Not Sheffield, a late change of plans.

20th - 24th June 2022

 

I had planned a train trip to Sheffield but this week’s national rail strikes put the kibosh on that idea. Postponing Sheffield until September I needed to make other plans for the week. Found somewhere that I could drive to instead, a holiday cottage in Wolston near Coventry.

 

 

 

Cottage review:

 Liked  · The cottage is in a great location. Village pub is across the road and chippy only 4 doors down. There is a Co-Op convenience shop a few minutes walk away. Coventry city centre is only a half hour bus ride away and this only costs £4 return. The cottage itself has a lot of character and everything you need for a break away, comfortable bed, and from a personal preference point of view I was glad to see the gas hob.

 

Disliked  · A minor point but some of the fixtures and fittings could do with a bit of maintenance, some of the cupboard doors (including the built-in fridge) have perhaps a bit too much "character" and too few screws in the hinges ;-) That apart I have no complaints and I managed to get a 15' long SUV down the back to the parking spot OK.

 

I did get the impression that the place had been decorated with a bit more enthusiasm than skill but it was comfortable enough and not expensive. Wolston itself has an old village centre surrounded by areas of housing as proximity to Coventry makes it an ideal “dormitory” for the city’s workers. It does have a school and is quite busy throughout the day. The pub was OK although very much a locals’ local. The chippy was very good and attracted quite a bit of visiting trade.

 

Coventry

 

I last went to Coventry while on a Scout summer camp in 1976. Actually a Scout canal cruise. I the drought.This time I arrived on the 86 bus. All I really remember of Coventry in 1976 is being taken to the bombed-out cathedral and its post-war replacement. It was pretty much exactly as I remembered it.

 

 

 

This time I was intent on visiting the Coventry Transport Museum which was four years into the future last time I was here. The bus stops right outside the impressive modern entrance so no problem fining it. Inside in welcome air-conditioned (it was a very hot day) halls is a truly huge collection of vehicles from the earliest cycles to land speed record cars. With a good number of “I had one of those/my Dad had one of those” exhibits and massive of transport related paraphernalia.

 

 

 

 

I seem to have taken a lot of pictures! Flickr Album Coventry Transport Museum

 

Midland Air Museum

 

 

The next day I went for a look at a different type of vehicle at the Midland Air Museum adjacent to the northern boundary of Coventry Airport. Quite a big collection of aircraft indoors and outdoors, mostly post war jets - the museum also houses the Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre covering the invention of the jet engine and the man who came up with the idea of using it to power aircraft. There’s a lot of material gathered on a fairly small site and it was very hot, especially inside the main building up under the roof, and it was a relief to emerge into the cooling breeze among the outside exhibits. Some of the aircraft are sometimes open to go on board, including the Avro Vulcan bomber. There’s not a lot of space in there. In contrast the huge Argosy transport has plenty of space but alas was closed for maintenance on the day I visited.

 

 

 

The delta wing of a Vulcan makes a welcome sun shade on a hot day though!

 

 

 

Disappointingly, for the second time in my life I failed to get on board a Vickers Viscount airliner as that was only open for organised groups and not random oiks who just happened to be there on the same day. The first time being when the one that was supposed to bring me back from Jersey in 1979 sprung a hydraulic leak on the tarmac at St. Helier and I had to wait for the incoming BAC Super 111 instead.

 

The camera was busy again Flickr Album Midland Air Museum

 

Baddesley Clinton

 

 

After the air museum it was time to try and get a bit more value out of my National Trust membership for the year. Baddesley Clinton wasn’t too far away, billed as "a secluded, intimate estate set in the heart of the Forest of Arden with 500 years of fascinating and unexpected stories”. Much of the house as seen today was built by Henry Ferrers, a lawyer, diarist and antiquarian, in the late 1500s. It’s got a high “quaint factor” sitting within its moat and as the Ferrers were papists there’s an interesting priest-hole from the 1590s.

 

 

 

Having learnt quite a bit of the house’s history and managed to avoid banging my head on any low Tudor doorways I took tea and cake in the cafe, went for a walk around the gardens, which involved a lot of steps and steep slopes, and eventually crept out through the gift shop (the exit is always through the gift shop) and away back to Wolston.

 

Yes, of course there’s a Flickr Album of Baddesley Clinton too. 

 

Coventry again.

 

On my last day I did consider just chilling with a book at the cottage but got itchy feet and got on the bus to Coventry again instead. Had a wander around the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum for a dose of social history (including as with the transport museum the obligatory Coventry Blitz section) and some fine paintings. Followed that with a walk around the city centre and then when I was waiting for a bus outside the Transport Museum watched Coventry’s finest having a punch-up while a “plastic plod” tried to restore order before lots of real officers turned up to assist him. No alas, no photos of that bit but here’s where all the excitement happened :-)

 

 

 

 

 So it wasn’t the week I had planned but it turned out well in the end.

Lesnes Abbey (and a #PurpleTrain).

26th May 2022

Unfortunately I had to work so couldn’t make it to the opening of the CrossElizPurpLineRail central section on 24th May 2022.Two days later, a day off so why not see what all the fuss was about nearly 4 years after my previous visit. I’d seen Lesnes Abbey mentioned a few times in videos by the great writer and film maker John Rogers. Abbey Wood takes its name from Lesnes Abbey and Abbey Wood station is now less than two hours away by train. Two birds, one stone and all that.

 

#PurpleTrain

 

My GWR train arrived into platform 1 at Paddington, convenient for the new Elizabeth Line entrance. Poor old Paddington Bear has been moved, presumably so as not to obstruct the increased flow of passengers around platform 1 and he’s now languishing next to the Cornish Nasty shop next to the Praed Street smokers’ ramp.

 

 

 Paddington Elizabeth Line entrance.

 

 

 Paddington platform level.

 

 

 

I went straight through to Abbey Wood and as advertised it took just 29 minutes. It will certainly bring East London “closer” for me. Later on my way back I hopped off at some of the intermediate stations for a nose around, the 5 minute train frequency makes this simple, no hanging around waiting for the next departure. It is an impressive railway line, the stations are huge, the new Dean Street entrance is dead handy for Soho. I like it. At some point changing trains will no longer be necessary at Paddington although for me that will actually make for a longer (time wise) journey so I’ll most likely continue to get a non-stop GWR service from Reading.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tottenham Court Road new Dean Street entrance.

 

My Crossrail/Elizabeth Line Photo Album

 

Lesnes Abbey

 

About half a mile walk from Abbey Wood station (pro tip: come out of the Harrow Manorway exit not the other one like I did) in a public park lie the ruins of Lesnes Abbey. Lesnes Abbey, as it is now known, was founded by Richard de Luci, Chief Justiciar of England, in 1178. This may have been in penance for the murder of Thomas Becket, in which he was involved. The former London County Council purchased the the ruins in 1930 and opened them to the public as a park in 1931. Since 1986, the site has been the property of the London Borough of Bexley. It seems odd to find an ancient ruined abbey in what’s now a south east London suburb. It's a really nice place, well kept, and free to enter, with public toilets and a cafe. (Imagine what English Heritage Ltd. would want to charge you for something like that.) The sun came out too although it was a rather gusty afternoon. And the cafe provided good coffee and cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17 Photos of Lesnes Abbey

 

A little oddity spotted on the way back to the station was these finger posts pointing the way to “Abbey Wood Cross Rail Station”. Cross Rail as two words has never been correct. I wonder if they’ll get changed to Elizabeth Line at some time?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A week in Wales

14th - 21st May 2022

Holiday! I rented a cottage in the village of Abergynolwyn in southern Snowdonia for a week away in Wales. Possibly a bit brave in May but as it turned out the weather wasn’t too awful and there’s always something interesting to do around there anyway. The 19th century slate worker’s cottage had been recently refurbished to a high standard and thankfully had full height ceilings and doorways so as long as I remembered to duck going up and down the stairs I was OK! It was also within easy walking distance of the Railway Inn which served a decent pint and had a good atmosphere (if occasionally a little lively for one of the local Miserable Sods Club). 

 

Monday - Talyllyn Railway

 

Can’t go to Wales without riding on one of the “Great Little Trains”. The Talyllyn is the grandfather of all the preserved lines yet I’d never previously been on it. Only three trains a day in May so I settled for a ride from Abergynolwyn station down to Tywyn Wharf, had a look around the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at that station, and took a return ride to Nant Gwernol station. Nant Gwernol lies above the village in a gorge with only footpath access. When the Talyllyn was a slate carrying railway there was an incline down to the village.Now it’s a pleasant if steep walk through the trees alongside the tumbling river after which the station gets its name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This 20 minute video gives a flavour of the trip.

 

Tuesday - Barmouth and a lake.

 

 

I drove up to Barmouth on a nice sunny morning, making use of the quaint, wooden Penmaenpool Toll Bridge which is something of an experience in itself. I walked out across the wide expanse of Barmouth Beach and turned around to find a huge ominously dark cloud looking back at me. A wander around the town centre revealed that Barmouth, a nice enough little seaside resort seems to be the area’s discount shop capital. I don’t remember it being so when I last visited and we stayed on the camp site on the seafront to the north. Mind you, that was in the late 1980s :-)

 

 

 

 Window shopping and coffee drinking done I drove back to Abergyolwn via Dolgellau where I decided against filling up with what appeared at the time to be some very expensive petrol. When I eventually found the turn off the A493 near Arthog I took the narrow, steep, and gated road up to Cregennan Lakes. This involved getting rained on twice at each gate because Wales but is a very “interesting” road and I’m glad I didn’t meet anything coming the other way. There was only one other car in the car park by the lake. It’s a peaceful spot. In mid May at least.

 

 

 

 

 

 Wednesday - Aberystwyth & Ynyslas

 

 My first ever venture away from home without family was a junior school trip to Devil’s Bridge so I’ve known Aberystwyth for a long time. I have a mission to visit every funicular railway in the UK, in no particular order and without a timescale so today was the ideal opportunity to take the ride up to Constitution Hill. I discovered that it’s very hard to photograph the actual cliff railway. It was also very windy at the top though the views are excellent. Decided against a trip on the Vale of Rheidol Railway since it was apparently still operating with full-on covid restrictions and a same train out and back arrangement. Been on it before anyway - the first time it was still part of British Rail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 On the way back I stopped at Ynyslas Sand Dunes, a place I’d never been. Parked on the beach, had an ice cream from the van also parked on the beach, and went for a walk through the dunes with just the sound of the wind in the grass and the birds overhead. I’ll bet you can’t do that in July and August.

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday - The Cambrian Coast Line

 

Things Tywyn Station doesn’t have: 1. A ticket office, 2. A ticket machine.Things Tywyn Station does have: 1. free parking 2. Trains running along the Cambrian Coast railway line.

So I bough a return eTicket and went to Porthmadog. The views from the train are fantastic, rivalling its near-namesake the Cumbrian Coast Line. In Porthmadog I walked all the way out and back along the Britannia Terrace causeway and didn’t even get rained on. Most un-Wales-like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday - Castell-y-bere.

 

Spent most of the morning relaxing and reading while the sky periodically emptied its bladder onto the slate roofs of Abergynolwn. The afternoon forecast was finer so I walked to the 11th century Castle-y-bere castle, or what’s left of it, taking the road north up out of Abergynolwyn and forking right onto a public footpath that disappeared half way up a hill and required some dead reckoning and guesswork to find again. A family were leaving as I arrived and soon I had the entire place to myself with a flask of coffee and some biscuits. Bliss - until I had to hide behind the walls from a thankfully brief shower. I followed the lane back to Abergynolwyn, on the way passing a remote rural telephone kiosk. Professional interest made me wonder and yes, it still had dial tone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was my week in Wales. There are 156 photos here.

 

I’d definitely consider a return visit to Abergynolwyn at some time.