1st – 4th October Day Trips.

 1st – 4th October Day Trips

1st October - Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal

A start of a new month and I had 4 days off, with the weather looking quite good, it was time for a long walk in the Welsh countryside.  I had previously walked the section of the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal south of Pontypool towards Cwmbran, Newport & Crosskeys, so it was time to head away from the urban environment into the rural sections of the canal north of Pontypool towards Llanfoist (near to Abergavenny).

The day began with a drive to Salisbury station to board 166205 on a Bristol Temple Meads stopping service which starts from Salisbury (better chance of a seat in the former 1st class area) as this service got quite busy towards Bristol Temple Meads.  A station which is dangerous at peak times due to the narrow staircases leading from the platforms to the subway, a place which has gotten worse since the opening of the new entrance on the south side as that generates more two-way traffic within the subway (whereas passengers from an arrival on platform 3 would mostly all head towards the exits located on platform 3, some will head down the narrow stairs to head to the new exit.  The station made worse by endless platform changes, forcing more usage of those narrow steep stairs.

Anyhow a bit of chaos with issues around Cheltenham Spa with a XC service being announced as delayed until further notice, only for platform staff to announce it was ready to depart when it wasn’t.  Eventually 221110 departed taking me to Bristol Parkway where I made a connection onto 802105 to take me to Newport in a spot of rain.  I had time to quickly dash to the little Tesco outside the station to grab some lunch supplies before taking 197109 to Pontypool & New Inn where my walk began.  In case anybody was wondering why I went via Bristol Parkway is because the train from Portsmouth Harbour is a very tight official connection at Newport and with Pontypool & New Inn only being 2 hourly served (no wonder why the fancy new car park was mostly empty!) I didn’t want to risk GWR being late.

800023 at Bristol Parkway

Leaving the station at Pontypool & New Inn, I headed towards the road, crossing over the A4042 and towards the canal, dropping down the stairs onto the towpath and turning right to go underneath the road.  A reasonable quality towpath in some nice woodland as I began my walk.  The canal here is quite wavy as it avoids the many hills in this area, leaving behind the Pontypool area, the views soon opened up as I headed north.  My walk continued along the canal, as I was enjoying the scenery and peace, skirting around Mamilad & Croes-Y-Pant to head north to reach Goytre Wharf, with a lot of boats moored up (and day trip boats out and about).  I continued along the canal in rural Monmouthshire with views of the some of the hills in the Brecon Beacons on my left and countryside on the right, mixed up with some lovely woodland.

My walk continued with the canal, the towpath being variable in places, all mostly solid but a couple areas where it could get muddy during winter.  The views continued as the canal overlooks Llanellen, skirting on the edge of the hills, giving some nice views on the right-hand side in my direction of travel.  Soon I reached Llanfoist wharf which was the end point of my canal walk, as I came down a steep road, passing a church to this settlement, passing the route of an old railway line path (which runs towards Brynmawr).

View from the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal between Goytre Wharf & Llanfoist 

I followed the road and a cycle path underneath the A465 dual carriageway, detouring via a Waitrose to grab some extra drink (and doughnuts) before crossing the River Usk, detouring around a worksite for a new bridge across the river before following a path via the Castle Meadows to reach Abergavenny station where it wasn't too long to wait for 197106 to take me towards Newport making a nice connection onto 166210 for the run towards Salisbury.  A very enjoyable walk in the countryside, although the next section will take some thinking due to being long as it heads towards Brecon and Welsh buses not being part of any sort of fare cap scheme (and fares mostly getting hidden away in a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard”).

2nd October – Aire & Calder Navigation

Last month I did the section of the Aire & Calder Navigation from the Whitley Bridge area towards Castleford, so I decided it would be a good plan to do the more rural section heading east towards Goole, before the autumn wet weather comes.  The day began with the 05:20 service from Grateley towards Clapham Junction with 159008 & 159017, making a connection onto 701010 to take me to Vauxhall and onto the Victoria line with set 11006/11005 to King’s Cross St Pancras.  After a quick supply run to the Tesco near Kings Cross (to save a job when in Yorkshire owing to the limited options around Eggborough or Selby), it was onto 802301 for the journey to Selby.

At Selby I had a gentle stroll towards the little bus station area to await the Arriva run route 476 service for Pontefract which took me towards Eggborough (unlike the one a few weeks ago, this bypasses Hensall and instead serves the village of Whitley (located south of the M62).  Like with a couple weeks ago I crossed the railway at Whitley Bridge station and accessed the Aire & Calder Navigation near Templar Close, turning right to go underneath Selby Road with an industrial unit on the left-hand side.  The towpath doesn’t run underneath the A19 bridge forcing a trip up some slightly overgrown stairs to cross the busy road before going down some more stairs to re-join the canal.

Aire & Calder Navigation near Eggborough

Back on the grassy towpath I continued the walk heading towards the M62 and the large Whitley Lock (designed to cope with the sea going vessels which used to use this canal regularly when the power stations were in operation).  Leaving the lock behind the mostly flat countryside soon opened out as I enjoyed the peace, heading towards Great Heck, the towpath swapping sides at Heck Lane (so the canal was now on my right hand side heading east).  The towpath was quite variable along this section, but I was expecting that due to the rural nature of the canal.  Near the ECML bridge, I made a detour towards the Great Heck crash memorial garden to pay my respects before returning to the canal.

I crossed underneath the ECML for the long straight walk towards Pollington, unchanging fields on both sides making this particular section of canal a bit boring for scenery.  The towpath swapped sides at Pollington Lock and I continued heading east, with the unusual signage of "Animal Escape Ramps" to allow animals to escape the water owing to the sheep piling banks.  I continued until reaching the New Junction Canal opposite Southfield Reservoir, walking along this short canal across the River Went to reach a footbridge to cross over to head back towards the Aire & Calder canal on the opposite bank before carrying on with some nice views of the reservoir and countryside on my right being less featureless now.

An Azuma passing the Great Heck (Selby) Railway Crash Memorial

The canal continued, with a couple of curves to head towards the M18 with the Dutch River making an appearance on the right (although mostly hidden by trees).  After the M18 bridge, I reached the village of Rawcliffe Bridge, with a detour around the edge of a marina before carrying along the south bank (as this section has towpaths on both sides of the canal).  This was the busiest section in terms of other walkers/cyclists due to the quality of the surface being more suitable for riding.  I soon headed underneath the railway carrying the Goole - Doncaster railway, reaching the end of the canal which could be walked.  It did continue further towards Goole Marina flowing into the docks but that area was off-limits as it was private land.

With the canal walking complete, I followed a road which ran between the marina and the Dutch River, heading towards Bridge Street in Old Goole, before following the road towards Goole Station, via the docks area arriving with a few minutes to spare before the next Doncaster bound stopping service was due. For some unknown reason 158870 lost time between Saltmarshe & Goole arriving around 10 minutes late, meaning the connection at Doncaster was quite tight as I boarded 801201 on a southbound service, grabbing a seat and relaxing after another long walk.  Not the most exciting at times with the featureless fields but another canal nearly done (I just need to do Castleford to Wakefield at some point, although from research the path on that seems to be mostly hard surfaces).

158903 at Goole Station

An uneventful journey to London Kings Cross with a trip to Waterloo via the Victoria & Bakerloo lines to board the 18:50 service with 159009 & 158885 to take me back towards Hampshire to finish the day.  Along the way I was looking at options for the Saturday deciding to change the area where I was going to head.

3rd October – Sankey Canal & St Helens

I started the mostly disused Sankey Canal in November 2024 when I walked from Earlestown towards Runcorn via Warrington with the section from Earlestown towards St Helens on my wish list.  I was originally going to do it during the week, but with the days getting shorter I decided to shift it to a weekend to make use of the 07:30 service from Euston to give myself an extra 2 hours.  The day began with 159010 to Waterloo, followed with 51600 & 51601 on the Northern line to Euston.  My journey to Warrington Bank Quay was on 390156 for an uneventful speedy trip along the WCML.

At Warrington Bank Quay it was a short wait before 197122 rolled in on a busy Manchester service to take me to Earlestown where my walk began.  Heading out of the station into some road works, swinging via the Tesco close to the station to grab lunch items before following roads to reach a path which went via The Dingle green space, which took me towards the route of the old canal.  I was considering a quick walk towards the viaduct for a photograph of a train passing it, but the angle of the sun meant any such photos wouldn't have been that much good so that idea was ditched and I turned right passing the remains of Newton Common Lock on a solid path leading towards Common Road.

331111 at Earlestown Station

Crossing this busy road and onto another decent quality path, passing Penkford Pond (part of the canal which has been restored), saying morning to the other walkers I passed along the way.  I reached the Havannah Flashes (another rewatered section of the canal, used by fishermen) enjoying the sunshine in the Sankey Valley Park.  I continued along the path heading towards the St Helens area and the remains of the old double lock (where the Blackbrook Branch would have branched off).  Turning left towards Maccies Field and another path to reach Park Road (the A58) near a Lidl.  Thankfully this road had traffic lights to allow a safe crossing as I picked up the route of the canal, the towpath quality now a bit rougher (still hard surface but not smooth), leading towards Merton Bank Road and a split of the canal with the former Gerald's Bridge branch carrying on straight and the main canal turning left into an industrial area.  I passed the New Double Lock, before reaching a section of the canal which had been restored (and in use by canoes) near the former Foundry Wharf.

This part of restored canal didn't last for long as I followed the path passing close to the station and into Vera Page Park with a flat crossing of the disused freight line for Hays Chemicals (the former St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway).  The canal turned west, going underneath the railway, passing the World of Glass and terminating near The Range (it would have previously continued further but the route has been lost under modern developments).  The next section of my walk took me along the roads, passing the temporany bus station on Chalon Way and St Helens Central station towards Fosters Park.  After a trip via the park, I reached the route of the Gerald's Bridge branch, going back underneath the railway and on the Racenhead Greenway path towards Islands Brow, passing the point I previously turned south.

Sankey Canal, Vera Page Park, St Helens

After reaching Islands Brow road, I headed towards the Haresfinch area of the town, passing the Haresfinch Park.  Originally I did look at a path shown towards Burgy Pond but I saw no evidence of that existing.  Following Woodlands Road & Carr Mill Road, crossing over the East Lancashire Road (A580) with traffic lights I reached a Toby Carvery alongside a OYO hotel and the southern edge of Carr Mill Lake.  I followed the woodland path along the western side of this large lake, crossing over via the Nineteen Arches bridge and back south along the eastern side.  A busy lakeside path (although views of the lake itself were limited at times due to the trees).  The path returned me towards the slipway which was crossed by the railway on a viaduct and I followed the path underneath the railway and along the route of the feeder channel to reach the former Blackbrook Branch of the canal.  This was another nice woodland path, decent surface and well used by other walkers & cyclists.

I returned to the Old Double Locks, which completed the walkable sections of the Sankey Canal, retracing my steps across Maccies Field, but turning left to follow the Sutton Brook Greenway.  The first section wasn't much to shout about as it ran alongside tall fences with school playing fields with no sign of the Sankey Brook, although the path did look quite modern as it took me towards Parr Stocks Road and onto the southern section of the Sutton Brook Greenway, this part was nicer with woodland and views of the brook itself.  I followed the route of this greenway path towards Watery Lane in the Sutton area of St Helens, with a fast walk along the road to finish the walk at St Helens Junction.  A lot longer than I was expecting to have walked today (for the section around Carr Mill Lake & Sutton Brook Greenway I was planning to do on another day trip).  I remember when St Helens Junction used to have 3tph towards Liverpool, including a semi-fast service from Manchester Airport, before TPE increased their services from Liverpool to Manchester Victoria to 2tph and switched the call to Lea Green with the Warrington Bank Quay - Liverpool Lime Street stopper being axed during Covid times leaving the stations on this section of line hourly served.  I dread to think how bored the ticket office people must get during the day, considering St Helens Junction is the passing point of the hourly stopping services.

A TPE 397 alongside Carr Mill Dam, St Helens

It was onto 331029 & 331028, walking to the back coach where it was quieter (due to not being accommodated by many of the stations).  At Liverpool Lime Street I popped to the shop for some supplies before boarding 390135 on the next London bound service.  Coach U was empty and I was the only passenger in coach G as it departed, calling at Runcorn, Lichfield & Tamworth where I was joined by one more passenger who was travelling between Lichfield & Tamworth.  Into London Euston where I had a gentle stroll towards Waterloo, a station in a bit of chaos due to an incident at Basingstoke closing the station.  In hindsight I ought to have gone 701 hunting to waste the time instead of sitting on a bench.  An hour later 159016 rolled in to form a Salisbury stopper, the first train towards Basingstoke for a couple of hours, so needless to say it was rather wedged, even in the front coach.  At Basingstoke it did empty out but soon refilled, remaining busy throughout.  I alighted at Grateley for a gentle walk home, to end an enjoyable day in the St Helens area.

4th October – Walking the Busway to St Ives

Another walk which has been on my wish list is the path alongside the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway between Cambridge North station towards St Ives, and with fine weather expected I decided for my 4th long walk of this long weekend.  With overnight engineering works in the Salisbury area closing the line through Grateley until mid-morning I decided to drive to Andover station to catch the first train of the day which was starting at Andover, formed of 159013 for the speedy run towards Waterloo, where I had a gentle stroll towards Kings Cross for the 09:24 Great Northern service for Kings Lynn with a busy 379001 & 379018 taken to Cambridge North (it was busy in the front coach, I dread to think how busy the rear coaches would have been!).

The 379s took me to Cambridge North where my walk began, with a detour via the station toilets before a little detour towards Moss Bank on a section of the old railway route not used by the busway. I returned towards Cambridge North station, following the pavement of the busway via the science park.  The safety fence making an appearance after Milton Road getting taller close to the Regional College, where another branch of the busway joins from Orchard Park (the section used by the route "A" buses, the part from Cambridge North station to this point used by the route "B" buses).  I crossed underneath the A14 with the urban area of Cambridge giving way to more rural, with woodland on my right and the protected busway on my left.  This took me towards Histon, passing the former station building (now in use by a pub).

379018 departing Cambridge North Station

The path swapped sides in Histon, with a short section away from the busway before it returned to running alongside the busway, now back to being unprotected with a fence.  The sound insulation panels alongside both sides of the path looked messy with the outer protection layer gone exposing the insulation itself.  I passed an industrial area in Histon before the scenery changed to open countryside with fields.  This section of the path was the busiest in terms of other walkers, joggers, cyclists and rollerbladers, until Oakington (where part of the original platform still exists) the path swapping sides so the busway was on my left-hand side towards St Ives.

I continued my walk, passing the junction for the future busway loop to serve the new town of Northstowe.  This was a pleasant part of the walk for views with the occasional bus (double deck buses on the Sunday hourly "B" service and single deck buses on the 3 buses an hour "A" route), although a couple of times it felt like some buses were bunching up with 2 route A buses following each other within a matter of a couple of minutes, must be traffic within the city centre area.  Anyhow I reached the park & ride site at Longstanton, part of the old station platform being visible before heading back into the countryside.

Remains of platform at Oakington Station (alongside the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway)

My walk alongside the busway continued heading in a general north western direction, on a rural section of the path, the settlement of Swavesey being to the south of the path as it reached the Fen Drayton nature reserve.  This part of the path has a history of flooding during winter as at times it runs at a lower level than the busway, an area I've marked up for a return on another day to explore the various lakes in this part of the country.  I continued along the path, enjoying the lakes, crossing over the River Great Ouse (thinking to myself, the riverside walk from Waterbeach to Ely (and from Ely to Littleport) will need to wait until 2027 as both are quite rural).

The last section of the busway took me towards the St Ives park & ride, with the path ending near Harrison Way, close to the site of the original station.  I ended the walk in the local Spoons for a late lunch before taking a Stagecoach Route 'B' service (from Huntingdon) from the little bus station area back along the busway to Cambridge North station, detouring via a little East of England Co-Op store I saw advertised, to waste some time.  A short wait at Cambridge North before 379022 & 379002 rolled in from Kings Lynn, attaching with 379025 at Cambridge (my theory with boarding at Cambridge North meant a better chance of a decent seat before all the tourists board at Cambridge itself!).

An uneventful fast run took me to Kings Cross, where I met up with my good friend Jules who was in London on a little adventure of his own, with 700138 taken to London Bridge followed with 465004 & 465029 to Waterloo East.  At Waterloo it was a short wait before boarding winner 701024 to Surbiton, returning towards Clapham Junction on 701003 (saying farewell to Jules as he bailed at Wimbledon in search of dinner).  Unusual for a 701 to be on platform 7, but this was a diverted Reading service due to Staines being closed.  I made an easy connection onto 159104, 159016 & 159015 for the journey back to Andover to finish my long weekend.

701024 at Surbiton Station

As always thanks for reading, more photos (beware some might feature buses) can be found on my Flickr *here*.  Keep safe.