Fleet Freightliner

Freight action in Hampshire.

Guildford trip day 2

The second day of this year's Guildford trip involved travelling to a number of stations in Surrey as well as walking through the nice town of Ewell. Later on i had time to revisit Farnborough and take some more photos, although fatigue was setting in so i didn't explore too far! My Surrey railway photos can be seen here, Ewell photos are here.

Another successful trip to Guildford, either my sixth or seventh (lost count!) We'll be back next year.

Guildford trip day 1

Last Friday i headed down to Surrey for what has become my annual pilgrimage to the railways of the south west of London (well it is my 7th or 8th trip anyway). On Friday i ticked off a couple of stations in Berkshire then went down to Hampshire to visit Farnborough and tick off stations between Farnborough and Basingstoke. Finally, i arrived at my hotel in Guildford. Tomorrow would have a lot more rail adventures. You can see my Berkshire railway photos here, my Hampshire railway photos here and photos of Farnborough here.

Reading day 2

Last Saturday was the big day of my Reading trip, a full day on the railways armed with a rover ticket! Unfortunately, my carefully made and timed plan fell apart immediately as the line from Newbury to Bedwyn was blocked due to flooding but i quickly adapted and i managed to visit eleven new stations (mostly in Berkshire but a couple also in Hampshire). This is most a record for me for a single day! I also visited the lovely Kennet & Avon Canal in both Woolhampton and Aldermaston. I really enjoyed my trip and certainly will be returning to Reading in future years.

Guildford trip day 2

Saturday was the main day of my Guildford trip of course. It started with a trip to the little Hampshire village of Bentley which looked rather nice in the morning mist progressing to places like Farnham and Bagshot. It ended with a walk along the Wey Navigation in Guildford as well as visiting many new railway stations in Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. Can't wait till i'm back next year!

Guildford trip day 1

This bank holiday weekend i made the latest in what seems to have become my annual pilgrimages to Guildford. As usual i used Guildford as a base while i travelled around Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire. On day 1, after arriving and checking into my hotel, i stopped off at Blackwater in Hampshire as well as visiting stations in Dorking and Clandon. You can see my photos for railway stations visited here and Blackwater (and another Hampshire village i visited on day 2) here. This was just the warm-up though, day 2 would be a full day's adventuring but that is a story for another time.

Walking the waterways (28) : Basingstoke Canal

The Basingstoke Canal was built to connect Basingstoke, and surrounding areas, with the river Thames via the Wey Navigation passing through Hampshire and Surrey including places like Woking and Aldershot. Construction began in 1788 and completed in 1794. However, the canal was not a financial success even though it carried trade such as timber from Basingstoke. Even by the mid-19th century parts of the canal were falling into disuse. Commercial traffic ended in 1910.

By 1913 the canal was no longer fully navigable. However, during the First World War it was used by the government to transport supplies from London. After the war the canal was used for some pleasure cruising but by the 1960s the canal was essentially derelict. Volunteers have restored much of the canal though ironically the canal does no longer reach Basingstoke due to a collapsed tunnel. The last eight kilometres of canal from Greywell Tunnel to Basingstoke is now unlikely to ever be restored any time soon.

Churches (85) : St Mark, South Farnborough

The Church of St Mark in South Farnborough was built in 1881 in the Victorian Gothic style harking back to the 13th century. The church has a small nave with North and South aisles. The church also has a chancel and North and South transepts. There is a single bell in a bell gable. The church was built from red brick with stone dressing.

FAST Museum

FAST is the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust and it's museum at Farnborough is dedicated to the work of the Royal Aircraft Establishment which conducted aeronautical research for the British armed forces, especially the Royal Air Force, since the early years of the twentieth century until 1991 when the RAE was merged into other MOD research groups. The museum is small but has plenty of interest including a replica of the Cody Flyer - the first British aeroplane to successfully fly in 1908... at Farnborough of course! Photos from the museum can be seen here.

The Watercress Line

On the Saturday afternoon of my recent holiday i travelled down from Woking to Alton which is where the "Watercress Line" or Mid-Hants Railway joins the mainline. I travelled up this lovely line which runs along the edge of the South Downs in Hampshire stopping off at Ropley, where there is an engineering workshop, and the terminus at Alfresford. You can see my photos here.

Its funny, but after a lifetime of never seeing the British Railways 9F steam locomotive (the last to be built) in motion i've now seen 2 in a week (at this railway and the SVR last week!)