Another working week begins, but this one’s different due to our change of location. In truth, today wasn’t that different for Dawn as she had to head back to Halifax and work from our real home for various reasons. For once Dee had a real commute rather than just wandering across the landing for the bedroom to the office!
I stayed behind in the Todmorden ‘annexe’ to look after our feline charge, although to be fair to Luna, she doesn’t take much looking after. Being a young female cat (just a big kitten, really) she’s very independent, doesn’t crave much attention and spends most of her time outside. My main task is to keep here fed and ensure she doesn’t get up to mischief in the house.
As the weather here is so closed in, with very low clouds and mist, I wasn’t going to be venturing far anyway. Plus, most of Todmorden’s closed on a Monday, which adds to a general feeling of isolation. Undeterred, I went for a wander to at least try and get a few photos, despite the murk, and check out a few new photographic possibilities – just in case the weather does pick up. I also wanted to get a shot of the only scheduled freight service via the Copy Pit line to Burnley which is a limestone train from Shap in Cumbria to Drax power and the return empties. The loaded train only runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the empties are scheduled to run Monday to Friday.
Long gone are the days when there would be banking engines based at Todmorden to assist heavy coal trains up the line to Burnley. The engines vanished at the end of steam traction in the late 1960s and the coal trains a couple of decades later. Until recently there was a regular oil train between Lindsay oil refinery in Lincolnshire to Preston docks, but that finished last year. Now, there’s just the stone train. So, I thought I’d try and get a picture for posterity. Only the bloody thing was cancelled! Still, I did manage a few other shots, as you’ll see here…
The classic view of Tod over the rooftops, with two trains passing on the viaduct. As you can see, the weather was less than ideal…Taken at the same location, a Headbolt Lane (Kirkby) to Blackburn service crosses Stansfield Hall Jn on the Todmorden curve which was only reopened in May 2015. Before then a short spur had been retained as a siding for banking engines, but it hadn’t been used for decades. Nearby is Hall Royd Jn where the line to/from Burnley (on the left) joins the Calder valley line. Here’s a DB Cargo Class 66 working an empty Tees Yard to Knowsley (Merseyside) empty ‘binliner’. It’s Monday, so the shops are (mostly) shut, including this cafe in the lovely former Co-op building. ‘Tod’ does have its bohemian elements, hence this book repository fixed to a telegraph pole on one of the backstreets. Having climbed the hill behind the town I found this gap in the trees for a more elevated view of the viaduct. Now, if the weather would only clear…
As the clouds closed in I returned to our temporary home to warm up and make the place cosy for when Dawn got back. I think Luna appreciated my efforts too!
Tomorrow’s weather isn’t expected to be any better than today, but I’m going to have another crack at that stone train…
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Today’s been an enforced lazy Sunday. That wasn’t my plan, but the weather decreed otherwise as it’s been absolutely crap all day. Most of the time we’ve been closed in under low cloud and mist that’s chopped off the tops of the valley. Then there’s been the rain. There was no chance of getting any serious walking in and taking the camera out would’ve been pointless
So, a lazy morning was in order, keeping our feline charge happy. Luna was very comfortable curling up on the bed with us whilst we enjoyed a caffeine fix. Like us, she wasn’t as comfortable with the weather and spent much of the morning zooming around the house like a cat demented!
Luna before she hit her catnip stash…
We did manage to get out later in the day by driving back to Halifax to pick up more clothing and bits we’ll need for our stay here in Todmorden. Bad as the weather was here, it was worse back home where we were literally in cloud level.
Now the weekend’s winding down. On our way back we stopped off for a drink in our new ‘local’ (the Alehouse) which was its usual relaxed and friendly self – although I still can’t get used to hearing so many Lancashire accents and intonations. Britain’s a fascinating place in that respect. Dialect and accents can change in a very short distance, even in this day and age where TV has had such an impact in introducing homogenised language and Americanisation’s.
The highlight of the day’s been scoffing steaks that the people we’re cat-sitting for were kind enough to leave for us. We’re certainly not starving here as last night we enjoyed some fantastic fish dishes at a local Thai restaurant called the Three Wise Monkeys.
Chu Chee Pla. Seabass in a gorgeous sauce. One of the best I’ve had outside Thailand.Seabass with chili and tamarind.
Tomorrow we’ll be back to the grindstone. Sadly, the weather forecast is looking like the entire week is going to be fairly grim, although I’m still hoping I’ll be able to get out in the surrounding hills for one day at least. If not, I may have to venture further afield. Let’s see…
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Welcome to the first day of our Todmorden sojourn whilst we become surrogate humans to ‘Luna’, our friends young cat. I’ll post a picture of Luna when she finally sits still long enough for me to get one. That may take some time as she’s a young thing – little more than a kitten – although you wouldn’t think that from her size! She’s also just getting used to me being in her space.
Cute…
Dawn went off to do other things this morning, so I caught the train over to Todmorden in order to be ready for feeding time, after which I ventured into town to explore. ‘Tod’ as it’s known to locals isn’t unfamiliar to me. I’ve spent plenty of time here in the past, but that’s always been in transit. Being based here’s a little different.
The town has a curious vibe as it’s an odd mix. There’s the bohemian/old hippy element that’s a spin-off from nearby Hebden Bridge then there’s an undertow of old far-right racism and ‘flag-shagging’. Years ago, when far-right British National Party (BNP) membership list was leaked by an insider Todmorden had an unhealthy number of names attached.
Despite that, the town does have a lot to offer. It has a great market – both indoor and outdoor. Whilst the outdoor offerings change depending on the day, the indoor market has its regulars. There’s few tat stalls, instead it’s a mix of cafes, butchers, sweetshops and grocers. Just how a market should be.
The indoor market.
Tod’s at the junction of two valleys and two rivers. Just outside the market where the two join I spotted this Heron waiting patiently to catch its next meal…
Like many towns, Tod’s changed. A lot of old pubs have closed in recent years which is a shame, but then the place had plenty of them.
Another one bites the dust…
Some have been replaced by micro-pubs based in former shops, which appear to be doing rather well. I visited two, both of which had different characters. The first was the Alehouse on the Burnley Rd, a short walk from the town centre. It has both indoor and outdoor seating. There’s a good range of real ales (although other inebriants are available) and the staff are both friendly and helpful. It feels very much a local pub that’s a meeting point for the community, although strangers like me are made to feel welcome. What I found interesting was the range of accents. Todmorden’s part of West Yorkshire, but it’s borderline Lancashire (in the past its moved counties) and only a few miles from Burnley, so there was a real mix of Lancashire and Yorkshire accents on offer from the folk frequenting the place. Oh, and dogs. It’s a very dog friendly pub – not that the dogs are always friendly with each other!
Moving on into the centre to look for possible places to eat I stumbled across another micro-pub, ‘The Beer Necessities’ which is set back on a cobbled Water Street. This is another long and narrow converted shop on two levels, with a disabled toilet on the lower of the two. The clientele seemed to cover a greater age spectrum than the Alehouse, but that could just be its proximity to the town centre. The atmosphere was really good and its certainly a place I’d visit again.
To be continued…
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After walking over 15 miles up hill and down dale (not to mention up and down a bloody big viaduct) yesterday I’ve been taking it easy on the exercise front. Mind you, I’ve had plenty to do at home, so that’s no bad thing! Much of my day’s been spent editing all the images from yesterday to supply to the magazines that have requested them – along with detailed captions for one. Having prioritised the HS2 shots there’s still many other pictures remaining to caption and add to my Zenfolio website. Hopefully most will be done tomorrow. In the meantime, you can find a far bigger selection of HS2 Curzon St shots here.
I need to get the decks cleared of work tomorrow because Bigland Towers is moving! Not for long you understand, we’re relocating to Todmorden to cat-sit for a week whilst friends are off on holiday.
We’ll both be flitting between the two locations but we’re excited about having feline company again as it’s now 4 years since we lost ‘Jet’, our venerable moggie. In between being a cat servant I’m looking forward to having time to explore photographic opportunities around Todmorden without having to commute from home. Plus, I’ll get to update images like today’s picture which was taken way back in 2013.
Seen over over the rooftops, one of the old ‘Calder valley’ Class 155s crosses the wonky viaduct which bisects the centre of Todmorden on the 28th August 2013. Nowadays these units are based in Hull and rarely make it even as far West as Halifax.
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After yesterday’s escapade I’ve had a quiet one here at Bigland Towers. The sunny weather fleeting, we’re back to low cloud, dull skies and the odd snow shower with temperatures hovering just above freezing – which has been a relief as its kept roads and pavements ice-free.
Much of my day’s been spent editing the pictures from my trip. You can find the full range in these galleries, just click on the link…
Whilst editing, a couple of media invites/jobs came in via email. They’ll see me visiting two very different sides of the railways over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’d love to get more snow pictures. Sadly, getting up to the far North of Scotland before it all melts is unlikely, but we may yet see more in this part of the world. If we do…
One part of the world I certainly won’t be visiting for the foreseeable is the USA. Trump’s paramilitary force (ICE) are too out of control, having shot dead an innocent woman today. The way trump and his cronies have dealt with the whole thing is appalling. Not content with killing her, they’re now killing her reputation. I can’t help wondering how long it’ll be before Trump declares martial law and cancels the mid-term elections, whilst the MAGA morons cheer him on. What’s happening in the US right now is an object lesson in just how fragile democracy is. Sadly, we have some of his acolytes here in the UK (yes, you Farage) who’re aping his playbook when it comes to lying and sowing division whilst spreading hatred. I’d hope Britons were smarter than Americans, but sometimes I wonder…
Leaving politics and returning to the weather and mother nature, here’s today’s picture, which was actually taken yesterday. This is a snow covered Pen-y-Ghent (one of Yorkshire’s three peaks), seen from Ribblehead.
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We’ve had another productive (but cold) day here at Bigland Towers. This morning’s brief flurry of fresh snow was washed away by the arrival of rain this afternoon which has now settled in for the evening to make the Yorkshire stone pavements and cobbled streets things to venture along at your peril. Slips and trips? Not half…
Because of the forecast both Dawn and I ventured out earlier in order to pick up some provisions and get in our daily constitutionals before settling in back at home, where it’s been a productive day. I’ve caught up with more picture editing and blogging (another reservoir walk) whilst keeping half an eye on the news.
The doom and gloom the right wing media and politicians were predicting at the end of 2025 has singularly failed to appear. If you’d believed them, high streets were deserted because Xmas shoppers were staying away in droves as no-one had any money to spend thanks to this dastardly Labour government. It was all bollocks of course. Market researcher Worldpanel said overall grocery sales were 13.8 billion pounds in the four weeks to December 28, up 3.8% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the ‘Next’ chain raised profit forecast to £1.15bn after bumper Christmas sales. Wait – ‘bumper Xmas sales’? But I thought the media said the sales would be shit?
A new survey of senior executives by Deloitte indicates that business confidence among leading companies in the UK improved to its highest level in about two years following the Government’s autumn budget announcement. The exact opposite of the picture some have tried to paint.
To cap it all, the stock markets have also ignored the dire predictions. Today the FTSE100 closed at a record 10,122.73 points, up 1.18% on yesterday, bringing year on year gains to 22.84%. It’s a figure meaningless to some but relevant to anyone who has a pension fund or other investments.
There’s an irony to this. One of the reasons the UK markets are performing so well are the erratic actions of the orange fool in the White House. Trump’s behavior is destroying the USAs credibility on the world stage, causing investors to look at putting their money in safer markets like the FTSE 100. Plus, the fact the US is no longer seen as a trustworthy ally in the face of Russian ambitions has galvanised pan-European investment in re-arming and expanding industry, which is benefitting UK firms like Rolls-Royce and BAe.
Oh, mentioning Trump I should welcome all the new people who’ve registered to read this blog. Today I’ve had a flood of sign-ups from the USA, all using @pinchamail.org addresses. I can only assume these women are fascinated to learn more about railways, rambles around reservoirs in West Yorkshire or some of my other thoughts! Howdy folks…
Tomorrow I’m hoping for a change of tempo – and scenery (weather and train services permitting). If the forecast delivers on its predictions I’m intending to have a day out on the Settle-Carlisle railway to head out to Ribblehead, home of the famous viaduct, with the intention of updating pictures to capture some of the diverted Avanti West Coast, freight and local trains in what’s a glorious setting. This brings me on to the picture of the day. Here’s how the historic viaduct looked in October 2010. I wonder how it’ll look tomorrow? I’ll be making sure I’ll be dressed for whatever the weather can throw at me as it can get a bit changeable in these parts!
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/
With the Christmas and New Year holidays over it’s back to the grindstone for Dawn and I. To make the start of the week more interesting we’ve had an unexpected snowfall which began arriving yesterday evening. When we opened the bedroom blinds this morning we found a fresh deposit, leaving us covered in a couple of centimeters of the white stuff. It looked gorgeous, especially against the clear blue sky that’s kept us company all of the day.
However, the snow wasn’t sufficient to make me change my plans as I had work to do at home. First up was judging the Avanti West Coast photographic competition entries. I won’t let anything slip, other than to say that there were some cracking entries. Let’s see if my fellow judges agree which ones those are…
That job done it was time to sort out a few more bits to put up for sale on Ebay. I’ve added several new badges and railway-themed bits, which you can find by following this link. This particular sale finishes in five days time, so you have time to browse and get your bids in!
Next up was editing all the pictures that I’ve been taking from a series of walks the pair of us have enjoyed these last days of the holidays. I’ll be blogging about each day separately as I’m working from home again tomorrow. Well, that’s the plan anyway. We’re meant to be getting more snow tomorrow but unless there’s something significant I can’t see me venturing out with the camera, so I’ll have time to catch up with some blogging.
After that, the rest of the week’s flexible, depending on the weather. I would like to get some snow shots but if not, there’s some other interesting railway workings that I’d like to cover before the West Coast Main Line (WCML) reopens after a series of possessions along the route. Watch this space…
For now, I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which was taken in one of our local woodlands this afternoon when I managed to get out for a stroll. After what seemed like weeks of gray skies and rain it’s been lovely to see the sun again.
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/
The new year has started slowly here at Bigland Towers. After the excitement and fireworks that saw the end of 2025 we’ve taken the day off to potter around and enjoy the warm coziness of home before starting 2026 in earnest. January’s brought cold weather and threats of snow, so a day off seemed sensible.
New years eve was more productive. Despite the chill we ventured out by car to do some exploring. The railways annual Christmas shutdown has seen a lot of engineering work take place up and down the country. Some of that work will run well into January, but there was one local Trans-Pennine Route upgrade (TRU) project I wanted to have a look at. Mirfield station.
Over Christmas the rebuild of the island platform was completed and track through platform one was reinstated. Hording blocking it off were removed with passenger trains reintroduced from December 27th. There’s still a lot of work to complete as the new footbridge and lifts have yet to be commissioned, but the place looks very different to how it did just a few weeks ago.
Here’s how the station looked on November 25th. The lift towers were still swathed in scaffolding and the majority of the island platform was hidden behind hoardings. Here’s how it looks now.The hoardings have vanished, along with the scaffolding. They’ve been replaced by new lighting and platform shelters, which whilst rather basic at least offer some shelter from the elements. The rebuilt island has been lengthened to be able to accommodate 6-car trains. The other major change is that the direction of the tracks has been reversed. Platform 1 now caters for Eastbound services as platform 2 has reverted to serving Westbound trains – although none are scheduled to use it at the moment until platform 3 is abolished. Looking East from platform 3 you can see that the former Fast line has been disconnected and slewed to run through platform 2. The track running through the station’s been left in situ ready from when this becomes four-tracks again. 158782 and 158789 call at the reinstated platform whilst working 2L13, the 11:49 Wigan Wallgate to Leeds.Almost ready. The new footbridge and lifts are seeing the finishing touches being completed and lifts commissioned. The lift in the right-hand tower will descend below the platform to the new entrance to provide level access from the street.
Having frozen to death in the wind to get these pictures we headed back to Halifax and home, but not before stopping off to photograph moody skies providing a backdrop to Castle Hill near Huddersfield.
Back home, Dawn busied herself in the kitchen to experiment with making her own thin-crust pizza bases. I’m biased (obviously) but I think they were a great success and tasted delicious when topped with seafood or chorizo, vegan cheese and chilli. I suspect these will become a regular feature in the Bigland household this year!
Whilst we weren’t bothered about spending midnight in the pub, we did pop out for a sociable few drinks in our local, the Big 6, before returning home to see in the new year sat in front of the fire, watching the fabulous London fireworks display. That brought back a lot of memories as I was there on the Embankment on the opposite side of the river to the wheel for the millennium display in 1999. There’s been a lot of water down the Thames since then…
Now it’s 2026. A year I’m looking forward to with cautious optimism. The world’s still a very uncertain place but there are grounds for hope. Russia’s war in Ukraine is going badly for them, and there’s signs that one of their key allies (Iran) is beginning to fall apart due to civil unrest. Of course Trump is still a major disaster, but the narcissistic old fool and his MAGA morons are in trouble in the polls and likely to have bad mid-term elections this year. In the UK, the wheels are starting to come off Nigel Farage’s latest bandwagon (Reform). His Russia connections are coming back to haunt him and the councils Reform run show every sign of being a fiasco waiting to unfold. Plus, despite all the Reform and media frenzy and speculation over Keir Starmer, the idea that there’s going to be a general election before 2029 is for the birds. And if a week’s a long time in politics, 3.5 years is an age.
The Labour government have proved to be a disappointment due to a lack of bravery, squandering a huge majority that they could have used to make important changes without fear of opposition. But, they’re nowhere near as bad as the media love to make out. They’re doing good things but the media resolutely refuse to highlight anything positive and concentrate on a stream of negativity. I’m hopeful Labour can get their act together on messaging, stop being timid and cut through to highlight the positive changes they are making.
If only the media spent as much time looking at how Nigel Farage’s girlfriend managed to pay nearly a million quid in cash for ‘his’ house in Clacton as they did obsessing about Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves tax affairs we’d be far better informed as an electorate.
On a personal front, I’m looking to spend January concentrating on some projects that have taken a backseat over the past year or so, which includes finishing scanning a lot of old slides which have never seen the light of day for decades. Then there’s travelling. I may not be heading outside of the UK for the next month, but plans are certainly afoot for later in the year.
I’m also intending to up the ante on blogging. Things slipped a bit in 2025, but now I’m back with a lot to say – and things to do…
In the meantime, let me with all my like-minded readers the very best for 2026. I hope you all have a fabulous year.
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/
Apologies for absence over the past week and festive reason but blogging has taken a backseat to Christmas and life here at Bigland towers. We’ve had a very relaxed and stress-free break with just the two of us – a real change from the past few years. In fact, things have been so relaxed I’ve hardly used my camera at all, even when I’ve taken it out with me.
Christmas day was easy as most of the food for our veggie feat was already cooked. I only had one dish to complete, whilst Dawn sorted out desserts. We’d made plenty, which lasted us for a few days in different permutations. No thinking about what the hell we do to use up leftover turkey!
Sadly, we didn’t get snow, or sunshine. Most of the time we’ve laboured under leaden skies but as there’s been no rain and the temperature’s been mild we can count our blessings. We did escape the confines of the valley on Sunday as we drove over to Southport to see my sister and her partner to spend a very convivial afternoon in Churchtown, a village to the North of the centre. The village has moved upmarket since I was a lad, but it’s still a very pleasant place to while away a day.
Neither of us have returned to work this week, instead our time’s been spent pottering around at home, watching the year draw to a close from a distance, which is more than some folks have been able to do. I’ll write up my thoughts on how 2025 has been tomorrow. Much as I don’t want to wish my life away I can’t say I’ll be sorry to see the year go and it morph into 2026.
I doubt there’ll be much carousing in New Years eve. We’ll probably pop up to our local pub for a couple of drinks before returning home before things get too mad. New year isn’t the same here in West Yorkshire as it was when I lived in London, but that’s life.
In the meantime, here’s a few pictures from the festive period.
Christmas day Thali, with all the trimmings! All that glitters isn’t gold, but a Halifax jeweller’s done their best to get into the festive spirit.– as did our local pub who kept drinkers few with free mince pies…– and relax. Feet up in front of the fire abd chance to enjoy duck in plum sauce with pancakes, spring onion and cucumber.
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Yipee! We’ve now passed the shortest day of the year. There’s no noticeable change for a little while but the days will soon be getting longer. Not that you’d notice anything in this neck of the woods we’ve existed in perpetual twilight these past couple of days. I’ve hardly been able to make out the opposite side of the valley due to fog and low cloud. No wonder some people suffer from SAD (seasonally adjusted disorder) when there’s so little sunlight around.
Still, I’ve had enough to occupy me here at Bigland Towers as we gradually wind down (or up, depending on your perspective) to Christmas. Whilst Dawn’s spent all day slaving away in the office, I’ve been busy in the kitchen to keep her supplied with lunch and also cook some of the dishes that will make up our Christmas feast. I’ve managed to get two off the list, none of which I’ve ever cooked before, so that’s been fun. Now the kitchen’s redolent with the smell of mustard seeds, garlic and coconut after preparing dishes from Kerala (S India) and Sri Lanka. First up was the one where the ingredients form today’s picture. Carrot and Beans Thoran.
Tomorrow I move on to dishes from Northern India whilst Dawn joins the party to bake and make desserts…
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/
Paul Bigland 