My trip to the Hot South!

[Gathursty]

Day 1: Mon 23rd July

I leave Wigan after the end of rush hour at 9am. I easily take care of the M6/M56/M60/A626 and am beyond Strines in the first hour. My second hour on the road swept me over the Peak District but not a pace the Audi behind me was happy with. The driver was also unhappy with the next 4 drivers as they used the A623 as a slalom track to gain some kind of time advantage. My third hour was balmy as the temperature on this side of the Pennines was much warmer. It was a relief to be driving through the fringes of Sherwood Forest as I was bearing down on Newark. At Newark was my only major delay as traffic was building up for exiting the A1 here towards Lincoln and The Wash. I took the A17 as far as Sleaford where I stopped after 4 hours on the road.

I now awaited the Skegness service and East Midlands Trains presented me with a standing room only 2 carriage unit full of families and other holidayers making the most of the fabulous sunshine as we made great speed through Hubberts Bridge and the straight beyond Boston. At Skegness, I look in the platform shop for the toilets which are nicely illuminated with the blue light to stop druggies shooting up in there. I watch the queueing system in place for my return service. This is a smart idea as I can see dozens of people milling about beyond the plaza outside. I brace myself for a fast return to Sleaford but am dashed when we have to await a service on the single track section north of Boston. I reflect on the sharpness of the Firsby curve I just travelled through. I am grateful for the lack of people on this train so my feet can recover fully from standing on the outward journey to enable me to be fresh for the last hours drive to Kings Lynn which is my bed for the next two nights as I explore the Greater Anglia network.

I appreciate the fast nature of these direct roads due to the linear nature of the ditches around here. I also am anguished by the long routes the farmers take on their tractors between fields. My journey to Kings Lynn is now 30 minutes longer as a result. I reach The Beeches Guest house which is a delightful budget B&B if you can spare £50/night for a lovely furnished bedroom and ensuite with a cooked full English and cereals to boot.

I explore the town centre in the evening sunshine which is still warm. I meander through the Walks to the station and head towards the riverside where I encounter a Wetherspoons with a hotel attached which is a new one on me. Food eaten, I walk back to begin my sleep and brace myself for tomorrow for much more train action...

 

[Gathursty]

Day 2: Tue 24th July

I have some complimentary orange juice and a sausage barm and I set off for Kings Lynn station where I purchase a return to Ely because this line is not covered by the East Anglia Plus 3-in-7 Rover. I arrive at Ely 30 minutes later and ask for the Rover ticket and double check it's validity on East Midlands Trains services on the Breckland Line to which I receive the response 'Well it's a GA ticket so just GA only.' I double check at Tesco as their wifi is much better. I stock up on water as I continue on my circular adventure around Norfolk. Before my GA service arrives, I see 3 freight trains pass through of extraordinary length and two XC services. I depart for Norwich and pass through Shippea Hill, Lakenheath, Eccles Road and Harling Road at speed whilst enjoying diverse scenery of forest, farmland and fenland.

At Norwich, I have some free time before the Berney Arms diversion service leaves. I see the diesel locomotive depart for Great Yarmouth via Acle and walk up to the Castle and pass over the river with some passing and moored boats and notice a group of homeless congregating over hot drinks near the castle entrance.

I leave for Great Yarmouth now and this service calls everywhere but noone gets on or leaves for Berney Arms today. when we arrive at Yarmouth, the train leaves via Acle so I join the same train again. This union of passenger and train continues as it forms the Norwich-Lowestoft service and Lowestoft-Ipswich train. I have enough time (just) at Lowestoft for a run to Greggs for a baguette and water. The guard at Lowestoft dishes out water for passengers which is a good gesture on such a hot day. I drift off near Woodbridge and wake up at a stop outside Ipswich as we wait for some freights to pass by. At Ipswich, the heat has turned my brain into more of a spongy mass than usual so I just sit by and let my orange juice bring me to life. I notice a gaggle of teenage girls coming towards me and then past me to get on the now available Felixstowe branch train. We leave later than expected and I begin my amazement at how a freight train so long can fit in the Derby Road loop. We now go full pelt to Trimley where the teenage girls are joined by some more youths of both genders and sail by another freight train waiting for us to head in to Felixstowe. There is a quick turnaround here as the service is about 15 minutes late.

I reach Ipswich and contemplate my options so I can eat and reach Kings Lynn at not too late a time. I spy a Cambridge service due to depart which unfortunately calls at every stop and is full of commuters. I begin to reach tedium at a point after Kennett (surprisingly not later at Dullingham) but the carriage is far quieter and breathable in the last 20 miles into Cambridge.

I notice the fairly large police presence at the station and the unique mix of nationalities at this international destination. I follow behind a troupe of cyclists who are joining the rush hour for both cars and bikes to get home. I'm impressed at the amount of cyclists in this city as I walk up the long road to the city centre and scout out a reasonable dinner. Pizza Italia - no. Greene King - no. Nandos - no. Pizza Hut - yes. I enjoy a mac and cheese with salad for a change. I stroll leisurely into Cambridge for a direct service to Kings Lynn which has to wait for quite some time at the single line near Littleport. I retire for an early night as I have an almost Royal appointment tomorrow...

 

[Ianno87]

I assume your check duly confirmed that an Anglia Plus is valid on GA, GN and EM, just not XC?

 

[Gathursty]

I knew about no to XC and yes to GN but forgot about EM.

 

[Gathursty]

Day 3: Wed 25th July

I wake up and bid farewell to the guest house at Kings Lynn and drive to Wolferton station, a now private residence but with well-kept features of the former station that served the Royal Family at Sandringham nearby. I reach Sandringham Palace a short time later at about 8.30am and enter after paying £10. I didn't realise that the Flower Show was taking place today and that a Royal Family member or members would be present. I walk around the grounds and see coffee stalls, livestock, police horses and bandstands being made use of. The crowds amass as do the Royal-watchers who I overhear have met the Family several times recently and all seem to know of each other on this 'circuit' of hobbyists. I ask one who and when is expected to arrive and they say probably Prince Charles but probably in the afternoon. As I weigh my options, I purchase water and walk to the church of St Mary Magdalene with all it's significant patronage and walk amongst tourists from all around the world gazing upon memorials to Prince Albert, Queen Mary, Queen Victoria, King George V and VI. I decide this is as close to the monarchy I will ever be as I sit on Queen Elizabeth's normal pew in the church. The police, royal protection services and photographers fill in but still Prince Charles isn't here.

I decide to take my chance and leave before I end up like a Royal-watcher and make for the remainder of the A149 via beautiful Hunstanton, Blakeney and Cley and reach the spectacular Sheringham, blue by sea and sky today with a lightly breezy 19 degrees lilted with the smell of the sea and the diesel locomotive fumes of the gala day the North Norfolk Railway was having today. I walk to the less glamorous National Rail halt and see the orangemen and woman attempt to connect the ticket machine to the Internet which is unsuccessful as the woman on the phone says 'I may need to go to Chelmsford to sort this!' whilst I wait for my out and back train to Norwich to clear this route. I return to Sheringham, pick up a sandwich and latte and enjoy the view from a bench overlooking the North Sea.

I leave Sheringham for a longer drive to my second guest house, The Bridge Guest House, behind Ipswich station. I hadn't anticipated how noisy the station can be but had to leave the window open to cope with the almost-oppressive heat this evening. I shower in the shared ensuite for this floor and walk to a nearby McDonalds for food. I return to the station and am disappointed with the curtailing of the Ipswich - Harwich International direct service due to disruptive behaviour earlier on it's journey. I alter my branch clearance attempt to Thorpe-le-Soken to Walton-on-the-Naze and drive the 40 minute journey there. By now it is late and save for some girls and a gentleman, I look at the ticket machine. Like at Ipswich earlier, my ticket options here are only an anytime return. I wonder where the off-peak options are. The journey was straight-forward and I had a time window to take some good pictures of the full moon over the coast at Walton. I return to Ipswich and spend an hour or such choosing between sleeping in heat or sleeping with Frieghtliner's idle loco noise. My brain takes charge and I soon wake up in the morning at about 6.30am.

Day 4: Thu 26th July

I dine on a good halal English breakfast (Muslim owner - beef sausages, no bacon) and depart the guest house for the short walk to Ipswich station. I purchase a return to Southminster after using the ticket machine to work out which would be cheaper: a return to Southend, Southminster or Wickford. I notice that the ticket machine offered only any anytime return but 10 minutes later, offered up an off-peak day return too.

I change trains at Chelmsford and again at Shenfield which is a furnace. I have to wait about half an hour as the heat has started restricting speed limits around here. I change at Wickford which has a toilet and a newsagents on the platform which in this heat must be a stifling but profitable venture. I pick up a ticket for the Southminster branch and watch two women discuss with fervour that a dog's paws may not be too happy with being on the unshaded asphalt platform. The train doors shut before I her the conclusion between dog owner and concerned person.

At Althorne noone gets on or off in both directions, at Southminster a handful of people get on and off and at Battlesbridge one or two people used it in either direction. North Fambridge and South Woodham Ferrers were the main stations for passengers today. I return to Wickford with a very short wait for my Southend Victoria out and back train to Shenfield. I notice that the distance between stops gets smaller and smaller until we have to laugh at the trio of Southend Airport, Prittlewell and Southend Victoria which are easily walkable. I am impressed with the bilinguality of the announcement of departing at Southend Airport. I am certain this was either the guard or driver and not a pre-programmed voice. Back at sweltering Shenfield, a woman darts past me and hides in the customer information room on the central platform in a ruse to hide from ticket inspectors whom she crawled under the ticket gates to avoid paying her fare.

I take a train to Witham but I find the Braintree train not here for sometime. I overhear an announcement declaring worse speed restrictions so I aim to get out of Dodge City with the next train to Colchester. Immediately there is a train in the bay for Ipswich so off we go again. I enjoy the ride on the curves around Manningtree. I take my car back to Manningtree for a twilight service to Harwich Town which leaves just after the DutchFlyer train. This train is fairly busy for where we are going until I realise that Harwich Town has a pub on the platform that I didn't notice when I last came here some years ago now. I come back on the same train 5 minutes later and take my car to Shotley Marina which is between Felixstowe and Harwich and glitters in the dark with the machinery and ships of the docks. There is a loud hum of work in Felixstowe which almost obscures the youths parked up down the Marina but definitely didn't drown out the sound of the poor driver going too quick over the speedbump into the Marina and causing a concerning metal on concrete crunch.

I drive back the 6 miles to Ipswich McDonalds and then the really short drive back to base camp.

 

[Kite159]

A busy few days in the hot weather

 

[Gathursty]

Day 5: Fri 27th July

I rouse myself from a hard night's sleep due to the latent heat again. After another included breakfast, I pack up and check out. I reach Sainsburys and attend to my car's needs before hitting the A12. I am not sure how busy the road to London will be today but the time is 8.30 am and I feel lucky. I turn at Chelmsford on to the A130 and fail to follow through to the A13 and take the A127 which still takes me to the M25 but I'm on it for longer than I wish to be. It is quiet for London standards and I make good progress to Knockholt station which is my base for the day. Parking the car is a little challenging due to the trucks coming in and out of the material store here. Parking is cheap however at £4 all day and a travelcard for the first 6 zones is only £12. The next train is due in 4 minutes.

I will copy my itinery in list form:
Knockholt - Orpington
Orpington - Beckenham Junction
Beckenham Junction - London Bridge
Moorgate - Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park - Kings Cross
London Bridge - Grove Park
Grove Park - Bromley North
Bromley South - Beckenham Junction
Beckenham Junction - Birkbeck
Elmers End - Hayes
Hayes - London Cannon Street
London Fenchurch Street - Upminster
Upminster - Romford
Romford - Stratford
London Bridge - Knockholt

There were some Tube connections but I was more interested in the NR line clearances today. Things of note was the heat yet again which limited me from going towards Tottenham Hale. A thunderstorm knocked out power to the north of Stratford. Another thing was a lack of people aware in corner shops with a Paypoint of how I could pay for my Dartford Crossing fare so I had to use a wifi hotspot later that evening to sort it out.

I return to Knockholt and require free wifi so I aim for Clacket Lane services. It is quiet but lacks shower facilities so I motor on to Cobham services which is far, far busier as it is one service station with access from both sides of the M25 (unusual for me to see) The toilet staffer at Cobham says there are shower facilities and laughs for some strange reason. I reach the toilets and find all the showers engaged which I find a bit odd so I pay for the Dart charge here and leave for Guildford Tesco as I need a pair of jeans that I left mistakenly at the guest house and is too far to return for now. This Tesco doesn't have a clothes section so a quick Google points the way to Farnborough which is only 20 minutes away. I always think it's further away than this. I use the George in Asda in Farnborough and eat again at a quiet McDonalds here save for a smattering of what I assume are relatives of Gurkha veterans that live in the Aldershot area. I finish my cup of tea.

My place of rest this evening will be the hill inbetween Kingsclere and Overton which has a motorhome on the far end of the park. I turn the ignition off, pitch up and drop out.

 

[Gathursty]

Day 6: Sat 28th July

I awake to a beautiful, clear sky overlooking Berkshire/Hampshire and see the road falling away to Newbury and join it. There is a cluster of cyclists to overtake through the centre of Newbury and all of a sudden I reach Chievely services which has decent shower facilities.

A much fresher Gathursty is able to cruise down the M4 with no problems all the way to the M48 which I take to only Aust. Here in 1966 at the Aust Ferry a famous photo was taken of Bob Dylan waiting for the crossing over to Wales. I spend some time here for a photo opportunity before I follow the road through the industrial estate and into Avonmouth station. I'm impeded by a major police incident meaning I have to drive around the houses to get back to Avonmouth. Here I stop at a greasy spoon about 50m from the station on the corner which is busy with truckers. The food looks delicious. This passes the time nicely without being stuck outside in the rain shower.

The Severn Beach service arrives on time and is fairly empty. I am charged only £2 which is pretty good. A worker does get off at St Andrews Road surprisingly enough. The return service to Bristol has many waiting passengers and a man taking a photo of the station before, like me, we jump back on. He is sat with several women and is impressing them with statistics on the station usage figures of the Severn Beach Line. He must be a member on here!

I bid gWr farewell and take myself and my car back to the M48 and quickly check out the services here which I have never been to before. I don't see an area to watch over the Severn which I think the service station may be missing a trick on. I pay my £5.60 and enter the dragon (country).

I leave the motorway a short time later and follow the Steelworks road into Newport to pad my day out as I have made very good time so far since Newbury. I drive through the centre looking for the Transporter Bridge. I didn't realise it was in use today so I stop here for photos and videos. There is a wedding party with vintage cars waiting to cross on the bridge which adds to the novelty. I now drive back out towards Pye Corner where the delays begin for my day on the Valley Lines. I check out the station which has an out of order ticket machine and a quiet PA system. There are one or two people waiting in the shelter with me as we wait to go up to Ebbw Vale Town. 13 minutes pass before I travel with Arriva Trains Wales.

I notice an interesting group of women, not for what they are looking like but the fact they get on at Crosskeys and travel up to meet friends at Ebbw Vale Town in order to guarantee seats for a larger group all the way into Cardiff. This strategy certainly pays off on this early Saturday evening service which mushrooms to a slightly uncomfortable mush of Welshies and the odd Englishman. I heave myself out with two Deliveroo agents on their bikes who I assume are starting their shift in the Newport area as I follow them up the Bassaleg Road out of curiosity to see how fr away Newport actually is for locals. It's about 2 miles on a hilly road but there are regular buses from Pye to Newport.

I point my car in the direction of Heath and stop on the periphery of Cardiff at The Village Inn in Pentwyn for a lovely burger meal with treacle pudding and custard.

An hour later I find an unobtrusive place to park in the suburbs between Heath's two stations. I aim for the longer branch and wait for a Rhymney bound train with plenty of time to descend and find the ticket machine on the opposite side of the station. Both platforms have a decent handful of passengers waiting. I manage to get a seat luckily as there is an event on in Caerphilly which as we round the pre-twilight horizon, before the Castle is some big funfair which requires a big security presence at both Caerphilly and Aber stations but not at Energlyn & Churchill Park which is also a similar walking distance.

I keep my focus for the sight of Gilfach Fargoed and note that 1 person got off from the South. Some more halts later and I arrive at Rhymney with 20 minutes to get fresh air and buy something in a cornershop that was not chocolatey but not something I'd devour too quickly. I made the decision to have a Fruit Pastille for every station including Rhymney on the way back to stave off too early a sleep. On the return, four security guards join the driver and guard on the train at Rhymney, two men running for the train at Pontlottyn despair in English expletives as the train doors have shut already on this hourly line and two people get on at Gilfach Fargoed and one young man who leaves here, details the 30p price saving that using Gilfach Fargoed gives him over using Bargoed. I run out of Fruit Pastilles at Caerphilly I'm not sure whether that reflects badly on how many Fruit Pastilles you get or the amount of stops on this line.

A short stroll down the road takes me to a very quiet Heath Low Level with an on time well-loaded service to Coryton. The timetable surprisingly doesn't show these stops at minute intervals as I assumed they would be owing to the closeness of all of them. I pass a pair at Whitchurch who are waiting for the same train back which waits at Coryton for five minutes. It's enough time for the guard to clear up a smashed bottle of wine that people at Rhiwbina dropped before sheepishly leaving.

I get back to my car at 9.30pm or thereabouts and consider my options for the rest of the evening.

My will is straining but my requirements are numerous around the Valleys as they are were in London too. I opt for the low hanging fruit which I can do. This is the penultimate train from Barry to Barry Island. the drive from Heatth to Barry is sedate at this time of night and clearly signposted. At 10pm, Barry is a mixture of keen Cardiff-bound revellers, families really stretching their day out, workers and security. I opt for a single as the walk back to Barry is wonderfully short. I've never been to a seaside resort so late at night and the photos of the promenade and amusement park give a bit of a likeness to Pripyat to me. I am fond of Barry though due to Gavin and Stacey.

I take to the nearish McDonalds and grab a well-earned cup of tea before my mind comes up with Lydney as a perfect place to fall asleep in peace and after one hour of driving without breaking any limits, I'm astonished to be parking up near the train station where nothing can be heard apart from the wind rolling through the Severn Estuary. I take this as a good sign to bid adieu to a long but successful day. Almost there now...

 

[Kite159]

A busy & varied day for you

 

[Gathursty]

Day 7: Sun 29th July

I wake up quite bright an early at Lydney, about 6am IIRC. There's nothing much to do apart from drive northwards and let very keen drivers overtake me and take their chances with the perfectly positioned speed cameras that catch out the unwary around these bends here. It is lovely country here on upto Tewkesbury. I have taken the A38 upto this point instead of the M5 as it's still really early in the day. I have a quick look at Ashchurch for Tewkesbury station and the next service is still not for another 3 hours.

I pull in at Strensham services beyond the M50 for a latte and to check the timetables for Redditch in order to perform an interception at Barnt Green and get some more track coverage. I make my way to Barnt Green and I seem to have fallen asleep for 45 minutes in the car park there so just get the next train in 20 minutes. It's a long train that just about fits on this highly curved platform. I've walked up and down it and it reminds me of Shipley, Dinting and Earlestown. In 40 minutes time, I've returned back to my car with this branch line done and my sights change to Walsall. I plot a non-motorway, non-Birmingham route which takes me down numerous council estates, an Oldbury supermarkets food-to-go sandwich, Wednesbury and under the M6 to reach a base for trying to get three routes today: Walsall to Brum via Aston and the direct service. Today, it seems only the direct service is running so I've bought a return from Walsall to Brum and Walsall to Rugeley Trent Valley. Oh well, I enjoy the quick look at the Moonraker facility that is New Street before I go into the Bat Cave (I get you now Techniquest) and jump on the train I just got off all the way to the serenity of the West Coast Main Line proper at Rugeley. It takes some time but it's not as draining as the Rhymney line the previous day. Cannock Chase looks lovely and seemingly unaffected by this long period of heat and drought.

I get back to my car at an almost empty shopping centre car park but there were still a handful of people leaving too so I didn't feel too strange. I think the car park was closing the following hour. I reflect on the oddity of having a train station in a shopping centre like Elephant & Castle but also having this other platform that is some effort to walk to from the others.

I still aim for another target in Birmingham and that is to finally have travelled in and out of Shrewsbury in every possible direction. To Wolverhampton I drive then. This is not as painless as there is a build up of traffic as I approach the M6 junction intersecting the two towns. After navigating this is a lengthy dual carriageway that peters out at Wolverhampton train station and some unrestricted side streets that remove the car parking payment sting. It does mean I have to walk past a couple of homeless lodgings hidden underneath a bridge but I don't think anyone is there at the moment.

I purchase my return to Shrewsbury and reach the platform. Now here is the fun stuff:

1) The ATW service is one carriage.
2) The ATW service is late by 20 minutes.
3) The platform is full with all sorts of people and their luggage.
4) It's an all stopper to good old Shrewsbury.

It's not the people at the coal face's fault unfortunately but some commuters I overhear say they find ATW's provision a joke and mutter things not to disimilar to what us Northerners say about Northern Rail.

I manage somehow to get a seat, even with letting seniors go ahead of me. I root myself here for the long journey ahead which is punctuated by witnessing the latest developments with Telford Central which is getting a complete facelift and new overpass which I'm sure local forum memebers can detail us about. The guard astonishingly keeps to his word of doing a full ticket check after Codsall and has manged to fight through this packed unit and get to me who is one of the last to be ticket checked as I'm in the middle of the unit. The twenty something couple in front of me have tickets from Wolverhampton to Liverpool and they have opted to avoid the business at Liverpool South Parkway but groan at the thought of sitting on three trains stopping everywhere. I am tempted to chime in and say you may not call at Capenhurst but don't think this will be well received.

At Shrewsbury there is a longer wait due to a Holyhead service losing time. This will separate into a non-passenger move and a service to Birmingham International. The journey back to Wolverhampton is rapid, calling only at Wellington and Telford Central. I admire Wellington as it looks like a well-kept station which is far bigger than most of the trains that serve it.

Back to Wolverhampton, I know that I wish to see the lake to the north of Rugeley Trent Valley, Blithfield Reservoir, because I remember driving through the centre of it one late night some time ago. I retrace my cr journey back to Walsall and drive north following the Rugeley line in the hope of spotting a nice restaurant. I'm all out of hope until I see on the edge of Rugeley Power Station a Table Table restaurant chain and I pull in here and lap up a nice curry before beating the failing light to what I hope is not a dogging spot and take photos of this vast water feature which has not been too denatured by the lack of water so far.

There were a couple of motorhomes and youngish couples parked up around but when the heaven's opened, some drove off. I also made my escape to Rugeley Trent Valley. I saw the last two calling services go by and then a Network Rail van arrived to pick up a solitary figure waiting for his lift to work. I stretch my legs without concern that someone may think I need the Samaritans. In fact. I wait 20 minutes for the Caledonian Sleeper to pass me on it's long journey to the three great destinations: Inverness, Aberdeen and Fort William. I opt for a video to capture the long train as it shuttles past me into the darkness once again.

Like the Sleeper, I go into the night and recall a layby near Norton Bridge which should be deserted. Oddly enough, there were two vehicles who darted straight off as soon as I got there.

I disengage the car and darkness surrounds me. The only sensation is the whistling of whatever is on the WCML tonight...

Day 8: Mon 30th July

I'm awake at about 5am and could drive straight up the M6 and be home within the hour. I opt to try to get my body clock in better shape than this and meander through Newcastle and follow the A50 to Knutsford and Lymm and arrive home for 7.30am feeling very satisfied with all this route coverage.

Hold on I forgot Kenilworth!!!!!! TBC...

 

[Kite159]

I am tempted to chime in and say you may not call at Capenhurst but don't think this will be well received.

Not on Sundays

Seems a bit mad of them going the slower route to Liverpool to avoid having to change at South Parkway. And considering the trains from South Parkway to Liverpool Central are every 15 minutes (alternating between a semi-fast Kirkby service & a stopper to Southport) compared to every 30 minutes on the Chester line [which no doubt will be single units]