Trivia: What are the UK's most awkward stations? (infrequent services)

[thenorthern]

Seem to remember the taxi service didn't serve Sinfin North, but I didn't know why...

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I think towards the end as it was the same people using it each time and they were all Rolls Royce workers the Taxi driver just dropped them off at their place of work instead of at the station.

 

[johntea]

Whitley Bridge... so good they named it twice!

I've always thought it would be a neat idea to sort out a Sunday only Leeds - Goole early morning departure and afternoon return so that you easily visit the car boot sale at Whitley Bridge but I guess there wouldn't be too much demand for such a service

The only reason I have such fond memories is it was home to my first ever job flogging stationery and all sorts of other random items with my dads mate!

 

[thenorthern]

When the elevator and esculators at Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich were broken it was quite awkward walking up the stairs to the street as its fairly deep.

Braystones, Nethertown and to a certain extent Sellafield for non-Sellafield workers seem rather remote and off the beaten track.

 

[kevconnor]

Ardwick is not in the most salubrious part of Manchester but is quite close to the centre. That being said with the state of the stairs I would certainly say it ranks as difficult to access.

 

[Muzer]

When I visited quite a few years before the security concerns, Manchester United Football Ground station did have one exit which you could use that didn't lead straight to turnstiles, it slipped round the side of the stadium instead. Thus you could get out.

Can anyone who has been there recently confirm if this is still the case?

 

[geofftech]

I don't know - is this thread meant to be a list of:

• Stations that don't get a frequent service?
• Stations that you can't access with a wheelchair/ buggy?
• Stations that are hard to get to by car?
• Stations that are can only be reached by going down a narrow path/ up steep stairs?
• Stations that have restricted access due to security reasons or are only open for special events (Manchester United, British Steel Redcar, IBM)?

if you read my first post in this thread, it says:

"trying to compile a list of the stations in the UK that are the most awkward to get a train to or from. I'm not thinking of 'request only' stops, but instead the ones that just see a limited service."

and then give some examples.

thanks to everyone who pitched in with some that i wouldn't have know about! has led to a bit more research, and i hope i've now come up with a definitive list of what all the tricky stations are to reach by train in the UK, and can now plan to visit some of them. thanks!

 

[blue87]

Based on previous reports you can exit the stadium area by saying you are visiting the burger van

Although as it is the Manchester Derby you might want to avoid it this weekend

The turnstiles off the platform don't actualy take you into the stadium only to the area around it where you can enter any part of the ground certainly on my last visit anyway, the ones at the Picadilly end bringing you out opposite the away entrance.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Best time to do Bordeseley is when Birmingham City are at home most trains call there either side of the match enabling you to get off and board another train back.

 

[A0]

One I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned is Sudbury & Harrow Road.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbury_&_Harrow_Road_railway_station

Now the only station on that stretch of line with such a partial service sin Sudbury Hill Harrow and Northolt Park now get an off-peak service.

 

[Thebaz]

Didn't Paul Merton recently do a TV series loosely based around this sort of theme?

 

[Dr_Paul]

Maybe "most awkward" should mean stations that are badly laid out, badly numbered platforms...?

Good point. My choice would be Stratford. When I went there a few years back, I had quite a time working out what went from where. I hope to be that way this week, so I'll try to have a look around to see if it's improved since I last went there.

 

[ashworth]

Epsom Downs.

It may have an hourly service to London, but if you are not local and don't know where it is, it's so hidden away in an unexpected location.

I once decided to walk from Tattenham Corner via the edge of Epsom Racecourse with the plan to get a train back from Epsom Downs. What a place to hide a terminus from London. A single platform approached down a lane from the open heathland near the racecourse, then a winding approach road through woods containing a small but very exclusive private housing estate. I had to ask about 3 people for directions before I eventually found it and even then I began to think that I was on a private road where I didn't ought to be.

 

[Statto]

Bidston, island platform that is accessible via a footbridge, however the footbridge is not accessible to those with mobility issues, & only the other week Trains were starting/terminating there instead of Birkenhead North because of a points problem.

 

[Liam]

Barry Links and Golf Street

And Balmossie. Springfield gets 5 trains a day.

 

[DelW]

Epsom Downs.

It may have an hourly service to London, but if you are not local and don't know where it is, it's so hidden away in an unexpected location.

I once decided to walk from Tattenham Corner via the edge of Epsom Racecourse with the plan to get a train back from Epsom Downs. What a place to hide a terminus from London. A single platform approached down a lane from the open heathland near the racecourse, then a winding approach road through woods containing a small but very exclusive private housing estate. I had to ask about 3 people for directions before I eventually found it and even then I began to think that I was on a private road where I didn't ought to be.

The original station was much larger and 1/4 mile closer to the Downs. BR cut the line back in the 1980s and sold the original station site for housing, that presumably being the estate you walked through.

 

[zuriblue]

Middlewood on the Buxton line is a bit inaccessible. No vehicular access, only woodland paths. The nearest road is nearly a kilometre away.

 

[Dvorak]

Dunrobin Castle, through the winter.

 

[tsr]

The original station was much larger and 1/4 mile closer to the Downs. BR cut the line back in the 1980s and sold the original station site for housing, that presumably being the estate you walked through.

Yep, at one point (quite obviously, given its name) it was the preferred station for the racecourse, and the line also had double track all the way to Sutton. Nowadays, for those who choose to go by train, Tattenham Corner is often preferred. The latter usually has a better service frequency at any given time, too.

If you look on various OS maps you can see the outline of the housing plots seeming to indicate that every effort was made to allow those two lines to join up, as the path of the railway was indicated even beyond its old, grander terminus at Epsom Downs, but I have never seen much other evidence to support this, and it would be very disruptive to the local area to try to link the two lines now. It would serve some benefit to provide a direct rail link between East Croydon, Purley, Coulsdon and Sutton, as well as the surrounding catchment areas, but put it this way: I don't think it's on any of the plans for local development, though I could be wrong!

 

[175mph]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Kirton In Lindsey station in North Lincolnshire, it has only a single service on Sundays and there is only a single track going past the station.

When my grandad was living in Kirton in the 1940s and 1950s, there was a very frequent service every day to Cleethorpes and him and his friends went on that train all the time in summer.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

When I visited quite a few years before the security concerns, Manchester United Football Ground station did have one exit which you could use that didn't lead straight to turnstiles, it slipped round the side of the stadium instead. Thus you could get out.

Can anyone who has been there recently confirm if this is still the case?

Of course you can get in and out of MUFC station without going to the match.

The turnstiles from the platform lead to the concourse under the south stand. From there, you have to go through a proper turnstile with a match ticket to get into the stadium itself.

There are several Metrolink stations nearby if you want to return to the city centre early.

 

[djpontrack]

Epsom Downs.

It may have an hourly service to London, but if you are not local and don't know where it is, it's so hidden away in an unexpected location.

I once decided to walk from Tattenham Corner via the edge of Epsom Racecourse with the plan to get a train back from Epsom Downs. What a place to hide a terminus from London. A single platform approached down a lane from the open heathland near the racecourse, then a winding approach road through woods containing a small but very exclusive private housing estate. I had to ask about 3 people for directions before I eventually found it and even then I began to think that I was on a private road where I didn't ought to be.

I did exactly the same walk many years ago mate, I had to ask somebody for directions and then if I remember correctly the station building looked like one of the houses on the estate that was built on the old station site.

 

[Kite159]

Of course you can get in and out of MUFC station without going to the match.

The turnstiles from the platform lead to the concourse under the south stand. From there, you have to go through a proper turnstile with a match ticket to get into the stadium itself.

There are several Metrolink stations nearby if you want to return to the city centre early.

Agreed, it is quite easy to visit the station, when the trains are running.

Probably will be easier to grab the first shuttle (in theory should be less busy) and then walk back towards the other Old Trafford for a tram back to the city. Just beware it isn't the cheapest place to visit if you want to buy a proper ticket.

Just don't visit on a day where Man Utd are playing one of the other big clubs.

 

[urpert]

At the moment you could add Birkbeck to the list - it hasn't had a regular service (trams aside) since the summer.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Oakhampton isn't easy-particularly in the winter!
Lympstone Commando is unusual. I could understand it before the cycle path was built, but now, anyone could get on and off the station without being at the barracks, so I am sure the restriction could be removed.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Kirton In Lindsey station in North Lincolnshire, it has only a single service on Sundays and there is only a single track going past the station.

Not quite true. It has three services each way between Sheffield and Cleethorpes on Saturdays only and as such, has the same train service as Brigg and Gainsborough Central.

 

[Kite159]

Not quite true. It has three services each way between Sheffield and Cleethorpes on Saturdays only and as such, has the same train service as Brigg and Gainsborough Central.

And it is a nice little bike ride from Kirton to Brigg, a couple hills but then onto a closed off road for some traffic free riding

 

[ChathillMan]

For a greater London station Sydenham Hill is a bit of a ball ache

 

[Ianno87]

For a greater London station Sydenham Hill is a bit of a ball ache

I assure you that the pedestrian access to Angel Road is much, much worse.