Race to the bottom - Swanage Railway, Ball clay Mine, & Corfe Castle

7 July 2026

Millbank B&B We are on the second floor.  It is very warm, the overnight low above 20C.  The windows are open.  Around dawn civil war breaks out in the gull community.  There is a lot of shouting, followed by a lot more shouting.  Eventually the church clock over the road strikes 5, and I go back to sleep for a little while. At Millbrook, breakfast is ordered by underlining items on a laminated menu and putting it in a box the night before.  I singularly failed at this, missing a tomato today, and toast on the last day.   Today we are travelling on the Swanage Railway, the plan is to travel to Nordon, the furthest stop on the line. From there visit the clay mining museum, then travel one stop back to Corfe Castle, look around the castle, and finally return on the train to Swanage. The plan was executed flawlessly.

The Engine 34072 looks capable of so much more than chugging up and down a short heritage railway. I wanted to see it on a main line, where it can really 'let rip' and properly show its power. We barely saw any smoke at all.

Here's a little of what the website says about it.  Here is the Wiki Entry for the class

Ball Clay has been taken from mines in the area for thousands of years.  It is a very useful clay for certain types of ceramics - particularly porcelain and insulators.  The picture shows the railway down which the clay was taken to be shipped to its destination.  The tunnel was moved and re-built here specifically for the museum.  Going down the walkway required care.  Ball Clay mining continues in the area, but now open cast mining is used to get the clay from the ground.  The guy protecting the entrance was past mid-talk when we arrived, so we caught a little of what he was saying, but missed much more.  His colleague who we met at the end was on his first day, and making too much of an effort to engage people.  He seemed a little awkward, but I'm sure he'll get it soon enough.

We caught the next train to Corfe Castle. (Also the name of the town.) The Greyhound Pub had been recommended by the guy asking for donations at the entrance to the museum, it proved a good place to eat.  The service was fast, and the food was good.  The castle is an imposing ruin.  Captured by treachery during the civil war, it was destroyed by the parliamentary sappers, who knew just where to put the charges to do the most damage.   The castle had been precariously mounted on top of the hill in the time of King John and the weight of it had caused the hill to deform, requiring a re-work of the building plans to prevent the walls from breaking.  I had a brief chat with the workers who were removing plant life from the crevices and re-filling with mortar.  The intention being to protect the monument from the ravages of the coming winter.  Then there was the long, slow, walk down the hill.

A view of Corfe Castle, from Corfe Castle.

The model village, built in the 1960s, it has the castle modelled in all its original glory.  The modelling is impressive and well imagined, compare what you see there, with views from the castle. We also visited the church, which is quite large for the size of the town.

Sorry about the shaky start, here is the 34072 entering Corfe Castle Station in reverse.

A very good day out in the heat.  We returned to the B&B via the co-op, where we bought salad and fruit.  So, dinner was in our room, quite late in the evening as we tried to cool down before bed.

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 4 We are Children again

  Day 4 (Wed 24)

After another big breakfast, we leave the inn and escape up the ramp without incident today.

Perrygrove Railway Entrance Board

Perrygrove is meant for small(ish) children.  But there is some nostalgia for the Adults.  They still issue traditional train tickets - small oblongs of thickish card:

As this was not quite half-term, that means mainly under fives.  They have a narrow gauge railway as the main feature on their site.  There are 4 or 5 engines, some are steam, but today it is their oldest locomotive - a diesel.  Still, we rode on the train as is looped around the site and across to go up the hill.

 

We are waiting to get on the first train of the day; there are so many visitors that they have decided to add another carriage, so we have to wait a little longer.  There are stops on the way.  At each stop there are different play areas.  At the top the engine is moved to the other end and the train reverses it's course.  Up and down, we went, without leaving the carriage.  Then into the buffet.  It is spartan, and reminds me of a British Railway station buffet from the 1980's.  Even the tea adds to the memory.  

We are still talking about trying to get tickets to the Savoy Theatre.  So, while we are drinking the tea, I try on their website.  We already have agreement from the inn that someone will stay there until we get back, if we can get tickets.  Fortunately, there are just 2 tickets left, so with almost no data signal, and absolutely no Wi-Fi, I book the tickets.  

We return to the inn briefly and then go to the other side of the river (about 4 miles) for lunch at the Saracens Head.  Now we are in the heart of a water sports area on the  Wye.  The pub is a strange mixture of the old and new.  "Order food round the corner" the barman says, then walks around the corner and takes my order.  We both walk back and I order our drinks.  We sit at a table next to the river, and enjoyed our ploughmans. 

About 5pm we head into Monmouth and park in a car park that is behind the main road and closer to the theatre than the previous one.  It is closer, but only by a few hundred yards, we will still have most of the street to walk.  We are not hungry, but divert into the supermarket to get some salad for later.

The Bohemians (https://thebohemians.com/) put on a fantastic show.  They cover almost all the Queen songs I know.  Everything about the event works well, we both have a great time.

Afterwards, back at the car park, we exit to take the bypass road so that we don't have to go back through the traffic jam we have just walked past.  There are roadworks and diversions, the road I take is going in the wrong direction.  The next junction onto the trunk road is also closed.  Google maps estimates that we are now 29 minutes from our destination, twice as far as we should be.  It's a long and frustrating drive.  We return to the inn a little before midnight, and thank the lady who is waiting patiently for us.  Then in our room we eat the salad we bought earlier.  It's a very late night.

Wye - Ye Olde Ferrie Inn - Day 3 (a)Round Ross

 Day 3 (Wed 23)

The Ross trail app

Today we decided to visit Ross-on-Wye - there's no real plan, we just want to look around.  It's only just up the road, and getting up to the road was a bit easier this time because I used a different line. 

Arriving in Ross-on-Wye, we found a free car park - an unusual thing in any British town.  As we were looking around, to check that we really didn't have to pay, we noticed a large sign, saying down load the App.  Ever sceptical, but always keen to be able to say "I told you so", I decided to give it a go.  The App has two routes around the town.  We followed the general one.  The app installed quickly on both our phones, and we were soon on our way.

There is plenty to see.  I love a 'Blue Plaque' as much as anyone, but I thought this was a little over the top. 

Lord Nelson walked here.

 

The view from the Market House (https://visitrossonwye.com/16th-century-market-house/) is amazing.  The doors are not usually open, specially in the winter half of the year, but the lady who was taking her turn to look after the shop happily opened them for us.  The photo, of course, does not do it justice, but gives you the general idea.

View from the Market House

I was quite surprised (I shouldn't have been) to learn there was once a railway in Ross.  Almost all the evidence is long gone, but there is a small area reserved so that visitors can see the old broad gauge railway tracks.  That is the real surprise, that the railway was broad gauge.  

The first of eight plaques telling the story of the railway.

There are 8 plaques explaining the history of the railway, and a couple of sections of tracks.

Broad vs. Regular gauge.

A kingfisher on the fence

One of the reasons for choosing to stay on the Wye was to see kingfishers.  We have been trying to see them for 20+ years. With the river being so high, our chances were not great.  Along a footpath, the corrugated iron fence has been decorated with some lovely paintings.  This was my favourite. 

There were many other things to see.  We had a lovely walk around the town.  We went back to the coffee shop where we had started the walk for lunch.  

Then into a park which had been disputed land and the townsfolk had rioted to get back, that provides great views of the river.

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After a while we left Ross-onWye and set off for the only Suspension foot bridge I have ever seen.

It looks a bit dangerous, but we were assured by the angler sitting next to it that plenty of people large than us had crossed safely.  It's on a recognised footpath that led us to St. Tysilio's Church, Sellack.  We looked around the church, appreciated the peace and quiet, then gathered up our courage to go back across the rickety-rockety bridge.  For a Grade II listed structure, it isn't looked after that well.

Half Term Escape 3 - Bad Choices

Today we visited the Bluebell Railway.  We arrived at Sheffield Park station in plenty of time for our train and had a wonder around the yard. Our engine today is number 80151.  We are in a third class carriage, in a single 12-seat compartment.  Although it has been refurbished, the seat is almost completely unpadded, making the 40-minute ride less than comfortable.  There are two stops and a tunnel before we get to East Grinstead.  Almost as soon as the door is shut behind us, I notice that there is no handle on the inside.  So, to open the door, you must lower the window and use the outside handle.  The lights are switched on before we enter the tunnel, they are very dim. As we go in and our eyes adjust, all we can see is the blackened brickwork of the tunnel walls.  The ride through the tunnel is bumpier than the ride we have had so far, which makes the walls just that bit more threatening.

We arrive safely in East Grinstead, having played eye-spy for a lot of the journey to keep the grandchild entertained.  We make our way into town looking for somewhere to eat.   As we walk along a path that is below the road level, we pass a box of Bonios (dog biscuits) and Thomas falls over as he turns to look at them.  He is not really hurt, so we continue on our way.  We find the shopping mall and a place called
Carlo café bar.  Lunch beckons.  Inside there are games to be played, and scrabble is chosen.  This proves rather challenging for the six-year-old, and also for me, as my first set of letters contains no vowels, and it is the fourth time round before I can place even one of them!  Never have I lost so badly. 

I suspect the games help to cover up the slow service.  When the food arrives it is hot, but not everything is delivered, one thing because they are out of it and another because it is forgotten.  No one is enthusiastic about their food, but it fills a hole.  They are apparently part of a chain that uses different names for all their café bars.   We won't be going back.

I had read several very poor reviews of the Bluebell Railway, talking about grumpy, disinterested staff.  None of that for us, all the staff were pleasant and helpful.  Especially the lady in the buffet at East Grinstead - we were her only customer.

Back to Sheffield Park, in a different, more upholstered carriage, it was a more pleasant journey.  A quick (sadly) visit to the museum, and it is closing time, so we leave for the house.

Booton, 8 July 2021 - Brody's train is delayed.

Still a disturbed night, and also a very late one after a conversation with our hosts as they returned from watching England beat Denmark - they had clearly had a good time.  So we started earlier than yesterday, but still a little late and had our second cooked breakfast of the week.  All the eggs are now gone, but there is still plenty of honey left.

We decided to go to the Wells and Walshingham Light Railway (WWLR) - they have a special timetable for COVID restrictions, running trains on the hour every hour from 10am to 4pm.  Its not too far, the traffics was light, so we arrived in plenty of time for the noon train.  We watched it come into the station, we watched the previous passengers leave and the train go round the loop ready for it's return to the other end of the line - almost.

Enrtance view WWLR

Brody in the train

Jo in the train

The engine

The hastily constructed loop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was time to leave, the train moved backwards a few feet, and then seemed to struggle to go forward.  The guard walked from his position at the rear to speak to the driver.  Eventually we got moving, starting by moving backward a few feet.  We moved slowly forward but not for long.  The train stopped again. The guard walked from his position at the rear to speak to the driver. Eventually the train got moving again.  By now we had passed the steepest upward part of the track outbound (1 in 74).  The brakes were sticking and an engineer was called.  It was quite a long wait, but once he arrived he fixed the problem quite quickly.  I had asked him as he passed "Have you fixed it?"

"Yep" he smiled in the way that only an engineer fixing a simple problem can. "After 27 years I should know how".

Water had been distributed during the wait, the three of us shared a bottle.

Then we were underway again - you know how that goes now.  We got to the turnaround point - a newly constructed loop a little outside the normal terminus constructed so the train can operate in COVID conditions.  The engine went 'round' the loop and was hooked back up to the train.  "Then there was trouble" (a quote from Thomas the Tank Engine).  The brakes were stuck agian.  The driver and guard called the engineer again.  There was a much longer wait this time, eventually he arrived, fixed the problem and gave the driver as short lesson in how to get the train started.  "Have him shot when you get back" he said to me as our carriage passed him.  Now operating at an appropriate speed the engine was generating enough pressure to keep the brakes off.

This is a classic case of engineer (tech support in my world) vs driver (user in my world).  The engineer has a different understanding of what the engine can do and is not constrained by the drivers understanding of his operating processes and procedures.

Now we got back in one go, and travelled a little faster than we did on the way out.  The 1 in 69 incline posed no problem for the engine. 

Like a lot of the other passengers, we then drove to Wells, and out along the 1 mile road to the beach cafe.  Wells was absolutely heaving - people everywhere.  The beach cafe car park was almost full, all the ouside tables were in use.  We ordered some food, and waited for the gluten free roll they made specially.  We found a stone to sit on.  As we were settling down, someone who was leaving offered us their table.  I noticed others giving up their table for a young family too.  People here are very friendly.

Then we put the pushchair to good use and walked on the Norfolk Coastal Path for about 3/4 hour.  On the drive home it rained for a while, and was still raining when we arrived.

After a short break and a few minutes frustration ('no signal') we went to the Kings Arms in Reepham, foretunately they had a table left, so we were in.  The service was good, and the main courses especially, were very nice.  The sweet was good too, but not as good as the mains.  Everyone was very impressed with our well behaved dog.  Not at the end though, as we were leaving he had one of his 'little accidents'.  It's not his fault, he has a medical condition which limits his ability to control himself. We cleaned up and left in a hurry, because more was to come - but outside is OK.

We had made the best of the day.

 

Re-union @ the Rising Sun

Every once in a while my old team from about 2002 to 2004 get together for a re-union. I missed the last one due to my shoulder. So I last attended a re-union in June. We meet at the Rising Sun near St Paul's Cathedral. Last night was one of those events. There are usually only four of us, but we have been trying to contact some of the others. Last night was the latest get together now titled "Meet & Eat in the City". That's by far the best title we've had. There were five of us eventually. Two who I haven't seen since they left, and two other regulars. Some people have changed, some are still pretty much the same. There was something that team which is difficult to work out. It jelled better than almost any other team I've been in. We were not great friends at the time, but as the company split us up, we became better friends. It is always a great evening. To get to London I have to buy three rail tickets because I go from work and back to home. Chelmsford to Shenfield (£4.70), Return Shenfield to London (£10.30), Shenfield to Billericay (£2.70). The cost per mile varies dramatically. Why are one stop journeys SO expensive? On my return, Jo kindly agreed to pick me up from the station. I called at Liverpool St to let her know the train I was on. I called again t Shenfield, but didn't get through. A message 'unregistered number' appeared on my phone. I phoned her mobile and left a message. By now I'm at Billericay and still cannot call our home land line, nor Jo's mobile. There had been a power cut in Billericay which disrupted the mobile phone service, it seems, as it's working fine today.