Thought I'd shed a little light on my trips around the country after reading Techniquest and Kite159's posts lately.
This is my most recent trip in my car to keep up my 100% stations visited record (unbeknownst to me Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village have now opened too!). I made for the Borders Railway to see this new line and also a part of the country I've never seen before (not much left of that now!).
I set off from Davenport, not Wigan, at 11.30 after visiting a relative and was unlucky not to see a petrol station on the way to the M56 and my luck was still absent when the M60 reduced to one lane on the Barton Bridge approach. My mood wasn't dimmed too much by this but I was annoyed by those people who go up the empty lanes and cut in at the last moment. I did think I could have took the M56/M6 but I'd still be at Preston at the same time so I just waited and watched the lights of the Trafford Centre and rolled up my window as I arched over the nearby sewage works (yuk)
I mentioned Preston as J31 has a service station at Tickled Trout which I made use of before taking the long drive north to J43 - just 12 junctions or 90 miles! From Preston, the traffic was very light but peppered with many using full beams unnecessarily. I drive with glasses and the glare really puts me off. Apparently this is a common issue so it makes me wonder why people aren't more conscious about their lights. I would pass two places which on the way back I would get a better look at (Lune Link Road Bridge, M6 Lune Valley) in the daylight.
I stopped again at Southwaite Services to rest my eyes and stretch my legs. Here I checked out the facilities as I've never stopped here before (No, I'm not going to every service station in Britain but I probably have done by now tbh :P) I didn't get jelly legs unlike when I drove direct to Merstham station from Wigan before getting out of the car! The final mention is for the BMW which as suddenly as it arrived at the services, swapped drivers, and continued to drive off. In fact, so great was the need for speed that they left the handbrake off so the two drivers had to make a sudden adjustment for the doors before driving off. Very odd indeed!
Back to the road. After a Carlisle bypass, I reached the A7. I thought I hadn't been on this before but I remember from a previous night time excursion (Stranraer - Berwick) I had used this road briefly. Some weeks ago, I had figured out that out of the first hundred A-roads, there are only 4 I haven't driven on for any meaningful length - A42, A88, A97 and A98. After a long straight at a limiting 50MPH, I hit the Scottish Border! Only about 50 miles to Galashiels now.
I could count on one hand the vehicles heading in the opposite direction all the way to Galashiels and wouldn't need any digits to count those following me which was good for my eyes. The A7 in Scotland was a mixture of brilliant flowing wide bends and straights with unbroken chains of cats eyes and crummy, puddle-marked and sodden jerky roads fraught with aquaplaning danger and fast reactions needed for poorly signed sharp bends ahead. I had hoped that this historic route would be in as good shape as the A830 Road to the Isles or the A9 but I guess the historic nature prevents too much groundwork being done as well as other obvious constraints.
I made fast progress through Hawick and Selkirk with rain a constant companion, again not a soul nor vehicle to be seen but we were approaching 3am now.
Tweedbank came an hour later and I was very impressed with the two Class 158s all lit up and switched on with the CIS on the front of the train. This made me suspect there were staff around but I didn't see anyone. (Is Tweedbank a depot too?) I did see a lot of parked cars at the station which I found odd as it was 4am now...
I shortly appeared in Galashiels and drove around in a big circle following the signs for the station car park but I must have mistook it for another car park. I ended up pulling up opposite the station and next to the Interchange which I rate as probably the best looking bus station in the country. I hope the station at Galashiels isn't too wedged into the hillside as I would like to see it become double-tracked all the way to Carlisle.
Stow and Gorebridge were similar and like all of these stations, unlit at this time which I was a bit disappointed by because my phone has a rubbish camera. Then again, why should a station be lit when it's not in use? (There is an old thread on this IIRC)
Question Time - What is the feature between Stow and Galashiels beside the A7 (west-side) which appears to be well-lit at night? I had a brief look and thought it could be an underpass or a level crossing for the farm on the other side of the railway. I didn't stop for a picture as I could see the orange glow of Edinburgh and wanted to get a move on.
Newtongrange and Eskbank were next up. Eskbank is the only station that is not signposted from the A7 but is signposted from the road into Eskbank. Shawfair is not included due to being off another A road. I could see a Tesco near Eskbank and presumed the overbridge led you to a footpath to the superstore otherwise this is a missed opportunity.
My penultimate Scottish stop was reached at 4.43am at Shawfair. I was very confused now. I thought Edinburgh was pretty much urban until the bypass but the area around Shawfair stumped me. There are many signs of housing developments in progress so when I next am in the area, I will be wishing there were green fields around. I did notice at Shawfair there was one car parked up there, in the middle of nowhere and no-one in it or near it. In fact, every Border station except Galashiels had cars there overnight. Is this common or just a Scottish thing??
Before I left, I went to Newcraighall to 'complete' the Border line and see if this station had altered much since my last time here (2013?). Quickly I gathered it hadn't and after looking at PIS which indicated a wait of over an hour till the first service, I thought to beat the morning city traffic and get back south quickly. This was achieved by following the A1, A720, A7, A6094, A701 and A72 to get to Abingdon services on the M74. I didn't want to go back down the A7 as I needed a nap, bathroom and food pronto! I enjoyed the view of the sun on the cusp of dawn silhouetting the mountains of Fife in my wing mirror.
Heading southbound there were more cars going in my direction, including the ghost of Colin Macrae who overtook me and was away around the bends and crests. By Biggar I was sorely in need to stop but the road now was more straighter and I could tell the M74 wasn't faraway. In twenty minutes, I had pulled into Abingdon at 5am and woke up at 9am.
I woke up to the car buffeted by rain and leaves of the tree in front of me bisecting the row of the car park. I put my blanket back in the boot, took a vanity bag to the toilets and 15 minutes later was in the land of the awake and not going to be conned by the service station charging £4.95 for a breakfast bap!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got to my car and drove south not aiming to go very fast but allowing the downhills to dictate the pace until a bridge ahead hosted the Dumfries and Galloway's police speed unit. I've not seen a speed camera unit on a motorway bridge but first time for everything I suppose.
I was hoping to see a McDonalds before 11.30am for a breakfast but somewhere in my mind said 'Armathwaite' and by 11.10am, I was in this pretty village but my Plan A of seeing a quaint cafe didn't happen so Penrith's Morrison's became a very good Plan B, so good it was a full English and latte for £5.50 - Service stations take note!!
After Penrith was a jaunt over the hills and I timed it so well, I glided down the Lune Valley at the same time as a Transpennine Express Class 350, amazing! Another sight to behold was the bridge over the Lune at Lancaster which is being built as part of the Heysham Link Road. It's well on the way to completion. I'll look forward to driving the whole route at some point, as will the masses going to the IOM as well!
An hour later, I had pulled up at Gathurst before heading home, again in time to see a non-stopper going to Southport. Davenport-Edinburgh-Wigan in just under 12 hours with 4 hours sleep. Boom!
This is my most recent trip in my car to keep up my 100% stations visited record (unbeknownst to me Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village have now opened too!). I made for the Borders Railway to see this new line and also a part of the country I've never seen before (not much left of that now!).
I set off from Davenport, not Wigan, at 11.30 after visiting a relative and was unlucky not to see a petrol station on the way to the M56 and my luck was still absent when the M60 reduced to one lane on the Barton Bridge approach. My mood wasn't dimmed too much by this but I was annoyed by those people who go up the empty lanes and cut in at the last moment. I did think I could have took the M56/M6 but I'd still be at Preston at the same time so I just waited and watched the lights of the Trafford Centre and rolled up my window as I arched over the nearby sewage works (yuk)
I mentioned Preston as J31 has a service station at Tickled Trout which I made use of before taking the long drive north to J43 - just 12 junctions or 90 miles! From Preston, the traffic was very light but peppered with many using full beams unnecessarily. I drive with glasses and the glare really puts me off. Apparently this is a common issue so it makes me wonder why people aren't more conscious about their lights. I would pass two places which on the way back I would get a better look at (Lune Link Road Bridge, M6 Lune Valley) in the daylight.
I stopped again at Southwaite Services to rest my eyes and stretch my legs. Here I checked out the facilities as I've never stopped here before (No, I'm not going to every service station in Britain but I probably have done by now tbh :P) I didn't get jelly legs unlike when I drove direct to Merstham station from Wigan before getting out of the car! The final mention is for the BMW which as suddenly as it arrived at the services, swapped drivers, and continued to drive off. In fact, so great was the need for speed that they left the handbrake off so the two drivers had to make a sudden adjustment for the doors before driving off. Very odd indeed!
Back to the road. After a Carlisle bypass, I reached the A7. I thought I hadn't been on this before but I remember from a previous night time excursion (Stranraer - Berwick) I had used this road briefly. Some weeks ago, I had figured out that out of the first hundred A-roads, there are only 4 I haven't driven on for any meaningful length - A42, A88, A97 and A98. After a long straight at a limiting 50MPH, I hit the Scottish Border! Only about 50 miles to Galashiels now.
I could count on one hand the vehicles heading in the opposite direction all the way to Galashiels and wouldn't need any digits to count those following me which was good for my eyes. The A7 in Scotland was a mixture of brilliant flowing wide bends and straights with unbroken chains of cats eyes and crummy, puddle-marked and sodden jerky roads fraught with aquaplaning danger and fast reactions needed for poorly signed sharp bends ahead. I had hoped that this historic route would be in as good shape as the A830 Road to the Isles or the A9 but I guess the historic nature prevents too much groundwork being done as well as other obvious constraints.
I made fast progress through Hawick and Selkirk with rain a constant companion, again not a soul nor vehicle to be seen but we were approaching 3am now.
Tweedbank came an hour later and I was very impressed with the two Class 158s all lit up and switched on with the CIS on the front of the train. This made me suspect there were staff around but I didn't see anyone. (Is Tweedbank a depot too?) I did see a lot of parked cars at the station which I found odd as it was 4am now...
I shortly appeared in Galashiels and drove around in a big circle following the signs for the station car park but I must have mistook it for another car park. I ended up pulling up opposite the station and next to the Interchange which I rate as probably the best looking bus station in the country. I hope the station at Galashiels isn't too wedged into the hillside as I would like to see it become double-tracked all the way to Carlisle.
Stow and Gorebridge were similar and like all of these stations, unlit at this time which I was a bit disappointed by because my phone has a rubbish camera. Then again, why should a station be lit when it's not in use? (There is an old thread on this IIRC)
Question Time - What is the feature between Stow and Galashiels beside the A7 (west-side) which appears to be well-lit at night? I had a brief look and thought it could be an underpass or a level crossing for the farm on the other side of the railway. I didn't stop for a picture as I could see the orange glow of Edinburgh and wanted to get a move on.
Newtongrange and Eskbank were next up. Eskbank is the only station that is not signposted from the A7 but is signposted from the road into Eskbank. Shawfair is not included due to being off another A road. I could see a Tesco near Eskbank and presumed the overbridge led you to a footpath to the superstore otherwise this is a missed opportunity.
My penultimate Scottish stop was reached at 4.43am at Shawfair. I was very confused now. I thought Edinburgh was pretty much urban until the bypass but the area around Shawfair stumped me. There are many signs of housing developments in progress so when I next am in the area, I will be wishing there were green fields around. I did notice at Shawfair there was one car parked up there, in the middle of nowhere and no-one in it or near it. In fact, every Border station except Galashiels had cars there overnight. Is this common or just a Scottish thing??
Before I left, I went to Newcraighall to 'complete' the Border line and see if this station had altered much since my last time here (2013?). Quickly I gathered it hadn't and after looking at PIS which indicated a wait of over an hour till the first service, I thought to beat the morning city traffic and get back south quickly. This was achieved by following the A1, A720, A7, A6094, A701 and A72 to get to Abingdon services on the M74. I didn't want to go back down the A7 as I needed a nap, bathroom and food pronto! I enjoyed the view of the sun on the cusp of dawn silhouetting the mountains of Fife in my wing mirror.
Heading southbound there were more cars going in my direction, including the ghost of Colin Macrae who overtook me and was away around the bends and crests. By Biggar I was sorely in need to stop but the road now was more straighter and I could tell the M74 wasn't faraway. In twenty minutes, I had pulled into Abingdon at 5am and woke up at 9am.
I woke up to the car buffeted by rain and leaves of the tree in front of me bisecting the row of the car park. I put my blanket back in the boot, took a vanity bag to the toilets and 15 minutes later was in the land of the awake and not going to be conned by the service station charging £4.95 for a breakfast bap!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got to my car and drove south not aiming to go very fast but allowing the downhills to dictate the pace until a bridge ahead hosted the Dumfries and Galloway's police speed unit. I've not seen a speed camera unit on a motorway bridge but first time for everything I suppose.
I was hoping to see a McDonalds before 11.30am for a breakfast but somewhere in my mind said 'Armathwaite' and by 11.10am, I was in this pretty village but my Plan A of seeing a quaint cafe didn't happen so Penrith's Morrison's became a very good Plan B, so good it was a full English and latte for £5.50 - Service stations take note!!
After Penrith was a jaunt over the hills and I timed it so well, I glided down the Lune Valley at the same time as a Transpennine Express Class 350, amazing! Another sight to behold was the bridge over the Lune at Lancaster which is being built as part of the Heysham Link Road. It's well on the way to completion. I'll look forward to driving the whole route at some point, as will the masses going to the IOM as well!
An hour later, I had pulled up at Gathurst before heading home, again in time to see a non-stopper going to Southport. Davenport-Edinburgh-Wigan in just under 12 hours with 4 hours sleep. Boom!
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