Last week I wrote about my great discovery of trains from Redhill to Tonbridge. A few days of good weather have given me the chance to explore the whole line, and here's what I've found.
The entire line goes from Reading, where it joins the East-West main line, to Ashford International, where it joins the Eurostar line from London to the Continent. It is served by three train companies; First Great Western from Reading to Redhill; Southern from Redhill to Tonbridge and South Eastern from Tonbridge to Ashford. The trains connect, sort-of, so it is possible to string together a journey along the entire line if you should want to, but the connections aren't guaranteed so if your train is late, hard luck. You'd be most likely to encounter this problem at Tonbridge (I have), but the impact is pretty small as the trains are fairly frequent, and the station cafe has OK cakes.
The Southern and South Eastern trains are the same type - they have a space for bikes every four carriages. Southern marks the bike carriage with a bike sign and red stripes on the doors; South Eastern has disabled stickers on the carriages with the bike space. The bike space is designed for two bikes; I think you could get three or four in without causing any fuss.
The First Great Western trains are of at least two types; one is the Gatwick-Heathrow Railair link, which has bike spaces but which was very busy when I rode it, with lots of tired-looking travellers with lots of luggage. The bike space was full of bags, so I just leaned my bike on them. The other sort is a standard commuter train with no bike space at all - I asked the smiling lady guard where I should put my bike and she said it didn't matter as they weren't busy. Your experience may be different, but mine is that smiling guards are not a universal feature of train travel, so there are obvious risks.
Trains run about every half hour, and the cost of return from Redhill to either end of the line is about £15, depending on when and how you booked it. Internet is cheapest - pick up your tickets at the machines at the station - buying your ticket on the day is very much dearer. A Senior Railcard gets you about £3 off the fares I paid.
So, what about the riding? Well, I've ridden around central Kent - engagingly hilly, with good memories from Audax rides; I've been to Canterbury and have seen the Cathedral, and I've ridden in the Chilterns and had my lunch on Christmas Common. Not bad for December. A day trip to Oxford is an easy hit from Reading, as are the Lambourne Downs. Of course, the intermediate stations give another range of possibilities.
Worth bearing in mind when you're looking for some new territory that's not too hard to reach.
Mark
3 comments:
I remember about sixty years ago there was 'The Birkenhead' steam express six days a week from Birkenhead to Reading where it changed locos (GWR drove on the right - ask Peter) and changed onto Southern rails.(Reading then had two adjacent stations - one Great Western, one Southern, now they're combined). A Southern 'Mogul' (2-6-0) then took over, thundered on, passing through Sandhurst (at 1330) where I 'spotted' it when I could, via Guildford, Redhill etc to Folkestone and I think to Dover. At 1245 the equivalent had headed in the opposite direction. Ah - happy days !
I think you're right about Dover, Terry. The current service splits at Ashford; four carriages go to Ramsgate and four to Sandwich via Folkestone and Dover.
This is the line where Simon Raven, travelling with a school cricket XI from Charterhouse to play against Ashford in a train without a corridor, was caught desperately short on the long, straight stationless stretch and peed out of the window. He was reprimanded by a master who said 'What would Peter May have thought?'
Post a Comment