Trip Log - Saturday 8th July

Rog and I followed Friday's birthday celebrations with a day of refined exploration down in Kinver. Well, he does have to be a little more careful now he's getting on a bit...

• Start off by walking into Stourbridge so Rog can get his ticket
• Its then off to the Bonded Warehouse (a hidden Black Country gem) to begin our canal walk at Stourbridge Basin
• First stage takes us along the Stourbridge Town Arm down to Wordsley Junction, glimpses of industrial heritage amongst the greenery and tranquility
• Wordsley Junction - a canal location I'd wanted to visit for ages, I wasn't disappointed. Lots of photo potential with the junction bridge, junction signpost and Stourbridge Locks all providing targets.
• Join the main branch of the Stourbridge Canal and head down to Stourton Junction - the canal becomes more rural and, rather annoyingly, the bridges don't seem to have names. A relaxing stroll in the sunshine, with Stourton Locks providing further photo opportunities
• Stourton Junction - another canal location crossed off the hitlist, with a chance to take shots of the junction bridge and nearby signpost as we join the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal
• Just along from Stourton Junction is Stewpony Lock, a well known canal location with a distinctive lockhouse that has unfortunately closed down. Onwards through Dunsley Tunnel to Hyde Lock, one of Rog's favourite canal places, bringing back memories of our February 2005 visit. Then its a quick photo of Kinver Bridge where we leave the canal. What a fantastic walk that was, even Rog really enjoyed it - no Bromsgrove or Streetly style cursing this time round!
• Next up, a visit to The Vine pub. Threatened with closure and demolition not long back, the pub has survived, meaning Rog and I could enjoy a refreshing drink in the beer garden overlooking Kinver Lock - great pub, great weather, great view.
• We walk down into Kinver hunting a bit of lunch and a few local photos. I must mention the local butchers on the High Street; we popped in for some old fashioned pork scratchings and it was like stepping back in time, great service, time for a chat, an old cash register - real village atmosphere. It gave me a sense of what a village shop should be like, something that is all too quickly fading away in this age of convenience. And the scratchings were delicious by the way.
• We had time to spare before the bus back so we ventured into The Cross for a quick drink. This gave Rog the chance to introduce me to Metallica with the aid of the pub's jukebox machine, I still haven't recovered.
• The 228 provided the first bus ride of the day as we caught the route up into Wollaston and then transferred onto the 294 to investigate Mary Stevens Park. I've been on the 294 before but paid more attention this time, making mental notes of local photo targets on the Norton Estate such as Broadway shops or the Gigmill pub.
• Mary Stevens Park provided another trip down memory lane, recalling our very first joint outing. The park seemed popular and lively on a summer's afternoon, and I followed tradition by taking photos of the war memorial and park gates
• We return to Stourbridge along Worcester Street and finish the birthday celebrations off with a couple more drinks and a read of the evening paper.

All in all, a really enjoyable outing and a great way to mark Rog's 30th. Surprisingly though, the outing involved very little in the way of buses - not that either of us actually minded.

The Big 30

I couldn't let such a landmark pass without mention - Mr Chance of SBI is now 30 years old, a milestone that was celebrated in style over in Stourbridge last Friday. A great night, many congratulations - although not much sign of Rog becoming too mature and respectable just yet...

WME in Devon - Dawlish Stations

Of course, my Devon holiday wasn't just about riding around on buses. I also wanted to visit the local railway stations, particularly the two closest to the camp - Dawlish and Dawlish Warren

• Dawlish: I had a brief glimpse of Dawlish Station as we arrived on the Monday - we actually parked on the station car park before exploring the town. I can't say the place left a great first impression; the station seemed shabby with the track on the sea wall looking decidedly rusty. I returned for a closer look on the Tuesday, and my opinion of the place didn't improve much after closer inspection.
  Quite frankly, the station is rather ugly, with a bleak booking hall, functional platforms and a ramshackle, rusty footbridge. I did find a nice old black and white platform sign but this seemed totally out of place amongst its surroundings. Despite the ugliness, I must admit it was enjoyable standing on the platform looking out along the sea wall and waiting for a train to photograph, with a Class 150 to Paignton arriving obligingly. I left feeling slightly disappointed with the condition of the station (the sea doesn't help), but nonetheless pleased to add it to my collection.
  
• Dawlish Warren: Dawlish Warren was also something of a disappointment in terms of station facilities, but it is a station I will have good memories of. To begin with I had a quick look around during one of our evening strolls down to the seafront - it didn't take long to realise the station was effectively an unstaffed halt, looking quite desolate with only small concrete blocks for shelters on either platform. Very basic, very functional and not very appealing to the station explorer.
  Undeterred, I called in on my way back on Wednesday for a few quick photos, but it was the Thursday that I'll really remember. We'd walked into Dawlish along the sea wall in the morning, and heading back to the camp I realised I might get a train photo if I was quick enough. This necessitated a dash back along the seawall and a bit of a sprint through the car parks, but I made it with a couple of minutes to spare - now that's commitment for you. The train arrived bang on time and I got my shot, so all the effort was worth it. I even added a few more photos of the station itself, making the most of the peace and quiet. So, despite all my misgivings, the station ended up providing one of the highlights of the holiday, and you can't ask for more than that!

WME in Devon - more bus memories

A few notes on the other routes and locations that featured in my Devon adventures...

• Exeter is a hub for regional bus routes operating out of the city's bus station. There is quite a choice, with routes to Plymouth, Barnstaple, Tiverton and Okehampton, but I settled for a ride on the 57 down to Exmouth - a nice little jaunt down through Countess Wear and Topsham (passing the station). Exmouth was my kind of location - the bus and train stations are next door to each other and offer some good photo opportunities. The bus station is quite basic and dated, but I quite liked that as an antidote to some soulless modern stations where you can't get anywhere near the vehicles. At both Exeter and Exmouth there were racks of timetables where you could just help yourself to a few leaflets, very handy for a bit of research and journey planning.
  
• Exeter also has an extensive network of local routes, usually assigned a letter of the alphabet rather than a number. These routes operate from High Street rather than the bus station, and provide the more local kind of exploration I'm used to in the West Midlands.
  I explored routes K and T - the K links Pinhoe and Countess Wear via the City Centre, and I tracked it down the Countess Wear terminus outside the shops, a real local terminal point that was just the kind I like to explore back home. The T is similar to the K but extends to Topsham, providing another treat of a ride. The route terminates on Topsham Quay, surely one of the loveliest bus locations I am ever likely to visit. Having dashed down from the railway station, I had the absolute pleasure of waiting for the bus whilst enjoying wonderful views over the quayside and along the River Exe. Simply brilliant.
  
• The 12/12A is another jewel in the Stagecoach Devon crown - a regular service linking Newton Abbot, Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. I caught the route outside Newton Abbot Station down to Paignton, providing glimpses of the railway station at Torre and a ride through the streets of Torquay before heading along the seafront. The Strand seems to be a good place to find buses in Torquay, although I didn't investigate, whilst Paignton Bus Station was another example of my kind of bus station - basic but photo-friendly with the added bonus of a travel shop where I could top up my ever expanding timetable collection
  
• And finally for now, the 39 - something of an unexpected addition to the Devon bus collection, a happy accident that arose out of finding myself in Newton Abbot and wondering where to head next. The 39 arrived and sounded intriguing, so I took a chance and headed for Exeter. Its quite a haul after a long day of exploring but I still enjoyed it, plus I had the chance for a glimpse of places such as Bovey Tracey and Chudleigh before alighting at Countess Wear to track down that elusive K photo. Whilst not being up there as a great exploration experience, the 39 is still a fine route in its own right.