Poor signage between North Camp and Ash Vale for the walking route

[infobleep]

I am not 100% certain where to put this but as it relates to signage and thus infrastructure I've put it here.

Today I walked between North Camp and Ash Vale due to engineering works.

Although I used Google Maps to get between the two stations, so I'm alright Jack, I wasn't impressed with the signage.

There is a map at North Camp on the front of the main station building but it is placed too high up as they wanted the sign directing you to Platform 1 to be placed below it. The text on the map for road names is thus not readable as a result.

If they wanted a map so high up they needed to design it accordingly to take into account it's height. This would help those using the permitted walking route between the two stations. What is the point of the map you can't read properly?

I saw a sign on platform 1, the platform for trains towards Gatwick Airport, directing people to Ash Vale but nothing on platform 2, where trains depart towards Reading, but that isn't to say something doesn't exist and I missed it

The signage along the road/footpath route is rubbish. It's on the opposite side of the road to the pavement and is only suitable for those cycling towards Ash Vale station unless you happen to be looking at the opposite side of the road and you have reasonable eyesight. Even then I didn't see any at a key junction. where you turn off as a pedestrian if you are walking to Ash Vale. I assume the poor signage is the responsibility of Hampshire County Council as they are the highway authority for the area.

As an aside, Ash Vale station is rather dark grey and bleak but that in no way impacts the permitted walk between the two stations. Ash Vale to North Camp would at least take you to a nicer-looking station at the end*

*in my opinion.

 

[WesternBiker]

I use both stations quite a lot, and I agree the signage between them is very poor.

The access road on the Ash Vale side is also pretty creepy when it is dark. At over half a mile, they are not actually all that close together, and of course at Ash Vale there are quite a lot of steps up to platform level. For anyone with luggage, it would be a pretty miserable experience. I don't know how many people actually make the connection between the two in practice.

I don't find Ash Vale dark at platform level myself, but, if it is windy, it is certainly very bleak!

 

[Bread & cheese]

of course at Ash Vale there are quite a lot of steps up to platform level. For anyone with luggage, it would be a pretty miserable experience.

At Ash Vale there are about 40 steps up to platform level, a highly relevant piece of information for people planning journeys, but something that journey planners don't tell you.
Pictures of the staircases used to be available on the National Rail website, if you knew where to click, but these seem to have disappeared.
The station diagram on the new National Rail website indicates there are staircases, but gives a misleading impression of how many steps there are. The diagram has 9 steps up to platform 1, and 9+3 steps up to platform 2.

https://images.nationalrail.co.uk/e8xgegruud3g/6g9XtJOYFw3bDV7pznXPmc/23f8eb78fe43d2c86c79eb73baa39f11/Ash_Vale_station_map.jpg

 

[WesternBiker]

At Ash Vale there are about 40 steps up to platform level, a highly relevant piece of information for people planning journeys, but something that journey planners don't tell you.
Pictures of the staircases used to be available on the National Rail website, if you knew where to click, but these seem to have disappeared.
The station diagram on the new National Rail website indicates there are staircases, but gives a misleading impression of how many steps there are. The diagram has 9 steps up to platform 1, and 9+3 steps up to platform 2.

https://images.nationalrail.co.uk/e8xgegruud3g/6g9XtJOYFw3bDV7pznXPmc/23f8eb78fe43d2c86c79eb73baa39f11/Ash_Vale_station_map.jpg

Yes, that’s highly misleading. It’s two staircases just up to the “subway” below the platforms with the ticket machine and departure boards. I’m surprised this hasn’t been more of a priority for a lift.

 

[mrcheek]

When I did this walk, I got quite a way out of North Camp station before seeing a sign saying "Station car Park". I had been walking for a while, so I assumed it was Ash Vale station, but no, it was a long winded route back to North Camp....

 

[infobleep]

When I did this walk, I got quite a way out of North Camp station before seeing a sign saying "Station car Park". I had been walking for a while, so I assumed it was Ash Vale station, but no, it was a long winded route back to North Camp....

I did wonder if this would catch people out when I was walking but dismissed this idea.

It seems it does for some.

 

[NorthOxonian]

I've used the interchange here in anger - I was travelling from Aldershot to Oxford. Despite being dark it wasn't particularly difficult to find my way and it felt perfectly safe. I had quite a long connection but made use of the (rather good) pub at North Camp - certainly agree that I'd rather make the connection that way round!

I assume the poor signage is the responsibility of Hampshire County Council as they are the highway authority for the area.

I think it technically falls under Surrey - this may seem a pedantic point but is possibly part of the problem. The whole area around Ash (and to an extent this applies to Camberley too) feels very cut adrift from the rest of Surrey and feels like an extension of Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. A relatively obscure interchange like this (which is presumably used by few Surrey passengers - most of the obvious flows are Alton/Aldershot to and from stations towards Reading) may well slip under the radar. It probably doesn't help that the stations are managed by different companies as well!

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

I think it technically falls under Surrey - this may seem a pedantic point but is possibly part of the problem. The whole area around Ash (and to an extent this applies to Camberley too) feels very cut adrift from the rest of Surrey and feels like an extension of Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. A relatively obscure interchange like this (which is presumably used by few Surrey passengers - most of the obvious flows are Alton/Aldershot to and from stations towards Reading) may well slip under the radar. It probably doesn't help that the stations are managed by different companies as well!

What you have captured very nicely is that the historical boundary between Hampshire and Surrey in this area is formed by the River Blackwater. But on the Surrey side everywhere from Frimley Green southwards is indeed somewhat isolated from the rest of the county by the heathland immediately to the east some of which is MOD land. These days there could possibly be some merit in creating a new unitary authority straddling the river stretching from Yateley/Sandhurst in the north to Frensham in the south. In terms of local economic activity and culture the boundary is pretty meaningless.

 

[Falcon1200]

I have also used this interchange, but no longer, finding it inconvenient and not suited to poor weather! Recently, travelling between Oxford and Alton, I have variously gone via Ascot/Aldershot, Brookwood/Basingstoke or Aldershot/Ash; The last was by far the easiest connection, the other two were more time-consuming.

 

[infobleep]

I think it technically falls under Surrey - this may seem a pedantic point but is possibly part of the problem. The whole area around Ash (and to an extent this applies to Camberley too) feels very cut adrift from the rest of Surrey and feels like an extension of Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. A relatively obscure interchange like this (which is presumably used by few Surrey passengers - most of the obvious flows are Alton/Aldershot to and from stations towards Reading) may well slip under the radar. It probably doesn't help that the stations are managed by different companies as well!

Thanks for pointing that out. I was think North Camp is Hampshire. I should have checked the boundary.

I have also used this interchange, but no longer, finding it inconvenient and not suited to poor weather! Recently, travelling between Oxford and Alton, I have variously gone via Ascot/Aldershot, Brookwood/Basingstoke or Aldershot/Ash; The last was by far the easiest connection, the other two were more time-consuming.

The most convenient way for me to get to Alton would have been via Woking but that isn't permitted from Guildford so I took the next fastest route, via North Camp and Ash Vale.

 

[WesternBiker]

I think it technically falls under Surrey - this may seem a pedantic point but is possibly part of the problem. The whole area around Ash (and to an extent this applies to Camberley too) feels very cut adrift from the rest of Surrey and feels like an extension of Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. A relatively obscure interchange like this (which is presumably used by few Surrey passengers - most of the obvious flows are Alton/Aldershot to and from stations towards Reading) may well slip under the radar. It probably doesn't help that the stations are managed by different companies as well!

The Hampshire/Surrey boundary is confusing more generally along the Alton line, which goes from Surrey (Ash and Ash Vale) into Hampshire (Aldershot), back into Surrey (Farnham), and back into Hampshire (Bentley and Alton)...