Review of 2017 : December

December brings the year to a close, dark days and poor weather curtailing some activities but i still managed a few trips around. I visited some old haunts: Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa. I also made another of my new style short trips to Blakedown and saw the new West Midlands Trains branding at Snow Hill.

One final big trip of the year was to London for some more rail adventures, including the Croydon Tramlink for the first time and ten new stations visited for my blog. That is it for 2017, well except that i also saw the new Star Wars film and thought it was excellent.

Song of the month was "My mistake" by Nina. Now tomorrow we can start all over again.

Stratford-upon-Avon

Leamington Spa

Blakedown

Mitcham Junction, South London

Review of 2017 : Music A-Z

As is traditional now i create an end-of-year review playlist of some of the best songs of the ending year. I do them as an A-Z of artists though some letters do not have artists so i've added a few duplicates to fill it out.

Review of 2017 : November

I've always found November is a bit of a nothing month like February, it just exists to space out the year with nothing much exciting happening. Well November was still a fairly busy month for my travels. I tried a new model this month in visiting a single station in a short visit and not trying to fit so much into one morning. The model was trialed with a trip to Danzey and again for a trip to Wood End later in the month. In both cases the station was more or less all there was to see and needed to be visited for my stations blog. I've used this short trip model again in December and will again in the Winter months in 2018.

A longer trip was made to the North West, including the North West Museum of Motor Transport and the Sankey Canal - both in St Helens. I paid my first trip to the LT Museum Depot in Acton this year and also did some rail exploring around West London. I also had time at the end of the month to visit Stafford station.

Song of the month was "home again" by Let Em Riot.

Danzey

North West Museum of Motor Transport

Sankey Canal

LT Museum Depot

Review of 2017 : October

Compared to the Summer months October was maybe a little bit quieter, but not by much. It started with a trip to Hemel Hempstead to explore more of the Grand Union Canal. There was also a return to Duffield, this time exploring the village itself (instead of just taking a train elsewhere) and the castle.

Later in the month i returned to London for my third and final Hidden London tour, this time of the TFL headquarters 55 Broadway - a stunning building. There was also time for some rail adventures in London of course. Finally at the end of the month i went up to Langley Mill to do some canal walking including the final stub of the Cromford Canal which eluded me. I've now walked all of that canal which is still extant and publicly accessible.

Song of the month was "nowhere" by Wallflower.

View from the roof garden of 55 Broadway

Remains of Duffield Castle

Canal bridge near Hemel Hempstead

Langley Mill railway station

Review of 2017 : September

September was another busy month, well they are all busy months now. It started with a return to the Peak Rail up in Rowsley South to attend the Heritage Shunter Trust's gala. Later in the month came trips to Bermuda Park near Nuneaton (including a canal walk) and Smethwick Rolfe Street for part of the Heritage Open Weekend.

Mid-month i went to Stone to walk the Trent & Mersey Canal. Later in the month came my second Hidden London tour of the year, this time to the now-disused Jubilee Line platforms at Charing Cross (and some other London rail adventures too). Finally at the end of the month was a return to the Cromford Canal to walk the remaining bits between Whatstandwell and Ambergate i had yet to do. That meant i had walked all of the extant Cromford except for the little stub at Langley Mill (see next month).

Song of the month was "lofticries" by Purity Ring.

HST Gala at Rowsley South

Coventry Canal near Bermuda Park

Trent & Mersey Canal at Stone

Charing Cross tube station

Derwent Valley line seen from a bridge near Ambergate

Review of 2017 : August

August continued the trend for new locations and new discoveries. It started with my first of 3 Hidden London tours this year with a visit to the former Highgate station in North London. While i was in London i travelled around on rail a lot of course and also ventured out to Sevenoaks in Kent.

Oxford is somewhere i have been to before of course but i took my Mum there for her birthday and i took a number of photos in the fine city and the railway station. I also returned to the EVR for its diesel locomotive weekend.

Then later in the month over to Oakham in Rutland, including its castle. Finally up to Staffordshire to visit the lovely Foxfield Railway for the first time. Song of the month was "resigned" by Lycia.

Highgate

Sevenoaks

Oakham castle

Foxfield Railway

Review of 2017 : July

July was a month of travelling to new places and revisiting my very earliest haunts (not that i remembered them). It started with a trip up to Merseyside and tracking down the first house i lived in when i was a toddler. There was also a return to the Stratford Canal.

Mid month i headed to Berkhamstead to visit the castle, and also to walk the canal there. In doing so i also visited Milton Keynes for the first time in years. I explored around Birmingham's railways including visiting Marston Green station, the first time i've been to the station in the place i was born (though to be honest i work a mile away these days so its not exactly a lost world).

Finally at the end of the month a visit to Cheltenham and Gloucester and especially Gloucester Docks. I shall be exploring more of the South West in 2017. Song of the month was "precision" by The New Division.

Crosby

 Berkhamstead station

Berkhamstead castle

Canal in Berkhamstead

Gloucester docks

Review of 2017 : June

After a very hectic (and train filled) May, June was a little quieter and had some canal exploration - two long canal walks in fact. I walked the Coventry Canal from Bedworth to Longford, in doing so also passed the start of the Oxford Canal. I also visited Olton and did some more canal walking there - this time along the Grand Union.

Then came a very long canal walk, from Lapworth to Wootton Wawen. This completed the final parts of the Southern section of the Stratford Canal i had yet to visit. Finally i also took some train photos in Derby.

Song of the month was "do it again" by Trevor Something.

Bedworth

Olton

Lapworth

Derby

Review of 2017 : May

If April was canal heavy May was railway super heavy! The month began with a couple of diesel galas at Chinnor (CPRR) and Wirksworth (EVR). Then i headed up to York to stay for a couple of nights so i could visit the National Railway Museum's two sites in York itself and also Shildon up in County Durham. I was also able to visit the iconic Darlington station and managed to squeeze in a short visit to Harrogate too.

Returning South there was no time to rest as i attended the SVR's diesel gala. One of the highlights of the year for sure. If that wasn't enough i also managed to fit in visits to Walsall and Buckinghamshire including Chesham - the furthest point of the tube map. Quite a well travelled month.

Song of the month was the slightly aptly named "long holiday" by Flyying Colours.

Harrogate station

Aboard a Northern Pacer, proper Pacer!

NRM York

SVR diesel gala

Chesham

CPRR Gala

Review of 2017 : April

After the rail heavy March the next month saw a number of visits to canal stretches for the first time. The Oxford Canal at Tackley canal was visited, the station is also interesting as it has a foot crossing over the line guarded only by a gate.

I also visited Ledbury for the first time and at the end of the month returned to the Oxford Canal, this time a stretch of it at Rugby, and visited the station too of course! I also returned to Ambergate to walk some more of the Cromford Canal.

Song of the month was "Noosphering" by The Ice Choir.

Enslow near Tackley

Ledbury

Rugby station

Canal aqueduct in Rugby

Ambergate

Review of 2017 : March

March can honestly be described as a massive month. It started normal enough with trips to Stafford and also along the Snow Hill lines. That was followed by my first trip to the Severn Valley Railway of the year to attend the Spring steam gala.

Then at the end of the month a 3 day trip to Guildford. I used the town as my base to visit Woking, taking in the Basingstoke Canal and the Mid-Hants Railway down in Alton. There was also a walk along the Wey Navigation in Guildford. Interestingly my trip down to Guildford was via Reading but back via London so took in some interesting railways. I really enjoyed my trip down to Guildford and hope to return soon, maybe in 2018.

If all that wasn't enough i also built the board for my new HO9 scale model railway (the paint was left to dry while i was off down in Surrey!)

Song of the month was "girlfriend" by Trevor Something.

Class 455 at Guildford

Wey Navigation, Guildford

Woking signalbox

Ropley, Hampshire

Basingstoke Canal, Woking

Review of 2017 : February

February is the shortest month and the weather wasn't that good but it was still a busy one. It began with a visit to Nuneaton, not far away but the first time i had been to the station since my Dad took me there in the days of British Rail! I also headed up to Lichfield to visit both stations.

Mid-month i made my first visit to London of the year and checked out the Grosvenor Canal (the last London canal i had yet to visit) and visited the railways in the South of London out of Cannon Street. Song of the month was Leitbur's "lost cosmonaut".

Cannon Street

Pimlico tube station

Grosvenor Canal, lock on the Thames

Most of the Grosvenor Canal in one photo!