Trips in December 2025

 Trips in December 2025

5th December – Peak Forest Canal & a muddy bypass

The day started with a single 158 on a peak time London service, which being Friday coped with the crowds (would dread to think how busy it would have been on a Wednesday), where I had a little stroll to Euston to jump on 390047 on a Manchester service via Crewe to take me to Stockport as today was the day I was hopefully going to put a large dent in the Peak Forest Canal, I will still have a short section to walk in the Bugsworth Basin area, but I’ve got a plan for that area.  At Stockport I headed to the bus station to jump on the next route 330 service for Ashton which was a busy service, however I couldn’t help thinking that the timings of some of the traffic lights at the end of bus lanes could have been better as it felt like the bus was waiting on the Portwood Roundabout for a fair while.

Anyhow I alighted from the bus at Apethorn Lane on the edge of Hyde, walking the short distance along this lane towards the disused railway path I walked earlier in the year from Godley, and joined the canal where I headed south via the Apethorn Woods towards Woodley.  I continued along the reasonable towpath (bit flooded in places but nothing that serious), going through the tunnel, and skirting round the edge of Romiley.  Urban gave way to rural before a short bypass due to the Hyde Bank tunnel not having a towpath.  I joined the canal the other side of the tunnel, heading towards Marple Aqueduct and started the climb via the Marple Locks towards Marple itself.  The towpath switching sides a couple of times during the climb where I reached the junction with the Macclesfield canal (a job for the spring/summer time due to the towpath being a bit more rural in places).  I left Marple behind and headed into the countryside where the views of the peak district started to appear, until reaching a swing bridge between Marple & Strines where the towpath was closed for winter improvement works.

Peak Forest Canal in Marple

 

I won't repeat what I said as it was a bit rude, as I looked at the map, picking out a couple of footpaths which I was hoping would allow me to get back on the canal the other side of the block, heading towards Turf Lea and a very muddy & flooded footpath via woodlands, where thankfully I was able to re-join the canal to head towards Disley and finishing at New Mills, where I headed to New Mills Central to board 195006 from Sheffield.  I was surprised to get a seat considering this was short formed, however the train did fill up along the way into Manchester, where the rain had returned.  I made a tight connection onto 390016 on the next Euston service, getting a seat in a busy coach C, settling down for the fast run to Euston, where I had a little stroll to Waterloo for a triple 159 to take me back to Grateley.  An enjoyable, if not annoying canal walk, I suspect when the time comes to do Macclesfield to Marple I will extend the walk towards Strines to cover the section I missed.

6th December – Tour of Toton

When I noticed that both Cross Country & East Midlands were diverting via Toton (although at the start it wasn’t XC due to the strike but that got called off) I came up with a rough idea, even trying to fit in a sample of one of the shiny new 810 units from Nottingham.  Anyhow the day began with the first train of the day from Grateley to take me to Waterloo, where I headed to St Pancras via South Eastern & Thameslink to take a seat on 222013 on the Sheffield train, the lack of Derby showing on the departure board looked a tad strange.  Anyways, a couple of hours later I was at Sheffield, felt strange going via the Erewash Valley line without stopping, and I transferred to 150007 on the next Leeds via Moorthorpe stopper to take me to Bolton Upon Dearne for a little stroll.

Today's stroll, in the changeable weather was along the long distance Trans-Pennie Trail, as I headed south from Bolton Upon Dearne to pick up the path near the River Dearne for a stroll towards the Barnburgh Colliery Woodland and onto a footpath alongside the River Dearne to the south of Harlington before picking up the route of the former Dearne Valley Railway line towards Denaby Ings before heading towards Conisbrough where I followed an unofficial path (which was a bit muddy in places) to lead towards the River Don & the Mexborough Low Lock on the Kilnhurst Cut of the River Don Navigation.
I followed the waterway, dodging some of the larger puddles and trying not to slip on mud, as thankfully the towpath did improve as I reached Mexborough, running close to the railway I did have the option to bail at Mexborough station but decided to carry on, crossing the waterway on a bridge alongside the railway and headed onto the roads, as there was no towpath.  I was toying with doing another short section of the towpath in the Swinton area but the timings didn't work out.  Swinton might get 2 trains an hour towards Sheffield, but what doesn't help is they are less than 10 minutes apart.  When I was close to the station, I followed part of the towpath along the disused Dearne and Dove Canal before heading into the centre of Swinton to visit a handy Co-Op for some supplies (and also to waste some time).  After visiting the Co-Op I headed to the station, making use of the toilets within the building before squeezing onto 150008 to take me to Rotherham Central where I managed to see the 2nd of the trams out on the Rotherham route (as I still need one of the 399s for a mile).  After this I caught a busy 150273 into Sheffield, I dread to think how much revenue is disappearing due to overcrowding and the stations being open.

150007 at Swinton (Yorkshire) Station

This is where I noticed there was a few cancellations due to an incident around Kettering, with the next EMR being cancelled, so I jumped onto 220005 & 220016, easily getting a seat near the front of the train for the trip towards Derby via Toton, where I was considering boarding the EMR service which was starting at Derby but it was the time where football fans had arrived, complete with countless police officers so I decided not to bother with the 222 and staying on the voyagers to take me towards Birmingham New Street, where I transferred to 390136 on a service from Scotland to take me to Euston.

On arrival at Euston, I had a gentle stroll across to Waterloo to take a 158+159 combo back home to Grateley, where I dried off and relaxed.  I wasn't planning to do the canal section as my plan was to head towards Doncaster via the Trans-Pennie Trail, but that can be done on another day.  The Sunday was spent in London, hunting down various Piccadilly & District line units for a mile, as I decided to ditch my hotel stay in Torquay due to the weather being a bit rubbish.

8th December – Saying Farwell to the HSTs on GWR

This was a bit of a short notice plan due to ditching my hotel booking in Torquay due to the weather being wet, although even my original plan was thrown in the bin due to the Exeter – Penzance HST getting cancelled due to a train fault.  Anyhow I took a pair of 159s from Grateley towards Exeter St Davids on the 08:31 service, where I made the connection onto a pair of voyagers on the next Plymouth service.  At Plymouth I braved the rain to head to the large Sainsburys for some lunch items before taking a pair of 158s to Truro for a short wait before 43093 & 43198 rolled in on a Plymouth bound service, my last GWR HST service.

43093 arriving into Truro

At Plymouth, I transferred onto 802111 on the next London service to take me to Exeter St Davids where I joined a busy single 159103 on the next Waterloo service, getting very busy at Central due to being college kid time, I took this to Salisbury where I swapped over to another 159 for the run back home to Grateley.  An enjoyable if short day in the wet South West.

16th December – Return to the Tarka

I spent the 15th December in London, with a short walk following the Crane Park from Twickenham towards the Feltham area after roping in another 701 before clearing the active DLR units for a mile (I missed out on one of the older units outright due to being withdrawn before 2014 and one more for a mile as it was an early withdrawal).  Anyhow with the weather being suitable for walking I decided it would be a good chance to return to the Tarka trail, splitting the section from Meeth to Bideford at Great Torrington.

The day started with an early morning drive to Salisbury and onto a pair of 159s to Exeter Central, where they arrived near enough on time allowing me time to dash to the Co-Op outside the station (positioning myself near the front to beat the college students), before walking down the hill to St Davids due to conflicting information regarding bus stops.  I took a seat on the Stagecoach route 5B service which eventually gets to Barnstaple.  This route was quite pleasant for views, even on a grey day.  As it headed away from Exeter, heading towards Crediton (never realised how large the town is), Copplestone, North Tawton, Winkleigh, Dolton and finally Great Torrington where I alighted in the town centre area (as I could have alighted at the former station now a heritage railway)

My walk began heading south towards a steep footpath dropping towards the River Torridge, where I ran into a blocked footpath, forcing a short detour along a slightly muddy path alongside the banks of the river, before picking up the closed Rolle Road towards the railway viaduct over the river, climbing up onto the old trackbed and heading to the site of the station, now home to the short Tarka Valley Railway (complete with pacer rotting away).

Path along Rolle Road in Great Torrington

I continued along the route of the Tarka Trail, as it crossed over the River Torridge a handful of times with signs pointing towards an old canal.  The decent quality path continued running close to the A386 so not the quietest of paths, but still pretty with the woodland as it headed towards Landcross (passing the remains of the Rolle Canal Tide Lock down in the valley).  In Landcross there was a short tunnel before the path breaking away from the main road and crossing the Torridge for one last time on an Iron Viaduct and into the Seven Oaks Nature Reserve.  The walk ended a mile (or so) later at the former Bideford station and I dropped down onto the road to pick up a busy bus on a route 21A service to take me into Barnstaple.

My original idea was to have a little stroll in Barnstaple as there is an old railway line to the east of the station, but as the following train was shown as cancelled, I gave that a miss and headed to the station to jump on 150238 to take me into Exeter St Davids, where I had a stroll towards a nearby Spoons to meet up with Stu for a little catch-up before I returned to the station and onto a pair of 159s to take me back to Salisbury.  Another short section of the Tarka Trail complete, I got lucky as I was originally going to walk from Meeth on the 8th December, but when I joined the old railway at Torrington, I saw a sign saying the path was closed towards Meeth for improvement works.

River Torridge from the Tarka Trail between Landcross & Bideford

17th December – An unexpected stroll on the Capital Ring

Today didn’t get off to a good start, due to signalling issues at Salisbury the 07:27 at Grateley was cancelled (the train ran nonstop Salisbury – Basingstoke) and with the following service being delayed by around 15 minutes I decided to jump on the school kids express to Salisbury (thankfully some of the schools in Salisbury had already finished for the year so I was able to get a seat!)  I made it at Salisbury before the next London train rolled into the station with the announcement that it was only calling at Andover on the way to Waterloo (so getting lucky considering it was freezing cold this morning!).  A busy 3 coach unit, where it felt very strange passing Basingstoke, bringing back memories of the timetable from a few years ago where there was a handful of Waterloo – Salisbury services which were nonstop Clapham to Andover.

Thankfully I made it into Waterloo with time to spare to stroll to Euston to get 730222 into my little book with the run to Watford Junction, however it was running late so the connection with the Southern service was missed (as I was going to take that Southern service to Imperial Wharf for a short section of the Thames Path on the north bank of the river).  For the lack of a better idea, I took the next Overground service (710379) to South Kenton to have a walk on the Capital Ring, something I had been wanting to do more of this year (well 2025) but never got round to it.

710379 departs South Kenton

 

I decided to head east, towards Preston Park and via the roads passing Preston Road Underground to reach Fryent Country Park and the Barn Hill Open Space.  A bit muddy in places (and steep) but it was quite nice with the woodland.  After crossing the A4140 road I explored a bit more of the Fryent Country Park (although a bit of guess work at the route of the Capital Ring in the maze of footpaths).  I left the country park and into roads in the Kingsbury area, reaching a cycle path alongside the Brent Reservoir in the Welsh Harp Nature Reserve.  This took me towards Hendon, crossing over the M1 and headed north to Hendon station where my walk ended.

The next section of the Capital Ring in north London will be Hendon towards East Finchley underground, but who knows when I will get round to doing that.  I was toying with the idea of taking 700053 all the way to Herne Hill to have a little stroll around Brockwell Park but decided to alight from the train at West Hampstead Thameslink, for a little visit to Tesco for a late lunch before heading to West Hampstead Overground station, hoping for a 710 to Richmond but sadly that was a 378, before taking 378203 to Clapham Junction, finishing the day with a single 159 back home to Grateley, where I could relax and get ready for the next 7 early shifts at work.

Jubilee Line Set 96087 heading towards Wembley Park, near Fryent Country Park

27th December – A Day of frustration in South Wales

For my final walking trip of 2025, I decided on a trip to South Wales, originally my idea was to head towards Pantyffynnon to walk towards Gowerton, which changed the night before when I noticed TfW had decided to axe half the services on the Heart of Wales, deciding instead to walk north from Gowerton towards Pantyffynnon which would be reasonably tight but I would have a bus route to fall back on.

The day started with 159008 taken to Reading (due to the block between Clapham & Waterloo), grabbing some supplies for breakfast from a limited choice in the Sainsburys closest to the station before taking a seat on 800032 on a Carmarthen train, all was going well until it lost 15 minutes near the junction to the south of Yate due to a points failure, and a further 10 minutes at Bristol Parkway due to waiting on a signal (the signaller [or most likely the hopeless Automatic Route Setting] giving preference to an ECS service for Temple Meads.  With the delay being at 25 minutes I decided to cut my losses and bailed at Cardiff Central, it would have missed the connection at Swansea for Gowerton (although it would have made it, due to that train being late as well).

After grabbing my Valleys Day Ranger, I headed across to platform 7 to board a late running Treherbert service with the aim to visit the reopened (and rebuilt) Ynyswen station with 756117 for this service running around 30 minutes late, where it ran all stations to Pontypridd before running limited stop to Treherbert, calling at only Dinas Rhondda & Ystrad Rhondda.  I decided against visiting Ynyswen due the following service getting spun part route, and instead took this 756 towards Porth with the aim to walk the path towards Maerdy.  The first section was via Wynshir & Wattstown, where it was nice in places it's certainly a path I wouldn't rush back to.  When I reached Tylorstown, at the part where it was old railway, I ran into an unexpected closure of the path in the shape of a large fence.  I headed via the roads to another access point near a surgery but that was also closed, which was a bit annoying, but thankfully I was close to a bus stop to take a Stagecoach route 132 service towards Pontypridd (one reason for buying a Valley Day Ranger was the validity on Stagecoach routes in the Valleys).

Blocked off section of the Rhondda Fach Path near Tylorstown

 

At Pontypridd I got lucky with the next southbound service being winner 756001 which cleared the class with the run to Cardiff Central, where I changed onto 231004 to take me to Aber, I was hoping to get to Energlyn & Churchill Park but TfW weren't having a good day on this route, cancelling half of the services meaning it would be a 30-minute wait for the next train calling at Energlyn & Churchill Park.  My goal was to walk the old railway line path towards the village of Senghenydd, so after going via the roads towards the Hendredenny Park area I picked up the "Aber Greenway", which was quite scenic (although uphill).  I reached the village of Abertridwr, and once more I found my path blocked by a fence forcing an early finish to the walk as I headed towards the village centre and onto a route B bus towards Caerphilly bus station (which quite helpfully is next to the railway station).

At the railway station it was a short wait before 231001 rolled in to take me towards Cardiff Central where I had a bit of a wait for a late running GWR service (which was so late it was terminating at Reading).  Eventually 800003 & 800016 rolled in nearly an hour late, I managed to grab a seat near the rear of the train, which lost more time around Bristol Parkway, terminating at Reading around 70 minutes late (where it formed a service towards Weston).  After a short wait I boarded 159015 for the run back to Grateley to end the day.  A bit annoying to have to cut short walks once, yet alone twice (these were marked up cycle paths, so not minor footpaths), but at least I cleared the 756s.

Anyhow thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr for December Here, not the most productive months for walking due to the poor weather.

Trips in November, Part 2

Trips in November, Part 2

24th November – Coastal Path Walking in Kent

The Sunday was spent heading to Ramsgate with the novelty of a diverted South Eastern 395 via Canterbury East due to engineering works and an evening with my good friend Dan having a good catch up staying overnight in a hotel near the Westwood Cross shopping centre.  After we had breakfast and said farewell, I had a stroll towards Ramsgate station and onto a pair of 375s to Birchington on Sea where I had an enjoyable stroll along the coastal path towards Herne Bay via Reculver and remains of St Mary’s Church.  After visiting the pier at Herne Bay, I headed to the station (complete with a new footbridge with lifts) for 395002 to St Pancras for some High Speed before making my way to Waterloo (via Thameslink & South Eastern due to the weather being a bit more damp in London) and to Grateley to get myself ready for a few days in the North East as this was my week of autumn annual leave.

Remains of St Mary's Church at Reculver

25th November – Tyne & Wear Day 1

The day started early with a run into Waterloo and a gentle stroll to Kings Cross to board 180106 on the morning Grand Central service to Sunderland, once more it departed London quite busy in the rearmost coach, lost a handful at Peterborough before losing 75% of the passengers at York.  I continued for the trip via the Durham coast to Sunderland where after buying my Tyne & Wear Metro Day ticket, headed to East Boldon for a short disused railway line walk towards Tyne Dock.  One of those walks which had been on my list for this area, but one not worth shouting about, reasonable quality path but not a lot of evidence of the former railway line.

At Tyne Dock, I headed to South Shields to do the ferry across the Tyne to North Shields before another short walk heading towards the Royal Quays Marina, doing a loop of the marina towards Chirton Dene Park before heading towards Redburn Dene Park (climbing up the hill for some nice views).  After a detour to the Newcastle Quays retail park, the rain started so I soon made my way towards Percy Main station, my original aim was to continue a bit further as I've got some walking ideas for paths in the area circled by the Metro.  This was a week where the Metro wasn't the best in terms of frequency with missing trains causing long gaps, thankfully I didn't have to wait for long for a pair of older units to take me to Whitley Bay where I got checked into the accommodation I used earlier in the year, even getting an upgrade to a double bed rather than the single bed I paid for.

Metrocar 4029 near East Boldon Station

After checking in and emptying out my rucksack, I headed back out to take a 555 to Haymarket for a little stroll in the busy city centre before a spot of 555 hunting getting 004, 006, 017 & 018 into my book before heading to the Regent Centre to visit the large Asda for some supplies before making my way back to Whitley Bay to relax for the rest of the night as it was getting cold!

26th November - Derwent Valley Walk

The cold day started with a run towards Monument (via North Shields) on a pair of older Metro units, before I made my way to the Eldon Square Bus Station for the next X45 bus towards Consett, which I took as far as Blackhill on the northern edge of the town, where in the summer time I had a change of plan and instead of walking towards the Metrocentre I ended up walking towards Durham.  The Derwent Valley Walk is a path along (mostly) the route of the former Derwent Valley Railway branch line, and soon as I left the built-up area around Shotley Bridge, being careful with some icy patches (especially on some minor road crossings where it was a sheet of ice), the views opened up.

The path runs high in the hills overlooking places like Ebchester & Hamsterley, it even had the remains of a few stations’ platforms, certainly an enjoyable walk for scenic views and of forests.  At Rowlands Gill the route of the old railway has been lost forcing a detour via the roads before re-joining the old railway route in woodland heading towards the Derwenthaugh Park, an area with many walks where the cycle route leaves the old railway to follow the river Derwent itself.  The old railway line walk ends in Swalwell where I switched to following a path in the Derwenthaugh Riverside Park alongside the river to take me towards the Tyne & the railway bridge over the Derwent.

Remains of Lintz Green railway station on the Derwent Walk 

The last section was a cycle path which ran close to the railway line towards the Metrocentre, I was going to head towards Dunston but the last section of this path after the former Cross Lane was flooded so I headed to the Metrocentre station itself to take 158849 into Newcastle, changing onto 156496 on the next train to Ashington to visit the recently opened station at Blyth Bebside.  After a couple of photos (the rain had returned), I took the same 156 back to Newcastle changing over to 156475 to take me to Sunderland via the King Edward Bridge, where I jumped onto a 555 to Park Lane and onto winner 555038 which was delayed for some unknown reason, moving forward into Sunderland station for a further delay before setting off towards Newcastle.  I bailed at Pelaw deciding it wasn't worth hanging around due to various issues and took 555018 all the way to Whitley Bay, where I visited Spoons for something hot before relaxing for the rest of the night.

27th November – Deerness Valley Railway & Bishop Auckland Walk

Today I got a bit carried away with my walking due to the reasonable weather, for my original idea was to finish in the Langley Moor area (on the outskirts of Durham).  The Derrness Valley Railway path runs from the town of Crook towards Broompark where it meets up with the Lanchester Valley Railway route & the railway route towards Bishop Auckland via Brandon.  The day started with winner 555012 to Central Station where I boarded 802209 on a TPE service which unusually departed from platform 1 to head via the High Level Bridge (and the former station at Gateshead), to take me to Durham where I had a short walk to the bus station (getting lost along the way at signage is a bit rubbish), before jumping on an Arriva run X46 bus to Crook Market Place.

Crook looked to be a nice little town as I followed some roads to pick up the start of the railway path to the north of the town centre.  The first section was a decent quality footpath but had a long climb, something I wouldn't have expected from a railway line.  The path took me towards Stanley Crook and Waterhouses via some nice countryside & woodland.  After Waterhouses it was a short section towards Esh Winning before the woodland returned with the section towards Ushaw Moor and finally Broompark where I reached the point I reached earlier in the year.  I turned right onto the cycle path towards Bishop Auckland, down a steep hill to cross over the River Deerness before a steep climb back up to the route of the old railway line, the former bridge (I presume) has been lost to history.

I was now on the path towards Bishop Auckland via Brandon, where I decided on an extension towards Willington as it was only an extra 5 miles.  Some detouring around Langley Moor & Brandon due to the route of the railway being lost under modern development before the countryside opened out & I reached the site of the former Brancepeth station.  Although no evidence of the station remains other than a sign saying "the station was here".  Continuing along the path and I reached Willington where once more I decided to extend the walk as it was only an extra 3 miles to Bishop Auckland.

River Deerness near Broompark

In the Willington area, the route of the railway has been lost so it was a case of following the signs for the cycle path before joining up with the route of the old railway line for the last section towards Bishop Auckland the path ending at the northern edge of the town with the old railway line now part of the A689 road, including the Newton Cap Viaduct over the River Wear.  I had the option of either a bus towards Durham (or Newcastle) or using the train.  Based on the crowd waiting for the bus I decided to head towards the railway station via the town centre, after buying my ticket to Newcastle I took a seat on a delayed 156487 to Darlington as darkness was falling and 801212 to Newcastle.

At Newcastle I decided to jump on a pair of 156s on a Whitby service to take me to Sunderland where after a glance of RTT saw there would likely be a long wait for the next northbound Metro (as the previous couple of services hadn't run) I escaped onto another 156 back to Newcastle, heading to the Metro grabbing winner 555035 to Gateshead Stadium and onto 555018 (again!) to Whitley Bay, where once more I ended up in the pub for food.  A long walk (17.8 miles!) but it was worth it for the views and the decent quality paths.

555018 at Whitley Bay Station

28th November – A stroll in Blyth

A later start than the previous couple of days as I checked out of the accommodation, certainly a place I will use again if the price is right.  After grabbing breakfast I jumped onto an Arriva route 308 bus to Blyth bus station, doubling back towards Ridley Park to pick up the England coastal path heading towards the Quayside before heading inland due to industrial units along the bank of the River Blyth.  I soon re-joined the riverside picking up a cycle route running alongside (mostly) the southern bank of the river.  I headed underneath the A189 road (where the coastal path heads across the river and towards Cambois) and the railway viaduct heading towards the Dene Park near the former Bedlington Ironworks.

I continued my walk close to the river Blyth heading towards Bedlington finishing at Attlee Park, where I joined the roads to walk towards Blyth Bebside station, arriving with good timing as the rain returned a few minutes after I boarded 156444 for the run to Newcastle.  An enjoyable little stroll from Blyth town centre towards the new station, going via Bedlington.  Once in Newcastle I grabbed some lunch items before getting a seat on 801205 on a semi-fast London service, getting very busy after York due to issues at Wakefield.

Bedlington Viaduct over the River Blyth

Once I reached London, I headed towards Waterloo via Thameslink & South Eastern to take a pair of 159s to Grateley to rest for the rest of the evening, sorting out my rucksack & making a start with the many photos taken during my trip.

29th November – A trip to Eastbourne

The weather had turned a bit damper and colder, and after a busy week I fancied a quieter Saturday.  I headed towards Woking, changing onto winner 701033 to Clapham Junction where I spent the next couple of hours grabbing 701048, 701026 & 701050, including a stroll from Fulwell towards Teddington as a time-wasting stroll during a break in the rain.

After finishing with the 701s I headed across to Waterloo East, jumping onto a pair of 375s for the run to Hastings on a semi-fast service, changing over to 387127 to Eastbourne on a Brighton service and onto 387209 & 387203 on a Victoria service to take me to East Croydon, an area of the country I hadn’t visited for a while.  At East Croydon I headed to the tram platforms, noticing how much different it looks since the former Post Office building has been knocked down (and all the new high rise tower blocks springing up).

40 or so minutes later, just as I was about to give up, tram 2561 rolled in on a service to Beckenham Junction which I took to Blackhorse Lane to clear it for a mile, returning to East Croydon on tram 2541, all the active trams in Croydon now cleared for a mile (I missed out on the tram which was involved in the accident which I believe has been written off).  Back at East Croydon it was a case of jumping on the first available train towards London, which was 377203 & 377431 to Clapham Junction, heading into Waterloo on a pair of 450s to get a decent seat on 159019 back to Grateley.  A reasonable productive day with the wet weather where I didn’t have the drive to head to the underground due to the time of year.

London Tram 2561 at Blackhorse Lane

30th November – A Trip to Portsmouth

For the last trip in November, I didn’t want a late finish due to starting work on an early shift on the Monday, so after a quick play on RTT I drove to Andover to take 159103 & 158886 to Clapham Junction going via Isleworth.  After a short wait at Clapham Junction, it was onto 377442 & 377410 on a Portsmouth Harbour service which due to engineering works was diverted via Dorking, a line I hadn’t been along for a while.

I left the 377s at Havant for a short wait before former GWR 387173 rolled in on a Portsmouth Harbour service from Brighton, which sadly got cut short at Portsmouth & Southsea due to signalling issues near Portsmouth Harbour.  After a short stroll in the city centre, I jumped onto 444028 & 444008 which was starting from platform 3 (due to the signalling issues) on the next fast service towards London, a train which got busy at Guildford due to the limited service towards London due to the works near Wimbledon.  At Woking I jumped onto another pair of 444s to Basingstoke before a pair of 158s to Andover, calling it a night with a visit to the big Tesco for some supplies.  I might not have been successful in getting a 387 to Portsmouth Harbour, but Sundays are probably the best day due to the units interworking between Portsmouth & Southampton.

387173 at Portsmouth & Southsea

Anyhow, thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr Here

November Trips (Part 1)

 November Trips (Part 1)

1st November – Warrington to Runcorn via the Ship Canal

The weather on this Saturday in the Polmont area was quite rubbish in terms of being wet so I ditched my original plans for any walking (I was toying with the old railway line route from Paisley Canal towards Johnstone (or most likely the other way round) and headed into Glasgow on a pair of 385s, having a short walk in the city centre to get some supplies before taking a seat on 390121 working a London service, started off quiet before getting extremely busy, especially after Preston as the ECML was closed for engineering works at York.  As the weather was looking better in Cheshire I decided to bail at Warrington Bank Quay, just to get away from the chaos of an overcrowded train (when it’s standing along the aisles it isn’t much fun).

I dug out a plan I had originally pencilled in for a potential Sunday walk for the times I stayed at Crewe (before my usual accommodation closed up and prices have generally shot up), which was a stroll towards Runcorn along a footpath close to the Ship Canal.   The first section was leaving Warrington Bank Quay station to head south along Slutchers Lane towards a newish housing estate, picking up a path to lead me onto a footbridge over the river Mersey (the footbridge is alongside the railway line).  I headed underneath the railway and picked up a footpath leading along the remains of the Runcorn & Latchford Canal before heading along a reasonable quality path towards the Moore Nature Reserve, a place I wouldn't mind returning to when the weather was a bit sunnier.  I soon turned off a little lane, dodging various fly tipping and onto a footpath running between the Ship Canal & the Mersey, giving some nice views of the Ferrybridge Power Station.

In all fairness I was heading to the point where the footpath just ends on the OS Map, Open Street Map/Strava was suggesting it would continue, but there is always that little doubt that I will run into a high gate/fence, thankfully where I did run into a road block, it was only for vehicles and not walkers (or cyclists) as I reached Wigg Island, picking up the route of the disused canal and headed underneath the modern Mersey Gateway bridge, before heading towards the former quays area, crossing the Ship Canal, and walking alongside it towards the Silver Jubilee bridge, doing a little loop to cover the Runcorn Locks Greenway along the route of the former Bridgwater Canal (as it used to connect into the Ship Canal).

Manchester Ship Canal from the Runcorn Promenade (and a bridge)

I reached Runcorn with time to spare, even getting there earlier than I was planning (was aiming for a direct London train), and jumped onto 730212 to Crewe, changing to a nearly empty coach on 805003 & 805005 from Chester to take me towards Euston.  I was foolish after walking to Waterloo to jump onto winner 701060 to Twickenham, foolish even more to leave the train at Twickenham and into the organised chaos of the post-match queuing system (in hindsight I should have stayed on to Feltham or remained on the platform for a 701 towards Kingston).  In the end I ended up at a busy St Margarets, squeezing onto a very busy 701 to Clapham Junction, where I just about made a connection onto a busy pair of 450s towards Basingstoke, before taking a rail replacement coach to Grateley (getting lucky with having one of the Newbury & District coaches used for the Basingstoke – Heathrow bus route, those interiors are quite nice.  Needless to say the Sunday I was quite lazy after a busy few days in Scotland!

7th November - Sett Valley Trail & Peak Forest

This was a Friday where my plans did change along the way, originally I was heading into Manchester to take a train towards Patricroft to walk a disused railway line path & the Leigh busway into Leigh, but for whatever reason (which I can't remember) decided to change at Stockport for a plan to catch a bus towards Hyde to pick up the Peak Forest Canal from Apethorn Lane to head towards Marple or New Mills.  Anyhow after taking a busy 9 coach Pendo (390049) to Stockport, and headed towards the bus station, my plans changed when I saw a bus to Hayfield, and a chance to walk the short disused railway line path called the Sett Valley Trail.

It was a former Stagecoach bus on the route 358 (part of the Bee Network), and fitting for the time of year it was a bus for Remembrance (rather than the usual custard colour).  Quite an interesting run towards Hayfield, heading away from Stockport town centre via the suburbs (Offerton) and into Marple.  After Marple the views did start to open out a bit with the run towards Strines (pretty sure I used this bus route many years ago when I took a bus from Marple to Strines station, back when Strines station was 2 hourly and quite awkward due to the trains passing there).  Into New Mills and finally towards Hayfield with some nice views from the top deck.

My walk began picking up the Sett Valley Trail in a car park near the bus station, and was soon heading towards Birch Vale and back towards New Mills, not the most scenic of old railway line walks other than views of a reservoir, but good to get it removed from my oversized list.  In New Mills I headed via the Torrs Park, heading towards Newtown station to pick up the Peak Forest Canal.

Sett Valley Trail between Birch Vale & New Mills

I decided to head towards Whaley Bridge, with some beautiful scenery (although not the best day for scenery with cloud and a light drizzle at times) leaving New Mills to head towards Furness Vale, the canal following the route of the railway as it headed south towards Whaley Bridge, the branch towards Bugsworth Basin heading away (I've got a plan to walk that section alongside the Peak Forest Tramway Trail path).  I had time to swing via the Tesco for some supplies before carrying on to the basin in Whaley Bridge, the drizzle turning more into light rain for the last short section, this being the remains of the Whaley Bridge Incline on the Cromford and High Peak Railway.

After reaching the top of the hill, I headed towards Whaley Bridge station, with time to spare to take a pair of 150s towards Stockport, making a connection onto a busy 9 coach Pendo for London (390040) on a fast service.  Once in Euston I had one further walk across to Waterloo to take a 158+159 home.  An enjoyable day, even if the weather did turn wet near the end.

8th November – Erewash Canal

Another late notice change of plan, as I was aiming to walk the path between Long Eaton & Nottingham via the River Trent, but decided when heading towards London to look at the Erewash Canal instead.  I headed to St Pancras via South Eastern & Thameslink (to make a change from walking) and got seated on a Nottingham bound 222.  Departure time came and went, eventually there was an announcement about the original crew getting held up somewhere with 222009 departing near enough 25 minutes late, time it never made back up or lost more time.

At Nottingham I had time to pop out to the Co-Op to grab some lunch items, before watching 195013 roll in from Leeds, doing an impression of a clown car in just how many passengers squeezed onto the 2-coach unit.  The return towards Leeds was also quite busy, as I alighted at Langley Mill to start my walk.  After a short section along the road I soon reached the Erewash Canal, the basin area is all fenced off for private moorings as I headed towards Ilkeston, the towpath quality being mixed in this section, but nice scenic views of woodland.  I continued towards Ilkeston having a detour towards the Bennerley Viaduct to walk across the Iron Giant (although at the moment it's a dead end as construction work continues at the eastern end).  After a U-turn it was back to the canal, where the towpath quality had improved to tarmac as it skirted around the eastern edge of Ilkeston.

195004 heading underneath the Bennerley Viaduct

Eventually another cycle path joined in, using an old railway line route (?) towards Shipley Country Park, something else to research as this area of the East Midlands has so many old railways line paths to explore.  I continued going underneath the M1 and towards Sandiacre where the former Derby Canal joined, quite a few fishermen in this section, some being a bit grumpy at having to move their fishing equipment for walkers.  I soon reached Long Eaton and Sawley where the canal did a sharp turn south where I left it at Fields Farm Road, near the railway bridges and the point I reached last year when I walked the last section of the Trent & Mersey Canal.  Another canal ticked off my list as I headed to Long Eaton station.

It was a short wait before 170639 rolled in on a Nottingham bound service which I took to Beeston, a station which has changed quite a bit since my last visit with new lifts getting installed.  I headed towards the town centre via a handy Co-Op (bringing back memories of the first time I stayed in this area back in 2014, time flies).  It was onto the trams as it had been a while since my last decent run on the Nottingham Tramway with tram 231 taken towards the city centre, spending the next 40 or so minutes doing some linear hops, keeping my eyes out for any of my last trio of sub mile trams, eventually tram 202 popped up which I took to Meadows Way West, the last of the original batch of trams cleared for a mile.  I walked back towards the station as darkness was falling and I decided enough was enough.

Nottingham Tram 202 at Meadows Way West

I managed to get a decent seat on 222013 working the next ‘fast’ St Pancras service, departed on time before a complete and utter farce as it was held for 5 minutes at the junction near East Midlands Parkway for a late running stopping service from Sheffield (bare in mind at the time this 222 stopped the one from Sheffield had just arrived at Long Eaton).  The train from Nottingham eventually got going but at a crawl due to following a stopper, getting into Leicester something like 20 minutes late (and delaying the following fast service from Sheffield as well).  The delay only increased due to being out of path and following a 360 from Corby after Luton getting into St Pancras bang on 30 minutes late.

Before I headed to my accommodation, I took a stroll to Euston to jump onto winner 730207 to Harrow & Wealdstone, just about making a connection into winner 730223 back to Euston due to 207 being 6 minutes late.  Two more 730s into my book as I took a Hammersmith & City line service to Paddington where a delay worked to my benefit as a Didcot Parkway semi-fast was running 10 minutes late and only had started to board (this was an evening where the Elizabeth line had fallen over).  I jumped onto 387166 & 387170 to take me one stop to Slough, where after visiting the big Tesco, I located my accommodation in the Slough Travelodge.  Mainly as a replacement bus avoidance move for the Sunday.

9th November – Lichfield to Brownhills Railway Path

I checked out of the Travelodge on Sunday morning, heading to the station for a late running pair of 387s on a stopping service towards Paddington (probably the first time I’ve called on the mainline platform at Langley).  Today was another day where I had a few ideas of walks as I took a gentle stroll towards Euston to board 807005 on a Liverpool service, mainly for the novelty of an 807 via Northampton.  Along the walk to Euston, I decided on the recently opened up path along the route of the former South Staffordshire line from Lichfield to Brownhills, a route so new it doesn’t even show on Google Maps!

I left the 807 at Lichfield Trent Valley and started my little stroll going out via the secondary car park towards an industrial estate before picking up a path in Darnford Park, this took me towards the part restored section of the Lichfield Canal before I headed towards the Sandfields Pumping Station on Chesterfield Road where the new greenway path began.  I will admit the path quality wasn't the easiest to walk along as it felt like railway ballast, but it's still early days (and I would imagine give it a couple of years and it will be smooth tarmac).  I continued along the route of the old railway, crossing Fosseway Lane with an old signal box (all boarded up) with the path heading into countryside, passing the remains of Hammerwich station (complete with footbridge, but no platforms).

Footbridge at site of former Hammerwich Station on the Lichfield to Brownhills Greenway

The path crossed the M6 Toll and soon came to an end near Watling Street where a fence which was there a couple weeks earlier when I was in this area had vanished as it connects with the existing McClean Way path.  I was back on roads as I walked towards the centre of Brownhills as I was unsure about messaging regards bus route changes with parades.  It was soon before a National Express bus rolled in on a route 10 to take me to Walsall bus station, getting diverted itself due to road closures along the way so a comfortable connection to a stopper suddenly became a bit less comfortable, but I still managed to make it (even had time to buy a ticket from the ticket office) before boarding 730044 on a stopping service to Birmingham New Street.

After popping out of the station for some food, I was soon back to board winner 730229 to Wolverhampton, returning to New Street on another 730, where I started to plan my way towards Bristol where my accommodation was located.  I spotted on RTT a Very Short-Term Plan service to Bristol Temple Meads which was being advertised as Gloucester as 170636 rolled in and I managed to grab a seat in the former 1st class area for the trip towards Gloucester, losing time along the way.  On the approach to Cheltenham Spa (where it was behind the GWR stopper for Bristol) it was announced that after Gloucester it would run to Bristol Temple Meads, so I stayed on board for the reversal at Gloucester for some unusual track coverage on a XC 170!

170636 at Bristol Temple Meads (on arrival from Birmingham)

At Bristol Temple Meads, I headed towards the nearby Spoons for some dinner before making my way to the Travelodge ready for an early start on the Monday for some strange random reason.

10th November – A maze of old railways in Taffs Well

Originally an idea for this Monday was to head towards Swansea & Pontarddulais for an old railway line path towards Gowerton but the weather forecast out west wasn’t looking promising.  So, I ditched that idea to stay closer to Cardiff coming up with some ideas.  I checked out of the hotel making my way to the station and onto 170636 (I was expecting it would have been this unit again) on the daily Bristol – Cardiff XC service for some more unusual track coverage on a XC 170 (why else did you think I would stay overnight in Bristol lol).

After grabbing breakfast, I met up with my good friend Jules as we took 756105 to Trefforest Estate for a little walk.  Heading towards the industrial estate and towards a cycle path along the route of the long closed Cardiff Railway route near Nantgarw towards Taff's Well before heading onto the Taff Trail for a short section along the former Rhymney Railway route before climbing onto the Old Taff Trail (it still has signs saying Taff Trail but it has since been removed from the OS Map) which made use of the former Barry Railway route towards the former Walnut Tree Viaduct (this part of Wales used to a be a maze of railway lines!)

After departing from the route of the old railway line, the rain began as we headed into the Fforest Fawr, an area we both agreed was worth a revisit when the weather was nicer, after a very steep downhill section we reached Castell Coch where a footpath had been closed forcing a detour via the roads towards Tongwynlais and towards Taff's Well along the Taff Trail, doing an U-turn back towards Tongwynlais, pausing for a coffee at a local café before we picked up a footpath alongside the River Taff leading us underneath the M4 and another detour, this time towards the Long Wood Nature Reserve & the remains of the Glamorganshire Canal, reaching Forest Farm Road where we headed towards Radyr station, swinging via a local Co-Op for some lunch & other supplies.

Castell Coch

The first northbound train was 150245 which we took to Trefforest before taking 756114 to Aberdare to tick off the new arrival’s platform where we decided to have another short walk, heading away from Aberdare station and onto a path following the route of the former Aberdare canal and a road to reach Cwmbach station to take 756108 back towards Cardiff Central where after grabbing food we said our farewells as Jules headed on a 197 and I took 166203 to Salisbury for 159022 to Grateley to end my little long weekend of travels.

15th November – Tour of Middlewich

Using up a day of annual leave because who knows when the next time Avanti will divert services via Middlewich (and it’s one of the novelties I tend to do).  It was onto a lightly loaded 805003 at Euston on the Holyhead service, complete with dodgy PIS listing various random station calls, a train which never got that busy even for the rare section between Crewe & Chester going via the slow freight line at Middlewich, pausing in the loop along the way for another service to pass.

At Chester I had a gentle stroll towards Mickle Trafford along the route of the former Cheshire Lines Committee route (part of the Chester Millennium Greenway), where I caught an Arriva bus back into the city centre (had I missed that bus I would have probably walked it via the roads considering it's only hourly and not even clockface, I guess in hindsight I should have caught the bus to Mickle Trafford to walk back to Chester so I could take some more time.

805003 at Chester (from Hoole Way bridge)

After grabbing some bits in Chester city centre, I headed to the station and onto 777018 to Liverpool Lime Street and onto a late running 807008 on a Euston service (departing 15-odd minutes late) enjoying a private coach until Milton Keynes where it did fill up.  Once in London I headed home, after an enjoyable random day trip.

Part 2 to follow at some point, but more photos can be found on my Flickr album *here*.

Colours Of October

 Colours Of October

My writers block I’ve been suffering with has departed, so time for a big catch up, although mainly focusing on my walking trips.

22nd October – Worcester & Birmingham Canal

I decided to head towards Worcestershire to complete a bit more of the Worcester & Birmingham canal, being the section from the Droitwich area towards Worcester itself (meeting up with a part I walked a few years ago).  An early start saw me heading towards Droitwich Spa via the Cotswolds line picking up the Droitwich canal and headed east via the suburbs before going underneath the M5 (no towpath in this section as this was rebuilt with the original route of canal lost).  After re-joining the canal, it was via more rural setting heading towards the end at Hanbury Junction where it met with the Worcester & Birmingham Canal.

The next section of canal was quite rural with the occasional sound of traffic from the M5 and sound of Voyagers from the nearby railway line as I headed generally in a southern direction via Shernal Green & Dunhampstead before heading west away from the railway towards Tibberton, going underneath the M5 where the rural towpath turned more urban as a cycle route joined the path as the canal reached Worcester, passing close to the Sixways Stadium.  I continued with the walk along the towpath heading towards the city centre, reaching Worcester Shrub Hill where I made good timing to catch a train an hour earlier than I was expecting with 800002 starting from Shrub Hill to take me back towards Reading before I made my way back home.  An enjoyable walk, but like with the Shropshire Union, the last section needs to wait until the towpath is repaired as it's closed near a tunnel in the Alvechurch area.

Hanbury Junction between Droitwich Junction & Worcester and Birmingham Canals

28th & 29th October

The 28th October, I decided to head towards Essex to visit the recently opened Beaulieu Park station, one of those stations I can see getting well used in the future due to the location and more houses due to pop up (similar in a way to Barking Riverside).   The 29th was a London day focused on my Sub mile London Underground units, clearing the Northern line and putting a large dent in the Central line driving units, the trailer units will be an old-school sit and hang around.  I also ticked off a few more 730s before taking the sleeper to Glasgow Central for a return to Scotland.

30th October – Exploring the Airdrie to Bathgate railway path

The Airdrie to Bathgate railway path is part of cycle route 75, this path was built when the railway line between Bathgate & Airdrie was rebuilt, one of those paths which had been on my oversized list for a while, although it was a bit chilly this morning.  After grabbing breakfast from Glasgow city centre, I headed to Drumgelloch on a pair of 334s where my walk began.  The first mile or so being alongside a road towards Plains before the off-road section began heading towards Caldercruix (dodging various icy patches).

After Caldercruix the path head towards the Hillend reservoir with some good views of the water, running close to the railway line.  Near Blackridge I took a little detour along the route of an old railway line path, doubling back on myself to carry on the walk as it headed via woodlands to the south of Blackridge station the path being a bit twisty before it returned to running alongside the railway line, I decided to end the walk at Armadale station, the rest of the path and cycle route 75 can be followed on another day with a walk towards Livingston, maybe ending at Uphall station (one of those walks I will need to play with Google Maps for distances).

DR98960 alongside the Airdrie to Bathgate Path (Cycle Route 75) between Blackridge & Armadale

A pair of 334s took me back one stop to Blackridge where I wanted some better photos before the same pair of 334s as I had earlier (033 & 040) took me to Haymarket, changing onto a delayed pair of 385s on a Glasgow Queen Street service.  Once back in Glasgow I headed across to Glasgow Central and onto a pair of 156s to East Kilbride in the pouring rain, doubling back to the rebuilt and relocated Hairmyres station.  I returned to East Kilbride on the next southbound service and back to Glasgow Central heading to the Subway which wasn’t having a good day with only one side working when I first arrived.  I managed to get another Subway unit into my little book, before heading back upstairs and onto a pair of 385s (104 & 115) to Polmont where my accommodation was located.

31st October – Union Canal

Finishing the Union Canal was one of my big goals for 2025, but for whatever reason I hadn’t gotten around to doing it on my previous trips this year, a bit of a risk owing to the forecast looking a bit damp in the early afternoon.  One reason for picking accommodation in Polmont was mainly the cost (considering it was the cheapest place which was close to a station), but mainly for the location near to Linlithgow.  One of these days I will return to Linlithgow to have a little walk around the loch, but that can be a job for another day as today's walk was going to be a long one, I had the option of a break point along the way.  The day started with a pair of 385s to Linlithgow from Polmont and a short walk to the canal towpath, which for the majority of the way was solid tarmac.  I headed east away from Linlithgow towards Philpstoun & Winchburgh, the canal coming close to the railway in a couple of places.

After Winchburgh the canal skirted round the edge of the Greendykes Shale Bing leaving countryside behind and into Broxburn, where I had the option of an exit point with a frequent bus towards Edinburgh.  I decided to keep going and soon departed Broxburn going underneath the M8 and back into countryside.  This section was a lot better than I was expecting in terms of noise from the motorway and featured an aqueduct over the River Almond.  The next settlement I reached was Ratho and I carried on with some lovely woodland.  The rain decided to make its appearance with a mile or so to go as I was in the Hermiston area, crossing over the City of Edinburgh Bypass into the capital.  I reached the goal and headed towards Edinburgh Park station via the large Tesco, mainly to dry off and mainly for some more supplies.

Union Canal between Broxburn & Ratho

I decided to have a little spin on the trams, taking one tram to Ingliston Park & Ride before riding tram 276 all the way to Newhaven where I was going to have another gentle stroll but the rain returned as soon as I got off the tram, so ended up heading to a nearby Asda before taking another tram back to St Andrews Square with a tight connection onto a LNER 800 to Stirling where I headed to a nearby Spoons for a celebration meal before heading back to Polmont on a pair of 385s, relaxing in the comfortable bed.  A bit on the noisy side due to Halloween and it being a Friday night, but similar sort of noise in the accommodation I've used before in Hamilton, nothing is perfect when on a budget (and I'm not the sort of person who will pay out £75+ a night for a fancy hotel)

Anyhow more photos can be found Here

Trips 12th – 14th October

 Trips 12th – 14th October

12th October – McClean Way and the return to Chasewater

The McClean Way is the name given to the mixed used path built on the alignment of the former South Staffordshire Railway between Walsall & Brownhills (I believe the section between Brownhills & Lichfield is getting converted at some point since traffic at Anglesey Sidings is no more).  As the weather was looking dry (all be misty) I decided it would be a good chance to have a little explore of this disused railway line as the Brownhills end is meant to get muddy in the winter, staying overnight in a Travelodge in Birmingham.

The trip began with the 07:39 service from Grateley towards Waterloo, which I was going to take to Andover, stepping back onto the Reading train (for a XC service towards the West Midlands), however overrunning engineering works at Basingstoke soon threw a large spanner in the works as 159003 & 159005 dwelled at Andover for around half an hour before getting the signal to depart towards Basingstoke, with the Reading train cancelled.  Basingstoke isn’t the best place to hang around on a Sunday morning as there isn’t a lot open close to the station and I found myself onto 165125 on the stopper to Reading to visit the little Sainsburys Local outside the station for some supplies before taking 221121 & 220021 on the 10:15 service towards Manchester.

I easily got a table seat in coach B of the 221, which remained very quiet throughout (makes a change with XC!), probably the first time since before Covid I had a XC service via Warwick (due to engineering works in the Adderley Park area), and arrival was around 8 minutes early allowing me to make a quick dash to 730003 on the Rugeley service from platform 4C (helped out with the XC using P5 and being at the right end of the train).  This 730 took me to Walsall where my walk began, first of all heading towards the bus stop to meet a friend who had arrived from Wolverhampton via bus.

730003 departing Walsall Station

The first section was via the roads to reach the entrance to the mixed used path on Mill Lane, near to the bridge over the Sutton Park line.  This section was via a local nature reserve before the path joined up with the route of the old railway on a decent quality tarmac path.  Even with the mist it was reasonably popular with other walkers and cyclists as we headed towards Pelsall where remains of the former station has disappeared.

In Pelsall the tarmac path changed to being more variable as we continued towards Brownhills and into a deep cutting for the last section reaching the canal aqueduct, we continued a little bit further towards the fence underneath the long bridge underneath Watling Street (where one day I suspect I will be back to walk towards Lichfield).  We climbed the stairs to reach the canal and headed towards Chasewater Country Park.

McClean Way (Route of former South Staffordshire Railway) in Brownhills

On reaching the reservoir, it was so misty we couldn't see the opposite side as we headed north along the side of the water before following another path close to Burntwood Rugby club to reach Chasetown (Church Street) station on the heritage Chasewater Railway, picking up a footpath running alongside the railway towards Chasewater Heaths, crossing over the railway heading towards Norton Bog.  We continued the walk, walking high above the railway reaching the very basic Norton Lakeside Halt before carrying on leaving the route of the railway and following the side of the main reservoir again.

Holly Bank No 3 near Chasewater Heaths Station on the Chasewater Railway

We soon reached Brownhills West station, the main base of operations for the railway with various shunters parked up along with 142030 looking good in First North Western colours.  After some photographs we continued the walk to pick up the path over the M6 Toll to reach Brownhills West itself and a short walk along the road (passing a Mk3 Reliant Robin), finishing the walk on the bus stop at Rising Sun Island where National Express bus 2119 took us back towards Walsall Bus Station on a route 10 service.

At Walsall bus station I said farewell to my friend, as he headed back towards Wolverhampton, always nice to have a catch-up as it’s been a while since we met up, and I headed to the station to board 730008 on the stopper towards Birmingham New Street, giving me time to pop outside the station for some supplies before joining the large crowd waiting for the London train.  Due to the engineering works it was only an hourly train service linking Birmingham with the Airport & Coventry (with a half hourly bus service calling at all stations between New Street & International) so needless to say 390125 departed extremely busy (in my eyes what Avanti should have done is split the London – Scotland service up at Birmingham to improve time keeping).

142030 at Brownhills West on the Chasewater Railway

I was originally going to take this Pendo towards Rugby for something along the Trent Valley line, but as a winner 730 was showing as out, I bailed at Birmingham International, deciding the connection at Coventry would be too risky.  As the next Pendo for Crewe was running late, I decided to take 350408 & 350401 for the short hop to Hampton in Arden returning on 350121 & 350371 (both sets having the inter-unit gangway doors locked out of use to prevent passengers from being able to get between units, all because the guards want to hide away, no wonder why revenue loss on LNR services is sky high).

Anyhow back at Birmingham International, I joined the majority of passengers from those 350s in crossing over to platform 3 for the late running Crewe Pendo with platform staff saying to use the entire length of the platform with standard class at the front of the train, so it was a tad annoying after following the instructions when 390011 rolled in with first class at the front, with no hope to getting to standard class I took a seat in Standard Premium for the short journey back to Birmingham New Street, going via Aston & Perry Barr to approach Birmingham from the Wolverhampton direction.  It wasn’t quite over for me as I headed over to winner 730214 on the next Liverpool train to take me to Wolverhampton, returning to Birmingham on a late running 390136.

350121 at Birmingham International Station

I headed out of the station, towards the Newhall Street branch of Travelodge, getting given a room on the 3rd floor, allowing me time to relax for the rest of the evening.  An enjoyable day, even if some of the trains were massively overcrowded (because passengers prefer to take trains, even if the journey takes longer, than a stopping bus with no guarantee the train/bus would wait for the bus/train to arrive). 

13th October – Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Exploring

One of the main reasons for wanting to stay in Birmingham city centre was for the novelty of doing a 730 on the route knowledge refresher route via Bescot, also it gave me a chance to walk another section of the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal which I started back in August last year (with Penkridge towards the junction at Great Haywood).  After checking out of the hotel I made my way towards Birmingham New Street via a couple of shops (including Tim Hortons for a breakfast wrap) before boarding dud 730218 on the 07:57 service to Liverpool (I will admit to getting thrown when I saw the random Avanti service to Liverpool from Birmingham at 07:51 with a “am I on the right platform” moment.

Annoyingly RTT was suggesting this would have been a winner (ah well, those things happen) and I took a seat in what was going to be first class area, only to be thrown when the train departed towards Aston (again, I will admit to seeing this service went via Bescot, but didn’t see it went via Aston & Perry Barr as I was presuming it would go via Soho.  This train even featured a rarity on London Northwestern, a ticket check!  Anyhow the trip via Bescot complete, the new stations on that line are coming along well I stayed on until Penkridge, moving towards the centre of the train due to the short platform, leaving the train with a large crowd of college kids boarding, and my walk began.

730218 departing Penkridge Station

 

 

The first section was a copy of the walk from last August, heading towards the main shopping area of Penkridge before following Cannock Road to join the canal at the Boat Inn, this time I headed south underneath the road following the reasonable towpath passing a marina before leaving the main built up area of Penkridge, going towards Otherton.  On reaching the bridge which used to carry the Littleton Colliery branch I broke away from the canal to walk the route of this short branch line back towards Penkridge, reaching the end point at the A449 (close to where I would imagine the colliery branch line would have joined up with the existing railway.

I headed back towards the canal along this nice woodland path and carried on, trying to drown out the noise from the M6 for the short section the canal runs close to the motorway before heading west towards Gailey.  A short detour was needed due to towpath works between Gailey & Four Ashes before passing a chemical works site at Four Ashes (with warnings not to stop or moor in this section, even if sirens are sounding).  The towpath had changed from solid ground to more rural grass with my pet hate, bricks (as they can be quite slippery when wet).

Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal at Four Ashes

After leaving Four Ashes the canal turned quite rural as it headed back east towards Calf Heath and the junction with the former Hatherton Canal, the section in water being used as a marina with no public access from the towpath side of the main canal.  The next section was by far the worse for towpath quality, very bumpy and narrow in places for a couple hundred metres before thankfully it returned to being flat and I headed back into the countryside.  My walk reached the railway bridge over the canal near Slade Heath (one of those bridges where I dread to think how many times I've been across over the last 11 years).  The towpath quality did improve the closer I got towards Wolverhampton passing the Anchor Inn and going underneath the A449 & M54 near Coven Heath.

I was now in the Wolverhampton area with some industrial units close by as I followed the canal towards the Autherley Canal junction, near Pendeford where the Shropshire Union Canal ends, one section of this towpath was a bit weird in having the tarmac path dive inland leaving a grassy path alongside the canal, before the tarmac path resumes in running alongside the canal, this area also featured a deep cutting which was quite nice for woodland views.  I reached the junction with the Shropshire Union, carrying on towards the Oxley viaduct & Aldersley Junction where the Birmingham Canal joins.

Autherley Junction between the Staffordshire & Worcestershire and Shropshire Union Canals, Wolverhampton

This area of the canal was quite nice in terms of woodland and being peaceful, considering the location.  I continued towards Tettenhall with having the option to finish here for a bus into the city centre, but I decided to push on for another mile going underneath the route of the former Smestow Valley railway line route with the Meccano Bridge to reach Compton where my walk ended with a short walk to a bus stop close to a very unusual road junction which one side was a regular mini roundabout, the other side was a road junction, I suspect an accident black spot considering it looks like a regular mini roundabout.

Anyhow it was onto the route 10A route with National Express's 852 to take me towards the city centre, as I decided to jump off at the bus stop outside a shopping centre to pick up some more drink & something to munch before heading to the railway station.  The first available service to Birmingham was formed of a Bournemouth bound 221111, which I decided to stay with all the way to Basingstoke as I had a reasonable seat in coach B.  In hindsight this turned out to be a good move, due to an tragic event at Vauxhall and when I was at Basingstoke with services being delayed I decided to head to Andover via the route 76 bus (with bus 11243) with the theory of getting a lift home, however the lift wasn’t required as trains had started to run again and I strolled to the railway station in Andover to catch 159015 & 159001 on what would have been the 17:23 service from London which started at Woking.

221111 at Basingstoke Station

Once home, I relaxed for the rest of the evening, sorting my rucksack out ready for another day trip on the Tuesday.  It was an enjoyable canal walk in the Staffordshire countryside, I suspect the rest of that canal will be done next year as it seems quite rural, other than the section at Kidderminster to Stourport as that is a cycle route so I would imagine would be a decent year-round towpath.

14th October – Bingham Linear Park

I had various options for this Tuesday, in the end deciding to head towards Nottinghamshire to walk a short disused railway path in the Bingham area, one I was originally going to pair up with the walk from Radcliffe towards Cotgrave but with that path out of action until further notice I decided to separate the walks.  Anyway, the day began with the 06:18 service from Grateley with 159022 & 159011 to take me to Waterloo, getting very busy after Basingstoke as per usual with this train.  After grabbing breakfast and supplies for lunch I strolled towards Kings Cross arriving with plenty of time to spare before the 09:06 York stopper with 91106 at the northern end (and DVT 82214) to take me to Grantham and a 25-minute fester before 170208 rolled in from Skegness to take me to Aslockton where my walk began.  The train fits on the platform but only the doors in the front 2 coaches are opened due to the large step at the rear of the train.

The first section from Aslockton was towards Whatton and then onto Conery Lane (featuring a crossing of the busy A52 road), a quiet country lane heading towards farms and a footpath across a field towards the route of the former Northampton to Nottingham branch of the Great Northern and London and North Western Joint Railway.  I did take a wrong turn at a bridge over the River Smite and ended up going via what looked to be a vineyard on a footpath and a steep unofficial climb onto the embankment.  I should have turned left along another path which had a connection to the railway near the river viaduct.

170208 at Aslockton Station

Anyhow I was now onto the route of the old railway line, doubling back towards the end point, just passed the river viaduct (the path does continue further but there was a "Private Land, No Entry" sign after a farm crossing.  I retraced my steps along this path which was a reasonable quality with stones on the ground, although not one I would want to do during winter time, quite nice views of countryside once the embankment section left the woods with the embankment turning into a deep cutting with various farm track bridges before reaching a tunnel underneath the A52 Bingham Bypass with the path now being more solid (and busier).

I continued along the Bingham Linear Park going underneath a nice viaduct carrying Tithby Road over the old railway (couldn't really photograph it due to the trees) and soon the path came to an end alongside Nottingham Road, close to a bus stop used by the frequent Bingham - Nottingham Trent Barton bus route, but as I had time I headed towards the town centre, grabbing a photo of the Butter Cross and headed to the station, jumping onto 170422 for the nonstop run to Nottingham.  Quite an interesting old railway path route for the different in scenery from woods, cuttings and embankments.

Bingham Linear Park Info Board

Once at Nottingham, I decided to call it a day earlier than I was planning (I was going to have a little tram hunt) due to my feet being damp (seems my waterproof boots are not all that waterproofed) so I jumped onto 170202 on the next Norwich bound service, solely to clear Grantham to Peterborough for 170 coverage (not as fast I was expecting it to have been) to take me to Peterborough for a short wait for 801224 to arrive from Edinburgh to take me to Kings Cross where I had a gentle stroll to St Pancras for a Rainham bound 700053 to London Bridge followed by 707008 & 707003 on the first available South Eastern service to Waterloo East.

After grabbing some drink from Iceland, I headed to Waterloo and onto a busy 16:50 service formed of 159017 & 159106 to take me back to Grateley, the end of an enjoyable little day trip to Nottinghamshire even if I cut it short, a nice little getaway.  As always thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *Here*.