I’m a day late with this blog, mainly because we were out most of the day and by the time we got home it was too late to blog as we were both knackered!
Staying in the gorgeous Editory Riverside hotel at Santa Apolónia station had many advantages (apart from me being able to photograph trains with ease). The station has a wonderful, boulangerie, the Marie Blachère – which became our go-to for wonderful pastries like this. Sitting out in the sun with a coffee and pastry was a great way to begin the day.
There’s also a well-stocked and reasonably priced ‘pingo doce’ supermarket where you can buy goodies for your journey. Our journey first took us out to Oriente station where we changed for a suburban train for the 50 minute trip to Sintra, a town to the North-West of Lisbon.
Sintra’s the terminus of two routes from Lisbon. One from Rossio station the the centre of town, the other from Oriente. Both routes are worked by these Class 2300 and 2400 EMUs seen at Cintra.
Sintra’s like Disneyland for the wealthy. It’s full of outrageous palaces and other architectural marvels. No wonder it was the haunt of people like Lord Byron. Nowadays it’s an even bigger draw with its narrow streets clogged with gawping tourists keen to get the perfect picture of themselves stood in the way of something. Even so, the town’s still worth visiting. Here’s a taste of what’s to be seen.
Quinta da Regaleira is an extravagant early 20th century palace and gardens. Castelo dos Mouros – If Monty Python built castles! In reality, this Moorish masterpiece was built in the 10th century. How’s this for a town hall?
Having baked in the sun and worn through a decent amount of shoe-leather we caught the train back into Lisbon, this time arriving at Rossio station in the centre of town. We toyed with the idea of catching the No 28 tram but seeing the queues at the start of the route we flagged that idea and walked home in order to have a rest and chance to freshen up before venturing out to eat.
Another of the advantages of our hotel is that it’s at the edge of the old Alfama district. Its narrow streets are packed with restaurants and bars to suit most tastes (and price brackets). As it was our last night we found one where we could dine alfresco whilst watching the world go by. We plumped for do Vigário Pub and Records, a laid-back and friendly little place which does good tapas style dishes, craft beers, local wines – and music.
Laid-back life on do Vigário…
Whilst our city tours are coming to an end we’re not leaving Portugal yet. We leave Lisbon to head back South by train to the Algarve and several more days kicking back in Olhos de Água, where I hope to have time to catch up with more blogging and picture editing…
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We’ve had a great day exploring Lisbon and areas old and new. Neither of us have been back since our last visit in 2010 and it’s fair to say the city’s changed a bit – and not all for the better.
We started out walking into the centre from Santa Apolónia, then heading over to Cais do Sodré station to catch a train out to Belem, a couple of miles Westwards along the Tagus river. The town has lovely waterfront walks and a few historic sights like the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) which is a tasteful and whitewashed celebration of colonialism without mentioning any of the realities or drawbacks. Still, it looks nice. Just don’t ask how many of these idealised explorers had syphilis or other diseases, or how they treated the indigenous peoples of the places they ‘discovered’.
Belem also provides great views of the massive double-deck Ponte 25 de Abril bridge, where the railway runs below the road to span the Tagus.
Having walked miles in the sun we caught the train back into central Lisbon where we played tram Bingo, grabbing whatever service came first that was heading in the general direction of Martim Monez, where we hoped to pick up route 28. The queues we saw when we got there put us off straight away, so we opted to explore the backstreets on foot, which was a sensible move as we loved what we found that way. Except for one thing. It’s painfully obvious why the trams are so unreliable nowadays – the narrow roads are choked with vehicles that never existed when we were here in 2010. Now there’s hundreds of ‘tuk-tuks’, fake vintage cars, golf-buggies and medium size tourist buses clogging every street – many of them empty and cruising the streets looking for trade, or blocking every spare inch of road and pavement. It’s chaos.
No wonder the tram timetable’s a work of fiction, public transport’s being sabotaged by things like this, which are turning the narrow streets into an endless traffic-jam.
As a photographer, I found the old town very frustrating. Trying to replicate atmospheric shots of trams traversing the narrow streets is next to impossible when there’s a queue of cars/tuk-tuks/deliveroo drivers surrounding them. Here’s one of my few successes.
Frustrations aside, we did enjoy wandering the backstreets, especially when we got away from the main routes. The Alfama area is a delight to explore, when you haven’t got a travel guide and just follow your nose so come across stuff like this.
We’ve another day to explore the city tomorrow before heading back South to the Algarve, so expect more backstreet images…
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We’ve begun the trek back to the Algarve from Porto, a place both of us really didn’t want to leave. It’s a fascinating city the pair of us rather fell in love with. Personally, it has everything I enjoy, amazing architecture, cosmopolitan people, great food and drink – and interesting transport infrastructure. What’s not to like?
Well, maybe the weather – especially this morning as we left when it was chucking down. That said, it was a minor inconvenience. A bus to the station stopped right outside our hotel. At 07:10, it took us 20 minutes to Campanhã through sodden, deserted streets. We sought refuge in a cafe opposite the station and fortified ourselves with coffee whilst watching the locals come and go. I love people-watching and cafes and bars around railway stations are ideal observation points.
Our intercity train South arrived a few minutes late and lost time throughout, but that wasn’t a problem as (in theory) we couldn’t check into our hotel for another three hours after arriving at Lisbon Santa Apolónia. The weather was miserable throughout the trip so there was little to do but doze on the packed train. Fortunately, conditions broke as we approached the city outskirts. To add to the brightening mood we didn’t need to kick our heels in Lisbon either as the hotel had our room readily available. Oh, I forgot to mention, we hadn’t far to go as for the next three nights we’re staying at the station in the gorgeous Editory Riverside hotel! Both the hotel and station have a lovely feel to them – as I hope this selection of pictures portray.
We’ve not done a huge amount on our first day in Lisbon, mainly because our attempt to traverse the No 28 tram route was foiled by the service falling down. We gave up after waiting over an hour for a tram, but we’ll try again tomorrow.
In the meantime, here’s some of what we have been up to.
The weather was still a bit moody when we arrived, as this sky over Praça do Comércio illustrates…Residential tower block? Almost. This was a cruise ship moored in the dock by the station. Name the Otis Redding song (thanks to Dawn for spotting this image). Lisbon Santa Apolónia station is a relaxed place, but it has a lovely atmosphere and great facilitiesThe lobby of our hotel. Nice, innit? We’re on the 2nd floor, where the window at the end of the corridor allows this view across the station.
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Today’s another blog which is light on words but heavy on pictures. This has very much been a day of two halves, partly due to the weather, which was glorious this morning but crap this afternoon. Not that I’m complaining. The heavy cloud made backstreet photography easier as there were less contrasting conditions. Here’s an idea of what we got up to…
We took the tram out along the Douro to the river mouth, where St. John the Baptist of Foz Fort still guards the entrance to the river. There’s not much to see inside, but the walls look impressive and the views are rather good. Outside the fort is the Praia do Carneiro, a local beach were you can watch the Atlantic ocean break on these rocks offshore, safe in the knowledge that 1000s of miles of empty ocean separate mainland Europe from Donald Trump’s America. Next stop was Porto tram museum which is housed in the old power station which supplied electricity to the tram network. There’s a great selection of restored trams showcasing the history and development of the network.The adjacent building houses some of the original power generating equipment and switchgear. It’s an amazing room where steampunk meets ‘Metropolis’. Wandering through the streets of the old town my eye caught this sign outside a restaurant. It’s not often you hear someone using ‘force majeure’ nowadays! The backstreets of the old town are fascinating. You never know quite what you’ll find…
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It’s late in the evening back here in Porto. The pair of us have had a long, enjoyable day traversing the Douro valley to Pochino and back by train. Now we’re knackered and relaxing at our hotel. I’ve managed to get the wifi working so I can post a few pictures from today. I want to write a full blog about the trip as it’s well worth the effort, but I’ve hundreds of photos to edit first. Plus, this is meant to be a holiday!
What I will say is the train journey is amazing, but stay on it to the end of the line as the Douro valley changes character a couple of times, from lush wine country to wild landscapes and gorges that remind me of the Waikeri railway on New Zealand’s South Island. Anyways, here’s a few pictures from today. As you can see, we were blessed with stunning weather.
The railway runs through fertile areas full of vineyards like this……and this....then passes through rugged gorges like this, where the railway hugs the side of the riverIn many places the railway runs just a few meters above the river, passing through many tunnels en-route.Many trains on the line consist of vintage coaches hauled by these vintage locos – the British designed Class 1400, which are powered by English Electric engines. 67 were built between 1967-69, with many still remaining in service. Here’s 1438 running round our train at the end of the line – Porchino.
Tomorrow we’ve a day exploring the delights of Porto, which is a city I’ve really taken to. I love the architecture, ambience and cosmopolitan nature of the place, so we’re looking forward to having time to mooch around.
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After a full day in Faro we’re relocating to Porto by catching the 07:00 train which will take us all the way through to our destination without changing. This service is worked by one of the ‘Alfa Pendular’ tilting trains which are capable of speeds of up to 135mph. They’ve had an interior refresh since we last travelled on them in 2010 and now have new seats, plus plug sockets and wifi, so I’ve chance to update my pictures – and (hopefully) blog from the train. See you later…
06:55.
We’re settled in on our virtually empty Pendular, with barely half a dozen of us in coach 4. Sadly, two of them are noisy young children with a mother who’s decided she doesn’t want to be distracted from her phone so has left them to amuse themselves with various noisy electronic gubbins! Deep joy! Hopefully they’re not going far. In response, Dawn’s plugged herself in to listen to a meditation on her phone. Me? I’ve set up the mobile office on the wide backseat table and logged into the wifi, ready to update this blog with a few pictures.
07:12.
We left spot on time. 10 minutes later we called at our first stop – Loule, where our coach began to fill up. Curiously, most of our fellow travellers are women. Meanwhile, I’m already contemplating infanticide…
I’ve downloaded pictures from the camera, so here’s a look at the Pendular’s Standard class interior.
07:22.
We’ve reached Albufeira, having enjoyed watching the sunrise en-route. The train’s really filling up now and the gender balance has improved. On the downside, the whiny kid quotient has also increased with the addition of another family. Dawn’s made the sensible decision to stay ‘plugged in’ whilst trying to get some sleep. Don’t get me wrong. I like kids, I just couldn’t eat a whole one…
In the short time it’s taken me to write this we’ve arrived at our next stop: Tunes, an attractive little junction station where the cafe is already bustling. The line along the coast to Lagos branches off from here. Now we’ve been joined by younger backpackers who’ve leavened the mix of travellers.
07:45.
North of Messines-Alte the Pendular’s tilt mechanism has come into its own. This section of line’s sinuous as it weaves its way through the low hills. Tilt isn’t as smooth as in the UK but I suspect that’s due to track qaulity more than anything. The handy display on the car bulkhead tells me we’re doing anything between 90-100kph.
08:25.
We’ve just left Funcheira, a station that looks to be in need of some TLC compared to the other well-kept places we’ve called at. There seems to be little surrounding it other than abandoned buildings, which makes the sound barriers lining the railway seem rather surplus to requirements!
I’ve had time to explore the train further, checking out loadings in various cars, and I have to say they’re pretty good. most are over 70-80% capacity. Talking of capacity, I had to use one of the toilets, and they’re ‘cosy’ to say the least. Claustrophobic would be another word I’d use. I’d think your average sized American would need a shoehorn and vaseline to get in/out.
08:40.
Having zipped along at 220kph under overcast skies we’ve passed the triangular junction for the freight only line to Sines to arrive at Ermidas Sado, another neglected station with a vacant station building. To add to the depressing air the rain’s arrived, in a complete contrast to the wall to wall sunshine we basked in yesterday.
09:35
We’re close to Lisbon now, having just left the suburban junction of Pinhal Novo after crossing the plains and the Do Sado estuary. Unfortunately, rain and mist has dogged us all the way, leaving visibility low. At least it’s quietened down inside the car, so I won’t get hauled off the train in Lisbon in handcuffs!
10:30.
We’re now North of Lisbon. Arriving in the city on the bridge high across the Tagus river is always a delight as the views are so dramatic. First stop was Entrecampos, then Oriente with its magnificent vaulted roof. There was little chance of getting pictures as we exchanged that many passengers the platform was a melee of people and suitcases. Some people who had having no idea which car they were supposed to be in ended up traipsing up and down the interior of the train like lost souls. This is new track for me as I’ve never been North of Oriente before. The line passes through a lot of industrial areas which (judging by the numerous rail yards we passed) look to provide a lot of CPs freight traffic – something we’d seen little sign of in the South.
11:10.
We’re well on our way North now, having passed through Entroncamento, the Portuguese version of Crewe, with it’s sprawling railway works and depot, stuffed full of locomotives, coaches and wagons, many of them stored or withdrawn. It covers a huge area either side of the railway and hosts the national railway museum too. The town’s also the junction for the lines to to the East of the country. The landscape North of Lisbon is markedly different to what we’ve seen so far, it’s far less arid and much more lush, with forest cover and green fields in contrast to the dusty farmland we saw in the Algarve. Mind you, I wouldn’t mind the Algarve weather back. Whilst the clouds lifted over Lisbon they’ve returned with a vengeance to hide the tops of the forested hills.
12:30.
Yay! 20 minutes to go before we arrive in Porto and the weather’s brightening up! We now have patchy, high cloud and blue skies with temperatures (according to the train’s information screens) in the mid 20s. The landscape’s continued to change. The North is so much more built up and industrial, yet greener (that’s not an oxymoron, honest).
16:11.
We’ve made it to our apartment, which is in a fabulous location by the river. We even have old trams outside.
Now to go and explore…
21:45.
I was going to round off today’s blog with a selection of pictures from our wanderings around the city, but the hotel’s wifi has taken umbrage with my laptop for some unknown reason. So, pictures will have to wait.
Tomorrow, we’re heading up the Douro valley by train. I’ll try and do some form of blog during the day – technology permitting…
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We’ve had a hectic first full day here in Faro, exploring the old and new towns, soaking up the sunshine and enjoying the local cuisine. We both love fish, so Portugal (a country synonymous with Sardines) is right up our street. Our wanderings took us through the narrow backstreets of the old town and into the delightful cathedral, which is a baroque dream. The roof of the belltower also doubles as a fantastic viewpoint across the town, and provide an ideal place to watch planes taking off from the airport nearby.
The railway station’s only a stone’s throw from where we’re staying, so I managed to pop in and get my railway fix in advance of us catching the train to Porto tomorrow. All in all, it’s been a really enjoyable day. There’s a big music festival happening across the old town tonight but as the weather’s changed due to sea mist and drizzle rolling in across the town we decided discretion was the better part of valour. Instead, we’ve adjourned to our hotel in order to rest our weary feet, full stomachs and pack – ahead of a silly o’ clock start in the morning as we’ll be on an 07:00 train.
Here’s a few pictures from today.
These diesel units provide local rail services around Faro. They’re not in the best of external condition due to regular attacks from grafitti vandals. 19 of these units were built by Portugese company Sorefame in 1965 as Class 0400. They were modernised in the late 1990s and reclassified Class 0450. Cast iron balcony railings and ornate street lamps are a theme of Faro.The marina in the centre of Faro is a pleasant place to sit and watch the world go by. Fun and frolics in the old town, which has a vibrant artistic and youthful feel to it despite the age of the buildings.When I said the cathedral was a baroque delight, I wasn’t kidding! – and more…Faro is well known for Storks building their nests on some of the old buildingsWe were wandering the back streets near the municipal market when we stumbled on this architectural delight!Oh, remember I mentioned Sardines? Whilst Dawn tucked into a plate of them I’d opted for the Squid. Unfortunately, my squid was overcooked, but the Sardines weren’t bad. Sadly, we’d had to take pot luck when it came to eating as the place that was our first choice had a knackered card machine and could only take cash. We’re looking forward to getting better in Porto and Lisbon. Even so, this was a healthier and tastier option that some. The queue of local ‘Deliveroo’ riders outside the back of McDonald’s was both instructive, and depressing.
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Well, we’ve made it to Leeds/Bradford airport, which is a start, although it wasn’t without hiccups! We’d had a leisurely morning finishing our packing and making sure the cottage was shipshape for the friends who’ll be looking after it whilst we were away – then it was time to go. The taxi got us to Halifax station in plenty of time, but that’s where things went wrong. I’d checked train times earlier in the day when everything seemed tickety-boo. Only, in the intervening time a signalling failure had occurred, causing delays and cancellations in the area. Our train to Bradford was on time but it was sufficiently delayed en-route that we missed our bus connection to the airport. It was no big deal, it simply gave us an extra 30 mins to admire Bradford Interchange bus station!
Well, as bus stations go…
Our luck changed when we boarded the bus as the driver’s ticket machine was kaput, so we got a free ride to the airport! The A3 took us through a variety of places en-route, from the edge of wonderful little Germany, through Manningham (not so wonderful) to Shipley, Guiseley and Yeadon. It was a fascinating journey through many areas we don’t usually frequent before we were dropped right outside the airport terminal.
The airport’s undergoing a major expansion of facilities at the moment, but that didn’t slow us down. Check-in was speedy and security a breeze, despite the numbers of people here. Having the latest kit so there’s no faffing with talking laptops etc out of bags certainly helps.
Now we’re killing time airside in a bar in the new airport extension, which is as busy as the rest of the place. It’s an ‘interesting’ place to people-watch. The vast majority of people here are package or other holiday-makers heading into Europe. It’s a vary different atmosphere to an international hub like Heathrow!
18:10.
Our train wasn’t the only thing that’s late. Our plane is too – by 30 mins so far. Still, it’s going to be good to be in the air and heading for Europe.
Grins all round!
00:23.
I wouldn’t normally update a blog late into the next day. I’ll fill in the rest tomorrow, but suffice it to say our first night here in Faro has been such a breath of fresh air – and just what we needed.
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Today’s been a tying up of loose ends sort of day here at Bigland Towers, as tomorrow the pair of us head off for a much-needed break in Portugal. Dawn’s been busy sorting out stuff for her employer, Community Rail Network, whilst I’ve been busy editing pictures, getting others out to clients and chasing paperwork and potential jobs. To be honest, it’s not been a bad day to be stuck at home as the weather’s still deteriorating and there’s a distinct autumn chill beginning to creep in – which I’ll be happy to leave behind for warmer climes. It’s a much nicer 29 degrees in Faro tomorrow!
We’re in no panic to pack as we don’t fly from Leeds/Bradford until tomorrow evening, which gives us a relaxed morning. I should even have time for some blogging! But right now it’s time to enjoy our last evening here in the UK for a while. I’ll leave you with a picture from our last trip to Portugal, which we may get to reprise. Lisbon’s old trams are a delight to both travel on and watch pass by for entertainment value – especially as many people would ‘tram-surf’, like these three young women…
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Alas, the glorious weather we’ve enjoyed this year feels like it’s coming to an end as the seasons change. Autumn is fast approaching, although for many farmers it arrived unseasonably early, allowing them to harvest weeks earlier than normal, with some enjoying very good crop yields, despite the dry weather and heat which has meant that 2025 has been identified by the Met Office as the warmest summer on record. The worrying thing is that record is very likely to be broken next year.
Now the rain’s taken over here in West Yorkshire. We’ve had several days of heavy showers and leaden skies. I shouldn’t really complain, anyone who’s read any of my reservoir blogs will know how desperate we are for rain around here. Yorkshire Water reports that levels are down to 32.6 per cent – well below the 72.7 per cent average for this time of year. So we’re going to need a hell of a lot of steady rain to make up the deficit – and avoid floods. Still, Dawn and I are off to Portugal on Friday, so if the heavens want to open for the next couple of weeks, then don’t mind us!
I nipped out between heavy showers earlier to get shots of the signs of the seasons change. The Oak trees that make up some of the woodlands surrounding us are a mass of acorns right now. It’s difficult to walk through the woods without getting bombed by them dropping. The downside is that the local grey squirrels have gone into overdrive, collecting and stashing as many acorns as they can find as food for the winter months. The problem is these pesky rodents are seeing my flowerbeds and pots as part of their larder, destroying any plants that get in their way. Bloody things…
The persistent rain’s brought the valley sides to life again, reinvigorating grass and woodland alike. It’s also made for some interesting skies, like this. I managed to get home before this little lot dumped on me.
Looking across the Calder valley to Norland and the Ryburn valley beyond.
We’ve a thunderstorm warning for the rest of the day, which could produce some fun. Let’s see…
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/
Paul Bigland 