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Sorry for the lack of blogging recently, but it’s been a dull but busy week here at Bigland Towers. I’ve been going nowhere fast due to work commitments which have kept me tied to home. Now’s the time of year when I put my sorting hat on as one of the Community Rail Awards judges. There’s a huge amount of entries in the two categories in which I’m a member of the judging panel so it takes a lot of time to sift through them, giving our individual scores before we convene for the full judging panel.
Mind you, the weather’s been utter crap here in the Calder Valley. Most days I’ve not even been able to see the opposite side of the valley. Taking my daily stroll through the woods has been ‘fun’ too as some major branches have been brought down by the wind and rain, so you take your life in your hands. Fortunately, I’ve never been in the wrong place at the right time!
The evenings have been entertaining in a different way due to it being the week of Bonfire night, which has meant we’ve had fireworks going off every day so the place sounds like living in a suburb of Beirut or Damascus (only without the ricochets). Still, the valley’s looked very pretty with a fusillade of fireworks lighting up the sky each evening.
Now the week’s winding down. I was hoping to get out and about tomorrow but I fear I still have too much paperwork to do – and the weather’s not looking much better, even though it’s been incredibly mild for the time as year. That said, Dawn’s taking next week off as it’s our weeding anniversary and we’ve just booked a few nights away in Shropshire – so all’s not lost.
Hopefully, I’ll have time to catch up on some more blogging tomorrow, in the meantime, I’ll leave you with a taster of the weather here today. For much of the day we’ve been living just below cloud level…
The Wainhouse tower above the end of our road disappears into the clouds.
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There’s been another quiet day here at Bigland Towers and in the Calder valley. I’ve spent most of it working from home, having had the place to myself whilst Dee’s been over at her parents to sort out the aftermath of the car accident.
Mind you, the weather here this morning was spectacularly awful, with high winds and driving rain, so being cocooned in the cottage was ideal. This afternoon, the weather changed. We had a spell of glorious sunshine and clear skies, so I thought I’d nip out with the camera to get shots of the railway crossing the Copley viaduct surrounded by trees in their autumnal colours. Only it didn’t quite work out that way. By the time I got down to the river the weather had changed again, with leaden skies and rain heading my way. However, I did find Network Rail contractors who’d been busy clearing trees along the embankment of the line to Greetland. This has opened up a couple of new photo locations, with more in the offing as the work is continuing.
I made my way up the other side of the valley through a lovely green tunnel which has formed over an old sunken track. Then, sheltering from a sudden downpour under some Oak trees, I surveyed the valley. Here’s the results.
The green tunnel, and old track which is slowly being reclaimed by nature. A train bound for Halifax passes the site where contractors have denuded the embankment of trees to open up this view which has been hidden for decades. In the background is a modern housing estate which has been built between the River Calder and the canal. The same train crossing the Copley viaduct, surrounded by trees which are slowly gaining their autumnal finery. The widest arch to the right is where the railway crosses the Calder and Hebble Navigation (canal).
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There’s been a dank and dismal start to the week here in the Calder valley, which is hardly surprising as that’s how last week ended so set the tone. Sunday was miserable weather-wise as low clouds and rain obscured the sides of the valley and made walking a very damp experience. Today’s been little better, the only bright spot being the fact the weather’s still mild, for now at least.
I’ve spent the majority of the day at home, ploughing through yet more picture editing and filing. I’ve only a few more left to do now before I’m up to date. All but a handful of the Portuguese pictures have been uploaded to my Zenfolio website. You can find the railway ones here and the travel pictures here.
With the weather looking the same for tomorrow I’m planning to have another day working at home and staying warm and dry – although with the autumn leaves starting to take on some dramatic colours I’m hoping there may be an opportunity for some pictures in the surrounding woodland when I get out for a walk. If not, I’ll be able to catch up on some blogging as I did manage to get out last Friday, even if was only as far as Brighouse!
In the meantime, here’s an illustration of how the Calder valley looked yesterday.
Wet and windy, with Norland moor on the opposite side of the valley hidden by low clouds.
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Bugger. Another day when things didn’t quite go to plan so I ended up trapped at home. The moral of the story? When you get a new phone, don’t forget the new password you entered for getting into the bloody thing! I did, which set me back as I ended up having to do a factory reset after wasting several hours trying a combination of passwords, all to no avail. These new phones drag out the agony too. Every time to enter a wrong ‘un they extend the time you’ve go to wait before you can try again. My wife, on hearing what I’d done, summed it up thus – “you dipstick!”. Who am I to argue?
Now everything’s sorted and my time wasn’t entirely wasted as I’ve cleared the decks of more old photos which have now appeared on my Zenfolio website. You can find the latest gallery update by following this link.
I did manage to get out for a little while in the evening whilst Dawn was working late in order to wrap up her work before going away. I popped up to our local pub (The Big 6) to join friends for the Friday quiz. It’s an informal gathering where Mel reads out the two quizzes published every week in our local ‘Pub paper’. It’s neither serious, nor competitive – just fun. Oh, and there’s plenty of beer – and free pork pie.
Now I’m back at home, compiling a list of more stuff to sort out before going away. I’m looking forward to being back in the sun and balmy weather rather than the barmy weather we’ve still got here. The snow’s never gone away in many places. Instead, it’s turned to sheet ice thanks to the sub-zero temperature of the past few days. Minor roads and pavements resemble skating rinks. I’ve never known the snow stick around for so long in the 15 years I’ve lived up here so I’ll be more than happy to see the back of it on Tuesday. Today’s picture shows how the Calder valley looks today. This is a view taken with my new Nikon Z series 100-400mm lens, looking out across the Calder valley to Sowerby. As you can see, the snow’s certainly sticking around.
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It’s a short blog from me tonight. Today was another one that didn’t quite go to plan – but in a good way! I’d intended to get out with the camera, despite the sub-zero temperatures but an email and a phone-call soon put paid to that. The email was from an old client, a railway magazine which was after a selection of archive pictures. Whilst I was sorting and sifting through those I received a phone call from a company in the rail industry whom I’ve never worked for before. They were anxious to source pictures – and more. So, I ended up dealing with a long-term work proposal and yet more urgent picture requests. On top of which I’ve been busy sorting out more of the logistics for next week’s trip which has involved a fair bit of research and purchases which will (snow permitting) arrive before we leave.
Next thing I knew it was nearly dusk. The quality of the light at the back of the house made me look out of the bedroom window, which is when I saw this rather amazing and colourful sky as the sun set over the Calder valley.
I have to go out tomorrow to pick up some of the stuff we’ve ordered so maybe there will be the chance to get a final few snow pictures…
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Having woken up to wall-to-wall snow this morning I dropped everything to head out with the camera. After all, it’s not that often we get such conditions and the snow often disappears in the blink of an eye. Today was no different. The ideal conditions are when the snow clings to trees and bushes but the weather warmed quickly and the snow was already dropping before I left so there was no time to waste.
Having walked down to Sowerby Bridge I caught a train to Todmorden where the railway’s surrounded by high hills – ideal for photography. Here’s a small selection. I’ll add details tomorrow…
Having got the images I wanted I caught a train into Manchester with the intention of heading back via the nearby Colne valley, but Dawn had mentioned that Derbyshire had accrued a lot of snow, so my plans changed and I ended up at Edale instead. The Hope valley didn’t disappoint, although the trees were already bereft of snow.
Normally I’d be taking photos of atop Mam Tor and the ridge, but not today! It was bleedin’ Baltic out there!
Sorry for the lack of details but it’s been a long day. I’ve walked nearly 15 miles to get these pictures and I’ve another busy day tomorrow, so now it’s time to relax.
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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!
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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.
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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/
