I’m currently on my way from Central Glasgow to the freight conference at Mossend for the morning session. Hopefully it will be just as interesting and informative as yesterday although sadly, I’ll have to leave early.
23:30.
OK, apologies for a really crap blog today. I was full of good intentions but the day just ran away with me as I had so many things to do and places to be in.
Day 2 of the freight conference was just as interesting as day 1. The focus changed slightly which helped to keep it fresh and the range of speakers and their experiences added to that. I managed to stay longer than I expected but still missed one of the speakers I was really looking forward to listening to (Freightliner’s Heather Waugh) due to technical issues and a rejigging of the timetable. Despite that, I’ll give full credit to all the organisers for putting on a great event.
I made it back into Glasgow in time to meet up with friends from Vivarail, Porterbrook and the Rail Industry Association (RIA) – and enjoy the sight of battery and Hydrogen train together.
RIA had arranged an event on the Vivarail D-train which involved young and old rail professionals to meet and chat on an out and back trip to Barrhead and back. Meanwhile Porterbrook were just as busy showing people around their Hydrogen train between its regular runs out and back on the Cathcart circle.
I’ve many more pictures and anecdotes to add, but they’re going to have to wait for tomorrow when…
After a decent (but short) nights sleep I’m about to wander across the road to Carlisle station to head on up to Scotland for more COP26 rail events. I’ll update this blog throughout the day, so feel free to keep popping back and see what I get up to. My first port of call will be Glasgow before heading across to Mossend for the opening of the three day ‘low carbon logistics’ event…
07:10.
Carlisle station’s a bit ‘brown bread’ (cockney rhyming slang for dead) at 06:30 on a Monday morning. A couple of folk were keeping warm on the early train to Morpeth but it wasn’t until the London and Glasgow trains arrived almost simultaneously at 06:48 that the station started to wake up. I’m now sat on Trans-Pennine Express’ 07:48 to Glasgow which has made its way North from Manchester airport. Bizarrely, those who oppose High Speed 2 (HS2) argue that services like this help airport expansion. Despite their mental gymnastics they can’t cope with the fact that if people are going to fly it’s far better than people take less carbon-intensive forms of transport to airports. It’s why more advanced countries than our are phasing out internal flights and putting people on services like this instead. It’s yet another example of why the UK ‘green’ movement is often anything but.
07:30.
I’ve just had a wander through the train and reckon loading is at about 15%, which isn’t bad (but isn’t great either) for such an early morning service. There’s a real mix of ages. An old lady in a wheelchair is in my car, along with several dozing younger people. In the next coach are a a couple of guys working (one with his table strewn with paper printouts) whilst a besuited gent grabs some shut-eye.
I’ve got a table bay of four to myself and set up the mobile office to do some work en-route. The trolley’s been round meaning I have coffee (and a Kitkat) so all’s well with the world!
10:45.
Getting to Mossend was easy. There’s regular Scotrail trains to nearby Bellshill where the event had arranged for shuttle buses to carry people to the site where marquees had been set op to hold the event which was opened by Scottish Transport Minister Graeme Dey MSP who gave an in-depth speech on the way Scotland is determined to tackle transport Co2 emissions.
12:28.
We’ve had some really interesting presentations (details later) but now we’re off to see one of the freight locomotives being named. So (of course) the heavens have decided this is a good time to open! The organisers were prepared and we’ve been given natty DB red umbrellas.
13:55.
We’re about to kick off the afternoon session after lunch and the the loco naming. GBRf named one of their Class 92s after the founder of PD Stirling. The engine was named by Stirling family members.
From L-R: Andrew Stirling, Julie Stirling, David Stirling and Tim Hartley from GBRf.
23:00.
Time to bring the day to an end. The afternoon session at the conference was really interesting. Alex Hynes came back to speak once more, then we had an excellent panel session chaired by Bill Reeve of Transport Scotland. Called “Scottish Businesses & Industry Delivering Low Carbon Logistics” the panel consisted of Tim Hartley, Business Development Director, GB Railfreight. Kenneth Russell, Commercial and Strategy Director, John G Russell Transport. David Turner, Rail Director, Malcolm Logistics. Chris Swan, Head of Rail, Tarmac and Catherine Hall, Head of Strategic Planning, Network Rail.
The final session of the day came from Stephen Carr, Group Commercial Director of Peel Ports whose presentation on changing the face of how logistics networks work in the UK demonstrated how many road miles and tonnes of carbon could be saved by reappraising how the existing networks worked.
There was far too much ground covered to fit in this blog but I’ll be writing about it in detail at a later date.
As the afternoon unfolded emails I received changed my plans yet again. It seems that I’m much in demand here at COP 26 as two more short-notice jobs were arranged for me. This means I’m going to be doing a very good impression of a blue-arsed fly for the rest of my time here in Scotland.
Tonight I’m back in Glasgow staying with a good friend. Tomorrow is another day. Watch out for a disjointed rolling blog as I bounce around from event to event…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I took a day off from blogging yesterday as it was one of those days. Not in a bad way, but one in which plans rapidly had to change due to new work opportunities and commissions coming in that meant I had to rejig my calendar for the weekend and week ahead. Not that I minded. I’d rather be active than idle and the opportunities are too good to miss. Mind you, it was a good day to be stuck at home poring over a computer screen as the weather’s been cold and miserable here in the Pennines. It’s been the same today with gusting winds and rain beating against the windows. The valley below’s spent most of the day hidden in the murk. What a contrast to Thursday when I was out and about in Cumbria which was bathed in glorious sunshine!
As time’s pressing I’ve spent much of today writing up a future article for RAIL magazine which I want to get completed before Monday as I’ve a series of other pieces in the pipeline and deadlines have a nasty habit of sneaking up on you, especially when you’re writing for a fortnightly news magazine! And there’s no shortage of news in the rail industry at the moment – good or bad. So, a quiet night in beckons as tomorrow evening I’m off again and I won’t be home until Thursday at the earliest. No doubt there’ll be plenty to blog about as I’ll be back in Glasgow on Monday for more rail events connected with COP26. It’s a huge event for the rail industry which is displaying its green credentials in many different ways – not least as the least carbon-intensive way of people getting to the events. Watch out for more blogs on Hydrogen and Battery trains and plenty on the freight sector too as many of the railfreight companies will be at a three day event at Mossend Yard near Motherwell.
OK, it’s now time for me to switch off and step back from the computer for a while to enjoy Saturday night. There’s lots of fireworks going off around me but tonight feels like a night for relaxing rather than taking in a display. Besides, or bedroom window look out over the valley so we can see plenty from the comfort of home!
I’ll leave you with the picture of the day. I have to admit I love Scotland (the country and the people) so I’m really looking forward to the next few days North of the border. Here’s a shot I took on Fuji Velvia slide film over 20 years ago, on the 26th March 2001 when I was taking pictures for a forthcoming Lonely Planet guide to the country. This is the view from the extinct volcano in the centre of Edinburgh known as Arthur’s Seat. How many cities can boast of having such a wild place with fantastic views across it?
Almost directly above the man’s head you can see Edinburgh Castle, which gives you an idea of the size and scale of the former volcano. Over to the right is Leith and the Firth of Forth and beyond that Fifeshire and on to the snow-capped Ochil Hills. Sadly, I won’t have time to do this again this trip…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
I’m currently kicking my heels in Preston having travelled down from Scotland on an Avanti Pendolino this afternoon. I’ve had another busy but fun day in Glasgow, firstly checking out progress in electrifying the lines out to Barrhead and East Kilbride in order to get a few libray shots, then hot-footing it back to Glasgow Central in time to join the Vivarail battery train which was due to carry another selection of invited guests on a run out to Barrhead and back. This time the guests were more international and included representatives from Japan, Mexico and several Latin-American countries.The train performed faultlessy and gave a spirited run on battery power out and back.
Once the fun was over and with the winter light being ideal for shots at some of the locations I’d checked out earlier I sallied forth to Crossmyloof and Pollokshaws West where the OLE masts were illuminated by the setting sun and managed to capture the transition between two forms of traction as the lines are still worked by diesel multiple units which will be displaced one the masta that are appearing in their midst carry overhead wires. Here’s a couple of illustrations…
Hi-res versions of all the pictures taken over the past few days will be available on my Zenfolio website by tomorrow. I’ve been using my time on the Pendolino from Glasgow to get them all edited. The 11 car was packed when it arrived in Glasgow, but I managed to bag a table in the unreserved coach on the return and set up my mobile office – although the sunset and scenery did provide frequent distractions! I’ve a busy programme over the next few days so any time I can find to be productive is useful.
I must admit, I’ve really enjoyed spending all this time in Glasgow. It’s a great city that I’m very fond of. It has something for everyone. When I have some spare time I’ll flesh-out some of the blogs I’ve written with links, reviews and suggestions for places to visit. Places I’d never have found without the knowledge of a friend (Peter) who’s Glaswegian born and bred…
I’m about to head out to Central station for another assignment that involves battery trains. The railways have been having a torrid time of it over the past few days, the line to Glasgow from London’s been disrupted by fallen trees, delaying many people getting to COP26. There’s an irony here. The charity The Woodland Trust have been campaigning against Network Rail clearing back lineside vegetation along rail routes. No-one wants to see tree cover diminish, but it’s about having trees in the right place, and where they’re a danger to life and limb (too nay trains have hit fallen trees) or cause such massive disruption as they have done, then (no matter what the WT claim) they need to be removed. Go plant them somewhere else.
Another incident at Salisbury has left two trains badly damaged – fortunately without any serious injuries to passengers or crews. We all take railway safety seriously and any lessons that can be learned will, so I refuse to speculate on any reasons for the accident.
The weather here in Glasgow’s brightening up, so I’m off out, I’ll update this blog as I go…
18:20.
Sorry, this hasn’t been much of a rolling blog as I’ve just been too busy with the events, taking pictures and meeting people. It has been a fascinating day tho’. Glasgow Central station’s been buzzing. A media centre’s been set up on the first floor of one of the vacant buildings (the old bar) and people have been coming and going all day as many VIPs have been arriving. At the same time I’ve been working on the Vivarail event and their shuttle train which took invited guests on a return trip to Barrhead. But, before we ran the trip, a nameplate was presented to the man behind the whole idea, Adrian Shooter by Bill Reeve, Director of Rail for Transport Scotland.
Bill Reeve (right) with Adrian Shooter and a copy of the nameplate attached to 230001. 230001 leaves Glasgow Central after the event to return to Polmadie.
Whilst all this was happening the VIPs kept arriving. I saw these people getting off the train from London…
Needless to say, the atmosphere in Glasgow is starting to ramp up now that COP26 has begun in earnest with the arrival of the politicians and heads of state. I’ll be spending another day here tomorrow on a similar event but also hope to have a look at a couple of other things before returning South for a few days to catch up with other work before returning for transport day on the 10th when a rather different type of train will be running.
Oh, I did pop back to the station later, at which point the ‘Extinction Rebellion’ circus had started arriving in town. Regular readers will know just how cynical I am about XR, its people, its methods and its ideology – but they do provided a good opportunity for a photographer. Here’s the ‘Red Rebels’ at Central station, because nothing is going to stop Climate Change like dressing up and pretending you’re a ‘green’ version of Marcel Marceau…
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Apologies for the gap in blogging but yesterday was a hectic day spent chasing trains to get a rather special shot for a client that involved on the the UK railways most iconic structures. The Forth Rail bridge. I’ll add a lot more detail later, but here’s the shot that was achieved (after a came of cat and mouse with the sun) as Vivarail’s battery D-Train crossed the bridge at Dalmeny, heading back to Glasgow.
Today I’m taking it easy at the home of a friend. My stay in Scotland’s been extended by my client, so I’ll be here until Tuesday now – which is rather nice. Hopefully the weather might have chance to improve but as the next couple of days jobs are indoors it’s not to much of a problem, right, catch you later – we’re off for a bite to eat…
Peter introduced me to part of Glasgow I’d never explored before – Glasgow Green. It’s wooded parkland with open spaces and some fascinating buildings along the North bank of the River Clyde. Here’s a few images.
Inside West, the German bar and brewery inside the Templeton building. It’s a German bar so there was only one thing we could have chosen for lunch. Currywurst…
Today I head from Halifax north of the border to spend several days in Scotland for work (and some pleasure). The bag’s packed, the camera’s cleaned and all the batteries are charged. Now all I’ve go to do is get there. I’ll be blogging about my travels throughout the day as I make my way to tonight’s final destination – Stirling. Feel free to keep popping in to see how the adventure unfolds. There’s a storm front passing across the North-West and Scotland at the moment which is already causing disruption and cancellations to rail services, so things could be ‘interesting’ to say the least…
09:49.
The rain held off to allow me to enjoy my stroll to the station. Gusting winds played havoc with the falling leaves, making them swirl around my feet as I tramped the tree-lined streets into town. There’s some glorious autumn colours around at the moment. Hopefully I’ll have time to capture some of them on camera over the next few days.
Right now I’m on the 09:38 from Halifax to Leeds. It’s made up of a pair of 2-car Class 195s. I’m in the lead car which is quiet. There’s less than a dozen of us aboard. I suspect that’ll change on arrival at Bradford…
09:58.
Sure enough, our reversal at Bradford Interchange saw the train fill up, mostly with young students and a few shoppers. Depressingly, mask-wearing is almost non-existent.The ominous grey skies have followed me but here they’re breaking up and blue sky is fighting back.
We left 5 minutes late due to being held to let a late-running Halifax service pass but I’m not time-precious today, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
10:35.
My late arrival meant I missed one train onwards to York and the next Northern service was running 8 mins late so the speedy option was to wait for Trans-pennine Express and their 10:42 to Newcastle.
10:48.
Friday crowds joining the 10:42.
I managed to find a seat on the train but it was a struggle as there’s no shortage of folk travelling. Overhearing conversations it’s clear most people are leisure travellers going away for the weekend to see family or friends. I know this because there’s a garralous Scouse woman working the refreshment trolly who keeps chatting to everyone she serves! Her job was made easier by the fact we arrived early but left late..
11:08.
I’ve not travelled the Leeds – York route for a while, so I was surprised to see that electrification masts are marching South from Colton Junction. They look remarkably like the substantial ‘series 1’ type used on the Great Western electrification too! I can see I need to nip out this way with the camera…
12:00.
I’m finally on the way to Scotland! On arrival at York I changed trains to wait for the next LNER service to Edinburgh which (surprise surprise) was running late. This seems to be the theme of the day. None of the delays are serious, all are in single figures, so I can’t really complain when it’s the leaf-fall season and the weather’s stormy (to say the least). In fact, now we’re rushing Northwards the skies are clearing, which is a good sign.
As I was in the queue to get off the train at York I overheard an exchange between to women with kids which illustrates the problem the railways are facing at the moment. Both were from Yorkshire and one was using the train for the first time for years. She was travelling from Huddersfield with two children and used the train as a treat and different experience for her two young daughters. But…She observed that if it hadn’t been the helpful staff who split her tickets for her, the journey would have cost her £55 – far more than the cost of driving, even with adding in parking charges. Her observation? She won’t be using the train again as it’s too expensive. Next time she’ll drive. These are the people we need to get out of cars, but we can’t do it if people find rail travel is too expensive. Many train companies would like to offer cheaper tickets, but the problem is the Treasury and Dept of Transport, who still see railways as a cash-cow and not a vital tool to help tackle climate change. This attitude has to be challenged, but when we have such a dysfunctional Government (see my comment about cutting domestic air passenger duty yesterday) what will it take to get through to our politicians?
The 9 car Class 801 that I’m on now is busy. Very busy. I’ve managed to find a seat in the leading car but we’ve several stops before Edinburgh yet and the ominous sign “may be reserved later” is showing on the reservation LED above me so I could be turfed out en-route. With the train being so busy the onboard wifi is so slow it’s useless so I’m grateful I’ve get a huge data allowance on my phone contract. This has allowed me to tether my phone to my laptop and post from there. Happy days!
13:00.
We’ve left Newcastle and I’ve not been thrown out of my seat yet so that’s a result. The composition of the carriage has changed quite a bit tho’ – many people left at Newcastle so we have a new (younger) intake. The atmosphere’s still good with many people chatting and enjoying the trip – although the weather’s deteriorating again. We’ve just called at Morpeth, having clawed back 2 minutes of the 8 minute deficit we had leaving York. I’m optimistic we’ll be near to time by Edinburgh.
13:50.
Bliss! We’ve now crossed the border, having left ‘little England’ behind – at least for a few days. Our last stop was Alnwick after which we were treated to some wonderful views of the Northumbrian coast and places like Lindisfarne Island which was bathed in glorious sunshine, speeding over the magnificent Royal Border bridge without stopping we’re now hugging the Scottish coast before arriving in Edinburgh. I’ll be busy for a while but blogging will resume once I leave the Scottish capital. I’m not stopping for long…
15:11.
As we approached Edinburgh from the East I could see the storms approaching from the West. Thunderous grey cloud that looked very uninviting. As we’d only got as far as Drem when it started throwing rain at us. Lots of rain. It didn’t let up for the rest of the trip into the Scottish capital. The conditions made me change my plans and decide to head straight on to Glasgow. I hear from friends that the weather’s no better there either, but I’m going to meet up with a couple of old friends before heading to my accommodation for the night. My revised plan is to get some night shots as standing water makes for some great reflections, but it needs to be properly dark first. So, now I’m speeding West on one of the excellent Hitachi built Class 385 EMUs…
I’m slowly recovering from last week and the exertions of both Infrarail/Railtex then straight into Tthe Railway Children’s ‘3 Peaks by Rail’ extravaganza. Most of Sunday was spent catching up on sleep as I knew I’d need to recharge the batteries for this week, which has another hectic travel schedule. But today’s been spent slaving over a hot computer as I’ve been editing thousands of pictures from the events in order to get them out to clients as this is the only day I have free. Fortunately, I’ve managed to get almost all done. The last few can get done whilst I’m travelling tomorrow.
I’ve another early start as I’m travelling down to London for a press event that I can’t talk about until its over. I’ll be blogging about it when the time comes as part of tomorrow’s rolling blog. Sadly, the weather forecast for the capital is looking pretty dismal tomorrow so I may not be there too long. We shall see…
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which was taken on the ‘3 Peaks’ train as it returned from Fort William and crossed the beautiful Rannoch Moor. The trip to/from ‘Fort Bill’ is stunning. It’s one of the UK’s great railway journey’s. I wish I’d had more time to enjoy the trip but I was busy working aboard the train. Even so, there was the opportunity to get one or two shots and this is one of them. The railway enthusiasts amongst my readers will know how rare a sight a BR Blue Class 47 loco would be on this line.
This particular locomotive is now numbered 47614 (again). It was new in June 1964 and numbered D1733. Renumbered as 47141 in January 1974 it gained the number 47614 in June 1984 before becoming 47853 in February 1990. As well as many numbers it’s had many owners. After the end of BR it passed to Virgin Trains, then private operator Riviera Trains who then sold it on to DRS. In 2018 it was acquired by current operator Locomotive Services Ltd (LSL) who’ve renumbered it back to 47614. It’s rather appropriate to see it back in Scotland as it was a Scottish allocated engine between 1974 and 1989.
I’ve a favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (as we recover from Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
Good morning folks. We’ve made it up to Scotland without further incident, although we are now running 72 minutes late, which will affect the amount of time teams have to climb Ben Nevis. Contingency plans are in hand to have any stragglers bussed to Crianlarich where they can rejoin the train as we head South.
Breakfast of tea, coffee and porridge was served around 04:15. Right now the train’s a hive of activity as people have a was and brush up (as much as you can on a train with no showers!) Visit one of the two physiotherapists we have on board offering massages and medical care, or otherwise prepare for climbing Ben Nevis.
Superfast oats, superfast service…
We’re expecting to arrive at Fort William in the next 15 mins. Once the teams are off the train will be taken to the sidings to be tanked, serviced and cleaned. For once, I’ll be staying with the train and myself and some of the operations team will be meeting the climbers when they cross the finish line.
07:45.
The stock from the 3Peaks train is now sat in the yard and some of the crew are enjoying 40 winks before we head off into Fort William. On an adjacent road is this beastie, one of two which are in steam, ready for working the ‘Jacobite’ service from Fort William to Mallaig.
16:00.
Time for an update now that we’re on our way home. The late arrival in Fort William did have an impact on people climbing Ben Nevis. The new event management team from Global Adventure Challenges streamlined the process of getting everyone on the mountain safely, which made up some time, but there had to be a cut-off time that meant if you hadn’t reached the summit by a certain time you had to turn back from wherever you’d reached in order to make it back down in time to catch the train. Delaying our departure would have too many knock-on effects with pathing and connections. Despite this 90 people summited, far more than we’d hoped for. Even so, not everybody made it off the mountain in time. Three people were too late to get the bus to connect with the train so plan B was enacted. They were put on a fast coach with a Global Adventure Challenges member and ferried to Crianlarich where they rejoined us.
Despite the fact I’d had high hopes, today was another one that wasn’t exactly vintage as so many events conspired to make it otherwise – most of which were completely out of my control – such as the weather! Much as I’d love to have the power to decide whether the sun shines or not, that ain’t going to happen, so I just had to watch the rain sweep in for much of the day – but there was a surprise feeling later.
Having been stuck in for most of the day travelling back in time scanning old pictures and dealing with paperwork the pair of us did venture out in the afternoon to drop a present at a friend’s house for his 69th birthday. Dawn has been busy the past couple of days playing around with and perfecting her Vegan chocolate recipes which was what we dropped round at our friends. In the process we found out some awful news about some other people we’ve known for many years. I’m not going to name the couple as it’s not my place to do so, but we discovered that one of them (in their early 60s) has been diagnosed as having Motor Neurone Disease – just as they’ve managed to sell their business ready for retirement. If ever you’ve wanted to curse the Gods…
Earlier on the week a friend contacted me to say that his Father had passed away due to COPD, so you start thinking ‘sheesh’! None of this has anything to do with Covid or the present situation we all find ourselves in but it does start to concentrate the mind. Needless to say, these events gave me food for thought. Despite the weather I went out for a long walk and ended up sat up on what I think of as a retreat – the cliffs on the promenade above the valley looking down on our local woods. It was dark by the time I got there and the wind was literally blowing a gale but to sit there on my own, being battered by the elements made me feel grateful to be alive and also wonder at the simple joys of living which we don’t always appreciate in these complicated times. Us mere mortals will come and go, but the seasons and the elements will always remain…
These thoughts about change are reflected in the choice of today’s picture which is from the latest batch of slide scans. I took this shot of the ferry to the Isle of Skye on the 24th July 1990.
The ferry ‘Lochalsh’ arrives at the Kyle of Lochalsh with the Isle of Skye in the background. Now the ferry has gone and the town’s declined as a result. The new bridge crosses to the Isle of Skye about a mile away to the right of the picture.
Back then I’d take a yearly break from my London life to travel around Scotland for a week on a rail rover ticket. This particular time I pitched-up at the Kyle of Lochalsh in perfect weather so stayed a night in the hotel overlooking the terminal for the ferry across to Kyleakin on the isle of Skye. This was an idyllic spot. You may have seen from a previous blog that I’ve always had an affinity for ferries like this. Sadly, this one is long-gone. It was replaced by a bridge in 2005 – although that fact that was built as a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project which charged huge tolls was both contentious and unpopular. Sadly, like the ferry villages in my other blog, the Kyle of Lochalsh has gone into an economic decline – even tho’ it’s still the terminus of the railway from Inverness. Still, my pictures remind me of happier times over 30 years ago…
Paul Bigland 