30th
April – 2nd May: A weekend trip to Glasgow & London
The
idea for this trip came about when I heard that on Sundays as part of the
engineering works on the Glasgow Central Low Level line there was going to be a
hourly service from Balloch to Milngavie using the rarely used (in passenger
service) single track Hyndland chord between Anniesland & Scotstounhill, I
started looking at costs for a weekend getaway.
I will admit to have completely forgetting about the bank holiday on the
Monday until after booking my return journey from Glasgow to London (via
Edinburgh due to engineering works on the WCML), as if I had remembered I would
have looked at booking a later train to London, or even booking 2 nights in
Glasgow to return south on the Monday.
For
the Sunday night I booked in the Premier Inn near to East Croydon station as it
was cheap, with a few ideas what I could do for the Monday.
Saturday
Sadly
my recent luck with the weather came to an end as the weather for Glasgow was looking
to be quite wet during the day, with heavy showers turning into light showers,
so my original plan to walk from Balloch towards Dalmuir, which was the riverside
path along the Riven Leven, old railway route (Lanarkshire & Dunbartonshire
Line) then canalside walk (Clyde & Forth Canal). Got put on the backburner (because walking in
the rain isn’t much fun, especially when carrying clothes), so my revised plan
was to have a random pottering at what lines were actually running (as I didn’t
pick a good weekend to travel due to Cambuslang area being closed).
My
day began with the 05:59 service from Grateley to take me all the way into
Waterloo, a 158+159 formation. With
around 90 minutes to waste before my booked train from Kings Cross (09:00) I
decided to have a gentle walk towards Kings Cross, going along the South Bank
of the River Thames to reach Blackfriars Bridge, crossing over the Thames,
following the road to reach the Holborn Viaduct. I climbed up to the A40 to follow that road
towards Chancery Lane Underground station, then Grey’s Inn Road towards Kings
Cross, swinging via St Andrews Garden & Tesco.
 |
| Holborn Viaduct, London |
Once
I reached Kings Cross, I had a few minutes before the train got announced for
boarding, sadly no winner for me as it was 801207. I was in the front coach and it was
reasonably busy throughout the journey, good change-over of passengers at
Newcastle. The train lost time south of
Morpeth, and as a result lost its path from Drem so the last 20 minutes was bit
of a drag as it was behind a late running stopper from North Berwick (which
itself got delayed by the previous Azuma).
Arrival
into Edinburgh was around 14 minutes late, not good when my connection had been
cut back to 4 minutes. Especially not
good when the train went into platform 19, which in my eyes is an awful
platform to terminate a train from London on, solely due to it getting very
narrow at one point. However, I somehow
made the connection onto a busy pair of 385s (just by the skin of my teeth as
the guard was about to close the doors), eventually finding a decent seat in
the front coach. I guess I wasn’t the
only passenger heading to Glasgow from London going via Edinburgh today.
 |
| 91109 at London Kings Cross |
The
385s took me across to Glasgow Queen Street, with the guard getting to the
front coach by Linlithgow checking tickets, I managed to get a Roundabout from
him to save a job when I reached Glasgow.
At Queen Street I headed to the low-level platforms, jumping on the
first train to take me to Charing Cross before a Balloch train rolled in to take
me towards Bowling. In the short time I
was at Bowling I headed up a path to reach the former railway route for a photo
of a tunnel, before returning to the station (it was also to get away from a
gang of youths who boarded at Dalmuir who were hanging around in the shelter on
the Glasgow bound platform).
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| 318257 departs Bowling |
My
rough plan changed, as I was going to change at Dalmuir for a train via
Clydebank, but I decided to stay on the Balloch – Airdrie service to Drumry,
which is currently undergoing works to rebuild the platforms, with the
westbound platform being missing. With
30 minutes to kill and the rain easing I decided to have a gentle walk back
towards Singer before the next Airdrie service arrived to take me to Coatdyke,
a station I visited back in October 2020 but the photo wasn’t the greatest due
to having a tight connection.
 |
Platforms at Drumry Station from nearby bridge
|
Another
change of plan, as originally I was going to head out on foot towards
Coatbridge Central, going via the Dunbeth Public Park, but decided to try and
push to clear 200km of walking in the month, so I took the next Edinburgh train
one stop to Airdrie to walk along the old railway route (I believe it was the
old Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway, linking into the Airdrie–Newhouse line). Although not much in the way of railway
evidence remain other than some bridges and the Sheepford viaduct.
The
path along the railway comes to an end near the site of Calder station,
although I’m not sure how much of the old line beyond is still walkable (under
Scottish Access Rights), but my walk continued along the North Calder Heritage Trail
around an area the Monkland Canal used to be.
I swung via a Tesco Extra for some dinner items (saved me a job when I
reached Motherwell) and ended my walk at Coatbridge Central, having good timing
as the rain returned with a vengeance, just as I reached the platforms.
 |
Old Monkland Canal Wharf in Coatbridge
|
A
single 318 rolled in as I braved the rain to board for the run towards
Motherwell, where due to engineering works meant a heavily reduced service was
running (1 train per hour towards Cumbernauld & 1 train per hour to Glasgow
via Hamilton), so faced with a 45 minute wait for the next Glasgow train I
decided to have a little walk to Airbles (as the rain had stopped once more). I returned to Motherwell on a 318+320 combo,
remaining on board as it departed back towards Glasgow (going from platform 4).
I
alighted from this train at Mount Florida, having a short wait before a 380
took me to Pollokshields East, for another 318+320 combo to Queens Park, the
same 380 back to Crosshill before my final move was on another 380 to take me
to Glasgow Central. The little moves
were to get some more photos of those stations, also to waste some time. At Glasgow as darkness had fallen and the
rain had returned, I departed from the station to head to my usual
accommodation, the Euro Hostel. £18 for
a private room on a Saturday night is a bargain, even if it comes with shared
bathrooms (2 toilets & 2 showers split between 6 rooms). Yes, I know the private rooms on the 2nd
floor are very very basic, but for a place to just crash, ideal.
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| 380111 at Glasgow Central |
Sunday
The
main goal today was the Hyndland chord, which was only getting limited service
due to some services from Balloch going towards Glasgow & Shettleston
instead of Milngavie (I assume due to the football). My day started with a walk from the Euro
Hostel towards Queen Street (via Tim Hortons), getting my roundabout and taking
a pair of 334s on the first train to Springburn.
Felt
strange skipping the 3 stations on this line and arriving at Springburn, with
platform 4 getting rebuilt since the last time I was here (back in October
2020). I remained on the same pair of
334s for the run back towards Glasgow and onwards to Milngavie using platform
2, another station which has had some work done since I was last here, with
both platforms getting made longer to allow trains to be stabled if required.
 |
| 334008 at Milngavie |
Time
for the main event, very unusual hearing Balloch as a destination at Milngavie,
and the train was lightly loaded at Anniesland as it took the curve to head
towards Dalmuir. One small section of
track ticked off for coverage, so mission complete, I still need quite a few of
the small connecting chords & bits south of the River, maybe one day those
will get covered on a railtour. I
alighted from the 334s at Clydebank, the start of my walk.
 |
| Jordanhill Station from Hyndland Chord |
My
walk was to head back towards Glasgow city centre, along the old railway mixed
used path (mainly on the former Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway line)
and then along the Clyde walkway. In
hindsight I probably should have gone via Whitecrook Park instead of via the
roads of an industrial estate, probably would have been scenic! Anyhow I joined the route of the mixed used
path to head towards the Yoker area, where the route of the original line has
been built over forcing a divert of the path alongside another former railway,
this one even had some track hidden within the trees in places (I think this
line served one of the docks and connected within Yoker depot).
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| Overgrown track towards Yoker Shipyard |
It
was unusual seeing a couple old coaches at the back of Yoker depot, something I
wasn’t expecting to see. I followed the
path (which was pretty in places), coming across the remains of the island
platform at Scotstoun East. The view
from the path was interesting as it was high up in a part of Glasgow I’ve not
visited before. Anyhow the mixed-use
path on the former railway line ended around the Clyde Tunnel, as it was
walking along pavements before heading towards the waterfront at Meadowside
Quay (near the old Glasgow Harbour according to signs).
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"The next walker to call at Scotstoun East is the service to Glasgow City Centre"
|
After
a break on this part of the river Clyde, I crossed over the dual carriageway
(A814) to walk between the road & the railway near Partick station, crossing
over the River Kelvin, before going underneath the dual carriageway towards the
Riverside museum. I continued along the
path, re-joining the river around Stobcross Quay, near the SEC. Carrying on along the riverside path with a
small detour away from the waterfront around Finnieston (where there is a large
crane), I made it to Glasgow city centre the end of my little walk.
I
visited a couple places to try and source a cheap bottle of pop, and also
lunch, before making a mistake of thinking the low-level entrance at Glasgow
Central was open, causing a longer detour to reach the station. I jumped on a 380 for a quick spin out to Paisley
Gilmore Street as a time-wasting move, returning on a 7 coach 380 service to
Glasgow Central.
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| Squinty Bridge over River Clyde in Glasgow |
It
was time for me to say farewell to Glasgow to make my way back to London,
walking to Queen Street for a busy pair of 385s to take me to Haymarket. I will admit to breaking the terms of my
advance ticket to London as that had me changing at Edinburgh, but as the Azuma
I was catching next came from Aberdeen, I decided that Haymarket would be a far
better station to change trains at.
800113
was my ride to Newcastle, I even managed to get to my seat after departure from
Haymarket, so I was all relaxed during the passenger changeover at Edinburgh
(at a guess 75% of those in my coach changed over). Nonstop to Newcastle as well which was a nice
little bonus, allowing me to enjoy the scenery of this area of the ECML. At Newcastle I changed trains to board a
“baby” Azuma, a 5 coach 801 (801110) on a semi-fast service (a TrainSplit
special, saving me money in exchange for a slightly longer journey time).
 |
| Baby Azuma at Newcastle |
A
few hours later I arrived in London, and headed over to St Pancras, jumping on
the first southbound 700 to take me to Farringdon. When I was leaving St Pancras, I noticed a
low mileage 700 on the next Kentish Town train, so I waited at Farringdon for
700035 to return from Kentish Town, which I took to Greenwich, returning to
London Bridge on a pair of 376s. When
these 376s rolled into London Bridge, I noticed my last 12 coach 700 which I
needed for mileage was on the Bedford bound, allowing me time to do some
research, for it would be back south later on, but be a late finish. Gave me something to think about as I headed
to East Croydon on a pair of 377s (with all 4 toilets locked out of use, what
could go wrong!).
I
was hungry, so for dinner I was going to head towards KFC but decided to swing
via Wendys to give the latest American Import fast food chain a try with a
burger. Not the fastest service (seems
to be made fresh) but was worth the wait.
So much better than McDonalds, plus comes with free drink refills. When eating I decided to give that 700 a miss
for the night, had I been on a Travelcard I would have gone for it, but as I
was on Oyster, I decided against it. It
ended the night in Brighton to form an early morning Bedford train so I would
try and intercept that service when it returned south.
 |
| 700042 departs Farringdon |
My
hotel for the night was at the Croydon Premier Inn, solely as it was the
cheaper option in Croydon for the night, usual Premier Inn standards, can’t
really go wrong.
Monday
A
later than usual start for me on the bank holiday as I walked to West Croydon
station to board an Overground to Anerley, returning to Norwood Junction on the
next West Croydon train, bit of a time-wasting move before low mileage 700138
rolled in from Bedford. I took this unit
to Purley, jumping onto a pair of 377s back to East Croydon, swapping over to a
busy 700 to Farringdon. My last 12 coach
700 was now in my book for mileage, which I was quite pleased about, just
needing 8 or so of the 8 coach units.
The
main aim for today was to do a nice long walk, making the most of the
weather. At one stage I was thinking
about taking the train to Welwyn Garden City to walk towards Luton along the
disused railway path (The old Welwyn – Leighton Buzzard via Dunstable route)
but decided against that for a walk in the River Lee Country Park area near
Cheshunt. So back to the trains, as a
Met line service took me to Liverpool Street, where I headed on a required 720
(720521) on the next Cheshunt terminator (the line beyond Cheshunt was closed
for works). I took this 720 to Enfield
Lock where I started my walk.
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| 720530 at Enfield Lock Station |
I
started with walking along the road to reach the River Lee Navigation, walking
north along the towpath, going underneath the M25 reaching the Waltham area,
where I turned away from the Navigation to enter the park, going along the path
alongside the flood relief channel. I
carried on heading north, with the first of the lakes appearing (the so called Seventy
Acres Lake), carrying on along the path reaching a car park (and more
importantly, some toilets!)
After
a quick PNB, I followed a path/road away from the water, reaching Holyfield
Lake. I followed a footpath between some
trees with the lake on the left, and off the beaten track (one of those paths
which exist in real life, but doesn’t show on the map) to follow a path along
the northern edge of the lake, popping down onto the fishing pontoons for some
photos. I eventually arrived at the
Kings Weir on the Lee Navigation.
 |
| Kings Weir, River Lee |
I
crossed over the canal, following a path which went between some more bodies of
water in old gravel pits, (Railway Pit, Lea Pit, according to Google Maps),
getting a bit lost along the way as some of the paths weren’t the best
marked. Quite scenic with the trees
& the lakes, and peaceful (compared to other parts of the country
park). I crossed over the canal once
more, via some marshes to follow a path which went alongside another branch of
the river, doing a large loop to come across the Lee Valley Wildlife Discovery
Centre.
I
was back on the main “seventy acre lake”, walking on the opposite bank, with
the lakes changing to a bird watching area before coming across some open land,
crossing over the canal for the final time, coming out onto a level crossing of
the railway between Waltham Cross & Cheshunt. I turned north to follow another path via
Bowyer’s Water, passing the Giant’s Chair structure (a large chair!), coming
out on the road near to Cheshunt station, the end of an enjoyable 14 and a bit
mile walk. It was back to playing with
some trains for me, resting my legs (and to get something to eat).
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| 720530 at the Trinty Lane Crossing, Cheshunt |
Due
to the engineering works north of Cheshunt, GA services were turning back on
platform 2, and the next departure was required 720581 which I took all the way
to Liverpool Street, returning northbound with 720521 to Enfield Lock, allowing
me to intercept required 720530 for the run back to Liverpool Street. When the train arrived, I noticed the next
Romford calling service (might have been a Colchester Town service) had winner
720532 up front (and dud 720571 on the back).
Needless to say, I took this service to Romford for a short wait before
a pair of required units took me back to Liverpool Street (566 & 573).
Back
out to Forest Gate on a 345 to intercept required 345018 for the run back to
Liverpool Street, not pushing it over ten miles but 5 miles is a start. I wanted to be on the 19:20 service from
Waterloo (didn’t want to stay out too late due to work the next day), so with
one eye on the time I headed to the underground with a central line service to
Tottenham Court Road, followed by a Northern line service to Waterloo.
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| Seventy Acres Lake, Lee Valley Park |
At
Waterloo I headed to Sainsburys & Tesco outside the station for some
dinner, before finding a seat on the 19:20 service, tonight an 8-coach
formation. I settled down to relax for
the run back to Grateley, after an enjoyable day of walking in the Lea Valley
area. Beautiful weather for it as well.
