Czachówek in the snow beckons

After a week of +1C temperature, sleet and beastliness, I awoke to a beautiful thick covering of snow, a light frost (-5C) and a blue sky. Below: view from my bedroom window.

After breakfast (rye bread, Roquefort and smoked salmon) I set off to W-wa Jeziorki station to catch the 11:35 Koleje Mazowieckie service for Czachówek. As I waited for the train (its lights visible in the far distance below), I had the chance to see how the modernisation works are progressing. The entire 'down' platform has been removed! We now wait for new track for 'down' line, all the way from W-wa Okęcie to Nowa Iwiczna, where the track removal is currently ongoing.

The 17km journey takes 25 minutes, the return ticket costs me 12.88 złotys (around £2.30). I step off in Czachówek Górny and walk down what was Czachówek Środkowy. Below: standing between the platforms of the old station, looking east along the Skierniewice-Łuków line.

Having crossed the track, I'm in the Czachówek diamond, the forest bounded by the four tracks connecting the north-south Warsaw-Radom line and the east-west  Skierniewice-Łuków line. Tracks in the forest show that many humans have already been here this morning - and much wildlife too - deer, foxes, hares.

Below: crossing back across the  Skierniewice-Łuków line. From the left, the track heads north towards Warsaw, to the right, the track heads south towards Czachówek Południowy, Warka and Radom. In the distance, Czachówek Wschodni station.

Below: photo taken from an embankment looking down into a snowy back garden. "Ja tu pilnuję!"

Below: crossing the spur that connects the south to the east. During the modernisation of the main line, half of the eight services a day from Warsaw to Góra Kalwaria have been cancelled; passengers have to change at Czachówek Południowy for a shuttle service that runs to Góra via Czachówek Wschodni over this spur.

A good day's walking (11,700 paces) and a chance to take in some sorely-needed winter sunshine.