Yet another day where my timetable’s gone out of the window and I find myself having to rejig things. My original plan was to move on from Cardiff straight away today but cancellations and a 2 hour late arrival mean I’ve unfinished business, so it’s another earlier than planned start, with some stuff being cut from my schedule to fit in the key trips. Note to self – stop arranging trips on lines that only have a two-hourly frequency!
Right, it’s time to pack, make my way to Cardiif Central and head off up the valleys (again). See you soon…
09:10.
I teyraced yesterday’s steps to stop off at Taffs Well. It’s changed a bit since my last visit. It’s gained a new depot full of tram-trains for a start!
The Class 150s soldier on. For now…
16:00.
I’m back – having moved a faor few miles since this morning! Having detoured up the Valleys once more I returned to Cardiff and (after a photo session) caught a train to Bristol Temple Meads. I have to say that – despite its history and heritage, it’s my least favorite city gateway station. The facilities are primitive and in short supply. York has a cracking bar, shops and cafes. Temple Meads has a pasty shop in the subway, a couple of WH Smiths, a pair of expensive cafe/shops – and that’s about it. It’s not a destination station, or somewhere you hang around, you get out as quickly as you can. Yes, I know the long restoration of the roof doesn’t help, but even where that’s finished there’s nothing to drag you there for – other than to catch a train. The only hope I can see is the new entrance into the development that’s taking place on the old Royal Mail site next door.
Moving on I cut right across country down to Weymouth on a GWR byway via Trowbridge, Westbury, Castle Cary and Yeovil. This is the first time I’ve done the line during a Rover. Now I’ve just left Bournemouth on my way to London.
23:30.
Time to call it a day. It’s certainly been an adventure – especially due to the torrentisl rain I faced when I got closer to London. More details tomorrow.
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A later start today but I’m on my way, having left Halifax on Northern’s 08:50 to Huddersfield. We’ve another hot, sunny day predicted so I’m dressed accordingly whilst carrying a variety of spare clothing for my tour of England, Scotland and Wales. Oh, and midge spray – just in case, although the West Higland weather is predicted to be wet!
Feel free to keep popping in to see where and what I get up to…
The first train of many…
15:15.
I’m back. Sorry for the delay but I’ve been moving between trains and busy with the camera.
I made it to Manchester Piccadilly with 5 mins to spare before my next connection – a packed Pendolino which took me to Stoke where I joined a blissfully quiet Cross-Country Voyager as far as Birmingham New St. The city (and station was hot and muggy but I wasn’t hanging around. Instead I had chance to sample two new train fleets. An Alstom Class 730 took me to Bromsgrove where I cahnged onto a 4-car, CAF built Class 196 to Worcester. A short visit to Shrub Hill station ensued as it has a fascinating history and retains one of the finest collections of GWR semaphore signals left on the UK mainline.
I was lucky to find this temporary exhibition in the cafe annexe which showcased a photographic history of the railways (and staff who worked) around Worcester.
Right now I’m on a GWR Class 800 crossing the Cotswolds en-route to Didcot.
16:50.
And it was all going so well…
I got to Didcot only to find the Cardiff train was cancelled. Not just the Cardiff one either, Cheltenhams too. It seems that when things go majorly pear-shaped on the Great Western Main Line near London these are the services sacrificed. It’s like the East Coast with trains to Leeds.
Now I’m basking in the hottest weather and intense sun while I wait for a train to Swindon and a connection to Cardiff. Yes, I know there’s other ways I could have done it but I’l trying to show what ‘Joe public’ relies on. Anyway, as well as the sunshine i’ve red kites and Chinnooks flying overhead to keep me entertained.
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Time to wipe the sleep from my eyes and prepare for day 2. This time I’m heading deep into the East – via Sheffield, so that I can pick up a very limited and rather special service to the coast. It’s a train I’ve been trying to catch for 20 years, but as it only used to run on Saturdays, that was impossible to plan. Feel free to pop back later and see what it is…
08:15.
Having left Halifax on Grand Central’s 07:12 to London I detrained at Buddleia Central – sorry – Wakefield Kirkgate, where I changed for a train to Sheffield. Now I’ve the mobile office set up on a busy 2-car Class 195 that’s forming the 07:56.
I’ve a while to kill at Sheffield as there’s not many options that would allow me to explore and get back in time for my next train, which is central to my plans.
19:00.
Sorry, that’s been a crap rolling blog. Today’s been difficult as I’ve been on a succession of absolutely rammed train with little time in between. The good thing is I achieved my two main aims. One was to traverse the Brigg line between Gainsborough and Barnetby for the first time in over 30 years – and the other was to include a trip on the Barton-on-Humber branch.
It’s amazing how many people you can fit in a 2-car train when needs must. Families from Sheffield arrive at Cleethorpes.
The day’s been hot and sticky due to the weather, which hasn’t helped. Then I was hit by a series of delays and cancellations on the way back which has meant I’ve not been able to include all the routes I’d intended without getting back late tonight. Instead, I’ve cur the trip short in order to get back at a sensible time as I need to pack for tomorrow and the next several days. I won’t be back home for another week now.
Luxury on the Barton-On-Humber branch! Air-conditioned Class 170s are a far cry from the single-car class 153s that used to operate the route. Here’s 170271 calling at Grimsby Town earlier today.
22:50.
I’ve had a busy evening completely rejigging tomorrow’s timetable and routes to take into account the past two days disappointments. I’ve also given myself a slightly later start. Wednesday will see me making my way to Cardiff via a rather curious route.
See you in the morning…
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Today’s the start of my bi-annual odyssey around the UK’s railways for RAIL magazine. I’ll be blogging (sporadically) throughout the day as I cover 15 trains and two countries on day 1. Right now I’m on my way to Manchester on the first of what will be around 80 trains in 7 days. I’ve picked a good week. The weather’s predicted to be some of the hottest of the year, it’s the holidays and train services are being cut in some areas – so there should be lots to write about!
150003? Not a train I’d expected to see at Halifax on the start of my trip.
0845.
The day’s turning into a fun one already. I was only on my 2nd train when we had a last-minute set swap at Manchester as the train I was due to catch was taken out of service with a faulty gearbox. Quick work by Northen staff saw an inbound 4-car set split and the rear Class 150 used as a replacement, returning the way it came with minimal delay – and from the same platform too!
Right now I’m on my way to Wigan aboard yet another old Class 150…
14:49.
Where’s the time gone? Since I was last able to post and update I’ve covered quite a few miles – mostly standing on trains which is why there’s been no updates! After leaving Manchester I sampled battery trains on Merseyrail, then old London Underground stock on the Welsh borders before heading along the North Wales coast on absolutely packed Transport for Wales trains as far as Llandudno Junction where the plan to get to Llandudno fell apart due to late running and the fact the train on the way back was one I *really* wanted to catch as it was a chance to sample one of Avanti West Coast’s new Class 805s. I can’t say that was a great success, for reasons you’ll be able to read about in RAIL magazine.
Hell old District line friend..
Now I’m heading back from Chester to Liverpool via TfW’s direct service via Runcorn. And I have a seat – and a table, and wifi…
18:00.
There’s an old military adage that no plan survives first contact with the enemy. I could say the same thing about my Rover plans! On arrival at Manchester Piccadilly everything went majorly tits up. I’d planned to catch a TPE service to Sheffield in order to make my way back to Halifax via the Penistone line and Huddersfield. The railway had other plans. Well, to be fair – it wasn’t the railways fault. A tree had come down on the Manchester Airport line at Gatley. This was fouling the overhead wires, so only diesel trains could run. No problem you think – except for the fact Manchester Airport is a terminal station and all the platforms were occupied by trapped electric trains! So, everything going to the airport was cancelled, causing a massive backlog on the Oxford Rd corridor as Network rail did its best to get trains out of the way. The station staff were excellent, both in the way they kept passengers informed and dealt with their problems as no-one wants to be delayed on the way to an airport.
Finally, my TPE service was freed from the jam and is now running roughly 30 mins late, which buggers up my connections at Sheffield. I may have to resort to plan B if I want to get home at a sensible time…
22:30.
Plan B it was. I missed my Penistone line connection at Sheffield so opted for the direct route to Leeds on a Cross-Country service, then a local train via Bradford to Halifax. It wasn’t what I’d planned, but I have another busy day tomorrow and will rejig my plans in the light of today’s events. The main this is that I’m now home, having showered and been fed (Dawn very kindly had food ready for when I got in).
Now to reset the alarm and prepare for day 2. This time I’ll be heading East…
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Stop sniggering at the back! Yes, I know the name Penistone always attracts giggles from those who enjoy innuendo, but the Penistone line between Huddersfield and Barnsley is a very scenic railway. Today I’m off exploring in order to get some lineside shots. The weather’s not exactly wall to wall sunshine, but I should be able to play with the shadows and light if the weather plays ball.
Right now I’m sat at Huddersfield, getting a few pictures after catching the local service from Halifax. Sadly, the timing off the two services couldn’t be worse. We were scheduled to arrive at 10:12 – at exactly the same time the Sheffield train departs! Still, it gives me time to get some other shots. Here’s a few,
Moody skies over Halifax and the sun battles with the clouds whilst 195109 leaves with a service to Manchester Victoria.150211 is one of the units working today’s Bradford Interchange – Huddersfield shuttles.Due to having to label and catalogue every piece in order to aid rebuilding, progress on demolishing the tea rooms at Huddersfield was slow. Now work has stepped up a pace.
15:00.
Time for an update.
As I suspected, I’ve been playing hide ank seek with the sun. That and the fact I was an hour later than hoped so its position was getting quite acute to the viaduct I wanted to shoot trains on. In the end I managed a decent shot but know there’s others to be had earlier in the day and when clouds are in a minority.Having explored Penistone I moved back up the line to Denby Dale, where the cloud was even thicker! I did manage one decent shot as a train traversed the viaduct but it’s going to need tweaking. The bright side is that I’m putting today down to an exploring day. I’ve not been to Denby Dale for years. This trip’s given me chance to explore local footpaths and work out positions for some great scenic shots when the weather’s right. Oh, and I’ve already got 18,000 steps under my belt!
The first of its type. Class 150 number 150001 crosses the viaduct at Penisone with a service to Sheffield. The same unit cross the Denby Dale viaduct. Oh, for a bit of sunshine. The good news is that I’m now au-fait with the footpaths in the area (including the one in the foreground).
16:45.
I’m now kicking my heels back in Huddersfield. The train from Denby Dale was 20 minutes late, not that it mattered as my onward connection to Halifax was cancelled!
Better late than never! 150005 working 2B58, the 14:35 Sheffield to Huddersfield arrives at Denby Dale 22 minutes late. The service left Sheffield 11 down and lost more time en-route.
Now I’ve over an hour to wait, so I’ve retreated to the ‘Kings Head’ on the station for a beer and a chance to update this blog. In passing I saw that staff from the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) had set up an information stall on platform 1. As well as useful information leaflets they’d a range of freebies, from pens to jelly-babies. I snaffled a pen…
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/
Sorry for the lack of blogs but I’ve both been busy and had the muse desert me. That’s not to imply there’s been nothing to write about – far from it, but I’ve struggled with the time and the inclination as there’s simply not enough hours in the day to do all the things that I want to achieve. Still, I’m back now and a new week begins tomorrow.
Thursday and Friday saw me back on the rails as the weather picked up. After our fortnight in Dorset I was keen to catch up with progress on some of the local rail improvements, so on Thursday afternoon I decided to go West and check on how electrification of the line from Lostock Junction (near Bolton) to Wigan was progressing. The answer is – very well. Much of the route has had masts installed although there are gaps, the biggest being from Crow Nest Junction to Hindley and also East of Westhoughton. Since my last visit in April many of the masts have had the horizontal beams and top ties added along with the registration bracket, as you can see in this picture from Hindley.
A pair of Northern Class 156s head for Wigan just West of Hindley station.
Hindley station garden’s recovering well considering its had mast bases sunk in prominent parts. The station friends have wasted no time in making temporary use of these surfaces…
Something else that’s getting renewed at Hindley is the life-expired signalling which dates from the early 1970s when the West Coast Main Line was electrified.
Rusty, much?
Friday saw me explore closer to home with a trip from Huddersfield to Leeds and back to Mirfield to have a look at Trans-Pennine Route upgrade (TRU) work. This was made harder by the fact trains were either replaced by buses, or diverted. One place I popped into was Wakefield Kirkgate, which is now on the Trans-Pennine route map. The only problem is that it’s now rendered hopeless for photography by the addition of a fence running along the tracks between the platforms. Well, that’s when you can see it as it’s mostly hidden by Buddleia!
The Wakefield Kirkgate linear garden…
The direct route between Huddersfield and Leeds via Dewsbury was closed with services replaced by buses, but I managed this shot from a diverted train on the line to Healy Mills. The bridge in the background carries the existing line over the River Calder. This whole section is going to be replaced with a new formation (and bridge) which will run in the foreground, roughly where the pile driver is in this image.
Here’s Mirfield, where the new (extended) station platforms are really starting to take shape.
Having got a train to Mirfield the only way to get back to Halifax was on a rail replacement bus. Friday was the last day of the current blockade and not a great one to end on. Traffic through Mirfield was horrendous and my bus was almost an hour late.
Nope, not this one. After waiting 40 mins we’d built hour hopes up. Instead, it was another 20 mins before a less fancy vehicle turned up.
Tomorrow a new week begins which will see me working from home. I’ve another RAIL magazine article to finish writing and lots of other stuff to prepare for later in the week – as well as plan my round Britain trip for RAIL (which I’ve had to postpone for a couple of weeks due to other pressures). Still, never a dull moment, 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/
All good things come to an end and that’s what’s happened today with our Dorset holiday. It’s been a fabulous couple of weeks despite the mixed weather. So much so that I’ve not blogged as often as I’d planned as I’ve been too busy exploring and spending time with the family. Fromm my perspective it’s been a great opportunity to revisit some places and discover new ones due as I’ve not had to rely on public transport for a change. That said, public transport (well, buses anyway) seem to be very good down here. I wish I could say the same about the trains but their punctuality and reliability has been poor.
Right now I’m on a train heading to Waterloo as I’m making my own way back whilst the family go by car. Much as I’d have liked to have travelled together all my extra kit (and me) would have made Dawn’s Honda Civic rather ‘cosy’ and I preferred to let her folks have more room. There is a bonus for me – I can work on the train and edit pictures en-route.
The whole family have come away with some very positive impressions of Dorset. People have been very friendly and helpful, plus, the towns and villages are noticeably cleaner and better kept than back in West Yorkshire. As I walked to Wareham station this morning I passed several community volunteers litter picking On the downside, it’s much more expensive in Dorset, but money isn’t everything. Oh, they still love fish and chips in Dorset! Whilst many ‘chippies’ in Yorkshire have closed in recent years, they proliferate down here. When I first moved to West Yorkshire in 2010 Sowerby Bridge boasted 5 chip shops, now there’s just one left. Conversely (as I mentioned in a previous blog) it’s harder to find decent fishmongers down here than it is in land-locked West Yorkshire. Go figure!
Whilst the standard of living down in Dorset is good (you should see how many expensive yachts and floating gin-palaces are moored up around the harbours of Poole and Weymouth) there’s still issues. The railways suffere from vandalism (see my journey here) and antisocial behaviour. Unlike Northern, SWR have a recorded announcement about how violence towards staff won’t be tolerated, which is rather depressing.
12:00.
We’ve reached Bournemouth, where the 5-car Class 444 I’m travelling on has coupled to the rear of another classmate in order to form a 10 car service to Waterloo. The opposite happens with trains heading to Weymouth, which split here. Of all the old railway regions, this splitting/joining of trains en-route is still an everyday occurrence on the old ‘Southern’ whereas it’s a rarity on most other regions.
14:15.
I’ve eschewed the delights of crossing the capital to take a slightly more roundabout way home. Having changed at Southampton Central I’m now on a Cross-Country service to Manchester via Reading and Birmingham. I’ll take me longer than the ‘direct’ route via London but it allows me to travel on routes I don’t frequent as much, such as the one I’m traversing now, which is the line from Basingstoke to Reading. This service consists of a pair of four-car Class 220s and there’s been no problem in finding a seat. A lot were reserved from Southampton but never occupied. I had toyed with the idea of stopping off at Eastleigh en-route but as that railway town was being rained on as I approached I decided to keep going. Besides, the others are already way up the country, having recently passed the Brackley HS2 construction site in Northamptonshire!
One thing I’ve noticed on these railway travels are the amounts of cuttings and embankments Network Rail has installed remote monitoring sensors on in order to detect and predict movements. Most of these structures were built 150 or more years ago, in the days when soil engineering was unheard of. Now, with age and the advent of climate change they’re increasingly at risk.
14:50.
We’ve left Oxford, en-route to Banbury after a pootle at less than high-speed along the Great Western Main Line to Didcot. Seeing the half-completed electrification scheme along the line to Oxford made me think. It would be an easy win for the new Government to show its environmental credentials by finishing this project that was cancelled by ‘failing Grayling’, the Tory Transport Minister of the time. Much of piling work was done and the plans still exist, it wouldn’t take much to dust them off. Then we could get rid of the ridiculous situation where electric trains run from Paddington to Didcot, where passengers transfer to a DMU shuttle to get the last few miles to Oxford.
15:45.
Having arrived at (and departed) Coventry we’re on our way to Birmingham, and this is where Intercity trains on this busy local corridor fall down. Due to a lack of capacity services like this become rammed with people moving between to two conurbations. We become a local train between the two, which isn’t ideal for either set of passengers, although you can see why locals prefer the faster train between the two.
16:45.
Interestingly, the majority of people who boarded my coach in Coventry (Afro-Caribbean families on a day out) were travelling to Wolverhampton, not Birmingham. Having left Wolves the train’s pretty empty! This part of the trip raises my hackles because until the disastrous premiership of Rishi Sunak, I was looking forward to this route and these cramped Voyagers being replaced by a new high-speed railway (HS2). Now, a 90 minute journey between tow of our biggest cities is baked in for decades – unless the new Labour Government has the bravery and the common-sense to resurrect the project.
17:25.
I’m on the final approach to Manchester from Stockport and Manchester is living up to its reputation for rain. It’s grim up North! Now for the walk from Picc to Vic..
Meanwhile, the others are already back in West Yorkshire and half way from the M1 to Huddersfield…
22:15.
Home again! I got back to Sowerby Bridge just before 19:00. Dawn was waiting to pick me up from the station after depositing her folks at their home in Huddersfield. Now it’s time to relax after the long journey – we can finish unpacking tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a small selection of pictures from the past couple of days.
Stop! Thief! As bold as brass, this cheeky seagull strolled into the cafe at Weymouth station, grabbed a packet of crisps off a stand and legged it without paying!With the earthworks of Maiden Castle in the foreground, 444039 works 1W23, the 11:35 London Waterloo to Weymouth. What’s the point of ‘Gatwick Express’ anymore? Here’s one of their branded units way off piste at Southampton earlier today, before working a service to – Brighton…Southwestern railway were in the football spirit today, with this massage displayed on many of their station displays…
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/
There was no blog from me yesterday as – despite the weather – we were busy. It’s not that we did lots of things, exactly the opposite. We only visited one place, but we were all taken aback by how long it absorbed us and what time we left. Where did we go? Well, the weather forecast wasn’t great, so we decided it would be an ideal time to visit the tank museum at Bovington. This is military, not water (or fish) tanks, and it’s quite a place. If you’re interested in history and military history especially, it’s a fascinating place for several reasons. It’s not just the fact it tells the story of the tank as a weapon, from the original World War 1 machines to the present day, it’s the that it has an amazing archive of recorded stories and paper and physical records of the people who fought (and sometimes died) in these machines. A glorification of war it isn’t.
The museums WW2 German Tiger tank. This machine’s in working order so can be used as part of the annual ‘Tankfest’ event. When you see these monsters close up and compare then to allied tanks of the time, you can see why they inspired fear.
Today (Monday) the weather was even worse than yesterday. The plan was to revisit Weymouth and check out Portland and as time’s moving on I arranged to leave early and do some exploring by rail. Firstly by catching a train from Wareham to Bournemouth before making my way West to catch up with the others. Here’s a couple of pictures from my travels.
Bournemouth station possesses one of the railways great overall roofs, although today’s torrential rain and the leaks it exposed proved that this listed building could do with some TLC! On the left a SWR set has split, with the front train having left for Weymouth, whilst the rear set waits to return to London. On the right a Cross-Country service prepares to return to Manchester Piccadilly.Rather more watertight is the roof over the bay platform at Bournemouth. Here’s 450075 arriving with a service from Winchester. Nearby Poole station’s rather more basic, although it still enjoys a frequent service. 444023 calls with a service to Weymouth.
Having rejoined the family at Weymouth we braved the weather to drive over to Portland – famous for its stone – and lighthouse. None of us had visited before and I have to admit to being rather disappointed, but the weather didn’t exactly help. That said, this view looking back to the mainland and Chesil beach is rather spectacular, even in today’s conditions.
We did drive all the way down to Portland Bill and the lighthouse but when we found that the Crown Estates had taken over the carpark and were charging £3 for an hour we decided ‘bugger that’. I’m sure the Royal purse is well stocked enough without our offering.
Instead, we headed back to Weymouth, a place the family have rather fallen in love with. It’s an interesting mix of old and new. Side streets and buildings dating from the 1600s contrast with a marina full of £ms worth of yachts and motorboats. One things we spotted was this supposed ‘souvenir’ from the civil war, although I have my doubts about its veracity.
Now we’re back at ‘home’, relaxing before tomorrow. The weather’s meant to be at its crappest tomorrow, not that it’s a problem for me as I’m going to have to stay at home and write for a living whilst the others venture out. Let’s see how the day unfolds…
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/
Yes, I know I’ve skipped from 4 to 6, but there’s a good reason for that! It’s partly because I spent part of day 5 getting some sleep after staying up until 06:30 to savour the election results as they came in. I’ll blog about them separately, but what I will say now is just what a relief it is to finally see the back of the Tory kakistocracy and a return to having adults in charge. Starmer’s only been PM for little more than a day but he’s really hit the ground running, having got his cabinet in place – and with some excellent and unexpected appointments that promise some really positive developments.
The other reason there was no blog yesterday is that much of the day was a washout. The forecast had predicted heavy rain and high winds and it didn’t disappoint! We ventured out in the morning as we’d been lulled into a false sense of security. We sat outside by a large pond in a nearby farmshop/garden centre to enjoy a coffee whilst watching the antics of the massive Koi carp and squadrons of noisy sparrows but by the time we returned to Wareham the rain arrived – and never really stopped. Having completed some shopping there was little for it but to retreat to our rental and relax. Well, mostly relax. Dee had decided to make a meat and potato pie for our evening meal, so kept herself busy in the kitchen. I spent time catching up on editing some of a massive backlog of pictures, whilst her folks relaxed watching TV.
Today’s been different. The sun returned so we planned to be more active, which began with Dawn and I visiting the Saturday market on Wareham Quay. I have to say I was impressed. Rather than being full of cheap tat and ‘bargain’ foods it was a proper market. We bought some gray Mullet from the fishmongers and admired to quality fruit and veg on sale. If we hadn’t got other things to do I’d have been tempted by some of the cheeses or the wonderful artisan breads on sale.
Instead, we came back, picked up Dee’s parents and went for a tour. I’d spotted Studland and the peninsula sticking out towards Poole which seemed like an interesting place to have a mooch around. It contains nature reserves good sandy beaches – plus one of the few chain-worked ferries in the UK. Sadly, when we got there the winds were almost gale-force! A walk along the beach would have seen us sand-blasted in minutes! Still, it was entertaining to watch the ferry operations. This is a busy route between Bournemouth/Poole and Swanage, even buses cross on the ferry.
The wind cut short our stay, causing us to retreat to Studland itself, where we had a drink in the beer garden at the local pub. We’d planned to visit the nearby beach but the weather had other plans. A short but heavy cloudburst changed our minds. Instead, we got back in the car to head West of Swanage. It was just as well as another torrential cloudburst caught us as we passed through the town.
We didn’t give up on the idea of enjoying some scenic views and a country pub, but as the weather looked better the further West you went we ended up at the Square and Compass pub in Worth Matravers. It’s a quirky place popular with walkers as it’s just off the coastal path. This tiny multi-room pub also contains a small museum and extensive gardens with a variety of seating. It’s well worth a visit.
As there was a certain football match on today we didn’t tarry, but returned in time that the family could bite their nails whilst watching England play Switzerland. Fortunately, the match went England’s way. Whilst Dawn prepared food I excused myself to nip out to the station to make the most of the light and grap a quick couple of shots. The railways were in trouble again, some trains were 90 minutes late due to a fallen tree on the line East of Bournemouth. It seems the bad weather that had hit us had also hit the railways.
444009 was working 1W69, the 14:05 London Waterloo to Weymouth. It was terminated short at Wareham as it was running 85 minutes late. Passengers were left to catch a following train which was only a few minutes behind and 009 returned to London as 1W70, the 1753 Wareham to London Waterloo, which would should have been the 17:20 off Weymouth.
Sadly, the weather’s due to revert to heavy rain again tomorrow, so the plan is to visit the Tank museum in nearby Bovington. After that – we shall see…
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We’ve had another great day down here in Dorset, but also one where we’ve not travelled to far in distance, instead we’ve travelled back in time with a trip on the Swanage railway behind the only surviving Southern Railway U class locomotive, no 31806, which was built in 1926. We drove down from Wareham to the Northern end of the line at Norden where were began our trips. First call was the end of the line at Swanage where we enjoyed a wander around the seafront in glorious sunshine but with winds that really took the shine off the seaside. Still, it was lovely in the lee of the wind when you could find shelter and the heat in the sun could come through.
Back on the train we headed up to Corfe Castle and another visit to the Bankes Arms where the sheltered beer garden provided a real oasis. Tempting as it was, we didn’t linger too long as we needed to get home and prepare for the evening as we’d a table booked at a local restaurant. Thai Jasmine (as the name suggests) is a Thai restaurant on North St. I long-ago gave up on trusting restaurant reviews on the internet, I’d rather trust my own opinions, and I have to say, we all thought the food was good. I had the salmon in a rich, spicy sauce (chu chee) which was gorgeous. It was an ideal way to round off the day.
Now I’m back at the ranch, watching the election results as they come in. The BBC’s exit poll suggests a Labour landslide, although the Tories are suggested to cling on to far too many seats (131) for my liking. Reform are predicted to get 13. Let’s see what actually happens…
Ine the meantime, here’s a few pictures from today.
31806 runs round its train at Swanage. I’ve always thought these Southern engines had graceful lines.The remains of the Swanage tramway. Originally standard gauge and later converted to narrow it was used to move stone shipments to the pier Looking along the town beach at Swanage.
01:00
I’m sat here with beer and crisps, watching the election results come in. The first half dozen are in with no real surprises. They’re all Labour holds apart from Swindon South, where Labour’s Heidi Alexander (a talented politician) has made a return. I’m flicking through TV channels where much of the media commentary seems to focus on Reform beating the Tories to come in 2nd place – but ignoring the fact that – if that continues, the exit poll has underestimated the size of the Tory rout.
04:00.
The results have come thick and fast. Reform have gained two more seats – those of Farage and Tice. God help their constituents who think electing millionaires who don’t give a shit about them will make their lives better. There’s a few Tory MPs who’ve survived who were expected to lose – partly due to the fact the Reform vote was meant to be higher. Kemi Badenoch, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Iain Duncan Smith were re-elected. But then Michael Fabricant lost in Lichfield – although I’m not sure if he can be claimed as a scalp by Labour!
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Paul Bigland 