Category Archives: Food and drink

TRU update. Batley to Ravensthorpe.

12 Friday Dec 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Rail Investment, Railways, Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade, TRU, West Yorkshire

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Yesterday (Thursday) the sun shone bright here in West Yorkshire, making a change from the dank and dismal weather which seems to be the norm nowadays. It spurred me on to get out and about for a few hours to look at some of the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade work sites that I hadn’t visited this year, as well as some I’ve been popping into regularly. I was also driven by the fact Ravensthorpe station closes this weekend so that the site can be cleared for the new fast lines flyover. Here’s a selection of pictures from the day.

802204 speeds through Batley as 1K16, the 1103 Hull to Liverpool Lime Street, passing the platform extensions which are being added to both Up and Down line platforms at the North end.
Looking down on Batley station from Soothill Lane bridge. It’s hard to believe this was once a junction, with the GNR Chicken Heath branch running off to the left towards Ossett.
A 1915 OS map shows the station and goods yard.
The dingy Batley station subway is due to be replaced by a footbridge with lifts which is being constructed at the Southern end of the platforms. I’ll span the tracks between the two lamp posts on the right.
Meanwhile, at Ravensthorpe, hardcore is being laid between the two side walls of the flyover. This will be the location of the slewed lines to/from Healy Mills.
Foundations of the Northern wall of the flyover are almost complete.
A last view of Ravensthorpe station which closes this weekend. 150215 approaches with a service from Leeds to Bradford Interchange.
That’s progress! Here’s the new bridges over the Calder and Hebble navigation. Since I visited on the 25th November two of the Eastern side girders have been put into place.
A closer view of the two new girders. The pillar nearest the camera waits to receive its girder, which is already hooked up to the crane nearby.
Passing under the new girders.
The last train I’ll ever catch from the old Ravensthorpe station. 15020 calls on the 14.02 from Bradford to Leeds.

On the way back I stopped off at Brighouse to get a couple of pictures and to visit the renowned Blakeleys take-away and restaurant, which is famous for the quality of its fish and chips. It’s next door to another Brighouse institution, the Market Tavern. It seemed rude not to wash my food down with a pint, so I called in for a ‘swifty’. The beer was in great condition and the pub busy, but I couldn’t help noticing that the clientele were almost all pensioners (shit, that includes me now!). Admittedly, most younger people would still be at work, but I wonder what the place would look like at 16:00 in say, 10 years time? Times are changing, and so are demographics…

Back at the station I couldn’t resist getting a picture of this history board. I’ve mentioned the tale of the man who broke the bank of Monte Carlo before, but here’s the full story…

If you want to see more TRU construction pictures, you can find the complete gallery by following this link to my Zenfolio website.

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

Cheers!

1st December picture of the day…

01 Monday Dec 2025

Posted by in Calder Valley, Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Politics, West Yorkshire

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Well, here were are in the final month of the day, and in a new week to boot! What hasn’t changed here in the Pennines is the weather. It’s still wet, wet. wet – but with the added fun of high winds which are rapidly stripping last last remaining leaves off many of the trees. Winter is approaching but (on the bright side) that means the days will soon start to get longer!

I’ve not ventured out of the valley today as I’ve work to do at home, plus, there’s no point in taking the camera out in these conditions. Instead I’ve pottered around the house and begun the preparations for the festive season here at Bigland Towers. The pair of us will be having Xmas at home this year, which will make a pleasant change. It won’t matter what the weather throws at us as we won’t need to venture far and the car can stay where it is.

I’ve begun to investigate various recipes as the plan is to eschew traditional festive fayre and go mostly vegetarian instead. Our Xmas day meal will more resemble an Indian thali than anything else. I have a collection of katori and other stainless steel ware so we can make it realistic. One of the beauties of this choice is that we cam prepare many of the chosen dishes in advance, making Xmas day far less stressful and busy, so more relaxed and enjoyable. There’s going to be no panicking over getting the turkey cooked on time or any of that nonsense!

Of course, there’s still a few weeks to go yet and other events on the calendar to tick off. Tomorrow I don my judges hat for the last category of the Community Rail awards that I’m involved in. ‘It’s Your Station’ always gets a lot of entries and this year we’ve had a bumper crop. After that I’ll try and get out for a day with the camera as the forecast is set to improve, although I’m not quite sure where I’m going to go yet. Later in the month I’ll be back in London again for a couple of events, including the annual railway carols service at St Mary’s Somer’s Town, Eversholt Street (details here).

So, there’s going to be lots to blog about in December, and that’s without any wry looks at the state of UK politics! I note that today 3 former Tory MPs have moved over to join ‘Reform’, one of which is former Deputy Chairman and butt of so much well-deserved lampoonery – Johnathan Gullis, the ex-MP for Stoke-on-Trent North. Now, you’d have thought that if you were going to accept defectors, you’d be picky over who you let in, but not Reform! Gullis is a running joke and political liability, the fact he’s been warmly welcomed into Reform says a lot about their lack of political judgement. The party looks more and more like a depository for recycled and talentless Tories. What was the Reform slogan? Oh, yes – ‘vote for change’! Quite how you do that when Reform is packed top to bottom with ex-Tories is a mystery! Looking at the polls it seems the Reform bubble has already burst. This latest round of defections could assist that slide…

Anyways, on to today’s picture. One of the things I was doing over the weekend was getting involved in some cooking therapy. I’ve been making several different soups recently and wanted to return to a recipe I’ve not made for ages. French onion soup made with a mix of onions, shallots, Dijon mustard and fresh Tarragon. Here’s the preparatory stage.

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Shropshire sojourn. Part 4…

13 Thursday Nov 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Shropshire, Travel, Walking

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Today, the weather Gods smiled upon us! When we woke and looked out on the world (well, the Long Mynd) we saw clear blue skies and sunshine, with visibility clear for several miles. It wasn’t a day to waste, so as soon as we’d scoffed some toast washed down with coffee we donned our walking gear and headed down into Church Stretton. After a brief stop to pick up some goodies from Steele’s family bakery (their chocolate brownie is excellent, as is the fruit flapjack) we headed up to the Burway before striking off across country to follow the town brook path uphill.

Not a place you want to get trapped on in winter.
The town brook burbles adjacent to the footpath towards Long Synalds – on the lower sections anyway, after that, the footpath begins to gain height.
– as this view shows! Here, we’re looking back towards Church Stretton with Caer Caradoc on the horizon and the Devil’s Mouth in the mid-distance.
Having made it up to 425 meters we swung round to the South side of Townbrook valley in order to get to look back over the valley and towards the North.
Looking back down over Church Stretton with Caer Caradoc to the left.
One of the ‘wild’ horses that can be found wandering the Long Mynd. They’re not actually wild, but the area is common grazing land.
Looking West across Yearlet towards Long Synalds. This time of year the colours are amazing as all the bracken is dying back.
Dawn atop Ashlet just before we began our descent to Ashes Hollow and the footpath towards Little Stretton. What a contrast in weather, we’d have been in cloud level with zero visibility if we’d been up here over the past few days! Considering it’s nearly mid November temperatures were a balmy 12 degrees, with very little wind.
Almost there! We’ve followed Ashes Hollow and the stream to the edge of Little Stretton. This house is the first sign of human habitation, but still within the area managed by the National Trust.

Having been walking for several hours we made a welcome pitstop at the Green Dragon pub. This friendly little pub serves a good selection of real ales and decent ‘pub grub’. I treated myself to the scampi (because it’s not something I’d cook at home) whilst Dawn plumped for the fish and chips.

Scampi, chips and peas with Tartare sauce. I felt I’d earned it!

Fed and watered, we continued our walk back into Church Stretton and home via another pitstop in our ‘local’ the Kings Arms. Now we’re back at the ranch, relaxing and wondering what tomorrow will bring. This Shropshire sojourn is coming to an end, we leave in the morning to head back to West Yorkshire, but the weather forecast is promising torrential rain for most of the journey – bar a small window in the morning that we may be able to make the most of en-route. Let’s see what happens…

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

Cheers!

Shropshire sojourn. Part 3…

12 Wednesday Nov 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Railways, Shropshire, Travel

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We knew the weather forecast had predicted wet weather today, so we were in no hurry to rush out of the house this morning. Even so, I was up not long after 07:30 in order to throw back the curtains and greet the day. It scowled back, making me wish I hadn’t bothered! This is how the view across to the Long Mynd looked.

I’d had half and idea to wander down into the village to get pictures of passing trains but driving rain make me think twice and the idea of staying in the warm and dry seemed much more attractive. So, whilst Dawn was at her toilette, I prepared porage with coconut flakes, fresh blueberries, sultanas and served with honey. After all, it was the weather for comfort food!

We’d planned to catch the 11:30 train down to Ludlow in order to spend a few hours exploring the town but the weather was so crap we decided to take the car instead as that way we’d have some flexibility. It turned out to be a wise decision.

The journey down along the A49 wasn’t too bad apart from heavy traffic and HGVs – hardly ideal on a road where the verges were beginning to resemble linear ponds. That said we made it into town just as the rain eased, which made our explorations easier – although conditions meant my camera stayed in its bag for most of the day. Rather than sightseeing we ended up shopping – a pastime neither of us are particularly fond of – but Ludlow possesses a branch of one of our ‘go to’ clothes shops, ‘Fatface’, so that’s our Xmas presents sorted then! As our purchases came in paper bags we were rather limited after that, who wants soggy bags spilling their contents all over the road? We decided to cut our wandering short and plumped for lunch instead, visiting a place we’d eaten at earlier in the year, Kin Kitchen. where we both plumped for the same thing – the fish platter.

Having eaten, and with the rain renewing its onslaught we dropped off our purchases in the car before heading to the Ludlow Brewing Co, whose brewery is located in an old railway goods shed adjacent to the station. The interior’s very modern and their range of beers excellent. The modernity’s contrasted by two amazing models of the old Ludlow town halls (both now demolished). The Victorian version lasted for just 100 years. It was flattened with indecent (and suspicious) haste in 1986. From descriptions it sounded like an amazing space, which had covered market on the ground floor but a spung dancefloor above. It had survived it would have been a real asset, compared to the sad market that exists today, where a few temporary stalls huddle together, looking rather lost amongst the fine buildings surrounding them.

Here’s a couple of shots from the pub;

The model of the Victorian town hall.

Whilst we were visiting I did manage a couple of railway shots. Locomotive-hauled services have disappeared across most of the UK nowadays but this line sees several such services operating between Cardiff to Holyhead and Manchester, using cast-off intercity coaches and hired-in locomotives that were built to haul 125mph mail trains.

67010 propels 1W57, the 10:53 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly out of Ludlow station, past the Ludlow Brewing Co on the left.

Oh, there’s another trick to these loco-hauled services. Some of them offer fine dining! They carry an onboard chef who prepares gorgeous 3-course meals on board. Watch out for a blog about this in the future.

As the rain was relentless we decided to cut our losses and head home to have a quiet night at Bigland Towers in exile, enjoying some home cooking with creature comforts. Tomorrow’s our last full day her and the forecast looks very different to what we’ve seen so far. We’re planning to stay local and maybe get a walk in – depending on conditions. We need to make the most of it before we head back on Friday when we have a yellow weather warning for (yet more) rain.

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

Cheers!

Happy birthday to me!

27 Monday Oct 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, West Yorkshire

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Today Dawn and I were meant to be celebrating my official ascendency into old-fartdom as today’s the day I become a state pensioner. The plan was that we’d be up and out early to head to Chester by train, where we’d have lunch, a drink and a wander around the city walls before retracing our steps as far as Manchester where we’d go out for an evening meal to celebrate my new status (or drown my sorrows, depending on your viewpoint).

Unfortunately, the Gods had other ideas. Yesterday evening Dawn’s mum rang to say that her and her husband had been in a car accident. Whilst they were driving back from a day out along a country road a pedestrian appeared out of nowhere in front of their car. John (Dawn’s father) reacted in time and swerved to avoid them but the car hit a drystone wall and was a write-off (the drystone wall’s not looking too healthy either). Needless to say, Dawn dropped everything to be with her parents and stay with them whilst they were checked out in A&E, then get them home. Thankfully, neither of them were hurt, but the NHS staff at Huddersfield A&E were taking no chances and gave them a through check, which meant that Dee didn’t get back to Bigland Towers until after midnight, then had to spend much of today helping to sort out stuff with the car insurers.

So, no Chester (or Manchester) for us…

Instead, I’ve had a quiet birthday at home, wondering where the hell the last 66 years have gone! The day’s not been entirely wasted as I had time to nip out for a walk, do some shopping and cook a fiery Thai Red Curry, ready for when Dee got home. Now, I’ve time to write this whilst Dawn’s taken over the kitchen to bake a chocolate birthday cake in my honour, having already baked some stunning chocolate puddings. Thai curry and chocolate pud’ – sounds like a birthday treat to me!

Dawn’s stunning homemade chocolate puddings, with a melted filling.

Tomorrow, whilst Dawn’s back at her parents sorting out a hire-car, maybe I’ll apply for my bus pass…

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

25th October picture(s) of the day…

25 Saturday Oct 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Manchester, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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It’s Saturday here in Bigland Towers and the pair of have been having a relaxed Saturday at home. Dee returned from darkest Lincolnshire yesterday, whilst I spent Friday editing the pictures from the previous day’s outing.

The weather here in the Calder valley’s starting to get a real nip in the air as the Mercury’s dropped several degrees in the past couple of days. It’s time to put the central heating on and dig out the winter woolies, although (thankfully) I’ve only had to use the new waterproof that Dawn’s bought me as a birthday present once. My actual birthday isn’t until next week, but hey – what’s the point of a waterproof if you can’t use it when you need it?

Today, the weather’s been cold but mostly sunny, ideal for walking, although as we’d had a late morning our perambulations were local at best. Still, the woodlands where we live are packed with autumnal colours right now, so that’s no hardship – and at least I didn’t slip and go arse over tit the way I did on Friday (note to self, walking in woodland whilst staring at your smartphone is a dumb idea).

Having popped into our local pub for a drink and a giggle with the bar staff we picked up some shopping before settling in for a quiet night at home. I’d batch-cooked a chicken Korma on Friday, which has fed us for the past two days as well as helped stock the freezer, so tonight’s been very relaxed. Tomorrow the plan’s to get out and explore, going walking somewhere, although we’ve not decided where yet. Watch this space.

In the meantime, here’s a couple of diverse pictures from the past couple of days. When I cook, I like to prepare and lay out everything I need in advance.

The ingredients of a Korma. Chicken, onions, chopped tomatoes, creamed coconut, Garlic, Turmeric, ground Coriander, Garam Masala and plain yoghurt. Easy to make – and far tastier and healthier than prepared cook-in sauces from a jar. This recipe was given to me by Meena, an Indian friend from London many, many years ago – and it’s become a firm favourite in our house.

On Thursday I had the tripod with me, so I played around with long exposure shots in the city centre. Here’s one of the results.

Tram and bus blurs in Piccadilly Gardens

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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

Cheers!

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

Cheers!

Chester capers: Part 2…

12 Sunday Oct 2025

Posted by in Cheshire, Chester, Food and drink, Photography, Travel

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The pair of us have had a really good day rediscovering Chester. Despite the weather not being as good as billed (hey, at least it didn’t rain) we’ve covered a lot of ground, which started with us working off breakfast by walking along the Shropshire Union canal from our hotel into the city centre. Let’s face it, after a huge breakfast like this, is it any wonder it needed working off?

For much of the walk the canal towpath was busy with dog-walkers and runners. Hardly surprising, as it’s a linear oasis compared to walking along the adjacent A41 road, which is a congested, noisy, nightmare.

We had a couple of hours to kill before we saw Tim Peake’s show, so we indulged in a rare spot of shopping. Neither of us are great shoppers, ‘retail therapy’ really isn’t our bag. But Chester has all the shops we frequent huddled together in a very small area – and there was stuff we needed to get to prepare for winter, so time wasn’t wasted before we had to head off to listen to Tim Peake at the storyhouse, a venue we were both really impressed by. Storyhouse is a library, theatre, cinema, restaurant, bar and social space all rolled into one. It’s a real community asset. The theatre isn’t huge, making it a great place to see one person delivering a lecture – and Tim Peake packed it out. His talk on the history of space travel was riveting. He told a lot of stories that were less well known as well as covering all the historical landmarks. It was funny, exciting and inspirational at the same time and the two hour show flew by. He opened the second part of his show with a 10 minute Q&A session, answering questions texted in by the audience earlier in the show. Sadly, he ran out of time before answering the one about what happens to a fart in a spacesuit…

Afterwards we headed back to the Brewery Tap for a drink and chance to talk about what we’d heard and learned before hunger overtook us. Having eaten Indian last night we opted for Thai today. The restaurant we choose was Thai Baan, and we weren’t disappointed. We opted for the Thai tapas, sharing four different dishes accompanied by Jasmine rice. Here’s a few of the ones we chose…

Crispy seabass, lettuce, diced shallots, ginger, limes served with a spicy peanut sauce.
Soft shell crab salad with peanuts and a spicy lime dressing – a real favourite of ours.
Roast duck breast with thai herbs and spicy lime dressing.

Having been disappointed by our earlier trip to Chester we both agreed to revise our judgement. We’ve really enjoyed this trip and plan to come back soon – even if it’s just for a day trip. The place has a lot to offer. The architecture is fascinating plus, there’s some great pubs and restaurants. It’s a also good place for shopping if that’s your bag. Whilst the atmosphere can get a bit edgy on a Friday/Saturday night in certain areas if there’s large groups of drinkers around, it’s generally relaxed and quite cosmopolitan.

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

When the wind blows…

04 Saturday Oct 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, West Yorkshire

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We’ve spent our day here in West Yorkshire being battered by ‘storm Amy’, the latest weather front to pass through and cause chaos as it brought torrential rain and heavy winds that ripped small branches off the trees opposite the cottage. Not that the conditions affected us that much as we had no plans to do anything other than stay at home – which we did!

Whilst the rain battered on the windows the pair of kept occupied with various work tasks as both of us had stuff to catch up on. I’ve still got a backlog of pictures to edit and caption before next week, whilst Dawn’s keen to get on top of her work before the two of us head off to Nottingham for the Community Rail Network conference.

Eventually, the storm abated long enough for me to get out for a walk and do some shopping in order to cook this evening. I fancied trying a different Indian recipe, so after scouring various cookbooks I plumped for a North Indian dish – chicken in a cashew nut sauce. Our extensive spice collection meant the only things I needed to buy was chicken from Tesco and fresh coriander from our local Asian supermarket. As I feel in the mood I also bought bunches of Methi (Fenugreek leaves) to use in another recipe.

Here’s a few phone pictures of my day.

Walking back from shopping I stopped off on the promenade to watch the weather. I love a good storm and as I was wearing full waterproofs I wasn’t too perturbed watching the latest rain front approach along the Calder valley.
Dropping down from the promenade I walked through Scarr woods which were showing the effects of the storm. Even though, it was a lovely, peaceful place to walk.
The ingredients for tonight’s meal – bar a bit of plain yoghurt…

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

Portugal day 15. Time to go home…

19 Friday Sep 2025

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I’ve not been blogging daily from here in Olhos de Água as my writing would have resembled a teenagers diary of the ‘got up, had breakfast, went to the beach, came home’ kind. The reality was far more exciting than the routine sounds. For a start, Praia do Barranco is a beautiful beach! It’s a few kilometers long strip of golden sand bordered by amazing cliffs. Once you get away from the areas lined with sunbeds and brollies where most visitors congregate it’s pretty deserted. With it being the Atlantic, the sea’s hardly tropically warm, but it’s still a damned sight warmer than off the UK and ideal for playing in the waves. Here’s a few pictures.

The studio where we’re staying is in a peaceful, well-laid out complex that has plenty of space and includes landscaped gardens with a profusion of flowers, like these.

We’ve also been fortunate to find a really good local restaurant and bar, frequented by tourists and locals alike. Miraparque serves the best Sardines and Tuna steaks we’ve had on this trip, and the prices are hardly extortionate. 9.95 Euros for a plate of 6 freshly grilled Sardines with potatoes and a side salad, whilst the beautifully grilled Tuna steak is 12.50. To make life easier there’s a really good supermarket next door, ideal for stocking up on fruit and drink to take to the beach.

Ironically, having had only one cloudy day throughout the trip we woke up to overcast skies today, which has put the mockers on our plans to make the most of the swimming pool here. Ah, well. Maybe the weather’s trying to tell us something. In a few hours time we’ll be heading for Faro airport before catching an 18:05 flight back to Leeds/Bradford. We’ve both loved out time in Portugal and fallen in live with Porto and where we’re staying now. We’re already planning on coming back.

I’ll add more to this blog later…

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

Portugal day 7: More Lisbon explorations…

13 Saturday Sep 2025

Posted by in Architecture, Food and drink, Photography, Portugal, Railways, Travel

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I’m a day late with this blog, mainly because we were out most of the day and by the time we got home it was too late to blog as we were both knackered!

Staying in the gorgeous Editory Riverside hotel at Santa Apolónia station had many advantages (apart from me being able to photograph trains with ease). The station has a wonderful, boulangerie, the Marie Blachère – which became our go-to for wonderful pastries like this. Sitting out in the sun with a coffee and pastry was a great way to begin the day.

There’s also a well-stocked and reasonably priced ‘pingo doce’ supermarket where you can buy goodies for your journey. Our journey first took us out to Oriente station where we changed for a suburban train for the 50 minute trip to Sintra, a town to the North-West of Lisbon.

Sintra’s the terminus of two routes from Lisbon. One from Rossio station the the centre of town, the other from Oriente. Both routes are worked by these Class 2300 and 2400 EMUs seen at Cintra.

Sintra’s like Disneyland for the wealthy. It’s full of outrageous palaces and other architectural marvels. No wonder it was the haunt of people like Lord Byron. Nowadays it’s an even bigger draw with its narrow streets clogged with gawping tourists keen to get the perfect picture of themselves stood in the way of something. Even so, the town’s still worth visiting. Here’s a taste of what’s to be seen.

Quinta da Regaleira is an extravagant early 20th century palace and gardens.
Castelo dos Mouros – If Monty Python built castles! In reality, this Moorish masterpiece was built in the 10th century.
How’s this for a town hall?

Having baked in the sun and worn through a decent amount of shoe-leather we caught the train back into Lisbon, this time arriving at Rossio station in the centre of town. We toyed with the idea of catching the No 28 tram but seeing the queues at the start of the route we flagged that idea and walked home in order to have a rest and chance to freshen up before venturing out to eat.

Another of the advantages of our hotel is that it’s at the edge of the old Alfama district. Its narrow streets are packed with restaurants and bars to suit most tastes (and price brackets). As it was our last night we found one where we could dine alfresco whilst watching the world go by. We plumped for do Vigário Pub and Records, a laid-back and friendly little place which does good tapas style dishes, craft beers, local wines – and music.

Laid-back life on do Vigário…

Whilst our city tours are coming to an end we’re not leaving Portugal yet. We leave Lisbon to head back South by train to the Algarve and several more days kicking back in Olhos de Água, where I hope to have time to catch up with more blogging and picture editing…

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