Europe

Riding an upcycled D-stock from Ridgmont to Bletchley – the Martson Vale Line

May 27, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

The idea of needing to recycle and upcycle is everywhere at the moment. And understandably so. What not everyone realises though is that it’s not just things at home that can be recycled. Have you ever thought about recycling a train? Those people at Vivarail have. That’s exactly what they’ve done with their new Class 230s. They’re upcycled D-stock trains that previously used to run on the London Underground.

Upcycled trains

It’s really a fascinating bit of engineering where they have been converted from electric trains that take power from a third rail into diesel two car units.

The Marston Vale line, a community rail partnership run by London Northwestern that goes between Bedford and Bletchley, has three of these two car units (one to go in each direction, and a spare). I’m pretty sure any London Underground fan wants to go and ride them, just as much as they do the Island Line vintage trains down on the Isle of Wight.

We decided to take a trip along part of the Marston Vale line with the kids, partly as as way of making a trip to Bletchley Park more attractive to my six year old, London Underground and train loving son. It did the trick. The idea of an upcycled D-stock, or as he put it a “recycled underground train” made it a very attractive option. We decided to start our journey at Ridgmont Station, which is conveniently located extremely close to the M1 at junction 13.

Ridgmont Station

I’d heard of Ridgmont before and wanted to go and suss the place out before a return trip with less children. It is an unstaffed station, but one with a small heritage centre and shop, as well as a well respected tea rooms. We will be back to do the place justice in the future.

The other thing that made me choose it as a place to start our journey was the convenient car park just across the tracks. It may not be large, but by the time we returned to our car we were the only ones parked there. And it was free too!

At the moment you can’t buy tickets at the station (the Heritage Centre don’t sell them, but the staff there are incredibly useful at answering any train related questions you might have) but we spotted a ticket machine under wraps on one of the platforms, so I’m guessing it’s coming soon. For now though you buy tickets on the train itself from the onboard staff. They can accept credit cards and railcards on board much as you can at any ticket office.

What’s a class 230 like?

The trains themselves look incredibly smart, and although their basic structure is recognisable from the District Line, the differences are remarkable.

Firstly, the ability to squeeze in a Diesel engine. I guess it makes you realise just how big all the electric motors originally were. The new livery looks incredibly smart though, and to those not in the know I don’t think you’d guess that you were on something up cycled.

Inside the train there are a few hints to what went before. The doors between the two units are obviously to anyone that has travelled on older underground trains. The sideways seating that is used in part of the train is also a bit of a giveaway. Elsewhere in the train though they’ve put in usual “airline” seating and even a few tables too. A far cry from what people used to put up with on the District Line.

Another nice addition is charging points. The tables and airline seats have proper three pin plugs, but the sideways seating has USB ports at the base of the arm rests. Perfect for commuters who needy to give their phone a quick burst of charge.

The other thing they’ve squeezed in is an on-train toilet. Even though I have to admit that it did seem to smell a bit on the train we were on!

The outside of them all has been very artistically decorated with images of Bletchley Park, not just the Manor House, but also the Bombe computer too. How they’ve managed it though is quite impressive. The D-stock feels a whole lot more spacious than it ever used to and you really do feel like you are travelling on more than just a two car unit.

Bletchley Park

The real purpose behind our trip was to get to Bletchley so that we could do a family trip to Bletchley Park. This amazing slice of WW2 history is located just a short walk away from Bletchley Station and is well worth a visit. Bletchley played a pivotal, very secret, role in the war and it’s only over the last 20 or so years that the full truth has come out as to what went on there. The museum itself is incredible. Full of fascinating information and making full use of modern day technology to tell the story of Bletchley Park. We feel like we only scratched the surface after a couple of hours there and we will definitely be back for a return visit. Especially since your ticket is valid for a whole 12 months. If you’re an English Heritage member you can even get 20% off the admission price. Once we’ve been back expect to see a much more detailed account of our visit here on Penny Travels.

Once our visit was over though it was back on the train to Ridgmont. It seems the Marston Vale line is actually far busier than I expected it to be, with many people using it as part of their regular commute to and from work. As a visitor though it felt well worth the trip to see just how it is possible to upcycle a train and surely it’s somewhere you just have to visit if you’re a proper London Underground fan.

Colourscape at Waddesdon Manor

May 22, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

We never need much of an excuse to visit Waddesdon Manor. This wonderful National Trust property belonged to the Rothchild family and is an amazing chateau style building packed with history and fantastic architecture. The gardens look beautiful throughout the year and to keep the children happy there is an amazing hillside playground that suits all ages. What I wasn’t expecting during a visit last year was the amazing, unique spectacle that is Colourscape.

It’s hard to explain exactly what Colourscape is, but I’ll try my best. Really though it is one of those things that you just have to experience for yourself.

What is Colourscape?

In short, Colourscape is 56 interlinked colourful chambers that visitors walk through. It’s a bit like being inside a maze of tents, but please don’t let that clumsy description put you off. The you arrived you take off your shoes and are also asked to wear a coloured cloak like garment.

As you walk through the entrance and into the first the colourful chambers your senses start to get confused. the colour of the chamber combined with the light effects m can that everything starts to take on different colours. Some of the cloak colours mean that some visitors start to bland in with the chamber they’re stood in, whilst others look like they’re wearing different colours.

Walking from chamber to chamber you start to feel a little disorientated. Have you been through this bit before? What colour is this? Being barefoot you can feel the ground under the “tent” floor beneath your feet and it reminded me of holidays. The overall feeling is somewhat magical.

In one chamber (the only one with natural light) there are a group of musicians, and their music is piped through the whole Colourscape structure, making your visit one for all the senses.

What age is Colourscape for?

In our group we had my then five year old son, my teenage step-daughter, right up to my mum in her mid-seventies. All of us absolutely loved it. I saw toddlers going around transfixed by the colours and how everything looked different. Colourscape really is for the whole family.

Over a year later we still talk about this particular visit to Waddesdon and just how magical it was. I’m delighted to see that Colourscape is returning to Waddesdon this year (25 May – 2 June 2019) and urge you to go and visit this amazing colourful world for yourself.

Colourscape – the facts

Colourscape is at Waddesdon Manor from 25 May to 2 June 2019. More details can be found here. Please note that the charge for Colourscape is on top of the standard Waddesdon entry fee (which is waived if you are a National Trust member). It is £5 for adults and £3 for children.

British Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum at Tring

April 8, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

I think it fair to say that most people know about the Natural History Museum in London. It’s world famous. The dinosaurs there, especially “Dippy” the diplodocus who was there for over one hundred years, have been the reason for so many children (and adults) wanting to visit. There are about 80 million items in the museum’s collection and there’s something there to entertain and fascinate anyone with an interest in natural history.

What isn’t so well known, is that the Natural History Museum has a smaller second museum in the Hertfordshire market town of Tring. The Natural History Museum at Tring was originally the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild and it is located in the grounds of the former Rothschild family home of Tring Park. If you’re at all local to Tring, you probably know of the Rothschild family from one of their other current houses, Waddesdon Manor, which is currently open to the public, under the care of the National Trust.

Natural History Museum at Tring

The Natural History Museum at Tring houses one of the country’s finest collections of stuffed mammals, birds, reptiles and insects and there’s no wonder that so many local children simply know it as the “animal museum”. The history of how it came to be is fascinating, and the museum has a room dedicated to Rothschild and the life that he dedicated to the study of animals. At the age of seven he declared to his parents that he was going to “make a museum” and he did just that. There’s a short version of what he did over on the museum’s website, but the detail provided at the museum itself is well worth a read.

The museum has five other galleries with permanent exhibitions in which range from a zebroid foal (a hybrid between a horse and a zebra) to a whole selection of domestic dogs. If you have young children it is particularly lovely for them to visit and be able to get up close to so many animals, especially as many of the display cases are right down to the floor, meaning that children can see many exhibits for themselves without having to be lifted up. Gallery 1 has a beautiful vintage feel to it and walking around you can easily feel like you’re back in a different era.

British Dinosaurs

The reason for my most recent visit (and the second visit for four month old Tube Stop Baby – which shows how much we like the place!) was to see their most recent temporary exhibition in Gallery 2 – British Dinosaurs.

Photograph kindly provided by Natural History Museum, Tring and copyright The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

The museum in London may be world famous for their dinosaur collection, but this exhibition focusses on British Dinosaurs, and the ones that still live among us in our gardens and parks. As you enter the gallery the first thing that hits you is the large map on the floor, showing where dinosaurs are known to have lived. My kids knew all about the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, thanks to a recent holiday with their Dad, but they were surprised to find out that dinosaurs were known to have been in so many other parts of the country.

In Tring children can measure themselves against the femur and tibia of an Iguanodon (one of the first dinosaurs to be discovered). They can see the massive Baryonyx walkeri skull and think about how huge this dinosaur could be by looking at backbone specimens that were found in Surrey. Their teeth can be compared to Megalosaurus bucklandii teeth found in Oxfordshire.

There are also a couple of interactive exhibits that my kids learnt loads from. Any excuse to touch a touch screen and they’ll take it!

What we thought

At 6 and 8, Little Miss C and Master C really enjoyed the British Dinosaurs exhibition, as well as wondering around the rest of the museum again. They also seemed to learn plenty too, especially LMC who spent quite a while reading about all the dinosaur exhibits.

I’m not going to lie, if your children are expecting to see huge dinosaur skeletons towering over them, then you should head for London instead, but as part of a bigger visit to the museum it’s a brilliant opportunity to learn about the dinosaurs that used to live here. The kids enjoyed the opportunity to touch a dinosaur tooth and to think about just how old it was in comparison to their ages. They also made a point of finding the reptile skin I’m gallery 6 so that they could get a feel for what a dinosaur would have felt like.

The kids have been going to the museum since they were very young, but they still enjoy going back. Little Miss C even did a “Roars and Snores” event recently with Brownies where they spent an evening in the museum learning about the exhibits, dissecting owl pellets and under standing how taxidermy is done. They then all slept on the floor next to some of the exhibits. She did say it was a tad scary to wake in the night with a deer peering down at her!

Visiting the Natural History Museum at Tring

The British Dinosaurs exhibition is running at Tring from 5 April to 11 October 2019. The Natural History Museum is located at The Walter Rothschild building, Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire, HP23 6AP and is a short walk from the centre of Tring. There is a car park on site, but it can get very busy, so you are sometimes better off parking else where and walking. Entry to the museum, including the British Dinosaurs exhibition, is free. For full detail of the museum’s opening hours, please look at their website.

The whole museum is accessible with a pushchair, you just need to go in via the entrance off the car park, rather than the main entrance which has steps leading up to it. There is a cafe on site that has recently had a revamp. I’m told it is very good, but every time I have tried to visit the queue has been out of the door! I’m taking that as a sign that it is as good as I’ve been told.

A final word

My final word would be to say that when you go, please go and look at the Emperor Penguins and work out why the one on the left looks so strange. A member of staff explained it to me when we were there last week and it’s a fascinating story. Make sure you ask them if you can’t work it out for yourself.

Disclaimer: We were guests at a preview opening of the British Dinosaurs exhibition at Tring and the kids were given a vast quantity of bread sticks and crisps to much whilst there. All opinions remain my own.

[AD] Lee Valley Park Farms – Conservation Week Visit

February 25, 2019 by Penny Leave a Comment

There’s something magical about taking children around a farm. We’re quite lucky in that our usual journey to school goes through the countryside and past several farms. We often spend the journey talking about the sheep and lambs in the field, or the horses that we regularly drive past. We’ve even had the delights of a muntjac deer on the road infant of us and an owl flying alongside the car one morning! Not everyone is fortunate enough to see animals up close this regularly though, and that’s why visits to places like Lee Valley Park Farms are so good. Children can really get up close to the animals and learn so much from them.

We were invited to visit Lee Valley Park Farms during half term which was when they were running their conservation week. I’ve been to the Lee Valley plenty of times with the kids before, but this was my first visit to the farm itself.

As soon as we arrived at the car park we could tell that we’d come somewhere popular. It was a beautiful day (more like April than February) and despite arriving only an hour after opening the main carpark was already full and we joined other visitors parking in the overflow one. There was also a queue to get into the reception area, but I’m pleased to say that this moved reasonably fast.

Animals

There’s a great selection of animals at Lee Valley Park Farms. Everything from the expected pigs, sheep, goats and cows through to more exotic animals like meerkats, bearded dragons and miniature zebu (which I have to admit I’d never even heard of before last week!). The kids loved going round the farmyard area and seeing lots of familiar faces. You can also buy bags of food from reception so that you can feed some of the farmyard animals. Both Little Miss C and Master C really enjoyed this. It was Tube Stop Baby’s first visit to a farm and she was more than a tad wary of coming face to face with some of the animals for the first time.

We timed our visit so that we could attend a talk in Critter Corner and LMC was thrilled to get to stroke a bearded dragon as it’s been one of her favourite animals for ages. Master C and I also attended a birds of prey talk and it was amazing to see the birds fling around, close to the audience.

Master C’s highlight of the visit was getting to feed one of the guinea pigs. It’s something that he normally shies away from doing, but the staff encouraged him to have a go and he got a real thrill from eating it eat the lettuce he gave it. Although he does since keep telling anyone who listens that he fed a hamster! I might have to keep educating him on the difference.

Play areas

The other part of the farm that the kids loved were the numerous play areas dotted around the site. There’s indoor play in the Bundle Barn (which we didn’t visit) but also the Dino Dig and Splash where they spent ages digging in the sand, the Farmyard Adventure where they climbed and climbed, and also the Hilltop Adventure where they bounced for ages on the giant pillow. Near the Hilltop Adventure there is also the Alpine Adventure Toboggan Run which they thought was great fun.

Accessibility and Facilities

We visited the farm with all four kids and this meant that we had Tube Stop Baby with us in her pram. I should warn readers that the site is on a hill, and whilst it is entirely possible to get around all of it with a pram or pushchair, it is hard going in places. I certainly felt like my arm and leg muscles were getting quite a workout as the day went on. It is also worth noting that the only working toilets on the day that we visited where down by the reception area. This meant one trek back down with Master C when he needed the loo, and also alfresco nappy changes for TSB as we quite simply couldn’t be bothered to walk all the way back down with the pram every time she had a dirty nappy!

We took a picnic with us and as the weather was so glorious it was lovely to sit and eat it in the sunshine. There were plenty of places for us to sit near the play areas and full picnic tables up near the Hilltop Adventure. We also had no problem finding rubbish bins to put our waste in afterwards. The only problem we had is that the sun was quite unrelenting and there was no shade up at the Hilltop Adventure. There were some structures that that we could imagine some shade being strung between possibly, but I’d certainly make sure you take sun hats etc if you visit on a hot day.

For those that want to buy food there there was a lovely looking cafe down by the reception area and it also looked like a kiosk by the Farmyard Adventure, although this wasn’t open when we visited.

Lee Valley Park Farms – our thoughts

We had a great family day out at Lee Valley Park Farms. It was our first time out as a family of six and we were particularly lucky that we had perfect weather for it. They all had a great day out and seemed to particular enjoy meeting the bearded dragon and guinea pigs. The play areas were also a huge hit.

For me one of the nicest things was just sitting in the sunshine as they played and looking around me. When you’re at the farm it’s hard to remember that you’re really not all that far from London and the busy M25. At moments it almost felt like I was looking round at the Yorkshire Dales instead!

Lee Valley Park Farms – what you need to know

Lee Valley Park Farms are located in Waltham Abbey, Essex, not far from Junction 25 of the M25 (the A10 junction). There is free onsite parking. And, if you’re inspired by my recent post on geocaching, there’s a lovely little geocache not far from the car park that is very kid friendly.

The full address is: Lee Valley Park Farms, Stubbins Hall Lane, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 2EF. This postcode is the best one to use in a SatNav.

The farm is open 10am to 5pm every day from 16 February – 3 November 2019.

There are peak and off peak entry fees for the farm, with everyone over the age of 2 costing the same. £10 at peak times and £6 at non-peak. Grandparents receive a 20% discount on Wednesdays.

More details can be found on their website.

Disclaimer: We were invited to visit Lee Valley Park Farms as guests for the purposes of this review. All opinions remain my own.

The Island Line – The Isle of Wight’s railway

October 31, 2018 by Penny Leave a Comment

Where can you ride a tube train along a pier? On the Isle of Wight’s Island Line – that’s where!

Not everyone realises that the Isle of Wight has its own railway. Fewer people realise the historical significance of it, especially for lovers of the London Underground.

The Island Line – basic facts

Let’s start with the basic facts. The Island Line runs between Ryde on the north of the Isle of Wight and Shanklin, which is eight and a half miles south along the Eastern coast of the island. It is actually part of the main National Rail infrastructure and is currently under the South Western Railway franchise. You can plan journeys via the main online National Rail planners and can use all regular railcards and through tickets on the service.

The northerly most station is Ryde Pier Head, where the service connects with the passenger ferry to Portsmouth Harbour. It then continues south through Smallbrook Junction, which is an unusual station in that it exists purely to serve the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. There is no separate public access and was actually opened by British Rail in 1991 when the Steam Railway was extended to reach the Island Line. It is therefore only served by Island Line services on the days that the Steam Railway is running.

The southern terminus is Shanklin, yet originally the route extended on to Ventnor but services on this section ceased in 1966.

So, what makes it so special you may be wondering? I fully admit that all the above just makes it sound like a regular train service?

Rolling Stock

The answer lies in the rolling stock.

The Island Line is served by 1938 London Underground tube stock and when you’re travelling on board you can expect to be somewhat confused about where you are and where you’re going, simply because it still just feels like you’re in London as soon as you step aboard.

The reason for this slightly strange old rolling stock is because the ceiling of the Ryde tunnel is 10 inches too low for “standard” National Rail rolling stock. This means that the 1938 tube stock has the honour of being the oldest passenger rolling stock operating timetabled services on the National Rail network.

A trip back in time

As well as feeling like you’re in London, a trip on the Island Line is also a bit like a trip back in time. All the stations have a vintage feel to them, with lots of cream and green paint and old fashioned signs and station canopies.

I also wouldn’t be a proper train geek if I didn’t mention the moquette.

The particular train we travelled on featured what I remember as Metropolitan Line moquette on the main seats, but there was also a treat inshore if you pulled down the guard’s seat (remember these 1938 London Underground trains had guards – something that the Island Line has too!)

There you reveal a different moquette design – one that I think was a Network Southeast National Rail design. Although I’m trying to double check that fact!

Feel the bounce!

What you do notice as you travel on the Island Line is just how the rolling stock wasn’t really designed for this kind of journey. You really feel yourself being bounced along as you travel and as much as I love the Island Line I just couldn’t ever call it a “comfortable” ride in that sense.

If you’ve ever lived or commuted in London though you’ll find it a slightly strange travel experience. It feels, and sounds, just like the London Underground, yet the view out of the window is a million miles away. As you go along Ryde Pier you’ve got the Solent on either side of you and you can watch the Hovercrafts. You don’t get that in Zone 1!

Listen to our trip

Why not join Bonn and I as we travel along the Island Line? We’re delighted to say that episode 2 of our new Hobbies and Interests podcast was recorded as we travelled along the Island Line earlier in the year. Why not plug in your headphones and travel with us?

Leighton Buzzard Railway

October 9, 2018 by Penny Leave a Comment

I have a completely train mad son. And if I’m honest Bonn and I are pretty big train fans too. It therefore goes without saying that we tend to visit quite a lot of train lines around the country. Both in terms of the visitor attraction heritage railways and also just exercising our family railcard. We’re plotting a little train related challenge for when our baby arrives later in the year, but until then I thought it about time to start documenting some of the lines that we visit. Our “local line” is the Leighton Buzzard Railway here in Bedfordshire, so it seems the right place to start documenting things.

This narrow gauge railway describes itself as England’s Friendly Little Line and I think it’s quite a fitting description. At just under 3 miles long, it was originally built to serve the various sand quarries to the north of this market town, but when they switched to using road transport it was handed over to volunteers and opened as a heritage line.

The route

The thing about the Leighton Buzzard Railway that makes it slightly unusual is what it runs past. For a large proportion of the route you’re going past 1970s style housing stock, and whilst that’s interesting in its own way, I certainly wouldn’t call it a view for typical tourists! The last half a mile or so to the Stonehenge Works, where the line currently ends, you are in the countryside, but this feels quite different to the housing estate before.

The route also features several level crossings where the train has to stop for staff to go and stand on the road and stop traffic with little flags to let the trains pass. It’s very quaint and one of the most exciting things in the world for six year old train addicts like my son!

More to see and do

At both ends of the route there is plenty to see and do. You start your journey at Pages’ Park where there is an impressive modern souvenir shop in the new station building, along with tours of the engine shed itself. In the latter you can find out all about the railway and the engines that they now run on it. Leighton Buzzard Railway actually has one of the largest collections of narrow-gauge locomotives in the UK, and some of them have previously worked all over the world. It’s definitely an eye-opener to find out all about them.

Pages’ Park also features the 1940s themed Buzzrail Cafe, although shockingly I’m yet to actually manage a visit there.

At the far end of the route, Stonehenge Works features a cute craft shop that also serves light refreshments before your return journey. The works also house all the locomotives and rolling stock that aren’t in current passenger service, along with various exhibitions about narrow gauge railways through history. There are also engines for children to clamber all over, which they obviously love.

Extending the line

There are also plans for the line to be extended further. The group running the Leighton Buzzard Railway have now secured the full length of the original line – meaning that they should be able to run an extra half a mile into the countryside beyond Stonehenge Works. The first part of this (to Mundays Hill) is hoped to be open in late 2019. In time for us to make a return trip with baby in tow!

Visiting the Leighton Buzzard Railway

You can find all the latest opening hours and timetables on the Leighton Buzzard Railway’s own website, where you can also book tickets. At various times of the year they run special services whether that be for Christmas, Easter, Fathers Day or some other event.

Pages’ Park station, where you start your journey on the Leighton Buzzard Railway is situated on the south side of Leighton Buzzard. It is well signposted with tourist Brown Signs, many featuring a steam engine logo on them. There is a car park available on site and it is next to a park which features a nice children’s playground. Full directions are available on their website.