There is something about the approach of Winter which always seems to send me back to old haunts. After recent trips which have taken me through London, and in need of routes which would score the now very rare bits of new track I require, I decided a trip to London was in order to cover some little bits which I'd either missed on previous visits or consigned to the 'unlikely to get there anytime soon' pile. As my strange hobby has developed over time, there's been very little organisation about how I've approached it. Thus, of course, things are never simple and I'm left with a curve here or a chord there. Today though, there were a few fairly significant bits of track which needed covering - which would take me to Kent, Sussex and Essex.
Given recent weather, things were shaping up to be a pretty decent morning. A rather familiar low mist began to lift as I sped east on what is now one of a couple of journeys I regard as almost as familiar as my daily commute. Arriving at Paddington is still exciting and full of promise though, and I hardly need to think about the time-worn trudge from the platform, down the stairs and over the bridge onto the busy Circle and District Line platforms. Squashed my way through the crowd to find a quiet patch at the end of the platform. Most of the crowd disappeared onto the next train to Victoria and points east, which left me in near silence to await a Wimbledon train. Despite having done this journey relatively recently, still enjoyed the contrasts as the line moves from urban sprawl, through tired and tattered Earls Court, over the Thames at pompous Putney and into leafy suburbs before arriving at the busy station at Wimbledon. Remembered to touch my Oyster card in all the relevant places this time to avoid any rebukes from TfL staff, and changed for a service to Effingham Junction. Now, aside from its comedy potential, this trip covered some required track for me. I'd done a dash around south west London some years back, including taking a train to Guildford - but there are several routes and I think I managed two out of the three that day before the thought of another trip to Guildford became too much and I went elsewhere. This route was fruitful, gaining me the section of track via Worcester Park to Epson and then also my missing link from Leatherhead via Bookham. Having very little memory of Effingham Junction from my last passing visit, was surprised to find a rather tiny, dilapidated village station. I was one of the only customers to alight here, and was alone in the swirl of autumn leaves until people starting drifting in for the next London train, which I too boarded. A strange little oasis in commuterland, this one!
Once back at Waterloo, stopped to watch the locomotives clustering at the buffer stops in connection with engineering work, before realising they were almost impossible to photograph and heading upstairs to Waterloo East. Onto a rather busy 465 for the jaunt out to Sevenoaks. I've written before that I've never been fond of journeys into Kent, but much of the track I still require in London is in the belt of suburban lines around North Kent. Today I aimed to do the tiniest, but perhaps one of the most annoyingly obvious lines in my atlas - the short link via the oddly named Bat and Ball station. I'd always just assumed I'd end up on a train into London which covered this, but I hadn't so I deliberated positioned myself for a Blackfriars service which would do the job.
On arriving at Blackfriars having come via the Catford Loop and Denmark Hill, it was time to change tack somewhat. Took the Circle Line round to Liverpool Street, since Thameslink seemed to be closed north of here, and found time to grab some lunch before boarding a surprisingly well loaded train heading for Chingford. Another obvious gap in the atlas in an area where I still had work to do. As ever, enjoyed the journey over the rooftops of East London, via Bethnal Green and mysterious Hackney, before crossing the Lea and heading into the suburbs. There was a noticeable shift between the less gentrified inner suburbs and the somewhat more comfortably off areas. I'm told that Chingford itself has a similar divide, but didn't stay long enough to discover before hopping back onto the unit for the ride back to Liverpool Street.
Once back in London, and with the northern section of the Circle closed I decided to investigate the bus stands out of curiousity. I'd travelled from Liverpool Street across the city before and I had time. As luck would have it, as I hauled myself up the last stair, a No.23 heading for Paddington reeled into Stand A. Negotiated the queueing system and boarded, finding a seat near the exit. Had a busy, but thoroughly enjoyable trip first through the deserted City, then into the west - and parts of London I barely ever see. If there is truly a recession around the corner, the throngs of bag-laden shoppers don't seem to have been informed. I'd have hated to be out there competing for space on the pavements, while dead-eyed daytrippers plough relentlessly into the next shop, a perfectly acceptable branch of which exists in their own town for sure. But here in my speeding red cocoon, efficient and pleasant Eastern European driver skilfully diving into the traffic like a Parisian cab driver, I felt safe and pleased to be away from the crowds. Had a brief exchange of words with a mother and daughter couple who'd got on the wrong bus and were heading along Edgware Road in the opposite direction to their plan. They were funny, unconcerned, not fixated on shops or theatres - just out for a day exploring. I wanted to explain I was doing the same, but settled for some gentle jokes and correct directions.
A productive and surprising day in the suburbs. There will need to be more soon.
Lost::MikeGTN
I've had a home on the web for more years than I care to remember, and a few kind souls persuade me it's worth persisting with keeping it updated. This current incarnation of the site is centred around the blog posts which began back in 1999 as 'the daylog' and continued through my travels and tribulations during the following years.
I don't get out and about nearly as much these days, but I do try to record significant events and trips for posterity. You may also have arrived here by following the trail to my former music blog Songs Heard On Fast Trains. That content is preserved here too.
