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| Throughout the 1980's, and for most of the 1990's, many of my Saturdays were spent visiting various Heritage Railways around the UK. I was within one hours driving time for the Severn Valley, Great Central, and Gloucestershire Warwickshire lines, so visits to those three lines were frequent. But there were many other lines that I visited on a regular basis. Some, like the Keighley & Worth Valley, were easily reached by rail, but many others were not, and my visits often involved using a local bus service. And in many cases, the bus link added greatly to the day's enjoyment. Below are some examples. | ||||||||
| MID HANTS RAILWAY: I usually travelled from the Midlands to Winchester by a Cross Country Rail service, then walked down the hill through the city centre, stopping for a coffee, then carrying on to the bus station. Here I would catch the 12 noon Alder Valley Bus service no 214, which would take me to Alresford. The journey was a delight, passing through the villages of Abbots Worthy, Itchen Abbas, and Itchen Stoke. Returning to Winchester, later in the afternoon, was on either the 4.06pm or 5.06pm bus back to Winchester. Hampshire is one of my favourite counties, and the area around Alresford is a beautiful part of it. | ||||||||
| SWANAGE RAILWAY: Trips to Swanage meant a Cross Country service from the Midlands to Bournemouth or Poole, a local from there to Wareham, where I picked up the 12.00pm Wilts & Dorset bus to Swanage. And we passed through some lovely villages, and of course, Corfe with it's fine Castle. The return bus from Swanage, if I remember correctly, was at 4pm or thereabouts. | ||||||||
| YORKSHIRE DALES RAILWAY: In the days before the Railway extended to Bolton Abbey, the railway put on a Summer Gala which it called "Harvest of Steam". It was a delight, with a variety of small Industrial steam locomotives to-ing and fro-ing through Embsay station seemingly every few minutes. I went to several of these events, travelling from the Midlands by rail to Leeds, then up the Aire Valley on a local DMU to Skipton. The Yorkshire Dales Railway was a couple of miles away, so, depending on the weather, it was either a taxi or a half hour walk, usually the latter. I would watch the trains go by until shortly before 4pm. At that time, a Pennine bus, always a single decker, took me back to Skipton. But the short bus journey always added to the pleasure of the day. Subsequently the railway extended, stage by stage, to Bolton Abbey, and changed it's name to the "Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway". And with a longer journey and heavier trains, larger locomotives were needed. So these days, though the "Harvest of Steam" events continue, there are fewer small locos at work. I prefer it as it was, a "Fun" railway. | ||||||||
| KENT & EAST SUSSEX RAILWAY: The Kent & East Sussex line, was, in the 1980's and 1990's, another firm favourite. On Gala days, the railway arranged bus from Staplehurst, but on non Gala days, it meant travelling to Ashford, where there was a 12 noon Maidstone & District bus service for Tenterden, which I seem to recall, continued to Hastings. This was in the days when the railway went to Witersham Road, and no further. And whilst the highlights of the day would be the climb up Tenterden bank on the return journey, for me another highlight would be travelling on the upper deck of the bus through the delightful Kentish Villages, High Halden, Bethersden,and Chilmington. Another very beautiful part of Great Britain. |
