Late Summer Holiday Adventuring Part 1 (2nd – 7th September).

 Late Summer Holiday Adventuring Part 1 (2nd – 7th September).

When the holiday roster was announced around this time last year, I looked at the 2 weeks I got allocated for my summer holiday being in the last period (although September is better than having it during school holidays where places are more expensive), using up some additional annual leave to link up some rest days to give myself 3 weeks off work.  Originally, I was planning to have a holiday abroad somewhere but stuff happens and I never actually got around to booking anything, instead I ended up booking 3 nights in Hamilton one week, 3 nights in Whitley Bay the following week, with day trips (and a couple of overnight stays) on a busy couple of weeks.

2nd September – Dodging the Rain on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation

My original idea for my first day was to head towards Leicestershire for a stroll from Syston station towards Leicester via the Watermead Country Park but the weather forecast looked quite damp, so instead I looked towards Essex with a navigation I was originally going to push until 2027 owing to time constraints.  The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation runs for around 14 miles from Heybridge Basin (near Maldon) towards Chelmsford via the Essex countryside.

The trip began with the 06:57 service from Grateley with 158886, 159010 & 159012 taken to Waterloo, where I transferred to a very busy Waterloo & City line (this was prime commuting time after-all) with 65503 & 65504 taken to Bank, followed with a Central line service to Liverpool Street (91191, 92464, 92194 & 91095).  I had time to grab some supplies before boarding 745102 on the 09:00 Norwich train with the nonstop run to Chelmsford, where I made my way to the bus station for the First Essex run route 73B service towards Heybridge Basin.

745102 departs Chelmsford Station

This bus headed via the Chelmsford city centre before heading towards Beaulieu Park, detouring to serve Chelmsford Parkway station before heading towards Hatfield Peveral.  Afterwards it headed towards Heybridge Basin via Heybridge & Langford (where it passed over the route of the old railway line walk from Maldon towards Witham).  I left the bus in the village of Heybridge Basin, making my way towards the coastal path alongside the River Blackwater Estuary.  

I followed the Blackwater River towards the entrance lock to the otherwise isolated Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation.  The first section of the navigation was along a purpose-built canal, a reasonable surface towpath with a fair few boats moored up, with countryside on my right-hand side.  I soon reached Heybridge with the canal skirting the edge of Maldon, the towpath being part of a cycle route on this section.  The cycle route soon departed with the towpath turning more rural as it headed towards Beeleigh Lock with the canal section heading into the river section (River Chelmer).

Sea Lock on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation, Heybridge Basin

The river hid away at times along this walk, with the path surface being reasonable this time of year (a few sections it was a bit overgrown) but somewhere I wouldn't want to walk during the winter months due to mud.  However, I continued my stroll in mostly isolation, heading in some pretty countryside, passing a couple more locks with the path swapping sides a couple of times.  The busiest section of the river walk was near Paper Mill Lock to the north of Little Baddow, which featured a little tearoom, an ideal spot for my lunch break.  After my break I continued along the river, weaving its way towards Chelmsford, the road noise increasing as the river headed towards the very busy sounding A12 road.

After running close to the road for around a mile, the river headed underneath and headed west, back into the peace & quiet.  Still quite rural considering the area, as the navigation headed towards Springfield basin.  I did a loop around the basin (as much as I could do as parts weren't accessible), before following the river Chelmer towards the city centre and the station.  An enjoyable countryside stroll in the sunshine (although it did look like it was going to rain a couple of times but nothing came of it).

Springfield Basin on the Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation, Chelmsford

Anyhow it was back to the trains with 720563 & 720581 being the first option to take me towards Stratford, where I switched to the Jubilee line (although I do wonder if using the Lizzy to Tottenham Court Road & Northern line is slightly quicker to Waterloo).  96024 & 96079 took me to Waterloo, where I jumped onto 159010 & 159011 on the 17:53 service back to Grateley to end the little day trip to Essex to begin my holiday.

3rd September – The Golden Sands of North Devon

I decided it would be a good day to head towards Devon to walk the old railway line path from the Ossaborough area towards Illfracombe, also as an excuse to visit Okehampton Interchange.  The day started with a drive to Salisbury for the 06:30 service to Exeter St Davids with 159008 & 159002 on this very busy train (college kids).  I alighted at Exeter Central and after grabbing some supplies from the nearby Co-Op took a seat on 150266 & 150265 on the next Barnstaple train to take me to Barnstaple.

With time to kill before the bus, I had a gentle stroll towards the bus station going via Rock Park before boarding the Stagecoach run route 303 service towards Woolacombe.  This was in the hands of a modern Solo (and a former London bus driver) as it followed the A361 (detouring to serve Braunton Tesco) and the B3343 road.  This bus does a loop via the pretty coastal villages of Mortehoe & Woolacombe with some nice coastal views (although the rain did attempt to spoil the view).  I left the bus outside the Golden Coast Holiday Park where my walk began.

View from Bus near Woolacombe

The first section was via the holiday park, passing The Old Mill Pub, and following the road towards a little car park where the cycle route following the route of the former railway began.  A decent tarmac path as I headed back towards the holiday park (on my left hand side) with a caravan park on the right.  Once I was away from the holiday parks, crossing the B3343 the countryside opened up with the path slowly dropping towards Ilfracombe.  A pleasant walk passing a couple of reservoirs and even a tunnel.

The cycle path came to an end near the site of the former station, now an industrial unit as I made my way down a very steep hill from Cairn Road to St Bramock's Road to a nearby bus stop for a Stagecoach run 21B to take me towards Barnstaple.  A decent visit to Illfracombe will have to wait for another day, for a stroll alongside the coast.  This was a busy double decker which took me towards Barnstaple station where it was a bit on the tight side to make 158798 on the next Exeter bound service, which I took to Crediton.  At Crediton I crossed over to the opposite platform to await 150246 on a busy Okehampton service to visit the recently opened Okehampton Interchange, a station I suspect I will use again in the future to connect with a bus towards Tavistock when I eventually get round to visiting the old railway line path between Tavistock & Plymouth.

150246 at Okehampton Interchange Station 

A short time at Okehampton Interchange and 150246 returned to take me to Crediton, where I had a gentle stroll to the nearby Tesco (not the most direct route access from the station) to grab some supplies for dinner before making my way back to Crediton station to board 150265 & 150266 for the second time that day to take me towards Exeter where the units split with 150265 continuing to Axminster.  Solely for the slight novelty of having a 150 to Axminster, getting very busy on departure from Exeter Central due to the reduced SWR timetable.

This gave me around 20 minutes to kill at Axminster, time spent relaxing on a bench for 159007 & 159004 to arrive with a Waterloo service, to take me back to Salisbury & a drive home.  An enjoyable day in Devon, not the longest of old railway line paths but one of those awkward ones where the bus service is more limited.  I will need to return to Barnstaple again at some point as I’ve still got some unfinished business with the short old railway line path towards Taunton, but that can easily be a job for winter time.

150265 at Axminster Station

4th September – Walking the East Coast

My good friend Stu was walking the route of the East Coast Main Line & towards Inverness (in a walk which sadly got cut short due to injury at Newark), as I missed out on his last long walk in 2024 due to being in training I joined him on a short section of his walk-in outer Thameslink land.  A walk full of ups & downs.

The day began with the 05:55 service to Waterloo with a lightly loaded 159107 & 158880 where I had a gentle stroll to Blackfriars to jump on a Peterborough bound 700149 ahead of my schedule.  This emptied out within the Thameslink core before heading towards Biggleswade where to waste some time before Stu was due to arrive, I headed to a nearby Asda for some supplies.  I got quite lucky as the next train skipped Biggleswade due to a tragic incident around Welwyn with some serious delays with the rest of the day.  The weather was a bit drizzly in Biggleswade with the train passing through a band of heavy rain, but thankfully nothing really came of the rain.

700149 departing Biggleswade Station

I met up with Stu with the walk beginning, as we headed via the suburbs towards Fairfield House, crossing over the ECML on a modern bridge (replacing a flat crossing).  We headed towards Biggleswade Common, crossing over the route of the former railway to Cambridge, skirting round The Lodge Nature Reserve to reach Sandy.  This is when we had a decision to make as originally the route was going to be alongside the A1 towards Tempsford before picking up another path to take us towards St Neots, however Stu looked up on Google Maps which suggested an alternative route on the eastern side of the railway which would avoid walking on a path alongside a busy dual carriageway.

With the massive benefit of hindsight we should have stuck with the original route, for little did we know the massive farce to come near St Neots.  Anyhow leaving Sandy we followed the Greensand Ridge Walk along the route of an old Roman Road, the surface being quite changeable.  This took us past the former Tempsford Airfield, walking along part of the former runway area.  This bridleway eventually took us onto Drewels Lane where the planned footpath we were thinking of taking didn't exist (no evidence where it left the road, so clearly one of those footpaths lost to the history books).  This meant a longer walk on the quiet road, passing a large housing development.

Woodland between Biggleswade Common & Sandy

This is where things started to go wrong as we reached the area where a new road is being constructed with the existing road getting diverted before coming to a dead end, the B1046 was split in two with no access towards St Neots.  Plan B involved walking along this road away from St Neots, passing a closed footpath to reach a restricted Byway, Hail Lane as the map suggested there was some footpaths heading towards St Neots.  All was going well until the footpath simply ended with a sign saying "footpath closed" at the closure point, a few choice swear words were said (which for someone who has no emotions says something).

Plan C time as we headed towards the medieval village of Wintringham to reach the busy A428 where finally we managed to cross over the new road being constructed, nearly 2 hours after reaching the first closure.  We ignored the "pavement closed" signs as by this time we had enough, picking up the B1428 road to reach St Neots, where even Stu had enough as he was originally planning to end his day at Huntingdon.  We said farewell as he headed towards Huntingdon to relax on a peak time 387 service and I boarded a heavily delayed 700151 to take me back towards London Blackfriars, annoyingly the rear First Class area was locked out of use.

An Azuma passing Sandy Station

At Blackfriars I had a gentle walk to Waterloo, where I boarded the 19:20 service with 159019, 159103 & 158880 for the trip home, taking a seat in the partly refurbished 159103 to sample the new seat coverings.  An enjoyable sociable day with a good friend, even if the last couple hours was a massive pain trying to reach St Neots due to the construction site.  What was even more annoying was the complete lack of signage, or even Open Street Maps/Strava not marking the paths as impassable considering from the looks those paths have been closed for at least a year if not longer.

5th September – A couple of Walks in Greater Manchester

I decided it would be a good day to head back towards Greater Manchester to finish the Roe Green Loopline path, as well as several other bits in the North Western corner between Wigan & Manchester.  The day started with the 05:27 from Grateley with 159009 taking me to Waterloo, followed with 51664 & 51663 on a Northern line service to Euston where I had time to grab some breakfast from the Sainsburys before boarding 390141 on a Manchester Piccadilly service for the speedy run via Stoke on Trent.

In Manchester, after grabbing some lunch items I headed to platform 14 and onto a busy 331028 & 331021 to take me to Bolton where I just missed a route 36 bus by seconds (it was pulling out of the bus stop outside the station as I was close by).  I had a gentle stroll towards the bus station to await the next Bee Network route 36 service to Manchester (a slow bus route!)  This busy bus route (most stops called at) took me towards Farnworth where I left the bus near Tennyson Road where my walk began.

66133 at Manchester Piccadilly

The first section of today's walk was along a mixed use path on the north side of the M61 towards Anchor Lane, meeting up with the point I headed north the previous week when walking towards Bolton.  I crossed over the M61 joining the northern section of the Roe Green Loopline towards Amblecote playing fields where the Linnyshaw Loopline path began.  This path took me back towards Buckley Lane, close to where I began!  I headed into Ashtons Field, passing what appeared to be some old locks before the path started to look like an old railway line route as I headed towards Worsley Road.

Crossing this road and I was soon in the Blackleach Country Park, passing a nice-looking reservoir.  This was a path which felt like it had some money thrown at it in recent times with a surface which felt like old rubber had been mixed with the tarmac (it was a bit bouncy if that makes sense).  A busy path with other walkers, joggers, cyclists, certainly a decent little stroll towards Linnyshaw, the path ending alongside the A6.

Linnyshaw Loopline in Ashtons Field, Little Hulton

The next section was via the roads, crossing over the railway near Walkden & the A580 "East Lancashire Road" to reach Roe Green where I headed onto the Roe Green Loopline close to the junction where the Tyldesley path branched off.  I followed the route of the old railway towards Walkden, linking up with where I joined the previous week at Parr Fold Park.  I continued along until the start of the Ellenbrook Loop path, following this path (another decent path) to reach the guided busway near the start, where the first of today's walks ended, as I awaited a V1 service to take me along the busway to the bus stop near Cooling Lane.  I was impressed with the quality of the seating on the new electric buses used for the Leigh Busway, comfy seats with some tables.

The second walk was something I was hoping to do back in July, but bailed from that walk early due to the temperature getting rather toasty.  It was to follow a path (which the OS Map & Google Maps suggest is a cycle path, but is nothing of the sort in my eyes) from the busway towards Howe Bridge.  Some nice woodland along the way, but the surface was a bit muddy in places & also flooded.  A short detour was needed near to Howe Bridge as the original route seems to have been lost to history.  After crossing the A579 road, the path quality did improve a bit as it headed towards Hindley Green but the decent path randomly coming to a sudden end (like I reached a boundary between council areas).

 

Hindsford Brook between Tyldesley & Howe Bridge 

I continued along this path which had its good points, but also negative points, mainly the steep slope near Leigh Road.  The path came away from the route of the old railway line in this area, running along the top of the cutting in some nice woodland, passing close to some industrial units.  I soon reached the ending point where I had a couple of options, either head north towards Hindley or south towards Bickershaw.  The bus connection heading south looked tight, especially with a path of unknown quality, so I played it safe and headed towards Hindley, ending the walk at the bus stop close to the Council Offices, turning down the first Wigan bound bus as that goes round the houses and doesn't serve the station area.

It was onto a route 607 service to take me towards the bus stop near Wallgate (where once more the bus pretty much emptied out).  Quite a lot of police floating around due to the football (Wigan vs Stockport), but thankfully I made it to Wigan North Western for a slightly delayed London train formed of 390137 on a fast service.  I managed to get a seat with a working power socket and settled down for the speedy run to Euston.  51701 & 51501 took me to Waterloo on the Northern Line, where I had a 55-minute wait for the next Salisbury train, formed of a very busy 158883 & 159017 to take me home.  A day of two different walks, I would recommend the Linnyshaw & Roe-Green paths as all year-round walks, but the old railway towards Hindley was best done when I did it, as I suspect the winter months it might even become impassable with flooding.

 6th September – Welsh Coastal Path & the Neath Canal

I had an overnight stay booked in the Travelodge close to Cardiff Central station on a random booking, the idea for today was a late notice change from what I was originally planning to do.  The day began with 159103 & 158888 to Andover, followed with 159022 to Reading where I had time to head to Wendy’s for some breakfast items before boarding 800017 on a Swansea service to Port Talbot Parkway, arriving around 20 minutes late due to awaiting a member of staff at Reading who had been delayed heading towards Reading from elsewhere.

Leaving the station at Port Talbot, I headed towards Tesco close to the River Afan to grab some lunch items, cutting via the shopping centre to reach the bus station (which looked all closed up and at first glance disused).  I picked up a cycle path underneath the A4241 before walking alongside the river towards a roundabout, following the A4241 towards Victoria Road & Newbridge Road, picking up cycle route 4 (I think it was) alongside the river once more.  This walk gave some nice views of the docks at Port Talbot, which must have been alive in the olden times with ships.  I passed an fenced off bridge which gave the impression of something railway related.

I reached Aberavon Beach which was very beautiful, walking along the path alongside the beach towards the Baglan Moor area, where I had an option of taking the cycle route via an industrial park or carrying on with the Welsh coastal path.  I decided to stick with the Welsh coastal path, as I crossed over some dunes to walk on the actual beach at Baglan Bay.  I followed the route of the coastal path across the sand dunes towards some industrial wasteland, quite a strange sensation, going underneath an old pipe before reaching what I can only presume was an emergency access road to the power station when it existed.

Aberavon Beach

This former access road took me towards the side of the River Neath, and in typical Welsh fashion a blocked path with some large blocks.  Thankfully there was a route alongside the block (although I did catch my hand as it started to bleed).  After this block in the road, I continued along the Welsh coastal path passing the Armstong's Hydraulic Accumulator, part of the former Briton Ferry docks.  I headed underneath the M4 & A48 into Briton Ferry itself, leaving behind cycle route 4 as that headed to run alongside the A48 (and A483) towards Swansea as I picked up cycle route 47 at the entrance to the Neath Canal, seeing where it would have once joined up with the River Neath.

The towpath of this canal was decent tarmac, although a couple parts it was a bit overgrown & narrow (with a very low bridge underneath the Swansea District Line).  Quite a pleasant stroll for views as it headed towards Neath, where originally, I was considering carrying on towards Aberdulais to finish the Tennant Canal but when I reached Neath I decided to call it a day, swinging via Morrisons to grab some more liquid before making my way to the station and onto 800034 & 800028 to take me to Cardiff Central.

Swansea District Line railway bridge over the Neath Canal between Briton Ferry & Neath (Duck!)

In Cardiff I had around half an hour before the next train to Treherbert as I had some unfinished business with visiting the rebuilt Ynyswen station (after ditching my visit back in December last year with multiple delays & cancellations).  I decided it would be a good excuse to get checked into the Travelodge, just to save a job and get rid of some weight from my rucksack, getting a so-so room overlooking the bus station (not as bad as a room overlooking the main street, but the best rooms in that hotel are those which overlook the central core).

I returned to Cardiff, randomly bumping into my good friend Jules who was in Cardiff with family visiting Barry Island (one of those completely chance meetings) before I took 756007 to the rebuilt Ynyswen station.  A station which has 2 platforms rather than a single platform like it used to have and similar to Dinas Rhondda which is another rebuilt station on the line with the improvements to allow 4 trains per hour.  I took 756007 towards Pontypridd where I headed out of the station to visit the nearby Spoons for dinner, mainly to waste some time but also because I was hungry.  I returned to the station, turning down the next 756 to Cardiff Central for the Cardiff Bay train from platform 1, formed of a shiny 398031 for my first taste of the new Tram Trains.

398031 at Pontypridd Station

Seats were comfortable but quite narrow, they felt reasonable for the job they were designed for (other than for the lack of a toilet).  Certainly, felt fast accelerating although I suspect the driver wasn’t giving it the full power owing to the timings being based on a 150 (not much point speeding to the station only to sit there for a couple of minutes for right time departure).  I took this 398 to Cardiff Queen Street, stepping back onto 231006 to take me down the hill to Cardiff Central, where I had a gentle stroll to the hotel to relax for the remainder of the evening.

7th September - Ogmore Valley Railway

South Wales has quite a few old railway lines which have been turned into mixed used paths, the Ogmore Valley Railway is one of such paths running from the former mining community of Nant-y-Moel to the north of Bridgend.  After leaving the Travelodge and grabbing breakfast related products I headed to Cardiff Central to board 153333 & 153909 on a Swansea stopper to take me to Bridgend.  This was the first time I’ve had 153333 since 2015 (when it was a Great Western unit).  Anyhow in Bridgend I had a gentle stroll to the bus station to await the next First bus operated route 74 to Nant-Y-Moel heading via Sarn and following the A4061 with various detours on his hilly route.  I left the bus at the terminus at Nant-Y-Moel with the old railway line path easy to access.

Surface quality was good, some beautiful views of the countryside  as I headed south, mostly downhill, towards Wyndham & Ogmore Vale passing the remains of the stations.  After Ogmore Vale the scenery changed to more woodland as it headed towards Blackmill and Brynmenyn.  A very nice former railway line path I would easily recommend.  The old railway line path itself ends in the Brynmenyn area as there is some massively overgrown track (which would head towards Tondu junction).

Remains of Ogmore Vale Station

The next part of today's walk was alongside the Ogmore River heading towards the Sarn & Aberkenfig area, going underneath the railway near Sarn station, joining up with part of the path I walked many years ago when visiting the stations (as Tondu & Sarn are easily walkable in the time between stations).  After crossing the busy A4063 I headed onto a section of the path which was a boardwalk heading towards a bridge carrying the M4.  A minor road followed before I resumed the walk alongside the Ogmore River towards the Wildmill area of Bridgend, the riverside path ending in Wildmill itself with the remainder involving walking along a pavement alongside Quarella Road, detouring into the Tesco at Bridgend before a fast walk to the station to jump onto a busy 800004 on a London Paddington service.

This took me to Reading, where I made a connection onto a late running 221138 to take me to Basingstoke, and onto 159012 to Grateley where my Welsh trip ended, but Scottish trip began.  After sorting out my rucksack and other general bits & bobs, I left the house to catch the 17:59 service from Grateley with 159007 & 158885 to Waterloo, where with time to kill before the sleeper I took winner 701049 to Kingston, intercepting 701015 back to Clapham Junction (clearing it for 10 miles).  At Clapham Junction it was a change onto 701050 to Stoneleigh for a short wait for winner 701003 back to Waterloo.

701003 at London Waterloo

I had a gentle stroll towards Euston, arriving with plenty of time to spare before boarding the sleeper to Glasgow with 92010 providing the power this evening.  This trip I managed to get a berth towards the centre of the coach which was far nicer than a berth over the wheels, just ruined somewhat by someone in the next room listening to an art history documentary without headphones (“what was the artist thinking when he painted such a painting back in the 17th century?”.  And that feels like a good time to end part 1 of my Late Summer Holiday blog post, as always thanks for reading, a lot more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*.  Part 2 will follow at some point which involves Scotland.