I took a day off from blogging yesterday as it was one of those days. Not in a bad way, but one in which plans rapidly had to change due to new work opportunities and commissions coming in that meant I had to rejig my calendar for the weekend and week ahead. Not that I minded. I’d rather be active than idle and the opportunities are too good to miss. Mind you, it was a good day to be stuck at home poring over a computer screen as the weather’s been cold and miserable here in the Pennines. It’s been the same today with gusting winds and rain beating against the windows. The valley below’s spent most of the day hidden in the murk. What a contrast to Thursday when I was out and about in Cumbria which was bathed in glorious sunshine!
As time’s pressing I’ve spent much of today writing up a future article for RAIL magazine which I want to get completed before Monday as I’ve a series of other pieces in the pipeline and deadlines have a nasty habit of sneaking up on you, especially when you’re writing for a fortnightly news magazine! And there’s no shortage of news in the rail industry at the moment – good or bad. So, a quiet night in beckons as tomorrow evening I’m off again and I won’t be home until Thursday at the earliest. No doubt there’ll be plenty to blog about as I’ll be back in Glasgow on Monday for more rail events connected with COP26. It’s a huge event for the rail industry which is displaying its green credentials in many different ways – not least as the least carbon-intensive way of people getting to the events. Watch out for more blogs on Hydrogen and Battery trains and plenty on the freight sector too as many of the railfreight companies will be at a three day event at Mossend Yard near Motherwell.
OK, it’s now time for me to switch off and step back from the computer for a while to enjoy Saturday night. There’s lots of fireworks going off around me but tonight feels like a night for relaxing rather than taking in a display. Besides, or bedroom window look out over the valley so we can see plenty from the comfort of home!
I’ll leave you with the picture of the day. I have to admit I love Scotland (the country and the people) so I’m really looking forward to the next few days North of the border. Here’s a shot I took on Fuji Velvia slide film over 20 years ago, on the 26th March 2001 when I was taking pictures for a forthcoming Lonely Planet guide to the country. This is the view from the extinct volcano in the centre of Edinburgh known as Arthur’s Seat. How many cities can boast of having such a wild place with fantastic views across it?
Almost directly above the man’s head you can see Edinburgh Castle, which gives you an idea of the size and scale of the former volcano. Over to the right is Leith and the Firth of Forth and beyond that Fifeshire and on to the snow-capped Ochil Hills. Sadly, I won’t have time to do this again this trip…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
As I’m busy with other things and I’ll be busy reporting on positive progress with building the new HS2 railway I haven’t paid what passes for a campaign to stop Hs2 much attention recently. Mainly because it’s collapsed into a farce. Yes, there’s still four or five people holed up in a tunnel at Wendover, waiting to be dug out by bailiffs. But as they’re not even in the way of HS2 construction and aren’t achieving anything, what’s the point? Their few friends are realising no-one else is interested either, so spend their time trying to drum up support by pretending this self-isolation is somehow heroic rather than what it really is. Dumb and pointless.
The eviction of the Wendover camp brought an end to the protest camp network, depriving those involved of refuges. Now, many of the tiny hard-core have drifted away. The arrival of winter’s speeded up that retreat. Oh, a few still turn up to HS2 compound gates to wave flags and video themselves before buggering off again, pretending they’ve actually achieved something, but it’s painfully obvious to any impartial observer this is just window-dressing as there’s over 300 active HS2 worksites and less than three dozen regular proteters.
So, like StopHS2 before them, HS2Rebellion have little left other than social media. They try to keep up the pretense of actually doing things by posting whatever they can find that’s critical of HS2, or even high-speed rail per se. Because this was never really about ‘green’ issues at all. Like Extinction Rebellion they’re an offshoot of – this is all about politics, not the environment. XR and HS2rebellion are (laughably) all about trying to bring down capitalism and democracy which they want to replace with the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ through citizens assembly’s. Or in other words, they want power.
There’s one huge problem. They’re politically inept and hopelessly naïve. Many of them have as little understanding of politics as they do of real environmentalism. Their ideology’s a mess, as is their knowledge of the real world influencers (who aren’t who they think). Here’s an example. Yesterday HS2rebellion published this on their Facebook page.
Apart from the fact this obviously nails their colours to the anti-rail mast, you have to ask, did any of them bother to check who the Cato Institute is, what its beliefs are, or who funds it? Clearly not.
Why, because the Cato Institute is (yet another) right-wing, libertarian lobby group that’s been prominent and influential in spreading climate-change denial! It was set up and bankrolled by the Koch Brothers (Charles and David) in 1977. The brothers are (or were, David died in 2019) some of the richest people in the world. Their company, Koch Industries is the largest privately held company in the USA. It made its money through oil. For decades, the brothers have used their massive wealth to gain political and social influence, shaping American (and thus world) policy on a number of fronts which includes trying to undermine efforts to tackle climate change, opposing public transport projects (like high-speed rail) and pouring money into numerous conservative political campaigns. Friends of the environment they’re not. All this is well-documented and anyone with a real interest in these issues has known about the Koch brothers for donkey’s years.
But not HS2rebellion – who’re happy to promote the ideology of the climate-change deniers and puff their influence through advertising the ‘think-tanks’ they fund!
Mind you, HS2rebellion aren’t alone in this. Many supposed ‘greens’ are happy to promote similar propaganda from the UK version of the Cato, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), another bunch of right-wing lobbyists masquerading as an educational organisation as a cover for what they really are – a bunch of political lobbyists.
Rather foolishly, the IEA complained about the broadcaster James O’Brien for calling them out. The OFCOM judgement is worth reading as – not only was the complaint thrown out – the judgement exposed the IEA for what they really are. You can read it here.
At the behest of their anonymous paymasters (the IEA refuse to come clean on who funds them) the IEA also engage in trying to undermine action on Climate Change. Here’s an example. This bunch of nonsense has appeared on the website of ‘Transport Watch’.
But who are ‘Transport Watch’? Well, until recently they were one man – Paul Withrington, a retired road planner who was obsessed with the idea that all the UKs railways should be tarmac’d over and replaced by fleets of coaches. It was quite mad and no matter how many times Withrington was challenged on the maths and the physics of the idea he was so obsessed nothing could convince him he wasn’t talking out of a fundamental orifice. Withrington used to turn up at events like Infrarail in the hope of buttonholing Ministers to press his lunacy but most saw him coming and managed to avoid him. Needless to say, Withrington was grist to the mill for the lobbyists of the IEA and fell in with their risibly named ‘Head of Transport’, Richard Wellings – a man who’s never held a proper job in his life – much less had any frontline experience in transport. The pair of them co-authored an IEA paper called ‘paving over the tracks’ in 2015. It’s completely crazy of course, but he who pays the piper…
Withrington died in January 2021 and it appears that he bequeathed his baby to the IEA, because who’s name is on the bottom of that climate change denialism and scaremongering? Yep, one Richard Wellings. ‘Transport Watch’ seems to be a way for the IEA to publish even more loony conspiracy theories in an attempt to undermine the fight against global warming whilst trying to maintain plausible deniability. In fact, the only articles that have appeared on the TW website have all been authored by Wellings. I’m not going to give them the pleasure of a boost by providing a link to their website, but if you’re really curious it’s easy to find and verify everything I’ve said about them.
These are just some examples of why I’ve long held the belief that much of what passes for a UK ‘green’ movement simply isn’t fit for purpose. They’re tone-deaf and utterly unable to tell when they’re being played by the far smarter and much more intelligent right-wing, which would be funny if it wasn’t so dangerous and damaging. The fact UK ‘greens’ are doing the climate-change deniers and oil and roads lobby’s job for them by opposing green public transport shows just how screwed-up this country is nowadays. Their European (and Scottish) cousins are far more savvy. Sadly, we’re lumbered with the dogmatic and disconnected likes of Baroness (“I like trains, me”) Jenny Jones, and the demagogues of Extinction Rebellion gluing themselves to or opposing us building public transport. What a time to be alive…
Meanwhile, we have the fun and games up at COP26, where Extinction rebellion protesters arrived by train. Here’s the ‘Red rebels’ on Glasgow Central earlier this week after arriving from London. These are the very same ‘rebels’ who could be seen protesting at HS2 construction sites.
‘cos dressing up in red rags and opposing HS2 is obviously going to save the planet…
An irony that is completely lost on these people is the very railway they’ve been protesting against would (by slashing Anglo–Scottish journey times) be a viable alternative to Europe’s busiest domestic aviation routes, those from Aberdeen/Glasgow/Edinburgh to the London airports as this graph makes clear.
You can find lots more information on Anglo-Scottish air traffic from Chris Ogilvie (@Ogilvie_CJ) on Twitter.
I’ll be back in Scotland next week for more COP26 rail related activities, so watch out for other blogs. Needless to say – unlike our Prime Minister – I’ll be letting the train, not the airlines take the strain…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
No, not the TV series that made David Hasselhoff famous. I’m off to somewhere far less conducive to prancing around in a pair of ‘budgie smugglers’ (especially this time of the year). I’m off to Morecambe bay and the towns on the Kent estuary!
The weather’s looking to be perfect, if a little crisp. The walk to the station this morning was lovely as the clouds were melting away to the East, leaving the valley bathed in sun as it ventured above the horizon. I’m currently on the 08:27 from Halifax to Preston which has retraced part of my journey only this time along the valley floor. High above me was our house, lit up in the sunshine, looking lovely.
The train’s quiet. Well, when I say quiet – there’s not that many passengers in the front car of this 3 -car train. Unfortunately, a few rows behind me I have a younger woman gabbing on her phone who’s doing her best to sound like a Victoria Wood character – if slightly better dressed. She’s spent the whole of the trip so far gossiping in the most incredibly rapid but banal fashion about the intricacies of a family’s relationships that I’ve been forced to reach for the headphones and block her out with music before my brain melts. I’m now heading along the scenic route over Copy Pit with cloudless blue skies listening to Meatloaf singing “Objects in the rear view mirror” rather than her bleating about the sizes of someone’s kids beds. Bliss!
Feel free to keep popping in to see what I get up to today…
09:15
We’ve just left Accrington after previously stopping at Burnley. The Victoria Wood tribute act has finally run out of words (or rather, the same few words) but I’m still enjoying my soundtrack to the journey. The railway skirts Burnley to give great views over this Lancashire cotton town. I keep meaning to spend a day here getting pictures across the town from some of the high ground as the Colne branch bisects the town on a viaduct. At Accrington the route from Todmorden to Preston does the same. I took a lot of pictures in the area when I first moved to Yorkshire in 2010 but it’s really time I updated them. Maybe a day out here on a bright winter day would be a good idea…
10:00.
A full 3-car 195 waits to leave Preston for Windermere.
I’m kicking my heels in Preston again. Connections here never seem to go my way. Coming down from Glasgow I had nearly an hour to wait. This time I’ve longer. My Blackpool bound service arrived at 09:39. The Barrow service doesn’t arrive until 10:45. At least it gives me time to get a few shots and slurp a coffee in the Upper Crust. I’ve not used these sandwich bars since Covid. Their offering has gone downhill. In many cases The baguettes that were their staple fayre have been replaced by hamburger style rolls. At the same time the prices have increased. Paying more for less serms to be a common theme in Brexit Britain nowadays. So many ways of ‘winning’. At least the coffee’s good…
New and ‘improved’? Someone’s taking the pee…
10:45.
My Barrow connection arrived bright and early (2 mins early in fact) but as it’s due to sit at Preston for 9 minutes to let the 10:42 Avanti service to Glasgow that’s sat in the adjacent platform to get ahead of it, that’s hardly a problem. On the two track section of the West Coast Main line there’s no way we were going to get let out early! The Pendolino leaves 3 minutes ahead of us here but that becomes 9 minutes at Lancaster.
My train’s made up of another Northern 3-car Class 195. It’s reasonably busy but nowhere near as crowded as the Windermere service I saw earlier. Having rediscovered the joy of listening to music whilst travelling I’ve stuck my ancient iPod (remember them) on ‘shuffle’. I’m currently enjoying a real bout of nostalgia, listening to the ‘Moody Blues’ and an album recorded in 1968 (‘In search of the lost Chord’). It takes me back to my early teens, listening to the strains of the album emanating from my elder brother Dave’s bedroom in the family home oh so many years ago…
14:15.
Here’s a quick update from a cafe’ whilst I wait for the next train at Arnside. I’ll flesh this out more after the next train. Right now I’m using their warm space to edit a few pictures off the camera! Having taken the shots I needed at Grange-Over-Sands I headed back across the River Kent to Arnside to recreate(ish) the shot I used for picture of the day yesterday. Only everything didn’t quite go to plan…
Oi! Northern – I was expecting one of your new 3-car 195’s – not this!
I’m now about to take 2 as the next train running is one of their new 3-cars. Thankfully, the weather’s beaten the forecast and stayed sunny. Just as well when there’s only one train an hour…
18:00.
Another busy day – if waiting for one train an hour can be called ‘busy’. Clapham Junction this ain’t! That said, I’ve kept myself occupied for the time I was in Arnside. In between trains I managed to catch up with emails, sit and have a coffee and edit the pictures I’d taken. On the way back I stopped off to explore some photo locations in Lancaster, only this time of the year I was there too late to catch the light. Even so, I had an interesting time exploring part of the town I’d never ventured into before, which included some of the old railways like the line to Lancaster Green Ayre and Morecambe part of which is now a footpath. This is another place I need to come back to at the right time of the day/year. Having explored I headed back to the station to catch a very busy Avanti service to Preston where I waited for a Northern connection to Manchester which was running 20 minutes late. I’m now aboard an electric version of the CAF fleet built for Northern over the past few years. These 3 car 331s are certainly a step up in comfort compared to the trains they replaced, but the ride over indifferent quality track can be hard, especially if you’re sat over a bogie.
Old and new Northern electrics at a busy Preston station this evening.
I’m slowly getting used to the idea of electric trains via Chorley. They’re such a step-change in acceleration compared to the diesel units they’ve replaced, although the quality of some of the the clientele hasn’t really improved, but that’s ex-Blackpool services for you.
19:50.
I’m on the final leg home after stopping off in Manchester’s Chinatown to pick up some goodies. Whilst we have some excellent local North Indian supermarkets in Halifax I can’t get some of the ingredients I need for some of our favourite SE-Asian dishes. Today I remedied that and bought fresh Pandan leaves and Lemon grass, Kecap Manis and a light Soy sauce.
My train home from Victoria was rather nostalgic as it consists of a class 158/153 lash-up. I haven’t travelled on one of Northern’s dwindling fleet of single-car Class 153s since Covid hit! Unsurprisingly, most passengers made a dash for the air-conditioned comfort of the 158!
Mind you, it wasn’t just a/c this car didn’t have. The tiny toilet (which isn’t DDA disabled passenger compliant) is permanently locked out of use with a sign redirecting people to the Class 158. What Northern will do with these trains in the long-term’s a good question. They’re obviously past their sell-by date, but unless funds are forthcoming for new stock to replace them…
22:00.
It’s been a long day and I’m now back at home in the warm, editing the pictures I’ve taken during the day, so here’s the recreation(ish) of yesterday’s picture of the day with one of Northern’s new Class 195s replacing the Trans-Pennine 185. As you can see, the livery’s far less colourful or interesting, but such is life and progress on the railways sometimes.
195103 works 1U97, the 13:52 Barrow-in-Furness to Manchester Airport across the Arnside viaduct.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After more travels over the last week I’ve had a rare day at home where I’ve not had to pick up the camera bag once, which has been rather nice as the weather feels a lot chillier here in the Pennines than it did in Scotland – odd when you think of the difference in latitudes. Admittedly, where I live we’re 450 feet more above sea level than Glasgow which could help explain some of the difference! Another thing I noticed was how many leaves have vanished off the trees since I was away. Apparently, there were high winds earlier in the week which made a huge difference. The little Acer bush in my front garden is looking positively naked!
Most of my day has been spent edited the thousands of pictures I took whilst I was away in order to clear the decks ready for the next trip and ensure that all the main pictures have been sent to the client (who seem extremely happy with what was shot). So, most of my day’s been spent staring at a computer screen or being distracted by the constant to-ing and fro-ing of the various Coal and Blue-Tits to the bird-feeder outside my office window. I topped it up with Sunflower seeds this morning so the birds have gone mad, even getting involved in ariel dog-fights as they jockey for position. It’s impossible for the local Squirrel population to reach the feeder, so they hang around in the cobbled entry underneath like a swarm of sharks, waiting to snatch whatever the birds manage to flick off onto the floor.
I did manage to escape for a lunchtime walk with Dawn as the pair of us wanted to ensure the day wasn’t entirely sedentary. A stroll through the local woods was just the ticket. They’re looking beautiful at the moment and I hope to have time to capture some of their colours on camera over the weekend.
Tomorrow I’m off on my travels again. This time it’s a trip to Grange-over-Sands to get pictures for an article I’m writing for a client. I’d hoped to have visited before I went to Scotland, but the weather around Morecambe Bay can be temperamental to say the least. However, tomorrow’s forecast is for sunshine for at least part of the day, so it would be a no-brainer not to go. No doubt there’ll be a rolling blog in the offing as tomorrow’s a solo trip that isn’t rushed, giving me time to watch the world go by and write.
The picture of the day comes from the archives and was taken in the area I’m heading to. This shot of a train crossing the Arnside Viaduct over the wide river Kent was taken on the 14th February 2008.
The River Kent is tidal and depending on the time of day you might see little more than sandbanks here, but when the tide’s in or on its way on a clam day, you can capture reflections like this. Sadly, this train livery is a thing of the past – as is the class of train on this route as Trans-Pennine Express no longer run service to Barrow-in-Furness. I always though this was one of the more attractive liveries to catch out in the countryside as it was so vibrant. Who knows, maybe I’ll have chance to update this shot tomorrow with new trains and new liveries – even if it won’t be as colourful…
Oh, some of you might recognise this shot and wonder where from. It’s on my business card!
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m currently kicking my heels in Preston having travelled down from Scotland on an Avanti Pendolino this afternoon. I’ve had another busy but fun day in Glasgow, firstly checking out progress in electrifying the lines out to Barrhead and East Kilbride in order to get a few libray shots, then hot-footing it back to Glasgow Central in time to join the Vivarail battery train which was due to carry another selection of invited guests on a run out to Barrhead and back. This time the guests were more international and included representatives from Japan, Mexico and several Latin-American countries.The train performed faultlessy and gave a spirited run on battery power out and back.
Once the fun was over and with the winter light being ideal for shots at some of the locations I’d checked out earlier I sallied forth to Crossmyloof and Pollokshaws West where the OLE masts were illuminated by the setting sun and managed to capture the transition between two forms of traction as the lines are still worked by diesel multiple units which will be displaced one the masta that are appearing in their midst carry overhead wires. Here’s a couple of illustrations…
Hi-res versions of all the pictures taken over the past few days will be available on my Zenfolio website by tomorrow. I’ve been using my time on the Pendolino from Glasgow to get them all edited. The 11 car was packed when it arrived in Glasgow, but I managed to bag a table in the unreserved coach on the return and set up my mobile office – although the sunset and scenery did provide frequent distractions! I’ve a busy programme over the next few days so any time I can find to be productive is useful.
I must admit, I’ve really enjoyed spending all this time in Glasgow. It’s a great city that I’m very fond of. It has something for everyone. When I have some spare time I’ll flesh-out some of the blogs I’ve written with links, reviews and suggestions for places to visit. Places I’d never have found without the knowledge of a friend (Peter) who’s Glaswegian born and bred…
I’m about to head out to Central station for another assignment that involves battery trains. The railways have been having a torrid time of it over the past few days, the line to Glasgow from London’s been disrupted by fallen trees, delaying many people getting to COP26. There’s an irony here. The charity The Woodland Trust have been campaigning against Network Rail clearing back lineside vegetation along rail routes. No-one wants to see tree cover diminish, but it’s about having trees in the right place, and where they’re a danger to life and limb (too nay trains have hit fallen trees) or cause such massive disruption as they have done, then (no matter what the WT claim) they need to be removed. Go plant them somewhere else.
Another incident at Salisbury has left two trains badly damaged – fortunately without any serious injuries to passengers or crews. We all take railway safety seriously and any lessons that can be learned will, so I refuse to speculate on any reasons for the accident.
The weather here in Glasgow’s brightening up, so I’m off out, I’ll update this blog as I go…
18:20.
Sorry, this hasn’t been much of a rolling blog as I’ve just been too busy with the events, taking pictures and meeting people. It has been a fascinating day tho’. Glasgow Central station’s been buzzing. A media centre’s been set up on the first floor of one of the vacant buildings (the old bar) and people have been coming and going all day as many VIPs have been arriving. At the same time I’ve been working on the Vivarail event and their shuttle train which took invited guests on a return trip to Barrhead. But, before we ran the trip, a nameplate was presented to the man behind the whole idea, Adrian Shooter by Bill Reeve, Director of Rail for Transport Scotland.
Bill Reeve (right) with Adrian Shooter and a copy of the nameplate attached to 230001. 230001 leaves Glasgow Central after the event to return to Polmadie.
Whilst all this was happening the VIPs kept arriving. I saw these people getting off the train from London…
Needless to say, the atmosphere in Glasgow is starting to ramp up now that COP26 has begun in earnest with the arrival of the politicians and heads of state. I’ll be spending another day here tomorrow on a similar event but also hope to have a look at a couple of other things before returning South for a few days to catch up with other work before returning for transport day on the 10th when a rather different type of train will be running.
Oh, I did pop back to the station later, at which point the ‘Extinction Rebellion’ circus had started arriving in town. Regular readers will know just how cynical I am about XR, its people, its methods and its ideology – but they do provided a good opportunity for a photographer. Here’s the ‘Red Rebels’ at Central station, because nothing is going to stop Climate Change like dressing up and pretending you’re a ‘green’ version of Marcel Marceau…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Apologies for the gap in blogging but yesterday was a hectic day spent chasing trains to get a rather special shot for a client that involved on the the UK railways most iconic structures. The Forth Rail bridge. I’ll add a lot more detail later, but here’s the shot that was achieved (after a came of cat and mouse with the sun) as Vivarail’s battery D-Train crossed the bridge at Dalmeny, heading back to Glasgow.
Today I’m taking it easy at the home of a friend. My stay in Scotland’s been extended by my client, so I’ll be here until Tuesday now – which is rather nice. Hopefully the weather might have chance to improve but as the next couple of days jobs are indoors it’s not to much of a problem, right, catch you later – we’re off for a bite to eat…
Peter introduced me to part of Glasgow I’d never explored before – Glasgow Green. It’s wooded parkland with open spaces and some fascinating buildings along the North bank of the River Clyde. Here’s a few images.
Inside West, the German bar and brewery inside the Templeton building. It’s a German bar so there was only one thing we could have chosen for lunch. Currywurst…
Today I head from Halifax north of the border to spend several days in Scotland for work (and some pleasure). The bag’s packed, the camera’s cleaned and all the batteries are charged. Now all I’ve go to do is get there. I’ll be blogging about my travels throughout the day as I make my way to tonight’s final destination – Stirling. Feel free to keep popping in to see how the adventure unfolds. There’s a storm front passing across the North-West and Scotland at the moment which is already causing disruption and cancellations to rail services, so things could be ‘interesting’ to say the least…
09:49.
The rain held off to allow me to enjoy my stroll to the station. Gusting winds played havoc with the falling leaves, making them swirl around my feet as I tramped the tree-lined streets into town. There’s some glorious autumn colours around at the moment. Hopefully I’ll have time to capture some of them on camera over the next few days.
Right now I’m on the 09:38 from Halifax to Leeds. It’s made up of a pair of 2-car Class 195s. I’m in the lead car which is quiet. There’s less than a dozen of us aboard. I suspect that’ll change on arrival at Bradford…
09:58.
Sure enough, our reversal at Bradford Interchange saw the train fill up, mostly with young students and a few shoppers. Depressingly, mask-wearing is almost non-existent.The ominous grey skies have followed me but here they’re breaking up and blue sky is fighting back.
We left 5 minutes late due to being held to let a late-running Halifax service pass but I’m not time-precious today, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
10:35.
My late arrival meant I missed one train onwards to York and the next Northern service was running 8 mins late so the speedy option was to wait for Trans-pennine Express and their 10:42 to Newcastle.
10:48.
Friday crowds joining the 10:42.
I managed to find a seat on the train but it was a struggle as there’s no shortage of folk travelling. Overhearing conversations it’s clear most people are leisure travellers going away for the weekend to see family or friends. I know this because there’s a garralous Scouse woman working the refreshment trolly who keeps chatting to everyone she serves! Her job was made easier by the fact we arrived early but left late..
11:08.
I’ve not travelled the Leeds – York route for a while, so I was surprised to see that electrification masts are marching South from Colton Junction. They look remarkably like the substantial ‘series 1’ type used on the Great Western electrification too! I can see I need to nip out this way with the camera…
12:00.
I’m finally on the way to Scotland! On arrival at York I changed trains to wait for the next LNER service to Edinburgh which (surprise surprise) was running late. This seems to be the theme of the day. None of the delays are serious, all are in single figures, so I can’t really complain when it’s the leaf-fall season and the weather’s stormy (to say the least). In fact, now we’re rushing Northwards the skies are clearing, which is a good sign.
As I was in the queue to get off the train at York I overheard an exchange between to women with kids which illustrates the problem the railways are facing at the moment. Both were from Yorkshire and one was using the train for the first time for years. She was travelling from Huddersfield with two children and used the train as a treat and different experience for her two young daughters. But…She observed that if it hadn’t been the helpful staff who split her tickets for her, the journey would have cost her £55 – far more than the cost of driving, even with adding in parking charges. Her observation? She won’t be using the train again as it’s too expensive. Next time she’ll drive. These are the people we need to get out of cars, but we can’t do it if people find rail travel is too expensive. Many train companies would like to offer cheaper tickets, but the problem is the Treasury and Dept of Transport, who still see railways as a cash-cow and not a vital tool to help tackle climate change. This attitude has to be challenged, but when we have such a dysfunctional Government (see my comment about cutting domestic air passenger duty yesterday) what will it take to get through to our politicians?
The 9 car Class 801 that I’m on now is busy. Very busy. I’ve managed to find a seat in the leading car but we’ve several stops before Edinburgh yet and the ominous sign “may be reserved later” is showing on the reservation LED above me so I could be turfed out en-route. With the train being so busy the onboard wifi is so slow it’s useless so I’m grateful I’ve get a huge data allowance on my phone contract. This has allowed me to tether my phone to my laptop and post from there. Happy days!
13:00.
We’ve left Newcastle and I’ve not been thrown out of my seat yet so that’s a result. The composition of the carriage has changed quite a bit tho’ – many people left at Newcastle so we have a new (younger) intake. The atmosphere’s still good with many people chatting and enjoying the trip – although the weather’s deteriorating again. We’ve just called at Morpeth, having clawed back 2 minutes of the 8 minute deficit we had leaving York. I’m optimistic we’ll be near to time by Edinburgh.
13:50.
Bliss! We’ve now crossed the border, having left ‘little England’ behind – at least for a few days. Our last stop was Alnwick after which we were treated to some wonderful views of the Northumbrian coast and places like Lindisfarne Island which was bathed in glorious sunshine, speeding over the magnificent Royal Border bridge without stopping we’re now hugging the Scottish coast before arriving in Edinburgh. I’ll be busy for a while but blogging will resume once I leave the Scottish capital. I’m not stopping for long…
15:11.
As we approached Edinburgh from the East I could see the storms approaching from the West. Thunderous grey cloud that looked very uninviting. As we’d only got as far as Drem when it started throwing rain at us. Lots of rain. It didn’t let up for the rest of the trip into the Scottish capital. The conditions made me change my plans and decide to head straight on to Glasgow. I hear from friends that the weather’s no better there either, but I’m going to meet up with a couple of old friends before heading to my accommodation for the night. My revised plan is to get some night shots as standing water makes for some great reflections, but it needs to be properly dark first. So, now I’m speeding West on one of the excellent Hitachi built Class 385 EMUs…
Apologies for a lack of a blog yesterday, but as it was my birthday other matters took precedence. I won’t go into much detail about the day other than to say I received some lovely presents, had a convivial day with t’other half (and a lovely lunch with the in-laws) and was blown away with the amount of birthday wishes I received via social media – which was very humbling. So thank you – one and all.
Today it’s been back to the grindstone – although at a less than frenetic pace. I’ve mostly been housekeeping and preparing for the next few days away. I’d half-hoped to get out and tick another job of the list but the weather’s really not been up to it. A weather front has swept in from the West which brought quite a bit of rain later in the day – just when I had some free time, but that’s the law of Sod for you. I still managed to get a walk in as I needed to pick up some ingredients for tonight’s meal as I was on cooking duty. Mind you, that’s something I really don’t mind as I enjoy it and find it therapeutic. Not that I’m going to be cooking again for a while…
Tomorrow I head up to Scotland for several days as I have a series of jobs to do around the railways and COP26. It won’t be my only visit either. I’m really looking forward to my time North of the border, the events that are planned – and the chance to catch up with several old friends. I’ll be rolling blogging over the next few days so you should get a flavour of what’s going on as Scotland prepares to host this most important summit.
That said, I can’t help but feel a sense of despair and disbelief at the antics in Westminster as expressed through the budget. We’re days away from a crucial event that’s highlighting the fact Governments really need to step up to the plate and tackle climate change. So, what does our Chancellor do? Announce that he’s going to cut Airline Passenger Duty on internal flights. The flights that are THE most polluting! Christ on an effing bike – the rest of the world must be looking at us and thinking – are they for real? Here’s a graph that illustrates the problem.
Oh, and let’s not even go there when it comes to the Government umming and aahing over building HS2 (the greenest form of UK transport) at the same time…
Right, now I’ve got that off my chest, here’s today’s picture, which is a little different – just so that you don’t get bored. When I cook I like to prepare ingredients in advance. We have a wonderful array of bowls and dishes that we’ve picked up in Thailand and Vietnam that help me do this, so here’s tonight’s seafood risotto in kit form…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
As expected I’ve been busy sat at home writing for a living today, compiling words for an article for one magazine whilst sending off pictures on a different issue to another, thus freeing me up from work tomorrow, which is no bad thing as it’s my birthday. Dawn’s made a fantastic chocolate cake that’s sitting in the kitchen now, ready to be consumed tomorrow.
With the writing over I fell into somewhat of an introspective mood. I’m missing travelling. I don’t mean up and down the UK as there’s plenty of that on the horizon. No, I mean getting away from ‘plague island’ and all its troubles to remember that the rest of the world does things differently and in many cases seems a lot happier for it. Without wanting to wish my life away, I’m looking forward to 2022 when the world is expected to start opening up again and I can rediscover some of the places I’ve missed these past couple of years.
I suspect my sense of ennui hasn’t been helped by stumbling across some Youtube videos of a singer I’ve admired for decades and whose music has travelled with me for the past 30 years – Joni Mitchell. Her album ‘Blue’ contains a track that’s been part of my travels since 1991 when a friend added it to a mix of songs on a cassette tape (yes, it was *that* long ago!) to take with me on my SE Asia solo adventure. The track, ‘Carey’ had such a resonance that I’ve had the album ever since. So, here’s Joni performing it on Youtube (complete with an explanation about the song’s origin)..
Meanwhile, here’s the picture of the day which I still have on my laptop which is from different travels. It’s an image of the Eyre Mountains opposite Queenstown, New Zealand that I took on the 27th February 1999…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 