Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Railways

Gdansk Group Trip – Day 0 (Norwich to Stansted Airport via London Liverpool Street)

After a successful little sojourn in the Queen of the Iceni we meandered back to Norwich railway station amidst a deluge of torrential rain. There were no issues with late running trains, whatever issue there had been at Romford had been resolved. I do little some adventure when things go wrong, but on this occasion I was just keen to get to Poland without too many issues. It’s more interesting to watch other people have random adventures when things go IRROPS anyway.

There’s our train on the right, ready to board half an hour before departure.

A suitably decadent meal deal from the Co-op of roast beef monster munch, a prawn sandwich and a Dr Pepper, for only just a little bit more than the Tesco version would have cost. I intended to save all this for when I got to Stansted Airport, but I finished the crisps before we left the railway station and the sandwich by the time we reached Ipswich. All the food and drink met my expectations and I also successfully completed the Gogen puzzle in the Evening Standard. I was going to do the cryptic crossword as well but I didn’t know any of the answers.

Our train arrived in at 22:55, just five minutes before the Greggs at Liverpool Street station closed. Fortunately, they were still opening with no early closing going on here. This is the first time that I’ve been here (at this outlet, I’ve obviously been to Greggs before, I’m not a heathen), I was surprised and delighted at the friendly service and how much they had left just before closing which I think goes off to the homeless. All very efficient.

And a sausage roll safely acquired.

I toasted the King’s Coronation weekend with my sausage roll.

I mutter and moan about the Stansted Express train operating the Norwich to London Liverpool Street mainline, not least because it has no tables. This is though its natural home and I thought this would be a good time to eat my sausage roll, I had waited long enough.

I can cope with this lack of table provision on the relatively short journey from London Liverpool Street to Stansted.

It wasn’t overly busy fortunately.

And safely at Stansted Airport railway station just after midnight, with only several hours left before we can go through security. This isn’t the ideal situation, but who needs the luxury of hotels at Stansted when you can meander around the terminal and coach station for a few hours to amuse yourselves? The main thing is that we had arrived safely, ready for the flight in the morning and the delights of Gdansk.

May 10, 2023
Harwich – Greater Anglia Train from Norwich to Harwich

Today’s little pub, history and walking expedition is to Harwich since I thought that I needed a day out. I noticed on-line that the London train before mine was cancelled so thought I’d rush down in anticipation of the actual service I was booked on being full. Fortunately, I got a table just in time so was able to merrily type away for an hour or so. The service inevitably got busier and I got chatting to a confused passenger (they weren’t confused by me, or at least I don’t think so) who wondered why the train was so busy. We then shared our thoughts about Greater Anglia, which is a healthy scepticism I would say mixed with a supportive attitude.

My train arrived into Manningtree on time, but since it was a tight connection I didn’t get time to have a look around the railway station.

Looking to the left, the train was empty. Something of a contrast to the standing room only of the train that I had just disembarked.

Looking to the right, the train was empty. Now, I know I complain, but I hate it when they shove five seats in across. They’re so narrow that it effectively takes out the middle seat of the three so I disagree that there’s any benefit in terms of passenger numbers. Indeed, they’ve just made it more uncomfortable for everyone as it’s hard to navigate down the aisle and there’s a reason why trains traditionally have four seats across.

A couple of other people got on and then got off again at the gateway to the globe railway station that is Harwich International.

I do love a bit of history and they’ve made an effort with the boards at Harwich Town. The sign notes that between December 1938 and May 1940 that 10,000 unaccompanied children came to Britain from Europe. Although many people were involved, it is impossible for me not to mention the work done by Sir Nicholas Winton, someone that I consider to be one of the greatest people of the twentieth century. The relevance is that the children arrived here at Harwich and many stayed locally.

Another board about the Kindertransport.

I’ve been watching a lot of Hi-de-Hi recently and I didn’t realise that the programme was filmed at Warners which wasn’t far from the railway station, but unfortunately it was all demolished in 1992. That was a suitable treat to feel so near to where all this comedy action took place.

It’s a pretty railway station and it’s at the end of the Mayflower Line, with the building being rebuilt between 1865 and 1866.

And an information board at the front of the station, it all felt more remote than I had expected with all this greenery. But I had arrived into Harwich on time and ready to explore the town for my first time in recent years.

April 4, 2023
Thursday : London to Luton by Train

Starting the day at the Linton hotel in Luton, I was moderately perplexed why they installed all the power points the wrong way up. Not that I suppose it matters much in the grand scale of things, but I like having things to be perplexed about. It’s a slightly strange set-up throughout the room, they seem to put the beds up against the wall when they’re not in use.

Breakfast was included in the room rate and it was all a bit odd. I got just about the last table, even though I was there at 07:00 when they started serving. There were juices and bread to toast, which took about four minutes in the toaster (not the juices), whilst the rest of the meal was cooked to order. There was no choice, the overwhelmed staff member went from table to table saying “what would you like for breakfast?”. He was polite, but just about everyone replied they hadn’t seen the menu. He replied “there’s a full English breakfast or toast” which a couple of people declined so I assumed they expected something else.

It’s not my favoured choice of breakfast as it’s all a bit stodgy, and it was a little barren on the plate, although the quality was OK, but it was nothing particularly exciting.

The hotel is keenly priced though, I would stay there again if I was in Luton and it was the cheapest option.

It’s about a twenty minute walk from the hotel into the town centre of Luton and it goes under this really rather well designed underpass. Numerous images representing the history and culture of the town, it was impressively free from vandalism. What is more impressive is that it has been there since November 1998.

Luton 2040 and the mission statement for the future is apparently:

“In 2040, our vision is for Luton to be a vibrant, fair, and prosperous town where people can live their lives to the fullest. We will all achieve our potential and reduce inequality. A town where no one lives in poverty.”

Very noble.

Luton town hall and war memorial. This town hall was completed in 1936, built on the site of the previous building, which had been raided and set on fire during rioting in July 1919. What was annoying for the authorities wasn’t just the huge loss of an asset, but the disruption to the provision of services to locals and also it took place on Peace Day.

There was a week-long court trial and a debate about whether it was technically a riot, but it was decided that it was. 28 men were sent to trial, 9 were found not guilty, 2 were bound over, 16 received prison sentences of between two months and eighteen months and 1 man was sent to prison for three years. The longest sentence, and for one of the most violent of the men involved, was Frederick Plater, a 27 year old labourer who was not only found guilty of destroying property, but also assaulting a fireman. He sounds nice… What is perhaps worse about Plater is that his child had been born the month before. He remained living in Luton until his death in 1943, so he saw the new building constructed. He lived at 69 Chase Street, so his route into the town centre was the same one that I took from the hotel.

Anyway, I had a train to catch. It’s not the most glamorous of railway stations. The railway station has been on this site since Midland Railway built it in 1868, although it was rebuilt in the 1930s. There was once another railway station (operated by GNR) located almost opposite, Bute Street which remained in usage until the 1960s when it was pulled down.

At least the waiting room had power points.

The East Midlands Railway (EMR) service from Luton to London St. Pancras, which only cost £5 as I booked in advance, which I thought was rather excellent value for money. The train also had plenty of space, although the interiors of these trains need ripping out, although EMR do note that “by 2024, we will operate our new fleet – which includes our state of the art Aurora InterCity trains”.

It had been a relatively busy service, the train I arrived on is on the right hand side of the photo. Those two trains on the left are the Meridians which will likely be withdrawn next year and replaced by the Aurora Class 810 trains. I’d add that I didn’t know that, I looked it up.

There was quite a wait to get through the barriers, and I’ve wondered before why we can’t be more like the European mainland where they rarely have barriers. They don’t really deter fare evaders, it’s easy to get through the barriers without a ticket.

I had a free Greggs coffee with my O2 app, which meant watching the world go by in St. Pancras for ten minutes.

A quick stop at the Euston Tap.

They had some rather decadent options, but they don’t serve in thirds, so I didn’t get the Fatal Deviation from Whiplash. Without wanting to sound like someone who is too easily annoyed, I must admit to thinking slightly less of them for not serving in thirds, it limits people from trying more beers, so I will probably find another favourite pub in the area. The staff are friendly and engaging though, there’s a nice atmosphere at this pub.

The Dennis Hopp’r from Mondo, a decent enough IPA.

Then off to North London on the delights of the 253 bus.

The bus interior, I noted quietly that the driver went through two red lights which didn’t seem ideal.

The Coronet pub, operated by JD Wetherspoon, in Holloway.

The grand interior of what was the Savoy when it opened in 1940, then later an ABC cinema which remained open until 1983. JD Wetherspoon have done what appears to me to be a excellent job here, very sensitive to the heritage of the building.

The Orange Zeus from Twickenham Fine Ales, not exceptionally reviewed, but I rather liked the orange marmalade type taste. It was well-kept and at the appropriate temperature, with the usual low JD Wetherspoon prices.

And this is where the post ends, I’ll pick up on the story of the following day when it was time for the big Hike Norfolk trip to Canterbury that I had sort of organised. How exciting!

July 18, 2022
Monday and Tuesday : A Post About One Train Journey

Am I really going to post just about one train journey? Well, yes, I think I will….. After enjoying a healthy lunch of chips, battered sausage and curry sauce on Monday (and being very productive, which is why I’ve caught up on this blog amongst many other things) my Tuesday evening was all about getting the train from Norwich to Luton Airport Parkway. This blog has killer content, it really does, I can imagine the hordes of people wanting to read about such an exciting rail journey. Who needs stories about Amtrak journeys across the United States when you can read about a train journey from Norwich to Luton? Anyway.

The gleaming Norwich railway station at just before 21:00 on Tuesday evening. And to give context, my flight was on Wednesday lunchtime from Luton Airport and it’s an annoying airport to get to in the morning if not driving. There are no cheap rail tickets on Wednesday mornings as it’s part of the peak travel time, so going late the previous evening is really the only way.

This section of the Greater Anglia train always feels to me like part of a haunted house experience, or, at least when walking through it when the train is in motion. I also like the sign “through access only” as if there’s much else a passenger can do in there.

As it notes on the display, this is a service to Cambridge, which was the first part of the journey. I had partly hoped for a delay in the service so that I could claim Delay Repay, but as a spoiler, every part of the journey which involved three trains was on time to the minute.

Cambridge at 22:30, it’s not the busiest railway station at that time, but I like the slight eeriness that exists because of that.

There’s my service, the 22:44 to London King’s Cross. I did have a slight concern about power at this point, or I should specify I only mean mine, I was less concerned about the train’s general power requirements. I had charged every one of my devices at home and on the Greater Anglia train to Cambridge, but I knew that there were limited charging facilities on the final of the three trains and also at Luton Airport. And I knew I would be at Luton Airport for hours and hours.

The Great Northern train from King’s Lynn to London King’s Cross, which had about two people to each carriage.

The carriage had power points, which was a relief.

There’s a joke there about how hard northerners are, but readers can work out their own punchline.

The beautiful King’s Cross railway station. It’s nicer at night when there aren’t people faffing about everywhere.

It’s about a 40 second walk from King’s Cross to St. Pancras, so a delay to my journey here was unlikely.

The impressive station building of St. Pancras.

The final of the three trains, the East Midlands Railway service to Luton Airport Parkway.

No power points…. The guard on this train must have announced six times that passengers mustn’t put their feet on the seats and she then swept through the train warning miscreants who hadn’t paid attention to what she had said. I can see her point, it’s a problem which seems to be getting worse, passengers had their feet on seats on the previous two journeys, but there were no guards saying not to. I must say that the guard did get her way, I couldn’t see anyone breaking her rules. The train arrived in at 00:38, and as mentioned earlier, that was exactly when it was meant to, so no delay at any point for me. Given that I booked this train some weeks ago, and did wonder whether it would be caught up in strike action, arriving at 00:38 felt like a slight miracle.

One thing that isn’t made clear to passengers who get off at Luton Airport Parkway is that they can just walk the 15 minutes or so to the airport. I accept a lot of people won’t want to, especially if they have bags, but it’s very hard to find a way of the railway station at the rear to be able to walk there. There’s a big new development at the station, so it all might be getting easier, but at the moment, they try and get people to pay for the bus to take them to the airport. I got that once, but it’s not necessary for anyone who is happy to walk a relatively short distance. Anyone wanting to walk, just look out for the signs to Kimpton Road.

And here we are fifteen minutes later, the delights of Luton Airport. This will never be my favourite airport, but sometimes needs must….. That’s the story of that, no dramas, all very efficient and everything was clean and organised en route. As a side issue, if I won £150 million on the lottery (which is unlikely as I don’t end the lottery) I suppose that I would have just got the first train from Norwich to Luton Airport Parkway in the morning, but there’s something slightly more magical about travel that isn’t always easy and risk-free. Not that I say this journey was a piece of magical delight, but I do remember these pieces of travel so I must have some attachment to them.

July 7, 2022
Friday : Train Journey from Warsaw to Siedlce

My second morning at the Mercure Warsaw Airport hotel and I thought that I’d investigate the fruit section of the breakfast buffet, although I thought I’d better counterbalance that by popping to the pastry section as well. The Polish grow a lot of strawberries, for a period in the summer they seem to be everywhere. These breakfasts cost under £5 as well, very cost effective. As an aside, I’ve cut down to two meals per day in Poland, a large breakfast and one other meal during the day is sufficient even for me. I’ll report back as to whether that helps me lose any weight on this trip.

Waving goodbye to one of the best Accor hotels in the city, near to the airport and only a twenty minute tram journey to the city centre.

The tram stop is located just outside the hotel as well, making it all very accessible. And cheap, I mention frequently just how cheap Polish public transport is, but it’s about 70p for a single ticket.

As I was early (again), I thought I’d walk the final section of the way to Warszawa Śródmieście station, even though the tram went by it. I nearly got heatstroke though it was so hot. That was me pre-annoyed for the day.

My destination was Siedlce, so I appreciated the clear signage.

It’s a slightly different set-up in terms of platforms, as it’s single track and you can access the train from both sides. Back in the day, passengers got out one side and boarded on another, which was enforced until the 1980s. They don’t bother enforcing it now, it’s not really necessary either.

It’s all a little old-fashioned, the signage could do with some modernisation. This railway station was built between 1955 and 1963 and is connected to Warszawa Centralna station. As a practical piece of information, there’s also a ticket office, although I bought my ticket on-line. It cost just under £5 to get to Sieldce and I get a QR code that I can show on my phone, which the guard scans on the train.

It’s always a relief when the signage matches what I’m expecting it to say. Incidentally, the train’s final destination was Mińsk Mazowiecki, not Minsk in Belarus.

Here’s the train sweeping in, operated by Koleje Mazowieckie, or the Masovian Railways. It’s the regional rail company, owned by local Government, formerly part of the national PKP network. It’s a comfortable and well managed service, it always seems reliable.

This was a regional train and so I didn’t need to look for a reserved seat, which, to be honest, is normally a bit of a faff, I prefer being able to sit anywhere. There were plenty of seats available and so all was well. One other thing about these trains is they have little bin bags at every block of four seats, with the trains seeming to always be free from litter. The Polish network also doesn’t have barriers to enter railway stations, they just have guards who actually check tickets, with large fines for anyone who is found to be travelling without a ticket. I’ve wondered before if it would be easier to have that system in the UK, the cost of installing barriers and keeping staff by them isn’t cheap. I can’t recall seeing someone on a Polish train without a ticket, I’m not sure there’s much fare avoidance.

And I arrived safely! I’m going to cover the entirety of my three-night stay in Siedlce in one riveting post (readers should brace themselves for that excitement), so that’s as far as I’ll drivel on for the moment.

June 26, 2022
Wednesday : Toby Carvery Breakfast in Lincoln and Back to Norwich

I wasn’t overly sad to wave goodbye to the Travelodge in Lincoln, although I’d add that I rarely actually physically wave to a hotel as I don’t want people thinking that I’m a bit odd. Being someone that clearly doesn’t have enough to be properly annoyed about, I focus on wanting to say negative things about hotels that refuse to have windows that will open. But, there’s more to worry about in life I accept.

The breakfast at Travelodge was just under £10 per day and I’m not made of money, so I decided to come to the Toby Carvery where it’s all you can eat for £5.49.

There was a friendly welcome from the staff member, but I can’t say that it was particularly busy, perhaps five or six other customers in the entire restaurant. But if you’re going to an all you can eat buffet, the fewer people the better, as it means uninterrupted food grazing.

It’s all self-service, with bacon, sausages, Yorkshire puddings (but no gravy!!!!), potato & bacon hash.

Alongside fried eggs, mushrooms, beans and plum tomatoes. I really can’t complain at just over £5 and customers can go back as much as they like. Which I did, on numerous occasions as I’m quite greedy.

I’ll just link to one photo of food, as more than that is clearly excessive and arguably one photo is too much. The ingredients all tasted of a decent quality and I very much like restaurants which offer plum tomatoes as part of their breakfast offering. I also used the toaster here, which I’m normally scared of for fear of setting fire to the restaurant. Often these spit out bread which is still as raw as when it went in, but put it in again and it comes out blackened and smoking. The toaster arrangement here worked perfectly I’m pleased to report.

The only problem with the Toby Carvery set-up was that I was too thrifty to spend £3 on the unlimited coffee option, although that was partly because I prefer decaff and they didn’t seem to have that. That meant after an hour of over-dosing myself on salt from the bacon I had to rush to the JD Wetherspoon nearby to get about ten decaff coffees for £1.20. Bargain.

The former site of St. Mark’s railway station in Lincoln. As I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago, this railway station was demolished in the 1980s as it was really surplus to requirements. It dates back to when the railways were constructed, which was by rival companies rather than having an integrated transport plan in mind. This is St. Mark’s Obelisk which was originally built between 1762 and 1763 and was on High Bridge, being designed to be a water conduit. It was placed in storage before the Second World War, but was integrated into this shopping centre in the 1990s when the shopping centre was being constructed.

This map (clicking on the image makes it a little bigger) from around 100 years ago shows just how ridiculous the situation was and it’s surprising that the set-up lasted for so long. Two railway stations within a two-minute walk, which kept blocking road and pedestrian traffic trying to go down the city’s main road. I rarely say that removing a railway station is a sensible idea, but in this case, it was.

Central Market had lost its way a little over recent years and a decline in footfall has led to a decision to remodel and modernise the building. For anyone interested, there’s more information about that at https://www.lincoln.gov.uk/news/article/202/works-to-refurbish-lincoln-central-market-begin.

This is the Greyfriars building, or specifically the former infirmary of the Franciscan monastery. Most of the monastery buildings were taken down after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but this one survived and was later used for numerous purposes, including a school and a Mechanics’ Institute. The building is now owned by the council who were using it as a museum, but for reasons unknown, they’ve decided to almost abandon this historic structure and stop people visiting it. There are though finally plans to reverse that decision and some of these ideas seem very exciting and interesting, with more information at https://www.heritagelincolnshire.org/projects/greyfriars-in-lincoln.

Back at Lincoln railway station for a cheap train to Norwich, changing at Peterborough.

Every time I see signs for the University of Lincoln I think of the Inbetweeners.

The East Midlands Railway train to Peterborough, which wasn’t particularly busy.

Table seat and laptop, what more could I need on a train….

Feeling slightly decadent, and not having long to change train, I went to the Waitrose by Peterborough railway station. I spent 60p on flavoured water and also pondered how expensive everything in the store was. I think I’ve spent too long in Poland, if that’s possible (technically, it is possible thanks to the limits of my Schengen Visa, but I won’t get political again here).

And the train to Norwich, another East Midlands Railway (or whatever they’re called, I get muddled up) service which wasn’t too busy, so I got a table seat. No power points that wasn’t entirely ideal, but you can’t have everything….. I enjoyed Lincoln, plenty of decent pubs, no shortage of history and a Toby Carvery in the city centre. I was fortunate to get cheap rail fares, and also a Travelodge at a reasonable price, because this is quite rightly a popular tourist destination.

June 15, 2022
Sunday : Off to Peterborough on the Train

Using the railways seemed exciting a few weeks ago, there was a rail sale, the network seemed in good shape and I got a ticket to go from Norwich to Peterborough for just £4. Rolling forwards, there looks like a summer of turbulence on the rail network with strikes and other outages, it’s really not ideal for those without cars. On a brighter note (for me, as I’m not sure anyone else would care), this was the first day with my new phone, so the photo quality may, or indeed may not, be marginally better. Just to show how unobservant I am, this is the first time that I’ve noticed you can sponsor a flower box (or whatever they’re called) in front of the railway station.

The train on the left is going to London Liverpool Street and the train on the right, which I was catching, was going to Liverpool Lime Street. I mention this as the conductor made three announcements on board about the difference, so there must have been a number of passengers getting confused. It made me wonder which destination I’d prefer, and I’d be happy with either, but I think it’s time that I go to Liverpool again. Although there’s a direct train there, it’s usually cheaper and even quicker to go down to London and back up. Actually, it’s a shame that the conductor didn’t give some numbers about how many people got on the wrong train, to spice the story up a bit. Is this a regular problem he has?

It was a relatively quiet service and these trains must be some of the last not to have power sockets of some kind. The conductor, who seemed quite chatty with his announcements, also mentioned at Ely not to be worried that the train goes into the railway station in one direction and then back again in reverse on the same track. I have mentioned to people in the past not to be worried about this (not pro-actively, I don’t tell people on the off-chance they don’t know, they have to look concerned for me to intervene) so I liked that the conductor explained the reversing technique used here.

We arrived on time into Peterborough and this pleased me, as there’s little point in hoping for Delay Repay when the ticket only costs £4. I’ve been to Peterborough on numerous occasions before and surprised and delighted my readers (or reader) with stories of the previous expeditions, so I won’t linger unnecessarily.

The frontage of Peterborough Cathedral, one of the more underrated religious buildings in the country. Incidentally, I was pleased during lock-down to be asked by the cathedral if they could some of my previous photos on their blog, always useful to know someone is reading something on here.

I didn’t go in again, but I’d recommend going in as it’s free of charge, and the guided tour is only £5 and that gives an extra depth to the history of the building.

The main square in Peterborough, with the sun still shining.

Back in the Travelodge at Peterborough and they kindly gave me a heap of milks and decaff coffees on request. Richard decided to come to Peterborough for the evening, reliving his nearly weekly trips to London last year to hear what gossip was going on about him, and we were both highly amused (admittedly one of us more than the other) when he found that in his room they hadn’t put any cups, coffees or teas, although they had remembered the kettle.

After Richard had arrived into Peterborough and had a good laugh about his room (and got replacement things at reception), we had a quick walk around the Cathedral.

When I visited Peterborough before a couple of years ago, my favourite bar was Stoneworks. The service here was excellent again, but I don’t like entirely their way of displaying beers, it’s not easy to read like that, but they also don’t mention what type of beer each one is. The staff member did offer recommendations, but it’d be much better to display whether it’s a sour, porter, IPA, or whatever.

Trying to unpick their menu, and they really should be on Untappd, meant I ended up with the Sup from Whiplash, which was fine, but I’d had it before, and I suspect there were better options on the menu. No doubt Nathan would have been able to tell me what every beer was, since he seems to have stored most of Untappd in his memory. The bar has quite a rustic design to it and it’s also one of those places which feels ideal for a relaxed Sunday afternoon, so I still like Stoneworks and would recommend it. And I also like the effort they’ve made in having branded glasses.

A perhaps slightly over-engineered sculpture which is meant to commemorate Henry Penn, a local man who cast bells in his foundry. There’s plenty more information about this man and his work at https://www.pennhenry.co.uk/. And I can’t really complain about this artwork, even though I just did, as it taught me something new and that can’t be a bad thing. By writing that, I more mean that artworks should educate or inspire in general, not be specifically designed to teach just me things. I have to clarify, as otherwise someone will email me.

Next was a repeat visit for me to Charters, which has a bar and restaurant on different floors.

I’m pleased to say that Richard didn’t get seasick, although I think the boat is pretty rigidly placed in the water and doesn’t much move at all.

As a comment more about my phone camera, I’m pleased that it doesn’t blur the light around bulbs and the image quality is much cleaner than my previous phone. Technology is moving on quickly and it’s hard to see how phone cameras will be able to improve in the future, although I’m sure that they will.

The boat sitting (I’m not very nautical, I don’t know the official term) happily in the River Nene.

I made a mistake here as I was excited to see a bar in Peterborough where I hadn’t been and listed its beer on Untappd. We decided to spend some time here after popping into the Wetherspoons next door where I could choose what beers I wanted from their Untappd listings. To cut a long story short, we entered Blind Tiger and they then told us that they were closing so couldn’t serve us. In fairness, they closed at their advertised time of 20:00, I just hadn’t guessed that they’d shut so early on a Sunday, which is my fault, not theirs. I was disappointed, I was already expecting to write in some detail (it’s relatively rare to find any venue in provincial towns that list their beers on Untappd, and rarer to find their logo on the window) about the bar, but, it wasn’t to be. It also meant that I didn’t go anywhere new during the evening, but there we go, this was near to being a venue that I would have perhaps returned to on many occasions.

It was too early to go back, so we went to the Ostrich Inn pub where the service was friendly and attentive. I’m puzzled by the placement of this board, as I couldn’t read it when we got to the pub because people were seated in front of it. It’s a nicely laid out board when visible though.

I won’t linger writing about the pub given I already have in the past, but I went for the Chop & Change from Vocation Brewery which was well kept. There’s an informal atmosphere to this pub and although its live music isn’t my thing, it’s clearly got a strong backing from the local community. Some interesting decor, history about the venue and a laid-back vibe, all rather lovely.

And photos of Peterborough whilst playing with my new phone, checking how they came out in the dark, and I thought the photos looked OK. Expect to see lots more photos in the near dark over the coming weeks until I get bored on testing the image quality.

And a final drink of the night in the College Arms, a JD Wetherspoon pub, where I went for a well-kept Benchmark from Bedlam Brewery, alongside a rather delicious pack of Mini Cheddars. It shows how decadent Richard is, not only did he order a jug of cocktail, but he also then complained when he didn’t get a glass. I think many of their customers would have happily drunk their cocktail either directly from the jug or by using the straw, but Richard was having none of it.

June 11, 2022
Sunday : Hike Norfolk Canal Walk and Pizza at Franco Manca

The day started with breakfast at the Heathrow T5 Holiday Inn Express in what is a busy airport hotel and I think I took this photo at the quietest possible moment. This is all high volume turnover food and drink, but it’s all brand standard and what I expected from the chain. I like airport hotels for numerous reasons, and not just because it often means that I’m going away, but because there are people of different nationalities talking either about their excitement for going on a trip or talking about the one that they’ve been on. There were plenty of Americans in this hotel, not perhaps surprising given it’s an IHG property.

The bacon was odd, one side was slightly burnt and the other side was only just cooked, but it was very moreish and I think I rather overdid them and promptly got a salt overdose. That banana isn’t mine, Ross went for that. I didn’t say anything though. Given that the breakfast was included in the room rate, I thought that it was all quite reasonable, I did enjoy the bacon and sausages.

I would have usually taken this photo the previous evening, but it was a bit dark then…. The hotel is unlikely to win any design awards for its exterior, but the staff were helpful and I had no complaints about the stay.

It was a bus to Hounslow West (fortunately there’s a bus stop a short distance away from the hotel), which took longer than I had anticipated, the Bath Road certainly has a lot of stops. Ross got off at Holborn to change to the Central Line to go back home, whereas I had the Hike Norfolk walking day which meant that I stayed on the Piccadilly Line until King’s Cross.

After getting a quick free coffee, I started to walk along the Regent’s Canal from the King’s Cross area to meet the others. I didn’t rush, as the further I walked then the further I had to walk back and I had a very heavy bag after a few weeks away. Indeed, I had quite of little sit downs whilst letting the others walk towards me.

These gas holders at King’s Cross were modernised to be used as housing, this shows real innovation and respect for the local environment and its heritage. The one in Norwich was just pulled down in what I considered to be an appalling decision, but there we go. Mind you, although the properties are properly really lovely to live in, the prices start at £725,000 and there are sizeable annual service charges, so I think I’ll stay living in Norwich.

I could hear them coming (this is a video, if it doesn’t auto-play, then click on the image) as it’s fair to say that there are some loud members of the group. As I am the sole of discretion, I won’t mention any names. The walk was led by the formidable Steve along the route of the Regent’s Canal, which is 8.6 miles long and goes from Paddington in the west to the Limehouse Basin in the east. For my loyal followers, I reccied some of this walk with Steve and Bev a few weeks ago.

Dancing on graves isn’t usually acceptable behaviour, but it is here in Joseph Grimaldi Park. We diverted here because I knew of its existence, and I’ve written about it before.

The canal walk in mid-flow.

There were lots of opportunities for photos whilst walking.

A lock and I do enjoy watching boats navigate through these, always slightly relieved it’s not me that has to be in charge of that process. It looks quite complex and I’m not sure that I’d find a holiday on a boat relaxing if I had to do this more than once. I don’t think that I’m a born mariner though.

The lovely Sarah posing for photos. She was bravely walking the Rodent Wriggle the following week and was just a little nervous, but I did my best to offer helpful advice (did I mention that I’ve walked the LDWA 100?) and I’m pleased that I’m sure that I was useful as she completed it.

I went to the pub as I had a heavy bag and couldn’t be bothered walking any further (we had finished the Regent’s Canal early so Steve thought of another short walk he could lead), well, and I love pubs. This is the Craft Beer Co outlet at Limehouse, which again, I’ve written about before. The music was setting up and I helped pass over a couple of wires, which I think nearly defines me as a roadie (although perhaps I’ve rather under-estimated what they actually do).

I decided to leave at 16:00 with no disrespect to the musicians, but I’m not big on live music in pubs.

After a quick ride on the DLR and then a 15 minute walk (which I rushed in case the others got food before I got there), I caught up with the rest of the group in central London as they were looking for food options and they had chosen Franco Manca, partly because nowhere else was serving food. I had heard of this chain, which has about 60 outlets in the UK, but never visited and so thought this was an interesting choice.

The pizza was reasonably priced and suitably decadent, I was surprised and delighted. Mine was served first, so I had additional reason to like this restaurant. I went for the lightly smoked beechwood spicy salami with organic tomatoes, caramelised red onions and homemade chilli oil. Indeed, I’m making myself hungry two weeks on just thinking about that. I’d come here again, with the pizzas costing under £10 which is very reasonable for central London.

A successful meal I’d say (I didn’t hear any complaints), which meant that we just had a short walk back to London Liverpool Street railway station. They also had numerous charging points, which was handy to reinvigorate my numerous devices.

Steve posing at Liverpool Street, where we had a suitable rest whilst waiting for the train. I had been away for some time, including trips to Nuremberg and Barcelona, as well as a hike up a Welsh mountain on a challenge event, so I was ready to return home.

Boarding the train home, which was suitably uneventful other than for Andy accidentally punching someone, but I’m pleased to say that as it was an accident he wasn’t arrested by British Transport Police. I didn’t mind too much arriving back on time, as usually I look forwards to claiming the Delay Repay, but there was no delay on this service. And, as I’ve moaned about before when they put the bloody Stansted Express service on, I’m pleased to report there were tables and we had an appropriate train.

With that, it was good to be home and thanks to Steve for a really rather lovely day in London.

May 24, 2022
Sunday : Offa’s Twisted Wye Kanter LDWA Challenge Event and Back to London
I might have gotten a little carried away again, this post is mostly about the Offa’s Twisted Wye Kanter LDWA challenge event and I managed to take 155 photos…. For anyone who wants to see them, they’re at https://flickr.com/photos/julianwhite-uk/albums/72177720298765447.

The NEC had met in Bristol the previous day and three of us, Julie, Bill and I went to do this challenge event in south Wales, with Stuart coming along to help with the marshalling. We were fortunate to get a lift with Bill’s son and partner, as the train options seemed a little challenging to get to the start before lunchtime. It was quite sad to leave the comfort of the Novotel in Bristol, but the sun was shining and the walk looked a good one.

As some background, Offa’s Twisted Wye Kanter is an event run by South Wales LDWA and it took place in 2017, 2018 and 2019. It’s back this year and there were four different routes and it uses routes such as Offa’s Dyke, Wye Valley Walk, Wales Coast Path and Gloucestershire Way. As some added excitement, there was also a series of questions from key points along the walk although GPX and route descriptions were available as well. Having a GPX is fortunate, this is the way that I like to navigate….

After a quick snack of toast at the beginning of the event, I mentioned to Dave and anyone who I suspected might listen that I was being very brave taking part. The trained sympathiser that I had asked for wasn’t available, but the volunteers at the event were endlessly helpful and supportive. After a final failed effort to swap with Stuart so that I could sit and eat cake whilst he went walking, it was time to collect my tally card for the adventure ahead.

And off we go through the sunny town centre of Chepstow.

I don’t think that I’ve been to Chepstow before, but I will go again as there are numerous things worth seeing including pubs and also the impressive castle, which apparently is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. It seems a charming town, with plenty of information about its history, definitely worth another visit.

Unfortunately, Chepstow is in the footlands of mountains, with this being a long slog up the hill although the locals have kindly provided a bench. I messaged Stuart here asking for a car to pick me up, but that request was refused. I had a feeling that there might be more slopes ahead…..

An atmospheric path.

I’m slightly annoyed that this photo doesn’t show how big these rocks were that entrants had to clamber over.

That’s better, they look much more challenging in these photos, and there’s Julie charging over them. To be fair, Dave warned me about these rocks and I sailed over them as I needed to get to the other side quickly to message everyone at HQ about how brave I’d been. Imagine a mountain goat, well, that was me.

My friend Liam would take one look at this and want to cycle down it….

I accept that the Wye Valley does look rather lovely.

The ruined St. James’s church at Lancaut, one of the earliest Christian churches in the Wye Valley area and it’s thought that there has been a religious building here since the seventh century. The Vikings kept interfering with arrangements here (mainly by pillaging and destroying stuff), with this current structure dating from the eleventh century. The village of Lancaut doesn’t exist any more, it was likely abandoned after the Black Death, although a few residents continued to live in the area. The church was used until the 1860s, but then the Rector decided to take the roof and interior fittings away, which it’s fair to say wasn’t ideal for the building’s future. It nearly fell down in 1980s and since then the structure of the church has been secured and it’s an interesting building, with some remnants of lime plaster visible.

The ruined church was a little bit more ruined when a part of the door mechanism fell off in my hand, but the LDWA are a responsible organisation and we ensured that the issue was resolved….

I thought for a moment that we were allowed to get the bus back.

A standing stone.

This was not what I wanted to see.

I took this opportunity to message Dave and question in a very positive manner why the route went through a wood which was evidently packed full of snakes ready to attack anyone walking through. It seems the snakes have been left without supervision as well, there were no snake wranglers in the area.

I’m sure there’s an interesting back story as to what has happened with this gate, but it wasn’t anything to do with us or the LDWA.

The view from Devil’s Pulpit (or a few metres away from it) which overlooks Tintern Abbey. Judging from the number of people, this is clearly a popular walk with locals and visitors to the area, and I can see why. Very picturesque.

There’s Devil’s Pulpit and I didn’t feel the need to stand on it as it didn’t look secure enough to me.

Over the river at Tintern.

Whilst we had a little break for lunch, Stuart decided to message at this point as he realised that I was about to summit another mountain on this walk and frankly, I think he was trying to deliberately annoy me, but I didn’t say anything…. I think Dave also found my messages useful about my thoughts on this mountain, as I sent several to reinforce what I was saying.

Some bluebells.

This tells a story of its own about Covid and then, later on, Putin.

St. Mary’s Church at Penterry and this is another mostly abandoned village, devastated by the Black Death. Platforms are visible in the field showing where some of the buildings were and there’s also an area which has been identified as a plague pit.

Simon interviewing Julie for the video about the event. Simon is a runner who completes these things far too fast, including the marshals’ event for the 100 last week.

One of the clues for the challenge walk was on the mast. Fortunately, just on the boards at the base and not higher up.

It’s always rather lovely to have a walk which goes past several churches.

Beautiful, the Wye Valley.

Woodland is one of my favourite terrains to walk through, I really enjoyed this section.

The history behind this property is substantial and it’s a real shame to see it in its current condition. It’s Piercefield House which is Grade II* listed, with the park around it being Grade I listed, not that this has helped in the building’s preservation. It dates from the late eighteenth century and its history is quite intertwined with that of slave owners, which was turned slightly on its head when in 1802 it was purchased by Nathaniel Wells, the son of a white slave owner and a black slave. He had a successful career as a magistrate and also as the first black sheriff in Britain. It’s also thought that Horatio Nelson, the hero of Norfolk (we have a lot of brave people) stayed a night here.

I’m not sure what can be done with this now, with a problem that there’s a limit to what can be done with the structure because of its historic listing. Some compromise is going to have to be made with regards to its heritage as very little of the building is left, but this would make a lovely hotel, craft beer venue or Greggs.

This is why I don’t eat lamb, look at their little faces…..

How very sweet. I decided the jolly happy one in the middle, who bounced into where he probably shouldn’t be, should be called Leon ?

Back at the end, there’s Dave and Stuart at the back and Julie at the front. I’m not one for gossip, but Dave mentioned he had hurt his back or something whilst standing around the checkpoint. I, however, completed my mountain expedition with no ill effects although I imagine that’s my tough Norfolk training coming to the fore. I’d also like to thank all the marshals who put this event together, it takes a lot of work and everyone was helpful and kind. There was a major controversy when Julie got a time that was one minute faster than mine, I think she must have slipped someone some Twixes for that, but I didn’t say anything.

Very lovely, although the Viennetta promised by Stuart didn’t arrive…. However, there was a marvellous selection of cakes.

Back into Bristol (thanks Bill and son!) and at Temple Meads, ready for the train back to London.

I spend quite a lot of time in waiting rooms and here’s the one at Bristol Temple Meads railway station, with power I’d add, as well as an excessively hot temperature. But I did think that perhaps my body was still at the 8,000 metre height that I had spent some of the challenge walk at, so maybe that was just me.

The GWR train sweeping into Bristol Temple Meads. I didn’t bother trying to get my reserved seat as there was a table seat without any reservations on it, meaning I could get some work done on the train.

The Crossrail train at Reading.

Not very busy, but that didn’t entirely surprise me on a Sunday night.

The Southall sign that has caused some controversy because of the translation at the bottom, although I fear the negativity is perhaps a little unwarranted as it’s hardly a substantial change.

I was annoyed by the time I got into this Ibis Budget Hounslow hotel room. The receptionist randomly said “I need your ID” in quite a blunt manner when checking in. I thought this was very odd, as there’s no need for them to see my ID at all, but I had my passport and just handed that over, as I’m quite compliant at hotels in case they offer me a lovely upgrade. Although I accept that there’s a limit to what an Ibis Budget can do. I thought that the service was terse, but it was late at night and I guessed that the staff member had perhaps had a long day, although I was slightly disappointed that I couldn’t tell her how brave I had been on the walk.

Anyway, a youngish black guy next to me (and I mention his colour for a reason) said “they wanted your ID as well?” to which I replied “yes, which was unusual”. The receptionist then started on me, saying that it has always been the hotel’s policy. The guy next to me said that he thought he was a victim of racism, and I can’t possibly comment on that, but the service was very odd from the receptionist. I replied saying I had stayed at the hotel several times and had never been asked for ID, but she was insistent that it was a policy at the hotel and that it was in the booking e-mail. I know bloody well it isn’t in the e-mail and so I perhaps unnecessarily asked her to show me where it was mentioned. She couldn’t find it and said that she didn’t know about third party booking sites and their emails.

I was a little annoyed at this service and mentioned I had booked with Accor directly so it was their email and I didn’t understand her hostility. Her claim was that the hotel was having problems with people pretending to be other people and that’s why ID was needed. At this point I couldn’t be bothered to argue any more, it isn’t the policy of Accor, Travelodge, Premier Inn or just about anyone else, although it is the policy of YHA but that’s because of child protection issues. I hope the poor guy got into the room that he had paid for, as the staff member’s attitude towards him was I felt completely unnecessary. It was nearly midnight and so this was an unkind and potentially reckless way to treat one of their customers, although I was just relieved that I had my ID so as not to be caught up in the same dispute.

Fortunately everything in the room was fine as I hardly dared go back down to reception anyway…… But with that, my day was complete and I could reflect on the glorious views that I had seen on the challenge event and all of the mountains that I had summited without complaint.
Facebook

WhatsApp

Twitter

Pinterest
May 22, 2022
GWR + South Western Railway : Reading to Farnborough (Delayed and Cancelled Trains)

After a rather pleasant few days in Reading, it was time to return to the railway station and to try and leave. In the centre is the Three Guineas pub which was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, although as a station building rather than a hospitality outlet. On either side is Reading railway station, much developed over recent years following the arrival of Crossrail. I was conscious in advance that this journey would be at least slightly challenging, as GWR had cancelled trains and issued a “do not travel if you can avoid it” notice, although I couldn’t much avoid it.

My rail ticket was for Farnborough North, which is a short direct journey operated by GWR, but the rail network was faced with a large number of cancellations and delays given the weather situation. GWR told me online that I could use any route to get to Farnborough, which adds some excitement to proceedings to work out what is possible. It transpired that the direct line to Farnborough North didn’t re-open for 24 hours, so waiting for that service would have been a mistake, I’d need to loop around into the main station in Farnborough.

I went and asked a staff member how I could get to Farnborough and he said that it was best to go via Basingstoke. I mentioned that the line from Basingstoke to Farnborough was seemingly closed, so after a little conference and debate with a number of other staff, the friendly staff member said that it was indeed currently closed but they were very optimistic that it would reopen soon. He agreed that although it was possible to go into London and back out, that was a much longer route, involved crossing the city and was on the same line as Basingstoke to Farnborough anyway, so it’d be open or shut whatever way I went.

So, I thought that I’d go to Basingstoke. There’s not a huge amount of jeopardy here really, in a worst case scenario I could have got a taxi (although I’d have recalled the cost for some years no doubt) and wouldn’t have been entirely stranded. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been to Basingstoke, but it seemed the best plan that was available. As an aside, one of the many unfortunate outcomes of the destruction of the rail network in the 1960s was that many lines were removed that would allow passengers to divert around any issues. Fortunately, the situation in this part of the country still allows that flexibility, otherwise my journey would have been impossible by public transport. It seems as fast as Network Rail staff were removing trees and branches from lines that more were falling elsewhere, so it was a challenging day and a reminder as to why they pro-actively cut down trees near to railway lines (even if that does annoy the locals sometimes).

It wasn’t an overly busy train from Reading to Basingstoke and it was running nearly enough to schedule. A guard was checking tickets, although he seemed to be just making very cursory checks.

It seemed a shame to be in Basingstoke and not go and pop into the town for a little bit. I went and asked the member of staff at the gateline if I could pop into Basingstoke and she seemed surprised that anyone would really want to do that, but she willingly let me through and thanked me for asking.

And there’s the station, a modern frontage constructed in 2012 hiding the older building behind it, which I’m not entirely sure is that aesthetically pleasing.

A slightly blurry photo unfortunately, but these the bushes outside of Basingstoke railway station. This will mean little to anyone unless they have heard the story told by the comedian James Acaster about his time there, but it’s a tale that is worth listening to. It felt quite an honour to be in the same location, or at least in the same area, I didn’t climb into the bushes.

The same staff member at the gate line let me in after my sojourn around Basingstoke and it transpired that the information provided by Network Rail was complete nonsense. I thought I’d better just ask a staff member and he said that they had abandoned trying to get Network Rail data to match up, so the screens were mostly wrong, but they’d make clear announcements to assist passengers. He told me where to wait as the service I had hoped to catch wasn’t running, and it transpired the information that he gave was correct. There were plenty of customer service staff about, I thought that they were dealing with the problems with trains with some confidence and accuracy.

This screen was vaguely up-to-date, but nearly every “please enquire” was for a destination where the trains had been cancelled.

I was faced with the potentially confusing situation that I needed a train to London Waterloo, but only the 17.34 stopped at Farnborough, so I had to avoid the one at 17.31.This was made easy as they shifted my train to another platform and there were frequent announcements.

It’s always a relief to see any form of public transport which is the one that goes to my final destination and here’s the South Western Railway thunderbolt coming into London.

It wasn’t very busy and passengers could have an entire carriage to themselves if they wanted.

I’ve often wondered what people have tried to plug into these power points in the past to warrant stickers saying laptops only. I remember an edited sign on a train several years ago which said “no microwaves”, so I can only imagine that someone tried that once.

A fair bit after I was meant to arrive, here we are. As a station, it’s a little quirky as there was once a central platform island, but this has now been removed, and more about that in another post.

The exterior of the station building at Farnborough.

And welcome to Farnborough, late, but safely there. Given the mess that the railways were in because of the storms, I thought that the whole situation was handled well by the rail companies and it all added a little adventure to my day.

February 21, 2022