Rolling blog. Three peaks by rail 2026. Day 1…

25 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in 3 peaks by rail, Never a dull life, Photography, Rolling blogs, The Railway Children, Travel

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3 peaks by rail, Never a dull life, Photography, Railways, The Railway Children, Travel

10:30.

The adventure begins! Despite the weather I had a decent night’s sleep last night, which is just as well as that’s a commodity that’s going to be in very short supply for the next few days.

Having packed all my kit – including stuff to cope with all the vageries of the British weather I’m on my first train of the day. As many services have been cancelled across the network I’m giving myself plenty of time to get to Crewe. Dawn’s been a star and given me a lift down to Sowerby Bridge station in time to catch Northern’s 10:20 to Manchester Victoria, so I’ve not started the day off hot and sweaty!

This train’s pretty empty. It looks like many folk have heeded to call not to travel. The few who have are dressed for the weather with shorts being de rigueur!

158843 has carried me across the Pennines to Manchester Victoria.

12:00.

I can breathe easy now. I’ve made it as far as Manchester, a city baking in the sun. A condition which is ruining its reptation! There’s no shortage of trains from here to Crewe so I can take time to get a few pictures here before heading off again for the final leg to Crewe where I don’t need to be until later this afternoon as when registration starts. The train itself doesn’t leave for Bangor until this evening.

13:05.

Nothing’s stopping me now! Having hung around in Manchester to enjoy the sun, do a bit of work* and get some pictures I’m now aboard a vintage Class 323 to Crewe. This is one of the former West Midlands units transferred to Northern, who’re now the sole operator of these 1990s built trains.

Now I’ll be in Crewe before temperatures reach their zenith. The information screens at Piccadilly bore witness to the cull of train services that have already taken place due to the weather. Some already planned, others not.

On the bright side (ish). I’m on an old train with opening windows and no air-conditioning, so there’s nothing to break down!

16:45.

The teams from all corners of the country are gathering at Crewe. It’s great to see so many old friends and familuar faces amongst them.

*the work I was doing means thay you’ll be able to read about the 3 Peaks challenge in a future edition of RAIL magazine.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Cheers,

Paul

All change…

24 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Railways, Calder Valley, Photography, Southport

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Travel, Railways, Photography, Musings, Calder Valley, family, writing, life

It’s the end of a baking hot day here in the Calder valley with another one in prospect tomorrow – although I won’t be around to see too much of it.

These past couple of days have seen me transition from Southport to Halifax once more, although this time by car, not train as on Monday night Dawn joined me at the coast so that we could both attend my sister in law Bev’s funeral on Tuesday morning. Funerals are never exactly joyful events, but Bev’s last wishes were for something short, sweet and colourful. So, no dark suits or dresses, instead, we were invited to dress for the summer – which was just as well as the weather was scorching! Bev got the funeral she wanted (with one minor deviation as her daughter Hayley read one of the poems that made up the service) and people left feeling uplifted rather than sad.

After a short family gathering for tea and cake Dawn and I drove back. Sadly the journey dragged out due to the weather, traffic jams and idiots on the roads, so we arrived too late to get a train back into Manchester to attend a leaving do. Just as well perhaps, as some other friends struggled to get back due to trains being cancelled.

Now, after a day at home where there was no let-up from the hot weather, I’m preparing to head off again, this time to volunteer on one of the hardest and maddest events in the rail calendar, the annual ‘3 Peaks by rail‘ charity event which raises money for the Railway Children. I’ve been volunteering since 2017, although I was forced to miss the event last year. Now I’m back, so expect a series of blogs from the event as we traverse the rail network to get teams to Snowdon, Scafell and Ben Nevis and back. As if the mountains themselves aren’t enough of a challenge for the teams, this year the rail logistics team and volunteers have to cope with problems with closed rail routes and extreme heat. There’s never a dull moment and each year presents different problems to be overcome.

Here’s a selection of pictures and behind the scenes look at the 2017 adventure.

I’ll see you tomorrow with the first of the rolling blogs…

Cheers,

Paul

Political plus ça change…

22 Monday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Politics, Uncategorized

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Musings, Politics

I’d hoped my first blog of a new week would have been about something more positive, but I’ve just watched Sir Keir Starmer announce his resignation as PM and leader of the Labour party. A decent man has been hounded out of office by the media and betrayed by the disloyalty and the personal political ambitions of those in his own party.

Some things never change. It seems the Labour party has steadfastly refused to learn the lessons of the Tory years of endless political psychodramas. The political stability many have been yearning for following those times has been ripped apart again. Now we’ll have a Labour leadership race – with Andy Burnham looking the almost certain winner.

I’ve no real love for Burnham. Having watched his career over the years I’ve come to the conclusion he’s a political Janus. Now personal ambitions have unseated a serving Labour Prime Minister. Now, I’d be happy to be wrong about Burnham. I hope he makes a good Labour PM, but those in his party who think ditching Starmer will stop the onslaught of negativity from the right-wing media are naive fools. The media has gained another scalp and will be even more emboldened. Far too many of them want to see Farage in No10 so aren’t going to stop. Now will the Elon Musks of this world. They all have far too much power nowadays. Gone are the times when the rich spent their money on improving the welfare of their fellow citizens. Now they buy newspapers, set up TV ‘news’ channels which are little more than propaganda outlets, or rig social media to highlight and pump out far-right views – and or politicians seem unable and/or unwilling to do a damned thing about it.

Now, all we can do is sit back and watched the media circus as they salivate over the leadership contest, something they’ve been so keen to make happen.

This is not a good era for democracy.

Ironically, I passed this reminder of better times yesterday. Southport infirmary was built with money donated by the wealthy owner of Hartley’s jam. Then, the wealthy campaigned for and helped build a better future for the fellow citizens. Now the obscene wealth held by just a handful of people is used to undermine not only their own citizens, but everyone.

Another Southport blog.

18 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Musings, Photography, Southport, Travel

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Musings, Photography, Southport, Travel

Yep, after time in rolling Devon and a brief sojourn in the hills of West Yorkshire I’m back in the coastal flatlands of Southport for the next few days. Only this trip is tinged with sadness. Whilst I was away in Devon I received the tragic news that Bev, my sister in law had lost her brief fight with cancer. There’s so many thoughts and memories about the time we all had together before I moved down to London in 1986, but a blog is hardly the best place to express them. So many of the people we knew then have passed away – but there is one memory I’ll mention. A birthday party at the flat they occupied in the early days. Lots of friends were there and various people provided food – including my mother, who’d made a trifle. As the evening wore on (and the more senior members of the family had taken their leave) things got out of hand. If I remember rightly, Angie threw the first bit of trifle. After that all hell broke loose and we ended up in a full on food fight of the sort that you’d have seen in a 1960s comedy! The next morning those of us who’d stayed overnight ended up trying to clear up the mess, scraping trifle and other sticky foodstuffs off walls, pictures and carpets. Not to mention what was stuck to us! So, Bev, I’m so sorry to hear of your passing, but I will never, ever forget you – or the fun that we had in those distant days.

Right now I’m passing time by getting fit (no really!). Staying with my sister Anne has enabled me to do a lot of walking as well as taking advantage of the exercise equipment in a local park. What I’m finding helpful with this is what was my old Fitbit. Now, Fitbit was great for keeping track of your movements and giving you feedback on some of your health metrics, but it was passive. Now it’s been absorbed into Google and they’ve added an AI coach. I’ve always been cynical about AI – for lots of reasons – but I find this AI coach really helpful. It’s both motivational and informative, it’s not passive at all. It doesn’t always get things right (but all you have to do is correct it) but it gives me lots of useful information unprovoked that inspire me to improve my exercise.

Mind you, that’s not all. Our friends in Devon (along with Dawn) have inspired me to go on a low-carb diet. I’ll be interested to see how that pans out over the next couple of months, but as I’ve just cleared 3 million steps in 2026 I’m feeling positive!

Meanwhile, I’ll be enjoying splitting my time between walking, exercising and working as the weather here in Southport’s been pretty good – although we’ve had some threatening skies

Tomorrow I hope to be doing some more exploring, so watch this space….

Devon days. Part 7…

15 Monday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Devon, History, Photography, Railways, Ships, Travel

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Devon, hiking, History, Photography, Railways, Ships, Travel

Our last day in Devon saw us breaking up into different camps. Clive had to go off to Northamptonshire for work, so the four of us only had the morning together before he left. Dawn and Ann arranged to enjoy a sunny day at home in the garden but I had something more adventurous planned. As much as we’d enjoyed walking the Tarka trail there was a gap in the route which we hadn’t closed, so I planned to go out and complete the section between Bideford and Instow. Dawn decided to accompany me as far as Bideford in order to get her walk in for the day, only to find the shops she was hoping to browse whilst she was there were all closed. Bideford isn’t exactly a hive of activity on a Sunday, to say the least!

I had better luck as I managed to get shots of the old station and its museum in far better light than on my previous visit, which was a bonus. After that I pounded the tarmac on the Tarka trail all the way to Instow. It was a lovely walk as the trail follows the River Torridge all the way. Plus, the sun was in the right position for me to get shots of many of the old ships that litter the riverside as well as the shipyard at Appledore. This yard’s had a mixed history over the years but seems to have gained a new lease of life. In 2024 it was bought by a Spanish company Navantia. Now it’s building Royal Navy ships again, this time supply ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (link).

Arriving hot and sweaty (but happy) at Instow I had an hour to wait for the tide to come in so that the ferry across the river to Appledore could start running, Admittedly, sitting on a pier watching the world go by whilst the sun beats down upon you is hardly a hardship!

Once across I had another 90 minute walk ahead of me through Appledore and the quaintly named Diddywell before getting home, where the girls were still chilling in the garden. Still, 27,000 steps on a hot day with a camera bag on my back was an achievement!

Here’s a few pictures from the day…

I did say the weather was better in Bideford!

The Tarka trail looking North form Bideford

Built in 1946 and preserved at Bideford, the SS Freshspring is a former RFA ship and the last of her kind.

The Tarka trail on the approach to Instow from the South.

And so ended our last day in Devon. We’d had a fantastic time exploring places neither of us had seen before and others we’d not visited for yonks, none of which would have been possible without the superb hospitality of Ann and Clive. Thank you!

Cheers,

Paul

Devon days. Part 6…

14 Sunday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Devon, History, Photography, Railways, Travel

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Devon, england, History, Photography, Railways, Travel, Walking

With the weather having picked up dramatically day 6 saw us off on another grand tour thanks to Clive, who spent the day driving us around Devon and into Somerset.

Our first port of call was Chelfham, a small village on the route of the old Lynton and Barnstaple railway. The landscape here is dominated by the impressive old viaduct.

Underneath it nestles an old mill and the ‘crafty cafe’ which is run by a community organisation called the growforward project. They serve great breakfasts as well as other food and drink and regularly hold music events, yoga sessions and all manner of community focussed activities.

Whilst the reborn Lynton and Barnstaple railway hasn’t reached here yet the station’s been beautifully restored and is open on a regular basis.

Our next stop was at the railway proper. The current base for the railway is at Woody Bay. The old station building contains a ticket office, cafe and shop with the rest of the site containing the line’s loco depot and carriage shed. It’s all beautifully kept and a real credit to the volunteers. Trains run along the former line as far as Killington Lane which is roughly a mile away. The trip offers some fantastic views of the Devon coastline – and what better way to see it than in some superbly restored railway coaches hauled by a steam locomotive which is a carbon copy of one of the line’s original engines?

No 762 is a modern recreation of one of the original engines used on the Lynton and Barnstaple before its closure in 1935.

One of the beautifully restored old coaches.

I wish the L&B every success with their ambitious plans to extend the line in each direction as it really is a little gem of a railway.

Our next port of call was the coastal town of Lynton, where we took the funicular railway down to Lynmouth. The funicular has the distinction of being the highest and steepest water worked railway in the world. Lynmouth itself is a pretty little harbour with a torrid past. In 1952 the village suffered a terrible flood which killed 34 people and left the place buried in mud. There’s little sign of the event now other than a small museum which tells the story of the tragedy.

Joining the funicular car at Lynmouth for a trip up to Lynton.

When they said the funicular was steep, they weren’t kidding!

Having explored and filled ourselves with ice cream we set off again, this time to Exmoor , where we crossed the border into Somerset. There’s some fantastic views to be had from the moors. You can look across the Bristol channel to South Wales, or along the Somerset coast to spy places like Minehead and Hinkley nuclear power station.

Looking along the coast from Exmoor towards Minehead, with Hinkley nuclear power station in the distance

Having driven back to base the day ended with an evening out at Westward Ho! where we enjoyed a few drinks by the beach before tucking into fish and chips. Well, what else should you eat besides the sea!

Low tide at Westward Ho! with the wind driving the sea onto the rocks.

In the opposite direction, surfers hope to catch a few waves.

Cheers,

Paul

Devon days, part 5…

13 Saturday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Devon, Flora and Fauna, History, Photography, Railways, Travel

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Devon, Flora and Fauna, hiking, History, nature, Photography, Railways, Travel, Walking

The weather here in Devon picked up again on Friday. We still saw mixed skies and the occasional light shower, but sunshine was a constant visitor throughout the day and temperatures were ideal for walking – which is what we did.

Today’s plan was to walk more of the Tarka trail, this time South from Bideford to Torrington, a distance of about 6 miles. Clive had some work to do which left our trio (Dawn, Ann and I) to complete the trek and meet Clive for tea and cake at the other end.

Here’s a few pictures from the walk.

We joined the Tarka trail at Bideford station, where the old signalbox museum was open. Here’s a look inside.

The signalling diagram for Bideford station, showing the old track layout.

The railway bridge over the River Torridge is a great place to stop and watch the wildlife on land and sea.

There’s a short tunnel on the section between Torrington and Bideford which is fun to walk through. It’s well lit, so not too spooky!

Inside the tunnel, showing the mixture of construction techniques.

There’s plenty of wildlife en-route, including butterflies like this.

Torrington is the site of the Tarka Valley Railway. They have a couple of old industrial diesel shunters and an ex- GWR Class 143 ‘Pacer’ DMU. This is a Ruston and Hornsby 0-4-0 built in February 1969 as a 192hp diesel electric shunter. Works number 544998, it was last standard gauge locomotive built by the company. It was delivered new to the Nevils Dock and Railway Company in Llanelli where it continued to work until 1990.

Torrington station contains the Puffing Billy cafe which offers a range of snacks, drinks and meals. The station was once an important freight location, sending two daily trains of milk tankers to London Waterloo station.

Cheers,

Paul

Devon days. Part 4…

12 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Devon, Food and drink, History, Photography, Railways, Travel

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Food and drink, History, Photography, Railways, Travel

The weather finally let us down on Thursday. The rain stayed with us for most of the day with the skies remaining leaden throughout. We even had sea mist nearer the coast, so the plan for a long walk went out of the window. Instead, Clive drove us all to Hartland Quay, a former harbour near the north-western tip of the Devon coast. It’s famous for its rcky outcrops and rough seas, which we had a small taste of. There’s also a hotel and pub, which we took refuge in to enjoy a hot drink and chips after being battered by the wind. The rock formations here are amazing and well worth seeing.

Our next stop was somewhat more eccentric. The Merry Harriers garden centre, which features something I’ve never encountered before. A Gnome garden! No that wasn’t a typo – it really is a garden full of gnomes – of all different shapes, sizes and poses!

Heading back to base afterwards the rest of the team relaxed whilst I went for another wander into Bideford, where I crossed the river and popped in to the old railway station which is the base of the Bideford railway heritage centre. The group have reinstated a short length of track and have a small Planet diesel locomotive and a brake van which they plan to give rides on.

The old signalbox has been restored, along with a old SR parcels van and a Mk1 coach which is used as a cafe.

The day was rounded off with a visit to a restaurant and bar in nearby Northam. The Crow Bar has only been open for 9 weeks. It’s modern feel and variety of seating makes it an interesting venue. The food is tapas based with the beers locally sourced. The owner has installed their own micro-brewery which isn’t in production at the moment but will be opening just as soon as time permits. We really enjoyed our visit. The food was excellent as was the atmosphere.

A view of the main area and bar which has a mezzanine floor above containing comfy seating.

Cheers,

Paul

Devon days. Part 3…

11 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Devon, Food and drink, Photography, Railways, Travel, Walking

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Devon, Food and drink, hiking, History, Photography, Railways, Travel, Walking

Our third day in Devon was less about trekking and more about touring – although we still managed an old railway walk! Clive drove the three of us over to Tavistock, a lovely old town neither Dawn nor I had ever visited before. Tavi’ has a fantastic indoor market which is well worth a visit. It certainly separated us from some money!

Tavistock once had two railway lines serving the town. Both have been closed. Tavistock South was on a line from Plymouth owned by the Great Western Railway whilst Tavistock North was part of the London and South Western Railway. The LSWR was built above the town, which it crossed on on a high viaduct. This is now part of a cycle and walking trail which offers good views across town.

Moving on from Tavi we had a tour of Dartmoor which is reminiscent of North Yorkshire. After which we called in at Okehampton, where the town was restored to the national railway network in 2021. Here’s a few pictures from our travels…

Inside Tavistock’s Pannier market. There’s a great selection of stalls selling all sorts of stuff, old and new…

Bob’s East End cafe in the Pannier market. A great place for an all day breakfast at very reasonable prices.

The LSWR viaduct in central Tavi was completed in 1890. It’s 420ft (128m) long and is made up of eight spans; five of 50ft (15m) and three of 32ft, (10m) with a height of 70ft (21m) to the road below. The old station is behind the camera but access is restricted as it’s now a private dwelling.

The view from the viaduct looking over town.

Walking along the old line. The trackbed has been raised in many places. – hence the low height of the overbridge.

Dartmoor. You can see why they built a prison up here…

Okehampton station has been restored and repainted in Southern railway colours, although…

The Great Western Railway had the last laugh as the current train service to Exeter is operated by the GWR franchise – until it’s absorbed into the nationalised Great British Railways anyway…

Cheers,

Paul

Devon days, part 2…

10 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by Paul Bigland in Devon, History, Photography, Railways, Religion, Travel, Walking

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Devon, hiking, History, Photography, Railways, Religion, Travel, Walking

Day 2 of our trip saw us on another long walk whilst visiting some historic places with rich social histories. Clive drove us to Westward Ho! the only place with an exclamation mark in its name. The name came from a Charles Kingsley book, titled Westward Ho! It was a best seller and brought a new wave of tourism to the Bideford area leading to the creation of the village, which has grown considerably in recent years.

Our walk took us along the coast on the trackbed of an old railway that I’d never heard of before. This was pretty unique too as it’s possibly the only standard gauge passenger railway that was never connected to the national network. The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore railway had a very short life. It opened in 1901 and closed in 1917. Having walked along part of its route along the cliffs I’d have thought it would have made a great preserved railway and tourist attraction, but it never survived World War 1.

The course of the old railway makes a great coastal path. Here it is at Abbotsham Cliffs West of Westward Ho!

At this point the old railway swung inland to head towards Bideford. You can see the course of the line and a couple of breaches in the trackbed near the top of the picture. This is a lovely place to stop and admire the coastline.

The wind was whipping up quite a few white capped waves during our walk. Here’s the view looking East towards Baggy Point.

Back in Westward Ho! We explored the village and I discovered its link with one of Britain’s most famous authors whom I’ve long admired. Rudyard Kipling. Kipling went to school in Westward Ho! and he’s remembered by plaques and a line of his most famous poem ‘if) being incorporated into the seafront pavement.

A colourful row of houses in Westward Ho! with several being repainted for the summer season.

Having driven back to Northam we popped into the local church where Ann volunteers at their regular coffee and cake days. I’ve always enjoyed visiting country churches as they often provide fascinating glimpses into British social history and St Margaret’s was no exception. Oh, and the cakes were excellent!

Many a well-to-do family’s line ended like this during the First World War, with the death of the only son.

Coffe with Passionfruit and lemon cake. Yum!

Having returned home to take our ease I couldn’t resist on last wander into Bideford to make the most of the weather in order to get a few pictures.

The most substantial surviving structure of the old railway is the engine and carriage shed in Bideford. Nowadays it’s used as a car-wash.

The old bridge in Bideford with the modern bridge in the background.

Cheers,

Paul

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