It’s been a long day and it’s after 10pm so I’m going to be relatively brief in this blog although I’d had intentions of doing a rolling one today as I was out and about but never found the time. I was up at 6am this morning as Dawn was up early. I’d got an article for RAIL magazine to finish so an early start seemed like a good idea. Having sent my copy off I was intending to potter around at home but then I saw the weather it was glorious sunshine and such a contrast to the past couple of days which have been wet and weary, so I decided ‘bugger it’, packed the camera bag and headed off out to enjoy the sun and capture some new shots. My RAIL article is on the local rail network and it was whilst I was researching pictures form my library to use in it that I discovered that a goodly proportion of pictures were out of date. I blitzed a lot of the area when I first moved here from London in 2010 but I’d not been back to several locations for a while – and certainly not since the Northern franchise (and livery) change so today seemed like a good time to make good on that. Having walked down to Halifax station my first port of call was Brighouse where I managed to get a few decent shots of Calder valley freight services. Having done so – and having time to kill before my next train – I wandered into the town centre for a mooch around. As I passed a little delicatessen called ‘Le Gourmet’ on Bethel St I noticed something unusual in the window. Nestled in between the pork pies and pasties was ‘Yorkshire Duck’. No, I’d never heard of it either! Looking like a massive mutant Scotch egg and costing £1 for two I couldn’t resist. I’m adventurous when it comes to food and a sucker for trying something different – and these certainly fitted the bill. So, what did they taste like? Well, they were a bit dry but they were certainly spicy! They appeared to be a mix of pork, breadcrumbs and spices although I couldn’t tell you for sure what was packed into them. Without doubt they were substantial and a real belly-filler for a quid. Having posted a picture of them on Twitter the reaction I got from most folk was bafflement although a Lancashire friend reckoned they could be a version of faggots. So, for tonight’s picture of the day I bring you – ‘Yorkshire Duck’!
The weather’s due to return to normal tomorrow so It looks like I’ll be busy in the office sorting out pictures from today’s travels. I’ll add a blog about it too as there’s no doubt rail passenger numbers are picking up again and some of the old locations I revisited are about to see massive changes. But for now, it’s good night from me – and the duck!
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m so happy we took note of the weather forecast and went out walking yesterday as today we’ve had traditional bank holiday weather – absolute crap! When I first gazed out of the bedroom window this morning I thought “well, it’s not brilliant, but at least there’s no rain”. Little did I know what was in store for the afternoon…
As we’d nothing exciting planned and Dee was feeling the effect of so much walking uphill we decided to have a lazy start to the day. Well, it was a bank holiday after all and we’d certainly put effort into yesterday! Several cups of coffee later we both decided that – actually – a day at home wasn’t really a bad thing. Then the rain arrived…
One of the beauties of where we live is that we have a commanding view across the Calder Valley and the direction that most of the weather arrives from, so we can literally see it coming. Today was a case in point as the skies got darker and more ominous, making it clear what we were about to experience. Depending on the speed of the wind we can normally expect to see the rain sweeping in about 10 minutes before it hits us and today was no exception so it was a case of batten down the hatches, make another coffee and get on with other things. In my case this was sifting and editing pictures for my next article in RAIL magazine then spending time Photoshopping another load of old slides from my 1991-92 travels that have been added to this gallery. So, not entirely a wasted day and listening to the rain beat against the windows was actually rather therapeutic.
Having felt virtuous because I’d achieved so much I decided to venture out for some shopping and get some exercise despite the weather. OK, I’d have to don full walking waterproofs, but what the hell, I was only going to the supermarket, not the North Pole. It seemed like a great idea at the time until I started walking back and the high winds arrived which turned the rain almost horizontal! It was at that point I realised that perhaps my waterproofs need a little TLC as they were were more water than proof! Despite my rainwater revelation I rather enjoyed being out in the eye of the storm. I don’t quite know what it is but there’s something about being out in the elements when you feel the full force of nature. Perhaps it’s the fact it puts you into perspective – puny humans with their momentary lifespan against the elements that are timeless and ageless.
The theme of the elements brings me on to the picture of the day which is another of my latest batch of old slide scans. I took this at Lake Maninjau in West Sumatra, Indonesia during the first week of June 1992.
In some ways Maninjau reminds me of where I live now although the landscape couldn’t be more different. Maninjau is a lake in the caldera of a massive extinct volcano. But, the lake is so wide and where I was staying faced the prevailing weather you could watch storms approach in the same fashion that I can now. The little ‘homestay’ I shared with several other travellers was right on the lake. We has access to canoes and rubber rings (old wagon inner-tubes) so we’d spend many a happy hour floating or swimming in the temperate waters of the lake. In the evening we’d sit there with a few beers, chatting and watching the sun set, which sometimes produced scenes like this.
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The bank holiday weather’s been mixed to say the least but today was meant to be the best of an indifferent bunch so Dawn and I chose it to get out and go walking. We’d originally considered driving over to Derbyshire but then I suggested exploring somewhere more local – the hills above Todmorden. We’ve often hiked around the town but that’s either because the pair of us have walked up to Stoodley Pike (a favorite walk with fantastic if windswept views) or I’ve been up in the hills around Walsden as it’s an excellent location for railway pictures. Today we tried somewhere different. After parking the car on the edge of the town we headed up some steep paths through an area called Hole Bottom (no, really!) towards Todmorden golf club which gave some wonderful views across the town. We also passed some really interesting and curious properties. I love this old mill towns as they contain some fascinating buildings tucked in backstreets or on the edge of town. Many have seen several incarnations in their lifetime so often have original features like doors or windows bricked in. Trying to work out what they might have been is always fun. Here’s a classic example.
Further up the hill on the edge of the golf course we discovered this view. I’ve often tried for this shot from the other side of town without the same degree of success so I’m pleased to have found this place – even if you’d be shooting directly into the light on a sunny day.
Here a train from Blackburn to Southport traverses the viaduct which bisects the town centre before it arrives at the station just to the right of the viaduct. The imposing building behind the train is the neo-classical Town Hall. Designed by architect John Gibson it’s a grade 1 listed building that originally opened in 1875. Beyond the town hall is the Gothic splendor of the Unitarian church (The Unitarian movement originated in Todmorden in the early 19th century). Another grade 1 listed building designed by Gibson it was constructed between 1865-69. Both buildings were paid for by the wealthy Fielden family who were local mill owners, reformists and philanthropists.
By the golf course we joined the Calderdale Way footpath and headed west along the edge of the valley for several miles. This gave us some stunning views – even if we did end up stopping to eat our sandwiches in one of the rain and hailstorms that passed our way! You can see what the weather was like from this wider picture.
What’s very different about this side of the valley are the number of rocky outcrops and strange formations that dot the skyline. Places with names like Whirleaw, Stannalley or Golden stones – or the one we walked to – Orchan Rocks high above Lydgate.
From the rocks we continued on for another mile or so along the valley edge as far as Cross Hill before heading back to the valley floor. The first part was easy as we followed the road but then we cut across country along various footpaths to a place called Shore before descending an incredibly steep and narrow path through the dense woodland along Wittonstall Clough. I’m glad we’d not made the mistake of trying to climb this way as it’s band enough on the way down!
Reaching the main road at Cornholme we decided discretion was the better part of valour and walked back along the main road to Todmorden, although if we’d had time it would have been very tempting to scale the opposite side of the valley. Instead we decided to leave that for another day.
Now we’re back at home and relaxing. Dawn’s making one of our favorite weekend treats – spicy prawns and garlic bread. After that it’s time to settle down in front of the TV to join a large chunk of the country to watch the final episode of ‘Line of Duty’ – what a perfect end to a great day…
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
The pair of us have had a productive if hardly exciting sort of day – unless you count the opportunity to tour garden centres again! Maybe it’s one of those signs of ageing, a bit like realising how much you enjoy watching the ‘Antiques Roadshow’ on the telly! As someone who’s been a keen gardener for nearly 30 years I make no apologies for such a pastime – even if my present patch of land is a lot smaller than I was used to. Even so, there’s plenty of opportunity to be creative as the massive stone walls that make up the terraces at the back of our cottage do lend themselves to some imaginative opportunities. Sadly, there’s not a great selection in our local garden centres. Maybe I was spoiled with living in London for 25 years, you could find almost anything you wanted within just a few miles and a trip to the Columbia Rd flower market in the East End was a must when you needed annuals. One centre we visited was just getting a delivery from Holland. A large HGV was taking up a chunk of the car park as pallets of plants were unloaded. I hate to think how much extra the Brexitshambles is costing them in both time and money. What was once a seamless operation is now mired in bureaucracy thanks to us throwing up rather than taking down barriers to trade. Despite the deliveries I’ve noticed that it’s really difficult to find the variety of ferns that I used to be able to buy in London. Maybe they’re not as popular up here? The back of the house is sheltered and in perpetual shadow, so it would ideal for displaying ferns – if only I could find the ones I want. Still, first world problems eh? At least I managed to restock our herb garden and replace some plants we lost due to the harsh winter.
Back at home I had a happy couple of hours replacing knackered hanging baskets, repotting and replanting and generally tidying up the garden – even tho’ the weather’s hardly spring-like as the temperature rarely makes it into double figures at the moment. As soon as the sun gets trapped behind clouds the temperature plummets. Frost is still a concern so I’m being careful what I plant out right now. How different to this time last year when we had such balmy days!
All this talk of gardening has chosen the picture of the day for me because it fits the theme. I scanned this one recently, although it was taken on the 12th March 1994 at Columbia Rd flower market.
Lynn and I were still living in London’s East End at the time and a trip to Columbia Rd was a regular occurrence for myself and some of my neighbours in the Housing Co-op where I lived. Decorating the communal balconies of our flats with plants was a great way of adding a splash of colour. Not everyone who joined us was green-fingered, it was just a great morning out as there were plenty of cafes offering coffee and cake and the opportunities for people-watching – hence this image which was a ‘grab-shot’ through the crowds.
Sadly, this sort of street photography has become harder for all sorts of reasons – especially to do with privacy laws. We’re in danger of losing the ability to document everyday life in the way the old masters of documentary photography never had to worry about – but that’s another blog entirely…
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Wait? What? It’s the end of April already – where’s the year gone whilst we’ve all been sat on our backsides at home? I thought time was meant to drag during lockdown but the opposite seems to be the case. Either that or someone’s been sneakily stealing days off my calendar whilst I’ve not been looking. As we’re now allowed out will someone please give me some of those days back so that I can savour them in the style in which they should be enjoyed? Joking apart, the year does seem to be flying by but for the life of me I can’t work out why unless it’s the ‘Groundhog Day’ effect. I wouldn’t mind but I’ve got so much that I want to do this year I really don’t want to run out of time.
Today’s been a good day – apart from the weather which has been cold with momentary flurries of rain and hail. Mind you according to Facebook’s memory prompt a few years ago we were covered in snow at this time – so I shouldn’t really complain. I certainly had a valid excuse to hole up at home ‘type-swiping’ to get an article written and a few more archive pictures added to my Zenfolio website which makes it rather a productive day.
Those old slides supply me with the picture for today. My 1991-92 solo odyssey has moved on from Thailand (yesterdays picture) to Malaysia where I discovered what – 30 years later – is still what I regards as a ‘happy place’. I’m sure many of us have them. They’re somewhere you’ve discovered where you feel perfectly at ease and at home for a whole host of reasons. Georgetown in Penang island, Malaysia is one of mine. I’ve been going back there every few years ever since. The first time I arrived I fell in love with it and that feeling remains despite the fact it’s changed a lot since those early days. What hasn’t changed is the mix of cultures (Malay, Chinese and Indian) the fantastic food, the fascinating architecture or the laid back atmosphere. Like many backpackers I ended up staying on Lebuh Chulia. In may case it was at an old Chinese hotel called the Eng Aun. It’s still there today but it’s gone much more upmarket from when I took this picture on the 1st May 1992.
Hotels like this had a central hall with reception on the ground floor behind which was a central staircase to the first floor. Each floor had rooms off to each side. The thing I remember about the Aun was the smell. It had a really weird one and I never worked out what it was. It wasn’t Durian (the stinky SE Asian fruit banned from most public transport) but it did smell like something had died beneath the floorboards! After a couple of days you got used to it, but I’ll never forget it! I passed through a couple of times on that trip and met some great people staying there. Nowadays I stay just around the corner in a place I first discovered in 1997, but I’ll never forget this place as my first introduction to Malaysia after a long trip overland from Thailand.
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’ve not had time to post one of these for a while as I was away all of last week, concentrating on getting new pictures whilst enjoying the freedoms granted due to the easement of lockdown. As this coincided with some wonderful weather I was kept pretty busy. I’ve been back in Yorkshire since Sunday trying to catch up with all sorts of stuff that took a backseat as I was on my travels.
Being back in the office and stuck in front a screen made me appreciate having had the chance to get away. I’ve done so little travelling this past year but I count myself lucky as I’ve done more than many but right now it’s time to knuckle down and get some writing done. I’ve an article to prepare for RAIL magazine but once that’s done I’m looking forward to getting out and about again. On the 17th March hotels and B&Bs reopen in England, so I’ve been busy preparing a ‘cunning plan’ that involves cycling around some of the High Speed 2 railway construction sites in the Chilterns. The project is really ramping up so I’m keen to be able to document the work at this early stage in the same way I did with High Speed 1 from London to the Channel tunnel. Plus, being on the bike will give me a bit of exercise. OK, it’s not as exotic as cycling around India for charity, but at least I’m not expected to do 75 miles a day!
Of course I’m still trying to get through scanning my old slide archive but that’s going to be taking more of a back seat now the weather’s improving. Plus, Dawn and I have plans to get out and about too. Now I’m concentrating on ‘banking’ the scans (which I can only do at home) so that I can edit them at my leisure from wherever I am. I’ve already added another 60 plus to this gallery of my 1991-92 travel odyssey in the past few days – which brings me on to the picture of the day. I took this picture of the beautiful Thai island of Ko Phi Phi on the 20th April 1992.
The island is essentially two massive outcrops of karst rock linked by a narrow, low-lying sandbar, which is where the majority of the islands accommodation could be found. As you can see from the colour of the sea, the right hand beach is shallower whilst the left hand is deep enough for yachts, long-tailed boats and ferries from Krabi on the mainland. I spent an idyllic few days here exploring the island (this picture was taken from the viewpoint, a hot sweaty climb from the beach) and snorkelling in some of the fabulous bays around the coast.
A few years later the island were made famous as the setting for the film ‘The Beach’ which was based on the Alex Garland book. This sparked controversy due to allegations that the film crew caused a lot of damage to one of the beaches, but far worse was to come. On Boxing Day 2004 the Tsunami that devastated parts of SE Asia hit the island, killing over 1000 people. There but for the grace of God…
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Just as you know that night follows day you know that when those who oppose HS2 resort to the courts, it’s only going to end one way – and so it was again yesterday.
Firstly, a bit of background. The group of protesters who’ve remained camped in part of Jones’ Hill woods after being evicted from the part of the woods required to build HS2 managed to raise crowdfunded money to challenge Natural England bat licenses which were granted on March 31st, allowing HS2 contractors to fell trees and clear vegetation under certain conditions (see Natural England’s blog here). Led by serial failure and former Green Party candidate Mark Kier (blogs passim) they applied for a High Court injunction on April 16th. Mrs Justice Lang DBE granted an injunction on only one of the several licenses issued by NE, those defined in License WML-OR58. The rest were allowed to stand.
The injunction said that:
“The application for permission is adjourned to be listed in court as a “rolled up hearing”, on notice to the Defendant and Interested Parties, on a date in the week commencing 24 May 2021 or as soon as possible from 8 June 2021 onwards, having regard to the availability of counsel already instructed at the date of this order. If permission to apply for judicial review is granted at that hearing, the Court will proceed immediately to determine the substantive claim.”
Mrs Justice Lang’s judgement went on to describe her reasoning, which I won’t include here for the sake of brevity (and the fact her judgement was overturned).
Natural England appealed (note, not Hs2 Ltd or the Government as it was NE who granted the licenses and were named as the defendants, HS2 was merely listed as an ‘Interested Party’). The appeal was heard by Mr Justice Holgate on Monday 28th. Holgate discharged the injunction, saying that none of the grounds Mr Keir’s experts and lawyers had put forward against the felling were “arguable”. He reserved his judgement which will be published at a later date. When it is I’ll add it to this blog (it has been, see the end of the blog!).
This leaves the protesters up a proverbial creek without a proverbial paddle. Of course, Keir immediately told the press and his supporters that he would appeal but there’s only one problem – he needs grounds to do so – and from what Mr Justice Holgate has said – he ain’t got any! Besides, by the time he might file his appeal, the remaining work at Jones’ Hill woods could well be completed. HS2 contractors (who’re still working on the site) have four days left on the license (that’s if it’s not extended because of the delays caused by legal shenanigans).
Yet again the protesters have wasted people’s time and money (both theirs and the taxpayers, who’ll pick up the tab one way of the other). It’s noteworthy that these cases are brought under the Aarhus convention, which means the Claimant’s liability for the costs incurred by the Defendant and Interested Parties is limited to £5,000, and the Defendant’s liability for the costs incurred by the Claimant is limited to £35,000. Whilst this convention allows access to the law for people who would otherwise find costs exorbitant I do wonder if their shouldn’t be a threshold of competency and realistic chance of success to prevent hopeless cases and ‘vexatious litigants’ from gumming up the courts, government and any defendants purely as a delaying tactic – especially when Crowdfunding is involved. Mind you, on top of the court fees there’s also the costs of Lawyers, the people who must be rubbing their hands in glee every time they see the words ‘stophs2’ and ‘crowdfunder’…
Of course, this wasn’t the only recent legal ‘success’ for HS2 antis that soon turned to ashes.
Another protester (Sarah Green) has had a long obsession with potential water pollution in the Colne Valley and had launched (yet another crowdfunded) legal appeal against a decision of the Information Commissioner to side with HS2 LTd that certain documents relating to piling work in the Colne Valley should be released.
I won’t bore you with the details. It’s a long, arcane argument and a decision that you can read here if you ever find yourself suffering from insomnia!
The Tribunal agreed with Green that certain papers should be released unredacted.
As usual, there was only one problem. Green had so convinced herself that these would prove that HS2 was hiding something all perspective was lost. The papers didn’t even relate to the substantive matter in hand – test piling for HS2’s Colne Valley viaduct. Green started her case in 2019. By the time the appeal was heard the world had well and truly moved on. Not only were the papers not the ‘smoking gun’ Green had imagined but the test piling had been completed. There was worse to come. Not only had the test piling not caused any of the pollution Green has been frightening people with – it also proved that the actual piles for the Colne Valley viaduct didn’t need to be driven as deeply as originally planned – thus saving considerable time, expense and carbon emissions!
The icing on the cake? Hs2 started the actual piling work for the pier foundations of Colne Valley viaduct back in March and has received full planning consent for the structure from Hillingdon Borough Council. Oh Dear!
Having failed in the courts as usual there’s little chance of HS2 being stopped on the ground either. The protest campaign has fallen into complete disarray in the past few weeks. Even HS2Rebellion have had to publish an embarrassing update to their protest camp list!
The reality is even worse than they admit. New Poors Piece at Steeple Claydon is also redundant as is Denham Ford. Neither stopped a thing and are largely abandoned following the pattern established by the Crackley camp. In fact, so many of the last remaining protesters are restricted by bail conditions that they’re left pulling stunts like trying to interfere with people who have a connection (however tenuous) with HS2, which is why a handful of them tried to disrupt a prison construction site in Wellingborough! Many others have drifted off to other Extinction Rebellion stunts like smashing HSBC bank windows at Canary Wharf or suchlike. Once the oxymoronic Wendover ‘Active Resistance’ Camp is evicted their campaign is literally all over bar the shouting (or tweeting)….
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Thank you!
UPDATE.
Since publishing this blog I’ve been sent a link to Mr Justice Holgate’s reasons for his decision, which can be found here. They make interesting reading as they highlight a number of things. Firsly, why Lang made her earlier decision and why Holgate overruled it and also an insight into the tactics of the protesters legal team – and something we’ve seen before. Namely, just bombard the Courts with paperwork and hope (in the words of the old saying) if you can’t blind them with science, baffle them with bullshit! Read this comment.
Point 114: “I accept the evidence in Mr. Dineen’s witness statement as to the impact which delay in felling the trees would have on this part of the HS2 project. If the felling could not take place until October 2021, earthworks could not begin until March or April 2022. Currently those works are scheduled to begin in June 2021. In paragraph 5 of IP2’s submission to the court dated 14 April 2021, a conservative estimate of the costs of the delay was given in the broad order of £25 to £50m. Mr. Dineen now says that those figures have been re-assessed as being in the range of £60.7-£88.8m. His statement dated 19 April 2021 was accompanied by a schedule. Plainly there has not been time for the claimant to consider this in any detail or to raise any questions. The claimant simply says that these costs will not be incurred because the claim could be dealt with at a super-expedited hearing, a point which I have already rejected. I proceed on the basis that the continuation of the injunction would cause additional costs in the region of at least £25m to £50m, and probably substantially more. I attach very considerable weight to this factor”.
Point 115: “I also attach considerable weight to the public interest in the continuation of work on the HS2 project without substantial interruption. Parliament has decided that it is in the public interest for the project to be undertaken and the Government has subsequently confirmed that it continues to agree with that decision (see e.g. Packham). There is no challenge to NE’s decision in this case applying regulation 55(2)(e) to the works which are the subject of this dispute.” Packham again!
Yet again this is a humiliation for the protesters legal representations and arguments “air of unreality”…”fanciful”? Oh dear. Plus, dumping paperwork on a judge in the hope something might stick.
Yes, I know the title of this blog’s 180 degrees about face but it got you looking didn’t it!
I’m about to leave sunny Southport to head back to Yorkshire, which gives me a rare opportunity for a rolling blog. It’s a long time since I’ve travelled anywhere by train on a Sunday so I’ll be sharing my impressions and experiences of the journey – along with a few pictures.
I’ve enjoyed my time here exploring and catching up on some childhood memories of the place where I grew up although so much has changed in the intervening half-century! Much of what I remember has disappeared, including many of the old corner shops. Napoleon supposedly once called the English a ‘nation of shopkeepers’ but if that were ever true it’s certainly not any more, a nation of supermarket shoppers, maybe.
Here’s an example. This was an old sweet-shop on the Corner of a road where one of my Aunties lived whom I used to stay with as a small child.
Mind you, it’s not just the shop that’s disappeared, behind the row of bungalows on the opposite side of the road was the direct railway line via Blowick which closed in 1964, sandwiched in between them was a abattoir where cattle used to be delivered for slaughter by rail. I can still remember hearing their pitiful mooing as they waited for the end. The abattoir must have closed in the 1960’s too. Now that whole area is covered by a housing estate built in the early 1970s.
One other memory that came up was due to walking over some of the old pavements in the area that are still tiled rather than tarmac’d. The 9′ blue tiles came from a company in North Wales and were a feature of the town in streets laid out in the Edwardian era. My ‘Nana’ invented an educational counting game where we counted the letters G of E that were embossed on some to mark the location of Gas pipes or Electric cables. I found plenty of E’s, but could I find a G?
Right, time to begin my travels, see you soon…
11.50.
I’m currently sat on the 11:38 Southport to Blackburn which is made up of a Class 156/158 lash-up. I did try the lead 158 which was almost empty but the wifi was up the spout so I’ve transferred to the 156 instead where it’s working fine and I’m typing this. Both sets are refurbished with new seat mocquette, passenger information system and USB chargers but no mains sockets as they’d drain too much power. There’s only a dozen of us (plus a plethora of pooches) in the car so I commandeered a table bay on which to set up my laptop with ease!
As I’m now a Pennine-dweller crossing the familiar fertile flatlands of the West Lancashire plains seems rather odd but it demonstrates why my Fitbit has registered such a low ‘stairs climbed’ total recently, the only way you can gain any altitude around here is by crossing one of Southport’s railway bridges!
Our first stop is Burscough Bridge. On the approach to the station are a couple of playing fields which are alive with footballers and onlookers – a sight I’ve not seen all year. The station’s graced with an expensive white elephant, a new ticket office/cafe that was built in the early 2000s, just as the market was changing and ticketing going more and more online whilst the cafe was never commercially viable as there wasn’t the required footfall. All it did was abstract income from established local businesses. The building’s been locked up and deserted for several years now. Another sign of how the times have changed are the Amazon parcel pick-up lockers that appeared in 2020.
12:10.
We’ve just arrived at Wigan Wallgate and the train’s filling up as several groups have joined us for the run into Manchester. There’s a mix of young families, teenaged lads off for a day out together and a few solo travelers with purpose unknown.
12:25.
We’ve just passed one of the delights of this line, the magnificent station gardens at Hindley station which are maintained by the multi-award winning friends group – although the brilliant work they do goes far, far beyond gardening. They a delightful group to visit and a trip to Hindley’s always something to look forward to when I’m wearing my Community Rail Network Judges hat.
From Crows Nest Junction we too the direct line via Atherton rather than swing left to head for Bolton. It’s hard to picture what this line looked like little more than half-a century ago. Then it was a four-track main line with classic island platform L&Y stations crossing the Lancashire coalfield that was festooned with collieries and railway lines that served them. Now it’s a two-track commuter and leisure line that carries no freight at all. Much of it runs on embankments which offer a grandstand view of all the new homes that are being built alongside the line. About the only thing that betrays this was once quadruple track are the bridges (over and under) which betray the width of the original formation. Now most of the cuttings are overgrown with Silver-Birch and other tress, creating a linear wildlife reserve and problem for trains in the leaf-fall season.
The one area that still surprises me as we pass is Agecroft. In my youth it contained collieries and a power station surrounded by a vast freight rail network. The Power Station had little steeple-cab electric locos whilst the colliery was still worked by steam engines in the early 1980s. Now everything’s been swept away to be replaced by vast anonymous grey warehouses that offer no interest at all.
14:00.
Due to gaps in the timetable I had an enforced break at Manchester Victoria that’s enabled me to get a few pictures and nip out to the nearby Co-op for a Scotch Egg lunch. All the catering outlets on the station were closed and the place was still quite deserted. Wandering into town I was disconcerted to see one huge gaggle of young people snaking their way through the streets in a long line. I’m assuming they’re part of a group but it does seem rather reckless as the social distancing was minimal to non-existent. I’m really hoping we don’t f*ck up this gradual release from lockdown, but sometimes I do wonder…
Back at Victoria I was interested to see that the Victoria – Blackpool North services were being worked by pairs of the new electric Class 331s from CAF rather than the old BR built Class 319s. I’m sure the extra capacity of a 6 car over a 4 will be a welcome during the summer months.
15:15.
Final leg now. I changed trains at Littleborough to get a last couple of pictures in this glorious weather and start to acclimatise again as it’s certainly a few degrees cooler up here than at sea level! Loadings on my present trains to Leeds are around the 50% mark but it’s difficult to judge as there’s a high churn rate between stations here.
20:10.
Back home to a beautifully clear evening and a glorious sunset to boot! I’m going to sign off for today as it’s time for some family time, just Me, Dawn and the moggie. Tomorrow’s going to be another busy day as I’ve loads of pictures to edit and an article to research, so watch this space…
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’ve not displayed a picture of the day for while now as I’ve been busy concentrating on contemporary shots and making the most of the slow release of the lockdown rules to visit Merseyside which has been quite an eye-opener after being cooped up for so long. The fact it’s combined with a run of glorious weather has been fortuitous to say the least! This has been great, both for photography and my vitamin D levels! Oh, and people-watching as so many folks are out and about again. Having been (mostly) confined to small towns visiting a city like Liverpool has been a delight for the sheer variety of people and activities. I’m optimistic that this is the start of a return to a normal life – as long as the inoculation programme continues apace and the few covidiots around (such as the demonstrators in London today) don’t screw it up for us.
As well as the railway shots I’ve redeveloped an interest in urban dereliction photography. Well, let’s face it – there’s no shortage of subject matter in Liverpool/Birkenhead but I’ll be blogging about that another time. Tomorrow I head back to West Yorkshire to catch up on lots of other projects for home and work.
Now, what to choose for todays picture? One from the archives or a new shot. I know, let’s have a new image that combines two of my interests – railways and architecture…
This is the new station building at Ainsdale in Southport that opened in 2018, replacing an old and knackered wooden building. Whilst it reflects the seafaring heritage of the area the building is bang up to date, being complete with solar panels, low energy LED lighting with smart controls and rainwater harvesting tanks to serve the toilet facilities.
The design achieved a CEEQUAL (Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Award Scheme) rating of ‘Excellent’ in recognition of its green credentials.
This picture’s one of many taken over the last few days which will make it onto my Zenfolio website next week.
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Humble apologies for the lack of blogging recently but I’ve been taking advantage of the country slooowwlllyy opening up to get some work done away from the confines of the Calder Valley. Much as a I love the Pennines and home it’s so refreshing to be able to get out and about again, visit places old and new – and start to see what’s being happening whilst we’ve all been constrained.
In order to do that I’ve been popping over to Merseyside most days (bar today) in order to experience life in the big city and see what’s been happening with the rail network whilst we’ve all been doing our Rip Van Winkle impressions. I’ll blog about some of my experiences in greater detail when I have the time as my wanderings have given me a huge amount of material – and pictures. The pictures are slowly starting to appear on my Zenfolio website in the ‘recent’ section but there’s a few tasters in this blog.
I’d hoped to have been able to capture shots of the new Stadler built trains that will be taking over Merseyrail services from two of the oldest train fleets in the UK – the BR built Class 507/508 fleets. There’s a blog looking back over their lives and times here.
Sadly, the only 777s I could find on the network were a handful confined to barracks at Kirkdale, as you can see here.
Four of the new Stadler built Class 777s grounded at Kirkdale.
Also at Kirkdale was one of the older Class 508 units which had had an ‘interesting’ time at Kirkby when it tried to make its way to Wigan, despite the lack of track, electrification or that there was a chunk of platform in the way. In my day a ‘Kirkby kiss’ was a metaphor for a head-butt. Here’s the Merseyrail unit that tried to recreate the old tradition with a nice little board in front of it explaining what it failed to do…
– and failing at 42mph too…
My wanderings took me over the river to Birkenhead and the Wirral exploring some areas that I hadn’t visited for forty years, which was a bit of an eye-opener. To start with, here’s another ‘new’ train that’s having a few teething problems. OK, I admit, it’s not really new at all, this is ex-London Underground D78 stock converted to diesel power to be used on the Bidston – Wrexham line. The Vivarail conversions cover a variety of traction packages and are actually a clever idea.
As a former East Londoner I may very well have travelled on this old District Line train when it ambled its way across London from East to West. I’m looking forward to see how they work far away from London in the Welsh borders.
Whilst visiting Birkenhead North I was drawn to the dereliction of the old docks which once had an extensive rail network – although that was already well in decline during my last visit in 1981! Now the area looks like a backdrop for a ‘ColdwarSteve’ montage. I spotted this which summed things up for me. Derelict shipyards and docks occupied by a pair of mothballed Royal Navy ships and – what the hell’s an old Blackpool tram doing there?
I’ve got a whole host of pictures to finish editing yet which will appear in another blog. Tomorrow I have a couple of ‘Zoom’ meetings but hope to get them done before then. After that, there’s a lot more blogging to come…
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 need all the help that we can get. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Paul Bigland 