A little cross country walk: Hatfield - St Albans and back

 A lot of people who live in the area probably don't even realise that there was  a time when you could catch a train direct from Hatfield to St Albans. I decided to investigate. I caught the train from New Barnet to Hatfield on the old Great Northern main line from Kings Cross. Although Hatfield Station itself has been modernised it still retains one unusual feature - the Northbound and Southbound platforms are staggered instead of being alongside each other as is normal practice. Apparently the reason for this is connected to Hatfield House which is virtually next door to the station. The platforms were staggered so that when members of the Royal family such as Queen Victoria visited Hatfield house they would have privacy from members of the public waiting for trains on the other platform as they alighted from the Royal Train.

Like most stations on the line Hatfield is a shadow of it's former self with it's extensive sidings for goods traffic and importance for the local area long gone. Also gone is the junction just North of the station where the line to St Albans branched off to the East. There is no trace of this still visible from the main line, but if you know where to look you can find the remains of a railway cutting a few minutes walk from the station. Nearby can be found this modern sculpture depicting Hatfield's historic railway and aviation connections.

From this point you can trace the track of the old branch line to St Albans opened in 1865. The line closed to passengers in 1951 Very little of the old trackbed has been built on, and the rest has been converted in to a cycle/footpath called the Alban Way. It has been well surfaced and must be very easy cycling to St Albans as being an old railway line there are effectively no hills. It also takes quite a direct route - and of course there is no traffic! If you fancy walking the route it's about seven miles from Hatfield to St Albans - so this is what I did. The local Councils of Hatfield and St Albans have taken a very enlightened view by not only making this route open to the public but also providing many information boards along the way. I found all the old photos of the railway line and other local points of interest fascinating! There are maps and a lot of interesting information on the history of the line and the area it passed though.

I follow the path of the old railway through the town of Hatfield and discover the overgrown remains of the platform and the steps leading to the former Lemsford Road Station, built for the workers at the nearby de Havilland aircraft factory - once the major employer of the town. The halt built to serve the aircraft works was built during WW2 and was only open for a few years. Like the station the factory and airfield are now also history and very little trace of them remains. A little further on the former trackbed is dissected by the A1M road just before the motorway disappears into the tunnel under Hatfield and the modern Galleria shopping centre. I rejoin the old railway just on the other side of the A1M before it dives under the Great North Road just South of the former de Havilland/Hawker Siddley/British Aerospace site - I nearly ended up working there once...

Soon after leaving the outskirts of Hatfield I arrived at this former Level Crossing Keeper's House.

Just on the other side of the former level crossing I discover something rather charming - the wonderfully named Nast Hyde Halt - originally opened in 1910. The platform remains but the building that once stood on it is long gone. Something really nice has happened here - some of the local residents have taken it on themselves to try and recreate some of the atmosphere of the old Halt and surrounding area. This was all done by local volunteers with their own time and money not the council who only paved the old trackbed. 

Not original items but the locals have added a level crossing gate, a signal, a short length of track to represent the siding which was once here, and many signs to add character and provide information. A lot of time and trouble have gone into trying to recreate a feel of what this place must have looked like in the past - not an exact recreation but a lovely atmosphere has been created here.

I love what has been done here and spend quite some time looking around. I find much of interest on the rest of the seven mile walk from Hatfield to St Albans, but this is my favourite part of the whole line.

So I continue on towards St Albans. I find that the good people who did so much work as Nast Hyde have been adding character further along the line as well...

Beware of the trains.

Thereby hangs a tale...

There is no sign here, but I think this marks the council line between Hatfield and St Albans - and also the end of the influence of the residents of Nast Hyde.

Soon after crossing 'the border' the bridge at Smallford appears. This is one of the more interesting parts of the line.

On the platform at Smallford Station can be found the only surviving station building on the whole line - apart from the London Road station in St Albans itself. There were other buildings at Smallford Station but they are all long demolished. This one surviving building is 'Listed' (for what that's worth) but is not in great shape and slowly deteriorating.

The section of line between Smallford and St Albans used to run through open country, but these days from this point onwards the northern side is mostly industrialised.

Butterwick sidings used to be in open countryside and served a huge refrigerated warehouse that was intended to store meat in bulk during WW2 safe from the Blitz in London. It was later used for storing bananas and trains continued to serve the sidings at Butterwick because of this until 1968. There was little passenger traffic on the line after (or indeed before) the war and one the the main uses of the line was goods traffic to the sidings here as well as Smallford to service a scrap metal dealer until 1968 when the line finally closed for goods traffic. The refrigerated warehouse is now gone and an industrial estate now occupies the site of the former sidings to the West of Smallford.

Most the road bridges on the line still remain like this one at the road to Colney Heath, although some do appear to have been rebuilt at some point in the line's history as they don't appear that old. The bridges and engineering of the line were built to accommodate a double track railway line, but only a single track was ever laid.

Walking over another former level crossing and as the outskirts of St Albans are reached the platform that marks the site of Hill End Station can be found. This once served a large hospital where many casualties from the two Word Wars were sent.

At Ashley Road the line dives under another bridge that looks surprisingly modern. It must have replaced the original one very late in the life of the branch - possibly due to road widening.

By this point you are right in the town of St Albans itself, but you wouldn't know it as this stretch of the line mostly runs through cuttings. These are now very overgrown so the old trackbed has quite a rural feel even though it runs through a built up area. Because of this it is also a haven for wildlife.

A little further down the line is the site of the old Fleetville Sidings and it's old industrial area near the now missing bridge. As with many other locations along the line there is a useful information board with details of what went on here and old photos to give you and idea what the place used to look like before it became a residential area. Walk a few minutes more and the remains of another platform can be found.

This was the Salvation Army Halt. They had a large factory, printing press, and siding by the railway - for many years the famous 'War Cry' Salvation Army magazine was printed here and shipped out by rail. This halt and siding remained in use until 1964. Again an information board provides much fascinating detail. Maybe I should have taken pictures of them all, but if you really want to know more you'll just have to visit the area yourself...

Keep on walking and you get closer to the heart of St Albans, but you wouldn't know it. After a while you reach this impressive bridge which carries the four tracks of the Midland main line out of St Pancras. A footpath can take you from the former GNR line to the nearby St Albans City Station.

Just on the other side of the Midland Railway bridge the line passes under London Road.

Just on the other side of the bridge is the old London Road Station. This was originally the terminus of this branch line from Hatfield - hence it once having two tracks under the bridge and two platforms. Part of one platform survives today, and on it is the most substantial railway building left on the entire line. The former station is in excellent condition and now has a new life as an office and school building.

Sadly none of the other station buildings remain. New housing has been built where the former sidings used to be. Keep walking along the 'new' section of the line and the scenery changes. Up until this point the line has run through pretty flat and featureless countryside with very little to see. Suddenly the ground falls away and St Albans Abbey can be seen in the distance.

Below can be seen the old cress beds adjoining the chalk stream - the River Ver which gave it's name to the ancient Roman town of Verulamium - later to evolve into Saint Albans.

Crossing the River Ver is the only substantial piece of engineering on the entire Hatfield to St Albans line.

In spite of still being in the town of St Albans the old line still retains a rural air as it continues on it's way. After going under one final and now reinforced road bridge it is no longer possible to follow the old trackbed the short distance to it's final destination.

After going under the bridge you can either turn right to walk the rest of the way via residential streets, or if you turn left...

...you can cross the still in use branch from the L&NWR main line out of Euston via this unguarded pedestrian crossing that has somehow escaped today's all-encompassing Health & Safety culture and take a longer route towards the former gasworks site that was also served by the railway until 1964. Either way you can make your way to the end of the line.

This is the still in use St Albans Abbey Station and was also the final terminus of the GNR Hatfield to St Albans line. This once proud station is now reduced to what is effectively a couple of bus shelters at the end of a long siding connecting it to the L&NWR main line - you can get to train to Euston from here. The line from Hatfield joined up with it at a junction a few hundred yards away not far from the bridge in the previous photo - that part of the trackbed is no longer accessible. Sadly the impressive station building here has been demolished and passengers these days have to rough it on a bleak platform devoid of any facilities. I wouldn't fancy having to wait for a train here late at night. Such is progress...

And so I make my way back to Hatfield - walking is probably quicker than getting the train from St Albans Abbey Station to Euston, walking to Kings Cross and getting another train out of central London to New Barnet. If only I could go cross country by train? 

Taking a slightly different route through Hatfield itself I come across a well known landmark at the art-deco former Comet Hotel - now a Ramada Inn. Ironically although this record breaking de Havilland Comet racing aircraft from 1934 is associated with the factory at Hatfield these aircraft were actually built at de Havilland's factory/airfield at Stag Lane in Edgware, London shortly before everything was moved to the new site in Hatfield.

The large de Havilland/Hawker Sidley/British Aerospace factory and airfield in Hatfield closed in 1993 and sadly there is already virtually no trace of it left apart from one remaining hanger which also incorporates the airfield control tower. It only survives because it is a listed building. There were plans to house a museum devoted the former aircraft plant and the many famous aircraft that were designed and built there, but that fell through and it's now used as a leisure centre. The runway has been torn up and most of the site covered in new offices and warehouses with virtually no trace of it's history, although there is a massive Wetherspoons pub in a corner of the site which is themed on the former airfield/factory.

I found much of interest and thoroughly enjoyed my walk from Hatfield to St Albans and back. I noticed that along the route there was a signpost pointing to a pub across some fields - maybe I shall return and do the walk again, but with a slight 'pub crawl' theme visiting various hostelries along the way. There are only a few and they are several miles apart - what could possibly go wrong?

3/8/2019 Porcelaine Hill @ The Amersham Arms

Yikes - South of the river! On my ancient map is says 'Here be dragons!'

It's not difficult with the newest train services, but it does take a long time to get from the extreme North of London to New Cross and it costs noticeably more than traveling to the West end - especially if you travel via London Bridge station - for no apparent reason. Still, I find myself at the Amersham Arms. Due to it taking so long to get so far South I miss the first bands on the bill. The first two bands I see are (I think) Palumbo and Electric Cake Salad.

Unfortunately neither of these bands make any impression on me. However, I know I can rely on headliners Porcelain Hill to bring the rock and blues.

This band always put on a great show. There is an obvious Hendrix influence, but instead of the old playing the guitar behind the head trick Darnell Cole plays the guitar behind his back - and makes it look easy.

This band are no cover or tribute act though, and very much stamp their own style on things - they can rock out, be soulful, or play the blues, but they do it all with skill and conviction. They do seem to have a revolving door for bass players though and I think this is the third one I've seen them playing with - they have all been very good though.

This band have spent so much time touring in the UK over the past year or so that I think they are actually relocating from the US to over here. To be honest I can't blame anyone for wanting to get out of the USA as long as the orange goblin is in charge. Porcelain Hill are possibly the best band on the current underground rock scene that you've never heard of.

28/7/2019 Powerpop Weekender @ The Lexington Day 2

 Back to The Lexington for the second day of this year's Powerpop Weekender. Unfortunately I missed Autogramn and Music City, but managed to catch The Speedways.

They played very energetic and tuneful guitar driven pop punk. You might recognise the Les Paul toting guitarist on the left - it's Mauro Venegas, who you might have in the past seen playing with Duncan Reid & The Big Heads and also The Godfathers. This is a good band who I'd definitely be interested in seeing again.

Next up was Lucy & The Rats. They struck me as more punk and rock 'n' roll than powerpop but were entertaining.

Again, one or two guitarists in this band looked rather familiar. That's because Lucy herself might be from Australia, but her current guitarists used to be in another great band from London's underground rock 'n' roll scene - Johnny Throttle.

Next up are The Pencils - another band who managed to slip under my radar first time round. They seem to have a bit of a following though and are rather good.

The Pencils fit well into the powerpop/new wave and have decent songs so I'm surprised they passed me by back in the day.

The next band are rather more familiar. I have seen The Priscillas quite a few times with varying lineups over the years. Denizens of North London's infamous 'Holloway Strip' they are always great fun! Singer Jenny Drag is a natural at fronting a band and is very much the centre of attention no matter how glamorous the other members of the band may appear.

Their music is punky sleazy rock 'n' roll - think The Cramps, Shangri-Las, and New York Dolls down a dark ally and you're pretty much in the right ball park. Sticking to their roots they even have a song about Holloway Road!

Headlining tonight is Nikki Corvette - former singer of The Corvettes. An American powerpop/new wave band who also managed to evade my radar back in the day. Tonight Nikki is appearing as a solo artist playing Corvettes songs - hence being backed by The Speedways. The songs seem more pure pop than punk or rock & roll, but Nikki is a good performer and carries them off well.

And so ends the 2019 Powerpop Weekender. It's been great value for money with an excellent mix of familiar and new (to me) bands, and the quality of the acts has been very high! I'm amazed I've never heard of some of them before. Same time next year then?

27/7/2019 Powerpop Weekender @ The Lexington Day 1

The Powerpop Weekender is a two day event organised by the guys from the excellent Some Weird Sin Club who put on bands at their regular club nights. Formerly at Buffalo Bar on Highbury Corner and then The Finsbury at Manor House but more recently at a variety of other venues. For the time being they seem to have settled at The Lexington (formerly Clockwork) on Pentonville Road.

I'm writing this over two years after the event and to be honest although I saw a load of bands who I thought were really good most of them were new to me and I can't remember them. Alcohol was possibly involved as well, but probably not very much of it at The Lexington's prices...

The show was an 'all-dayer' and for reasons lost in the mists of time I arrived late and missed opening act Randy Savages, as well as Thee Dagger Debs who I wanted to see and was told I would have liked. I did catch part of the set from Rich Ragany & The Digressions. I've seen Rich a few times with his band The Role Models and liked them as they are more of a rock 'n' roll band, but The Digressions although obviously good with well written songs are far more of a pop group rather than rock and I'm afraid I couldn't really get into them.

The first band I arrived in time to see were Fast Cars. Fitting in with the theme of the event they are a punk/new wave influenced powerpop band. With loud guitar and catchy pop tunes they are very good, but like many of the bands at this event they seem to have passed me by back in the day and I don't remember ever hearing of them until now. 

They are one of countless bands who formed back in the late 1970's and 1980's and were good but never 'made it' for a variety of reasons. Some of those bands have reformed in more recent times just for fun and their own personal nostalgia. I think some of the bands at this weekend's mini-festival have reformed just for this event. I'm glad they did as there don't seem to be any duff acts from all the bands I witness over the weekend.

The evening's fun does involve a couple of really good bands who I already knew - the first being Last Great Dreamers. They are another band who somehow slipped under my radar when they first appeared back in the early 1990's and have only come to my attention in the last couple of years or so - largely thanks to hearing some of their songs on Dave Renegade's excellent weekly 'Dark Heart of Camden' radio show on Hard Rock Hell Radio. I have since managed to see them a few times and found that as well as having some really great songs they are also a particularly good live band.

Last Great Dreamers have a sound based in the 1970's and 1980's and are sometimes compared with the Quireboys, although possibly more because of their image than their music. But one thing both bands have in common is great songs. With really catchy tuneful pop/rock songs like 'Oblivion Kids', 'White Light Black Heart', 'Ashtray Eyes', 'Dope School', 'New Situation', and '13th Floor Renegades' from their albums past and present they have plenty of great material to choose from.

Then there was Duncan Reid and The Big Heads. This is very much a band of today, although with roots in the past.

Duncan Reid was the original bass player in 1970's London punk band The Boys. Not for nothing were they known as 'the Beatles of punk' with their catchy well written pop tunes powered by loud and distorted guitars. Since leaving The Boys Duncan has forged a solo career based on his own songwriting, but with a nod to his old band as at least a couple of their songs such as 'Soda Pressing', and the singalong classic 'First Time', usually find their way into his current band's live set - along with the Hollywood Brats earlier proto-punk 'Sick On You' later covered by The Boys on their first album in 1977.

However, Duncan is a pretty good songwriter in his own right, and quite prolific as he has four albums under his belt with his current band The Big Heads. On record his songs have a more polished poppy and commercial sound, but when this band plays live they take no prisoners! Nick Hughes is on lead guitar these days, with Duncan on bass/vocals, with the dynamic powerhouse that is Sophie K. Powers also on guitar and Karen Jones pounding the drums at the back and driving everything along.

Self proclaimed as "The World's Best Looking Heavy Melody Power Pop Punk Band" you'll have to make your own mind up, but as well as having a load of cracking songs they are a very good live act - the amount of energy they put out is phenomenal!

Last band on the Saturday were The Number Ones and sadly I can't remember them and can't find any pictures to jog my memory. I'm sure they were good though. So, back on Sunday for more of the same...

11/7/2019 KISS @ The O2

What a performance it was! What a performance it was actually getting my hands on the ticket I'd bought many months before from Stargreen. Who then announced that they were closing down. I'd planned to pick my ticket up from their place at Oxford Circus next time I was in the area, but by the time I had found out they were closing it it was too late and all uncollected tickets had been moved to another office and had to be picked up from there instead! Which meant a trip all the way to Elephant & Castle just to get my ticket - leaving me wishing I'd paid the extra to have it posted to me when I booked it - which would have saved me money as well as time in the long run. It took me ages to get down there, then find the well hidden office, then have a refreshing pint in a nearby pub the appropriately named Rockingham Arms before the long journey home. And all this just to get my ticket a week before the actual gig! Still, it looked like being my last ever chance to see KISS and I really didn't want to miss it.

So after one long trip into town, I have to make another one to get to the O2 in Greenwich for the actual show. It was all worth it though!

After delays on the tube I struggle to reach the venue in time, but manage to get into the venue as KISS are playing their first song of the night - 'Detroit Rock City'.

The only previous time I have ever seen KISS was at Wembley Arena. That was the most spectacular show I had ever seen by any band.

Well the O2 Arena makes Wembley look small - so I'm expecting and even bigger and better show from KISS this time...

...and I'm not disappointed - this time we get flying saucers!

Smoke! Flames! Explosions! Pyro - the full works! The sound is great too.

And all the hits! I won't bother listing them, but everything you would expect them to play - they played. They even played a song from their last but one album 'Sonic Boom' - which partly made up for my disappointment at them not playing a single song from it when I saw them at Wembley on the 'Sonic Boom Tour'.

Naturally, Gene has to do his shtick on 'God Of Thunder'

And of course, we have to go to the Psycho Circus!

Then, it's pantomime time! Paul gives us his spiel about how pleased he is that we have all come to see the show, and how he'd like to come out to us - but only if we really want him too? So of course we have to tell him we do. And then louder. And then even louder! Until he eventually does come out to see us - by leaving the stage and flying through the air onto a platform that just happens to be towards the back of the floor of the arena.

It's pure panto, but this is 'show business' - and we have paid to be entertained.

And entertained we are. Paul camps it up like it's panto season!

Then it's back to business on the main stage as different members of the band get their cameo spots.

Gene seems to love being the one everyone loves to hate and plays up to it at every opportunity!

 Balloons!

Confetti cannons!

Ego platforms?

I've never seen anything like this before!

When the band's intro says "You wanted the best - you've got the best!" they ain't kidding.

We get the usual ritual guitar smashing towards the end of the show...

...it seems a waste - but they aren't going to smash the good ones are they?

Now that's what I call a BIG ROCK SHOW!

Well it looks like that was my last ever chance to see KISS - and I'm SO glad I saw them on their last ever tour. Well they say it's the 'last ever', but I take everything that comes out of Gene Simmons mouth with a very large pinch of salt... 

Was it the best rock show I have ever seen? Yes. Alice Cooper and Mötley Crüe (mainly for the pyro) were fantastic, as were Iron Maiden and AC/DC also at the O2, but I think KISS at Wembley were even better. And tonight they topped even that. Just. The ticket price had gone up a bit since last time, but as it's a bigger venue and several years later that's only to be expected - but I thought it was still very reasonably priced compared to other big acts. And it was worth every penny!

I don't think we will ever see the like of this again.

East Barnet Festival 2019

The East Barnet Festival is always one of the highlights of the year for me. It's only a few minutes walk from home, it's free and has a wide variety of bands playing - and there is a beer tent! However, I found the bill on Saturday this year somewhat underwhelming compared to usual. Some lacklustre cover and tribute bands, plus some 'Americana' - a word that tells me boredom is imminent....  Rock & roll is in short supply. However, Country Joe Renegade livens things up with some less than politically correct songs and ramblings - probably the most entertaining act of the day as far as I'm concerned.

Things pick up a bit with the final couple of bands of the day: Ray C. and The Game - more soul/pop and not really my cup of tea but with some stage presence and polished performance. Saturday's headliners are Vigilante who rock things up a bit and are worth seeing.

Back for more on Sunday I arrive in time to see The Barnet Stormers. This is a band made up from musicians from the jam nights at various local pubs and features many well known local musos. Lead guitarist Keith Haggis gets a chance to really shine and rock out far more than he normally does in the local cover band he regularly plays in - it's great to see him cutting loose and playing the music he really wants to play. Radio Rising are next - female fronted with a competently played set of familiar rock covers and a drummer who thinks he's on stage at Donington. The Runner Brothers and Cactus take things down in intensity with more of an Americana feel, although Cactus throw in some UK indie classics as well - including a particularly good (and suiting the surroundings) 'Parklife'!

The next act is billed simply as 'A surprise act' - which is a new band fronted by well known local musician Astra - who has very probably also served you a pint in one or more of Barnet's pubs over the years.... Next up is From The Outside, who turn out to be the excellent rock act called Band Of King who have played here once or twice in past years.

Marina and The Fraud Squad are next - a very polished but more middle of the road pop cover band - Marina herself is quite entertaining. The Familly Dogg follow - a rocking band of brothers leaning a a funk and soul direction but very good at what they do. However, they don't manage to hold my attention for the whole hour they are booked to play and I find myself wandering off in the direction of the pub... Sunday's headliners are Spirit of Springsteen - a tribute act. I don't doubt they will be good at what they do, but even if they play all of the handful of Bruce Springsteen songs I actually like I suspect I will spend most of the one and a half hours they are booked to play standing about being bored waiting for them to play a song I like. And the beer tent is shutting - so the pub it is then....

The second day of this year's festival is noticeably better than the first, but even then it won't go down in history as one of the best or most memorable East Barnet Festivals. Maybe next year then?

PS: I'm not sure why I don't seem to have any more pictures - if I didn't take any more I can't remember why. Maybe I've managed to lose them somewhere on my hard drive....