Trips in February 2023

 Trips in February 2023

 

February was a quieter month than January for overnight stays and longer distance trips, as I made use of the £2 bus single fares to have cheaper day trips due to going slightly over budget in January

 

4^th February – Kennet & Avon Canal Walk

 

I had a short day on the first Saturday of the month, needing to be home to head out for a show in the evening at the local theatre (Pete Firman) so decided to make the most of the dry weather to head towards Hungerford to walk along the towpath of the Kennet & Avon to Thatcham, connecting up with the walk in January.

 

With one eye on having to be home on the 17:06-odd arrival at the latest, the day began with the 06:59 service to Basingstoke, popping out for a quick supply raid at Sainsburys before heading on a 165 (Turbo) to Reading, seeing a steam train charter picking up passengers, before a pair of 387s took me to Newbury, then finally changing over to another Turbo on the Bedwyn shuttle service.  Hungerford isn’t the quickest to reach!

 

800313 departs Hungerford Station

 

After a couple photos my walk began with a little loop in the town centre picking up the canal towpath to walk east.  A path of variable quality, ranging from mud, mud with straw on top, loose stones & tarmac, not the best path for February time, but at least the mud was mostly dry with no flooding this time.  On the bright side the scenery was quite nice, and it was peaceful in places with only the roar of the passing train for company.  I got very lucky being in a good place for when the steam charter passed as there was break in the trees.

 

I continued my walk passing Kintbury, Newbury town centre and onto the worse part, trying to cross a busy road on the eastern edge of Newbury, it didn’t even have a little centre reservation so both ways needed to be clear.  Anyhow I continued my walk along the towpath, reaching the turf sided lock at Thatcham (Monkeys Lock), before heading to the station for a pair of busy 387s to Reading.

 

LMS Jubilee Class 5699 Galatea alongside the Kennet & Avon Cana

I had arrived at Thatcham earlier than I had planned, giving me the chance to get home earlier (and to rest my foot as I think a stone/bit of mud got between my heel & the side of the boot causing a nasty blister).  I couldn’t quite make the Basingstoke stopper due to a late arrival into Reading, so it was onto a pair of voyagers to Basingstoke.  They arrived a couple minutes before a late running Exeter train arrived, so I decided to jump on the Exeter train for the run to Andover.  This was solely because I find Andover a nicer station to fester at and the train was lightly loaded in the rear coach.

 

The Turf Sided Monkey Marsh Lock in Thatcham

 

At Andover I spent the 30 minutes fester sitting in the little waiting room before a busy single 159 rolled in from London, I spent the 6-minute journey sitting in the fold down seat in the vestibule area to avoid trying to find a seat with some groups of people heading out for the night.  I arrived at Grateley, walked home and relaxed before enjoying the show.

 

5^th February – Buses in Oxfordshire

 

This was a random day making use of the £2 bus fares to do a couple bus routes within Oxfordshire which looked interesting.  The day began with the 07:39 service from Grateley which I took to Andover, stepping back to the Reading service (because it’s easier to change at Andover as it’s the same platform).  This 159 took myself & my mum to Reading, where after breakfast at Wendys it was to the bus stop for the Thames Travel X40 service to Oxford City Centre, we got prime seats at the front of the top deck for this route which went towards Oxford via Wallingford (where a group of teenage school girls boarded talking nonstop about who was shagging who at their school).  The bus got busier the closer it got to the terminus of Westgate shopping centre in Oxford where we had a gentle walk via the Castle Mill Stream to where it met the Thames, before heading north towards the Sheepwash Channel (where the Oxford canal connects with the Thames).  Passing the former railway swing bridge before heading towards the station for the next bus route.

 

Rewley Road Swing Bridge

 

The next bus was running late (I presume due to heavy traffic) and was a Thames Travel “X2 Connector” route, this bus took us out of Oxford a different route, via a park & ride site.  After a short section of running along the A34, it reached Abingdon, before carrying on towards Didcot Parkway station (via Milton business park). Sadly, due to the late running of the bus and a couple train cancellations we bailed at Didcot Parkway station rather than riding the bus all the way to the end at the Orchard Centre.

 

Didcot Bus

Due to engineering works at Swindon, Didcot – Reading was reduced to 3tph, with the next fast service from Oxford being cancelled and the one in 30 minutes time being a 3 coach 165 (which I would dread to think how busy it would be), so it was onto the hourly stopper to Reading.  Better to have a seat on a 387 stopping at many places than standing on a 165 (or even a 5 coach 800).  At Reading we exited the station, swinging via Sainsburys for a late lunch before heading to the bus stop where the Reading Buses “Jetblack 1” bus started from.

 

I was originally hoping to do this bus route on the Saturday, but the timings didn’t quite work out, as this bus heads towards Newbury via Thatcham, a bit slow getting out of Reading, but did have some speed sections along the way.  What I like about using bus routes is that I get to see parts of the country I wouldn’t otherwise see if I used the train, heck I didn’t even know that Thatcham was so large (and that the station wasn’t in a good location to the town centre).

 

Jet Black (Reading Bus) at Newbury Wharf

 

Anyhow this bus arrived at the Newbury Wharf bus station, and we had a gentle walk (had plenty of time due to Newbury – Reading being 3 trains per 2 hours on Sundays).  We arrived at Newbury station (which has changed a lot since my last visit, in terms of location of the gateline), and after 25 minutes of waiting managed to board a 2 coach 165 from Bedwyn on a Reading service, for it was quite cosy!

 

At Reading we exited the station, swinging via Wendys for dinner, before boarding a busy pair of voyagers on a Basingstoke service.  At Basingstoke we had a short wait before a 159+158 combo rolled in from the sidings, but they were delayed by around 10 minutes due to waiting for a late running Weymouth train.  This service took us back to Grateley, followed by a gentle walk home.  An enjoyable little random day, covering 3 bus routes I wouldn’t have probably done had it not been for the £2 single fares.

 

A photo of a random voyager at Basingstoke.

 

10^th February – Onwards to Aberdeen

 

My only big weekend away this month, a trip back towards Inverness to visit the recently opened Airport station.  I decided instead of going direct to Inverness to use the trip to tick a couple more things from my list, mainly the new sleeper stock to Aberdeen, hopefully a HST on the Aberdeen – Inverness line & an Azuma from Inverness towards Stirling (and via the Durham Coast).  So, a rough plan was formed, tickets purchased, accommodation booked (even if I swapped it over for another place closer to the city centre which I originally didn’t book for the lack of free cancellation).

 

The trip began with the 17:59 service from Grateley to Basingstoke, a single 159.  At Basingstoke it was over to platform 4 to board a pair of 444s from Weymouth, the front unit looked very busy when it rolled in.  I boarded near the rear (coach 8) and had a private table seat for the run to Waterloo.  As I had time to waste in London, I headed for a walk towards Euston swinging via Temple & Chancery Lane underground stations for some photos, arriving at Euston around 20:45 so plenty of time to visit the toilet, walk to the front to confirm that it was 92033 leading on load 16 (half term week getaway, the sleeper I think was fully booked).

 

92033 at London Euston

 

11^th February – Aberdeen, Inverness, Nairn

 

After a so-so sleep, the sleeper arrived at Aberdeen around 20 minutes late (it lost time between Dundee & Carnoustie due to signalling issues), 73969 was in charge and originally I was considering a little day return to Inverurie for some better photos but the Inverurie terminator which was following the sleeper was getting cancelled at Aberdeen (for itself was running late), so instead of taking a busy looking 3 coach 170 on the next Inverness train I decided to go out for a gentle walk (after swinging via the little Sainsburys outside the station for breakfast).

 

73969 at Aberdeen

 

This walk took me via the industrial area of the harbour to the Footdee area of the city, where industry gave way to a lovely beach front.  I took the path towards the Beach Ballroom heading inland, over a large hill (some nice views from the top of the hill) and towards Morrisons for lunch items before returning to the station, sadly not via the Union Terrace Gardens as they were closed for rebuilding.  I returned to the station with time to spare for the next Inverness train which the inbound from Edinburgh was running late (there was issues with a broken rail in the Forth bridge area meaning it called at nearly every station to Dundee rather than nonstop to Leuchars).

 

The HST with 43003 leading arrived around the time it was due to depart, I located my reserved seat (not like any labels were out due to the short turnaround), but the sockets in that coach weren’t working so I relocated to another coach where the sockets were working to give my phone a quick boost of electric on the run across the country to reach the freshly opened Inverness Airport station, where I alighted.

 

43135 departs Inverness Airport Station

 

I had around 30 minutes here, so had a little explore at the various exits, having lunch before the same HST returned to take me to Nairn where I was going to have a little explore.  This explore took me along a woodland path towards the River Nairn, crossing over Firhill Bridge before following the river northbound to the harbour.  I walked along the central beach path before heading back to the station via a Co-Op for some more drink and a short wait before the next Inverness train (another busy HST) rolled in.  I wanted to do this particular train as it loops another train (an Elgin bound 158) at Inverness Airport and hence uses the new loop (my BLS hat was firmly on).  Thankfully it did the loop as booked and carried on to Inverness itself.

 

Nairn Central Beach

 

The day was at an end for trains for me, as I set out on another walk, this time heading to the River Ness, following it towards Ness Islands, then via Whin Park to pick up the Caledonian canal which I walked the towpath heading north towards Telford Street, getting to the road just as daylight was fading so good timing as the rest of the walk was in the dark along the roads.  Earlier in the day I got a text from my accommodation asking for my estimated arrival time and to go to the Armadale Guest House which was next door to the place I had booked (Dunskaith Villa).  At the time I didn’t think anything off it, thinking that it was a case of both guest houses run by the same person with all the admin carried out in the Armadale house (with Dunskaith effectively as an annex building, similar to the Premier Inn at Stockport).

 

When I arrived to get checked in, I had a pleasant surprise, of a room upgrade to a room at Armadale rather than Dunskaith, a room with an ensuite (as I did book a shared bathroom on grounds of cost).  After dropping my bag off, getting changed into fresher clothes and headed out to Spoons for dinner (on grounds that I couldn’t think of anywhere else for a burger).  I got lucky to grab a table for 2 (with one of the chairs missing), and after eating made my escape from the noise (it was the day Scotland thrashed the Welsh in the egg chasing).  After a small loop via the Co-Op, I spent the remainder of the evening in the room catching up with various bits & pieces before collapsing into a deep sleep.

 

Holm Mills Bridge over River Ness, Inverness

 

12^th February – Highland Chieftain

 

As this trip was more short notice, tickets for the flights to London were over £100 for anything other than the early morning flights (the sort which require staying at the airport hotel or a taxi) or late night (don’t fancy getting into my house at 1am the following morning) with a single on the train being £70 (reduced frequency of hourly beyond Edinburgh due to the Durham Coast diverts) so I booked onto the train.

 

After departing the guest house, I went via Spoons for breakfast and also Morrisons for some lunch items (more as insurance in the event I couldn’t get weekend first).  800107 was the unit on the Kings Cross service today and I located the train manager to ask if weekend first was available (as from experience sometimes it gets withdrawn on the busy trains).  Thankfully it was and I took one of the very few available seats in 1^st class, up in coach M (going for a solo seat rather than a table of 4, mainly for the views).  £45 well spent for a 9 and a bit hour journey.

 

800107 at Inverness Station

 

Soon after departure of Inverness, breakfast was served, I had a waffle as I enjoyed the scenery of the Highland Main Line, it had been a few years since I did it all in daylight and I had forgotten how beautiful it is in parts.  The coach I was in slowly filled up along the way south.  After Edinburgh lunch orders were taken and I had a sausage roll (and it was a lovely sausage roll indeed, just needed a bit of salad to go with it I reckon).  At Newcastle the train had a 15-minute dwell, so I had a quick walk along the platform to see how bad it was in standard class.  I didn’t count that many empty seats with passengers sitting on luggage in the vestibules.

 

Anyhow the train headed towards Sunderland from Newcastle, a bit slow as it caught up with a Metro service before gaining speed after Sunderland with an enjoyable trip.  I noticed the rebuilt platform at Hartlepool is coming along well, after Northallerton darkness had started to arrive so I departed looking out of the window into watching stuff on my tablet for the fast run into London.  Arrival was around 10 minutes late so not bad for the distance from Inverness.

 

800107 at London Kings Cross

 

I headed to the underground with a Hammersmith train taken to Baker Street followed by a Jubilee to Southwark station.  I had the time and wanted to have a little walk after being sat down most of the day, so walked to Waterloo to grab a seat on a single 159 which after Clapham was full & standing until Woking.  I relaxed for the trip to Hampshire, followed by a gentle walk home.  An enjoyable weekend trip, covering all the bits on my wish list.  Hopefully the next new station will be slightly easier to reach from the south of England!

 

18^th February – Jurassic Coast Buses

 

Today was a day of playing with the X51 & X53 bus service (branded as Jurassic Coaster) between Axminster & Weymouth, they go different routes between Weymouth & Brigport (X51 goes via Dorchester, X53 via the coast).  The day started with the 08:30 Exeter train from Grateley, a single 159 which attached to another unit at Salisbury on a trip to Axminster where me & mum made the transfer from the train to a waiting double decker, sadly both front seats had already been claimed (one became available at Lyme Regis, so we grabbed it).

 

Jurassic Coaster at Axminster

 

An enjoyable bus route, especially on the nonstop section (can’t see much demand for some of those bus stops) between the town of Brigport & Dorchester with some steep hills on the main road, giving excellent views of the countryside.  The new development of Poundbury on the outskirts of Dorchester looks amazing, just for the building designs to make it look old (gives it more character).  After a trip via Dorchester town centre (and Dorchester South station) the bus went on a faster route towards Weymouth, reaching the bus stop near Kings Statue.

 

In Dorchester the bus I was on was following a route 10 which was the First “Pride” bus, so I hung back to grab a photo of that bus when it eventually arrived, as it did look good.  Anyhow with just over 2 hours until the next X53 service, we went via Tesco and a gentle loop of the RSPB Radipole Lake before heading back to the bus stop (via the beach) before the next X53 rolled in which had good loadings.

 

The Pride Bus of First in Weymouth

 

This route goes more via the coast, and the bus was worked hard over some of the steep hills, at one point heading into fog.  It gave some fab views of the water & of the countryside, swinging via West Bay where the old railway station has a couple old carriages (and I believe part of the trackbed can be walked to Brigport).  A 10-minute dwell at Brigport allowed me time to pop out for a photo of the bus at this small town before it continued towards Axminster.  The bus driver worked hard with the narrow steep streets around Lyme Regis, I can imagine during the summer time that time keeping would be dreadful due to traffic.

 

Anyhow the bus dropped us off at Axminster station in good time to catch the next London train, mum decided she wanted Chinese for dinner so after a quick search in both Sherborne, Gillingham & Salisbury I went for a place in Gillingham because they had a website which showed the menu.  So we alighted from this London train at Gillingham, swung via Asda for some more drink before ordering a Chinese, eating it sat on the station bench at Gillingham waiting for the following London train, which called at Grateley (rather than the previous one which was the last semi-fast London train after Salisbury, so the hour in Gillingham only cost us 30 minutes, the place I was thinking off near Salisbury station which I used a few years ago was closed).

 

View from bus in Lyme Regis

 

Anyhow back at Grateley, it was a gentle walk home, and relax after an enjoyable quiet day.  I recommend both the X51 + X53 bus routes for views of the sea & countryside.  I will try and do the Poole - Weymouth bus later in the spring where hopefully it gets more frequent.

 

19^th February – Loco Hauling to Peterborough

 

Originally my idea for today was to abuse the £2 bus fare with making use of one of the few Reading Bus Route 702 services from Reading to Victoria Coach Station before a day in London (probably playing with some more buses) but since the scheme got extended to the end of June, that plan can wait for another trip.  Also due to West Coast Railways running a 47 hauled set from Liverpool Street to Peterborough as a blockade buster service due to the ECML & WCML being closed.

 

The day started with the 07:37 London train which I took to Andover, stepping back to the first SWR train for Reading (originally, I was going to take the London train to Waterloo, but due to engineering works it was due to sit at Basingstoke for 30-odd minutes, not arriving in Waterloo until 09:50.  The 159 to Reading arrived early which made the connection to a London Paddington 802 a lot easier.  This was a busy train (from Bristol), but I managed to get a seat for the trip to Paddington, even going via the Acton Dive Under (I guess engineering works on the main line).  I arrived at Paddington, swung via Sainsburys for both breakfast & lunch items before making my way to the Elizabeth line platforms.

 

387139 at London Paddington

 

An Elizabeth line train soon arrived which took me to Liverpool Street, meeting up with my good friend Dan at Tottenham Court Road (complete chance we ended up on the same train as we had planned to meet up at Liverpool Street).  We exited the Elizabeth line at Liverpool Street, heading towards the platform where the 47s were located with 47813 at the country end, and 47815 at the buffer stop end.  We took a seat in declassified 1^st class, in the 2^nd coach from the front, settled down for an enjoyable trip towards Cambridge (all be it quite slow due to congestion, including a pathing stop in a loop just beyond Broxbourne station).

 

47813 at London Liverpool Street

After Broxbourne though the train did pick up speed, pausing at Cambridge for a busy looking 170 to depart first, followed by a Great Northern 387 for Kings Lynn, before the 47 continued heading towards Peterborough.  At Peterborough we swapped coaches (so I could sit on the opposite side of the train for more looking out of the window), and with 47815 in charge the train departed back towards London.

 

2 and a bit hours later the 47 arrived back at Liverpool Street, a bit slow at times due to congestion but the West Anglia line is only 2 tracks and trains have to fit with the Overground at the London end.  We headed towards the underground with a Met line to Farringdon, followed by a Thameslink service where I said farewell to Dan who was heading to Luton and I jumped off at West Hampstead Thameslink for a gentle walk towards Finchley Road underground station (via Finchley Road & Frognal overground making use of a footpath which follows the North London line, including a bridge over the Midland Main Line.

 

222015 approaching West Hampstead Thameslink

 

At Finchley Road, originally, I was considering taking the Jubilee to Kilburn to walk to Kilburn Park on the Bakerloo, but time wasn’t on my side, so I took a Met line service to Great Portland Street for a short walk along the busy road to Regent’s Park underground for a Bakerloo to Paddington.  I decided (randomly) to cover the connecting passageway to the Elizabeth line platforms before taking a busy 9 coach 800 to Reading (standing even in the front coach).  At Reading I transferred to a 159+158 on a Salisbury service (as SWR were running all the Salisbury stoppers to/from Reading due to engineering works at the London end).

 

This SWR service took me back to Grateley, where after a gentle walk home I relaxed for the remainder of the evening, catching up with my photos & logs from both days.  An enjoyable catchup with Dan on trip to Peterborough & back, plus both 47s I needed for my book so an extra bonus.

 

24^th February – A random trip to Swindon

 

I had a half-day of holiday left to use up before the end of March, so decided to use it today solely for the novelty of an IET via Melksham, followed by a bus journey for some more looking out of the window.  The trip began with the 13:07 from Grateley to Salisbury, featuring some revenue protection officers checking tickets (and I presume issuing penalty fares to those who think payment is optional).  A short wait at Salisbury made longer due to platform congestion before a busy 165+166 combo rolled in to take myself & mum to Westbury arriving around 13 minutes late, nothing that major as we did have a 40-minute wait, so it cut it down to 26 minutes, enough time for a photo of a double headed Freightliner from one of the quarries.

 

66597 at Westbury Station

 

800306 rolled in a couple minutes late (congestion) and I was surprised that it was quiet in the coach we boarded, no issue with getting a table seat for the trip towards Swindon.  It felt unusual being on a train skipping Trowbridge before heading towards Melksham (diverted due to a long engineering block in the Newbury area, most of the local services were replaced by buses due to the single-track section not having enough paths for both diverted long distance passenger trains plus freight).  A bit of rain around Chippenham was quite unexpected as the IET rolled into Swindon near enough on time, allowing a quick visit to the toilets before making our way to the bus station.

 

Swindon bus station could do with some TLC (although it was functional), we located the bus stand for the route 55 service for Chippenham.  My first time on a Stagecoach Gold service (with leather-like seats) on a reasonably busy bus (although it was running around 10 minutes late, time keeping on this route doesn’t seem to be the best as there were a couple times were two Swindon bound buses were close together).  A bit slow exiting Swindon before heading towards Chippenham via Royal Wootton Bassett, Lyneham & Calne with some nice views.

 

Stagecoach Gold Bus at Chippenham Station

 

The bus arrived at Chippenham rail station, via the bus station which looked quite rubbish.  Yes, it had a canopy but no sides, so I suspect a cold (and potentially) wet place to wait for a bus if there is a wind.  Anyhow at Chippenham station we went via Sainsburys for dinner before boarding a busy pair of 800s on a Bristol service (Bath were at home in the egg chasing plus usual Friday night party goers), we were lucky to get seats as some passengers simply boarded and stopped in the vestibule area instead of going into the seated area.

 

Thankfully we had a longer connection at Bath due to a Portsmouth train running late as it took nearly 10 minutes to change platforms due to the large number of passengers exiting the station, and it was onto a single 166 for the trip back to Salisbury (being lucky with a seat in the former 1^st class area).  Also, thankfully the train made up a couple minutes of late running to allow a connection to be made at Salisbury into a Basingstoke bound 159 (which itself got delayed by a few minutes).  A gentle walk home to relax for the remainder of the evening, an enjoyable little random afternoon/evening trip out.

 

25^th February – Walking the Cuckoo Trail (Eastbourne to Heathfield)

 

The Cuckoo Trail runs along part of the track bed of the former railway line which ran from Polegate towards Eridge which closed in the 1960s (the trail itself ends at the town of Heathfield, beyond Heathfield only parts of the old line are walkable).  I started the day with an early morning drive to Romsey, before catching the 06:46 GWR service towards Southampton (engineering works in the Salisbury area meant the GWR services were starting from Romsey with replacement buses connecting into trains at Southampton).  This 166 took me to Southampton Central where I changed over to a 377 on the Victoria train to take me towards Three Bridges, joining up with 2 more units at Horsham.

 

I needed to laugh though, someone who boarded at Emsworth sitting opposite me jumped over to another table seat at Barnham to put his feet on the seat opposite, a loud group joined him at the table, so his feet didn’t last for long on the sit opposite, that group got off at Crawley, so the feet went straight back up (like they were on a spring) only for another group to crowd him out.  I needed to pack my little violin and could only laugh inside.  Anyhow a Thameslink 700 took me to Haywards Heath changing over to an Ore bound pair of 377s.  On this trip towards Eastbourne, I decided to change my mind as originally, I was going to catch a bus to Heathfield to walk southwards, but decided to do it northwards, only so the sun was behind me, so remained on board the 377s after the reversal to alight at Hampden Park (which was skipped heading south).

 

377148 at Hampden Park Station

 

My walk began swinging via the little Tesco for some lunch items before I made my way towards the start of the Cuckoo Trail near Shinewater Park (somewhere on my list to revisit when the little railway is operating).  The first section runs close to the A22 road and has some poor signage near a junction where walkers need to turn right to go over the railway (the signs pointed left which carries on underneath the road to loop towards the lakes).  I carried on turning left onto what I would imagine was the alignment of the former Eastbourne avoiding line.  A short section of road walking followed as I went via an old railway bridge before following Levett Road to pick up the next off-road section which took me towards a junction near Polegate station.

 

An old railway bridge near Polegate

 

I headed north, onto what I think was the old railway route (as it was before it got closed in the 1960s), heading towards the small town of Hailsham where another short section of walking on the roads followed before picking up the old track-bed again.  There were a few sections where old bridges have been removed meaning the path dropped down to cross a road, some of those roads were little more than single track lanes, the busier ones had traffic lights to help cross.  The old railway line path continued northwards, passing the remains of Hellingly station (now a private residence) before going quite rural for the next couple of miles, where at times the only sound I heard was the wind.

 

The path reached Horam, passing the remains of the station, restored to what it would have looked like before the line closed.  I continued north, passing via Maynard’s Green before reaching Heathfield.  The end of the trail is around a Waitrose where the station site has been built over, there is access to the southern portal of the tunnel (which has been closed up due to anti-social behaviour & crime).  I went via Sainsburys to grab some items for dinner before making my way to the bus stop at Streatfield Road.

 

"The next walker to arrive at Horam station is the service from Hampden Park"

 

I took the 16:03 route 51 service when it rolled in from Tunbridge Wells as a route 252 service, gaining the front seats after a few stops as it headed southwards towards Hailsham, then towards Polegate (where had the £2 flat fare not been on, I would have bailed) before Eastbourne, arriving at the station a few minutes ahead of schedule allowing me to catch an earlier Brighton train.  This Brighton train was one of the Gatwick Express 387 units so a bit of an unusual action as I enjoyed the speed as it headed towards Brighton, getting busier the closer it got.

 

At Brighton I headed across to platform 2, grabbing a table seat on a 377/4 (lovely plug sockets) before it filled up, departing full & standing (even in the front coach).  I settled down for the slow trip on the West Coastway, calling at Uncle Bert’s Shed along the way, the train only emptying out at Chichester.  I took this to Portsmouth & Southsea for an easy cross platform change to a Romsey bound 166 to take me back to Romsey sitting in the former first-class area.  The train did empty out at Southampton for the replacement bus for Salisbury + Warminster, but there was at least one passenger who didn’t hear the announcements and alighted at Romsey looking for the bus (I guess he would have had to wait for the SWR run stopper bus which in the morning was a “More Bus” service bus).

 

387225 at Brighton

 

I headed to my car to have a nice relaxing drive home on quiet roads.  Before relaxing for the remainder of the night for I had uncle duties on the Sunday.  February was a good month, not busy for long distance overnight trips but some nice walks mixed up with some bus routes.  More photos taken during February are available here (Flickr Line), thank you for reading my random mutterings. :)

Trips in January 2023

Trips in January 2023

 

January was a busier month compared to previous months with more overnight stays due to the lower prices of hotels in January time (compared to November/December)

 

1^st January – Boating in London

 

The new year started with a trip to London with mum on a more tourist themed day.  A quiet triple 159 took us from Grateley to Clapham Junction where we were delayed by around 10 minutes due to congestion.  We headed over to the Windsor line side for a pair of 458s to Putney (as there was a sizeable gap to the next Wimbledon train), followed by a short walk to East Putney underground station before my first underground service of the year to Wimbledon.

 

We crossed over to the tram platforms taking an Elmers End tram to Easy Croydon to grab something to eat for lunch before a Beckenham Junction tram took us to Beckenham Junction, where a route 162 bus took us to Bromley South before a triple 375 to London Victoria.  At Victoria we headed to the Victoria line to take a Victoria line service to Blackhorse Road with a delay at Seven Sisters, before 710262 rolled in on the next Barking Riverside service which we took to Barking Riverside.

 

A district line service departs East Putney LU station

 

After leaving the station, we headed towards the pier buying a single to Battersea Power Station on the Thames Clipper service, something which had been on my list to do for a while.  My first Thames Clipper (or Uber Boat whatever the branding name is these days) was Monsoon Clipper which was taken to North Greenwich pier where we changed to Neptune Clipper for the trip along the Thames to Battersea Power Station pier (the boats from Barking only run as far as Westminster, hence the need for a change of boat).  Maybe one day I will do the peak time extension out west towards Putney but that probably won’t happen until the summer time (as there are rumours of an extension towards Gravesend as well).

 

Neptune Clipper (Thames Clipper) at North Greenwich

 

Anyhow we left the pier and walked to the Northern line station, taking a Northern line service to Embankment, changing to a District line service to Blackfriars where we did a little loop out of the north side, onto the river bank to cross over the Millennium bridge (mum has always wanted to walk that bridge) and returning to Blackfriars via the south bank entrance taking a 700 to Farringdon, followed by a 345 to Bond Street before finally a Jubilee line service to Waterloo.

 

The final train of this trip was the same triple 159 we had earlier in the day (107, 004 & 015) for the trip back to Grateley.  Lightly loaded other than the rear coaches but good that we didn’t need to change at Basingstoke as it had gotten chilly.  An enjoyable day in London doing some bits & pieces, the boat was quite good fun (we managed to get seats at the front).  It was also nice to meet up with my good friend Daniel for the boat trips as well, just for a general catchup of things.

 

Battersea Power Station

 

 

2^nd January – Kennet & Avon Canal Walk

 

My last day of freedom before returning to work on the Tuesday (time flew by) and as the weather was quite nice, I decided to head towards Thatcham to walk the Kennet & Avon canal towards Reading.  I rode along the towpath many years ago, but my memory was a bit faded so would be a nice revisit.

 

The day started with a triple 159 to Basingstoke, followed by a 165 to Reading (after visiting Sainsburys for some lunch items to save a job for later on).  At Reading I changed onto a 387 working the stopper to Newbury to take me to Thatcham where I started my walk, gaining the canal near enough straight away from the station.

 

Kennet & Avon Canal in the Thatcham area

 

The next few hours I walked the towpath of the canal, with a small detour to pay my respects at the site of the Ufton Nervet crash before carrying on the canal.  The surface quality varied massively along the way, getting a bit muddy around Theale but on the whole decent enough.  All changed in the Southcote area where the flooding started near the railway bridge, which continued along the way towards Reading.  Just flooding from where the river had burst the banks, thankfully it was a tarmac service so just a case of slowly walking through the water trying to avoid the deep sections.

 

Around County lock in Reading town centre, it was a case of trying to actually see the lock island due to being underwater, the noise of water at the weir was loud.  I continued via the shopping centre area to reach the Duke Street bridge, linking into the part of the river/canal (it’s hard to tell) I walked with mum on Christmas Eve.  I joined the road network and made my way to the station with around 5 minutes before the next Basingstoke train departed.

 

River Kennet in Reading, there is a path there honest

 

165108 took me to Basingstoke where I popped to Sainsburys to waste some time before a busy pair of 159s took me back to Grateley to relax for the remainder of the evening getting ready to return to work.

 

8^th January - Jubilee River Walk

 

After a day playing with the buses due to the rail strike, I was back on the rails and heading towards Berkshire with a plan I had formed a few months back.  The first train from Grateley took me to Reading (a pair of 158s, getting busy at Basingstoke due to passengers avoiding the replacement buses) where I made a 7-minute connection onto a very busy Elizabeth line service (from memory it was a 35-minute wait for the next fast London train which was running 10 minutes late).  This 345 took me to Langley where I started my walk.

 

Outside the station I headed north to pick up a path which came alongside the canal before heading south into Langley itself, carrying on reaching a path near Ditton Manor, where the rain started.  I headed towards Upton Court Park, crossing the M4 and picking up a path alongside the Jubilee River (basically a man-made flood relief channel for the Thames).  I took this path underneath the Black Potts railway viaduct, and along the edge of a golf course to reach the mouth of the Jubilee River where it flowed back into the Thames.

 

Black Potts railway viaduct & Weir over Jubilee River

 

I doubled back towards the railway viaduct (sadly there was engineering works so no photo of trains) crossing over the Jubilee river to follow the path (variable in places in terms of service, not much in the way of mud but more issues with flooding due to the rain).  The rain was on and off and in hindsight I could have ended the walk at Windsor but decided to push on with the walk.  The hardest section was the bridge underneath the Windsor - Slough branch as that was flooded (and no real alternative route) so my boots got a bit wet.

 

After the flooded bridge, it was a nice gentle walk with the waterway to my right-hand side, sadly not the best for views due to being heavily tree-lined, the best photos coming from the various bridges which crossed the waterway (both footbridge & road bridge).  I hid underneath the M4 bridge for a few minutes due to a heavy downpour (with the sound of thunder in the distance), thankfully I reached the end point of the jubilee river path, and onto a muddy footpath leading towards the road in the Taplow area.

 

Jubilee River in the Eton area

 

I went into the Tesco located on the small retail park before heading to the station, cutting it quite fine for the next train as it arrived less than a minute after I got onto the platform (thankfully Taplow is half hourly so it wouldn’t have been the longest of waits).  This 345 took me to Reading where I transferred to a 159 on the next Salisbury service to take me back to Grateley where I had a nice warm shower to dry off.  In hindsight not the best days for walking due to the weather but it was an enjoyable walk, as it was quite peaceful & scenic in places.

 

13^th January – Onwards to the Ness

 

I originally planned this trip with the hope that the new station at Inverness Airport would open on time, but sadly the opening of that station was delayed by around 7 weeks (due to open in early Feb at the time of writing) so my original plan for the trip went into the bin and I came up with an alternative plan.

 

The trip began with a drive to Andover (solely for the Sunday due to buses) with a 159 to Basingstoke (quite busy as the train from Exeter was running quite late, eventually running nonstop to London from Salisbury from the looks of RTT).  This 159 took me to Basingstoke where I transferred to a pair of 444s, getting a decent seat for the trip to Clapham (a trip I spent looking up accommodation options for a UK railtour at the start of April).  This train was delayed along the way due to a late running service from the Portsmouth branch at Woking.  At Clapham I headed towards platform 1 to board 378201 on the next Stratford train which took me to Camden Road where I was being a cheapskate and not wanting to pay for zone 1).

 

Entrance to Camden Road Overground

 

I was playing with Google Maps the other day and noticed it was only a mile from Camden Road station to Euston, a way to boost my steps and also to waste some time before the sleeper.  A walk I will need to do again in daylight hours so I can have a little explore of a couple small parks along the way (St Martins Garden & Oakley Square Gardens).  Anyhow I made it to Euston with plenty of time to spare, noticing the 20:46 to Crewe was a single unit (potential of an ouch!) and took my seat on the highland sleeper with 92018 up top.

 

It had been a while since my last trip on the Sleeper Seats, other than a lady eating something quite smelly close (seriously, couldn’t she eat it off the train?) it was a decent enough trip, although very cold.

 

92018 at London Euston

 

14^th January – Inverness Day

 

The train lost around 40 minutes in the Carlisle area, time it never gained back due to the single-track sections on the Highland Main Line, being held at Dalwhinnie, Aviemore & Moy for southbound trains to pass.  The pause at Moy was grateful for me as it pushed the delay over the magical 30 minute mark (annoyingly there is a 7 minute difference between the working timetable & public timetable so where the train made back a couple minutes to be 36 minutes late that wouldn’t have qualified for money back.

 

Anyhow arrival at Inverness was 43 minutes late (to the working timetable) with required former Colas 67023 up front with 73971 providing the power for the coaches, and I exited the station for a short wait for my good friend Jules who had arrived from the airport via the bus.  We had a gentle catch-up when doing a loop towards Morrisons, following Milburn Road & Harbour Road to come back into the city centre before the next Kyle train was due.

 

67023 at Inverness

 

158711 was the unit on the next Kyle train, which was lightly loaded in the front coach, and took us to the remote Achnashellach station where unsurprisingly we were alone in alighting at this peaceful station.  A place someone could easily spend a few hours exploring the paths to the north of the station if the weather was good.  We didn’t have long here before 158719 rolled in from Kyle to take us to Dingwall where we had a little walk following a path alongside the river Peffery, before a path alongside the river Conon (signposted as “Dingwall Round Walk”).  We returned to the station just as it started to drizzle and 158711 returned us to Inverness where I went to my hotel (the Travelodge) to get checked in and to drop off my bag before heading out for a meal in the Spoons and a post meal little loop in Inverness heading south along the river Ness before up a steep hill.

 

After I said farewell to Jules who was staying at the hotel at the airport, I headed back to the hotel to relax for the remainder of the evening.

 

158711 departs Achnashellach

 

15^th January – Return Home

 

I was in two minds what to do on the Sunday, either a canalside walk towards Dochgarroch (and returning back the same way) or a little explore of the city and the suburbs to head towards Cullloden which had an interesting looking path on Google Maps.  I checked out of the hotel, heading to Spoons for breakfast before deciding on my little explore, so after grabbing something to eat for lunch later from the Co-Op I headed towards the bank of the river Ness, following that north towards the harbour area, carrying on passing Cromwell’s Tower and onto the path leading to the Kessock Bridge.

 

I walked across the Kessock Bridge (very windy!) to North Kessock, crossing over the dual carriageway at the crossing and back to the Inverness end of the bridge on the other path.  I took the pavement to the roundabout (A9 & A82), taking Stadium Road back towards the bridge for views of the north bank (called stadium road due to passing a football ground).  After going underneath, the Kessock bridge, I made my way towards the Raigmore part of the city via the industrial estate and followed a path over the railway towards the shopping park (where a lot of houses are being built).

 

Coastline of Black Isle, from Kessock Bridge

 

Continuing along the path (along what looked to be an old road), I headed to the Cradlehall part of the city, swinging via Maxwell Park before following an old road back underneath the railway line leading towards Smithton.  Some good views of the Moray Firth before I picked up the “Smithton – Culloden Active Travel Route”, which turned into Culloden Avenue, some nice woodlands on a road leading towards Culloden House (now a hotel).  I soon joined the road, heading towards the bus stop for the route 11 at Culloden Academy, deciding to carry on to Balloch to wait for the bus at the bus stop on the main road (not like there was much there, just a pole).

 

The route 11 bus was running around 10 minutes late when it arrived to take me to the airport (along with a dozen others).  I was hoping it would be one of the new electric buses Stagecoach were running in this area, but it was an older bus.  I had planned to arrive earlier than required as a safety net, also to allow me the chance to walk the path alongside the perimeter fence to the site of the new station.

 

Entrance to Culloden Avenue

 

 

I had a little look at the station (going onto the road bridge over the platforms) before heading back to the airport, making it through security in no time and I found a seat to wait for the plane to arrive & to board.  Easyjet plane G-EZGO was my ride to Gatwick, deciding to fly due to the cost (£15 compared to £60 for the train which would take 9 hours due to going via the Durham Coast).  A busy plane with a delayed take-off due to snow arriving, but 90 minutes (or so) later it had landed at Gatwick Airport, and I made my way through the airport, onto the little shuttle train to the south terminal and to 165104 working the next Reading train.

 

165104 at Gatwick Airport Station

 

I took this busy 165 to Guildford, where I had a short wait before the next rail replacement coach for Andover arrived.  It was a coach operated by WestBus, the legroom was quite poor but otherwise was a nice vehicle on the stopper.  At Andover I had a short walk to my car and a drive home and relaxed for the remainder of the evening.  A good trip to Inverness, some little exploring, shame that the airport station hadn’t opened but that can be a job for another trip.

 

20th January – Onwards to Fort William

 

I was booked on the sleeper to take my mum on a late Christmas present, heading towards Fort William for the views of the West Highland Line.  The trip was meant to begin with the 17:59 service to Basingstoke, but for whatever reason that got cancelled with an additional call put into the train from Exeter (which was only running to Basingstoke due to the landslip at Hook).  At Basingstoke we had around 25 minutes before the next Reading train, so popped to Sainsburys for some dinner before 165114 took us to Reading where we got lucky with a late running train from Plymouth (a pair of 802s) which took us to Paddington.

 

165114 at Reading

 

No time to hang around as we headed to the Elizabeth line for a 345 to Tottenham Court Road, followed by the northern line to Euston itself, arriving around 21:00 so far too tight for my comfort, I relaxed as we headed towards platform 1, as I grabbed a photo of 92023 at the head of the train before boarding coach F to locate our club berth, selecting breakfast in the club car for 8am.  A bit of a stressful trip to London, caused by SWR cancelling that first train, but thankfully it worked out.

 

21^st January – Fort William & Glasgow

 

We had breakfast in the club car enjoying the sunrise as we remained at the table until the car closed after Spean Bridge, the sleeper arrived pretty much on time at Fort William with 66737 providing the power with 73971 for the power for the 4 coaches.  After visiting the lounge, we had a gentle loop in Fort William along the high street returning via the waterfront, swinging via Morrisons for lunch items, meeting up with Dan at the station to take 156500 back towards Glasgow to enjoy the scenery in daylight.

 

66737 at Fort William

 

At Crianlarich, 156446 ran into the rear of the train to carry on towards Glasgow as we bailed at Dumbarton Central onto a pair of 334s behind (which were a lot warmer than the 156 we had left as the heating wasn’t the best).  We took these 334s to Partick changing to a 320 to Argyle Street for a short wait before a 320/318 combo on the next Cumbernauld service, which we took all the way to Cumbernauld via Motherwell.  At Cumbernauld we changed platforms to board a 385 for the run into Queen Street, followed by a 320 to Charing Cross where we headed to the hotel, the Britannia outside the station.

 

This was a former Premier Inn which is quite tired inside, but it was reasonably priced.  Although the £7 per device for WiFi was a bit on the steep side, but thankfully we had mobile data.  After dropping the bags off we returned out to the station with a 318 to Partick, changing to the subway doing a full ring on the outer circle, followed by a trip to Buchanan Street, where we changed to Queen Street for a pair of 334s to Charing Cross and dinner.

 

318262 at Partick Station

 

After dinner I headed out for a little walk, doing a large loop towards Exhibition Centre and Anderston, before returning to Charing Cross where I had a nice sleep.  The bed wasn’t moving tonight!

 

22^nd January – Glasgow & Manchester

 

We took a taxi to the Crystal Palace (Wetherspoons) for breakfast (better than paying £12 for a hotel breakfast of unknown quality), before leaving our bags with Dan at the station before doing a loop towards Anderston doing the footbridge over the motorway and heading to the river front for a little walk along the riverfront towards the West Portland Street bridge, after swinging via Tesco for lunch we returned to the station to collect the bags from Dan and to say farewell as he headed on a little adventure of his own.  It was to platform 9 for the 11:35 service for London, 390001 was in charge as we took our seats in standard premium (shifting to an empty bay of 4 for that bit of extra room).

 

I think the last time I did the run from Glasgow via the Lowlands in daylight was in 2020 time, so a nice way to rediscover the scenic views, topped off with some snow.  We took this 390 to Wigan North Western, changing to a 156+150 combo from the bay platform on a service to Manchester via Bolton, staying on to Manchester Victoria (originally, I was going to head to Ashton, but Man City were at home so wanted to avoid the crowds).

 

390001 at Glasgow Central

 

We headed to the Metrolink platforms getting a day travelcard (just safer than using contactless), and boarded a very busy tram for Bury, a tram which remained quite busy until nearer the end.  I can’t help thinking that Metrolink should make sure Bury line services are double trams on Sundays.  A quick turnaround at Bury and we took the same tram back to Victoria, changing to an airport tram to Cornbrook then a Trafford Park tram to the end of that line.

 

Another turnaround and we headed to Imperial War Museum for a walk across the millennium bridge and alongside the Central Bay & Ontario Basin of the quayside to reach the tram tracks, and a little shorter to the Travelodge at Salford Quays.  After checking in, we decided to have dinner in the hotel to save trying to find somewhere else, also to have breakfast.  After dinner, we headed back out to take a tram from Salford Quays all the way to Ashton under Lyne, stepping back to get a tram from the opposite platform (the one closer to the bus stop).

 

Metrolink Tram 3110 at Bury

 

We headed back to the hotel, to relax for the remainder of the evening, an enjoyable day where I was glad that both the Avanti & Northern legs went without issue.

 

23^rd January – Manchester & Journey Home

 

After breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and headed to Salford Quays tramstop, waiting for the clock to hit 09:30 where I could buy my off-peak tickets, just as well as winner 3147 rolled in from Eccles to take us to Cornbrook, stepping back to a tram to Rochdale town centre, getting good seats for the long run via Oldham.  We remained on the same tram as it returned up the hill to Rochdale station, changing to board a pair of 150s on the first service towards Manchester, changing at Salford Crescent (passing the remains of the platforms at Salford Central which is finally getting normal height platforms).

 

Metrolink Tram 3147 at Cornbrook

 

A pair of 331s took us to Deansgate, changing over to an unusual double tram on a Manchester Airport service, first time I have seen a double set on the airport line. Needless to say, it was very empty as we headed to Manchester Airport (had there been a 197 out following the 331s we would have done a train first, tram second but it was a 2 coach 175).  We had a break at the Airport, heading towards the bus station to use the toilets before taking a 397 to Manchester Oxford Road, and walking the Rochdale Canal path towards the Piccadilly area.

 

Rochdale Canal in Manchester City Centre

 

When we got to Piccadilly, the boards were showing the next trio of London trains as being cancelled, so we sat down to have lunch with around 14:10 the 14:15 getting uncancelled allowing us to board 390117 in coach F (I still haven’t sampled a refurbished set).  The train departed late due to the late boarding and stayed around 5 minutes most of the way, dropping a few more minutes around Rugeley where it was kept on the slows for a late running train from Glasgow to pass.  Compared to other Avanti services, we were lucky to only be 5 minutes late when it arrived at Euston.

 

We walked towards Waterloo, following Tottenham Court Road, swinging via Trafalgar Square and the Golden Jubilee footbridge over the Thames.  After swinging via Sainsburys for dinner we headed to Waterloo to wait for the 19:20 service, the first train we could catch with our super off-peak returns.  A train which lost a bit of time due to signalling issues at Wimbledon, and eventually arrived at Grateley around 40 minutes late.

 

River Thames from Golden Jubilee Bridge

 

A gentle walk home, and we relaxed for the remainder of the evening.  Mum enjoyed her little getaway to Scotland & Manchester (she loves trams), and it was a good relaxing trip with no long walks.  It was a bit cold at times but hardly any rain which was a bonus.

 

27^th January – An evening in Manchester

 

Due to a miscalculation with my annual leave, I found myself with an extra couple days of annual leave I needed to take before the end of March, as I had already booked a 2-night stay in my usual accommodation in Crewe on the Friday night, I decided to take the day off work and head up earlier with an evening in Manchester hunting down my last few trams.

 

The day began with the 07:28 service to London as I managed to get a cheap advance on it, since I booked the landslip happened at Hook and so this triple 159 called additionally at Fleet & Farnborough which I think is the first time I’ve called at those stations on a sprinter heading into London (I’ve done it a couple times on a Sunday night as the last London – Salisbury train calls there on Sundays).  Once into London I set off on foot towards Euston heading via Embankment Gardens, Covent Garden, Holborn & Russell Square on a little tour to photograph some more underground stations.

 

Red Lion Square Gardens

 

At Euston I had a short wait before train to form the 10:46 service to Crewe arrived, and thankfully I avoided the dreaded pair of 2s with 350409 leading 252 for the run to Crewe, where due to a failed freight train between Rugby & Nuneaton it ran on the up fast to bypass the issue, calling at Nuneaton on platform 4 before re-joining the regular down slow (all the random bi directional running).  The train arrived at Crewe around 10 minutes late, but the next Welsh train to Manchester (I was using an LNR+TfW only ticket) was running 30-odd minutes late giving me a chance for a little walk to pick up lunch before returning to find the train was getting spun at Wilmslow due to late running.

 

DVT 82200 eventually arrived with 67013 giving it a push with a former Grand Central Mk4 set (the ones which Grand Central were planning to use on the London – Blackpool trains had Covid not arrived).  Quite a nice interior for the short run to Wilmslow where it terminated on platform 2, I changed to platform 3 to take the next Manchester train, a busy 9 coach Pendo to Piccadilly, where I headed to the Metrolink platforms to start my little hunt.

 

67013 at Wilmslow Station

 

Near enough straight away I saw a required tram on an Eccles service, but I couldn’t get it for needing a ticket, deciding on a zone 1-2 travelcard to give chase.  During the wait I saw another required tram heading towards Ashton, before the next Eccles service arrived with winner 3146 on the back (3089 was at the front).  I took this to Langworthy (with a bit of a delay due to someone falling out of a Piccadilly bound tram near Piccadilly Gardens) with the reversal at MediaCity giving time for a quick photo.  Along the way I saw another required tram heading towards Ashton so another one to add to my list, as I took 3140 back towards Cornbrook (3035 was the other tram of this pair).

 

Metrolink Tram 3146 at MediaCity UK

I was at Cornbrook for less than a minute before required 3143 rolled in (with 3132 for company) on an Airport service which I took to Firswood, returning on a dud single tram to Cornbrook for a short wait before 3144 popped up on a Shaw tram which I took to St Peter’s Square.  I was down to needing just the 2 trams and both I knew were out on Eccles – Ashton services.  I stayed at St Peter’s Square for around 25 minutes waiting for required 3141 (with 3067) to return from Ashton which I took to Anchorage, jumping on a pair of trams for the long run to Edge Lane out in the east, the boundary stop between zone 2 & 3, and had another little fester, watching the traffic jam.

 

Eventually tram 3145 rolled in from Ashton (with 3108 along for company) which I took to Deansgate Castlefield, I was quite happy that I had cleared Metrolink with some good luck.  My last move was a pair of trams back to Piccadilly, fighting my way through the kickball crowds (the tram was pretty much wedged out after Piccadilly Gardens).  I grabbed some food (both for dinner & also for breakfast items) and jumped on the 19:30 TfW service to Crewe, solely due to being a required 153/9 for renumbering (913).  A good thing I did as the 20:30 service (which was meant to be a loco hauled set to Crewe) was running hopelessly late (it passed us on the outskirts of Crewe station).  That 20:30 got cancelled due to a train fault and I wouldn’t have liked to be on the 21:30 service due to being a 2 coach 175.

 

Metrolink Tram 3145 at Deansgate Castlefield, Metrolink, Tick

 

Anyhow back in Crewe, I headed to the shared house, eventually getting access (a minor issue with my code for the digital door lock.) I relaxed for the remainder of the evening in a quiet room, happy that I had cleared Metrolink with all 147 trams cleared for over a mile.  No more Cornbrook festers or keeping my eyes peeled at passing trams.

 

28^th January – Cheshire Day

 

Due to finishing earlier than expected on the Friday, I started the day with the 06:12 Northern train towards Wilmslow (a nice 323), where I alighted and had a little explore (in the darkness) to a footbridge to the south of the station (somewhere I will return to in the daylight), and back via a little Tesco Express (for lunch items).  I returned to the station to catch a pair of XC voyagers on the run into Piccadilly, where due to engineering works in Stockport they were going via Styal and the airport avoider (annoyingly XC were running nonstop from Stafford to Wilmslow meaning the early start).

 

390046 at Wilmslow Station

 

At Piccadilly I didn’t have long before heading to platform 14 to board 197015 on the Llandudno train, sampling my first of the new DMUs for TfW Rail.  First impressions were good, other than the fixed armrests by the window the seats were reasonable, only dislike was the space wasted by the catering cupboard (should have only been fitted to the 3 coach units) and the tap in the sink cutting out as soon as the hand was removed from the sensor.  Anyhow I took this service into Wales, alighting at Shotton where I started my walk.

 

A TfW 150 crossing the railway at Shotton

 

Today I walked along the River Dee towards Chester, before walking the towpath of the Shropshire Union canal towards Ellesmere Port.  An enjoyable walk with decent quality of path.  At Ellesmere Port I headed up at the National Waterways Museum next to the Manchester Ship canal, before making my way towards the station to board a 507 towards Liverpool.  A journey I didn’t enjoy due to the anti-social behaviour by some feral kids.  Anyhow once I was at Lime Street, I found myself using the lift, fighting my way through the crowd waiting for it to go down (and I’m sure they all had tickets and weren’t simply using the lift to bypass the ticket gates).  I had a short wait before taking 197021 on the Chester train to Chester, noticing the large crowd waiting for the Crewe shuttle due to Avanti being Avanti and cancelling most of the trains from Crewe towards Chester.

 

197021 at Chester

 

My next move was on a 3 coach 175 towards Piccadilly (so much more peaceful in comparison to the announcements on a 197 which does everything in Welsh first before English).  I was toying with the idea of a quick spin to the Airport and back, but delays meant I decided to remain at Piccadilly to grab some items for breakfast (and lunch) for the Sunday (making use of the fridge at the shared house).  It was onto a very busy 390006 on the next London train (Manchester – Crewe was reduced to 1 fast Avanti and 1 stopper (via the Airport), the stopper getting looped by the London train when it went into the Airport so effectively 1tph.

 

I took this 390 to Crewe, finally ticking off the Airport avoider line going from north to south (I’ve done it countless times heading south to north due to the Sunday morning TfW services and various charters only the years).  At Crewe I picked up dinner from Tiger Bite (making use of a £10 off a £20 spend voucher) which sadly defeated my big belly (I was all pizzed out).  After a quick visit to my room to drop off some items I was back out on the trains with a 170/2 taken to Stoke on Trent for a 30-minute wait (spent doing a little loop towards the canal) before 170533 arrived from Nottingham to take me back to Crewe, another 170 needed for renumbering.  I headed back to the shared house, swinging via Tesco Express for a bottle of pop before relaxing for the remainder of the night.

 

170533 at Stoke on Trent Station

 

29^th January – The journey home via Trent & Mersey Canal

 

My original idea for the Sunday was to walk towards Sandbach before following a disused railway route towards Alsager but I decided to put that on hold due to the uncertainly about the path condition between Crewe & Sandbach, so looked up alternative ideas.  In the end I picked the Trent & Mersey canal between Stoke & Kidsgrove as it was a reasonable length (8 miles) following my 18 mile walk on the Saturday.

 

After departing the shared house, I headed to Crewe station, taking a 350/2 on the first train towards Stoke (noticing the first Northern train towards Manchester had been cancelled so I was glad I wasn’t heading towards Manchester today).  At Stoke I exited the station, picking up the canal towpath to walk along the towpath via the Stoke districts, passing the area where the units involved in the Salisbury tunnel crash were being stored (one coach of each train visible from the canal which surprised me considering the lengths they went to hide them from passing trains).

 

Trent & Mersey Canal in the Cliffe Vale area of Stoke on Trent

 

I continued the walk passing Middleport & Westport Lake (something on my list to revisit as it looked nice).  The canal towpath came to an end at the southern portal of the Harecastle tunnel forcing a diversion (all marked up) via the roads to Bathpool Park, running alongside the railway route.  After another short road section, I re-joined the canal for a short section from the northern portal of the Harecastle tunnel underneath the railway arriving at Kidsgrove station with a few minutes to spare (a bit tight for comfort but at least I made it).

 

It was an enjoyable canal towpath walk with decent quality paths as well.  Anyhow at Kidsgrove a 350/3 rolled in to take me towards Wolverhampton where I stepped back in the hope of scoring a 196 from Shrewsbury, sadly that was 196107 which I had back in December.  This took me to Birmingham New Street where it was a short walk to board the next London train, a 350/2 leading a 350/1.  I sat in the 2^nd to last coach which was nice & quiet (as it was far away from the entrance).

 

Southern Portal to Harecastle Tunnel, Trent & Mersey Canal

 

After a quick catch-up with my good friend Jules who was in Birmingham on a cycling trip, I headed to London on this 350, departed a bit late but by the time it departed Northampton it was on time.  I think it even arrived at Euston a couple minutes early.  Due to SWR only running 2 trains an hour between Waterloo & Basingstoke today I decided to go via Reading to avoid the potential of a massively overcrowded 444.

 

The underground took me to Tottenham Court Road, where I changed onto the Lizzy for the run to Paddington, heading to board a Cardiff train (I think) which was the next available departure for Reading.  Sadly, it not the fastest of journeys arriving into Reading around 15 minutes late (congestion caused by earlier signalling problems was the reason given).  This pair of 800s was very busy, even in the front coach, and at Reading the queue for the 165 on the Basingstoke stopper was also quite long.

 

I turned the GWR stopper down for a pair of XC voyagers which themselves were busy, but I managed to get a seat for the run to Basingstoke for a short 30-minute wait for a pair of 159s on the next Salisbury stopper (which itself was running late).

 

800005 at Reading

 

I took the 159s to Grateley, followed by a walk home to relax for the rest of the evening doing my logs & other bits + pieces I needed to do before the week ahead.  More photos taken throughout January can be found here: Flickr Album