One of the more epic trips, covering two chunks of the map in one weekend. It's Easter so I can start on Friday and still have some time off at home before going to work. Derbyshire was worked out ages ago and I was awaiting the right moment; for some reason I thought that the North East was difficult to do but it transpired that it was chiefly comprised of Newcastle-Sunderland-Middlesbrough-Saltburn then Middlesbrough-Darlington-Bishops Auckland - relatively straightforward. I did the Whitby branch last year so I don't have to worry about that - and that is a LONG one to fit in. Trains were reasonably frequent on weekdays, though not Saturdays, so the North East fitted nicely on Good Friday. I'd already planned a day on Derbyshire railways for a Saturday, so this could be slotted in on Easter Saturday. I could go on Cross Country from Newcastle to Derby, arriving late, but then found a cheap (but hopefully not nasty) hotel very close to Derby station. I booked all the tickets and the hotel, but then a snag appeared. Alone of all the train operating companies in the UK, Southern and South Eastern trains were running Sunday services on the two bank holidays. This really winds me up. There seems to be a concerted effort by South Eastern to stop people enjoying Sundays. First trains at gone 7, last trains before midnight, and an HOURLY service in the evenings on the local line that I use most. They seem to have no recognition that people might be using their trains to connect into other services early in the morning, especially when there's a holiday, and this can make it tricky to use the full day. Then a colleague who has a Central London flat offered me its use as he was away on Thursday night anyway. Perfect. After work on Thursday 5 April I took a slow saunter westwards to his flat, via M&S and a couple of shops, and enjoyed the rare pleasure the next day of being within walking distance of a London terminus!
Next morning, walked to King's Cross and found my seat - carriage very busy and noisy so I moved to an emptier one. I missed the interesting sign that I was looking for at the trackside that reads "London-Edinburgh:Half-Way" which always amuses me. I think I managed to be in the loo when we passed the Angel Of The North too! Oh well. Noticed a load of men in desert camouflage gear getting on the train, and realised that these were genuine squaddies returning from Iraq. For most of my life soldiers have been banned from wearing uniform for fear that it made them easy targets for the IRA, but now the ban is lifted, it's still an unusual sight. As camo is popular for casual wear you tend to think people aren't soldiers generally! We get into Newcastle on time. The many bridges over the Tyne are an impressive sight, though the city still seems a gritty place, despite the inevitable overhaul of shops and penthouses that all the major cities are receiving nowadays.
I had half an hour to kill before the train to Middlesbrough came. Managed to lose £20 in a cash machine cock up as it debited my account but did not give me the money - that will be fun to rectify. Had a bottle of Newcastle Brown in the reasonable station bar which really did have a feel of "Get Carter" about it. It still amazes me that I've travelled to the other end of England so swiftly. I then get on the Pacer train to Middlesbrough, I suspect I'm going to ride on a lot of Pacers today. It's pretty scandalous that so many long distance routes in the North have to put up with these bone-shakers. They're not great on short trips either, come to that. However if they've helped save these rural routes we should be grateful I guess. It bounces us through rather grey countryside, following the Tyne and Wear Metro. Sunderland looks a wee bit grim, where the Metro heads north and we continue on to Middlesbrough. It's a very few minutes before the Saltburn train, though I have a chance to look around me a bit. The town seems nearer than I remembered last year during my Whitby trip, and I'd forgotten that the station itself was a fusion of old and modern - something I always like.
The ride out to Saltburn is a nicer trip. Saltburn is a lovely place, the original huge station now converted to various businesses - a la Whitby - and there are breathtaking views of the North Sea when I work my way down to the beach. Unfortunately there is a high chav-surfer element roaming the streets, it's inevitable that the sport will start to attract the tracksuits I guess. I get lunch from a baker - I love Northern bakers, they invariably seem better in terms of range and taste than the ones in the South - then hop back on the train - another Pacer.
This train takes me all the way through to Bishop's Auckland. I've done the Middlesbrough to Darlington section previously, but it's always interesting to go to Darlington. It does have that bit of railway heritage for a start - the first locomotive-hauled railway in the world - but also Darlington is a pleasant station, with a huge overall roof and a spacious airy feel. We career right across the East Coast line tracks (must be a bottleneck) then off towards the North West. The route is like a microcosm of railway lands - sweeping countryside, tatty post-industrial countryside, manky towns, graffiti-covered out of town estates, and finally a grotty chav-ridden terminus that has definitely seen better days. I'm a bit depressed by the experience though it's hardly new to me. One bright point is the National Railway Museum overspill site at Shildon, which I intend to visit properly one day - there is also another museum at Darlington that I must see. Anyway, back we go, through Darlington and back to Middlesbrough.
This time at Middlesbrough I have a half hour's wait. I decide to go and look at the famous transporter bridge. I remember seeing a picture of it as a child in my Ladybird Book of Bridges, and then on BBC2's Coast last year. It's one of just two left in the country - the other is in Newport which I have seen from the train a few times down there. The walk to the bridge is weird. It's through an industrial estate that looks derelict but seems to be mostly active, past a scary looking pub, then past some pleasant-looking playing fields and council houses, though some are boarded up despite being new and in good condition. It does look like the sort of place where you get beaten up by drug dealers, yet I don't feel too nervous. There are several people admiring or photographing the bridge, as well as a fair bit of traffic crossing. I'd like to have a go on the bridge but know that it's too slow for me to guarantee getting back over for the train. Another day! Just as I think I won't see it working, the cradle starts to inch over the Tees. It's a fantastic sight. After that I head back to the station and climb aboard a new 185 Trans Pennine train to York It takes no time as it speeds through the spectacular and empty North Yorkshire countryside. I get to see Northallerton and Thirsk properly too, having only sped through these on GNER previously.
Having deliberately allowed time for contingencies, I have lots of spare time at York. So I have a pleasant walk up to the Minster, then back along the Ouse, across the bridge that carries the York to Scarborough branch, around the city walls and back to the station. There I have dinner before the Virgin Voyager to Bristol arrives to take me to Derby.
I've got a cheap first class seat and I am the only person in the carriage - a very rare event these days. I relax and watch the sun setting as we pass from one Shire to the next. At Derby I look for the hotel and almost miss it because I'm not expecting it to be that close. It's right opposite the station. The room is very pleasant, accessed via a grand staircase or a quirky lift with a manual door. There are radio stations on the TV which is such a nice change. I'm not disturbed by noise from outside once the trains stop running and bringing people to the street outside; or from inside for a change, and I sleep very well. Breakfast is decent though the restaurant is stuffy and dim because it has no windows. Before my train to Matlock I wander into town but am discouraged when I realise it's the usual set of flyovers, roundabouts and shopping centres. I head back to the station. It's a relatively tasteful modern building, and I am delighted to see the words "Derby Midland" above the doors, harking back to the days when this was Derby's station on the Midland Railway, the other being Derby Central on the Great Central Railway. I wonder if the Central station was closer to town and lament the loss of the Great Central so relatively recently.
The Matlock train is a two coach 170, nearly completely full, unsurprising given the popularity of the Peak District. This makes the closure of the central section of the line in 1968 seem even stranger - one of those arbitrary closures that seems designed to reduce rail revenue rather than save money overall - because it's just the relatively short stretch between Matlock and Buxton that's gone. In a more enlightened age that may come someday I can imagine this will be one that is reinstated. In the meantime we pass through the incredible beauty of the north Peak District, just before it becomes the Peninnes, over rivers and valleys, before terminating at Matlock. I just have time to look around the Peak Rail bookshop only to hear an evident Londoner complaining about Ken Livingstone giving kids free travel on the buses - typical! One day I shall get to ride on the preserved Peak Railway but for today it's the quest. I hope back on the train and head back to Derby.
At Derby a three coach 158 waits to escort me to Crewe. This is a relatively pleasant journey through the Derbyshire and Cheshire countryside, though some of the towns near Crewe are a bit manky. There's a lot of football fans around but I can't identify them. I used to be much better at recognising the team strips, it's another of those aspects of travelling that reminds you that you're in another part of the country, but I am a bit out of touch at the moment. One of the saddest things is seeing hordes of Chelsea fans heading south or Liverpool fans heading north - the big teams are just franchises that people pick to support because they do well now.
At Crewe I encounter a new-fangled self-service coffee machine there - you place the cups etc yourself then take it to the counter in Smiths to pay for it - doesn't seem a very good idea! I hop on to an electric train to Manchester, it reminds me of the ones I go to work on, except that it picks up power from the overhead line. It's a reasonable jog through some of the famous Cheshire suburbs - Wilmlsow and Alderely Edge - before I get off at Stockport, one of the many towns I've changed trains at but never seen!
The Buxton train is a bit late but as I'm doing the round trip it's not a problem. It's a tatty two coach Sprinter. Another trip across the north of the Peak District on what would have been a through line to Matlock and Derby once, though this line looks as if it passes through some rather down at heel areas, Buxton is definitely more run down than I was expecting. There are junctions with various other lines along the way, mostly freight I think but we do meet the branch from Guide Bridge on the Woodhead line that eventually becomes the end of a tiny branch in Marple. I covered this one over New Year and am quite pleased about it - branches are a pain, especially short ones. You either have to do a round trip or hope that there is a junction or another line nearby.
To the north of the line to and from Manchester I can see another line snaking across viaducts etc. I guess this is the Hope Valley Line to Sheffield, another of the transpeninne routes. I'll be travelling on that next, though I have done a chunk of it before when Midland Mainline were offering London to Manchester services that ran along here (without stopping of course) and am looking forward to the scenery. At Manchester because the train from Buxton is actually going to Blackpool, we stop on the one of the through platforms which is MILES from the terminus - so far that a travelator is needed to move people around. I wonder whether to get the next Hope Valley train but then I see how many people are waiting - the next one will be much busier given that the shops will be closing by then. I hop on.
It's ANOTHER Pacer, totally unsuitable for a journey of this length, but the view makes up for it. This is easily one of the most scenic trips I've had - after Settle to Carlisle and Batersby to Whitby. The countryside of the Peak District is simply stunning. At Edale and Hope plenty of walkers get on, but it's surprising to me how many people have made the whole journey from Manchester. There are quicker fast trains that go via Hazel Grove instead. Maybe they like the view too.
I've arrived early at Sheffield so decide to go and look at the cathedral. I'm aware from a previous visit to the city that there's a horrific ring road just outside the station - sadly not unusual - so leave the station and go out to the tram station. It amazes me how few of these city's stations have barriers - the amount of fare dodging must be huge. There are conductors on the trains but if the train is busy there is no way they will reach everyone. I familiarise myself with the tram fares and map, and get on the next tram going to Halfway. It terminates at the Cathedral stop. It's nice finally seeing a bit of the city though as expected it's pretty much like all the other cities these days. The steel works are in dereliction and much of the place is still awaiting a Leeds or Manchester style regeneration. There are some horrible looking 60s flats high up on the hills that the city is built on, though I gather some of them have been demolished already. Unfortunately the cathedral is closed, so I get back on the train and go for a 15 minute ride towards Meadowhall, the giant shopping complex out of town, making sure I leave enough time to get back to the station for the London train.
The London train is a 125, I'm pleased to say, though I'm not happy that there is no quiet coach, so I'm treated to a presumably deaf woman's portable DVD all the way home. I moan with another passenger who agrees that she only bothers with a personal stereo to block out other such noise! I wish people could just read a bloody book! Anyway, it's fast from Leicester and I do enjoy the scenery - not sure I've ever done the midland mainline in daylight - so it's a comfortable enough trip back to London. After that it's the tedium of the trek on the Victoria line and SE Trains back to Penge. It gets harder to return to London every time I go away. This is partly the impact of speeding through the countryside one minute then being rammed on a hot tube surrounded by drunken tossers the next. I don't even remember getting home!
New lines covered this trip:
Newcastle-Hartlepool-Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough-Saltburn
Darlington-Bishop's Auckland
Middlesbrough-Northallerton
Derby-Matlock
Derby-Crewe
Crewe-Stockport
Stockport-Buxton
Chinley-Sheffield
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