The Anonymous Widower

Surprising Barnsley

Some of the places I’ve visited on my travels like Scunthorpe and Middlesbrough could not be described as places that make the most of what they’ve got.

What I would find, as I went north on my train from St. Pancras, I did not know.

I actually travelled north with three young Millwall supporters, who were supporting their team at Sheffield.  When I said, that I’d had a stroke, one of them said his brother had too.  At just 16 too! So we can’t all be too careful, can we?

But the Interchange  station at Barnsley was a surprise.

Barnsley Interchange

Very often, stations are badly designed and in the wrong place in the town, with poor interchanges to other modes of transport.

Cambridge is a classic example, in that it’s some way from the city centre, the buses to get aren’t obvious and also for the amount of trains that call at it, it isn’t big enough. I suspect too, that the ill-fated busway will have a terrible interchange, when surely one of the reasons for the busway, should have been to get passengers to the trains. But trains and buses operate under different budgets and compete with each other, when they should be complimentary.

There is no such problem in Barnsley in that the station lies alongside the town centre and contains not only the train station, but the bus station as well. The football ground, Oakwell, is a ten minute walk the other way.

Barnsley Signs

Signage, as so often could be better and more numerous, but then it’s difficult to miss Oakwell. But at least in Barnsley the signage is there, which can’t be said for Edinburgh, which is supposed to be a tourist destination.

You actually walk up a hill to the ground and then approach it downhill, through what is a grassed car park.

Walking Down to Oakwell

In some ways the approach is more like one you find at small non-league stadia, rather than one that incoprates 23,000 spectators.

The football was a bit disappointing in that Ipswich gave away a winning lead in the last minute.

But all-in-all, it was a good day out!  I felt especially good as I walked up the hill towards the station without a hint of being out of breath.  Perhaps it was the sun, that we’d enjoyed all day.

February 13, 2011 - Posted by AnonW | Sport, Transport/Travel | Barnsley, Buses, Cambridge, Cambridge Busway, Football, Ipswich Town, Trains