The Thirties Era, with a Polish Twist

Since the National Trust opened Agatha Christie's home at Greenway, on the left bank of the Dart Estuary, we had promised ourselves a visit there, and browsing through the NT handbook revealed two other interesting houses nearby, both twentieth century, all of which could be reached from a walking holiday based at Paignton or Dartmouth. We had visited Dartmouth in the past and decided to make that our base, and the first requirement was to book the bed & breakfast to ensure that we could stay there, the second to set up an alert to tell us when the cheapest tickets for the trains would become available. As a fan of Agatha Christie our daughter Celia was to join us for the first couple of days, meeting us in London for the start of the adventure!

For us, the trip started with the usual train to Peterborough and then to London, and we made our way to Paddington where we had arranged to meet Celia at the First Class Lounge on platform 1. (A little tip if you're travelling from Kings Cross to Paddington by Underground: change at Edgware Road to the District Line because the District platforms at Paddington are much better placed for the main line concourse than the Circle/Hammersmith & City platforms are, and it's an easy change.) In the lounge we had our coffee and snack as we waited to be called to our train. We had been here once before when we had travelled to Cornwall on the Night Riviera, but this was the first time we'd caught a day train here. The deep blue livery of First Great Western's High Speed Trains is very striking, and their First Class cars have comfortable leather seats. It was a nice ride, but their catering is not like that of East Coast. We were offered a variety of drinks, biscuits, nuts etc but for a meal we had brought our picnic, bought from the M&S at Paddington before boarding, including "le Froglet" wine in plastic "wine glasses". The catering offer on board was not advertised well on Great Western's website and we had not known that there was a "Pullman" (so they call it) restaurant car, or we may well have budgetted for a special meal on this special trip rather than our M&S picnic. The line took us through Exeter and along the Exe estuary and the south coast via Dawlish and Teignmouth, a stretch which is now becoming familiar to us.

There are though trains from London to Paignton but not at the time we needed to travel in order to meet Celia and to make our connection to Kingswear, so we hd to change at Newton Abbot. This was a simple matter of getting off one train, waiting at the platform and getting on the next. Our little train from Newton Abbot to Paignton was a fairly full local train full of shoppers, workers and just a few other holidaymakers (most using the earlier through trains, I expect), and we found ourselves chatting to some local people which is always a bit of a bonus on these trains. The sun was shining and Torquay looked lovely. And so into Paignton. Here we had to leave the main line station and cross the line to the preserved railway's station next-door where we acquired our "Jubilee Passes" which would give us our travel around the area for the time we were staying. I had bought these in advance via the Dartmouth Steam Railway and Riverboat Company's website for collection at Paignton booking office and they entitled us to travel on any of the company' train or regular passenger boat services for five days (three in Celia's case as she was leaving early). This is a huge bargain, saving on the cost of the train to Kingswear on arrival and from Kingswear on departure with all other travel effectively free! We had allowed plenty of time for the connection to the steam railway in case the main line train were delayed but all had been on time so we had a little while to look around the gift shop and wait in the sun for our train. Our pre-war fantasy holiday had begun!

As those who've seen Michael Portillo in Dartmouth will know, Dartmouth has a station but no railway: the railway terminates across the river at Kingswear and passengers for Dartmouth cross by ferry. Arriving by steam railway and ferry would add to the inter-war era feel of the holiday.


We waited in the sun on the steam railway platform with its timber buildings and mock period posters and boarded our train when it came, the first of several steam train rides that would be taken on this trip. We were efficiently delivered to Kingswear and queued for the ferry across to Dartmouth where we arrived early for our check-in and whiled away half an hour at a pavement table outside waterfront bar surrounded by our luggage! There is always plenty of movement to see on this stretch of the river. We stayed at the unusual and excellent Anzac Street B&Bistro run by an Anglo-Polish couple with a Polish chef and would recommend it to anyone. We had dinner at a first-floor restaurant, in the yacht club overlooking the estuary.

Our first full day was the day at Greenway and it began, following the usual guest-house breakfast, with the ferry over to Kingswear and the train to Greenway Halt. This is a new station, with a very short platform requiring travel in a specific coach and it is on a very steep gradient just through Greenway Tunnel. As we made our way off the platform the locomotive struggled to haul its coaches away towards Paignton with about two seconds between exhaust blasts: those who know about steam traction will realise how hard this engine was having to work. Meanwhile dense smoke continued to pour out of the tunnel mouth, testament to how hard it had been working to get us this far. By railway standards this is a very steep hill!


Then began the first country walk of the holiday, through the woods to Greenway House, and the first of three National Trust house visits, with both coffee and lunch taken at the NT catering facilities at Greenway and a thorough tour of the gardens, the boathouse and the house itself, all seen on TV recently in the Poirot episode Dead Man’s Folly. Back through the woods to Greenway Halt and our train back to Kingswear. We were in plenty of time and while waiting were treated to the dramatic sight of a Paignton-bound train thundering up the grade without stopping. We had anticipated a pint at the hotel at Kingswear before crossing to Dartmouth, but it had unfortunately closed permanently a short while before. So home to sample the “menu with a Polish twist” at Anzac Street.




The second full day entailed the longest walk, to Coleton Fishacre, the home of the D’Oyly Carte family of Savoy fame, an Arts & Crafts style home with fabulous Art Deco interior and a wonderful garden. There was a well-worthwhile cross-country walk to get there, although we did not take the rather longer walk via the coastal footpath. Celia was to travel back to London this day and so we took her luggage and although there is not an official left-luggage facility at Kingswear station the staff kindly took in her case for us so that we did not have to lug that to the house and back.



After the walking and the visit to Coleton Fishacre we took the steam train again and saw Celia off at Paignton, then returned to Dartmouth: our steam train back had the Devon Belle Pullman Observation Car marshalled at the back and for a small additional fare we were able to travel in that and had a wonderful view of the coast and of the countryside. Unfortunately the champagne bar in the coach was not open … More of our Polish “home cooking” that night and a good sleep after all the exercise.




No train rides the third day, but a splendid river cruise to to Totnes, again included in our Jubilee pass. It was warm and reasonably sunny and we sat out on deck all the way. We were on our way to Dartington to see High Cross, the modernist house built for the headmaster of Dartington School and now a design museum managed and opened by the National Trust. It was a long walk across the farmland of the Dartington Estate, the opposite side of the town from the riverboat quay so we saw quite a bit of Totnes, too. An alternative way to travel to Dartmouth would be by train to Totnes and then riverboat, but it would be a long walk with a week’s luggage, so I think our route via Paignton was better.


From High Cross we walked down to the main road at the Shops at Dartington and caught a bus back to Totnes, then after tea and cake in a café in the town went to get our boat back to Dartmouth. This was when we had the only rain of the entire holiday but the late boat back was not crowded and everyone managed to travel in comfort under cover.

By the time we arrived in Dartmouth the rain had stopped and we were able to enjoy an evening out, fish and chip dinner to celebrate our wedding anniversary (!) and then a walk on the riverside. We popped over on the ferry to experience the crossing at night and on the way back over to Dartmouth were the only passengers. The ferry crew kindly switched off all but the navigation lights so that we could better enjoy the view of Dartmouth and Kingswear lit up at night. This simple pleasure was one of the highlights of a fantastic week.

All that remained after one last night at the B&Bistro was the trip home. We were going via Cheltenham and Birmingham, partly because were were to stay with friends near Cheltenham on the way, as we have done before, but in any case it is part of the experience on these tours to go back by a different route if it is convenient. Cross Country Trains run services to and from Paignton so after a final ferry and steam train ride (this time in the observation car behind the locomotive which was an amazing experience as it blasted through Greenway Tunnel with fire-lit smoke and steam all around us and pouring in through the windows!) we  had a picnic on the beach at Paignton and boarded our through train to Cheltenham, returning home from there two days later via the usual change at Birmingham New Street. We have already determined that we must return to Dartmouth and the English Riviera, and I am working out which way we might take next time. There is a lot more available from the Jubilee Pass which we did not fit in this time and now that we have visited all those NT houses, we may do a bit more exploring of the sea and the beaches on a future visit.

If you would like to see all the photographs of this adventure, they are available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/frmark/

Parish Pilgrimage to Lincoln

When a group from All Saints' travelled to Ely earlier in the year for our first tentative rail adventure there was much enthusiasm for further trips and I resolved to try to do two per year: a shortish one in the autumn or winter and a longer one in the spring or summer. So for this year's autumn trip I arranged a visit to our own cathedral at Lincoln on 16th November, the eve of St Hugh's Day, St Hugh being the Bishop who had the cathedral built after the Norman original was almost completely destroyed in an earthquake. I was graciously allowed to preside at the 12:30 celebration of the Eucharist at St Hugh's Shrine, and the trip was organised around this pivotal event.


We began with the 08:01 train from Stamford to Peterborough where we connected with the 08:33 direct to Lincoln via Spalding and Sleaford. Good views across the fens were had once we were clear of Peterborough: across to Crowland Abbey between Deeping and Spalding, and the enormous bulk of the Bass Maltings as we approached Sleaford. North of Sleaford the train stops at two very small stations opened in the 1970s and now very popular with people going into Lincoln and into Sleaford for shopping and other purposes. As we drew near to Lincoln the view of the cathedral towering over the city was awesome, even through the November mists. Arrival was on time at about 10:00 - not a fast trip but an interesting one.

All of us managed the walk up the hill to Exchequergate and through to the cathedral where we were warmly greeted. Most opted for a guided tour while I sought out a verger to make the arrangments for the service. No-one seemed quite sure whom they were expecting because I had just been written into the diary as "Dean of Stamford" which did not mean a lot to most of the staff! I had time for a quick look around to ensure that the plans for a later walk would not be affected by road works or similar and thenit was time to worship. Although I had often taken part in services at the cathedral I had never led one before and this was quite as experience: no two churches ever do things quite the same way and I had to keep my wits about me (it was gratifying to be approached at the station several hours later by a stranger who had been there and thanked me for the service, so I must have got it about right!).

After the Eucharist we had lunch at the cathedral's refectory and then set off on a brief tour of one quarter of the Roman city wall. There is not much of it left and most is only foundations, but the section from the east gate, by the exit from the refectory, to the north gate is easy to follow and there are information boards here and there. Regrettably the north gate is having some substantial repairs done and is covered in hoardings so we did not see much of it, the only Roman arch in the country still in use by road traffic.

We then walked back towards the cathedral and castle along Bailgate, stopping to look at the well in the Roman forum area and the site of St Paul's Church, probably founded by St Paulinus on his way to York to become the first Bishop there. we all went our separate ways, meeting again at the station for the next part of the adventure. Some of us had coincided near a city centre pub in the meantime and had a swift half together before strolling down to the station.

The return journey was via a different route, for a the direct service between Lincoln and Peterborough does not operate in the evenings and in any case, real adventures shouldn't go the same way back. We travelled to Newark castle on a Nottingham-bound train and walked along the street to Zizzi's restaurant where our supper table had been booked. They were aware that we had a train to catch and despite being very busy managed to feed us comfortably in time and we were able to walk through the town to Newark Northgate station with no haste to get our next train, a London-bound East Coast express for Peterborough where we changed for our train home to Stamford. All the return journey was in the dark, of course, so there was little to see but trains ...

If you live near Stamford, Oakham or Peterborough and are interested in joining me on some of these day trips, please see the "Come with me!" Page.

To business!

Back in the 1970s when some of us first became aware of environmental degradation and the impending shortage of fossil fuels it seemed like an impossible task to get politicians interested in anything but more and more cars as far as transport was concerned. I was ridiculed at a public meeting by the then head of Planning at Lincolnshire County Council for suggesting that efforts be made to encourage cycling ("It'll be skateboards next," he jeered - many a true word ...). This is all over now and "green" has become trendy, but so often it is lip-service. I once attended a meeting in a town hall about bus services and was the only person there who had actually arrived by bus! When planning the diocesan clergy conference I was anxious that clergy from around the diocese should know how to get to the venue by train and bus and not assume that they had to drive - which meant telling them to ignore the advice on the venue's own literature which was out-of-date and misleading! We get lots of advice about "shrinking the footprint" and all that, but we have a long way to go to get back to he days when it was assumed that some, at least, would routinely take the train. We use the excuse that Lincolnshire is a rural county, and it is, but it still has a fair number of rail stations and a lot of people live in the populated bits (oddly!) where the stations are located, and a lot can be driven to those stations instead of driving themselves all the way to wherever a conference is being held, or can get a bus to them: for most it is an excuse, not a reason! We can switch off our lights and reuse our envelopes, but until we stop thinking "travel = car" (or, worse, "travel = 'plane") we are not really being "green". It is hard to manage completely without a car, and I do have one, but it is not hard to get our mileage down by several thousand per year if we want to do it.

Last October I was going to The Hayes Conference Centre at Swanwick, Derbyshire, for the National Conference on the Deanery, and for one person travelling alone it is considerably cheaper on expenses, as well as kinder to the environment - and more fun for that person, in my opinion - to travel by train and bus. Now, from Peterborough (and indeed from Grantham) it is a through train ride to Alfreton from where there is a bus every fifteen minutes to the gates of the conference centre, but because of the way the connection times work, this is not the quickest way to get there from Stamford! Never one to take the easy way out when an adventure (which is also quicker) is in the offing, I went the recommended way, from Stamford to Leicester, then Nottingham and Alfreton - the bit between Nottingham and Alfreton is on a train which has called at Peterborough but too early for the one from Stamford to have connected, so going this way saves almost an hour! Although I had to change twice, each leg was still long enough to get some useful work done between changes, a little reading of things in preparation for the conference, but mostly devising and typing up a draft Mission Area Plan document for the Deanery Synod . This planning process required quite a lot concentration and was best done away from the telephone (and internet!) at home anyway. As with so many "business" trips, the train in this case is not actually quicker than driving, but it is time that can be used rather than time wasted driving.

I left Stamford at 14:05 on a Friday afternoon on a Birmingham-bound train and after about 40 miuntes' work was ready to change trains at Leicester . The through tickets had naturally been bought in advance but were not for a specific train, and by buying them through East Coast's website I had earned some points towards my next free trip on their trains, too. My train to Nottingham was a main line East Midlands "Meridian" express from London St Pancras and was very comfortable for this part of the journey and I was soon able to get back to my index-of-deprivation calculations for the parishes of the deanery until Nottingham Castle came into view and I knew it was time to change again for Alfreton. This was quite an interesting change: although the train was a through service from Norwich to Liverpool, the section of route between Nottingham and Liverpool is much busier than the section south and east of Nottingham, so two additional coaches are added at Nottingham to the westbound trains, being taken off again from eastbound trains. When the train came in from Norwich (via Peterborough and Grantham), it buffered up to the two empty coaches waiting at the platform and the gangway between the two units was opened up, and so a four-car set departed for Liverpool via Sheffield and Manchester. My own journey on this train was a fairly short hop to Alfreton where I walked up to the road and waited for a Barton bus to Swanwick. Those who've lived in Stamford long enough will remember Barton's as the local transport provider here as well: it has changed a bit since those days and the bus served me well: it does fiddle around a bit in Alfreton but it gets there soon enough. One of these days I'll see if I'm quick enough to walk across Alfreton to catch an earlier bus the other side!

My return trip was on the Sunday afternoon. Sunday travel used to fraught with difficulty, but it is not so bad now. True, that is still the day when there can be disruption due to engineering work, but now it is taken into account when your journey is planned, so your travel advice applies on the day you travel, and there are still some lines which do not have services on Sundays, but there are not many now, and those that do generally start later but then run a decent service. Thus my journey back, which was not affected by works so far as I know, was much the same as my journey there - except that by now I had made a number of new friends and we travelled back some of the way together! Four of us gathered at Alfreton station and travelled to Nottingham and then three on to Leicester together, where I said farewell to my London colleagues and awaited my train to Stamford. So I did much less of the deanery plan on the way back, but continued to learn from the experiences of lay people from other deaneries in other dioceses. This is the other great feature of travelling this way: you do actually get to meet other people, and life is much less insular than sitting in ones own car listening to ones own CD collection and looking at the world as an observer rather than a participant.

This trip is one which would not have been possible in the 1970s, for the station at Alfreton was not there then and the hourly Norwich-Liverpool service did not exist. The "great car economy," as a later prime minister was to call it, was in full swing and it was assumed that railways woud continue to wind down and that buses were the last refuge for those who could not properly participate in society. Mercifully, the trend has reversed and railways are now carrying more passengers than ever and the opening or reopening of stations and even lines is gaining momentum: it is more complicated since privatisation but the pressure is relentless. (Meanwhile facilities for cyclists are growing and the rebuilt skatepark is about to open. Who looks ridiculous now?)