August Exploring (Part 2)

August Exploring (Part 2)

19th August – Making a start with the Soar Navigation

The Soar Navigation is a continuation of the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal, running from Leicester to the River Trent near Long Eaton, I decided today would be a good day to make a start as I split the route into 3 sections (although in theory it can be done in 2 sections, all be with one longer walk).  The day started with 159108, 159006 & 159021 to take me to Waterloo, where unusually I walked to Elephant & Castle to take 700019 to St Pancras (mixing things up compared to walking to St Pancras direct).

At St Pancras, I went upstairs to board 222015 on the 10:05 service to Nottingham to take me to Leicester, stepping back to board 170509 on the stopping service towards Lincoln for the 9 and a half mile run to Barrow Upon Soar, probably the first time in a fair few years I’ve called at those stations.  My walk began with a detour towards a handy Co-Op before picking up the Navigation at a road bridge.

170509 departing Barrow Upon Soar Station

This section was one of the canal sections of the navigation (creating a short-cut as the river heads towards Quorn).  As a result, there were quite a few boats moored up along this section as I skirted round the edge of Barrow Upon Soar, re-joining the river at a marina and left the decent quality towpath behind for a bumpy field, keeping the river on my left-hand side as I followed the path with multiple gates (not a path you could cycle along by any means).  I headed underneath the A6 heading towards the northern end of Mountsorrel, going underneath an old railway bridge as well as the A6 again.

I passed Sileby Marina before the path turned very rural heading in a generally southern direction (picking the path with the river on my left-hand side, as it seems there are path options on both sides of the river here), coming close to the A6 near Rothley.  The Navigation leaves the Soar near Cossington Lock and follows the route of the River Wreake, the towpath improving near Junction Lock where a cycle path joins.  I continued along the path, as the Wreake river branches away and navigation heads south with the A46 close by (the Leicester Western Bypass).

Former Mountsorrel Railway viaduct over the Soar Navigation in Mountsorrel

The towpath switched sides as I entered the Watermead Country Park, as the cycle path headed away from the towpath (giving me an idea for a future walk from Syston station to explore the various lakes in this large country park).  I followed the canal heading towards Leicester city centre, the river Soar re-joining the route which was now quite busy (it was a sunny day during the school holidays after-all).  I followed the course of the river, although at times I couldn't see it due to the trees (or private moorings), reaching Birstall.  After a brief pause for some food, I continued with the river on my right-hand side, the path becoming a bit overgrown for a short section (I presume most people & cyclists use a more modern bridge underneath the Thurcaston Road Bridge)

I continued with the river on my right-hand side, heading towards the city centre, leaving the river for a short section at the Belgrave Meadows (looked like the path has been lost to erosion), although in hindside I ought to have switched sides at Thurcaston Road Bridge as the path that side looked better.  I was soon back alongside the river as it reached a junction near Swans Nest Footbridge with the scenery now turning quite industrial, both good & disused on another lengthy canal section skirting round the southern edge of Abbey Park before I reached North Lock which is the point I left the Navigation earlier in the month.

All that was left was to head towards the station via the city centre area, pausing for some dinner items before boarding 222020 for the fast run towards St Pancras, switching to Thameslink with 700021 to Blackfriars for a short walk to Waterloo to finish the day with 158885 & 159101, back home to relax ready for the week ahead.  A good first section of the Soar Navigation complete, mix between the rural, urban & industrial with a changeable towpath.

River Wreake (Between Rothley & Syston) (part of the Soar Navigation)

26th August – Return to the Soar & Beeston

Originally for these days off, I had booked accommodation in Shrewsbury with the idea to do some exploring around Shropshire, but due to the poor weather forecast I decided to ditch that plan and switch to some day trips.

The Tuesday after the bank holiday weekend, and after looking at various options I decided on doing a couple of shorter walks, the day starting with 159007, 159022 & 159005 to Waterloo, and a gentle stroll to St Pancras to board 222018 on the 10:05 to Nottingham to take me to Loughborough to start the first walk, heading towards the Soar Navigation close to Loughborough station, heading with the canal on my right hand side in the sunshine, passing some industrial buildings and going underneath the currently disused Great Central railway bridge (which hopefully will eventually bridge the gap to connect the two sections once more).  I left the Loughborough area with the towpath turning rural, running close to the railway at a couple of places before the River Soar re-joined the Navigation with a large weir & flood locks (complete with "Do Not Proceed when red light flashing" warning boards)

Soar Navigation between Loughborough & Barrow Upon Soar

The last mile (or so) was alongside the river as it headed to Barrow Upon Soar reaching the road bridge where I started my walk last week (although this is where I missed a trick in not heading towards Quorn on a mixed used path to return along a footpath close to the river doing a little loop).  Anyhow I headed to the station (with no seats or anything on the Loughborough bound platform) and took 170270 to Beeston for the 2nd of today's walks.  Beeston is a station which has certainly changed since I was last here with new lifts and removal of stairs, not a station where you want to have a tight connection by any means.

I headed away from Beeston station, passing a B&B I used back in June 2016 when I was in this area doing the stations, and headed towards the Nottingham & Beeston Canal, and the junction with the canal with the River Trent.  There are two paths here towards the city centre, one alongside the river & the other alongside the canal (the walk along the Trent from the Long Eaton area is on my list of things to try and do this year if I get round to it).

222104 passing Barrow upon Soar Station

The towpath in comparison to the earlier walk was a lot smoother, although the first section I was high above the canal due to private moorings but soon the urban area of Beeston was gone, replaced with some industrial area but this was a lot better than I was expecting from an urban canal in terms of being peaceful as it headed towards the railway bridge (Nottingham - Beeston) & the A52.  I headed underneath the tramway & also the railway bridge near Lenton North junction passing an marina and the final section near the old wharf (complete with old British Waterways branded warehouse), finishing my walk at the point where I joined the canal back in September 2022 when I did a time-wasting loop towards the Trent.  An enjoyable stroll in the sunshine as I headed to the station, turning down a 5 coach 222 on a semi-fast service (as in my experience it is better to board those trains with plenty of time to get a decent seat), although I didn’t know it at the time there had been an incident near Market Harborough meaning the next couple of departures towards St Pancras were cancelled.

Nottingham & Beeston Canal in Notingham

 

With Plan B in my head, I headed towards 170417 working the Skegness service for the slow trip to Grantham, it might only be 22 and a bit miles but it feels so much longer due to the multiple stops this 170 makes (I think everything other than ELO).  However, I got lucky at Grantham with a late running LNER service pulling in alongside the 170, allowing me a quick dash across the footbridge onto 801220 as the doors were closing (and before the masses made it across).  A nice nonstop run to Kings Cross, arriving into the rain as I headed across to St Pancras for 700008 to London Bridge (on a late running Rainham train I recall) and 707022 & 707030 to Waterloo East, changing to 159107, 159101 & 159020 on a SWR service to take me back to Grateley.

Former British Waterways Warehouse overlooking the Nottingham & Beeston Canal in Nottingham

An enjoyable day in the East Midlands, two completely different walks, one step closer to finishing the Soar Navigation and a long-term canal aim complete.

28th August – Medway Exploring

After the wet Wednesday was spent in London, hunting down various units (getting a couple more 701s into my book as well as another 730/2 & my last 807, I looked up options for the Thursday which was suggesting Maidstone/Tonbridge would be mostly dry with some showers, allowing me to dig out a plan which I had on my list of things for a while, to finish a couple of gaps on the River Medway in Kent, a river I had started back in March 2022 when revisiting stations for photos.  The only downside of doing it this week is that the Medway Valley had been cut to hourly for some unknown reason

The day began with 159006, 159008 & 159017 to Waterloo, where I had some time to kill before making my way across to Waterloo East for 377512 & 377510 on a Maidstone East semi-fast service from Charing Cross, taking me to Maidstone East where the first of my walks began.  I headed away from Maidstone East along the path leading towards Maidstone Barracks, but before crossing the Medway I took the stairs down to the path running north with the river on my left hand side (a path which doesn't exist on Google Maps).  Quite nice with trees as it headed away from Maidstone town centre, passing various boat yards, heading towards Allington Lock which marks the start of the tidal river (site of a Premier Inn).  After a couple photos of the lock, I continued going underneath the M20 towards the Forstal area of Aylesford, where the path alongside the river is currently closed forcing a detour onto the road passing various industrial units before I reached Aylesford itself.



Crossing over the Medway on the old Aylesford bridge I picked up a footpath which ran alongside the south bank of the river towards the area the station is located, getting extremely lucky crossing over the railway at a level crossing as it started to active as soon as I reached the opposite side, with the final section to the station itself, boarding a busy 375304 to take me to Beltring where the second walk would begin (after having lunch along the way).

Leaving the remote station of Beltring, I followed Torbay Road (a dead-end road) towards the A228 at East Peckham services to pick up the Medway path at the road bridge.  The first section was close to an outdoor activities place for kids but soon as I left the noise of the kids playing it went very quiet & very rural as I headed in a general western direction on a path which doesn't exist on Google Maps and even looking at Google Maps shouts out how rural it is (says something when I went to label the photos I did it Lock to Lock to break up the walk).

I needed to pause for a while near one of the locks as there was a heavy downpour, one of those downpours which lasted a couple of minutes, but I was thankful to be under a tree.  Once the downpour finished, I continued, going underneath Hartlake Road bridge (the only road bridge between East Peckham & Tonbridge).  An enjoyable walk for the isolation in rural Kent, but all good things come to an end as I reached Tonbridge with the final section towards the Town Bridge and finishing at Tonbridge station, just as the rain resumed.  There is another short section from Tonbridge towards Leigh which looks interesting (marked on Open Street Maps as "Tudor Trail" & the OS Map as "Eden Valley Walk" which could be interesting for next year.

River Medway at Eldridge Lock

Anyhow back to the trains and the next departure for London Charing Cross was a reasonably busy 375614 & 375908 from Hastings which was unusually (?) using platform 1 at Tonbridge, taking me to Waterloo East where I had a short walk across to Waterloo to take 159105, 159107 & 159018 back to Grateley to finish the day and finish the month for my exploring.

As always, more photos can be found on my Flickr *here*, thanks for reading my random tales of exploring random inland navigations and Hoshi ga Matataku Konna Yoru ni .

August Annual Leave Madness (1st – 10th August)

 August Annual Leave Madness (1st – 10th August)

1st August – Reaching Mile Post Zero on the Grand Union

When I went to bed on the Thursday in the Chesterfield Premier Inn I was stuck trying to pick between 3 options, either Long Eaton to Nottingham (along the Trent & Nottingham Canal), Langley Mill towards Long Eaton (along the Erewash Canal) or to head towards Leicester to walk towards Glen Parva with a mix of the Grand Central Way & Grand Union canal.  My decision was made when I woke up and looked at the train times having just missed the hourly train to Langley Mill and a 45 minute wait for the next train to Long Eaton (changing at Derby from the fast Sheffield – London train wouldn’t have made much difference and to be honest I wanted to stay away from Derby due to the Greatest Gathering, considering some of the security contractors the previous evening shouted at a XC driver as he was behind the yellow line when he was checking the front of his train.

I checked out of the hotel, and headed to the station to jump onto a reasonably busy 222022 on a London train, with the train emptying out at Derby allowing a better seat for the nonstop run to Leicester where my walk began.  Heading towards the city centre and Castle Gardens (passing the cathedral along the way) when the weather changed to be a bit damp (even forcing me to grab my coat out of my rucksack) before I picked up the Great Central Way, a path along the route of the former Great Central railway heading away from Bede Park towards the city suburbs & the Aylestone Meadows.  Thankfully the rain didn't last for long and by the time I was crossing the canal my coat was off as I arrived at Glen Parva detouring the roads & an old road to reach the canal at Whetstone Lane, the point where I left it in July.  I dropped down onto the towpath and entered some more rural Leicestershire as the canal took me back north towards Leicester, skirting round the edge of the Aylestone Meadows Nature Reserve before the ruralness gave way to urban life, going underneath the mothballed (?) Leicester - Burton freight line near the football stadium, the canal now being part of the River Soar (with weirs alongside the locks)

Grand Union Canal (Leicester Arm) in Leicester

I continued north passing Castle Gardens once more, reaching West Bridge where in my eyes the waterway changes from the Grand Union Canal to the Soar Navigation (based on the bridge numbers resetting and there being a zero mile marker post alongside the waterways).  Although it's one of those things where some say the modern day Grand Union continues to a point to the north of the city where the River Soar comes back into the navigation.  Anyhow I continued along the navigation towards Frog Island, my original exit point being blocked by housing construction.  I headed along Groby Road towards Stokeswood Park to pick up the route of the former Leicester and Swannington Railway route back towards the city centre and the site of the former West Bridge Railway Station.  Just one of those paths I saw on the map and decided to visit.

My main walk complete for the day and I headed back towards the station via the city centre, to pick up some supplies for the journey south and onto 222018 on a nonstop service to St Pancras, even getting lucky with a decent seat in coach D.  The rain had returned when I reached London so it was onto 700118 to London Bridge & 465161 + 465035 to Waterloo East, having to exit via the fire escape at the country end subway (due to the main entrance being closed due to a gas leak).  A short wait at Waterloo before I jumped onto 159008 & 159107 to take me home, to sort out my rucksack ready for the weekend.

Zero Mile Marker on the Grand Union Canal (Leicester Arm) in Leicester

2nd August – A Day Trip to West Midlands

A day out with mum, with an overdue visit to the West Midlands (after a couple previous attempts were put on ice due to hot weather), with the day starting with the 05:59 to Basingstoke (159014) before picking up 221134 for the long run to Birmingham New Street, being delayed at Reading due to the police needing to attend the train (I was glad I paid extra to go towards Coventry rather than towards Dorridge considering the connection onto Chiltern was missed).

After visiting Tim Hortons for breakfast, we headed towards Moor Street and onto 172214 & 172212 for the run to Stourbridge Junction and onto 139002 down the hill to Stourbridge Town where I had a change of plan and headed to the bus station to jump onto bus route 9 (with National Express bus 6939 on this busy route).  We took this bus back towards Birmingham city centre (Colmore Row) going via Halesowen, Quinton & Bearwood, areas I have never been to before.  After grabbing lunch we headed to the tram stop at Bull Street taking tram 21 to Edgaston Village (where I popped out to the Morrisons to make use of the toilet) before we took tram 52 all the way towards Wolverhampton Station.  I was glad it was one of the newer batches as the seats are slightly more comfortable.

139002 at Stourbridge Town Station

At Wolverhampton station, we headed back to Birmingham New Street with 196104 before doing some shopping deciding to head back south an hour earlier than planned due to the city centre being manic and onto 221132 for the long trip to Basingstoke before heading back to Grateley with 158884 & 159017 getting lucky as the following service was caught up in some signalling issues and ended up being something like 25 minutes late.

Not the busiest of days for me, but after the week I had I needed a quieter day and it made mum happy as she got out of the house for the day.

3rd August – Gapping the Mole

Originally my idea for today was to head towards Luton to walk a path from Leagrave towards Dunstable & back towards Luton near the Busway but when my alarm clock rang, I decided to stay in bed a bit longer.  I looked up various options, deciding to head towards Dorking as there was a 450 working on a Dorking service (for the novelty of having a 450 to Dorking rather than the more usual 455 (or 701).

I drove to Andover and onto a busy 159104, 159008 & 159003 to Waterloo where I made the connection onto 450041 & 450071 on the next Dorking service, it had been a while since I last came out this way and I felt it was a good day to walk the Mole Gap path, something I was planning to do a couple years ago when I walked the Thames Down Link but ditched it due to the warmth.  I exited the station at Dorking where my walk began.

450071 at Dorking Station

The first section was along some roads to pick up a wooded footpath, before following a footpath which went via a Vineyard, crossing the North Downs Way on the outskirts of Westhumble before going into the village with some narrow footpaths (the sort of path you couldn't pass anybody on), reaching the roads and the station.  The next section was across a field with the railway on my right hand side before crossing over the River Mole near the railway viaduct, moving away from the railway towards a farm track climbing up a steep path towards Norbury Park (the railway has an advantage of going through this hill via a tunnel!).

Some nice woodland in this area as I followed the path, keeping an eye on my OS Maps app to ensure I didn't go the wrong way as signage was a bit poor in places, eventually dropping down from the hill to go underneath the railway to follow a path alongside the river towards Leatherhead.  I went underneath the railway lines (the route to Dorking & towards Guildford) to Leatherhead Common, picking up a footpath to finish with a walk along the road to the station.  One of those walks I was glad to get it done but won't be rushing back to do.

Railway Viaduct over the River Mole, Leatherhead (Guildford Line)

I returned to the railway, and onto 455717 & 455714 from Guildford (I think) into Waterloo, part of me was tempted to jump off to try and intercept a winner 701 at Thames Ditton but I decided against it.  At Waterloo I popped out to the Iceland near the station (which I had discovered is open most of the day on Sundays) before returning to the station and onto 159105, 159001 & 159022 on an Exeter service back to Andover.  I drove home to sort my rucksack out ready for another little getaway for the 2nd week of my annual leave.  I don’t rest!

4th August – August Winds

It was time for an overdue visit to the North East, as since my last visit the Tyne & Wear Metro has introduced some new trains and the North East is an area where I could probably easily spend a week exploring various disused railway paths.  With my rucksack all packed I headed to Grateley station and into Waterloo on the 05:55 service (with 159107 & 158888), having a gentle stroll across to Kings Cross (getting in my miles just in case I couldn’t do anything in Newcastle with the weather).  At Kings Cross it was onto 180114 working the next Grand Central service to Sunderland (because I wanted to make my good friend Dan jealous with a fast run on a 180 lol).

A busy train from Kings Cross, but it did empty out a little bit at Peterborough before 75% of the rear coach emptied out at York.  I remained on board for the scenic (if a bit slow) run towards a place where the sun doesn’t shine, Sunderland (the station that is).  I picked up my Nexus Day ticket (once I found the exit at Sunderland) and got lucky with winner 555028 on the next South Hylton service.  Had the weather been a bit more agreeable I would have walked the old railway line path towards Washington, but instead headed towards Pallion along a cycle path, the rail popping up on a road section (I was originally planning to walk to Millifield but diverted towards a handy Iceland to pick up some fizzy pop).



Back to the metro and onto winner 555005 to Pelaw, where I noticed the line between Hebburn & South Shields was closed… There went a crazy idea to walk the tunnel from Jarrow to Howdon to get checked into my accommodation.  A short wait at Pelaw before I boarded winner 555002 to take me all the way to Newcastle Airport (been a while since I last visited this part of the network for, I had forgotten how rural it gets in places).  After visiting the toilets at the airport, I boarded 4085 & 4008 with the idea of taking these to South Gosforth but another 555 passed me as it was leaving the Airport so I bailed at Callerton Parkway for a short wait before winner 555009 on the next train.

My luck continued as the next coast bound train was 555011 which I took to Whitley Bay, where I headed to my accommodation (Pines Hotel, a small guest house around 5 minutes from the station), getting checked in, handing over my money (£35 a night in my eyes was a bargain for August time, especially for somewhere close to the Metro).  I was toying with walking towards Newsham via the coastal path, but that idea went into the bin after getting blown around with a short section of coastal path near the beach, that wind was strong!



I returned to the Metro, going via a handy Morrisons near Monkseaton and getting lucky with winner 777027 on the next service to St James, which I took to St James (to clear that short branch for 555 coverage).  I exited from the system to walk back towards Monument, spending the next couple hours getting 555003, 008 & 015 into my little book, along with my last 2 active “MetroCars” (4017 & 4068) I needed for a mile, having missed out on another one which was an early scrapped and 4002.  I decided on having another walk from Heworth towards Hebburn.

This walk took me towards the Tyne, dodging various fallen branches towards the Hebburn Riverside Park, one of those paths I had spotted when looking at Google Maps.  At Hebburn I had just missed a departure (probably would have made it had I not stopped for a photo of an old church) but it wasn't long before 4044 & 4056 rolled in on the next departure, going from platform 1 to use the crossover to the south of the station (BLS hat time lol).  I decided to call it a night as frequencies had started to drop and the early morning was catching up with me.

Metrocar 4044 at Hebburn Station

Back at Whitley Bay and to my guest house, where the bed was reasonably comfortable and there was hardly any outside noise, other than the noise of the wind gusts.  I slept well, snore snore.

5th August – Not walking the Derwent Valley Railway Path

The Derwent Valley Railway path runs from the town of Consett towards the Tyne near Blaydon, the walk I had decided on for the Tuesday, a decision which didn't last...  The day began with 555028 to Monument station and a walk to the Eldon Square Bus Station for a route X45 bus (Go North East's 6239) for a trip towards Consett via the shopping paradise known as the Metrocentre, Rowlands Gill & many other settlements along the way.  My plan changed when I noticed the bus route crossed the railway line path in Blackhill, which in my mind at the time made more sense due to Consett having 4 old railway line paths.

I alighted from the bus at Blackhill, somehow completely missing the Tesco Express as I visited a Londis for some supplies before heading towards the crossroads where on seeing a sign saying "Durham 13 miles" I had a complete change of plan and instead of the Derwent Valley Path I would be focusing on the Lanchester Valley Railway Path.  The first section was heading south from Blackhill towards Fawcett Park & Lydgett's Junction where the Waskerley Way path crosses overhead (Consett towards Stanhope/Rookhope, a path which looks to be beautiful if not a bit hilly).

Old Iron Wagon alongside the Waskerley Way at Lydgett's Junction (Consett)

I started with the Lanchester Valley Railway Path, a path which turned quite rural with some beautiful views of the Durham countryside with a short section near Knitsley where the route has been lost, but there is a well-marked detour which runs close to a road before picking up the route of the old railway for the run into Lanchester with some beautiful woodland and some more countryside as it reached Langley Park, a place I detoured to a handy Co-Op as I was getting hungry.  After a late lunch I continued with the path as it skirted Bearpark (where sadly I didn't see any bears), running close to the ECML (where there used to be a junction) and to the Broompark Picnic Area where the old railway path continues, but as the Deerness Valley Railway Path towards Crook with another path which heads towards Bishop Auckland.

In theory I could have caught a bus into Durham city centre, but as it was only a mile and a half (and with the uneven train timetable, it would have made little difference as I would have probably been sitting at the station for 25 minutes.  A case of following the A690 towards Nevilles Cross and a side-street, narrowly missing out on the golden shot of a train crossing the viaduct I headed up the hill to reach Durham station, getting lost trying to find the path to the northbound platform, before boarding a late running 802205 on the next Newcastle service & onto a busy 158853 on the next Ashington bound service to take me to Newsham station.

158853 departing Newsham Station

Not much around the station area, although I’m sure it will be nice when it’s all finished and landscaped, as I waited for 158853 to return to take me into Newcastle city centre.  Part of me was tempted to bail at Manors, and I wish I had because when I went to the Metro platforms the next northbound train was showing as being in 18 minutes with delays.  I strolled to Monument with the crazy idea of joining a St James service (4027/4024) as it would form the next train towards Whitley Bay…

Nope, those units went out of service and with security cracking down on some anti-social idiots whom were smoking at the bottom of the stairs, it caused a delay with the next service until one of those idiots left the station after he returned after getting evicted.  Eventually he got the idea and left the train as 4056 & 4044 got some more extra miles (same pair as I had the night before, crazy that) to Monkseaton where I walked back to Whitley Bay via Morrisons, had it been a bit earlier I was tempted to visit Spoons for a hot dinner, but I needed some more drink.

An enjoyable walk in County Durham, if the other railway line paths in Consett are anything like the Lanchester Valley path, I will be in for a treat.

6th August – Valley of the Esk

I decided to have a quieter (ha!) day today with an early start to head towards Whitby as it had been a while since I had the delights of the Esk Valley line (late 2020 I believe).  It was to Whitley Bay station for 4090 & 4049 to take me to Central Station where I managed to grab some breakfast before boarding 158853 on a limited stop Middlesborough service, settling down to enjoy the Durham Coast.  At Middlesborough I had time to pop out of the station to visit a couple of shops for some supplies before joining a large group of passengers on platform 2 as 156423 & former Scottish 156496 rolled in from Whitby to form the next Whitby train.  Fair play to Northern for running 4 coaches on this line due to the crowding (even if pretty much all of the stations it was local door only and the guard being unable to do any revenue, reminds me a bit like Scotrail with the Mallaig line when they run pairs of 156s as that’s local door only pretty much everywhere between Fort William & Mallaig.

Anyhow I took a seat in the former Scottish unit, going for an airline style seat due to the rubbish legroom at the tables, sitting back and relaxing for the next couple of hours looking out of the window at the scenery with the run into Whitby itself.  I headed across to platform 2 to ask if there was space on the next North Yorkshire Moors Railway service, and on being told “oh yes” I took my seat behind 37688 for the run towards Grosmont (platform 2 at Whitby and connection into Grosmont platform 2 ‘ticked’ off).

37688 at Whitby

At Grosmont there was a set swap, so everybody heading towards Pickering swapping over to platform 3 for a service hauled by steam engine 80136 (choo choo!).  When researching the timetable last night, I noticed there was references to a disused railway line path from Goathland towards Grosmont, so I decided it would be rude not to bail at Goathland (cue the Heartbeat theme song), and headed into the village centre (up a steep hill!) and picking up the route of the former railway which was changed to avoid the Beckhole Incline.  An enjoyable 2 and a bit mile stroll along the route of the old railway coming in alongside the railway line near the depot with various locos on display.  Even the climb up the large hill was worth it for the stunning view from the top.

I returned to Grosmont station with plenty of time to kill before jumping on 156471 & 156488 on the next Whitby service which I took to Ruswarp to undertake a walk which had been on my list for a while, a footpath which is between the railway & river towards Whitby, going underneath the Larpool viaduct (one of these days I will walk the disused railway line towards Scarborough, although most likely splitting it at Robin Hood Bay due to length).  I headed into the town and to the bus stop for the next X93 service to Middlesborough… only for that service to end up being cancelled (I presume due to a lack of driver considering the bus was seemingly dumped at the stand, with door left open with nobody in sight).

Larpool Viaduct near Whitby

A large queue was building and with the buses to Middlesborough via Saltburn departing very much full & standing, the queue did halve when a Scarborough bus rocked up (which again departed pretty much full).  Thankfully the next service arrived with bus 7401 (annoyingly with vinyl Poppies on the side which restricted viewing), even getting a decent seat with legroom for the speedy run towards Middleborough mostly following the A171 over the hills giving some beautiful scenery, before a run towards Middleborough town centre via the suburbs.  A fast walk took me to the railway station to board the next Newcastle service in the hands of 156486 which I took to Sunderland, deciding I would head towards Pallion to finish the walk from Monday.

That plan didn’t last all of 3 minutes and instead of heading south, I was heading north with 555002 to Fellgate to begin a completely random walk Doing a loop in Hedworth Park before heading north following a path which ran close to the Calfclose Burn before a path close to the River Don in the Monkton area.  Quite a nice area, far removed from the urban landscape at times.  I continued with the path going underneath the A19, the Metro line and A185 towards the disused Jarrow Bridge over the Don with the river turning wider as I headed north towards Jarrow Slake before heading back west passing close to the fuel terminal storage tanks.

I joined the road for a short while before picking up a path towards the banks of the Tyne and to the southern portal of the Tyne Pedestrian Tunnel, taking the lift down and walking underneath the Tyne (somewhere you don't want to hear dripping) to the north bank at Howdon.  A short walk followed towards the Metro station, finishing the day in darkness with 4035 & 4015 to Whitley Bay.  Something else I can now tick from my oversized list.

Tyne Pedestrian & Cyclist Tunnel(s), Howdon Side

After leaving the station at Whitley Bay, I returned back to my accommodation to rest, getting my rucksack ready for the Thursday, being unsure what to do as it is quite hard to make a decision (and stick to it!)

7th August – Coastal Path to Blyth

I checked out of the guest house, somewhere I would use again if I was ever in Whitley Bay (which seems likely considering all the old railway lines to explore as well as more Tyne & Wear Metro stock entering service), still being undecided as I headed towards the town centre area to pick up some breakfast.  After breakfast I decided to do a walk, I was toying with doing back in 2023 when I took a bus to Blyth (only to walk some old railway lines instead), which was the coastal path considering it wasn’t windy this morning.

So, I headed towards the beach near the Premier Inn (I dread to think how much they would have wanted to stay for 3 nights in August!), picking up the path which followed the beach heading away from Whitley Bay towards Brierdene and St Mary's Lighthouse.  The path has been diverted inland a couple of times due to erosion of the cliffs.  After the Lighthouse I headed towards Hartley & Seaton Sluice before following the path near the beach towards Blyth.

St Mary’s Lighthouse, Whitley Bay

My coastal adventure ended at the South Beach, doubling back to visit a Co-Op before following another path to end up at Newsham station, resting before boarding 158849 on a Newcastle bound service.  I hung around Newcastle for a short while before boarding 801219 on a semi-fast service from Edinburgh (the next fast was from Inverness so I didn't fancy my chances in the half of coach C lottery as LNER don't like turn up and go passengers, even those with tickets from Blaydon).

Thankfully I got a decent seat in coach C and relaxed for the long journey to London, where I had time to stroll towards Waterloo for 159016 & 159020 on a service to take me to Grateley to finish my little North Eastern adventure, with a little red pen day in London on the Friday (scoring 4 more 720s, 2 more 730s & 3 more 701s along with some more Central Line & DLR units for a mile.

9th August – Stratford Canal

Time to do a walk I was planning to do in July but changed due to the weather forecast, the last two sections of the Stratford Upon Avon canal.  The day starting with the 05:59 towards Basingstoke (with 159012 & 158882) and a trip to Leamington Spa on 221121.  I had time to pop out of the station to the nearby Morrisons for some supplies before returning to take 165023 on the Chiltern service to Stratford Upon Avon where the first walk began as I headed away from the station along Western Road to pick up the canal near the Premier Inn, at a spot I left it back in 2021 when I walked towards Honeybourne.  It was only a short distance along the canal before I reached Bancorft Basin and the entrance lock onto the River Avon.  I crossed the Avon on the old Tramroad bridge before walking south along the route of the old Stratford and Moreton Tramway towards the Rosebird roundabout.  Next was a stroll on a footpath running close to the Seven Meadows Road, taking me towards the Avon where I headed north back towards the Tramway bridge.

After crossing over the river again, I headed back towards the station swinging via Tesco to grab some lunch and onto 172211 & 172337 with the next departure towards Birmingham via Whitlock's End.  I took these units to Shirley where the second walk began.  I headed away from the station towards the Shirley Drawbridge to join the canal, skirting around the edge of Major's Green and underneath the railway.

172337 departing Shirley Station

After the railway bridge, I continued along the towpath skirting the edge of Dickens Heath.  Quite a busy towpath this and quite beautiful with woodlands.  After leaving the urban area of Dickens Heath the canal turned rural (although still with a reasonable towpath) as it headed towards the noise of the M42 and running close to a minor road towards Hockley Heath.  After Hockley Heath the canal reached Lapworth and the Lapworth lock flight, until I reached Mill Lane, which is the point I joined the canal back in June with Jules, allowing me to say Stratford Upon Avon canal, tick.  One of these days I will need to get myself a map of the canals (and other inland waterways) for the UK to start colouring in my various canal (and other inland waterways) coverage.

Anyhow with the canal finished, I decided to head to Lapworth station via the roads and onto 168326 & 168108 on a busy service from London to take me into Moor Street where I crossed over to New Street and onto 196107 on a Shrewsbury 'semi-fast' service, just one of those things I wanted to do since they were introduced.  The reason to heading to Shrewsbury wasn't to see some 37s on a charter but to intercept a required 197 which was on a Manchester train, however due to a farce involving the charter blocking platform 4 (which is the only platform a train from Craven Arms heading towards Crewe can use due to the signalling), I wasn't quite on the ball when the 197s rolled in unannounced on platform 6 before departing back towards the signal box only to pass through the station on the centre line (only to end up getting caught behind a busy 158 on the stopper as some of the signal sections were quite long).

197027 passing Shrewsbury Station

I was expecting TfW to do something random like a unit swap at Shrewsbury and sending the pair of 197s which had rolled into platform 7 on a Birmingham service to Manchester with the pair from Cardiff being sent to Birmingham, but alas 197033 escaped me (again!), one of these days I will be able to hopefully intercept it considering it was inactive for a while.  All wasn't lost though as I took a seat on 197046 & 197016 back to New Street to clear Shrewsbury - Wolverhampton for 197 coverage, which I believe only leaves the Maesteg branch for routes which currently sees 197 working.

After popping into the chaos of Birmingham city centre on a Saturday afternoon, it was onto 221121 for the run to Basingstoke (making a bee-line for coach B) and back to Grateley on a busy 159006.

The Sunday was spent in London with mum doing some bus routes and getting a couple more 701s into my book, a quiet day in preparation for the return to work and the chaos of the emergency timetable west of Salisbury.  Anyhow as always more photos can be found on my Flickr *Here*, thanks for reading.