backontrack's railway musings

[Techniquest]

GWR Castles might have been on your lists if you'd been around in the 1930's! Along with Halls, Kings, Granges and of course Manors!

Oh yes! GWR steam all the way!

7802 Bradley Manor needs to be had again...

 

[Cowley]

I just read this and the last one too. Loved it, very well written and like others have said it's nice to read something a bit different. I like Castles too (and Kings).

 

[backontrack]

I just read this and the last one too. Loved it, very well written and like others have said it's nice to read something a bit different. I like Castles too (and Kings).

Thanks!

 

[backontrack]

Right, one more report to go methinks! I'll see if I can tackle it soon.

 

[backontrack]

Sorry that I am still behind on trip reports - but I've also got a couple of shorter journeys to write about after the last Wales leg if that's any consolation

 

[AnthonyRail]

And Kings ??????

 

[backontrack]

I was going to write the last one tonight, but I've got a migraine

 

[Cowley]

I noticed the poll. Hope you feel better tomorrow.

 

[backontrack]

I noticed the poll. Hope you feel better tomorrow.

Cheers! Am hoping to get it done soon.

 

[backontrack]

backontrack’s welsh musings: CONWY

Today would be the final day of our Wales-based travels. Unlike the previous day, we didn’t have that much of a plan. What would we do? Obviously the zonking-great Castell Conwy would have to be on our list - but afterwards we’d have to go back home. Would we have time to fit something else in? Unfortunately, it looked like we’d missed Penrhyn Castle this time. But don’t despair dear reader, as we missed loads of other things too so it does look like we’ll be gracing Conwy with our presence another time reasonably soon.

Anyway, back to the castle. We got up, got dressed, and soon-ish we were walking down Conwy’s High Street and Castle Street to reach the sprawling hulk of a monument in front of us. It was bitterly cold and windy - but we didn’t really mind. Overall, on our trip, the weather was not bad - though we had rather low expectations - aside from some light hail at Castell Caernarfon. Anyway, after queueing and waiting for the monument to open - and there was a reasonably-large queue - we were soon ‘ticketed’, and entered the building.

Conwy Castle is the only one of the ‘Big Four’ that King Edward actually finished. The rest are all incomplete in some way - Beaumaris I’ve already told you about, unless you haven’t read that report yet in which case I suggest you do - and this is probably because it is of a simpler design, still grand but less battle-infused. Aberconwy was captured by Ed in 1283, and he decided to build a castle here to replace Castell Deganwy, ruined by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1263, and, when Castell Conwy was complete, came to stay himself, and he invited friends round too - though he once spent an unhappy Christmas here in 1295, running out of supplies, when the castle was besieged by the Welsh, who had evidently only just heard about Aberconwy being captured and whom had taken a while to regroup.

You can still see the old site of Castell Deganwy on two volcanic plugs across the Afon Conwy - and we did once we reached the top of the towers. The wind blew and cracked its cheeks, but it was worth it - the views across the river to Glan Conwy, overlooking the bridges, over to Great Orme Head and Llandudno, and back down over Conwy Harbour, looking straight out over the town towards Snowdonia were excellent.

Once we’d explored the castle (which took a while), we decided to explored the old walls. These are extensive, and I’d recommend these too. Then, we were out of options. There are a few more things you can do in Conwy, but they were closed for the winter. And it looked like we’d missed the boat for Penrhyn Castle; it only opened at noon, and we wouldn’t have had enough time there. So we decided to head out to Bangor to see if we could reach the cathedral, after first collecting our backpacks from the hotel (and a stop at a nearby café for some hot chocolate and cake). We walked up to the station and hailed a train…which was my first Class 175, 175002.

The views on both sides of the journey were great; the sea, Anglesey and Puffin Island on one side, Snowdonia on the other. Surprisingly, we called at Penmaenmawr. After leaving Penmaenmawr, the train was splashed by the waves:

[YOUTUBE]sC8Bz4miV5I[/YOUTUBE]

The cathedral at Bangor was closed, sadly, but we did get some photos of the exterior. We then rushed back to the station, but we had to pick up provisions en route (just in case there wasn’t a trolley) at ASDA. We managed this, and were soon heading back to Chester on a 158. From Chester, we changed onto another 158 which was making the short journey to Crewe, and then we boarded a Pendolino for the ride back into London.

It was disappointing to miss out on a few things, but this was still a great day…and there’s still things left to do for another day! We’re already trying to make plans for a return trip…hopefully involving Harlech Castle (three down, one to go), the Cambrian Coast Line, and possibly the steam railway up to Blaenau Ffestiniog and the line from there to Conwy. Who knows? You might get to see that trip report here too!

Photos not coming up on flickr.

 

[fishquinn]

Sorry for not replying sooner, but I've been rather busy with work of late, having had a few days off the other day. I got round to reading it earlier, and it was a good read as usual. The music choice for the video was brilliant too, I have to say.

 

[Techniquest]

I got bored reading about castles to be honest.

 

[Cowley]

I enjoyed reading that and the other reports and the arty video.
I sometimes save catching up on trip reports because they take a bit of time to read properly and I tend to do that when I've got a bit of time to spare.
Whenever I do any myself it's as much for me to have a record as anything.
Keep sharing though as people do read them even if they don't always comment.

 

[backontrack]

Sorry for not replying sooner, but I've been rather busy with work of late, having had a few days off the other day. I got round to reading it earlier, and it was a good read as usual. The music choice for the video was brilliant too, I have to say.

No, to be honest now I can see that I was being unnecessarily grouchy.

Thanks for the nice feedback, though.

I enjoyed reading that and the other reports and the arty video.
I sometimes save catching up on trip reports because they take a bit of time to read properly and I tend to do that when I've got a bit of time to spare.
Whenever I do any myself it's as much for me to have a record as anything.
Keep sharing though as people do read them even if they don't always comment.

Thanks for the nice feedback. Your approach is evidently the same as mine; I was basically just venting my frustrations with the lack of views (I'm quite tired to be fair ) but I can see now that that was a bit daft, really. I guess the argument was that I wasn't really going to shut the thread, but just was going to see whether I got any responses to a much more serious comment. To see if people really...cared.

You are right about it being a kind of record; I don't keep a diary so it is a useful way of recording things. I might keep going with this, but I don't feel like I'm getting as much out of it as I used to. Then I never have much time for my reports (when did I start this series? I think it might have been in October). Either way, you'll see if I've done something when this thread comes back to the top of the topic.

 

[backontrack]

The music choice for the video was brilliant too, I have to say.

I hadn't noticed this comment really - yeah, I thought having something quite stripped-down was a good pick. I like to have a song that fits - I'm kind of making these little films into a series, and the music choices will be important in that.

 

[backontrack]

Here's some updated route coverage. I know you may think me 'boring', and view this coverage as fairly pathetic - but I think it's pretty good for someone who's never gone bashing in their life, doesn't spot trains and can't tell the difference between a Super Voyager and a Voyager.

You'll have to rotate it (or your head!) too. Stations are in turquoise.

 

[cactustwirly]

Here's some updated route coverage. I know you may think me 'boring', and view this coverage as fairly pathetic - but I think it's pretty good for someone who's never gone bashing in their life, doesn't spot trains and can't tell the difference between a Super Voyager and a Voyager.

You'll have to rotate it (or your head!) too. Stations are in turquoise.

View attachment 34462

Don't worry I'm not a hardcore basher either.
I don't trainspot and I've only just started recording units for haulage.

Here's my coverage

 

[backontrack]

Thanks!

I can't see the coverage...

 

[krus_aragon]

Seeing as cactustwirly's map isn't loading properly, here's mine for you to look at instead. Like you, I can't claim to be a basher. My travelling has been very Cambri-centric, missing out Scotland and most of eastern England. (It's just occurred to me that I could colour in some track in Ireland too, but much of it's off the map.)

 

[Cowley]

I must do one of these, I used to use the old map from the early 90s (a bit like the one Krus has). Probably better get one and do it before old age makes me forget too much.
As an aside my dad (Oerlikon) tells me that we went on the Woodhead route when I was little, I don't remember it though and wondered if I should record it? There's a couple of other routes that have gone now that I've been on too - Barnstaple to Torrington for example. Not sure how to record them either?
I might get a couple of maps from eBay and do one that's just the routes I've been on and one for routes that I've done on loco hauled trains which was I used to try and do. Yes I think I'd better do that soon actually.

 

[backontrack]

Seeing as cactustwirly's map isn't loading properly, here's mine for you to look at instead. Like you, I can't claim to be a basher. My travelling has been very Cambri-centric, missing out Scotland and most of eastern England. (It's just occurred to me that I could colour in some track in Ireland too, but much of it's off the map.)

Well I'm most envious of you Welsh coverage! Cambrian Coast, Mid Wales and West Wales...

Actually, I've just realised that I do actually have the track between Llandudno Junction and Conwy.

 

[backontrack]

Happy new year! Here's some updated route coverage. I'm quite happy with it really - my next mission will be to fill in the gaps west of Oxford and Salisbury, where there's not very much.

I'm also hoping to get Edinburgh-Glasgow via Bathgate and some stuff around Clydeside done at some point.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

The West of England mainline is a nice alternative to the GWML. The 159s are really comfortable too but watch out for the appalling legroom.

 

[backontrack]

Beyond Borderdom
Two Go Radge in Jedburgh

As I type this, my dad and I are staying in Edinburgh with his elderly mother - my grandmother. The others are back home. We're here to see my Grannie - and to look after her - but we've also been granted a day out. So we decided to spend it in the Scottish Borders.

The plan was simple: get the train from Waverley to Galashiels. Then, the bus to Jedburgh (the Border Buses route 68) - and on to Jedburgh Abbey, which we would look around. If you've read many of my previous reports, then you'll know that we're fans of historic monuments - and, from the base of Grannie's flat in Edinburgh, we'd already visited several of them; the Palace of Linlithgow, Dirleton Castle and Tantallon Castle (followed by a visit to the Scottish Seabird Centre), Craigmillar Castle, the abbeys at Melrose, Dryburgh and Kelso, and of course Edinburgh's attractions themselves. We'd been to the abbeys in the Scottish Borders last time - in 2017 - but we hadn't visited Jedburgh then, and we felt that we had unfinished business. So, to Jedburgh we went.

The 16 was our ticket to the city centre, and after a series of delays (Dad realised halfway through making a cheese sandwich that he'd spread strawberry jam onto it in place of pickle, then a misunderstanding about which of us had the change for the bus) we hopped onto it. Then it was a mad dash down Princes Street, zigzagging in-and-out of the Gardens, to the station - we sprinted down the ramp off Waverley Bridge - to the ticket machines. £9.20 to Gala and back it cost, covering both of us. Then, we ran down the wrong platform, tried to get over to Platform 1 via the green bridge to the Calton Road exit (though we later found out that the side gate onto Platform 1 was open anyway), and then entered into a headlong sprint over the other bridge to Platform 1. Luckily, the guard saw us, and we made the train (before finding an empty table on the left-hand side).

Soon, our train - a Class 170 diesel multiple unit (for any spotters reading, it was 170459) - was whistling past Abbeyhill and Meadowbank Stadium towards Portobello, where it turned right and headed southwards on the line to Newcraighall. And so we came to Brunstane - where the train paused briefly by the southbound platform, which was adorned with hanging flower baskets.

It was barely a minute more before the train reached Newcraighall, the erstwhile terminus of the line (when trains ran through to and from Fife). Then, we continued towards Millerhill Depot, before the train swung right onto the Borders Railway proper. Shawfair, the first station on the line, is its least-used currently - but it is planned to serve a sort of 'New Town' of the same name. As it is, the car park looked fairly well-populated - and the posters on the platform advertised a car-free route to Loanhead and Roslin. That route was the old railway branch to Penicuik, running through the centre of Loanhead. The railway tracks are still in situ up until the Edinburgh Ring Road, but then the Loanhead Railway Path takes over. Today, nobody got on or off at Shawfair - but then we were heading out of Edinburgh rather than towards it in the morning.

After Shawfair the landscape begins to open up slightly. Here are the larger fields, containing long and pale green grass, faded by the recent bright weather. Eskbank is next - a station which, like its predecessor on the old Waverley Route, was situated in the hinterland between Dalkeith and Bonnyrigg (though slightly closer to the former). The present-day station is a halfway house between the two towns, and serves them both - and it was considerably busier than Shawfair, too, on account of the fact that the doors let out two people as well as air.

After Eskbank, the landscape opens up again. The countryside likes to come on in stages; the fields became more 'rolling', and the landscape more undulating. Dalhousie station is closed nowadays, so the next stop is Newtongrange. Newtongrange is the site of the National Mining Museum Scotland, and the top of the mining tower could be seen over the top of the cutting as the train accelerated away. Gorebridge is the last of the Midlothian towns before the train hits the Scottish Borders, so its station marks the watershed between interurban hustle-and-bustle and the Borderlands.

Soon, the train is curling over a looping stretch of track that spins tantalisingly close to Borthwick Castle, a jagged stone fortification that is nowadays an upmarket wedding venue. Fushiebridge, Tynehead and Heriot pass by as hills begin to rise up out of the fields. The ribboning A7 runs in parallel to the line as the train reaches the small village of Stow of Wedale, with its pretty church and packhorse bridge - Stow station was a late addition to the reopened Borders line, but this service doesn't call there, so it whizzes by. By now, our train is in the midst of the valley of the Gala Water, among the hills. Bowland is passed before the train reaches the relative urban bustle of Galashiels, which it does through a long tunnel.

This is how we reached Galashiels, known locally as 'Gala'. At Gala, there is a rare example of proper transport integration, as buses meet the trains to head to all the different towns of the Borders. There were buses to Berwick, Chirnside, Coldstream, Duns, Earlston, Greenlaw, Hawick, Innerleithen, Kelso, Langholm, Lauder, Longtown, Melrose, Peebles, Selkirk, Tweedbank and Tweedmouth, as well as local town services. Our bus was going to one more of these towns: Jedburgh. We had a handy thirty-minute layover before the bus to Jedburgh left, so we grabbed coffee and cake (or rather, I had a mocha, Dad a latte, and we each had half a slice of carrot cake and toffee tiffin, an unintentionally-alliterative choice) at the Born in the Borders café at the modern interchange across the road. Then, we jumped onboard the no. 68 bus to Jedburgh - my dad sitting in one of the priority seats on the left (he likes to be by the front as he gets bus-sick), and myself a few rows behind.

The bus wended its way on a winding route through the central Borders, through Langlee and over the sparkling Tweed to the Borders General Hospital, or the BGH. The BGH, incidentally, is where you go if you've suffered GBH, or if your BMI is OMG. The bus was fairly well-packed, but became more crowded still at the hospital, and there was quiet chatter as friends bumped into one another on the bus. Then, we continued east as the three peaty peaks of the Eildons became visible through the right-side windows as we headed through Darnick to Melrose.

I have a soft spot for Melrose. It has a lovely abbey that you can climb right to the top of, and an inviting, cobbled market square. And I would have quite happily have got off here, too, but for one reason. I saw a girl by the bus stop. She had red hair and freckles, and she was wearing a blue denim jacket. And she was almost certainly the same age as me. And she was pretty, too.

And then, she got onto the crowded bus, and sat down...on the empty seat next to me.

And we were near Newtown St Boswells when she saw that I was listening to music by the band Wolf Alice. It turned out that we both liked Wolf Alice, and we started talking. She liked my glasses, she said. I liked her jacket, I replied. Then we started talking properly. At one point, she reached out and the bus jolted - and she knocked my coffee onto my t-shirt, and a bit spilled. But I didn't mind. We looked into each other's eyes, and laughed. And, for the rest of the journey, we kept talking - until, around Ancrum, she began to become quiet, and looked straight forward, thinking, and smiling. And, on the way into Jedburgh, I noticed that her head was resting on my shoulder...

At least, I'm fairly sure that that's what would have happened. But she didn't get the Jedburgh bus. And she was whisked away from me as the bus headed away towards Newtown. 'It's all for the best', I lied to myself brazenly. Or, at least, I felt that I was lying to myself. I thought of John Betjeman's poem 'Faintheart in a Railway Carriage' (but then remembered that Betjeman was gay so probably not he best example).

I enjoyed the journey, however. Newtown is a straggling village, longer than I'd remembered. The stop at the garden centre, close to the Donkey Sanctuary, is the start point for the walk to Dryburgh Abbey. It's a lovely place to visit, and the walk takes you across a green-painted bridge over the Tweed (which is even sparklier here), to a Victorian folly up on a hill (before you reach the Abbey).

St Boswells is an important interchange for buses - where passengers switch between the 51/52 and the 67/68 - so the 68 ran in and out again before continuing towards Jedburgh. At St Boswells, the bus emptied out somewhat - some of the passengers were planning to change onto the route 52 bus from Edinburgh to Kelso - while the rest of us continued south on the A68. First, however, there was a detour to the village of Ancrum, where we noticed signs for Minto - which is probably the name for Aldi's own-brand version of POLO Mints - and Bonjedward, which evoked horrible thoughts: of Jedward. And then, finally, we arrived at Jedburgh.

The arrival into Jedburgh was fairly inauspicious as the bus drew into a car park behind a primary school playground. On the left side of the car park. there was the back entrance to the VisitScotland iCentre, which we walked through, and - bam! - there was the towering abbey. It was stunning.

The abbey at Jedburgh is fantastic. There's two layers: the ruined abbey, which is located in the centre of the town and is intrinsically linked to it, and the cloisters, which evoke stories of the people who lived here. But if King David was trying to make a point by building such an imposing abbey so close to England, he was also opening it up to English raids. And, where the English were concerned, Jedburgh was always the first abbey in the firing-line. During excavations, a fine-toothed comb made of walrus ivory - and with a carving on either side, one of which featured Hercules fighting a dragon to claim a golden apple - was found next to the remains of the upper half of a male body. It is likely that this man was murdered - or killed in a skirmish - and the comb was his, used on his beard.

After we'd explored the abbey - and eaten our sandwiches in the sun - Dad and I took the short walk into the town centre. Jedburgh is a lovely town, with a war memorial that doubles as a gushing water fountain. Jethart Snails - minty, brown boiled sweets that are shaped like snails - are still lovingly made in Jedburgh, and were on sale at the abbey and at Galashiels Interchange. We had enough time to walk up an impossibly steep hill to the Jedburgh Castle Jail Museum, which was extensive, and interesting, and free! As English Heritage members, we don't have to pay for entry to Historic Scotland monuments like Jedburgh Abbey - so free entry to the museum was an added bonus.

And eventually it was time to board the 51 back to St Boswells, where we changed onto a connecting 68 bus back to Galashiels. As we boarded the bus, a local man introduced yourself. "I'll be your air steward for the journey", he said. "If there are any international terrorists on board, please don't wake me up." Dad alerted me to the emergency window mechanism - no hammer, but a red knob that you push for the release. Phallic jokes were then had by all. And, as we headed back towards the central Borders, Dad and I spontaneously made up a version of The Muppet Show theme about murderous rampage. Here are two of the verses:

"And Camilla the Chicken
Is on a killing spree.
It's more Full Metal Jacket
Than family TV."

"And in the Muppet studio,
The gang have gone insane.
Look over there, there's Kermit,
With mountains of cocaine..."

Much fun was had by all. We had a brief layover at St Boswells for our interchange and a toilet break; the 51 continued to Earlston, Lauder, Pathhead, Dalkeith and Edinburgh, with the 'steward' on board. We headed towards the central Borders, had an IRN-BRU and split a toffee tiffin bar between us at Galashiels, and then headed up on the train - once again, 170459 - back to Edinburgh (then back to Grannie's on the 16.)

So, what's next for the Borders Railway? Some have talked of expansion of the line southwards. Tweedbank, the southern terminus proper, is an abrupt terminus for such a grand line. It's only there because the reopened railway couldn't find its way into Melrose. The ambition seems to be to reach Hawick via Melrose and Newtown, where the council offices are situated. This is a sensible idea; Hawick is the most down-at-heel of the Borders towns, having suffered from the closure of the railway. Meanwhile, Melrose, with its abbey and tearooms, is a popular destination for tourists (although the iCentre there has closed recently). For some, extension through to Carlisle - via Longtown and either Newcastleton or a new alignment through Langholm - is still a long-term aspiration. A branch line from Shawfair to Penicuik, meanwhile is a more realistic suggestion - though there are several different alignments that could be taken, meaning that Straiton/Gilmerton/Loanhead/Bush/Roslin/Bonnyrigg will have to duke it out for the intermediate stations.

All in all, a great day was had by all.

Photos coming soon...!