Pilning (and Bristol)

April 13th

It seems to have stopped raining for the moment, time for a spring weekend getaway. I’ve not been to Bristol since 2020 before the you-know-what so I bought a small handful of rail tickets on Trainsplit and booked a couple of nights in a city centre hotel because I enjoyed Bristol last time and it’s easy to get to. I also had a little mission nearby that I wanted to do.

 

An emergency track repair on the GWR main line meant a delayed arrival at Bristol Temple Meads but I still had time to go for a coffee before I could check it at the hotel. The coffee was covered by the £3.90 Delay Repay refund I got from GWR though 😀

 

Bristol is a fairly walkable city so later I went for a stroll around the harbour, had fish and chips for tea (it was Friday night after all) and walked them off (a bit) along the trail around the south side of the Floating Harbour.

 

 

 

Which was thirsty work so I stopped at The Nova Scotia Hotel, an old pub on the Cumberland Basin part of the harbour. After a couple of very nice pints of local beer I walked back in the gathering darkness along the north side of the harbour back to my hotel.

 

 

 

 Saturday morning and time for the “mission”. The plan was to take a train to Severn Beach, walk part of the England Coast Path along the Bristol Channel/River Severn then inland to Pilning and catch the rare train back to Bristol. The weather forecast looked good. Well dry anyway.

 

The train to Severn Bridge was busy to start but as it progressed the passenger numbers dwindled and the views out across the estuary improved and half a dozen or so alighted at Severn Beach station.

 

 

 

 From the station I walked through the village of Severn Beach, a minor “seaside” resort whose attractions include a couple of cafes, a bakery, and Wow! a Public Toilet that is actually still open! You don’t find many of those in England. From there I took a path over the ditch, or rhine (pronounced “reen”) as it’s known here, and up onto the river wall.

And bloody hell that’s a cold wind blowing out of Wales! Coat on.

 

 

 

 I followed the sea wall along and under the Second Severn Crossing, a.k.a. the Prince of Wales Bridge, which carries the M4 Motorway to and from Wales, supplementing the 1966 Severn Bridge which can be seen further upstream. The tide was partly out and the path along the concrete wall was littered with bits of tree, some quite large, washed down from inland.

 

 

 

 After passing under the M4 and I reached New Passage Pier. This used to have a railway terminus and ferries across the Severn before the 4.4 miles long Severn Railway Tunnel superseded them in 1886. There is an information board at the point where you walk over the site of the tunnel. Beyond New Passage I turned inland to follow the Severn Way along The Pill river but soon and to backtrack because someone had let the cows out. The cows themselves weren’t the problem, the fact that the ground wasn’t yet firm enough to support them was since they had puddled the surface into an impassable quagmire and when the mud reaches over the top of your boots it’s time to change your plans. Even the cows didn’t seem to be enjoying the conditions. I re-routed via New Passage Rd. crossing the M4 in what according to the signs visible from the over bridge appears to be a no man’s land between England and Wales, and after a couple of miles reached Pilning. Well to be accurate I reached The Plough, where I was glad to have time to enjoy a pint of Wadworth’s and where they didn’t seem to mind the mud splattered apparition that just left a visible trail in and out of their saloon bar.

 

Pilning Station

 

Pilning is a formerly quite important station on the South Wales Main Line between Cardiff and Bristol. Potentially it could be an important transport hub for the surrounding area. Currently it’s the ninth least used station (2022-2023 figures) in England though due to under investment, poor management, and reduction in services that looks very like an attempt at closure by stealth. Until 2015 there were two trains a day, one in each direction. In 2016 that was reduced to two a week, the minimum permitted under the operator’s franchise. In November 2016 as part of the Great Western Mainline electrification the footbridge to Platform 1 was removed and the decision made not to pay to replace it. So now the two trains a week run in the same direction, towards Bristol, on a Saturday timetabled at 0832 and 1532. To make a return journey from Pilning you need to leave early in the morning and return early in the afternoon travelling to Severn Tunnel Junction and then back to Pilning. It being Saturday and GWR it’s not unknown for the trains to be cancelled. You can see why the locals are not happy. The publicity around the above has, because UK rail enthusiasts being what they are, resulted in something of an upturn in passenger numbers though and Pilning refuses to die. I added 1 to the statistics. Why? Because it’s there of course.

 

 

 

 Fortunately I only needed to make a single journey from Pilning to Bristol Temple Meads, cost with a railcard £3.60 and scheduled to take 20 minutes. Why the 37 minute trip from Bristol Temple Meads to Severn Beach earlier only cost £1.35 is a mystery known only to the gods of the UK rail ticketing system. I arrived in good time to take a look around. There’s not a lot to look at.

One platform, unlit because no one would replace the unsafe lighting and so trains cannot call after dark. One small shelter with a seat. This was actually occupied on my visit by the other two passengers travelling from Pilning that afternoon!

 

 

 

 An information point and a train times poster pretty much completes the set. There’s one station name sign ideal for selfies wearing your “#footbridge4pilning” tee shirt. No, I’m not sharing it here 😜

 

A couple of trains passed through while I was waiting, one in each direction. There’s no train departure board at Pilning obviously so I was keeping an eye on the Train Track app on my phone - fortunately something Pilning does have is a decent mobile signal. So I wasn’t entirely surprised to see that the 1532 train was now shown as “Delayed” with no estimate of when I might arrived. Told you, GWR + Saturday. Eventually it’s ETA was given as 1546 which kept moving away until 1549, which is when it finally appeared.

 

 

 

 This train from Cardiff Central to Penzance in Cornwall had left Cardiff late and was quite well loaded. Interestingly I had a seat reservation, Coach C Seat 78, but although the seat was vacant that was only luck since the reservation wasn’t shown on the on board display above the seat. (GWR+Saturday again?). Anyway it got to Bristol Temple Meads 19 minutes late so I got a refund of… 90 pence. Not enough for a coffee sadly.

 

Pilning ✓

 

I headed into Bristol city centre to buy a brush to remove at least some of Gloucestershire from my boots and jeans and then get something to eat. I had intended to return to the Nova Scotia later but frankly I was knackered having totted up a dozen miles walking and fortunately I had made provision in the handy fridge in my hotel room for such an eventuality. And that’s a really big television at the foot of the bed to fall asleep in front of.

 

Flickr Photos from the trip.

 

 

 

 

Not-so-super Superloop

 21st March 2024

I'm late to the party as usual but have finally ridden on part of the new Superloop branded TfL express bus service. The experience was ... well not that super to be honest. I was in Kenton early evening and wanted to get back to Hounslow West, not in any huge hurry, and the TfL Go app suggested a number of different routes involving combinations of Overground, bus, and Tube and then a step-free suggestion of the Superloop.

Well it was new and shiny and I had the time so why not? It started off well, the 18:10  SL10 rocking up on time for the one stop to Harrow Bus Station and lightly loaded enough to get a top deck front seat. We arrived at Harrow Bus Station with more than enough time to catch the next SL9 Harrow to Heathrow departure and there was an SL9 laying over at the back of the bus station ready to go. Which is where it stayed for the next 10 minutes - despite the app showing it as "due" at Harrow Bus station Stop B - while a large, jostling crowd gathered on the narrow foot-way at Stop B. Eventually it came out of the bus station and... drove straight past. The route indicators no longer displaying "SL9 Heathrow Airport Central" but simply "Transport for London". The crowd continued to swell, scrums forming to board other services at Stop B until another SL9 appeared about 10 minutes later behind a 114 that was already occupying Stop B. The British have a reputation for queuing which at this point they decided to disprove and there was a general melee for another 5 minutes or more until the "New Routemaster" bus was full. I mean full too, standing room only full, and as became apparent when we moved off, scraping the humps and bumps in the road full because these buses have very little ground clearance. 

Off we went into the evening traffic. By Northolt Station I had at least got a seat due to a few passengers alighting albeit not with a window view. Those who alighted were replaced by as many boarding so it was still a full load. Through Yeading and the bright lights of Hayes we went, delayed at several points and now running about 10 minutes late although no longer as tightly packed in. Then it happened. I could hear the conversation between the driver and the control as they told him to terminate at Harlington Corner instead of going all the way to Heathrow Airport, which he questioned, as was told there was another SL9 two to three minutes behind which would pick up any passengers wanting to continue. There was no announcement of the change and the on board displays and audio continued unchanged stating SL9 to Heathrow Airport Central. As we approached Harlington Corner a passenger who had evidently had a good afternoon in the bar went forward to ask if this was the last stop before the airport then returned to inform us "we're all being turfed off here" and sure enough, still without any announcement, the bus pulled into Stop J at Harlington Corner, the hazard lights went on, and the remaining passengers were indeed turfed off.

Sure enough two or three minutes later another SL9 bus rounded the corner... and drove straight past without stopping. Now this wasn't a problem for me as Harlington Corner was where I was to change to the 81 to Hounslow but it did leave quite a few people standing at the side of the road consulting the timetable on the bus stop pole or on their phones and trying to work out their next move to continue their journey. I wonder how many of them were late for work at Heathrow? At least no one had the sort of baggage that indicated they were on their way to catch a flight.

So the Superloop isn't that super and I'm sure it's very useful - as the loading on this SL9 showed - but it still suffers all the uncertainties of other TfL buses but stops in fewer places.

Anyway, that's SL10 and SL9 ticked off.

• Route SL1 - North Finchley to Walthamstow
• Route SL2 - Walthamstow Central to North Woolwich
• Route SL3 - Thamesmead to Bromley
• Route SL4 - Canary Wharf to Grove Park
• Route SL5 - Bromley to Croydon
• Route SL6 - Russell Square to West Croydon (peak services only)
• Route SL7 - Croydon to Heathrow Airport
• Route SL8 - Uxbridge to White City
• Route SL9 - Heathrow Airport to Harrow
• Route SL10 - Harrow to North Finchley

Though I've no intention of riding it all the way round like Geoff Marshall did.

The Biggest Working Steam Engine In The World

Saturday 16th March

 

and I paid another visit to Kempton Steam Museum to see what is believed to be the largest running steam engine in the world. Located in the Kempton Park Water Works in the New Engine House (completed in 1929) the Sir William Prescott Engine is 62 feet tall, weighs 800 tons and is named after the then chairman of the Metropolitan Water Board.

One weekend a month from March to November the museum have a steaming weekend on which they run the huge triple expansion steam engine that once supplied fresh drinking water to much of London. If it looks familiar that might be because it has stood in on film on several occasions for the engines of RMS Titanic, whose engines were very similar but are now unavailable for filming 😉

As well as The Sir William Prescott the museum contains two steam turbine pumps (not working) and a wealth of other associated waterworks equipment to see and lots of information and audiovisuals to keep the kids amused.

 

At the other end of the engine house sits The Lady Bessie Prescott Engine. This is the second of the pair and is not currently running, which means they give free guided tours of it from top to bottom. I've been up it before but not this time as the next free slot wasn't for about two and a half hours alas 🙁 The museum hope to have Lady Bessie running as well within the next five years 🙂

If you can get to Kempton Park for a steaming weekend do it, you're not going to see its like anywhere else.

Flickr Album from two visits here.

 

Rustival

9th March 2024

 

Clapped out to concours every vehicle is welcome! was the strap-line for a very different car show organised by British Youtubers Ian and Carly from HubNut, Matt from Furious Driving and Steph from idriveaclassic. Rustival was held at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, Warwickshire, a nicely central location with good access to the motorway network and only about 90 minutes drive away for me. I follow two of the organisers channels and fancied a Saturday trip out. Now I don’t have a particularly interesting car but that’s rather the point of Rustival - all wheels are welcome - and since it was also cheaper to go as an exhibitor than as a general visitor I booked my space. I even gave the car a wash and polish a couple of days before, something that happens… shall we say infrequently? 

 

Exhibitors were allocated into two car park areas named Van den Plas and Mayfair, I was allocated to Mayfair and entry was from 10:00 a.m. I arrived a little before 10:15 and the exhibitor areas were mostly full by that time so I was parked up almost at the far edge of the show. 

 

 

 

 It looks a little lonely here but the area quickly filled and my Toyota RAV4 Hybrid was framed by a Porsche 944 and a Vauxhall the details of which I cannot now recall. I’d been a little concerned that my boring and reliable modern car would look a little out of place but it was far from the newest car present. As far as I could tell it was, surprisingly, the only RAV4 present. As my sister pointed out it was bound to win the prize for “Car I’m Most Likely To Go Home In” :-)

 

I’d planned ahead and taken a flask and a picnic lunch because who wants to spend time queuing at the burger van when you can be checking out the exhibits? So first I took a cup of coffee for a walk around the Mayfair section which contained some interesting, ordinary, and rare cars

 

 

 

 and other vehicles, not all of which had seen wax or polish recently

 

 

 

which sums up the ethos of the show nicely.

 

I popped back to my car and ate lunch then headed down to the Van den Plas area where the various Youtubers’ displays, portable stage, stalls, and a lot more exhibits were located.

 

 

 

 And I spent the next few hours wandering around looking at what everyone had brought and chatting with or listening to exhibitors and visitors. There was getting on for 900 cars exhibited and although my ticket included entry to the British Motor Museum I never actually made it indoors (though I have visited before). Time flew and soon it was nearly 3 o’clock, prizes were being awarded

 

 

 

 and it was almost time to head home. Particularly since I set my alarm for 0600, woken at 0355, and failed to get back to sleep before it was time to get up so having been mostly on my feet I was starting to flag.

 

A couple of my show highlights:

 

 

 

 This Austin A40 Farina Mk1. I’m always going to be drawn towards one of these as a 1961 Countryman model was my first car. The young lady owner of this example has also adapted it into one of the smallest micro-campers I’ve ever come across. So that’s my choice for car of the show because I’m partisan :-)

 

 

 

This slightly scary Reliant Robin based trials car, complete with quite a lot of countryside still stuck to it from its last trials event. The gent who owns and built it was happy to explain to visitors the why’s and wherefores of his creation and yes, it’s street-legal and yes he drove it to and from Rustival so I guess he was as glad as anyone else that we had fine weather on Saturday!

 

Here’s 63 photos that I took on the day in a Flickr Album

 

 

 

 Rustival was a great success and the organisers plan to do it again next year so I hope to do it again too, I’ll be keeping an eye on https://www.rustival.co.uk/ and suggest you do as well if you’re interested in all types of cars not just the “special” ones.

Battersea Power Station Light Festival 2024

30th January 2024

More winter lights, this time at the shopping mall that was formerly Battersea Power Station.

I made a wee video.

I also took some photos, available in this Flickr Album.

Verdict: Worth a look if you're nearby or really like this sort of thing. Could be a bit underwhelming if you've come a long way. Battersea Power Station has much too high ambient light levels to really pull this sort of display off.

Canary Wharf Winter Lights 2024

19th January 2024

A quick look around the Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival for 2024. It was bloody cold and I'm glad I arrived early to avoid most of the crowds.

There's a bunch of photos here on Flickr

Walking from Roding Valley to Hainault

5th January 2024

This was the first day of 2024 on which there seemed to be a low risk of getting seriously wet. Wanting to relieve the winter cabin fever I took a long ride on the Piccadilly and Central Lines to a station I’d never been to before. It’s a station that most people haven’t been to either as Roding Valley is the least used tube station with only 259,271 entries and exits according to the latest official figures, 2022 at the time of writing. (Station Usage Data" (XLSX). Usage Statistics for London Stations, 2022. Transport for London. 4 October 2023.) So I’ve added 1 to whatever the 2023 figure turns out to be.

 

 

 

 Served by the Central Line Woodford to Hainault shuttle there’s not a lot at Roding Valley station - not even a ticket barrier just Oyster/Contactless validators which must affect the accuracy of those entry and exit figures a little. I arrived from Woodford a little before half past midday a little disappointed not to have ridden on the newly refurbished train with its new moquette which is supposed to be running on the shuttle service. 

 

My “plan” was to take a short walk to either Grange Hill or Hainault and then head back into London again. I’d plotted a route on my phone which took me via Loughton Rugby Club, a short way along the River Roding under the Central Line to a bridge over the river and along Luxborough Lane to cross over the M11. Having crossed the edge of the rugby field I found that the Roding had other ideas.

 

 

 

 There was about six or seven feet of the path flooded to “needs wellies” depth so I retraced my steps and found an alternative route via Ray Park, crossing over the river and under the M11 at Woodford Bridge, pausing for coffee at Costa on Chigwell Road. 

 

 

 

 Suitably caffeinated and having taken advantage of the other facilities I carried on past St. Paul’s Church and across the green by the pond then continued along Manor Road towards Grange Hill. A fairly busy road but with broad pavements and more importantly dry underfoot.

 

 

 

 Manor Road is peak Chigwell, isn’t it? Lined with very large detached properties behind big, often ornate gates mostly electrically powered. The front “gardens” nearly all paved over and accommodating a range of exotic or just large cars, many sporting personalised registration numbers (or twat-plates as I can’t help thinking of them). Visible alarm systems and CCTV adorn most of the houses. Every so often they’d got the builders in, refurbishing or extending the houses and blocking the footway with vans or skips. OK **** we’ll just walk in the busy road then shall we? Crossing the A23 the houses become more standard suburban fare and have suburban streets behind rather tan the golf course. On the opposite side of the road St. Winifred’s Church looks oddly utilitarian but is in parts at least older than it looks.

 

 

 

 I carried on along this less ostentatious part of Manor Road to Grange Hill Station. I could have got back on the Central Line here but Hainault is only a little further and I’d have needed to change trains there anyway. In fact the walk would have been shorter had I gone to Hainault directly but then I’d have missed the opportunity to make the obvious  low flying sausage joke. 

 

 

 

 So I passed by the station and turned down Long Green continuing along the alleyway at the end parallel to the railway. Rather unexpectedly there’s a World War II pillbox fortification here and a line of concrete tank obstacles along the edge of the line.

 

 

 

 The alleyway emerges into Robina Close amongst blocks of flats and then via Clinton Crescent to New North Road where I turned right to Hainault Station entrance under the railway bridge.

 

 

 

 Hainault has some unusual tiled station name boards on the platforms which I thought reminiscent of a mid 20th century domestic fireplace particularly with the spaces intended for posters being mostly empty.

 

 

 

 From the platforms the footbridge you can see the entrance to the Central Line Hainault Depot just north of the station. There are three platforms, one seems to be for the Woodford shuttle and the other two for trains towards London. Checking the next departures on both the TFL Go app and Google Maps showed completely different platform numbers to those actually being used so I followed everyone else onto the train at platform 3 that said it was bound for Ealing Broadway even though both apps said it was leaving from platform 1!

 

 

 

Roding valley ticked off I went to Gants Hill next but that’s another story.