)

As it arrived into Bristol Temples Meads near enough on time, we made a quick connection onto 802020 on a Cardiff bound service from Taunton to take us into Wales (the back-up was going to be a Voyager to Bristol Parkway as the Cardiff train I was originally aiming for was running very late).  After picking up the Valley Explorer rangers we jumped onto 231006 towards Trefforest via Radyr, connecting onto 756102 back towards Cardiff Central (via Queen Street).  After grabbing lunch, it was onto a lightly loaded 197040 to Maesteg and back to Bridgend, where we made an easy connection onto 150252 on a service via the coastal route, getting very busy along the way.

150252 departs Barry Docks Station

We took this 150 to Barry Docks to change onto 231010 to Barry Island which was very busy with families enjoying the sunshine.  After a little stroll we jumped onto 231001 for the spin to Llanbradach (for lack of a better idea), changing onto 231002 for the trip back to Cardiff Central.  The last train of this little trip was onto 158747 & 158767 on a GWR service, which was very busy to Newport & Severn Tunnel Junction (where it emptied out, I guess the previous TfW was cancelled), filling up again at Bristol Temples Meads.  There was a late running Weymouth train in front of this service at Bath which I presume would have soaked up a lot of the waiting crowds for Bradford & Trowbridge as hardly anybody boarded at Bath Spa, although that Weymouth train did cause a 5-minute delay due to the long signal sections towards Bradford on Avon.

At Salisbury, we left the station, going via the local Spoons for dinner and headed home via Tesco for some shopping for the week ahead.  An enjoyable little day trip to South Wales with mum, even if we couldn’t do the Heart of Wales trip.  Anyhow as always thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *Here*.  Keep safe everybody, have a dragon:

Red Dragon outside ticket office at Cardiff Central

Trips 9th – 12th July

 Trips 9th – 12th July 

9th July – A flying visit to Glasson Dock

I had booked an overnight stay in Liverpool for the Thursday night a couple of weeks ago without making my mind up about what I wanted to do in the North West.  Thankfully the weather would be kind, sunny but not as hot as it was down south (23C) as I eventually decided to do a combined canal & disused railway walk from Lancaster to Glasson Dock.

The trip began with 158887, 159104 & 159011 to take me towards Waterloo, for a gentle stroll towards Euston and onto a busy 390138 on the first off-peak Glasgow service for a fast speedy run along the West Coast Main Line towards Lancaster where the walk began, making the decision to flip the direction as originally, I was going to do the canal first then railway second, switching the direction based on the location of shops for a post walk visit.

156404 & 156424 at Lancaster Station

I exited Lancaster station via the side gate alongside platform 1 and onto a cycle path alongside a sports field leading towards Long Marsh Lane.  After detouring via a housing estate, I reached the river near the railway viaduct, pausing for a photograph of a train crossing the viaduct (a Northern 158 was the first service).  After my photo I headed alongside the river (mix of cycle path & pavement alongside New Quay Road).  I had the decision to continue via the road which turns into a cycle path towards Aldcliffe Hall Lane or follow the Lancs Coastal Path alongside the river & estuary, deciding to do the coastal path for the potential views.

The coastal path had a reasonable surface but was a bit overgrown in places before I broke free to walk alongside the Lune before the path moved inland with a curve in the river giving views of a nature reserve on the left-hand side and the coastal marshes.  Very peaceful with sounds of wildlife, but soon I reached the car park at Aldcliffe Hall Lane which marks the start of the path along the former Glasson branch line.  This area was quite rural with the surface being decent tarmac as I headed in a generally southern direction with the river on my right-hand side, with the bushes & trees breaking free giving a lovely view of the estuary.  The path was busy with cyclists & other walkers, especially near a caravan park near Ashton Hall.

Lune Estuary from cycle route between Lancaster & Glasson Dock

I reached Conder Green area where the path turns west (and cycle path 6 heads east via roads), crossing the River Conder on a viaduct before the last section of old railway line towards Glasson Dock, not as busy as it would have been in the past with industry, but still a busy place with motorcyclists & other visitors.  After a photograph of the dock itself with the entrance lock into the Glasson branch of the Lancaster Canal heading into a busy marina (mostly sea going craft rather than inland waterways craft).  The towpath was as expected quite rural, not as rural as the Oxford or Ashby Canals (no minding the gap with bank erosion), but as soon as I left Glasson behind (and a holiday park) the countryside arrived.

This is a short branch of the main canal, which appeared to be closed for boats heading uphill towards the junction with the main Lancaster canal near Galgate.  Along the way I passed hardly anybody else on this peaceful stroll.  On reaching the junction with the main canal I turned left to head mostly north, passing quite a few moored narrowboats.  The canal skirts the edge of Galgate itself with the soundtrack of passing trains.  Some lovely countryside at times and also some nice woodland with the canal ending cuttings (allowing the removal of my hat in the shaded area to allow some of the sweat to evaporate).  After going underneath Ashton Road, the rural towpath turned tarmac with a busy cycle path, heading towards Lancaster near Aldcliffe, the canal going underneath the WCML and passing close to the hospital.  I decided to end the walk at the bridge with Penny Street, walking towards the station swinging via a Sainsburys Local & Tesco Express for some supplies.  A very enjoyable 14-odd mile walk in the sunshine but it was time to play with trains.

Lancaster Canal between Galgate & Lancaster

I boarded an Euston (via Birmingham) bound 390107 towards Crewe with the idea of making a connection onto 197041 which was working the Shrewsbury – Crewe stoppers, however due to issues earlier in the day at the southern end of the WCML this train got delayed at Preston (with zero announcements) for around 15 minutes meaning when it got to Crewe the connection was long gone, so it was onto plan B and onto winner 197040 working a Chester shuttle (cut back from Wrexham due to the hot weather).  This took me towards Chester where the signaller decided to allow a late running freight train in front causing a 5-minute delay (to both the inbound & outbound service owing to a tight turnaround), giving me 29 minutes to kill at Chester for the next Merseyrail service (for it was the time of day where Merseyrail halves their service frequency).  It was onto a very busy 777028 to end the day with a trip to James Street.

Before making my way to the Travelodge near James Street (first time staying here for nearly 10 years!) I headed towards the waterfront for some photos.  After getting checked in on a half reasonable room on the 7th floor (not facing the main road directly which was a bonus) I relaxed for the remainder of the evening.  (Although the shower was extremely weak in terms of water pressure so it wasn’t much of a relief to wash away the sweat).

The Beatles Statues on Liverpool Waterfront

10th July - Lancashire Union Railway

Today my plan was to do a walk I’ve been meaning to do for a while, but kept putting it off.  Although with the warmer temperatures today compared with the Thursday, I decided to cut the full length of the walk to save getting too hot.  After checking out of the hotel I made my way via the city centre to Lime Street, grabbing some breakfast along the way and onto a Hull bound 185101 & 185121 for a slow trip across to Manchester Victoria (even though it only called at Lea Green, the Chat Moss route always feels slow).  At the suburban nightmare of Manchester Victoria, it was a short wait to board a busy 156485 on a Clitheroe bound service to take me to Bolton, changing over to 331025 on the next Blackpool North service (which was busy).  This took me to Adlington where my walk began (even though I was part tempted to jump off at Horwich Parkway to walk back towards Bolton & maybe towards Walkden, but decided against that on grounds of the reduced Northern timetable).

Leaving the station at Adlington, I headed towards the Jubilee Recreation Ground following a path south before an unmarked path (unmarked on Strava) leading towards the River Douglas and the canal aqueduct.  After the river it was a steep climb towards the route of the former Lancashire Union Railway route, which for a cycle path (route 55 from memory) the path quality was a lot more rural than expected.

River Douglas near canal aqueduct, Adlington

The path was quite peaceful with some nice woodland, no evidence of it's former use as a railway other than a couple of bridges, including going underneath the Leeds & Liverpool Canal on the Arley Aqueduct.  This path came to an end alongside the former Red Rock station building (now a private house and I headed along the road to pick up the canal towpath near a closed pub.  Walking along the canal took me towards the Haigh Country Park, leaving the canal to head via Lady Mabel's Wood to Hall Lane.

This is where the former Wheeley Loop railway path began (although it looked like it did continue north but that is unmarked on my map so I had no idea what it would be like), and compared to earlier this is a path which has had some money spent on it with a smooth tarmac path in woodlands with various paths criss-crossing the main former railway route.  The rural woodland gave way to more urban as it went via New Springs & the Kirkless West Nature Reserve reaching the canal which it crossed on a lock, heading into Ince.

Leeds & Liverpool Canal between Red Rock & Haigh Country Park

I continued along the path in Ince, leaving the industrial area (complete with secure looking fences) back into woodland, crossing underneath the existing Wigan - Hindley railway route and towards the Hindley area.  The old railway route ending near Amberswood Nature Reserve which is somewhere I've noted as somewhere to explore on another day.  The smooth tarmac cycle path ended at Liverpool Road near the former Hindley South station and onto a rough path in an area of many paths (so a challenge at times to try and ensure I was heading in the right direction, as this area had a lot of old railways from the past.  At one point I was walking on old ballast!

I managed to follow the route of the Plank Lane Branch (London and North Western Railway), a path shown on my OS Map & Google Maps as a cycle route (probably suitable only for a Mountain Bike) but not shown on Strava so I was walking a bit blind, following this rural path where it randomly came to an end at Bolton House Road in a very industrial area, certainly not what I was expecting.  However, my walk was nearly at an end as I walked to the main B5237 road to await a route 609 bus for Wigan.

Route of former Whelley Loop Railway, Wigan

This was a busy double decker which called at most of the bus stops along the way into Wigan, including Coronation Street (cue the music!).  I think most of the bus alighted at the bus stop on Wallgate rather than continuing to the bus station and I swung via the little Morrisons Local between the two Wigan stations to grab a late lunch (being surprised that it was still under £4, considering the lack of competition within Wigan town centre).  Anyhow I had two options, either jumping on a Northern service to Liverpool for an 807 to London, jumping on something towards Manchester, or waiting an hour for a late running 9 coach Pendo from Glasgow (with the previous train cancelled).

I jumped onto 331018 for the run towards Liverpool Lime Street, giving me around 20 minutes to make myself comfy on 807010 on a London bound service, getting lucky as this service was given the signal ahead of a late running Birmingham stopping service, the train only getting busy at Crewe (until Crewe the standard class area of coach H only had myself in it).  This train headed to London where on a day of delays on the WCML arrived pretty much bang on time, had I waited around Wigan for the late running Pendo I would have been caught up in a massive farce around Nuneaton where it got into London something like 3 hours late!

807010 at London Euston

Anyhow I walked to Waterloo, wasn’t as bad as expecting with the warm weather, the worse section being across Waterloo Bridge due to being exposed to the sunlight, however the Weymouth train I was aiming for had been cancelled with the Portsmouth (via Basingstoke) train running late.  444011 & 444014 took me to Basingstoke where I was surprised that the Exeter train was held back 10 minutes to allow a connection, as I boarded a warm 159104, 158886 & 158882 to take me home.  After sorting my rucksack out, having a cool shower to wash away the sweat I got myself ready for an early start on the Saturday.

11th July – Marriott’s Way Part 2

I did the first part of a slightly muddy Marriott’s Way path back in February from Lenwade (near Great Witchingham) towards Aylsham with the section from Lenwade towards Norwich on my wish list to do this year.  However, with the fire at Stratford, I changed my mind when heading towards London on 159013 to instead head towards Waterbeach to walk the riverside path towards Ely.  At Waterloo, I had a gentle stroll to Blackfriars jumping on a late running 700108 to St Pancras where I managed to board an earlier Great Northern service formed of 379022 & 379005 which was meant to be heading to Ely but was only running as far as Cambridge due to a shortage of train drivers (with the following King’s Lynn service doing the same).

I took these 379s for the nonstop speedy run to the recently opened Cambridge South station, stepping back onto a Norwich bound 755412 as I had changed my mind again and was once more heading towards Norwich (considering this service wasn’t as bad I was expecting it to have been considering the lack of trains via Stratford).  This 755 took me towards Norwich (even calling at Spooner Row for a novelty!).  At Norwich after visiting the bathroom I headed towards the bus stops located at Castle Meadows (swinging via a Tesco Express to grab lunch items) and boarding a First Bus route X29 towards Lenwade.  I left the bus at the cross roads at Porter’s Lane (along with 2 other walkers who were walking back towards Norwich).

755412 at Cambridge South Station

A short walk along a footpath alongside Porter’s Lane took me to the car park near the former Lenwade station, picking up cycle route 1.  The first section towards Norwich was close to some industrial units before it headed into woodland away from the busy A1067 road.  The surface quality was reasonable, a bit dusty in places due to the recent heat (one not to do during the winter months).  Near the former Attlebridge station site the cycle path moves away from the route of the old railway as the area around the former station is now a private residence (you can see the platform from the road).  I re-joined the route of the former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line heading into some beautiful Norfolk countryside & woodland.

This path was quite busy with cyclists & other walkers as it reached a section running alongside Reepham Road (the road hidden from view with the trees), before heading towards the Taverham/Thorpe Marriott area, crossing the Broadland Northway dual carriageway on a modern bridge and into the urban area.  At Drayton the path detours via the roads due to the route of the former railway being a private industrial estate (although I suspect most walkers will get away with walking via the industrial estate as its only gated for vehicles (but I didn't want to risk running into a fence at the opposite end).

Marriott's Way between Attlebridge Station & Taverham 

After re-joining the railway route at Drayton, the first impression is that the path quality has changed from a more rural setting to smooth tarmac as it followed the route of the Wensum heading towards the big bag city of Norwich with various paths branching off towards the site of the former Hellesdon station (complete with old platform).  The sun was attempting to break through the clouds as the path headed east near Sloghbottom Park & Anderson's Meadow, this section featuring a tall fence in woodland.  The Marriott's Way path officially ends near the site of the former Norwich City railway station (no evidence of it) at St Crispin's Bridge over the Wensum.

I crossed the road and switched to following the Riverside Walk, following the Wensum towards Duke Street (near a Premier Inn), where the riverside path is currently closed so I headed via the city centre (areas closed to traffic due to the Lord Mayor's Parade), swinging via Morrisons for some supplies before my walk ending at the station.  An enjoyable stroll in the countryside, on a day where my hat remained in my rucksack as I didn't need it due to the cloud cover.  Anyhow at the station and it was onto a refurbished East Midlands 158866 (very purple inside) to take me to Ely, where I switched to 170109 for the trip to Cambridge.  Part of me was tempted to carry on to Cambridge South but I decided to alight at Cambridge, walking between platform 8 to the south facing bay platforms where 387116 & 387106 were waiting on the next London fast (meant to have started at Ely).

158866 at Ely Station

I was glad I changed at Cambridge due to the large crowd waiting for these 387s, thankfully all mostly waiting at the buffer stop end so when the doors got released, I managed to get a decent seat in the front coach.  The service got delayed along the way (must have missed its path on the busy 2 track section of the ECML) arriving into a dangerous overcrowded platform at Kings Cross featuring idiots standing very close to the platform edge (the driver blasting on the horn and slowing to a crawl) who decided they didn’t want to wait to allow others off the train first before barging their way on.  Anyhow the first thing I noticed is how hotter London was compared to Cambridge, as I headed to St Pancras jumping on 700141 to Blackfriars for another gentle stroll to Waterloo, taking my time before boarding 444023 & 444032 for a speedy run to Basingstoke which was a bit chaotic due to numerous delays & cancellations (this was a day where the West of England services were getting terminated at Basingstoke, heading into Barton Mill sidings for 2 hours before coming back out, warmer than a hot thing).

I jumped onto an Exeter bound 159005 & 159012 to take me to Andover for a quieter place to wait (a nice bench in the shade outside the station) before 159011 & 158882 rolled in on the following stopper to take me back to Grateley, where I had a gentle stroll home to relax after a mostly decent day.

12th July – Burgess Park & 701 hunting

As I was going into a week of early shifts (average alarm was 4:00) I didn’t want a late finish on the Sunday to get myself ready for the week ahead.  I decided to head towards London for a little walk which had been on my London area wish-list before a few hours hunting down some of the 701s which had entered service in the last couple of months.  The day began with a drive to Andover to catch the 07:02 service to Waterloo (with 159019 & 159022), transferring to a Bakerloop bus to the bus stop on Old Kent Road opposite Burgess Park (near a large Tesco) where my walk began.

Even this time of the morning (08:45) it was already getting warm as I entered Burgess Park, following one of many paths passing a lake and dead grass (thinking to myself that it's like a tinderbox ready to go up in flames).  I reached Camberwell Road, for a short section along the road before picking up a busy path which runs although the route of the former Grand Surrey Canal leading towards the Surrey Canal Linear Park.  I turned south in the linear park, underneath some nice-looking old bridges and towards Peckham, finishing the walk at Peckham Rye where I had various options.

Surrey Linear Canal Park, Peckham, London

I was toying with heading towards Blackheath to explore Greenwich Park, but decided that could wait for another day (preferably when it wasn’t so hot!), jumping on a Clapham Junction bound 378216 to begin my 701 hunting.  10 minutes at Clapham Junction, winner 701027 rolled in on a Staines service (engineering works between Staines & Reading) to take me to Feltham, stepping back to Twickenham on 701046 for a short wait (annoyingly the little Sainsburys outside Twickenham station had no sandwiches due to the fridges breaking down).  Winner 701016 arrived on a stopping service to Waterloo, so I made myself comfortable, arriving at Waterloo to grab some lunch.  There was a winner on a Chessington South service, but I had one eye on the Woking stopping service which weren’t showing on RTT due to being short planned changed from running to Guildford via Woking to terminating at Woking.  This was winner 701055 and due to late running was running nonstop to Surbiton which was a nice bonus.

At Surbiton I boarded dud 701009 to take me to Raynes Park in an attempt to get a reasonable photo of the GBR coloured 701 with the idea of heading towards Motspur Park to intercept the 701 I turned down earlier, but that planned changed when I saw another 701 passing from Woking as I assumed it was only 4 units out on the Woking – Waterloo stoppers with a tight turnaround at Woking, but in fact there were 5 (with Woking bound services being delayed).  So, it was onto 450087 & 450401 (from either Guildford or Dorking) to Waterloo, changing over to winner 701040 with the idea of taking it all the way to Woking for a nice connection onto an Exeter train.

701006 at Raynes Park

All was going well until West Byfleet where there was news of issues around Winchester with delays heading west, forcing the 701 to wait time at West Byfleet with the next stopper failing to depart.  Eventually the 701 arrived into Woking alongside the Exeter train with a fast walk across from platform 5 to platform 2 to join a large crowd (mainly Basingstoke bound passengers as the Weymouth train was sitting on platform 3 with a Poole service cancelled) to squeeze onto a roasting hot 159010 & 159015 which departed rather busy (until Basingstoke where it emptied out).

I took these 159s to Andover, walking to the car driving to the big Tesco before it closed at 4pm to grab some dinner items and some shorts for work as the week ahead was looking warm again.  Once home I relaxed after a reasonable day in London, some more 701s into my little book as well as a visit to Burgess Park.  One of many things on my London area wish-list, anyhow as always thanks for reading, more photos can be found *here*.  Have a nice day.

Trips 1st & 2nd July – Thames Path & Camel Trail

 Trips 1st & 2nd July – Thames Path & Camel Trail

1st July – Thames Path in very rural Oxfordshire

After a tough week at work (hot weather, broken AC, short formations) I wanted a nice walk to get back to nature.   I decided it would be a good chance to head towards Gloucestershire to walk the long section of the Thames Path from Lechlade (On Thames) towards Newbridge, linking up with the walk I did in April.  Like the walk in April when I was first planning this walk a couple of years ago, the bus service has thankfully improved with a limited service from Swindon (rather than just a limited Highworth – Cirencester bus service).

The day began with a drive to Salisbury, and onto a Bristol bound 166218 to Westbury, where I changed onto 158766 bound for Swindon, a short delay gaining access to the Melksham line but otherwise an uneventful trip to Wiltshire.  I left the railway station, heading towards the modern bus station, otherwise known as bus stops & shelters alongside various roads close to the previous bus station, somewhere which is fine for locals who know which of the various bus stands they need to head to, but with limited information on display it can be a bit confusing for first time visitors.  As well with the shelter alongside the “J” stops being a bit smelly like someone had been inside smoking drugs.

158766 at Swindon Station

The Pulhams route 64 for Witney was running around 20 minutes late due to roadworks, but it was a reasonably fast run away from Swindon, going via Highworth to reach Lechlade on Thames, where my walk began, making my way back towards the Thames from the bus stop within the small town centre, pausing due to following school children heading on a trip to the meadows (I presume for art lessons).  Once I passed the school children as they settled down on the grass I headed east, passing the Father Thames statue from the Crystal Palace at St John's Lock (making use of a nearby toilet block for a quick visit), before going underneath the A417 and towards the wilderness.  This part of the Thames is very curvy as it meanders its way through the countryside, the Thames Path crossing over to the opposite bank (river on my right hand side) with a footbridge I was a bit worried about as Strava had it marked as closed (but seems the data is wrong and it was very much open).

The path was as expected very rural, not one to do during winter months nor after heavy rain.  I continued the stroll passing Buscot Lock heading towards Radcot, enjoying the sunny countryside.  The path flipped sides again in the tiny settlement of Radcot, which was busy with moored boats & a camp site on the 'north bank'.  Part of this section wasn't the nicest to walk as the field had been cut with the ground covered with long grass, a bit slippery in places.  Another section where the Thames was very bendy, although the Thames Path was mostly straight, moving away from the river a few times, with fishermen on the north bank.

Thames Path between Buscot Lock & Grafton Lock

At Rushey Lock the path once again crosses the river to run along the north bank along an access road toward the lock (with the river mostly hidden from view), this headed towards Tadpole Bridge, passing a busy remote pub (The Trout).  My walk continued with some more countryside views mixed up with some woods however this section was the worse in terms of being a bit overgrown with thorn bushes & nettles.  Ready to pounce on any exposed skin, my water bottle coming in handy to help push aside some of the thorns, I was glad when the path opened up a bit more near Chimney Meadows where I reached the Shifford Lock Cut with the original river heading towards Duxford.  I crossed over the river into some more woodland, the river disappearing from view for a good half mile (hidden by trees and with the path moving a bit more inland).

I guess there must be some sort of RAF base in this general area, owing to the number of military aircraft I saw in the sky, a good walk for those who like to spot military aircraft.  Anyhow the woodland gave way to open fields with another section of bends, passing the path leading to Harrowdown Hill before I made the final push with my walk ending in the small settlement of Newbridge with a choice of pubs (The Maybush on the south bank, Rose Revived on the north bank), although as I had around 10 minutes before the next Oxford bound bus I didn't visit either (had I faced a longer wait I would have popped into for a cold soft drink).

River Thames (Isis) between Tadpole Bridge & Tenfoot Bridge

An enjoyable walk in the countryside, other than a couple of parts which were hard going, lots of sunshine & wildlife.  It was onto the Oxford Bus Company run X15 service which I took a couple of stops to Kingston Bagpuize, swinging via the Co-Op only to find it being quite bare boned, before jumping on a late running Stagecoach run S6 service to Osney Island in Oxford (the temporary bus terminus whilst the road bridge at the station is still closed), this one goes more direct to Oxford compared with the X15 which goes a more indirect route taking over an hour.  A fast walk to Oxford station where I arrived in time for a Reading bound XC service which ended up losing 15 minutes due to congestion, with 220006 being very busy on departure (didn’t help the following Paddington service was cancelled).  At Reading it was a short walk to board 165106 on the stopping service to Basingstoke, losing enough time to miss the connection for a Salisbury bound service at Basingstoke giving me 25 minutes to pop to Sainsburys for some supplies & dinner before taking 159107 & 159018 to Salisbury where I drove home.

2nd July – Bodmin & The Camel Trail

The Camel Trail is the name given to the former railway line path running from Padstow towards Wadebridge & Bodmin with a branch heading towards the small settlement of Wenford Bridge, a walk I split into two sections owing to the awkwardness of getting towards Wenford Bridge as it’s not served by many buses (and even those buses require a near mile walk along country lanes to reach).  The day began with a drive to Salisbury to catch the 07:39 service towards Exeter Central with 159003 & 159005 where I visited the nearby Co-Op for some lunch items before taking 166204 down the hill to Exeter St Davids.  This is where my plans changed as my original idea was to take the service which started at Exeter heading towards Penzance for my first 175 for many a year, but that was cancelled so it was onto 802114 from London to take me to Bodmin Parkway.  Another change of plan as I was going to bail at Liskeard to take the Camelford bus from Liskeard but as I had extra time I decided on a little stroll.

Leaving Bodmin Parkway station, I followed the signs for the path towards Lanhydrock.  Some nice woodland on this tarmac path, as I followed another twisty path into some hilly woodland with signposted of the "Timber Trail".  A short section along a road took me towards cycle route 3 on a section which runs parallel to a busy road, crossing the A30 Bodmin Bypass on a suspension bridge and into some more nice woodland.

37175 at Exeter St Davids

This took me to Respryn Road, a dead-end road (has an emergency access gate with the dual carriageway) taking me towards the southern reach of Bodmin, with a detour along another short cycle path to reach Lostwithiel Road to avoid a busy section of pavementless road.  This road took me towards Bodmin town centre, passing the heritage line railway station, detouring via Priory Park.  After a visit to the town centre I decided as I still had time to make a small start with the Camel Trail, passing the former Bodmin Jail (now a posh hotel) on the railway line path heading towards Dunmere and an access point at the former station, and to a bus stop outside the Borough Arms pub.

The Camelford bus (a Transport for Cornwall route 55) was running late, and was a double decker (I guess for a school run afterwards), this was a reasonably fast run along the B3266 road detouring via St Tudy where I alighted from the bus at the bus stop at Penhale Crossroads where my second walk of the day began.  Following the country lanes towards Wenford Bridge, crossing sides of the road to protect myself on bends I soon reached the bridge over the Camel and onto the former freight line.

Priory Park, Bodmin

This was a treat for beautiful woodland & views along a decent tarmac path as I headed south on this rural path with some small settlements along the way, such as Keybridge, Tresarrett & Hellandbridge.  I was enjoying the sound of the river running close by as well as the birds.  Part of the route went via the Shell Woods and was beautiful.  I was making good progress along the busy path (cyclists, dog walkers & occasional jogger), but I suspect as this is more remote it's less used compared with the main route towards Padstow (which does benefit from more buses).

All good things come to an end as I reached Dunmere once more, meeting up with the path from Bodmin and heading to the bus stop on the A389 road near the former station, getting lucky with a late running bus from Padstow, a case of fast walking up the hill turning around every few seconds to make sure I didn't miss the bus.  Thankfully I made it to the bus stop before the route 57 arrived which was a busy bus bound for Liskeard, which I took to Bodmin Parkway station, one of these days I will do the section between Parkway station & Liskeard, but when I have a bit more time.

Remains of platform at Dunmere Halt Station on the Camel Trail

At Bodmin Parkway I had a short wait before an Exeter St Davids bound 800031 rolled in from Penzance to take me towards Exeter, looking out of the window at the views in Cornwall & also the sea near Dawlish.  At Exeter St Davids I walked up the hill to the Co-Op which was quite bare boned in both food & also drink items, managing to grab something I would enjoy (and a bottle of 7Up).  I made my way to Exeter Central and onto a late running 159002 & 159019 which I took down the hill to St Davids where it turned back on platform 1 to head back towards Salisbury arriving near enough on time.

Another enjoyable day in Cornwall, the walk from Bodmin Parkway into Bodmin was unexpected but was nice and the section of the Camel Trail was beautiful, I can’t wait to walk the section towards Padstow (probably then for a bus to Newquay to attempt to do that new loop & platform on that line).  As always thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *Here*, keep safe.