Sandhurst to Glasgow the long way.

14th June 2018

The best laid plans are often thwarted by the weather in the UK. In this case Storm Hector which swept across northern England and toppled trees onto the west coast main line, taking out the overhead power cables. So just after I settled on the train at London Euston they announced that it probably wouldn't be going any further than Preston and suggested that passengers should wait until tomorrow to travel - not what you want to hear when you're already part way through your journey.

What I should have done at that point was get off, walk down the road to King's Cross and get a train up the east coast which was at that point still running OK. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

But they only said probably, so by the time we get there perhaps it will be OK. Right? Wrong. The further north we went the more definite it became that the west coast line was not going to reopen. Eventually the train manager announced that we should get something to write on as he would shortly be giving us some instructions on how to get to Glasgow. The plan was from Preston go to Bolton, then to Manchester Victoria, then to York where we could pick up an east coast train to Glasgow via Edinburgh. Not a simple plan but a plan nonetheless.

Original route in red, actual journey in blue.

It would also take a bit longer, ETA was now about 20:15 rather than 16:00. 

It almost went to plan. At Manchester Victoria I was able to get a delayed Trans Pennine Express cutting out a wait there. The train manager on that suggested we change at Leeds instead of York to avoid the crush at York as east coast trains were now very crowded with everyone travelling north having to go that way. Alas he was wrong. It was physically impossible to get on the train at Leeds and even if you could it would have meant standing for 4 hours. Bugger that, wait for another train. Next one was to Dunbar, that will get me to Edinburgh. That hindsight thing again, should have stayed on the train at Leeds - it went through to Newcastle anyway! 

Slowly the train went north, with us all fighting over the seats and playing musical chairs as people got on with reserved seats. Got off at Edinburgh, 21:00 ish, nearly there, just need a train to Glasgow Queen Street. Fortunately there were plenty of those and an hour and a quarter later I was on my last train of the day, Queen St. to Charing Cross, and I was very glad to be staying in the hotel directly above the station. I was even more glad that the bar was still open!

Train to Bolton, hooray for the Pacer!

I have had better rail journeys. Thirteen and a half hours and eight different trains in all. I wouldn't want to do it often. However on this occasion the problems weren't the direct fault of the train operating companies or Network Rail, nature will do what it will. And the train staff tried their best to get us round the problem, with some success (apart from the guy who suggested changing at Leeds) and kept us up to date as best they could with the changing situation. I was also glad to have the Train Track app on my phone to get a look at upcoming trains and which platform they departed from, though it would have been even more useful if Three actually had some network coverage anywhere between Leeds and Edinburgh.

Could've been worse. Could've been stuck in a traffic jam on a motorway for hours. At least travelling by train you can find somewhere to take a leak :-)

Along the riverbank, the Isle of Dogs

14th April 2018

The sudden unexpected reappearance of the sun 🌞 at the weekend what's more fuelled an urge to go out and explore. Camera at hand I headed for Wapping Station then turned right to walk east along Wapping High St. and Wapping Wall to find the Thames Path. 

First stop the Prospect of Whitby for a swift one. A historic pub right on the river's edge, Greene King but OK really. There's a small outside area by the river but you probably have to get there early to bag a seat. Beer was good.

Bar, Prospect of Whitby, Wapping

Thirst quenched, onward and eastward. Past the former Wapping Hydraulic Power Station and on to Shadwell Basin, built 1828-32 and although disused hasn't been filled in like some London docks and is used for leisure pursuits and is bordered by housing. The entrance from the River Thames is bridged by a bascule bridge, alas no longer operational but an impressive piece of engineering history.

Shadwell Basin bascule bridge

Following the Thames Path into the King Edward VII Memorial Park you pass a circular brick building with ornate iron grilles in the windows. This is actually a ventilation shaft for the Rotherhithe road tunnel below. Alongside it is a memorial to 16th Century English navigators who set out from this part of the Thames to "explore the northern seas".

Rotherhithe Tunnel ventilation shaft

Seafarer's Memorial

I continued on east along the Thames Path, through Limehouse, having to wait for the Narrow Street swing bridge to let a boat into Limehouse Basin and onto the Isle of Dogs. There are many modern apartment developments along this stretch of the riverbank, few of much interest but I did like this one with it's uppermost balconies reaching out to each other.

Balconies

A little further on is a simple memorial plaque to the victims of the Bullivant's Wharf air raid shelter tragedy, the biggest wartime disaster on the Isle of Dogs but which I hadn't heard about previously. 40 dead and 60 injured when a public air raid shelter took a direct hit. Today our idiot Prime Minister decided to involve our country in another war 😞

Bullivant's Wharf memorial

Walking east or rather south at this point along the river you come to the old entrance, now blocked off, to Millwall Outer Dock.  Preserved here is part of the machinery that would have opened and closed the huge lock gates separating the docks from the open Thames.

Millwall Outer Dock entrance

Rounding the southern end of the Isle of Dogs past Masthouse Terrace Pier and the launching ramp for Brunel's SS Great Eastern you can see down the river to Greenwich, the masts of Cutty Sark towering over the surrounding buildings.

Greenwich distant

Nearby amongst the new apartment blocks are still some historic buildings. This was until 1986 the site of a colour factory, producing pigments and dyes. Allegedly the local bird-life would get into the factory buildings and become contaminated with the dyes: it was reputedly common to see pigeons in various unusual colours flying around the area. 

Burrell's Wharf

Further along the Thames Path diverts inland along Ferry Street, a clue to the fact that there are no bridges this far east in London and until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, no other ways to cross the river. Another reminder being the Ferry House pub.

The Ferry House

From Ferry Street the path goes behind the Poplar, Blackwall, and District Rowing Club, who seemed to be doing much carousing but no rowing today, and into Island Gardens park. Get a cuppa from the nice people in the Island Gardens Cafe and grab a riverside bench to take in the view of Greenwich across the river that inspired Canaletto. 

Greenwich from Island Gardens

The river traffic travels a bit faster now than in the 18th century though!

Island Gardens is the north terminal of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel, a quarter mile walk under the Thames brings you out amongst the thronging tourists around the Cutty Sark, where you can catch a river boat or look back across to the relatively peaceful Isle of Dogs.

The Isle of Dogs from Greenwich 

From Greenwich it was time to take my aching feet to catch a train home. It was an interesting wander through an area with a long history which is still to be found if you look. Many more photos were taken along the way, the full set can be seen in this Flickr Album

Brummagem part three

Day three 14th March 2018

A historic railway station and a trip to Worcester

For my third day I decided to venture out of Birmingham and catch a train to Worcester, a city with which I'm familiar but haven't visited for some years. I wanted to see if it had changed and to see some of the bits I'd not previously visited, such as the cathedral. So once again up, showered, out, breakfast (Pret), and this time down to Moor Street station. Unlike the labyrinthine New Street and the subterranean Snow Hill, Moor Street is a traditional station,  a combination of the original station, opened in 1909 by the GWR as a terminus for local trains, and a newer Moor Street station with through platforms, adjacent to the original, which opened in 1987, the two were combined into one station in 2002, when the original was reopened and restored, and the newer station rebuilt in 1930s style. It's certainly the nicest of the three.

Moor Street station

Moor Street station

Moor Street station

Moor Street station water tower

The 11:09 West Midland Railway service took a little under an hour to get to Worcester Foregate Street and is under a tenner for an off-peak return. A walk down through the city centre showed few changes, some familiar shops gone, some moved. The biggest change being the recent big redevelopment of the Cathedral Square shopping mall. Carrying on down to the bridge found the River Severn very full as usual at this time of year. So full that it had overflowed its banks in places blocking the path to the cathedral.

River Severn

River Severn in flood

Worcester Bridge

Next was the cathedral, or as its officially called ,the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester. (No gags about finding a virgin in Worcester please.) Built between 1084 and 1504 it towers over the Severn and contains the tombs of King John of Magna Carta fame, Prince Arthur, younger brother of Henry VIII, and Stanley Baldwin, three-time UK Prime Minister. I'd never been inside before. It's big. Very big. 

Tomb of King John

Worcester Cathedral crypt

Worcester Cathedral interior

Worcester Cathedral interior & tomb of King John

Worcester Cathedral from Cathedral Square

There's little left of medieval Worcester apart from the cathedral, much having been replaced in the 1960s in what some locals refer to as "the rape of Worcester" when the council redeveloped much of the city centre. Friar Street contains quite a few ancient buildings including Greyfriars, built around 1485 and since 1966 owned by the National Trust. I'm a NT member so that was the next place to visit.

Greyfriars

The volunteers in Greyfriars were very knowledgeable and informative and able to discuss the long history of the house and its former occupants. Part of the house is still let as a private residence - part of the agreement of its being given to the trust being that it remained in use as a home not just a museum.

Friar Street

Friar Street

Friar Street

After a day in Worcester it was time to return to the station (via Starbucks) and get the train back to Birmingham. The return train went via Worcester Shrub Hill where it stopped for a 15 minute rest, so the trip back to Moor Street was a little longer in duration.

Worcester Foregate Street station

Selfridges Building, Bullring, Birmingham

Back to the hotel for a bit then out again for food and a couple of pints in The Wellington. The beggars were out in force again in the city centre but were at least willing to accept the blatant lie "sorry mate, haven't got any change" and move on.

Day four 15th March 2018

The return home

Checked out after another comfortable night and breakfasted at Pret again, using their Wi-Fi to check the travel situation and to find out how close May and Putin were to chucking nukes about. The train from New Street was only a couple of minutes late and after the usual seat claiming dance made an uneventful journey to Reading, easily making Reading in time for the connexion to Sandhurst. Despite gathering clouds I was able to walk home from the station without getting wet.

It was an enjoyable trip all told and considering I'm writing these reports while watching the snow fall again, well timed weather wise.

I took many more photos than shown in this blog and they can be seen in this Flickr Album

Brummagem part two

Day Two 13th March 2018

The cutest train in Britain, a museum, and canals

Up, showered, out, breakfast (Pret), and down to Birmingham Snow Hill station to catch another train. It's not raining. You may gather I like railways and since watching All The Stations episode 23 I've wanted to visit Stourbridge and ride the unique branch line from Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town. This service is provided using two Parry People Movers also known as Class 139 railcars.

The journey to Stourbridge Junction on West Midlands Railways went smoothly and after a short wait the train arrived from the town.

Stourbridge Junction

A slightly bumpy 3 minute ride gets you to Stourbridge Town station, adjacent to the large bus interchange and a short walk from the town centre.

Stourbridge Town

A walk around Stourbridge revealed an impressive red brick town hall

Stourbridge Town Hall

And the Stourbridge Canal

Stourbridge Canal

A break for coffee and then return to Birmingham (via Moor Street station) to continue doing the tourist thing.

Museum entrance

On the previous evening's walk in the rain I'd passed the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery which looked to be worth further investigation, particularly when I remembered that it contains the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork, stashed away by someone in the 7th century and for reasons unknown never recovered until it was rediscovered in a field near Hammerwich in 2009.

Despite most of the artefacts being damaged when they were removed from the items they originally decorated - the hoarder presumably being interested only in their monetary value - the fine scale of the workmanship is apparent and even by modern standards impressive.






The ornate interior of the building (part of Birmingham City Council House) is worth seeing anyway.

Museum interior Industrial Gallery

Sword pommel, one of the three thousand five hundred pieces in the Staffordshire hoard.

Piece from the Staffordshire Hoard

A cup of tea and then out into the.... Sunshine! Sat in Victoria Square with my camera and took advantage of the fine weather to get some shots of the Town Hall and City Council buildings.

City Council House

Victoria Square

Birmingham Town Hall

Street sign

It still wasn't raining so once I had worked out which way to go to get around the huge building site that is Chamberlain Square I walked down to Gas Street Basin to wander around and over the canals. The area around the canal has been redeveloped with bars, restaurants, and shopping to attract tourists and by extension although probably not by design, beggars. There are quite a few beggars in Birmingham all of whom seem to need 80p.

Gas Street Basin

Gas Street Basin

The Worcester bar (the part of the canal not the name of the pub).

Gas Street Basin, Regency Wharf

Boats in Gas Street Basin

Old Turn Junction

Having been out and mostly on my feet for 8 hours it was time to return to the hotel to freshen up and drop off the camera, backpack etc. and take the weight off for a bit before heading out in search of food and beer. Especially beer 🍺

Food was taken care of by Byron's posh and expensive - very nice though - burgers. There are a lot of pubs and bars in the city centre, some loud, some cheap (though I'm trying to avoid Brexit-plugging Wetherspoons unless really desperate), and some plain odd. For real ale though I'd have to say that The Wellington on Bennetts Hill is going to be hard to beat. Sixteen pumps on the bar and as the first one was Wye Valley HPA I figured that was a good start. There I stayed until it was time to return to the hotel and bed.

More to follow...