Category Archives: Calder Valley

18th November picture of the day…

18 Monday Nov 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, Community Rail Network, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Weather

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As I write this on Monday evening we’re still waiting for the predicted snowfall here in the Pennines. The day’s certainly been cold enough for those little flakes from the sky, but so far (despite what various forecasts are claiming) I’ve seen barely a wisp – despite having just got back from a walk.

Dawn’s made it back from North Yorkshire without problems so the two of are hunkering down for the evening, waiting to see what the morning brings. I’d hoped to have got out myself today but judging the Community Rail awards ‘It’s Your Station’ took a lot longer than usual. mainly because there were so many new entries this year and myself and my fellow judge (Mark Barker) had awarded very different points to some entrants, so we had a lot of discussions about the merits of more entries than usual. In the end (and thanks to the skillful moderation and guidance from Hazel, our helper and adjudicator) we agreed on the category placements and the winners. It’s very hard to judge these awards as there’s so many excellent entries and there’s often little more than a few points between the tops of each category.

Still, it’s done, and we’re all pleased with the process (which was certainly rigorous) and the winners of each category. Who are they? You’ll have to wait until the awards next year to find out! Now all that remains is the photographic competition shortlist…

What I get up to tomorrow depends on the weather, which brings me on to today’s picture. Here’s how Bigland Towers has looked in the past (2021) when the snow’s arrived. And no, that’s not our lofty eyrie in the background – that’s the Wainhouse Tower!

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

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

30th September picture of the day…

30 Monday Sep 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Weather

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I’m sat in the office typing this whilst listening to the sound of the heavy rain falling outside. It’s never stopped since this morning. God knows how much has fallen, but the whole area is absolutely sodden. The only good news is that the River Calder hasn’t flooded, why I don’t know. Perhaps the recent flood remediation works around Mytholmroyd has made a difference, maybe because the rain’s been heavy but steady all day. Either way, we seem to have escaped the problems other parts of the country are experiencing – although rail services through the valley have been disrupted by events elsewhere.

September has been a pretty miserable month weather-wise, despite odd days of sunshine here and there. The amount of rain we’ve had has broken several records. Climate Change is real – and it’s here (although the denialists still pretend otherwise). I only hope things improve in October. I’ve a lot of things I want to do and I need sunny days to do them.

In the meantime I’ll be keeping myself occupied in the warm and dry – like today, where most of my time’s been spent picture editing, writing and counting raindrops! However, I’ve a press trip on Thursday which will be interesting – as you’ll see nearer the time.

For now I’ll leave you with today’s picture. I still managed to get out for my daily constitutional, but I was in full waterproofs (boots, jacket, trousers and gaiters) and with a golfing umbrella to boot! Here’s how the Calder valley looked from the Albert Promenade above where we live.

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

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

14th September picture of the day…

14 Saturday Sep 2024

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

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We’ve had a home-based day here at Bigland Towers. Mainly because of unpredictable weather and too much to do – so it’s sometimes nice to refocus occasionally. Instead of scurrying around the country (don’t worry, there’s lots of that to come) the pair of us have been homebirds. Dawn’s been happy to potter around the house whilst I’ve been making the most of the good weather to finish a project on the cottage. Well, outside the cottage anyway. We have a cobbled entry that runs along the back of the row of cottages we live in. Picturesque it may be (when its not adorned with washing lines) but the problem is the cobbles soon get weed-strewn and slippery in winter. This summer I decided to fix that so I’ve been busy cementing in between said cobbles to prevent the weeds taking hold and give me a break from endless weeding. It’s taken a while due to the weather, but I managed to finish the work today. Now my OCD kicks in as I spend the next few weeks cleaning off the slightest excess mortar from the cobbles with stiff brushes!

Job done the two of us headed out on a food shopping spree. The freezer has been run-down somewhat this past week or so, which warrants a cooking spree. The weather here in the Calder Valley’s predicted to be wet tomorrow, so whilst I’m busy type-swiping and picture editing for a living Dee will be cooking up a (vegetarian) storm. I’ll be barred from the kitchen whilst she does (except to muck in doing the washing up) but I have my own recipes planned for weekdays.

No doubt there’ll be plenty of food pictures to post soon. In the meantime. I’ll leave you with today’s, which was taken on my walk home down the hill from my evening constitutional and quick visit to our local pub.

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

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

8th September picture of the day…

08 Sunday Sep 2024

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

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I felt sorry for the Rushbearers this morning. After having topped up the deficit to my sleep bank these past couple of days I was in the office at 8am – even though it’s a Sunday. The lack of light due to the gloomy skies outside would have convinced me that it was before dawn. Then the heavens opened – and stayed open for quite some time. I’d planned to do some work outside the cottage but there was no chance of that. Instead, most of the day’s been taken up stuck in the office, editing hundreds of the pictures I’ve taken over the past week. There’s far too many to post links to individual galleries, so here’s one to the ‘recent’ section of my website which will show you which galleries have been updated.

Finally, the rain eased but the clouds never released their grip on the valley. By this evening I was goggle-eyed so I sought refuge in cooking a new Indian vegetarian recipe, then getting out for a walk and a quick pint in my local – hence today’s picture.

Tomorrow’s the start of another week. Whilst Monday may be more of the same, on Tuesday I’ll be doing something completely different and a first for me. Watch this space…

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

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

15th February picture of the day…

15 Thursday Feb 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, Climate Change, Musings, Picture of the day, Politics

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Today feels like one of those days where you don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the state of the country – or planet. To say it’s been unseasonably mild here in the Calder Valley would be an understatement. According to various registers we hit a balmy 15 degrees. There’s only one problem. That’s way, way above the seasonal average for Sowerby Bridge and (if confirmed) a new record. So, to those who say global warming is a myth. I have a two word answer – and the second word is “Off”…

The pair of us spent most of our day working from home apart from an outing in the car as Dawn had to drop off work papers at their accountants, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone to pop into our local Indian supermarket to stock up on various exotic herbs, spices and other goodies before doing the more mundane shopping at Tesco. Not that we bought crap you understand, just staples.

Back home I ploughed on with various work including a request for a selection of old railway pictures from the early 1990s that may (or may not) make it into a magazine. When I took them it was purely for pleasure. I never dreamed that one day they might make it into print, but that’s nostalgia for you. What seemed everyday on the railways back in 1990 looks anything but now.

Whilst I was working I did have half an eye on’t t’internet and the campaigning that’s going on in two by-elections today. Labour are widely expected to win both former Tory safe seats and in the case of Wellingborough it’s not hard to see why. Not only were the local Tory party stupid enough to pick the girlfriend of the ousted MP (Peter Bone) as their candidate, the other parties are making a mess of things too. ‘Reform’ – formerly known as the Brexit party, has put forward ‘man of the people’ (My arse: Ed) Ben Habib. Only it seems Mr Habib is about as familiar with his potential constituency as he is with the truth. Hence this, from Twitter – and it’s only one of many mocking examples!

The only saving grace of fools like this is that Reform don’t stand a chance of getting elected but they will abstract enough votes from the Tories to make it an easy Labour win. I’ll look forward to waking up in the morning to a very different future – in two constituencies at least. The rest of us? We’ll have to soldier on in a country that’s increasingly falling apart as it’s asset stripped by Sunak and Co to try and fund their election bribe – sorry ‘tax cuts’ in order to win the next election. Only they won’t win, and neither will we. The only people who will are the people rich enough to make money from such tax cuts and insulate themselves from what comes next. Hopefully, enough people will wake up to that fact before it’s too late.

In the meantime I hope to enjoy some short-lived schadenfreude at the Tories expense tomorrow. Oh, I’ve other plans too, but that’s for another blog…

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

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

2nd February picture(s) of the day…

02 Friday Feb 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, Down memory lane, Photography, Picture of the day

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Yes, I’m still alive! There’s little time for blogging at the moment as I have other things going on right now, one of which is having a clear-out of stuff I’ve accumulated over the last 50 plus years of my life. In short, half a century of stuff that I’ve been clinging onto and (in some cases) that I’d even forgotten I had. It’s been an interesting experience. Some of it (mostly – but not all – old railway memorabilia) has ended up on eBay. You can find it here. I’ll be adding more stuff over the next few days. There’s a selection of old button and pin badges and comics that may be of interest to collectors of such stuff. Here’s a sample of what’s to be added.

YES always used to tour around my birthday and seeing them at the Bingley Hall in Stafford was my present to myself. It was the first gig I ever went to on my own as a teenager. Fond memories!

As for the rest, it’s either gone to charity shops – or the bin!

I hope to get back to blogging again soon, we’ll see. In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. Well, yesterday’s really. This was the sunset over the Calder Valley.

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

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

17th January picture of the day…

17 Wednesday Jan 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Nepal, Photography, Picture of the day

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We’ve had another of those winter days where brass monkeys are seeking the urgent assistance of welders! Temperatures have remained sub-zero all day. The forecast is telling me it’s currently minus 6 which is hardly surprising as we’ve had clear skies and sunshine throughout most of the day. Despite sunny weather I’ve been happy to stay in for most of the day, picture editing and catching up on various other admin. In fact, it’s been rather a productive day and one that’s lined up work for the future.

Whilst I’ve been busy in the office I’ve also been keeping an eye on the welfare of the wild bird population by ensuring they’ve plenty of food to eat with a mix of oats, rice and chopped (cooked) vegetables. At times I’ve seen real bunfights between several Blackbirds, Magpies, Thrushes and Robins as they establish (literally) a pecking order! They’ve been quite entertaining to watch. With the amount of food the Blackbirds have gobbled I’m surprised they’ve not needed a runway to take off on!

Now it’s evening, the temperatures dropping and I’m preparing to wind down for the day. I’ll leave you with a snow scene, but it’s not from the Calder valley, it’s from a valley much, much further away. You’ll never see the Pennines like this!

A medium long lens shot of the Himalayas taken from outside our tent when we were trekking in Nepal in 1998. Sadly, I never recorded the names of the individual mountains. So, apart from the fact this is one of the range North of Gorkha, I couldn’t tell you if it’s Manaslue, Bauda Himal or any of the other high Himalayas in that range. Whatever it’s called it really was rather special being this close.

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

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

16th January picture(s) of the day…

16 Tuesday Jan 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Well. I didn’t have this on my bingo card when I pulled open the bedroom blinds this morning!

We weren’t meant to be having snow until late in the day and even then it was meant to be mixed with rain. Instead, we had rather a nice dusting of the white stuff. Well, at least at our height. The valley floor didn’t get the same treatment. This was rather frustrating as I’d several hours work planned this morning which I couldn’t get out of so by the time I did get to don my waterproofs (more to keep the freezing wind out than anything else) the snow had already begun to recede, despite the low temperatures. Working on the old axiom of ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ I caught a train West to Todmorden, working on the assumption that as the weather was coming from that direction I’d be likely to find more snow. Sure enough, there was more on the ground, even though it still wasn’t exactly ‘deep and crisp and even’. I went for a hike from Tod’ station along footpaths well gritted backroads to Gauxholme, between Tod’ and Walsden then slipped and slid my way uphill to a site that’s one of my favourite locations in the valley. Here’s why…

195005 leads 195019 through Gauxholme whilst working 1J19, the 14:12 Leeds to Manchester Victoria.

I stayed long enough to get several shots but by 15:00 the snow was coming in again from the West and the wind was perishing! Besides, there’s only so many permutations of this shot you can take. Walking downhill with the camera bag on my back was more difficult than ascending. I was kicking myself for not bringing my walking poles but I managed to make it down without going arse over tit. Maybe we’ll get a thicker covering of snow later in the year. Maybe not, but at least I’ve finally got a snow shot from Gauxholme.

Now I’m back home taking it easy for the evening, feeling virtuous as not only do have some useful pictures, I’ve smashed all my exercise targets to boot. Still, it’s strange to think that this time last year I was doing anything *but* freezing. I’d already been in SE-Asia for a week and had just arrived in Kuala Lumpur.

I won’t be venturing out of the valley tomorrow. I’ve too much to sort out in readiness for what’s going to be a hectic time next week as I’ll be doing a lot of travelling with many different events to blog about. But for now, it’s time to say goodnight.

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

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

14th November picture of the day…

14 Sunday Jan 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, Flora and Fauna, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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We’ve had another quiet day here at Bigland Towers, although it’s been anything but lazy. I was up early and working in the office by 07:30. Admittedly, it’s not much of a commute from the front to the back of the cottage – and I can do it in my dressing gown! Even so, I felt virtuous as I was making the most of the day. The fact the nights are getting shorter helps. There’s nothing worse than sitting there in the dark, not being able to see anything out of the office window but being able to hear the wind and the rain beating down outside. Thankfully, we’ve finally hit a dry spell which is also lightening the mood.

Much of my day’s been spent catching up on picture editing and adding recent images to my Zenfolio website. Click on this link to see which galleries have been updated. I’ve still got many more to add, both from my recent HS2 site visit and also archive shots from Nepal (but those will be taking a backseat for a little while).

Continuing with the virtuous theme I managed to surpass all my exercise targets which has made me happy – and helps me feel ‘dry January’ is proving worthwhile. Now I’ve got to hope the bathroom scales will confirm the results! It’s not that I’m overweight in any way, I’m merely outside my normal parameters so it was time to get back to the weight I feel happiest and most comfortable at.

Whilst working I’ve enjoyed watching the birdlife outside. We have a stone shed roof opposite which is an ideal bird-feeding station. I’ve found that bags of oats make a cheap alternative to more expensive bird-foods and our feathered friends of all sizes love ’em. I’ve had Magpies, Doves, Wood Pigeons, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Robins, Sparrows and Wrens put in an appearance today, whilst the nut and seed feeders hanging under the eaves have attracted all manner of Tits. As the light’s improved I was even tempted to get the camera out. So, today’s picture is of one of this morning’s visitors. I’m presuming this is actually a Thrush – my bird recognitions not as comprehensive as my railway fleet recognition!

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

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

13th January picture of the day…

13 Saturday Jan 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, London, Musings, Picture of the day, Railways, Travel

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After my recent travels I’m having a quiet weekend at home here at Bigland Towers, editing all the pictures I’ve taken, getting some out to clients and preparing the research for my next series of RAIL articles, plus pitching for other work. There’s certainly been plenty to keep me occupied – including household chores and routine maintenance to the cottage, which has been made possible now we’ve hit a dry patch. That said, the weather’s turning increasingly cold and the media is full of forecasts (some of dubious provenance and reliability – but enough of the daily Express!) of impending snow storms and apocalyptic conditions. We’ll see. I wouldn’t mind the chance to update some snow pictures, but it’s moot if I can’t get out of the house!

One thing the dry conditions have aided me in is the ability to hit all my January exercise targets which are going along with my month-long holiday from alcohol. That’s not proved to be the problem I thought it might. My willpower’s remained strong. But abstinence is starting to get a tad boring. The thing about being a real-ale drinker is that there’s so much variety. However, much as Adnams ‘Ghost Ship’ 0.5% is a reasonable substitute for a proper pint, variety is lacking. I may have to take a trip to Sainsbury’s and buy some of their low-alcohol Infinite session IPA which comes in cans. Abstinence from alcohol aside, there’s plenty to look forward to in the next couple of weeks with jobs around the country. All will be revealed in rolling blogs as they happen.

Right now it’s time to call it a day and put my feet up with Dawn and enjoy a spot of escapist TV, so I’ll leave you with today’s picture. Here’s one of Chiltern’s old ‘Thames Turbo’ trains that I travelled on earlier in the week. It’s seen at Marylebone station in London. Now, I ran this question as a quiz on Twitter, some people got the answer, but many didn’t.

What makes Marylebone unique amongst London’s terminal stations?

I’ll post the answer on Monday. There’s no prize for the correct answer – just the opportunity to show off your ‘inner anorak’!

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

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