The Round-About Way

I had a disjointed return to trainspotting last May – various interruptions due to the ongoing Pandemic and also some reluctance on my own behalf. However, from mid-January I have been much more active, using my hobby as the driving force for getting out to exercise.

One thing I have been doing is taking an indirect route to my destination – this forces me to change trains which throws in some ‘up and over the bridge’ type exercise in the middle of the journey. It also gives some variety to the trains I travel on – which is good for that other trainspotter desire, haulage. Quite why we persist with that term when almost all the trains we travel on are self-contained units these days, I don’t know. I guess no one’s come up with another suitable word. But I digress.

Here’s an example of the sort of cross-London trip I’m talking about. For my ‘On Borrowed Time’ post I took two runs out to Clapham Junction. The direct route from where I live would be the Northern Line down to Waterloo and then a South Western Railway train out from there. Instead, I routed Northern Line to King’s Cross…

…Metropolitan / Circle Line to Farringdon. Then it was Thameslink to London Bridge. From there I took a Southeastern service to Waterloo East…

..Then it was short walk into Waterloo itself to get on the train out to Clapham Junction…

…If you were counting, that’s 5 different types of traction for haulage and a lot of platform changing on the way – repeat for the return trip and that’s 10. You get the idea – and see how how it’s encouraging me to do more walking 🙂

Yesterday was a day for a wander about – no specific destination planned and make things up as I go. Northern line down to Kentish Town, then a Thameslink service to West Hampstead Thameslink…

…A short walk across to West Hampstead Overground station and a Class 378 across to Willesden Junction. The line north from there is shared between Bakerloo and Overground services, so I took the Bakerloo train…

…north to Wembley Central. A walk along High Road with the Fire Brigade offering a diversion…

…it’s always busy along there at lunchtime! Then it was onto the platform at Wembley Stadium station…

…to catch a train into Marylebone…

Back on the Bakerloo Line to Baker Street and on the Metropolitan to King’s Cross where Harry Potter was not to be seen but several Azuma’s were…

Then it was time for a quick pint in The Euston Flyer on the way across to Euston station…

..Where I caught an Overground service back out to Willesden Junction and then changed to another going east as far as Gospel Oak. From there it was onto the Goblin for the short hop to Upper Holloway – Thank god it was a short hop (train was full of Schoolgirls! 😬) Then a walk up the hill to get back on the Northern Line at Archway and home. That’s 16000 steps and quite a lot of haulage 😊