|
London
Victoria was built as two separate stations by
the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LBSCR) and the South
Eastern
& Chatham Railway (SECR). These two rival companies remained
independent
until the formation of the Southern Railway in 1923. The station is adjoined along the
Buckingham Palace Road side by the magnificent former Grosvenor Hotel,
which remains a fine
hotel known
as the Thistle Victoria. In its heyday
London
Victoria was the starting point for such famous expresses as the Golden
Arrow,
the Night Ferry and the Brighton Belle. Today it is the starting point
for
services to
Sussex, Surrey, Kent and the South Coast. It is also the main station
for
international connections via the South Coast ports. In 1984 London
Victoria became the starting point for the pioneering Gatwick Express
service to London Gatwick Airport. Today London Victoria's Platform 2
is often the departure point for Orient Express
Hotels, Trains & Cruises's luxury VSOE British Pullman train
excursions.
Throughout
this “Through the Window” guide we describe
views as being left or right from the train facing in the direction of
travel
out of London.
London
Victoria to Tonbridge:
Trains
for Ramsgate and the North Kent Coast leave from the "Eastern" side of London Victoria station, entered via
A.W. Blomfield's grand Edwardian baroque facade, completed in 1909 for
the South Eastern & Chatham Railway (SECR). Sculpted mermaids and
other maritime motifs on the facade hint at the seaside delights in
store. Trains cross the River Thames on Grosvenor Bridge with good
views either side including to the right westwards along the river to
the decorative Chelsea and Albert Bridges, while to the left eastwards
is the towering bulk of Gilbert Scott's former Battersea Power Station.
The route across south London to Brixton
is elevated, and then the line runs through Herne Hill, West Dulwich, with the famous Dulwich College to the left
eastwards, Sydenham Hill and
under Crystal Palace to Penge East,
whose station and setting is now rather different from that painted by
Pissarro in the early 1870s. The surroundings are suburban through Kent House, Beckenham, Shortlands, Bromley South and Bickley and over the complex
Chislehurst Junction to Petts Wood
and Orpington, whose station
stands on the site of a Roman villa. Soon after, suburbia gives way to
fields and woodland. Ahead now are the North Downs, great chalk hills
through which the line cuts in long, deep cuttings and tunnels. Soon
after the long tunnel under Polhill, there are fine, sweeping views to
the right westwards towards Chevening and to the left eastwards into
the Darent Valley, which the train enters as it approaches Sevenoaks. The town is a handsome
one, with its range of tile-hung and timber framed buildings, its
battlemented church, and its famous Sevenoaks School,
founded in 1432.
Just to the south east, is the grand Tudor mansion of Knole House (now
managed by the National Trust), linked
with the Sackville family since 1566.
Another
long tunnel carries the train away from Sevenoaks and into the Weald of
Kent. A long elevated stretch offers fine views and then the
train runs through Hildenborough
before it enters Tonbridge,
with the powerful remains of the Norman castle standing guard over the
River Medway crossing. Tonbridge is still a typical Kentish town with
one main street and all its interesting buildings near by. Most feature
local ragstone and sandstone. Tonbridge has another famous school, Tonbridge School,
founded in 1553, whose most striking building is the
chapel of 1902.
Tonbridge to Ashford International:
After
leaving Tonbridge the line to
Hastings diverges off to the right southwards, and the mainline to
Ashford continues through the countryside of the Weald of Kent. Soon we
reach Paddock Wood and
it is here that the line to Strood diverges off to the left northwards.
We then continue through the Kent countryside past Marden, Staplehurst, Headcorn. Headcorn has a small
airfield visible to the right of the railway. Then Pluckley is passed before reaching Ashford International station. Just
before the station the line from London via Maidstone comes in from the
left along with the High Speed 1 (Channel Tunnel
Rail Link) which is
used by Eurostar services from London to Paris and Brussels.
Today
Ashford is a modern town with a rising importance due to its position
on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The McArthur
Glen Ashford Designer Outlet is designed by Lord Richard Rogers and
opened in 2000. It is located next to Ashford International station.
The town was also for many years famous for Ashford Railway Works. The
railway community had its own shops, schools, pubs and bathhouse, and
much of the area retains the look of a "railway town" (like Swindon and
Crewe), however the works closed in 1981. There is also London Ashford
Airport which is based at Lydd, around 17 miles from Ashford.
Ashford International to Dover:
After
Ashford International station
the line to Ramsgate via Canterbury diverges off to the left and the
line to Hastings off to the right. The High Speed 1
(Channel Tunnel
Rail Link) continues to parallel the classic main line to Dollands Moor
freight yard. South from Ashford, the line (paralleled on the left by
the High Speed 1 en route to the Channel Tunnel) runs through an open
landscape, following the course of the East Stour River. The M2
motorway also parallels the line for much of the way also on the left
hand side. Sevington's remote church is to the left northwards,
followed by Mersham's, with its massive west window, close by the line.
This area has a large number of fine 17th and 18th century farms and
manors, but none is as striking as the remains of the large 14th
century fortified manor beside the track at Westenhanger. This is the station
for Folkestone Racecourse,
which is just to the right southwards. The
landscape now becomes hillier andmore wooded as the line cuts its way
through the Downs. At Sandling
station the track of the former branch to Hythe can still be seen
diverging off to the right.
Just
after Sandling station the High Speed 1
(Channel Tunnel Rail Link)
crosses over the classic mainline to the right hand side as the
mainline passes into a tunnel and through cuttings to take it into
Folkestone. Here the two lines of the High Speed 1 separate to run
either side of the Dollands Moor freight yard. The classic mainline then passes the
Channel Tunnel complex at Cheriton near Folkestone where the Eurotunnel
terminal complex for the Eurotunnel Shuttle trains. This is where the
High Speed 1 (Channel Tunnel
Rail Link) enters the Channel Tunnel
complex on its final approaches to the UK portal of the Channel Tunnel
itself. Folkestone West is the
next station and from here eastwards, the track is elevated high above
the town with fine views to the right southwards. The train crosses the
high, curving Foord viaduct, carried 100ft in the air on 19 brick
arches, and on its way out of the town after Folkestone Central station the
branch line diverges off to the right. This Folkestone Harbour branch
took boat trains steeply down through the town and
over a viaduct across the harbour to Folkestone
Harbour station. Sadly this branch line is now hardly used and
is in a poor state of repair, it seems likely that the branch line will
be closed in the near future to make way for the regeneration of Folkestone Harbour.
Meanwhile
our train enters a tunnel and then emerges on to a dramatic stage, with
white cliffs forming the backdrop and the sea in the foreground. There
are magnificent views out to sea on the right hand side as we approach
Dover. The line runs along the base of the cliffs, in and out of
cuttings and tunnels, railway theatre at its best. The two long
tunnels, Abbot's Cliff and Shakespeare Cliff, were massive engineering
works during the building of the line in the 1840s, and the journey
along beside the sea into Dover is a fitting memorial to the ambitions
of the Victorian railway builders. The train now passes below Dover's Western Heights,
and swings north as the former branch into the former Dover Marine station (also known as
Dover Western Docks) diverges off to the right. This station was opened
in 1914 and in its heyday was the terminus for the Golden Arrow and the
Night Ferry and other famous boat trains. Also before the advent of
safe, reliable air travel, Dover was the port of entry for most VIPs
from Continental Europe, with Dover Marine station welcoming European
royalty and heads of state. The station also played a significant role
in the Second World War, as did many other South Coast stations,
hosting numerous troop trains in the build up to the Dunkirk evacuation
and the Normandy Landings. Dover
Marine station closed in 1994 and the former station was then converted
into the Dover Cruise Terminal with its tracks removed, it reopened in
its new role as the Dover Cruise
Terminal in 1996.
Today
trains continue round through another tunnel into Dover Priory station. This station
is set to the west of the town and hidden behind Western Heights, as a
result Dover Priory gives no sense of the town and its dramatic
position in a narrow cleft in the white cliffs. It is worth walking
down to the harbour, beneath the towering bulk of Dover Castle (now
managed by English Heritage), to
appreciate that Dover's history is entirely bound up with the defence
of the port. With Europe little over 20 miles away across the English
Channel, Dover has been England's front door since the Iron Age, when
the first defences were built. The Romans followed, and their
lighthouse still stands on Castle Hill near the Saxon church. King
Henry II built the first Dover Castle, from 1168. Expanded continuously
until the 19th century, Dover Castle was an important garrison until
1958. No fortress in
England boasts a longer history than Dover Castle.
Commanding the shortest sea crossing between England and the continent,
the site has served as a vital strategic centre since the Iron Age. The White Cliffs of Dover
are among England's most celebrated sights, yet hidden
inside them is a fascinating and secret world. Deep underground lies an
extensive network of tunnels - first dug during the Napoleonic Wars,
but so strategically useful that they continued to be used right
through the 20th century. On the 26th May 1940, the signal was
received to start Operation Dynamo - the
evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and French troops from
Dunkirk's beaches on the northern coast of France. The network of
underground tunnels beneath Dover Castle became the nerve centre of the
whole operation. Facing Dover Castle across the town are the Western
Heights, another clifftop fortress developed to counter the threat
posed by Napoleon, but in this case the fortifications were hidden
underground.
Dover is
famous for the White Cliffs of Dover and the Port of Dover is one of the
UK's busiest
cross-Channel ferry ports. P&O Ferries
and SeaFrance Ferries operate ferry
services from Dover to Calais in France, while Speed Ferries operate a fast
ferry service to Boulogne in France and Norfolk Line
operates ferry services to Dunkerque in France.
|