Kentish Adventure for Seven

By High Speed Train to Canterbury, again

As if the November trip to Canterbury for my daughter's doctoral graduation were not enough, the long-planned group day out to Canterbury finally became reality in December, so I was there twice within about three weeks. The weather was similar, showery and cold, although not too cold, and there were gaps between the showers. We had not particularly aimed for a winter outing but by the time we had agreed a convenient date that was when it would have to be, and so it was!

When I was a young child I went with my parents to Kent every summer. My mother was from Margate and the only way we could see that part of the family was to have our summer holiday with them, for in those days annual leave was just the one week plus bank holidays. It was fortunate that my mother's family lived at a seaside town, so it was a good holiday, too! I have smashing memories of the train ride from Spalding or Kings Lynn to London (through locomotive-hauled express trains) and mixed memories of the struggle across to Victoria (no Victoria Line then) for the Kent coast trains to Margate, mentally ticking off the stopping places on the way. How different it is today! Main line trains no longer venture into south Lincolnshire or north Norfolk (see my recent post on the East Lincs Main Line) but the other end is so much better: High Speed trains now operate from St Pancras to many Kentish destinations, giving a simple cross-street change of stations in London and then a fast service into Kent. It is still a long way, but it is now easily possible to have a day trip to almost anywhere in Kent from our current home in Stamford, Lincolnshire, or probably from almost anywhere in the midlands.

Our little party gathered at our local station in time to catch the 08:00 Cross Country train to Peterborough. For some reason the reservation slips had not been put on our seats but as it happened most of them were unoccupied, and there were plenty of others nearby for those of us without our reserved seats. At Peterborough we had about half an hour before the scheduled departure of our connection to Kings Cross: I had arranged First Class tickets for that leg of the journey and a handful of the group took up the offer of free coffee and cake at the Great Northern Hotel that comes with First Class LNER tickets at Peterborough. We were soon on our way on one of LNER's remaining British Rail mk4 electric trains, a touch late but still in good time for our Southeastern Highspeed connection in London. Soon the coffee, fruit juice and croissants were brought round by the attentive First Class hosts. At Kings Cross we made our way through the concourse towards the main entrance to St Pancras, directly opposite, and via the escalators and lift to the Southeastern platforms. Our train, eventual destination Margate, was already waiting for us and the swifter-moving members of the party boarded quickly and "bagged" a couple of tables together while I made sure that those moving more slowly found their way to join them. I had to feel sorry for the unsuspecting member of the public who joined us and took up the eighth place at our tables ...

We left London exactly on time and accelerated out through the tunnelled High Speed One main line, emerging briefly for a stop at Stratford and then along the north Thames bank until tunnelling under the river at Dartford and emerging for the stop at Ebbsfleet. The final stop on HS1 was at Ashford where we waited a little longer while the train's pantograph was lowered and power pick-up transferred to the heritage third rail system for the rest of the trip to Canterbury (and beyond to Margate for the train, but not for us). Highlights of the trip (apart from the astonishing speed!) are the view of the Queen Elizabeth Bridge at Dartford, the crossing of the Medway estuary with views of the M2 motorway as well as the Medway towns, and the distinctive Kent countryside on the last stretch between Ashford and Canterbury.

The weather that greeted us in Canterbury was as expected: cold, but not too cold, and damp with intermittent drizzle, but no real rain (yet). I walked with the group into the heart of the city and we all went our separate ways. Most people had come with a list of places they wanted to see, obviously including the cathedral, but I had no real agenda myself, having been here many times and as recently as a couple of weeks earlier! I had thought of travelling by bus to Margate for old times' sake, but the weather was really not very conducive to enjoying a day at the seaside, so although I got as far as the bus station I decided against doing that. There were odd bits of Christmas shopping I wanted to do, and although Nason's department store was already closed and Debenham's was in the midst of its closing-down sale, Fenwick's was still going strong, as were many other shops. Canterbury is also one of those cities where it is a pleasure just to be there and walk the streets and enjoy the architecture. Somehow the day just went by!

I had my lunch at The Old Buttermarket pub opposite the Cathedral Gate hotel where I had stayed on my recent visit: the pub was closed for refurbishment then so it was good to try out now - I could small the fresh paint as I walked in through the doorway! Some excellent cooked meals with decent local ale were on offer and the temperature and the company of other customers were congenial ... and I was joined by some other members of the group, too. We use WhatsApp on these tours to keep track of each other and this was the first trip I had done where every member of the group was using it, and it was very effective. The three of us gathered at this pub decided to meet later at one nearer the station before catching the train back, and I messaged the whole group to suggest an informal rendezvous at The Bishop's Finger 45 minutes before departure, and even single one turned up (all of them before I did!).

When I remarked on her Unicorn
ticket clipper, the nice train
train manager kindly made these
two special tickets for my senior
(four years old!)
granddaughters. How kind is that?

And so came the time to make our way to the station for the journey home. It was already dark, so there would be little to see. This time we took a local stopping train to Ashford where we changed for the Highspeed train to London. Ashford International is a convenient interchange station but it is not really an interesting or exciting place to wait for a train, and in the cold and drizzle all we wanted was a train! I did buy a hot chocolate from a buffet counter on the platform, which was warming and pleasant. Everyone was chatting excitedly about what they had done and seen on their day in Canterbury and I briefed them on the next stage of the journey: from Kings Cross we were to travel on one of LNER's new ten-coach Azuma trains, made of to five-car sets couple together, so it was vital to board the correct coach, or, at least, one nearby in the correct half of the train. Again we were travelling First Class and we had time to wait in the lounge at Kings Cross while the train was prepared. Slightly distressing, the escalator down to our platform was out of order, so we had to take two turns to get the whole group down via the lift. We did have reserved seats, which were reserved, so there was no hurry to get to them, but with some of the group having mobility issues I was a bit on edge until everyone was in the correct coach. I could have done without one couple announcing that they had lost their tickets and railcards at this stage ... later found in a hat, of all places, fortunately before they were required for inspection. This was by far the most complex of these day trips I had arranged and everyone had six ticket coupons plus separate compulsory reservation coupons for some legs of the journey, so it was very easy to get tickets confused. I may have to reconsider my policy of giving everyone all their tickets at the start of the day ...

The usual snack meal available to short-journey passengers was served on the way back to Peterborough and we arrived just slightly early there so that even with some mobility difficulties we all managed to catch the very tight East Midlands Railway connecting train to Stamford rather than having to wait half an hour for the usual Cross Country train. We made our way over the footbridge at Stamford and said our farewells - the walk home allowed me the chance to relax and thus soon to sleep after an exciting day out with half-a-dozen friends.

I have to say that we met some wonderful train staff and station staff throughout this day. I don't think I have ever enjoyed the company of so many cheerful and helpful railway employees in one day. All our trains were either on time or so nearly so that it made no difference to us, and all were clean and had enough space for us. Given the amount of time we spent on the railway, these aspects mattered to our enjoyment of the day, and they certainly contributed to it. Some members of the party do not often (or ever) travel First Class, so it was an introduction for them - I did emphasise that it is inexpensive because of boring three months in advance which cannot always be done. Whether it is affordable otherwise is a decision which each of us would have to make depending on our means and other calls on our funds.

Where to next? Well, it is probably time to organise another party in a brewery ... See my Come with me! page for details of how to join us.

The Leafy Suburbs

Through London by train to the edge of Kent

I have now been to see the new, spacious London Bridge station and finally, years after my daughter moved to Orpington, been there by train. Every previous trip has needed me to take the car for one reason or another but this time, to meet our new grandson, we could go by rail. And it was really rather simple! And, once out of London, a lot more scenic than the Thames estuary which we pass on the road trip.

The route is straightforward enough: up (or is it "down"?) to London the usual way, then across London to London Bridge station for one of the frequent fast trains to Orpington; returning the same way and trying to get a decent connection to Stamford and home.

Tickets are the issue here: with only a vague idea of the timing of the birth (as ever) we could not buy tickets far in advance, and so we had to choose our trains carefully to get decent fares. Mercifully the best train back had cheap First Class seats left, and we were able to find one there that was not too bad. Once in London we used our Oysters, which are linked with our Senior Railcards, to get about, taking us all the rest of the way to Orpington and back - with the daily fare cap. This is far cheaper than buying through return tickets all the way, although it does not include First Class on the trains in London, of course.

We took a mid-morning train from Stamford to Peterborough and then had just a few minutes' connection there for our LNER train to London. Although our seats were reserved in coach L, we moved on to coach M where there were many empty seats (and less smell of other people's delicious breakfasts!). We were served coffee, fruit juice and toast for this short inter-city trip and on arrival at Kings Cross made our way across the road to St Pancras International - we did not go straight to our next train, though, but called first of all at Fortnum and Mason where we replenished our stock of St Pancras Blend tea, available only from their St Pancras shop. We rather like it and every time we have a cup of tea we are reminded of our travels - especially as the teapot was bought at the Tate St Ives art gallery on one of our early rail tours!

And so to the "cellar" platforms for the Thameslink train to London Bridge. This was my first trip on the new Thameslink trains which are a standard twelve coaches long, so at this time of the day there is plenty of space. They are reputed to have rather too-firm seats but I have to say that it felt all right to me. Whether I would still say that if I were travelling all the way to Brighton on one I cannot say, of course. It is now possible to get a Thameslink train through from Peterborough to London Bridge without having to change, and the standard class off-peak fare is very cheap, but it is much slower than LNER, stopping frequently, and carries no catering: as so often, you get what you pay for. 

At London Bridge we left the platform by lift down to the new concourse which now links all of the platforms, enabling much easier changes of train. This used to be such a difficult and worn-out place but is now quite a pleasant, although still busy, station. We found a train whose first stop was Orpington and which was due to leave in one minute - we dashed to the platform just a tad too late to see the doors closing as the train dispatcher sent it on its way. The next, though, was on the adjacent platform in only ten minutes' time, so it was not a big deal. I have to say that when we were there every train was on time: off-peak this is often the case, but in busy times it only takes one small thing to go wrong and everything soon fouls up. Simply taking too long to get everyone on the train can cause multiple delays in places like this.

The ride to Orpington was great: views of the rooftops of east London, with distant views of the City and of Canary Wharf, to begin with, and then out into the suburbs the bigger houses and trees. Thousands upon thousands of trees, and this is autumn so the colours were gorgeous - two weeks earlier would have been better, but they were still good now. At one point we could see nothing but trees either side! Come winter there will be houses among them, but for now just the tree canopy.

We left Orpington station on the side where the taxis wait and took a cab to the family's home. We had a shopping trolley with us (yes, really! No, not the sort supermarkets have, the two-wheeled sort for taking things home.) because we were taking Lincolnshire sausages, potatoes and vegetables to cook lunch for our sleep-deprived daughter and son-in-law as well as gifts for the new grandchild from various Lincolnshire and Peterborough family members. We asked the cabbie for his business card and then called him when it was time to leave, walking back onto the station just as a train for London Bridge was arriving at the platform - brilliant! 

Darkness was falling now and we could see little. At London Bridge we made our way to the Thameslink platform for a train back to St Pancras and met someone we knew from Stamford. She was waiting for one of the through stopping trains direct to Peterborough which left several minutes after the one we took, so we said our farewells after a few minutes' chat and then we had a little time to wait at Kings Cross in the First Class Lounge before our train. I find the Lounge a rather depressing place, actually, although it does beat standing on the concourse. There are free nibbles and (non-alcoholic) drinks but there is no variety from visit to visit and the décor is "Virgin" red which is not as restful as you might expect a lounge to be.

Soon our train was indicated and we made our way to the platform, this time our reserved seats were fine and we settled in the for the trip home. This time we were served sandwiches, crisps and cake with beer and wine as well as hot drinks. The train made a very neat connection with East Midlands Trains' extra little service to Stamford, noisier and less spacious than the usual Cross Country Turbostar, but if we were to be late and miss it, the next Cross Country one is only about twenty minutes later, very handy. But we were not late and did catch it and then took another taxi home from Stamford station. A great family day, and a great train ride, too, partly on a route new to us.

Day Trip to Margate

For the first ten years of my life and sporadically in my teen years, summer holidays were at Margate: my mother's family lived there and this was our only chance to see that half of my relatives. It was just as well that it happened to be a holiday resort! I have very fond memories of the place as it was them, fifty to sixty years ago, and a rather less fond memory of a visit made a few years ago when my daughter was studying in Canterbury.

We had heard that Margate was improving again and wanted to make another visit to see if we could feel better about the place, and when a day trip to Canterbury on family business came up, we made it two days, staying in Canterbury and tripping out to Margate the first day, family business on the second. It was fairly short notice but through the Virgin Trains East Coast website  I was able to book First Class tickets Peterborough - Canterbury and return at really good prices: there are no classes on the Southeastern High Speed service from St Pancras to Canterbury so there is no First-Class mark-up for that section of the trip but we did have all the advantages of First Class on the East Coast section, adding standard tickets for the Stamford-Peterborough and back section. Hotel rooms for the two nights in Canterbury were fairly scarce but I found a hotel right next to Canterbury Cathedral which I just had to hope would be OK.

We left Stamford on a Thursday evening after our day's tasks and made our connection at Peterborough for London. I had only allowed a few minutes this time because it was late in the day and we needed to get there reasonably quickly. It worked like a dream and by the time we'd eaten our sandwiches and cake and drunk our wine and coffee we were at Kings Cross.

When I was little, a journey to Margate then involved crossing London to Victoria station and taking a rather slow electric train out through the south-eastern suburbs, but things have changed. The opening of High Speed 1, the line to Ashford built to take fast trains to and from France and Belgium, has enabled fast domestic service in Kent to operate in and out of London St Pancras International. So we made our way off the platform at Kings Cross, turned right onto the main concourse and strolled round to the Southeastern platforms at St Pancras. We had plenty of time here and, as we often seem to do, spent a little time in the shops at St Pancras and then went upstairs to the little concourse just before the platform was announced. We were among the first to board the train and it was as well that we were in good time for it loaded heavily and a few people in our coach did not get seats. Under way from St Pancras on time, the train tunnels under London and emerges for a brief stop at Stratford International and then tunnels again for the scruffy all-powerlines-scrapyards-and-highways landscape of north Thameside before tunnelling under the river itself and emerging in Kent for a stop at Ebbsfleet: currently just a station but to become a "garden city" new town, apparently. Speeding through Kent, we stopped at Ashford where we left the high-speed route and joined what had been a minor line to Canterbury where there was a clue to the crowds on our train as it made three unscheduled stops - I speculated that a local train in that direction must have been cancelled and the extra stops had been included so that passengers could use this one instead.

We were soon in Canterbury, just a few minutes late owing to the extra stops, and walked off to our hotel, a bit of a walk but with wheeled cases this really is not a problem. We had come to know the city quite well over the years of our daughter's student life and knew the way, although I could not picture the hotel in my mind. I hoped it would be comfortable.

As happens sometimes in city centres (our hotel in Edinburgh, for example), only the front door of the Cathedral Gate Hotel is at street level: inside were stairs leading up to reception on the first floor. Retracting the dragging handles of our cases we carried them up to the counter and checked in with a young man who took our payment, handed us our keys and led us to our room. On the way through the narrow corridors of this obviously medieval building he showed us the roof garden which had a spectacular view of the cathedral, by now floodlit against a dark sky. If our schedule were not already full I could imagine us quaffing wine out here on a warm August evening, for there was also a small bar. After the roof garden we were led, alarmingly, out onto another roof  (flat roof, of course!) and across to another building where our room was located: I began to wonder if I had booked the right place, but once through the door the other side it was clear that this was the better part of the hotel for it had recently been redecorated and recarpeted. Our room was beyond the very comfortable lounge and also had a cathedral view. It was a very well-appointed room with a four-poster bed and we had a great night's sleep.

Breakfast was continental with a paid option of a cooked English breakfast and we really did not feel we needed more than the included continental offering. Excellent croissants baked fresh and the freshest fresh fruit salad imaginable, and waiter-served, too. We managed to find a table in the bow window overlooking the Buttermarket: just perfect (and it was available the second day, too!).

After breakfast we rushed to the station for the train to Margate, not quite having taken in how long it would take to get there and buy our day return tickets! It was a short, quick trip via Ramsgate and we emerged at the station in Margate just as I remembered it from all those decades ago. The high ceiling of the ballroom-like booking hall was peeling a bit and needed attention but it still spoke of arrival at an important place.

We started at Dreamland which had been a waste ground when I last saw it, following a disastrous fire which had destroyed the Scenic Railway, the world's oldest wooden rollercoaster. Admission to Dreamland, now reopened as a retro theme park with antique rides and entertainments, was free of charge and we wandered around looking at what was on offer. The Scenic Railway had been completely rebuilt as a centrepiece of the park but not much else was as I remembered it, having changed a lot over the years and having been closed for a while before the fire. Regrettably the Scenic Railway was not operating when we visited or I would definitely have ridden it for old times' sake.

We walked along Marine Parade and visited the Turner Contemporary gallery. This does not have a permanent display but stages exhibitions through the year, the current one being "Seeing Round Corners" on the theme of the circle in art. There was one Turner among them - they always include at least one of his works in each exhibition. The gallery is apparently built on the site of the house where he stayed on his request visits to Margate. We had coffee at the gallery cafe and wires impressed that we booked a table for dinner, which they now offer on Friday and Saturday evenings.

On our walk we went along the road where I used to stay in a boarding house on those childhood holidays, lined with dozens of similar premises. None was still trading and most of the houses were in multiple occupation now. Some were being refurbished as individual dwellings again or as proper flats but none looked like it would again be offering bed & breakfast. I remembered these streets gaily lit with strings of coloured lights, too, all of which were long gone. How I wish I had taken photographs, but it was before my photography days.

We caught a bus to Birchington looking for other family connections and found another place very changed, with the beach totally deserted, not only by people but even by the sand! There was no longer anything to attract people here, although it remained a very pleasant village and we spend a little time in the library looking at what it had been and at the pub for refreshment before catching the bus back to Margate and dinner at the Turner Contemporary, which was excellent (Trip Advisor review already published: see links in right column).

Those of us used to seeing trains of green slam-door coaches find it an incongruous sight to see the streamlined Javelin trains at Margate station! This is one way that the place has improved since the 1950s, fast trains from St Pancras operate two different routes terminating here: one via the north coast and Medway towns, leaving HS1 at Ebbsfleet and the one we needed via Canterbury, leaving HS1 at Ashford. We were soon back in our hotel and another good night's sleep.

Our family celebration in Canterbury on the Saturday finished with a lunch of fantastic value at the Foundry Brew Pub, well worth looking at, not just for beer and food, but a decent wine list and cocktails, too. Again, see my Trip Advisor review.

Then we were on the train back to London, this time involving a change at Ashford, for not every Javelin comes through to Canterbury and there are local trains connecting at Ashford, then across the road and a short wait in the First Class lounge at Kings Cross before the train home.

We shall have to return for another exhibition at the Turner Contemporary and to see how the renovation and rehabilitation of Margate is coming along: it is now quite feasible as a day trip from Stamford, albeit not involving dinner at the gallery.


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Off we go!

It's been a while since I've travelled, and a long while since I posted anything worthwhile here, but I'm going to try to make up for the lack of posts very soon now, as I have some holiday coming up, and I've also just booked a couple more trip in addition to the forthcoming holidays to the south of England and the south of France mentioned a few months ago.

One of the newly booked trips is just to London to see two different friends for different reasons which just happen to coincide, and I've managed to get a room at the newly refurbished Brook Green Hotel where we've stayed before but which has been closed for the work to be done: can't wait to try it again now!

SouthEastern HighSpeed Javelin train,St Pancras International;
Eurostar train visible in adjacent platform.

Before then, though, is a short break in Canterbury, where we've been before but not by train, with a trip out to Margate to visit Dreamland which I loved as a child (my grandparents lived in Margate so we went every summer for a combined holiday and family gathering - and for me Dreamland was the highlight). It will also be the first time I've been farther than Stratford on a domestic train on High Speed 1.

Always good to get the hotels and train tickets booked, and now I have a drawer-full of tickets again I'm beginning to feel more normal! Will be completely normal when I receive the tickets for the France trip from Great Rail Journeys Independent who have made the bookings for me: they should arrive a couple of weeks before the holiday.