Читать книгу Railway Day Trips: 160 classic train journeys around Britain - Julian Holland - Страница 30

Diesel trains for the North Downs Line leave Reading’s sparkling new modern station in an easterly direction, immediately diverging from the former GWR main line to Paddington, to head off along the former South Eastern & Chatham Railway’s cross-country route to Guildford. Until the 1960s this was also the route taken by inter-regional holiday and excursion trains from the West Midlands to South Coast resorts. After calling at the intermediate stations of Earley, Winnersh Triangle and Winnersh, trains arrive at the market town of Wokingham, where the electrified line to Virginia Water and Waterloo branches off to the east.

From Wokingham the North Downs Line heads southeast to Crowthorne (home of Broadmoor Hospital), Sandhurst (home to the Royal Military Academy), Blackwater and Farnborough North. Immediately south of the latter the railway dives under the Waterloo to Basingstoke main line before calling at North Camp station. Passengers wishing to change trains here for the Alton or Ascot lines have a ½-mile walk to Ash Vale station – no interchange station was provided despite the lines crossing south of North Camp. From here the railway turns eastward through Ash and Wanborough stations before arriving at Guildford’s busy 7-platform junction station.

DESTINATION HIGHLIGHTS

Guildford Castle; Tuesday farmers’ market; Friday and Saturday street market; historic High Street; art gallery; National Trust boat trips along Wey Navigation; Guildford Lido (May-Sept); Yvonne Arnaud Theatre; Electric Theatre; modern cathedral

FREQUENCY OF TRAINS

2 per hour (Mon-Sat)

1 per hour (Sun)

25¾ MILES 45 MINUTES

NUMBER OF CHANGES: 0

This ornate 17th-century clock on the wall of the Guildhall is a well-known landmark in Guildford’s High Street.