Category Archives: History

Newcastle explorations…

14 Friday Mar 2025

Posted by in History, Newcastle, Photography, Railways, Travel

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Whilst I was up in Newcastle for the Community rail awards I did have a couple of hours spare each day where I was able to nip out and explore in order to get a few pictures. On the Thursday I opted to explore part of the Tyne and Wear metro system as they’re introducing new trains to replace their existing fleet which dates from the opening of the system in 1980.

The weather was less than ideal due to constant heavy rain showers but I was lucky enough to hit clear weather at the right time. Time constraints meant I couldn’t go too far afield, but I did make it out as far Pelaw, which is the junction of the T&W metro routes to South Hylton and South Shields as well as the national rail routes to Sunderland and the former Leamside line which has been abandoned since the early 1990s

The truncated remains of the Leamside line at Pelaw junction disappear under the T&W metro flyover to the right. The national rail route to Sunderland, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough are in the centre whilst the single track to the left is the spur to Jarrow oil terminal.
One of the new Stadler built Class 555s (555004) arrives at Pelaw whilst working the South Hylton – Airport line. This is the first of the new sets I’ve seen since they entered passenger wervice in December 2024. 46 of these 5-car trains are on order. They’ll replace the 90 Metro-Cammell built Class 599s which have worked the system since it opened.
A pair of the original T&W sets (4029 and 4085) pass Felling on their way to South Shields. One of the pleasure of travelling in these seats is the fact the drivers cab only takes up a third of the front, allowing passengers grandstand views of the route from the adjacent seats.

Having sussed out some likely photographic locations on my trip to Pelaw I retraced my steps to Felling station where I found some fascinating (and tragic) local history as well as a surprising survivor of the original railway route.

Just to the East of Felling station are the steps of an old footbridge. On the Northern pier is this blue plaque which commemorates the Felling mining disaster of 1812 in which 92 people were killed. The rail connected pit was just to the North-West of the bridge although nothing remains of the site now.

Next door to the old footbridge is the original station building which dates from 1843. It was built by the Brandling Junction railway and remained in use until 1896 when it was replaced by a new station on the widened lines (which are four-track here).

I wish I’d had time to explore further but the clock and the weather were against me. But, I can see me making a return trip soon as there’s lots to explore in the area. Who knows what unexpected gems I’ll find next time?

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

Indonesia day 5. Temples and thunderstorms…

19 Sunday Jan 2025

Posted by in Architecture, History, Indonesia, Photography, Religion, Travel

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It’s evening here in Indonesia and the pair of us are relaxing at our little homestay (an old house in the back streets of Yogyakarta), listening to the thunder and the torrential rain bouncing off the roof and into the little pool in the courtyard. It’s been a long, sweaty but enjoyable day that started at 06:55 when we were picked up by our driver who took a small group (just 4 of us) on a tour that took in the magnificent 9th century Buddhist temple at Borobudur and the huge Hindu temple complex of Prambanan (also 9th century).

I’ve visited both before, first in 1992 and again in 1998, but a lot changes in 26 years, as I was to find out. The biggest changes are at Borobudur. Tourists can no longer wander around the structure willy-nilly. Now there are strict controls. You can wander around the grounds until your heart’s content, but if you want to ascend to the top you have to book a 1 hour time slot (running from 08:30) and numbers are limited to 1,200 people a day in order to preserve the monument from wear and tear due to the increasing numbers of tourists visiting.

Now, you arrive at a brand-new, sprawling tourist complex full of shops to gain entry. First off is getting your paper wristband with a QR code, then you’re given a pair of flip-flops to replace your own shoes in order to lessen damage even further – and a bottle of water. The slippers are actually rather cool and comfy and come with a monogrammed bag, making them a nice souvenir! Once the formalities are over you’re taken by stretched golf buggy to a compound nearer the monument where you meet the guide who will escort you around the temple and make sure you’re off on time. We were lucky with both the weather and with our guide who was a lovely older chap with a keen sense of humour. The low clouds that have dogged us most days cleared away, which was great for pictures but the heat and sun were fierce. As the temple’s built atop a hill there’s often a decent breeze, but that doesn’t stop you frying! Here’s a couple of the pictures I took. I’ve loads more to edit when we get to Bali. Last time I visited I was still shooting film and had to be sparing with it as I was travelling for 18 months and the slide film I was using (Fuji Velvia) wasn’t easy to come by. This time I could indulge myself and also see what the Nikon Z9 could do…

With time up we left and headed off to Prambanan which doesn’t have the same restrictions as it’s a very different site. It’s actually a series of temples spread around a large site but this most impressive is this…

I’d have struggled to get this shot on a film camera. There are 4 statues in the main tower, this one is (as the nameplate suggests) Durga. For camera cranks, this was taken hand-held with a 50mm lens, F5.6 at 1/20, 5000asa.

We sweated (and I mean sweated) our way around all the other temples before our time was up and we had to head home where the first priority was a shower, then a drink. Tomorrow morning we leave Yogyakarta by train to hit Surabaya for the night and chance to catch up with an old rail-enthusiast friend, so expect some railway related images in tomorrow’s 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

Llŷn leanings. Day 5 (ish)…

18 Friday Oct 2024

Posted by in History, Photography, Travel, Wales

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Our time in Wales ran out today, which was sad as we’d both really enjoyed the area we’d stayed in – and the AirBnB we’d occupied. The weather picked up somewhat too, so we were in no rush to head off, instead we revisted Abersoch during the day when businesses were open. Well, the ones that hadn’t closed down due to the end of the season anyway! This neck of the woods has tourism all year round but it’s plain that the beaches are a big draw so high summer sees the place rammed whilst this time of year many places are winding down. It reminds me of the Greek Islands in that respect. Only with more sheep. And rain.

One place Dawn wanted to stop at was a pretty little hamlet we’d passed through previously. Nestling at the bottom of a valley, Llangian is less than 2 miles from Abersoch. There’s little to the place, although unlike some it still boasts a shop. Oh, and an award – for being a well-kept village! I’ve no idea when this accolade was awarded, apart from the fact Caernarvonshire was abolished on 1974…

It also has a lovely little church, St Cian’s.

I do like exploring country churches as you never know what you’re going to find. In this case it was a memorial to a local man (well, youth really) from a well to do local family who was killed in action during the Crimean war in 1855.

Much as we’d liked to have explored further it was time to head home. We didn’t go direct, instead we headed back via Beddgelert. I was half-hoping to get a shot of a train on the Welsh Highland railway but (bizarrely) the railway seems content to keep its timetable a secret. None are displayed on the station and the company’s website does its best to hide details too. It’s quite bizarre. So, as we hadn’t got a clue what was running (or when) we drove back along the A498 to traverse the Nant Gwynant Pass and stunning autumnal scenery just ahead of the rain.

The beauty of the The Nant Gwynant Pass.

We stopped for a bite to eat and perusal of the multitude of outdoor shops in Betwys-y-Coed. The place was busy but not unbearably so, which made a pleasant change. There’s often bargains to be had here. Dawn treated me to an early birthday present in the form of a new daypack from Trespass which was reduced by 50%. I’d been looking for a new one for ages but I’m picky as one has to meet my needs. The fact it did – and was a bargain was a real result! (thank you Dee x)

Betwys was our last stop. From there we cut across country Northwards to reach the A55 near Conwy, then sped home. Ish. Being ‘poets’ day the main roads were packed – which was a shock after the empty tarmac we’d enjoyed around the Llŷn peninsula. By the time we hit the English motorways the traffic was a real pain as we hit jam after jam on the M58, M6 and M62 which added 30 mins to our journey time. Still, we’re home, dry and safe – and tomorrow’s another day – although I suspect it will involves a lot of picture editing and writing as next week will see me back on the rails before an interesting weekend away in the Lakes…

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

Llŷn leanings. Day 2…

15 Tuesday Oct 2024

Posted by in History, Photography, Travel, Wales

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We’re back at our Welsh retreat after a relaxed morning and enjoyable day exploring the peninsula.

We’re staying near to Nefyn on the North side of the peninsula so it made sense to check out the coast by Morfa Nefyn. This possesses a narrow outcrop of rock jutting into the Irish Sea which contains some interesting archeology, a profusion of wildlife, fantastic coastal views – and a pub (the Tŷ Coch Inn) which is a rare beast. You can’t drive there. You can only visit on foot or by boat.

Having left the car on the beach road (the parking restrictions are much easier this time of year) we walked along the sand and pebnles getting broader with an ebbing tide. The weather even blessed us with unexpected sunshine. On reaching Porthdinllaen we decided to delay a pub visit in order to make the most of the weather and complete a coastal circuit first. The views were glorious. Sadly, there were no sightings of Dolphins or Seals, just Oystercatchers – and this.

Poor Dawn got horribly confused when we arrived back at the pub as she hadn’t studied the map and realised our route traversed a long teardrop of land that was only a few hundred yards long!

The pub’s a bit of a gem. This time of year it’s cosy but not too crowded. The weather’s mild enough to use the large outside seating area to watch over the beach and the antics of the many canines being taken for a walk. Dogs love beaches. There’s so many interesting things to sniff or dead things to roll in!

Moving on we decided to head to Aberdaron which was a 30 minute drive on very quiet roads – although I expect they’re anything but in the height of the tourist season!

Aberdaron’s a curious place. It’s a gorgeous location, with a wide beach surrounded by cliffs, but the village feels like it’s seen better times. A number of shops had closed down – and I’m not sure it was just because the season’s over. St Hywyn’s church on the foreshore’s a fascinating but melancholic place too.

There’s a large graveyard scraped out of the hillside that bears testament to the power of the sea and fragility of humankind. Here’s an example.

Over 100 sailors lost their lives when HMS Stephen Furness was torpedoed and sank before the ships lifeboats could be launched. This poor soul was never identified.

On the bright side, next door is Tŷ Newydd, a large hotel and bar with a huge verandah overlooking the beach. The staff were very friendly, the local ale in excellent condition and the views sublime. We really enjoyed out visit and would certainly return in the future. Now it’s time to call it a day and curl up in front of the log fire in the cottage. The wifi is as fast as a tortoise tonight, so most of this blog’s been typed on my phone.

The weather’s predicted to be wet tomorrow. How wet we won’t know until it arrives, but it won’t stop us exploring the area further.

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

Rolling blog. More Mancunian meandering…

30 Tuesday Apr 2024

Posted by in Community rail, Community Rail Network, Greater Manchester, History, Manchester, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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11:45.

As the weather’s picked up and we’re being treated to some blue sky today I’ve journeyed back to Manchester to pick up where I left off yesterday by exploring the rail lines to the East of the city in order to get shots of some of the trains, but also the stations they serve as community rail volunteers are very active in this area. They’re doing some great stuff, both with gardening and artwork. So, here we go – on the train from Piccadilly to Marple…

 

14:00.

Phew! Back again. I’ve been doing a lot of walking and exploring since my last update. Getting to Marple was the easy part. But, as the line’s closed beyond New Mills services are restricted and I really wanted to get a shot of the return train working ‘bang road’ – a railway term I’ll explain later.

Having an hour to kill gave me time to explore and take pictures around Marple. Did you know that the place is famous because of the writer Agatha Christie? She visited snd decided to name one of her most famous fictional Detectives after the town. The station contains history boards which tell all about it the connection – and more. I’ll add pictures later.

14:45.

Right now I’m back at Piccadilly, basking in the sun (yep, sun, In Manchester!) after heading back from Rose Holl Marple via a stop at Romily – another station with some fascinating and informative history boards. Some are railway related – others not.

Did you know this about sign language? No, neither did I…
Here’s something a little more railway related fom Romily…

18:45.

Back again! I’ve been busy. After leaving Romily I headed back to Piccadilly in glorious weather. The sun was shining and temperatures were in their mid teens for the first time this year. It actually felt like spring for a change. I took a break at Picc in order to grab a bite to eat, get a few pictures and spend 30 minutes doing my best basking lizard impression at a platform end. Suitably rejuvenated I headed abck down the Buxton line, changing trains at Hazel Grove before arriving back at New Mills Newtown. Unlike yesterday I disn’t cross between stations. Instead I headed back to Woodsmoor in order to get pictures of the station artwork. Realising I’d 30 mins to wait for a train but the next station was only 25 mins walk I elected to explore and walked between the two through the leafy backstreets that make up these affluent suburbs.

When I got back to the city it was rush-hour and a good time to think about heading home. I wore out some more shoe leather walking from Picc to Vic where I was in time to catch the 18:21 to Leeds. Right now I’ve got my feet up, relaxing  before the last leg from Halifax to home.

22:30.

I’m home and editing a few pictures which give more of a flavour of today. Here they are.

One of the history boards at Marple station explains all about Agatha Christies links with Marple, the North and also railways…
195125 arrives at Marple, working ‘bang road’ from Mills Hill Central.
A lovely bit of whimsy from the friends of Rose Hill Marple station.

I’ve lots more pictures to edit, so that’s tomorrow’s working from home sorted out…

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

24th February picture(s) of the day…

24 Saturday Feb 2024

Posted by in Architecture, Food and drink, History, Ossett, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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The pair of us have had a real mix of a day here at Bigland Towers thanks to different appointments and the improving weather. I’d planned to stay at home this morning whilst Dawn went off to an appointment in Ossett but once the early morning cloud that blanketed the bottom of the Calder valley cleared and we were treated to wall to wall blue skies and sunshine it became obvious that it was too nice a day to be stuck at home. Instead, I packed the camera bag and joined Dee for the journey Eastwards. I didn’t go all the way to Ossett, instead I got dropped off in nearby Horbury Bridge, the nearest place to the old Healy Mills railway marshalling yard. Built as part of British Railways 1955 modernisation plan this huge yard was once the centre for sorting coal traffic from the vast Yorkshire coalfields. Now it lies abandoned. But, recently, parts of the yard have been cleared of Silver Birch and other trees that have taken over, to expose the tracks once more. The grapevine suggests part of the yard will be brought back into use as a staging area for the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) but I’ve yet to see this confirmed. Here’s how it looked today.

Horbury Bridge itself is cut through by the River Calder, the Calder and Hebble navigation – and this magnificent old railway viaduct, which once carried the Midland Railway’s eight-mile route from Royston Junction to Thornhill. The line closed in 1968 and the 17 arch viaduct has been disused ever since.

I’ve passed under it so many times but never been able to get pictures, so today was an ideal day to try. To be honest, it’s difficult to do it justice from the ground. Really, you need a drone as it’s hemmed in by buildings and there’s no public vantage points that give you the sense of scale.

After walking from Horbury to Ossett (a great way of getting exercise as its all uphill) I spotted something else of historical interest. Ossett has a fine collection of Victorian buildings in the centre. This one caught my eye as its an old Liberal Club. That political party vanished decades ago in a merger with the then SDP to form the Liberal-Democrats, but as a teenager I remember Liberal clubs all over the place and sometimes used to play snooker in one in Southport. Like the one in Ossett, it’s been closed for years. Mind you, with the way the Conservative party’s tearing itself apart at the moment I wonder if soon many ‘Con’ clubs will be following the Liberal ones into the history books…

The former Ossett Liberal club on Station Rd. Neither the club or the station exist anymore.

On the way home Dawn was kind enough to stop and allow me to get pictures of TRU upgrade work at a place I’d never managed to get to before. Colne Bridge Rd overbridge East of Deighton, just before the junction of the lines from Huddersfield and Brighouse. here’s how it looks today.

Looking East towards Heaton Lodge Junction. This section will regain four-track status with the new fast lines from Huddersfield being laid to the right of the existing tracks. In the middle foreground the railway passes over the Huddersfield canal.
The view looking West towards Huddersfield with Bradley Junction and the site of the former station obscured by the overbridge in the background.

Once back at home the tempo changed. I indulged in some DIY before heading out for a walk and a pint in our local (The Big 6) whilst Dawn began to cook up a storm in the kitchen. So, whilst I quaffed one of these..

The Attamire Pale was lovely…

-Dawn rustled up two very different vegetarian dishes. Here’s one – a Caulifower and Chick-Pea curry (although it has many more ingredients than that).

Now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of Dawn’s labours whilst we enjoy a quiet Saturday night at home, watching a good film. See you all tomorrow…

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

Cambridgeshire day 4…

05 Tuesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Aircraft, Cambridgeshire, Duxford, History, Imperial War Museum, Photography

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Today we only had one destination in mind. The Imperial War Museum’s airfield at Duxford. We knew there was so much to see that we gave ourselves an entire day to see it – and we were very glad we did! Even we hadn’t appreciated just how large the aircraft collections are – and it’s not just aircraft either (more about that later).

We’d also decided on an early start as we knew today was going to be a hot-one weatherwise, although you wouldn’t have known that at 07:30 this morning. This was the view from our verandah with early morning mist obscuring the nearby fishing ponds – hardly flying weather – even for Ducks!

Now, unless you have an interest in aircraft and military or social history, Duxford probably isn’t for you. It’s not cheap to get in, and adult ticket (with a donation included) is £29, but when you see what’s preserved there and what goes on in the way of aircraft restoration and maintenance, you realise it’s not an bad price to pay. The museum’s also still an active airfield, so there’s always a series of aircraft taking off and landing with some providing commercial trips. Today this varied from civil light aircraft through to vintage Tiger Moth biplanes and a twin seater Spitfire, PT462. Costs vary considerably, with the Spitfire (understandably) being the most expensive, but if you have a spare few grand in your back pocket…

There was a procession of other aircraft in the air too. Single-seater Spitfires and Hurricanes kept the air full of the sound of Rolls Royce Merlin engines, as did an American P51 ‘Mustang’. The bigger aircraft stayed on the ground today but a PBY ‘Catalina’ flying boat and an American B17 ‘Flying Fortress’ basked in the sun for all to admire. Here’s a few pictures from our visit.

North American AT-16 Harvard IIB.
You don’t normally see a German V1 rocket displayed on the original ‘ski ramp’ launcher complete with propellant system. The old hangers and buildings are stuffed with aircraft and other memorabilia from the site’s time as an operational military airfield.
Hurricane Mk1 No V7497 was built in 1940 and is back in the air. You can learn more about the aircraft here.
A Sea Fury under restoration in one of the hangers. They way some of these planes are restored to airworthiness when some are little more than wrecks is truly amazing.
Some of the aircraft aren’t what you’d called tiddlers. Here’s a Handley Page Victor, built as one of the V-bombers that carried the UKs original nuclear deterrent.
In the same hall is one of the two surviving TSR-2 aircraft. The project was cancelled before the planes went into service, sparking lots of debate as to how good they *could* have been to this day.
Fans of the spoof Twitter site ‘RAF Luton’ will know this aircraft well as the English Electric Canberra features all the time. This brought memories for John as he maintained these planes out in Cyprus during his national service.

As well as aircraft there’s a whole building dedicated to land warfare at the far end of the site. This includes tanks and guns from world war 1 onwards, with some of the most recent being the most sobering as they’re fighting in the Ukraine right now. Former Soviet Union BMP1 and BTR80 armoured personnel carriers are used by both sides, whilst 14 of the British Challenger 2 tanks on display with them have been supplied to the Ukrainians (the first one ever to be destroyed in combat was reported today).

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

Cambridgeshire day 3…

04 Monday Sep 2023

Posted by in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, History, Photography, Transport, Travel

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The summer we’ve never had arrived with a vengeance today. Here in the middle of nowhere we woke up to clear blue skies and mist over the fishing ponds, which made for quite a sight. Breakfast over we piled into the car to drive to the Madingley Road park and ride site to the West of Cambridge, where we swapped the car for a bus to get us into the centre of town. It’s a great service. Good quality double-decker buses run every 10 minutes and cost £3.50 return. Helping to keep Cambridge traffic and pollution free and be the sort of city I wish more UK towns aspired to, rather being in the thrall of the motoring lobby.

. Once in the centre of town we had a wander to find options for onward travel. I’ve visited Cambridge several times although I’ve not explored the city centre for a while. The Platt’s have never done so. Dawn had hit on a plan of taking her parents on the open-top bus tour, which would allow them to see the sights and save their legs. So, whilst they did that I took the camera for a walk to indulge two of my other loves, architecture and street photography.

I love looking around a place where you come across completely random stuff like this. Ever wonder where the expression ‘Hobson’s Choice’ came from? Wonder no more…

My perambulations took me back to Bridge Street which was familiar territory. I was only when I got there and sat down to watch the world go by that I realised ‘familiar’ was 22 years in the past! The last time I’d been here was when I was living in London and I took my ‘daughter’ here. I should explain. I don’t actually have a daughter but a young lady whom Lynn and I first met in Australia and who came to stay with us in London called us ‘Mum and Dad’ so we reciprocated.

Here’s how Bridge St looked during our visit in 2001. Here’s how it looks today.

I hung around here as I wanted to catch pictures of the way people travel in out and around a city that isn’t choked by cars. Here’s a couple of examples.

Active travel. A carry bike that can be used for numerous things, from children to shopping, business to leisure.
Inactive travel and a form I have issues with. E-scooters. What problem are they actually solving? Even the regulated ones litter the streets. Unregulated ones are even worse as they’re not speed limited (you really don’t want to get hit by either) and from my experience in various countries they’re mostly used by young people for joyriding rather than as an alternative to other transport modes – except walking.

Here’s an inactive mode Cambridge has become synonymous with, but what the hell! It only expends someone’s muscle power and adds a lot of money to the local economy as hiring these punts ain’t cheap!

Tomorrow we’re having a different experience as we’re visiting the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. John (Dawn’s dad) did his National Service in the RAF, so there’s family history as well has national history here.

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

22nd March picture of the day…

22 Wednesday Mar 2023

Posted by in Brighouse, History, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Today was one of those days that didn’t really go to plan because of the bane of the outdoor photographer’s life. The weather. It started well enough. I was working from home, wading through all the pictures I took on Merseyside yesterday whilst also dealing with emails and other correspondence. But I could see the weather was ideal for photography. Dawn was going into the Community Rail Network office in Huddersfield for a meeting with Network Rail and TPE so she suggested I might want a lift into town. It sounded like a good idea to me as I could get pictures of some of the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) work and diverted services for the the archive. I really should have checked the weather forecast first…

All was well until we got to Huddersfield, the weather looked cracking. Then I dug the camera out. Just as soon as I did dark clouds marched in from the West – bugger! Huddersfield station was quiet as only a few services were running (to Sheffield, Bradford Interchange, Marsden, Leeds and Hull) the busiest place was the station forecourt where fleets of coaches were ferrying people across the Pennines to Manchester. My plan was to hang around for half an hour before catching the first available train to Brighouse where I’d intended to get a series of lineside shots of the TPE services diverted via the Calder valley, only the bloody clouds followed me and the weather got gloomier – and wetter. I ended up retreating to the Market Tavern in order to have a pint and make a series of work phone calls to make something of the day whilst hoping the weather would clear again. It teased me a couple of times with brief flashes of sunshine, but then the rain arrived so I gave up and came home via a train to Sowerby Bridge before slogging up the hill to home and my desk. Ho hum!

Still, I did get the picture of the day at least. The friends of Brighouse station have done some fantastic work over recent years, transforming the station with plants and flowers. Now they’ve branched out and added a series of local history boards which tale the tale of the town and some of its inhabitants. One in particular caught my eye. Do you remember the old song about the man who broke the bank of Monte Carlo? Well, he was real – and he was local…

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/

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Asian adventure day 25. Kanchanaburi day 2.

03 Friday Feb 2023

Posted by in History, Kanchanaburi, Photography, Railways, Thailand, Travel

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Amazing the difference a good nights sleep makes. I woke up in a much more positive frame of mind this morning. Mind you, stepping straight out of your door to a wonderful river view does rather help. Here’s where I’m staying.

There’s such wildlife to enjoy here (and I’m not talking about the ‘girly’ bars). The river’s teeming with fish and the birdlife (of the feathered variety) is amazing. I’m quite content to pass the time sat outside my room on the verandah and watch the world go by. I’d only booked a couple of nights but I’ve decided to extend that by a few days as today’s been spent exploring the town and catching up on picture editing. It’s a sleepy place in the mornings. The town doesn’t really wake up until the heat of the day’s passed – apart from around the bridge where the tourist tat stalls are. A couple of bars open for the hardened drinkers, all old Western men who’ve either retired here or take long holidays to Thailand. I passed one such large group of Englishmen tucking into their beers at 10 am!

One place I did visit today is the war cemetery run by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A group of Thai workers were busy keeping it looking immaculate. A party of Thai schoolchildren on a trip were there at the same time. Each child picked a grave at random and wrote down the details of the soldier contained on the plaque. It’s a sobering place. Each one of these allied soldiers died building the railway, along with an estimated 100,000 Asian forced labourers.

The youngest soldiers (and a sailor) I found were 20. The oldest was 51. The average age would have been mid 20s. Such a waste of life – and sadly it’s still going on today thanks to the meglomania of old men like Putin. We never learn.

Now I’m back at my room, relaxing as the sun sets before heading off to eat. Tonight I’ll be busy finishing off some work so expect more pictures and commentary later. It’s Friday, so the place is beginning to fill up with folks from Bangkok who come here for weekend breaks. This could get interesting…

21:20 (Thai time).

Having had a wander for a bite to eat and enjoyed some fiery noodle soup (my fault, I loaded it with dried chilies) I’m now relaxing at home whilst the town gears up for the weekend. Here’s a couple of pictures taken on the main drag.

Not quite streetfood as it’s cooked in a cafe, but you eat it on the street!
One of the main ‘girly bars’. Trade’s slow…

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

Thank you!