It's not even in Clapham though! It is, however, a very good example of new settlement and commercial activity coalescing around an established major rail hub. Stations named '... junction', '... road' or the modern '... parkway' don't even have to be in the same county as the headline place they claim to serve.
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Best sited stations for town/city centre.
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its nearer to its namesake than the other Clapham station - that also used to be a junction!
As someone who lives on the northern fringe of Sheffield City Centre and studies in the City Centre, and accesses the station from both- I'd disagree! Too many damn hills and I often end up jumping on the 95 or 120.
Cherry_Picker
Established Member
Birmingham New Street, obviously. It's so central that they've built a swish new shopping centre on top of the station and named it 'Grand Central', you can also get to the Bullring without going outside and New Street itself is one of the three or four main shopping streets in the city centre. Moor Street isn't badly located either, it's practically in the shadow of Selfridges and maybe a two minute walk from High Street . I'll throw Walsall out there too, it's inside the central shopping centre in Walsall .
backontrack
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- Aberdeen
- Carlisle
- Conwy
- Edinburgh Waverley
- Inverness
- Lincoln
- Newcastle Central
- Penrith North Lakes
- Rochester
- Settle
- York
Jessicas Dad
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Stirling - Less than 10 minutes walk from the main shopping centre, bus station and cinema.
Harbornite
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Birmingham New Street
satisnek
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I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Woking - but there the station came first, followed by the town, so I don't know if that's cheating!
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
Kingston
Surbiton
Mansfield
Exeter Central
Surbiton
Mansfield
Exeter Central
Depends on which part of Lincoln you require - the castle and cathedral are just a nice little stroll up Steep Hill, but then I suppose only a funicular
would be convenient for them
May I also add Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Deganwy, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Flint and Shotton to the list? Also Llanrwst, Betws-y-coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog now they are seeing trains again!
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Or the bus routes 7 and 8 from the shiny new bus station just across the road from Lincoln Central. Ride up and walk down works for me.Depends on which part of Lincoln you require - the castle and cathedral are just a nice little stroll up Steep Hill, but then I suppose only a funicular
would be convenient for them
Oxford Road is good 10-15 minute walk to the main shopping centres of Manchester, and Deansgate (or Salford Central, if you can get a train going that way) are better for the business areas.
I think Partick, Clydebank (or Singer, if you're on the Westerton line) and Helensburgh Central are very convenient for their respective centres.
darloscott
Member
Dare I suggest Meadowhall, and Metrocentre for being decently sited stations?...
matchmaker
Established Member
Only if you walk very slowly...bus station is next door and is linked to the Thistle Shopping Centre!
All the stations near me seem to be decently located as the crow flies, but have a kind of terrible path to their town centres:
- Alexandria is only 5 minutes walk away from the main street, but the single platform station is on the opposite side from the centre and stuck in the middle of a traffic gyratory with no way of crossing except traffic lights
- Dumbarton Central is again only 5 minutes walk away, but you have to cross a dual carriageway either by traffic lights or a dark underpass, and the underpass route leads you into the back end of the "shopping centre" (a single pedestrianised street)
61653 HTAFC
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Meadowhall isn't as convenient as you might think, as it's a fair walk from the Barnsley line platforms to the shopping centre! At least it's almost all undercover I guess...
Dr_Paul
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Clapham Junction station was built in open fields, quite some way from any settlement. My Bradshaw from 1921 has a note for the station saying 'mid-Battersea', adding that it's a mile and a quarter from Clapham, by which I think it means the centre around the Old Town. But Clapham Junction has become the name for the area around the station; I lived for a bit in a squat in Ingrave Street off the Falcon Road (don't ask...), and people referred to the area as Clapham Junction and not Battersea.
The original centre of Battersea was around St Mary's Church on the riverbank. The now defunct Battersea station on the West London Line was the closest station to there, as can be seen on this map. Battersea Park and Queenstown Road are quite a way to the east of Battersea, almost as far as Clapham Junction is from Clapham.
Iskra
Established Member
Agreed. It's also quite a narrow corridor, which is not great if you're walking against the flow.
61653 HTAFC
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Or if (as usual) people don't keep left. There shouldn't need to be a sign for that!
Basher
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Middlesbrough , Sunderland, Carlisle,
I would question York.
Iskra
Established Member
There’s something about shopping centres which makes people want to walk in line abreast formation. Nowhere else do people do that, but it makes that bridge a pain in the backside sometimes.
lewisf
Member
In a similar neck of the woods, you can’t get much more central than Wimbledon. Right in the middle of the main shopping street and town centre.
dk1
Veteran Member
Not been for a good while sorry.
Mitch in Notts
Member
Good in the East Midlands are: Mansfield, Lincoln, Sleaford, Matlock, Bingham, Bulwell, Oakham (it's flat), and I'm struggling to think of more....
Interestingly all 3 East Midlands Cities stations- Derby, Leicester & Nottingham are NOT convenient for their City centres. Nor are Chesterfield, Loughborough, Beeston, Burton on Trent, Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Alfreton, Hucknall, Newark Castle, Newark Northgate, Retford, Worksop, Grantham, Gainsborough Lea Road, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Hinckley, Stamford......
Interestingly all 3 East Midlands Cities stations- Derby, Leicester & Nottingham are NOT convenient for their City centres. Nor are Chesterfield, Loughborough, Beeston, Burton on Trent, Long Eaton, Ilkeston, Alfreton, Hucknall, Newark Castle, Newark Northgate, Retford, Worksop, Grantham, Gainsborough Lea Road, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Hinckley, Stamford......
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