Category Archives: Picture of the day

23rd September picture(s) of the day…

23 Monday Sep 2024

Posted by in Derbyshire, Hs2, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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No travels for me today as I’m up to my neck in picture editing and sorting out the diary for the next few weeks now that some jobs have been put to bed. It’s frustrating, as normally I’d be at the vast Innotrans rail fair in Berlin right now, but this year various things have conspired to prevent me attending.

Instead, the day’s been spent staring at a screen as I go through the hundreds of pictures I’ve taken over the past couple of weeks. Some have already gone out to clients, others are about to. I reckon I’ve at least two more days of editing to get through. Oh, then there’s another 4000 words to type-swipe that’ll be the 3rd part of my round-Britain trip for RAIL magazine.

Mind you, with all the yellow weather warnings for the UK being stuck at home’s not necessarily a bad things right now. The weather’s been pretty dismal here in the Pennines but we’ve managed to swerve the torrential rain that was forecast. So much so I’ve even managed to get all my daily steps in without getting wet once!

Over the next few days I’ll be adding links to all my Zenfolio galleries that will have been updated. Right now I’ll leave you with today’s picture which is one from last week’s visit to Alstom in Derby.

This is ‘G’ shop at Derby. It’s rather quite at the moment but soon it’ll be full of new trains being built. The bay to the right is where the next 10 ‘Elizabeth line’ trains will be built. In a couple of years time the bays to the left will be full of trains for HS2. The bodyshells will be brought in from Hitachi in Newton Aycliffe whilst the bogies will be built at the Alstom plant in Crewe. All the different components will be brought together to make a complete trainset here.
Another view of the area which will be full of HS2 trains in the future.

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

18th September picture of the day…

18 Wednesday Sep 2024

Posted by in Greater Manchester, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel

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No travelling for me today – unless you count walking around the local woods and parks to get my daily exercise in. Instead, I’ve been busy editing all the pictures I took yesterday, along with others from the past week. It’s a time-consuming operation to get them ready for clients, plus there’s captioning the ones for my own website, although some of those are going to have to wait as I’ve a lot on at the moment with jobs on every day for the next several days, including through the weekend.

I’d hoped to have been in Germany next week for the massive bi-annual Innotrans rail trade fair, but it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to make it as other things have come up that are more important. Life has a habit of coming at you all at once, making plans difficult.

In the meantime, there’s going to be plenty of trips to write about, starting with a little jaunt to Derby tomorrow, but more of that after it’s happened. In the meantime, here’s a picture from yesterday that I didn’t have time to publish. It’s from Strines, a village on the railway from Manchester to Sheffield via New Mills. I’d never visited the place before for the simple reason that there’s not really anything there to see. But I did find this. It’s an old millpond with a Dovecote in the middle of it, a useful base for a Heron which can be seen fishing from it.

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

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

14th September picture of the day…

14 Saturday Sep 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

12th September picture(s) of the day…

12 Thursday Sep 2024

Posted by in Photography, Picture of the day, Pubs, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Bloody hell, who turned the temperature down! Today’s felt more like October than September. This morning we woke up to temperatures in low single figures. I guess an Indian summer’s out of the question then? To top it all we’ve had weather conditions that have veered from the sublime to the bleeding ridiculous!

Much of my day has been spent type-swiping for a living, writing the second part of my round Britain odyssey for RAIL magazine, so the weather was moot. I was tucked up in the warm and dry here at Bigland Towers. It was only when I ventured out for my daily constitutional that I realised the weather forecast was about as accurate and reliable as Donald Trump. I’d not bothered taking an umbrella with me – which was a big mistake as these are the sort of weather conditions I encountered atop the valley.

This afternoon Dawn had an appointment over in Marsden in the Colne valley so I went with her, riding shotgun and taking the opportunity to get a few shots around the station.

Marsden station when an afternoon Manchester – York service calls…

That job done I popped into the revamped Riverhead brewery Tap for a pint whilst waiting.

Afterwards we spent the evening at Dawns parents where we prepared fish in vermouth* along with a vegetable medley. Simple (ish) but very tasty. Now the pair of us are back home. Bugger waiting until October – the heating’s been turned of for half an hour. I may not be a pensioner yet – or have to worry about winter fuel allowances, but there comes a point at which I’m not prepared to sit and type with blue fingers!

*like the sound of the recipe? Let me know and I’ll pass it on….

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

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

8th September picture of the day…

08 Sunday Sep 2024

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

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

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

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

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

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

2nd September picture of the day…

02 Monday Sep 2024

Posted by in Community rail, Greater Manchester, Manchester, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Alright, I know it’s almost officially autumn, but who ordered such crap weather already? I thought yesterday was bad, but today? Sheesh! The Calder valley’s been coated in mist and rain for much of the day. We couldn’t even see the other side of the valley, far less the sun! There was no point in me thinking of going anywhere with the camera. Instead the day’s been spent picture editing, clearing out a burgeoning email inbox and slotting a couple of new jobs and invitations into the diary. Not a bad day all in all. That said, today’s a fasting day. I could have done with being able to consume a few more calories, just to make the day more interesting, but that’s life.

Poor Dawn’s been chained to her computer even longer than I’ve been. At least I still managed to get a walk, in order to pick up some low-calorie food shopping. Still, tomorrow’s another day and the forecast suggests the weather will improve, which would be good as I need to make another trip to Manchester to tick off some more locations for a commission. I thought I might have had more time this week but I’ve another HS2 press invite later in the week which I really don’t want to miss as it’s a bit of a milestone – as you’ll see soon…

But for now, I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is one from Saturday’s trip. The friends of Romiley station have some rather colourful planters on the platforms and the sunshine showed them off to their best.

Expect another rolling blog tomorrow from some different stations in S-E Manchester…

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

1st September picture of the day…

01 Sunday Sep 2024

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

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As the old song says – what a difference a day makes. Yesterday I was basking in the sun as I explored the railway highways and byways of Manchester. Today? Most of my times been spent sheltering from weather conditions that are more suited to October than the first day of September. So much for our plans to enjoy the great outdoors – most of what we’ve seen is the not so great indoors. Dawn’s kept her self occupied with work, family business and knitting whilst I’ve been wading through the mountain of pictures from yesterday, where the blue skies in each image have just added insult to injury!

Ah well, tomorrow’s another day – although I’m not sure how that’s going to play out as I’ve a lot of things to juggle in my diary. Until then, I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which was taken earlier this afternoon as I walked home from my daily perambulations…

Nice view. Shame about the weather. Looking across the Calder valley (taken on a phone I’m afraid)…

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

29th August picture of the day…

29 Thursday Aug 2024

Posted by in Hs2, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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After yesterday’s travels and exhausting time today’s been a quiet one here at Bigland Towers. I’ve remained home-based. Scribbling for a living as well as editing many of the pictures from yesterday’s travels. You can find a selection of those images in the following galleries.

Arriva Cross-country

West Midlands Trains (Inc LNW)

East Midlands Railway

Railway stations

The HS2 site visit pictures remain in the editing queue. Hopefully they’ll get done at the weekend.

The weather’s picked up here in the Pennines with temperatures climbing and the sun returning, which has been rather frustrating when I’m stuck behind a desk but that’s life. Hopefully I’ll be free of the office again shortly as I need to catch up with some commissions as there’s a lot going on at the moment.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with another picture from the visit to the HS2 tunnel site at Bromford, which might appeal to construction geeks.

What is it you might ask? Well, it’s a mobile shuttering system. This is used as formwork to allow the baffles around the rail tracks that will mask and dissipate the piston-effect and noise from the high speed trains as they exit the tunnel. It runs on rails so can be moved along once it’s cast a section of the baffle. Clever, eh?

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

27th August picture of the day…

27 Tuesday Aug 2024

Posted by in Hs2, Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways

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Bank holiday over it’s back to the grindstone, although I have to admit I’ve not been feeling that energised today. Perhaps it’s the weather, which has remained miserable. Summer was all too brief. It seems to have consisted of a few days whilst I was away on my rover – and that was it. Today’s best described as dismal. That mixture of low light and scattered showers where you really can’t plan much – especially in this part of the world where national forecasts fall foul of local conditions.

Still, I’ve managed to get some stuff done – including getting my daily exercise, household chores and writing a few words, plus preparing for tomorrows trip to the West Midlands, although that’s going to be an exercise in itself. I have to be East of Birmingham by 09:00, which is a bit of a stretch from Halifax. It means I’ll be on the first train of the day at 05:45. That should be fun…

As I’ve got to be up at sparrow-fart I’ll bid you adieu. Expect a rolling blog tomorrow and ‘behind the scenes’ pictures from a visit to an HS2 construction site, plus all the usual travails getting to and from anywhere on the national rail network. Never let it be said that I gloss over the realities.

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. I won’t have chance to re-acquaint myself with this particular Tunnel Boring Machine (seen here in 2022) but I will be seeing what it’s up to – and how far it’s got.

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 August picture(s) of the day…

25 Sunday Aug 2024

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

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In true bank holiday style the weather here in West Yorkshire has been a bit crap. You’d think it was the spring bank, not August holiday – although to be fair, it’s not been as wet as the forecast predicted.

Not that it mattered much this morning as we had a lazy day here at Bigland towers, enjoying copious cups of coffee whilst we relaxed and decided what to do. There was no point in venturing far so we opted for a local stroll around woods and parks before picking up some food shopping. Supermarkets on a Sunday are quite bizarre. Because they shut at 4PM there’s always a frantic rush of people, as if they’ve not already had 6 days of the week to plan their shopping and someone’s suddenly declared Monday’s going to be the start of the Zombie apocalypse, so they need to stock up.

We picked up the few bits we needed, which was more as an excuse to get out than anything else. A quick pitstop was made at the Big 6, where the 72 pint barrel of Thornbridge Jaipur that went on last night had already been supped, only to be replaced with another ale with a kick. Roosters “Blame It On The Tetons” IPA which comes in at a healthy 6.3%! As befits a Sunday, the pub was busy, but not overly so, with a mix of regulars and people on holiday who’d heard of its attractions and ambience. Another of the changed beers on offer was this, with a delightfully daft name and pump clip.

Strolling home we took the long way round through Savile Park and Manor Heath park, where we were surprised to see a number of trees that had really suffered in the gales. One especially, which had almost been split asunder. It was part of a small group which provided shelter for a number of park benches. Thankfully, no-one was around at the time, otherwise there would have been casualties.

Now we’re back at home, relaxing and watching the grey skies close in across the valley. Whilst I’ve been pottering around catching up an a few bits Dawn’s been busy in the kitchen where she’s come up with this soul food. Home-made meat and potato pie with mushy peas and gravy. Ideal for weather like this…

Will we venture further afield tomorrow? That depends on the weather Gods…

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