A Weekend Break in Bideford, Devon (cycling the Tarka trail from Bideford to Meeth, and back)

As mentioned a few posts ago, I have a wealth of material from earlier in the year which I didn't have time (at the time) to process and post, but with a few days on my hands before going back to work, and still trying to fight off the man-flu, it's about time I put that right. The first of these retrospective posts will focus on a weekend break we had in Devon, Bideford to be precise, and the first of the Bideford posts will focus on a cycle ride we did along the magnificent Tarka Trail, a former railway now converted into a quite wonderful cycle path.

I must however first start with a small apology. We actually did two rides along the Tarka Trail from Bideford. The first was south from Bideford, which is covered by the majority of the photos, but we also cycled north which for some reason only seems to have a few photos where I'm sure I took more. The apology is that I fear I may have mixed some of these up and am not sure of the location of all of them - I think these are all from the ride between Bideford and Meeth. I'm very clear on the first one however, this is the old bridge carrying the former railway into Bideford station.

Former railway bridge, now home to the Tarka Trail cycle path, Bideford, Devon 

Tarka Trail cycle path, Bideford, Devon

Tarka Trail cycle path, Bideford, Devon

This next picture shows one of Bideford's two former railway stations. Although not very far from the main station, the Royal Hotel had its own station allowing guests easy access. Both platforms remain and are in reasonable condition, although the one opposite the hotel is a little overgrown.

The former Royal Hotel Station, Bideford, Devon 

The former Royal Hotel Station, Bideford, Devon

This is Bideford station proper, parts of which have now been restored (see pictures further down in this post).

The former railway station, Bideford, Devon

Where parts of the railway has been preserved, there is some wonderful railwayana (is that a word). This is a restored but disused signal just south of Bideford. You can also just see some re-laid tracks in the foreground, but these peter-out before long and I think are only there to allow the carriages which house the museum and tea rooms to have somewhere to sit.

Restored but disused signal, Bideford, Devon

This is where things begin to get a bit blurred. This is definitely on the route south from Bideford to Meeth, but not sure exactly where. Still, it's another fine example of a disused platform.

Disused railway platform, Tarka Trail, somewhere south of Bideford

Along the side of the former track bed there were some wonderful Gaudi-like sculptures, depicting animals from Tarka the Otter.

Sculpture along the Tarka Trail, somewhere south of Bideford

Sculpture along the Tarka Trail, somewhere south of Bideford

Cycling the Tarka Trail, somewhere south of Bideford

Disused railway platform, Tarka Trail, somewhere south of Bideford

I'm pretty sure this is just outside Meeth, which was as far as we cycled south along the Tarka Trail.

Cycling the Tarka Trail, former railway platform just outside Meeth, Devon

There's no mistaking this one though. This is the truly wonderful Puffing Billy café, situated at the former Great Torrington station. It was so good that we stopped for a bacon sandwich on the outward ride in the morning, and again for a cream tea on the return leg. Good for railwayana fans and cream tea connoisseurs alike.

Cycling the Tarka Trail, Puffing Billy Trading Station, Great Torrington, Devon

Of all the picture I took during our 40 mile round trip, this one is probably my favourite. Ok, so it's a bit staged with the milk churns there for historical purposes only, but I felt it captured the essence of a branch line railway quite well. Nice sky too.

Cycling the Tarka Trail, milk churns at the former Bideford station

I managed to take a picture of the restored signal box on the same evening.

Cycling the Tarka Trail, restored signal box, Bideford, Devon

I think these final two pictures must have been taken on a different day as the weather and light are both quite different. They both however show the restored railway carriages sitting on some re-laid track in the former Bideford station. Inside the carriages are a museum and tea-room.

Cycling the Tarka Trail, Bideford station, Devon

Cycling the Tarka Trail, Bideford station, Devon

 I do have some more pictures of Bideford off the Tarka Trail so to speak, so I may get around to sharing those in the next few days.,

Once again, thanks for taking the time to read my post, I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, comments are always welcome and appreciated.

A Weekend Wandering Around Kent (part 4, in and around Margate station)

Hello everyone, thanks for returning. Today I'm back with the next instalment of my weekend wandering around Kent. I'm still working through the many pictures I have of Margate, so once again this post will cover Margate, specifically the area in and around the railway station. These pictures were taken on two different days as we made our way from Margate station to venture out to Whitstable on the sunny day, and Canterbury on the dreary day. Blog posts on those two day trips will follow.

First up we have a couple of wonderful ghost signs just outside the station car park. Both are for

ALBERT GARAGE
DOMINION MOTOR SPIRITS

with the one in the shade being in better condition as until relatively recently it would seem to have been protected from the weather as it was covered by a more modern advertising board.

Albert Garage, Dominion Motor Spirits, Ghost sign, Margate, Kent

The Shell sign on the front of the building was only partially complete. I now wished I had ventured up the alley to take a closer look and perhaps a clearer photo of it, but was worried about missing the train.

Albert Garage, Dominion Motor Spirits, Ghost sign, Margate, Kent

In compiling this latest blog post I now realise that I don't actually have any photos of the front of the station, which is a shame as it's quite a grand, grade II listed building. However what I do have are some pictures showing other aspects of the station's architecture.

The first couple of pictures show the former water tower at the east end of the station.

Water Tower, Margate Station, Kent

The square looking building to the left of the picture is the main entrance to the station, and once again apologies for not having any pictures of the front or the interior to share.

Water Tower, Margate Station, Kent

Platform Canopy, Margate Station, Kent

The Big Wheel at Dreamland from Margate Station, Kent

And so on to the second visit to the station, marred only by the dismal weather. When I first spotted this ghost sign I had not realised that the Albert Garage was in fact still an active operation just around the corner.

Albert Garage Ghost sign, Margate Station, Kent

During the previous day's trip out of Margate on the train, I noticed some abandoned looking platforms to the side of the station. With a bit more time to spare before the train left I ventured beyond the confines of the station to see what these were. A bit of internet research revealed these to be a former parcels depot and sidings, of which some parts were more derelict than others.

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Abandoned parcel depot and sidings, Margate station, Kent

Thanks for reading ... and so we come to the end of another Margate post, with probably just about enough material for one more. In case you missed the previous posts on Margate these can be found at a weekend wandering around Kent (part 2, Margate) and Margate again (from abandonment to Dreamland).

An Urban Wander along the Gloucester Road in Bristol

It wasn't until my phone storage had become full, and I was forced to upload my pictures to my PC, that I realised I did have a few other blog-worthy pictures to share. A few weeks ago we visited one of our kids who's at university in Bristol. Living just off the Gloucester Road now, we walked from his new house down the hill and into the city. The weather was a bit overcast so I didn't take anywhere as many photos as I would have had the weather been a bit brighter. The few pictures I did take however are of a recent passion of mine, doorway mosaics. I'm constantly, and pleasantly, surprised at just how many of these are still intact, and have not been destroyed as part of some modernisation scheme. This is a particular sore point for me at the moment as recently we visited the centre of Nottingham, again paying a visit to another of our kids at uni, and had cause to go to the Victoria shopping centre. I knew at one stage it was the location of a station but it wasn't until I returned home and did a quick internet search that I realised just how magnificent it was, and what a travesty it was to have bulldozed it in the 1960's to be replaced with a shopping centre. There's a good article on it on the BBC news site and a curiously intriguing book called Nottingham Victoria: The story of a slum, a station and a shopping centre. Sorry, I digress and seem to have become a bit melancholy, so back to the more upbeat purpose of this blog post, doorway mosaics.

Doorway mosaic, Gloucester Road, Bristol

Doorway mosaic, Gloucester Road, Bristol

So, just a short post today, but hopefully I'm back on the path to more regular blog postings.

    

A Suburban Wander from Mill Hill Broadway to Mill Hill East, London N7

Inspired still by everthing connected to Metroland, and also more recently by Nick Papadimitriou's wonderful Scarp, I set out on my latest wander around the suburban delights of northern London as it reaches out towards the home counties and borderlands. My destination for today's drift was the area in and around Mill Hill. I'd only ever seen Mill Hill East as a spur off the Northern Line on the London Underground tube map and until today had never visited. I was vaguely aware that the line had once extended beyond Mill Hill East and had left some remnants behind, and also that I girl I knew at University went to a school in Mill Hill. Other than that I knew nothing about it.

My wander started from Mill Hill Broadway railway station where I alighted the train having taken it from St. Pancras twenty or so minutes earlier. I had no plans where I was going to head but seemed drawn to head up hill, and on seeing a B road heading to Mill Hill, my mind was made up.

As I wandered up the hill, past pleasant, suburban dwellings, it was a while before I felt any sort of desire to take any photos. This all changed however when I arrived at the top of the hill and headed south east along the Ridgeway when I arrived at a village pond, at the top of Milespit Hill. It wasn't quite as out of place as perhaps it might seem, as the whole area I had drifted into had a village feel to it. 

Village pond, Milespit Hill, Mill Hill

Unsure whether to continue along The Ridgeway I decided instead to descend Milespit Hill. This next picture is the view looking back up towards the pond.

Milespit Hill, Mill Hill

After passing all the mansions on Milespit Hill, I was surprised to see an estate of boarded up flats as the road joined Pursley Road. Whether these are destine for renovation or demolition I could not tell. There seemed to be some behind these that were still occupied, so maybe the former.

Boarded up flats, Pursley Road NW7

Boarded up flats, Pursley Road NW7

Boarded up flats, Pursley Road NW7

Always interested in disused railways, I was delighted to come across the former Mill Hill to Edgware line. The next few pictures show the bridge crossing at Sanders Lane.

Bridge over the former Mill Hill to Edgware branch of the Northern line

Bridge over the former Mill Hill to Edgware branch of the Northern line

And this is the view looking down from the Sanders Road bridge.

The former Mill Hill to Edgware branch of the Northern line

As Sanders Lane came to an end and re-entered into suburbia, I came across this interesting block of flats, or more probably maisonettes, in an otherwise fairly low rise area. What caught my eye was the arches of the stair wells at each end of the block. I think my fascination is possibly also part caused by another recent read, John Grindrod's rather excellent Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain.

Block of flats, Sanders Lane, Mill Hill, London N7

Now the only station on the spur of the northern line, Mill Hill East looks more like a country halt than a tube station.

Mill Hill East station, London N7

As I continued my wander eastwards, my route took me under two bridges which carried the tube line. The first was a fairly standard, green, metal bridge.

Bridge carrying the northern line spur to Mill Hill East, London N7

The second bridge I walked under was of an altogether different size and scale. This is the magnificent Dollis Brook viaduct. I'll apologise now for the number of pictures of the viaduct, but as you can probably tell I was a little blown away by its beauty. The viaduct was designed by John Fowler and Walter Brydone. It has thirteen arches and is the highest part of the London Underground above ground level, at 60 feet.

Dollis Brook Viaduct, Mill Hill East, London N7

Dollis Brook Viaduct, Mill Hill East, London N7

Dollis Brook Viaduct, Mill Hill East, London N7

Everything about this viaduct was spectacular, even the inside. The next two pictures are taken from directly beneath the viaduct, looking through the arches.

Dollis Brook Viaduct, Mill Hill East, London N7

Dollis Brook Viaduct, Mill Hill East, London N7

Dollis Brook Viaduct, Mill Hill East, London N7

Dollis Brook Viaduct, Mill Hill East, London N7

And this is the brook, Dollis Brook, that the viaduct is named after. This whole area forms part of the Dollis Valley Greenwalk, which will be added to my ever increasing list of places to visit. I took this picture though mainly for a different reason as it reminded me of my childhood. I grew up in Ruislip Gardens, not a million miles from Mill Hill, although as I said previously I never ventured here, and this brook brought back memories of the Yeading Brook which we would paddle in and ford across in the long, hot summer holidays of the 1970's.

Dollis Brook, Mill Hill East, London N7

And so another suburban wander comes to an end. This one was immensely enjoyable. I will be back.