92 Clubs – Day 42 – West Brom, West Ham
This should have been an easy day and it effectively was. But it could have been an absolute nightmare, due to signalling problems in the Wolverhampton area. Someone said it was cable theft, but I can’t find any reference on the web.
I’d taken the 10:23 from Euston and I knew I could change at either New Street or Sandwell and Dudley. I chose the first, which did mean a walk to Moor Street, but it was also a direct train to the station at The Hawthorns. The other route may well have been a couple of minutes quicker, but due to the signalling problems it might have been difficult.
West Brom ‘s ground is only a short walk from the station of the same name, with separately signposted routes for home and away fans.
West Brom's The Hawthorns Stadium
As with most grounds this week, because of the International break, it was all rather quiet, so I took a couple of photos and returned to the station.
The trains seemed to be running erratically, so I thought I’d take one of Birmingham’s trams back to the city centre. In some ways, these are the UK’s forgotten tram system and it could surely benefit with some limited expansion.
It was a wise move as the tram accepted my return ticket, due to the signalling problems and it was only about fifteen minutes walk to New Street for the train home. It would have been nice if the trams had connected to Birmingham’s main station.
I had plenty of the day left and I came home first before I took the Overground to Whitechapel before changing to the District line for Upton Park and West Ham‘s stadium of the same name as the station.
West Ham's Upton Park Stadium
The ground’s architecture is unusual to say the least. It seems to owe a lot to the Disneys of the world. I’d never seen this side before, as usuallyI’ve been to the stadium in the dark and the the away supporters are on the other side.
92 Clubs – Day 41 – Tranmere, Walsall, Watford
Tranmere should have been easy, as it was just a ride on the Wirral line out of Liverpool to Rock Ferry.
But it wasn’t, as the maps and signposting to the ground were virtually non-existent and the first few people I asked, didn’t seem to know how to get there. Perhaps, they were all Liverpool and Everton supporters.
Tranmere Rovers' Prenton Park Stadium
As you can see it is a surprisingly large ground.
I then recrossed under the Mersey back to Lime Street and then took a train to Wolverhampton, where I took a train direct to the station at Walsall ‘s Bescot Stadium.
Walsall's Bescot Stadium
The picture shows the stadium from the station footbridge, with the M6 and a rather busy road in between. I didn’t feel like braving the traffic, so made a quick exit back to the station. But it’s certainly one of the easiest stadia to find by public transport.
The train was delayed by a few minutes getting into the station and I just had time to buy a ticket before catching the train to Watford Junction for Watford.
I did cheat and take a taxi at Watford, as I was starting to cough badly and didn’t feel the exercise would help. But I have walked it several times in the past and Ipswich have never won.
Watford's Vicarage Road Stadium
The picture isn’t good, but it was about 20:30 and getting dark.
Afterwards it was back to the station to take the Overground back to Euston.
Am I On A Ferry?
I took this picture of myself by holding the camera, as far away as I could.
Am I On a Ferry?
But where am I? Judging by the water and the state of the sea, it could be on a cross channel ferry or perhaps one going to the Isle of Wight.
But remember, I’m visiting all 92 football grounds and teams are all on the mainland. I think the only football club that isn’t is Canvey Island, but they play in the Isthmian League.
So the picture was taken at Dawlish between Exeter and Newton Abbot from a High Speed Diesel Train. Trains are regularly sprayed with sea-water and being diesel powered it usually isn’t a problem. But if the line was electrified, who’s to say what will happen. After all, they’ve got forty years of running these trains in this sort of weather.
They couldn’t close the line, as what would they do when they needed iconic photographs of trains for publicity purposes!
Who’d have thought that the High Speed Diesel Train would live on because of the British weather?
92 Clubs – Day 40 – Swindon, Torquay, Tottenham
Swindon was surprisingly easy, as it was only about twenty minutes walk from the main railway station.
Swindon's County Ground
Or it will be when they finish the roadworks and sort out the pedestrian access around the station. There are a few maps and signs, but due to the location of the ground, the road signs are a great help once you get started in the right direction. They also have helpful distances on a lot of them.
I’d arrived on the 08:15 from London at 09:13 and had plenty of time to catch the 10:55 direct train to Torquay. I was surprised it was a direct train, but even more surprised that it was a High Speed Diesel Train on its way from Paddington to Paignton, via Swindon, Bath, Bristol, Weston-super-Mare, Exeter and Torquay. I hope that after electrification of the main line to Bristol and Cardiff, that they use these trains to run lots of holiday trains to the West Country.
I was meeting an old friend in Torquay, so I took a taxi to Torquay‘s football ground. I didn’t see one signpost.
Outside Plainmoor
I certainly needed the coat, as it wasn’t weather typical of the English Riviera. Afterwards it was back to the station to catch a train to London.
A Pacer at Torquay
Unfortunately, it was a Pacer to Newton Abbot for the High Speed Diesel Train to London, where I arrived soon after 18:00.
I still had time to visit Tottenham in the dark, by taking the train to White Hart Lane.
The Entrance to White Hart Lane
Afterwards, I was able to get a bus back from the ground to close to my house. Except for Arsenal, where I just walk, it is the easiest ground to get to from my home.
In some ways it was a day of three lessons.
- The High Speed Diesel Trains used on West Country services are a superb asset to the railways. Passengers like them and in some ways they are irreplaceable in serving the far-flung parts of the west and the Scottish Highlands. They may be forty years old, but engineers know how to keep them going for a few more years yet. Many of them will outlive me! I suspect too, that there is a strong cost benefit in keeping them running, rather than electrifying all the lines, where they run.
- The Pacers still used in various parts of the country are a disgrace. To make matters worse, they were a disgrace when they were built. They should be replaced with a modern train as soon as possible. The train used on the Overground from Gospel Oak to Barking would probably be an ideal replacement. And they would be built in Derby!
- The train from Liverpool Street to White Hart Lane station may have been thirty years old, but it had been well-refurbished. On that line it is the stations that are a disgrace which deny access to no-one but the fit to the railway. I wouldn’t like to try to tranport a baby in a buggy either on many of the stations. So perhaps, one of the priorities after the Tpttenham riots, should be to fix those stations.
Starbucks Stop Gluten-Free Sandwiches I Like
Starbucks are my reserve, if I get hungry. They had a very acceptable chicken sandwich.
But they’ve now replaced it with one of cheese and coleslaw.
I hate coleslaw, so when I was offered it, it went down badly with me and I left the shop hungry.
I also like meat and fish and the number of cheese sandwiches I’ve eaten in sixty-four years is probably less than half a dozen.
The Non-Availability of M&S Sandwiches
Travelling if you are a coeliac has always been difficult and now, if you are leaving London it is a lot easier, as you can get very good sandwiches at the M&S Simply Food stores in the capital.
But despite what it says on the M & S website, sandwiches are not available in any station outside the South East. The only station, where I’ve found them is Cambridge, but as the city doesn’t feature on my itinerary, that isn’t much help, especially, as I know the city well and can get proper meals in several places there.
I also got the impression from a couple of stores, like Swansea and Exeter, that there isn’t much demand for the sandwiches outside London. Incidentally, I’ve only found sandwiches at three stores outside London and the South East. Manchester and Liverpool had two and Meadowhall had one.
I only ask one thing of M&S. Let’s have the web site in-line with the stores. For instance, I was told in one place, by the manager of a station store, which was a franchise, that he would not be stocking the sandwiches. But the website says otherwise.
Does Sheffield’s Public Transport System Work For Visitors?
Of all the major cities I’ve visited; Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield, Sheffield seems to have the public transport system that is most understandable to visitors. I’ve left out Liverpool and Birmingham, where I didn’t have time to look at the systems. Although of course, Liverpool is different for me, as I know the city well.
In Sheffield, I was greeted by this walking map.
Walking Map at Sheffield Station
At the other side of the station, there was a proper information board explaining how the trams worked, with details on fares, routes and where all the places I needed to visit were located.
Sheffield station is also located closely to the major bus interchange.
Sheffield Transport Interchange
This picture shows the interchange with the station behind the buses.
If you arrived in Sheffield with just an address, you should be able to find your way very easy. One small point, is that if you need to walk to the bus interchange or the trams, it is generally under cover and pedestrian friendly.
I used the trams extensively on Day 31 and didn’t get lost once. The only thing they need is indicators at the tram stops to tell you how long you will have to wait. But all the stops do have good maps, which is very rare in the UK, except in London.
I didn’t actually use the buses, but then I didn’t need to as the trams covered everywhere I wanted to go and they had the maps to guide me from the stops.
Sheffield is unique in that it has two major train stations linked together; the main station and the one at Meadowhall Interchange. On Day 31, I arrived at the main station from Manchester and then when I returned from Scunthorpe, I arrived at Meadowhall. I left for London from the main station, but say if I’d been going to the north east, I could have left from either.
Tesco Freight on the Rails
Returning from Ipswich on Saturday, I took this picture.
A Tesco-Branded Train
It shows a one container of a trainload branded by Tesco.
Pushed By Roger and Pulled By Isambard
On Saturday on my journey to Ipswich the Class 90 engine pushing the train to Ipswich was named.
Class 90 Named Roger Ford
So who is Roger Ford? Roger is a respected writer on the railways of Britain and writes extensively in the magazine, Modern Railways. On Wikipedia, there is a link between the magazine and these engines.
Through 2006 and 2007 reliability has improved greatly: in 2007 the whole fleet won the ‘Silver Spanner’ from Modern Railways for the most improved main line fleet reliability in the UK.
I doubt that Roger would have allowed his name to be used for the engine, if it was anything to do with the award! The story is here on the National Express East Anglia web site. I wonder what will happen, when the company loses the franchise in the next few months. But then they inherited the engine and its name from Virgin, so hopefully for Roger’s sake, he’ll continue to push the Ipswich/Norwich expresses up the hill to East Anglia.
On Day 37, coming back from Swansea, I was pulled by another named engine. This time a Class 43.
Class 43 Named Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Whether the pusher at the other end of the train was named, I didn’t know. But surely the Brunel nameplates, are the only ones that feature a top hat!
Cough Sweets
AS a child, I used to have the occasional bag of cough candy twists? Are the still available? And are they still made with proper sugar? It just seems that since the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, a lot of their brands seem to be disappearing. I haven’t seen any mint imperials in months for a start. Or Halls menthlyptus either!
Let’s face it, Kraft’s most famous product, Cheese Slices, is something, that no-one with any sense of quality about food would ever eat.
On the subject of sweets though, I don’t even eat much chocolate these days. Things like small Green and Blacks bars don’t seem to be around anymore!
The Anonymous Widower 