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suzyscottdotcomTuesday 27th, and I had to go to Letchworth Garden City, to hand in the paperwork re the move to the council offices (electoral roll application, paperwork regarding housing benefit & council tax, etc.). This trip had to happen, but when I was planning the trip, I thought to myself… what else could I do? The train is just a 15 minute journey, so it seems like I could manage a bit more in the afternoon Off Peak Day Return train tickets allow you to break your journey in both directions, so I went for a ticket to London instead. Caroline dropped me off just after 0900, for the 0915 First Capital Connect train south.
Letchworth Garden City was therefore first break of journey southbound, and this is what was found (it was a little foggy to start with, so excuse the first pictures being a bit odd!) It was the world’s first garden city, as well as being the home of the UK’s first roundabout!
Railway station (with a Centrebus Solo on the town service 53 making a cameo appearance!)
I liked these two little road signs, just around the corner from each other.
The Broadway Cinema – built in the 1930’s, and refurbished twice in the last 13 years, including last year.
The Spirella Corset Factory buildings, built 1912 to 1920 – and a very ahead of it’s time example of an employer looking after it’s employees extremely well! The building was refurbished in 1998, and is now used as office space, a café, and a fitness centre.
From there, a later train took me to London Kings Cross just before lunchtime, followed by a journey on the tube out to the depths of Buckinghamshire! The far end of the Metropolitan line (now in Zones 7 to 9 – used to be Band A – D) crosses out of London into Herts and Bucks. This was a new one on me – despite having done the Uxbridge and Harrow stretches often enough. So, first Uxbridge train from Kings Cross St Pancras to Baker Street, change there for an Amersham Fast train (four trains an hour from the tube, plus two Chiltern from Marylebone), up to Chalfont & Latimer, where you currently change for Chesham. There was a consultation some time back about changing it so the shuttle would work through Chesham to Baker St all day, but I’ve not heard any more of that one. Anyway, this is where I waited, in Zone 8, for the Chesham shuttle train.
As we arrived, Steve P was on the phone. He’s on holiday, believe it or not! Anyway, pressing on, this is Chesham Station, albeit against the sun this time…
So, on the way back from Chesham, had a quick look around the town centre, before getting the Tiger Line Tiger/East Lancs rebody W62 A15 WTN (was Strathtay Blairgowrie’s 430 or 670 CLT) to Hemel Hempstead.
The female driver we had for the part of the journey to Lye Green seemed unusually shaken. It wasn’t until we got to the estate on the way out of the town that she told us, she’d knocked over a pheasant that ran out onto the road at her, near Great Missenden (earlier in the trip) and she felt terrible for doing so. Anyway, we continued to Lye Green okay, changed drivers, and ended up at Hemel bus station on time. With 20 minutes or so to spare till my bus came in, I went for a bite to eat, before coming back to nab one of the virtually new Arriva The Shires Enviro400 double deckers for Service 6…
… Soon after, Uno Scania 352 (YN 56 NRZ) arrived on the 634 to Stevenage Bus Station…
… and I took this for a bit of fast motorway driving via the University of Hertfordshire College Lane Campus and Hatfield Galleria to Stevenage bus station, then remaining onboard as the bus changes to the 635 to Lister Hospital. I got off at Stevenage railway station, and went up the stairs, over to the railway concourse, resumed my train journey (I didn’t make the northbound London to Stevenage bit by train, but a return was £11.90 with Railcard versus £11.20 for the single to London only!), went downstairs, with enough time to see the train I’d planned for pull in, and we pulled out very soon after – arriving at Royston station at 1602, seven hours after the time that I had arrived – so for the first time in a while, I’d arrived home in daylight!
A productive, if compact, day out, and you can see all the pictures here.
Letchworth Garden City was therefore first break of journey southbound, and this is what was found (it was a little foggy to start with, so excuse the first pictures being a bit odd!) It was the world’s first garden city, as well as being the home of the UK’s first roundabout!
Railway station (with a Centrebus Solo on the town service 53 making a cameo appearance!)
I liked these two little road signs, just around the corner from each other.
The Broadway Cinema – built in the 1930’s, and refurbished twice in the last 13 years, including last year.
The Spirella Corset Factory buildings, built 1912 to 1920 – and a very ahead of it’s time example of an employer looking after it’s employees extremely well! The building was refurbished in 1998, and is now used as office space, a café, and a fitness centre.
From there, a later train took me to London Kings Cross just before lunchtime, followed by a journey on the tube out to the depths of Buckinghamshire! The far end of the Metropolitan line (now in Zones 7 to 9 – used to be Band A – D) crosses out of London into Herts and Bucks. This was a new one on me – despite having done the Uxbridge and Harrow stretches often enough. So, first Uxbridge train from Kings Cross St Pancras to Baker Street, change there for an Amersham Fast train (four trains an hour from the tube, plus two Chiltern from Marylebone), up to Chalfont & Latimer, where you currently change for Chesham. There was a consultation some time back about changing it so the shuttle would work through Chesham to Baker St all day, but I’ve not heard any more of that one. Anyway, this is where I waited, in Zone 8, for the Chesham shuttle train.
As we arrived, Steve P was on the phone. He’s on holiday, believe it or not! Anyway, pressing on, this is Chesham Station, albeit against the sun this time…
So, on the way back from Chesham, had a quick look around the town centre, before getting the Tiger Line Tiger/East Lancs rebody W62 A15 WTN (was Strathtay Blairgowrie’s 430 or 670 CLT) to Hemel Hempstead.
The female driver we had for the part of the journey to Lye Green seemed unusually shaken. It wasn’t until we got to the estate on the way out of the town that she told us, she’d knocked over a pheasant that ran out onto the road at her, near Great Missenden (earlier in the trip) and she felt terrible for doing so. Anyway, we continued to Lye Green okay, changed drivers, and ended up at Hemel bus station on time. With 20 minutes or so to spare till my bus came in, I went for a bite to eat, before coming back to nab one of the virtually new Arriva The Shires Enviro400 double deckers for Service 6…
… Soon after, Uno Scania 352 (YN 56 NRZ) arrived on the 634 to Stevenage Bus Station…
… and I took this for a bit of fast motorway driving via the University of Hertfordshire College Lane Campus and Hatfield Galleria to Stevenage bus station, then remaining onboard as the bus changes to the 635 to Lister Hospital. I got off at Stevenage railway station, and went up the stairs, over to the railway concourse, resumed my train journey (I didn’t make the northbound London to Stevenage bit by train, but a return was £11.90 with Railcard versus £11.20 for the single to London only!), went downstairs, with enough time to see the train I’d planned for pull in, and we pulled out very soon after – arriving at Royston station at 1602, seven hours after the time that I had arrived – so for the first time in a while, I’d arrived home in daylight!
A productive, if compact, day out, and you can see all the pictures here.
