Lakenheath - Least Used Station in Suffolk

No video

Lakenheath - Least Used Station in Suffolk

Рет қаралды 93,670

Күн бұрын

Time to visit another Least Used Station - it's Lakenheath in Suffolk! My companion is Dan from Dan and Dan, who is a bit of twitcher and likes to go bird spotting, which ... is the main reason that a passenger would probably go to Lakenheath station, as there's an RSPB nature reserve right next to to the station!
Note: Lakenheath is also a Request Stop! But there was absolutely no reference to it, no signage, nor any indication that this was the case if you didn't know that.
Click to see Dan and Dan's KZfaq channel here: / dananddanfilms
Download the Office of Rail and Road Station Usage Statistics here: dataportal.orr...

Пікірлер: 363

@geofftech2 4 жыл бұрын

Comments about DAN'S LOCKDOWN HAIR GROWTH (where he's clearly not shaved for 12 weeks!) in this thread please.

@SK_3PT1 4 жыл бұрын

why does his beard kinda look like santa but with black hair?

@andrineslife 4 жыл бұрын

It is MAGNIFICENT

@Jeagles 4 жыл бұрын

Looks like normal hair to me lol

@JamesHomer-Boyd 4 жыл бұрын

Magnificence I can only aspire to.

@marksaddler 4 жыл бұрын

Dan’s beard wasn’t that impressive, but very impressed with the growth that Dan had going on 👍

@iainharrison315 4 жыл бұрын

Never knew Lakenheath had a station, I knew there is an airbase there, things you learn :)

@mcollier4566 4 жыл бұрын

Interesting comparison between birders and twitchers could be made to train spotters (who go out to see a particular train) and railway enthusiasts (who just enjoy being around railways).

@georgeadams2555 4 жыл бұрын

what if you're a strange combination of both and neither all at once?

@mcollier4566 4 жыл бұрын

@@georgeadams2555 everyone is unique and no-one fits into nice categories. Perhaps we'd do better to move away from categorising differences and appreciating a shared enjoyment of railways, birds and everything else around us.

@Nooticus 4 жыл бұрын

Yuppppp!

@1258-Eckhart 4 жыл бұрын

"Twitcher" translates as "Trainspotter", "Birder" as "Railway Enthusiast".

@woofe 4 жыл бұрын

Marcomanseckisax So, based on the transitive theory of multiplication, a twitcher is a birder!

@Cmcb1984 4 жыл бұрын

I expected Geoff to say. “Ah yes, I can see the lesser spotted USAF F15 jet. Isn’t bird watching wonderful dan”

@davidjames579 4 жыл бұрын

Or maybe a SR-71 Blackbird

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

@@davidjames579 that was RAF Mildenhall but I will give you that.

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

God rest the recently deceased pilot who crashed from Lakenheath.

@davidjames579 4 жыл бұрын

@@michaelgreen1515 Isn't Lakenheath an American Airforce Base as well?

@johnhagen31 4 жыл бұрын

That bee was probably on a training flight from the US air base

@LoganBrazill 4 жыл бұрын

I live near RAF Lakenheath

@johnhagen31 4 жыл бұрын

@@LoganBrazill My in-laws live in Foulden and we visit frequently

@LoganBrazill 4 жыл бұрын

@@johnhagen31 oh nice we all live in Brandon wich is 5 minutes away from the base

@OuijTube 4 жыл бұрын

I used to run the baseball team at Cambridge University...I think we tried to set up a game with the USAF guys at Lakenheath but I think there was some issue about getting us into the post.

@LoganBrazill 4 жыл бұрын

@@OuijTube oh nice the base is very well protected

@charlartsandotherstuff2588 4 жыл бұрын

Dan: Goldfinch Me: Yes? 😂 felt,like i was back at school

@GustavSvard 4 жыл бұрын

Hadn't heard of a finch called Goldfinch, i.e. "guldfink" in Swedish. Looked it up. It's called Steglits in Swedish apparently. Hadn't heard of that either. Also: many other finches are color+finch in Swedish, why not this one? ah, late medieval german loan word. Now I'm on a wiki-walkabout...

@Frostie3672 4 жыл бұрын

Been feeding goldfinches in the garden for years, the colours on them are stunning!

@glynwelshkarelian3489 4 жыл бұрын

@@GustavSvard It always seemed a weird name to me. A goldfinch has some flashes of bright yellow, which help with spotting it at a distance, but it's most striking colour to me is the bright red face. Redhead finch would make more sense.

@Frostie3672 4 жыл бұрын

@@glynwelshkarelian3489 it's not bright yellow you're seeing though, that's a gold colour, there's a lot more of that gold colour on them than their bright red faces.

@Ella-jk7rq 4 жыл бұрын

Geoff, you don’t know how much I need a video today, thank you! 😊

@geofftech2 4 жыл бұрын

You're welcome, Enjoy!

@glasgowandwestdunbartonshi8934 4 жыл бұрын

@@geofftech2 I really needed a video today too

@adrianrutterford762 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video. The station was the nearest to our house when I was young. I remember the level crossing gates being closed manually, and then counting the wagons on the goods trains. As an aside my uncle worked at the factory next to the station when it was used to process chicory for Camp coffee.

@glynwelshkarelian3489 4 жыл бұрын

Can you still buy coffee with chicory? Someone told me Camp is still available, and that was the most famous of it's kind; but I have seen any for some years, and no distant coffee with chicory for longer.

@adrianrutterford762 4 жыл бұрын

Glyn Watkins Just had a peak on the internet. Tesco has it. Very good for making coffee cake.

@glynwelshkarelian3489 4 жыл бұрын

@@adrianrutterford762 Cheers mate. Hot Camp, milk and vodka; and Black Beer and Vimto, 2 Hit the North classics I thought were gone for good.

@adrianrutterford762 4 жыл бұрын

Glyn Watkins Sounds like a plan. Whoops! Sounds like two plans. I’ll add that to the shopping list.

@PublicTransportVideo 4 жыл бұрын

I think the bee is an indication that Geoff should do St. Bees station next

@deltastransportadventures4083 4 жыл бұрын

YAASSSSSSSSSS THANK YOU SO MUCH GEOFF FOR ANOTHER LEAST USED STATION!!!!!

@crispoman 4 жыл бұрын

@ 6:14 -6:29 Nice Bee-roll footage. Sorry, I'll get my coat.

@geofftech2 4 жыл бұрын

OHMYGOD! Why didn't I think of this pun!!!

@SoymeScaleModels 4 жыл бұрын

I come to this station quite a lot with my grandparents, they live in a village nearby, and my Grandad works at the RSPB reserve. We use it quite a bit to go to Cambridge, and I have to say we're usually the only ones there! Shame about the station building being closed.

@r.sulfuratus 4 жыл бұрын

As a birder, I'm ridiculously excited about this episode. Side note: There aren't any (or hardly any) twitchers that aren't birders, it's a subcategory. I'm also torn between disappointment in Dan for not recognising the sanderling and understanding since you rarely see it in breeding plumage in the UK.

@dickjk 4 жыл бұрын

I definitely must go there to see the Lesser Spotted Passenger. Brilliant observation! LOL!

@marthaanderson2656 4 жыл бұрын

thank you for including a map!!! I usually get my google map out to put myself on the spot. As a birder this is one for the maybe someday when Americans are welcome, list

@MadMax76er 4 жыл бұрын

I live in Suffolk on a road called Sanderling!

@davidstockwell7874 4 жыл бұрын

Good to have these back Geoff. These always keep me entertained

@cragoolia3782 4 жыл бұрын

Doesn't beat Pilning Stations 6 days and 18 hours between services then.

@TheKestrel76 4 жыл бұрын

Yah, I am a kestrel. You got that right, Dan.

@SaturnCanuck 4 жыл бұрын

Another good video in the series. I love the warning signal -- in Canada its "ding ding ding"

@DJRyanJamesUK 4 жыл бұрын

The highlight of the video is Dan running in the background looking dissappointed! Great work as always Geoff! x

@johnkelley2468 4 жыл бұрын

On our way to London, we used to go to Epping from Brandon. Went right past Lakenheath and didn't even notice it. Back in those days some 50 years ago, they had a gas electric locomotive. Internal combustion engine and it was loud.! The crossing gates were all manned back then. Jack Kelley

@ejmcmanus 4 жыл бұрын

I saw this video in my subscription box and was like I know the name of that station. Then I realise I drive past there every year to visit family and know the station because of the RAF base

@hiviolet007 4 жыл бұрын

I really liked that episode! I like birds too so it was twice as good!

@barryjohn3549 4 жыл бұрын

I think that Whittlesea train station on the Cambridge to Peterborough line still have manual gates, where someone comes out of a little hut to open and close the gates.

@CuckooAboutTRAINS 4 жыл бұрын

Correct still manual gates and working semaphores

@reece5040 4 жыл бұрын

0:54 that is not the speed limit

@journeysofjames1116 4 жыл бұрын

It could be an old sign

@jamesbuckley031090 4 жыл бұрын

@@journeysofjames1116 he meant the car

@capturedlondon 4 жыл бұрын

They still throw stones at the moon in Suffolk

@woutervanr 4 жыл бұрын

@@capturedlondon 52% of the country does tbf

@davidjames579 4 жыл бұрын

It was actually a train going sideways.

@AverytheCubanAmerican 4 жыл бұрын

Dan? Don’t let Dan know that Dan is better than Dan.

@mistie710 4 жыл бұрын

Dan dan-dan dan DAAAAAAAAN!

@w.g.hunter1300 4 жыл бұрын

That "lesser spotted passenger" joke was sneaky and cheeky

@cliveellis3328 4 жыл бұрын

Elsenham in Essex still has manual crossing gates.

@kennethhume8628 4 жыл бұрын

Clive Ellis , any news when you’ll get electricity in Elsenham ?

@Elitist20 4 жыл бұрын

If you ever come to Australia, Wondabyne (just north of Sydney) has no road access, only by walking track or boat. The platform is less than one carriage long. It has 10 passengers a day. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wondabyne_railway_station

@jasonruggles2579 4 жыл бұрын

Yay! Well done Geoff!!! My Dad lives there and great to see the RSPB!

@mpd42781 4 жыл бұрын

Geoff, That's great you came all the way out to Lakenheath's station. When I was stationed at the tri-base area, I would always take the Littleport station. It is serviced by several every single day & there were certain times it was non-stop to Cambridge where I could stay on when we got hooked to a non-stop to Kings Cross.

@dedgey1061 4 жыл бұрын

Pulling in now, Pulling in now, Pulling in now

@singrdave 4 жыл бұрын

I spent 4th of July 1992 with the Americans at RAF Mildenhall so thanks for posting this on my almost 28-year anniversary of that fine memory. I was a Mormon missionary labouring in the Thetford congregation.

@lordmuntague 4 жыл бұрын

So, station check list: Shelter? Tick. Help point? Tick. Display screen? Tick. Bee? Tick. That'll have to go on your regular checklist now.

@HenrysAdventures 4 жыл бұрын

I'd love to go to Lakenheath and buy a return to Shippea Hill!

@73Ransome 4 жыл бұрын

You have to change at Thetford or Ely then. Also no sunday service at Shippea Hill.

@HenrysAdventures 4 жыл бұрын

@@73Ransome Sounds like a Saturday day out the long way round then! I'd still enjoy it!

@DesiroDriver 4 жыл бұрын

00:48 does the intro music get anyone else strumming out a leg or hand rhythm to the beat, or is it just me 🤷🏼‍♂️😄

@DavidShepheard 4 жыл бұрын

No, but I did watch the "Least Used Music" video several times to listen to the music (Habit is Happiness): kzfaq.info/get/bejne/atR8jN1z2rS2e3k.html And then I spent all day listening to the previews of Habit of Happiness over at Premium Beat (because they speak over it less that Geoff did in the Least Used Music video): www.premiumbeat.com/royalty-free-tracks/habit-is-happiness And the reason I spent all day on their website is that they have the full version (2:15), three short versions (15 seconds, 30 seconds and 60 seconds), 7 different loops and 7 different stems. Geoff does not usually play Habit is Happiness for the full two minutes and fifteen seconds, so I decided to check out the short versions first, to see if I could spot if he was using those (rather than making his own edits). Then I went looking at the loops, as they are variants, to see if I could remember any of them from Geoff's videos. And thought I might as well do the same thing with the stems. It was very interesting to see that GG Riggs didn't just compose Habit is Happiness and throw it up, but actually created a bunch of "musical lego bricks" and sold them as a kit, where people can remix the music and make their own versions. The loops are all fairly recognisable, and I think that Geoff might have used most of them, but I think that Stem 3 is so hard to spot, that if Geoff used a bit of that, most people wouldn't realise it was part of Habit is Happiness and would think it was new music. But no...I don't strum my leg.

@mattcherry276 4 жыл бұрын

Manual crossing near where I live even has the crossing keeper on Streetview from April 2019, having just opened the gates. If you go back one then the car is stuck in the queue for the crossing with the gates closed: goo.gl/maps/B7eR4EgrD6QAQrJw7 It's near Middlewood on the Buxton line. There used to be a crossing keeper's house but that disappeared some years ago.

@delboy7039 3 жыл бұрын

Nice to see Network Rail, cleaning up afet themselves...!! Old posters etc lying on ground by the old signal box..!!

@janscattergood7294 4 жыл бұрын

Great to see Dan & Dan again. I now know I am a Birder not a Twitcher. 😂

@LiamBushrod 4 жыл бұрын

Those barriers went from fully manual to the most advance fully automatic obstacle detection barriers in one fell swoop lol. Also love the drone shot at the end!

@Nath2454 4 жыл бұрын

surprised you didn't take the old bit of gate from the track in the grass for office decoration. great video

@MaJoRMJR 4 жыл бұрын

I have that bird book too, it's awesome. (Sanderling was an answer on Pointless yesterday)

@FlyingScud 4 жыл бұрын

Loved the location map! 'You are here', arrow and a road named 'Station Road'. + of course, the Bee!

@GDEwan 4 жыл бұрын

Ayyy the county I live in finally!

@dickmartino9933 4 жыл бұрын

Great to at least see Dan at the end.

@davidjames579 4 жыл бұрын

He looks remarkably like the other Dan, even wearing the same clothes.

@TopAbandonedPlacesURBEX 4 жыл бұрын

An abandoned toilet and signal box at a least used railway station, heaven for me haha

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

Basically because RSPB set up the reserve and being an unusual reserve it became centred around the reserve and for a while was the main way to reach the reserve. Also the birds identified are not really typical for the reserve. The reserve is particularly good in winter. Geoff you should have given him a rare Swan, a Marsh harrier, and a crane. Network Rail did lots of Norfolk and Suffolk especially because of lanes etc. Nice to get some lovely views of the new stock, and working❣🙏

@Sim0nTrains 4 жыл бұрын

Great Video, lucky that was a Bee shown on camera and not a wasp! had a encounter with a Wasp at Bodmin Parkway last year! it ended up being squashed under my camcorder after it rested on my camcorder for a good 15 minutes while vlogging! Lakenheath reminds me of Hawarden Brridge in Flintshire, for some reason it has less train on a weekday but lots on a Sunday.

@legekg2002 4 жыл бұрын

The only thing that makes Lakenheath memorable to me is that me brother was born at the U.S. Air Base's hospital back in 1976. I was 4 at the time. He got me up a 3 in the morning to be shoved over to the neighbors house so he could be born. Ruddy Brat...

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

I think you probably mean the USAF Hospital at RAF Mildenhall, an easy mistake to make, as they nearly join.

@airfoxtrot2006 4 жыл бұрын

I have been here its RAF Lakenheath, great video

@craigdonnigan618 4 жыл бұрын

youve got another station to do on all the stations now on the Durham coastline Hordon opened on Monday between Seaham and Hartlepool

@liamcorbett7553 4 жыл бұрын

I live between Shippea Hill and Lakenheath. There is no wonder as you can see as to why they have hardly any passengers. Whilst you were this way, you should have checked out Dullingham. It still has a manned crossing.

@ArthurTK26 4 жыл бұрын

Wow, a manned crossing. Geoff needs to see this.

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

Beware of my tribe there 🙀

@SteveDD1 2 жыл бұрын

I'm the only one who films Dullingham. Youngsters prefer flashing lights and noisy alarms.

@wellsm1744 4 жыл бұрын

Semaphore signals and Signalbox closed in November 2012, the crossing changed to its current form then too

@gobears6487 4 жыл бұрын

Love the BEE!!! 🐝

@dansoper 2 жыл бұрын

I cycled to Lakenheath today to tick it off on my spreadsheet, then came back to rewatch this video. Not much has changed, except the benches have been painted a different colour or replaced. But the signal box has gone! Sadly my onward train was delayed so I missed the planned connection that would have taken me to Shippea Hill. Next time…

@SeverusSinSnape14 4 жыл бұрын

We have Sandalins (I hope I’m spelling that right) back in my home state of NC in the States. We’d find them on the beach running through the waters looking for food in the sand. We call them Sandfiddlers

@AndrewMartinIsHere 4 жыл бұрын

About 5 miles from my parent’s house...and where I always used to get stuck at the barriers back in the day when we used to travel places.

@saintuk70 4 жыл бұрын

Tenuous link to Lakenheath. Did my usual and fired up my maps and looked for the station close to the RAF base..... took me a while to spot it.

@PiousMoltar 4 жыл бұрын

Well it's called Lakenheath because it's in the parish of Lakenheath, the village. Though it's not close to the village either. In fact I'm sure it's closer to Hockwold.

@ianstokes291 3 жыл бұрын

I used to work in an office at the end of the runway at Lakenheath. Surprised there are any birds left in the area, the noise certainly scared me off.

@thegoodmrbrodie 4 жыл бұрын

nice to spot a Gravenhurst t-shirt! 😍

@LKBRICKS1993 4 жыл бұрын

Love your least used station videos. Very interesting.

@devilman1976 4 жыл бұрын

I would have thought during the war it would have been used a lot by the guys at RAF Lakenheath.

@georgerutherford24 4 жыл бұрын

Not far from RAF Mildenhall either,from which my late uncle made his last flight in 1943.Mildenhall had a branch line from Cambridge.

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

Like many RAF bases (and rail stations) the names are deceptive. Greatest use then was probably by the agricultural community.

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

@@georgerutherford24 part of which now forms the main line.

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

I love the way you keep changing this.

@michaelpilling9659 3 жыл бұрын

Very interesting. A station to serve a bird reserve. Great video.

@henrygibbings1038 4 жыл бұрын

Has Dan been in a police line up before?: 'honestly officer, i was just spotting some trains and birds!'

@josephwebb4304 4 жыл бұрын

He said it takes three days to walk there which is interesting because it's up the line from shippea hill which I hiked to last year and it took me three days ( I live near cambridge)

@AngelaHurst-tu7ph 6 ай бұрын

0:00 - 0:03 such a beautiful alarm on that level crossing

@johnkelley2468 4 жыл бұрын

Times have changed over the past 50 years. We used to take the train from Brandon to Epping when we went to London. Gas Electric (internal combustion) engines back then!

@badhippo 4 жыл бұрын

I got 3/3 on the Bird Test. Once a twitcher, always a twitcher, even after 30-years.

@laurencec09 4 жыл бұрын

Hey Geoff you should come and visit Haverhill station next! Oh, wait...

@maxccfc1927 2 жыл бұрын

Imagine getting off a train and then there’s just two grown men opposite filming you,looking at you through binoculars and saying he’s one of the rarest creatures,man must be so confused

@bobparsons77 4 жыл бұрын

Lots of Sanderling here in Alberta.

@Jonno180556ADI 4 жыл бұрын

One of my signalling inspectors on the North Norfolk Railway used to work that box.

@HatterDave 4 жыл бұрын

Apologies if someone has already said it but a year is 52 weeks + 1 day (2 in a leap year). Thus you can't always presume dividing by 104 for stations with a Sat/Sun service only because the extra day could have been a weekend

@norbitonflyer5625 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, but if the extra day was at a weekend (i.e New Years Day and New Years Eve of the same year both at a weekend) then Christmas Day - when no trains run - would also fall at a weekend.

@DesiroDriver 4 жыл бұрын

09:11 what looks like an elongated huge white egg.... a level crossing obstacle detector.... technology is great, but I think I prefer CCTV controlled crossings. As a driver, it’s always AHB crossings which get my attention. Especially the high line speed ones!

@hogshouse 4 жыл бұрын

at 0:54, it would have looked really cool if that car went across the crossing backwards :-D Great video, as always.. Stay safe.

@dct1 4 жыл бұрын

Drone footage at the end was a nice touch!

@btuckervideos4705 4 жыл бұрын

Great video Geoff. I know very little about birds and all that, but as it's in one of your videos I watched that segment anyway. Dan was great too, but shame Dan couldn't make it until you were finishing

@IainG81 4 жыл бұрын

Think Dan will be there for the train that leaves on Saturday.

@kamerons2895 4 жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure Elsenham (Essex) still has that kind of crossing

@2nd100k 4 жыл бұрын

Cheers Geoff

@dong8284 2 жыл бұрын

Its crazy I live around 15 mins away and always found it odd that it's Lakenheath station, yet I think it's actually closer to the village of Hockwold. I've passed it so many times yet never actually stopped and had a look around. Will have to get round to doing that

@lucasbarton1773 4 жыл бұрын

It kind of reminds me of shippea hill, especially from the level crossing and the manual level crossing box

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

I believe the next station and both served the fenland farmers, and originally a nice trick for illegal boxing when Shippea Hill was Mildenhall Road. The railway used to organise illegal bare knuckle boxing gambling trains. As the police turned up everyone got on the train and crossed over the counties and the matched continued until the police from the other county found the train and it moved again.

@lucasbarton1773 4 жыл бұрын

Michael Green ohh ok that would make sense, thanks for the point

@thisisawar9 4 жыл бұрын

it's absolutely true, cause i gather all my views, from the good ol' daily mail

@michaelgreen1515 4 жыл бұрын

The line got nice new gates and signalling; then got the new stock last year and of course the two didn't like each other at all at first. NFN!

@craigr9881 4 жыл бұрын

5:17 is that the least used toilet at a least used station?

@TheBritishAce 4 жыл бұрын

Blimey, almost 200k, I remember 30k, well done Geoff 🎉😄👍🏻🚆

@QT480uk 4 жыл бұрын

The Breckland Line has probably got the most least served and request stops combined in the East of England.

@maxbryson9419 4 жыл бұрын

Just isn’t the same when you know Geoff drove there.

@ianpolmear933 4 жыл бұрын

Brilliant and funny too !

@markwalls9656 3 жыл бұрын

My uncle operated the level crossing when it had the old gates

@insignificantaftermathPROJECTS 3 жыл бұрын

Imagine when other Dan finds out that he isnt in the Dan and Dan bubble but a bloke called Dean is...

@andyrichardsvideovlogs8835 4 жыл бұрын

Personally I prefer the birds from RAF Lakenheath with their big noisy bums.... That being said, a fascinating video 👍

@garygallagher5978 4 жыл бұрын

Would have made an interesting comparison to know how busy the station was when the nearby RAF, USAF base was active back in the day with personal going and returning from leave etc.

@ianhenderson4560 4 жыл бұрын

Manual gates at Lakenheath (and rest of Breckland Line) were consigned to history in about 2012 or so.

@pninpnin1 4 жыл бұрын

Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York; And all the clouds that lour'd upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.