Monthly Archives: May 2025

By the seaside (day 1)…

31 Saturday May 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Railways, Southport, Travel

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The pair of us have abandoned West Yorkshire and the Pennines in favour of a weekend by the seaside. We’ve travelled West to Southport, the town where I grew up in and where the rest of my family live – some of whom we’re seeing this weekend. It’s also chance for Dawn to discover more of what the town and surrounding West Lancashire plain have to offer. We stopped off for lunch en-route, calling in at Parbold, a village on the railway line from Wigan to Southport. It’s a pretty little place that’s bisected by the Leeds and Liverpool canal as well as the railway. There’s a lovely pub next door to the canal called the Windmill, named after the old sail-powered cornmill which it shelters in the shadow of. Both the pub’s beers and food are worth sampling. I enjoyed a decent pint of Moorhouses ‘White Witch’ and the fish and chips (which Dawn also plumped for). The fish was very good and the batter just right – as were the portion sizes. We felt stuffed afterwards!

As we’d not visited Parbold for a while we took time to explore, see the changes and (of course) get a couple of pictures at the station!

Bi-mode 769448 passes the lovely old signalbox at Parbold. The unit is working a Southport – Stalybridge service.
Sadly, the attractive station building is vacant and slowly decaying.

Moving on we drove along the back roads through to Burscough before heading across the moss to Southport. Having checked checked into out hotel just off the promenade we set out to meet my younger sister for a couple of hours of catching-up on family and other news. Town was busy, but we managed to find a sunny spot outside the Bold Hotel on Lord St which was also an ideal place to watch the world go by.

Time flew. Anne had to leave to meet her partner, so Dawn and I set out to explore more of the town and for me to introduce her to some of my old haunts and childhood recollections. Talk about a trip down memory lane! My impression is that – after years of decline, there’s signs of new life and recovery in Southport. But it’s patchy. The place is no longer about shopping, it’s about eating and drinking. All the department stores are long gone and many shops remain empty, but there’s restoration work ongoing and Lord St was lined with people eating and drinking alfresco outside the many bars and restaurants.

Now we’re back at the hotel, having a quiet night relaxing before more of the same tomorrow – plus a visit to the food and drink festival, which neither of us have attended before.

Here’s a few more pictures to end the day.

The gorgeous Wayfarers arcade on Lord St. Many of the shops are vacant, but there’s signs of revival with the arcade being used for artistic events
I couldn’t resist a visit to this pub. The ‘Guest House’ is a bit of a Southport institution. It was also my Father’s local and the pub where I learned to drink!

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

The blogger returns…

29 Thursday May 2025

Posted by in Musings, Politics, West Yorkshire

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Please accept my apologies for a prolonged absence, this has been due to a number of factors, but now I’m back to look over a world that seems to be getting madder and more bizarre than ever. My time away has been spent here at home in West Yorkshire where the long dry spell and constant sunshine has been replaced with grey skies, wind and rain. The rain’s been very welcome, especially as it’s not resulted in any flooding or mayhem. That said, it’s still nowhere near enough to fill the reservoirs, but the landscape is looking far less scorched and brown than it was. Now the valley’s displaying a multitude of shades of green and I’m spared a daily chore of dashing around with a watering can (for now at least). The winds have been a different matter, they’ve shredded a lot of trees, leaving forest paths littered with destroyed foliage and ripped off branches. Thankfully, I was prepared and my Lupins and other tall plants were already staked and tied in advance.

Whilst the weather’s changed the craziness of the political arena (both home and abroad) hasn’t. The orange felon in control of the White House is still as unpredictable and incoherent as ever. It’s excruciating to watch his TV interviews and pronouncements as it’s clear that Trump has all the intelligence of an amoeba. I look on with a mix of amusement and horror that such an ignorant narcissist can become the President of the most powerful country on earth – although he seems to be doing his best to ensure the US soon loses that appellation.

Meanwhile, here in the UK we have our own Poundshop version of Trump in the form of the ‘Fagash Fuhrer’, Nigel Farage. Like Trump, he has a cultlike following. Both followings have something in common. Poor education and a willingness to believe whatever nonsense their heroes feed them. Farage latest grift (Reform UK) is doing very well in the pools, but not so well in running the local councils they find themselves running. The only reason they haven’t made a complete balls-up of things (yet) is how many of their elected Councillors (and the Mayor of Lincs) are actually rebadged and recycled Tories. The ‘newbies’ are less fortunate (and even more incompetent competent) as there’s a steady stream of revelations about unsavory pasts that have led to a constant stream of suspensions or resignations – or new Councillors just not turning up and vanishing!

So, it’s been an interesting week. Next week will see me back on my travels as I have a few events to attend. Plus, Dawn and I are heading over to Southport for the weekend where we’ll have chance to catch up with some members of my family, friends – and attend the food and drink festival.

Expect regular blogs from herein…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling(ish) blog. Making the most of the weather…

23 Friday May 2025

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Travel, TRU, West Yorkshire

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15:15

Having finished repainting my old office ready for Dawn to take it over – and with the weather about to take a turn for the worse, I’ve headed out to enjoy a last day of sunshine here in West Yorkshire as the weather forecast for the next week is wet, wet, wet. Admittedly, things didn’t quite go to plan. Dee is out with her parents looking at fireplaces (don’t ask). The idea was that I would meet them for a late lunch – wherever they were. Only I ended up in Mirfield whilst they went to where I’d left – Brighouse. That wouldn’t have been a problem if Northern hadn’t cancelled the train which would have transported me between the two in time to meet them. Ho hum. Instead, I’m now kicking my heels in the Navigation pub by the canal in Mirfield, waiting for the next train West (sorry Dawn!).

Despite the setback, it’s been an interesting day. I’ve explored some new photographic locations around Brighouse and captured some useful TRU upgrade work shots at Mirfield. Here’s a few shots..

A Drax – Liverpool empty biomass train passes through Brighouse past the site of the old rail yards (left).
No. I’ve no idea why a bloke would be riding a penny-farthing through Mirfield either! He certainly caught me by surprise.

Something else at Mirfield that surprised me was one of the TRU history boards on the hoardings hiding reconstruction of the new island platform. As they say – every day is a school day. Now I know why Geordies are called Geordies!

A TPE Class 802 speeds West to Liverpool past workers building the foundations for the new lifts and footbridge at Mirfield, which will allow access to the station from the adjacent carpark.

17:30.

Now I’m back in Halifax, having decided to cut my losses as I needed to do a little shopping en-route home. I popped in to the Piece Hall on the way where the stage is (quite literally) being set for the series of summer concerts.

22:15.

Time to call it a day. As I was back in Halifax in good time I decided to pop in to my local to meet up with friends and partake in the Friday quiz. The combination of good weather, the weekend and a bank holiday to follow meant the place was packed, but we managed to cram into our usual corner in order to enjoy a few brain-teasers, with beer!

Friday evening in the Big 6 wouldn’t be complete without free pork pie – and an ever changing range of real ales…

Now I’m back at home – in time for the weather to change. The sky’s changed from blue to moody grey, the wind’s sprung up and we’ve already had a spattering of raindrops – something we’ve not seen for weeks. Ah, well – the summer was nice whilst it lasted…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

20th May picture of the day…

20 Tuesday May 2025

Posted by in Greater Manchester, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics, Travel

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Another week ticks by here at Bigland Towers. I’ve been busy enjoying the sun as an alternative to watching paint dry. Literally! Having moved out of my office I’ve been busy redecorating it so that Dawn can move in. So, in-between coats of emulsion I’ve been enjoying the good weather and strolls around the local woods. Admittedly, I’ve also been kept amused by the political scene and the absolute meltdown the Tories, Reform and the right-wing media have been having due to the Government announcing details of a new trade deal with the EU. It’s beyond parody!

“Betrayal of Brexit!” they all scream. But, hang on. Wasn’t the UKs ability to negotiate its own trade agreements meant to be a benefit of Brexit? And who negotiated the original fisheries agreement that the UK is rolling over? Oh, that would be Boris Johnson, as part of his ‘oven ready’ Brexit deal. So, how can negotiating improvements to a (admittedly piss-poor) EU/UK trade deal be a ‘betrayal’ of Brexit? It can’t be – but then Brexiters have never understood trade deals from the start.

Now, I’m not Starmer’s greatest fan, but I have to admit he’s playing a very clever game here. He’s slowly dismantling some of the worst aspects of the Brexit deal Johnson lumbered us with – much to the approval of just about every UK business organisation and trade body – by cutting red-tape, enabling UK businesses to trade easier, and helping the economy. At the same time, he’s set a trap for the Tories and Reform – and they’ve walked right into it. Straight away both have said they’d roll back these reforms if elected. Really? So, in 4 years time, when it’s painfully obvious these (and other) changes have made the UK better off and people have got used to the positive impacts, Reform and the Tories are going to commit to going back to Johnson’s shit deal? That’ll play well in an election campaign! Let’s not forget that – for all the noise the right-wing press, Farage and others make, this is not 2016. The referendum result will be 13 years old by the next election. A large number of those who voted for Brexit will be pushing up daisies (many already are). Brexit is not the issue it was, the faithful who still believe in it are dwindling. More people believe it was a dumb idea than support it – and have done for some time.

The same YouGov poll shows 66% of British people now want the Government to deliver a closer relationship with the EU, compared to just 14% who don’t.

Not that you’d know any of this if you listened to much of the media!

This presents a problem for the Tories. They’re in freefall at the moment, having been relegated to fourth (behind the Lib-Dems) in a recent poll. Sure, Reform are surging (taking over the Tories) but the cracks are already showing now they’re making a dismal start in running local councils they’ve taken control of (but that’s another blog). If a week is a long time in politics then the four years until the next general election is a lifetime! There’s plenty of time for Labour to find its political and economic feet and the signs that it will are there – they’re just drowned out by a media fixated on giving air-time to Reform.

Anyway. Enough politics for now. I’m currently relaxing for the evening, having finished painting all of the walls, ceiling and much of the woodwork in the office. Hopefully, I’ll have it all finished by this time tomorrow so Dawn can move in when she’s ready. We have a few days of sunshine left before the weather’s due to change with the arrival of some much-needed rain. Maybe I’ll have chance for another day out with the camera before it does…

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. At the weekend the pair of us crossed the border in Greater Manchester to visit a place I’d often wanted to walk to, ‘pots and pans’ on the hill above Greenfield. As well as interesting rock formations and a WW1 memorial, the hill offers some fantastic views. Sadly, the weather was a bit hazy when we visited, but the views were still worth it.

Looking West towards Mossley with Manchester on the horizon. I’m amazed how the city has become high-rise in the past 20-odd years.

You can find more pictures from this and other of our recent walks by following this link.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

17th May picture of the day…

17 Saturday May 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, West Yorkshire

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Hmm, where have the past few days gone? Well, they’ve disappeared in a blaze of sunshine. Sunshine that I’ve been thoroughly enjoying, even if other aspects of the week have been a bit mixed. The highpoint was Wednesday when I slipped the leash to get out and about across West Yorkshire, looking at various railway locations old and new – plus the Trans-Pennine route upgrade (TRU). I’ll be blogging more about TRU when I’ve finished editing the pictures.

Thursday saw me back at Bigland Towers, sorting through more old stuff, deciding which will stay and which will go. It’s a process triggered by the fact I’m moving out of my office here in Bigland Towers so that Dawn can take it over. Working from home has become a permanent feature for her, so she needs the space more than me. Plus, that way we get a living room back as a living room. Who knew when working at home became a function of the Covid pandemic that it would become the norm for many people?

Friday saw me heading into Halifax in order to get my knees x-rayed. I’ve been having problems with them recently. An appointment at our local GPs with a nurse led to a diagnosis of early signs of Arthritis, but the chap wanted to be sure, so arranged for me to have x-rays in order to confirm or deny his assessment. The staff at the health centre were excellent. Two young Asian women and a black woman radiographer looked after me (do you hear that, Reform voters? The very people you’d ‘send back’). The unit itself was less than a year old and a had a laugh with the nurse who helped me position myself for the radiographer as she kept giggling at the tanned strips on my feet which are due to wearing sandals so much. She apologised for being ‘unprofessional’ but to be honest, it broke the ice.

A few hours later I got the results via text. I don’t have arthritis and my knees are ‘normal’. So why do they hurt so often? Looks like there’s more to find out…

Today the pair of us have been out and about shopping for plants and DIY bits, not exactly the rock and roll lifestyle but hey – we’d originally planned to go walking but Dawn’s mum had a last minute hospital appointment for some tests so we decided to stay nearer to home just in case we were needed. Fortunately, we weren’t so the two of us managed an hour in the sunshine in the beer garden of our local pub before returning home to a quiet evening in.

The plan now is for an early start in the morning in order to head over the border into Greater Manchester and climb some hills, making the most of the sunshine whilst it lasts. Expect a few pictures at some point.

Meanwhile, here’s today’s picture which is from Wednesday’s excursion. Mirfield station continues to be rebuilt as part of the TRU work. The latest chapter has included opening part of the rebuilt island platform after one of the tracks has been slewed. It’s created the opportunity to get shots of trains passing like this.

185105 working 1P66, the 0858 Redcar Central to Manchester Airport passes Grand Central’s 180105 which is heading South on 1A63, the 1023 Bradford Interchange to London Kings Cross.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

13th May picture of the day…

13 Tuesday May 2025

Posted by in Canals, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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I don’t know where to start! Should I focus on the glorious weather we’re blessed with here in the Calder Valley (and mention its downsides), or should I focus on the wider world which seems to be going mad, both environmentally and politically? Maybe best to stick locally for now – otherwise this could turn into a very long blog indeed…

Today’s been another in a series where we’ve had wall to wall sunshine, and I’m loving it. This is my sort of weather. I’ve always been partial to sunny climes so this sort of weather’s right up my street. If anything it’s making me pine for South-East Asia and a beach or two. Let’s face it, what’s the UK got to offer from here? Bridlington on the East coast, or maybe Blackpool on the West. These are not the images I conjure up when I imagine a beach. Think more palm trees, coral reefs and hammocks rather than donkeys and ‘kiss me quick’ hats. Still, let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth, so I’ll make the most of things here whilst I can.

The day wasn’t all about basking in the sun. I’ve been busy picture editing, including the HS2 tunnel breakthrough pictures I promised yesterday (which you can find here). Having those sorted meant that I could back-up pictures to different hard-drives as insurance before sending links to various magazines who may be interested.

Work done I enjoyed a walk down into Sowerby Bridge, dropping off our old Virgin internet kit en-route (sorry, Virgin) ready to be returned. Time in the village has provided today’s picture, which is rather topical. Here’s the pound below Tuel Lane lock.

It’s dry due to a lack of water feeding the canal, thus severing the route from the West to the East. This isn’t unusual nowadays as the canal relies on water running off the nearby hills. Except when it doesn’t. The canal above and below Tuel Lane locks are full, but this is the deepest lock on the UK canal network, so the amount of water it uses is massive.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

12th May picture of the day…

12 Monday May 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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It’s the start of another week here in West Yorkshire, where the weather’s gracing us with wall to wall sunshine – as it did over the weekend, although we couldn’t take full advantage and our plans to go walking changed as Dawn wasn’t feeling her best. I was going to say she was under the weather, but considering what the weather was like I thought better of it!

However, we did still manage to get out and I got the opportunity to stock up on summer annuals from a garden centre which we’d not tried before. I finally managed to find trailing Lobelia, which has been noticeable by its absence from our usual outlets. With plants aplenty, Sunday was spent clearing away the debris and dead plants from the terrace at the back of the cottage. Winter hadn’t been kind, causing me to lose many old established garden occupants, so I took the opportunity to rejig what we have and replace many of the smaller pots and troughs with ones more likely to survive the hot, dry conditions we’re seeing this year – with rain in very short supply (and likely to be for the foreseeable future). I’ve still got some work to do, but the terraces and troughs are looking much better. Hopefully, the new planting will provide sustenance for the occupants of our two nesting boxes, where we have both birds and bees!

Today I’ve been busy editing and captioning pictures from Friday’s HS2 and Midlands media trip, you can find which galleries they’ve been added to by following this link. I’ll have the HS2 collection done tomorrow as another day working from home beckons. Hopefully, I’ll get out with the camera again later in the week as the forecast is excellent for several days yet. I’ll leave you with a picture from today, which was taken on this afternoon’s stroll around the valley when I was looking for alternative photo sites.

The Wainhouse Tower dominates the horizon and looks magnificent against a cloudless sky.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Tunnel vision…

09 Friday May 2025

Posted by in Hs2, Photography, Railways, Travel

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05:30.

Oh, God. Another silly o’clock start. I’m getting too old for this! Right job I’m sat in the hotel lobby waiting for a taxi which will take me to this morning’s event – details of which later as I’m respecting their media embargo.

06:10.

Ok, I’m now on site, and a lot of other media are arriving, so you’ll see why I’m here plastered all over TV soon. Here’s a clue..

06:25.

Time for a safety briefing.

07:05.

OK. Here’s why I’m here at an ungodly hour.See this concrete wall, I the next hour or so an HS2 tunnel boring machine will be poking its head through after completing the first of the Bromford tunnels.

Look who’s here!

10:30.

Job done! The TBM broke through far quicker than was anticipated. So much so that the machine had to be halted in order to let other VIPs and guests arrive for the main event. These things are not an exact science and can’t be timed to the minute. When the breakthrough was complete some of the TBM crew displayed flags from the nations involved in the project – although I’m not sure anyone expected an Everton flag to put in a brief appearance!

I have to say, finishing a job by 09:30 is rather nice – especially when the weather’s so good. My colleague John Whitehouse (the only other member of the rail media attending) gave me a lift from the site to Stechford station. Now I’m exploring the W Midlands rail network to add some library pictures to my archive – some of which will appear here as I relate my travels.

11:00.

Bugger! I travelled up to Wolverhampton on a local service with the idea of trying the tram back towards the city – only to find none were running due to a power failure. Ironic when the trams run on battery along this section of line! Still, the rebuilt station looks good.

Maybe I’ll try again later. Right now, I’m on my way to Tame Bridge Parkway…

12:45.

Travelling to Tane was an inter experience as it took me a long way into the past- as well as the future. The line from Wolves as far as Bescot wasn’t a regular passenger route for decades – unless it was weekend diversions in BR days. Now, two new stations are under construction on that section of the line.

Sadly, the Bescot area has gone in the opposite direction. I first got to know it back in early 1977 when I was in digs in Walsall, looking for work in the lock trade to continue my apprenticeship. I’d nip out to Bescot in my free time to watch the cast amount of freight passing through the marshalling yard and locomotive movements of the depot. Now, the depots canister and the yard is just a fan of empty and rusting sidings.

19:00.

Time (and I) have moved on. I’ve abandoned the West Midlands for Lancashire, having retraced yesterdays steps to Preston. My attempts to get traverse sections of the West Midlands tram network were foiled completely when I found the power outage I’d encountered in Wolverhampton had affected the whole network, including central Birmingham! Instead I took a circular route by rail back to Wolverhampton where I could mix basking in the sun with some photography. After topping up my vitamin D levels I headed back into Brum for a final time before catching an Avanti Pendolino North. I’ll add a few pictures from my trip when I get home. Right now I’m on a Northern Class 331 heading for Manchester via Chorley. I have to admit, these electric versions of the Class 195s can certainly shift. Their ability to accelerate seems to beat all the older kit Northern possesses. This six car formation is rather quiet, so I’ve had no problems setting up the mobile office in order to blog en-route. Sadly, the train’s accelerative properties are rather wasted as we’ve been signal-checked at Buckshaw Parkway in order to let a late-running Trans-Pennine Express service get ahead of us, but I should have ample time to make my next connection at Salford Crescent.

20:15.

My connections proved to be more touch and go than I thought as my late runner caused my connection to Manchester Victoria to be late as it was following behind. As it was, I made the 19:57 to Leeds with 3 minutes to spare. This is another quiet train, so I’m relaxing whilst enjoying the glorious evening sunshine. I must admit, I’ll be glad to get home. It’s been a long day!

I might get a little lie-in tomorrow, but the plan is for Dawn and I to make the most of the weather and get out into the countryside for the day. Well, I say plan – we haven’t actually got one yet – and no idea of where we’re going to go!

22:00.

OK, as promised, some more pictures from today.

Coming down in chunks!
After the breakthrough the TBM crew appeared through the cutter head to display flags representing some of the nationalities working on the site.
Flying the flags of Malaysia, England and Donegal.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy was in attendance.
How the site looks from above ground. The TBM is behind me as I look towards Birmingham.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

Rolling blog. Birmingham (the long way round)…

08 Thursday May 2025

Posted by in Birmingham, Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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11:45.

It’s time to head to Preston to meet up with an old friend, although his journey is proving to be ‘interesting’ due to problems on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) – hardly a rare occurrence. Apparently, an Avanti Pendolino has hir an obstruction in the four-foot near Grayrigg (a name infamous in railway history) and become disabled. Needless to say, this is causing fun on the two-track railway North of Preston.

Fortunately, my train doesn’t reach the WCML until just before Preston, so doesn’t seem to be affected. Time will tell…

Today’s a good day not to be working from home as we’re shifting our internet provider. I’ve been with Virgin for over 20 years (and can’t fault their broadband, but their prices have got silly. Despite my loyalty it’s not been possible to get s decent deal. Dawn took over dealing with the account and did a sterling job, but Virgin’s attitude was ‘take it or leave it’. So we left. Dee found us an excellent deal with Sky which is saving us over £50 a month, so switching has been a no-brainer. The switch-over happens this afternoon. I do feel a bit guilty for not being there, but I know Dawn won’t take any messing!

Right now I’m on my way to Preston aboard Northern’s 11:30 service to Blackpool North. It’s a half-full train where I have the luxury of a table seat, power-sockets and wifi, so I’m not complaining.

12:30.

Almost there on what’s been a very pleasant journey. Unusually, the train emptied out en-route, the sun’s put in an appearance and all’s well with the world. Well, for me anyway. Next stop – Preston.

19:45.

Where did the time go? I got to Preston only to find my meet-up with a friend was far more convivial and much more of a trip down memory lane than I’d expected. It turned out that Jon had also invited a lot of old friends from his British Railways (and Virgin) days. As you can imagine, the stories flowed, as did the memories as those of us who hadn’t seen each other for a while caught up. Here’s the gang in a classic old pub, the Black Horse. It’s not my photo by the way (the barmaid took it) which is why I’m in it for once!

Now I’m in Birmingham. A few of us caught the same Pendolino South, bailing out en-route so leaving me the sole member of the group by the train hit Birmingham.

Having delivered me from Preston, Pendolino 390002 waits time at Birmingham New St before heading for London Euston.

Now I’m relaxing and updating this blog from my hotel – which is another trip down memory lane. I’m staying in the Britannia Inns hotel in New St, just a stones-throw from the station. I’ve known this place of old as it was always a cheap and cheerful option when I was working in the area. It’s being refurbished and upgraded but the prices are still very reasonable. It’s not somewhere you’d come and stay for a romantic weekend – but it’s ideal for what I need.

Having checked in to my hotel and rested I’ll be nipping out shortly to get a few pictures, so expect another update later…

22:45

The last update. I’d intending doing a lot but happy circumstance meant that I pumped into an old train-driver friend outside Birmingham New Street which literally stopped me in my tracks. Danielle and I ended up chatting for ages. By the time we’d finished catching-up and had to part my plans were out of the window. But that’s been no bad thing as today’s been more about people than anything else. Still, here’s a Birmingham tram to end the day.

Now I’ve got to go as I have to be up at silly ‘o clock in the morning for a rather different day…

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

7th May picture of the day…

07 Wednesday May 2025

Posted by in Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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My blog drought is about to come to an interesting end! This enforced absence has been due to a number of reasons but the time hasn’t been wasted. I spent all of yesterday holed-up at Bigland Towers having a good old mooch through various hard-drives in order to find some missing pictures. Mission accomplished, I’ll be adding them to my Zenfolio website shortly. Whilst that took up considerable time, so did cleaning out my email inbox, deleting lots of stuff no longer relevant but also filing some historical stuff. That endeavor proved useful as I was in my account when a very last-minute media invitation arrived which has completely changed the course of the rest of the week. The invite is embargoed, so I can’t say anything about what I’ll be doing until afterwards, other than that it’s altered my plans for both Thursday and Friday. Tomorrow I’ll be back on the rails heading to Preston on the West Coast to meet an old friend before having that evening/night in Birmingham as Friday’s event starts early (very early).

That means there’s two days of rolling blogs to come. Hopefully, you’ll find them entertaining and the event I’ll be attending fascinating as it’s something few people get to witness. The weather over the next few days is looking like it’s going to play ball, meaning both myself and the camera will be getting plenty of exercise as I’ll have spare time to collect library shots of the changing face of the railway, especially around Birmingham where the new West Midlands train fleets are taking over.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with today’s pictures which is one from the series I took when I was out and about last week. The warm weather’s brought out the insect population en-masse, which isn’t much fun for train drivers, especially those at the controls of the older, less streamlined fleets (although many modern trains are struggling too). Here’s how the front of a Class 150 looked at Wigan…

Drivers visibility has been hampered by the sheer build up of flying critters on train front-ends. Windscreen washers are in danger of running out of water, so some busy stations have had extra staff drafted in to keep water supplies topped up and assist in cleaning.

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/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312