Category Archives: Weather

Rolling blog: A chilly day in the Calder Valley

15 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Weather, West Yorkshire

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Today’s a good day to be sitting at home with the central heating on, pottering around doing various chores and keeping one eye on the weather. The temperatures hovering around zero, although the wind makes it colder. We’ve snow forecast and the baleful sky looks like it could deliver it at any moment. Luckily, my new Brasher walking boots have arrived, so I’m prepared!

It’s now mid afternoon and the snow’s turned out to be drizzle, which is a bit of a disappointment but probably for the best!

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Despite the filthy weather and treacherous conditions we’ve ventured out as we needed to stock up on spices ready for Xmas. I love browsing the local Asian supermarkets, marvelling at the variety of exotic veg on offer, or exploring the vast spice aisles. Here’s our haul.

Now we’ve dumped the car, taken our lives in our hands and strolled up the cobbled hill to our local, the Big 6. On the way we passed a car that’s skidded on the ice and rear-ended another! Now, what to choose…

Summer lightning

28 Saturday Jul 2018

Posted by in Travel, Weather, West Yorkshire

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Well, the weather’s well and truly changed! On Friday we basked in the hot and humid weather we’ve come to take for granted this summer. I have to admit, it’s been glorious – I love summers like this. Yesterday I was out exploring the Fylde coast, an area I’ve never known well but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by. Here’s an example. The Italiante station building at Lytham has been turned into a very attractive pub.

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The railway’s still here of course, but the only reason I discovered the place was because I was on a rail replacement bus service. The bus took me through little villages I’d never seen before but ones I’m curious to come back and explore.

Today we did something a little different. After a slow morning at home listening to the thunder and rain Dawn suggested we have an impromptu day out. Dawn’s idea was to drive over to Ilkley Moor, a place I’ve never explored. So that’s what we did. The weather was amazing, it was constantly changing, this wasn’t four seasons in one day, it was four in an hour! Here’s a few examples.

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DG303932. Thiunderclouds and lightning. Ilkley. 28.7.18

With weather like this I couldn’t help but chuckle when we popped into a local pub nearby and I found this (one of my long time favourite beers) was on;

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After exploring Ilkley moor (sans hat) we went for a bite to eat in the town itself. I’d never ventured far from the station before, so I was pleasantly surprised by the genteel feel of the town and range of pubs and eateries. We’ll certainly be back.

Pennine weather watch (No 435)

25 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Musings, Weather, West Yorkshire

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I love living in the Pennines. I love the Pennine weather less. Whilst my former home in the South can be basking in sunshine and enjoying temperatures that would put the South of France to shame we can be wrapped up in waterproofs! It’s fair to say that the Calder Valley has its own microclimate. Whilst it can be raining in the valley next door we can be basking in sunshine, although it sometimes feels it’s more likely to be the other way round! I’ve come to appreciate the wisdom of Wainwright’s old saying, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” You just have to be prepared for anything up here.

The last few days are a good example of the changing fortunes. Last Saturday Dawn and I were out walking up to nearby Norland Moor in almost perfect weather, glorious sunshine, hardly any breeze and temperatures that made you think it was summer not spring. Footpaths that were a quagmire only a few days before had dried out, making ideal walking conditions…

 

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Dawn on a footpath high above Sowerby Bridge, which can be seen in the valley below.

Even the sunset played ball!

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Sunset seen from underneath the Wainhouse Tower, back on ‘our’ side of the Calder Valley from Norland

It wasn’t to last, the arrival of a new week heralded the return of the rain, which is rather unfortunate as it’s incompatible with doing what I need to – using electrical power tools outside!  So, today I’m playing hide and seek with this little lot, rain showers sweeping in from the South-East along the valley from Ripponden – as seen from our bedroom window.

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Right, time to get tile cutting…

It’s snow joke…

18 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by in Travel, Weather, West Yorkshire

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After basking in India this time last week I’ve gone from one extreme to the other – and back again! Before I left the weather was so cold that I was cycle training in sub-zero temperatures and freezing my bits off. In the space of a few days I went from this: Snow on the ground, minus 7, bitter wind-chill and frozen reservoirs…

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to this; 30-40 degree heat and fierce sunshine!

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When I arrived back in the UK on Monday I was hoping that the thaw had set in and spring was on its way. Back in Yorkshire the snowdrops were out in force and 1000s of crocuses brightened up the grassy verges around Savile Park, creating a carpet of colour.

DG173160. Crocus carpet. Savile Park. Halifax. 9.3.14.

This weekend, we’ve slipped straight back into winter. When I threw back the bedroom curtains this morning, this was the scene that greeted me.

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Although we had snow on the ground yesterday, several inches has arrived overnight -and it’s showing no signs of stopping. Flurries are still drifting in from the West and the thermometer has plunged to minus 3 degrees. It’s bleedin’ freezing! The only consolation seems to be that yesterdays wind, which was whipping the snow off the rooftops in blizzards of tiny flakes has abated. Instead itinerant snowflakes are left drifting past my window like lost souls.

Right now it’s time for coffee, more coffee and a hearty breakfast. Later we’ll venture out and I’ll take the camera with me to get some shots and make the most of the weather. If you’ve got similar weather where you are, stay safe and warm. Me? I just wish I could wind the clock back a few days to this…

me at Taj

See you later folks!

 

The adventure begins…

02 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Ride India, The 'Beast from the East', The Railway Children, Travel, Weather

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– just not quite the way I was hoping! The bad weather’s still causing havoc on road and rail. Yesterday Grand Central announced the first train they’d be running today would be the 10.34 from Halifax. I’d planned to catch it and Dawn had given me a lift to the station, but it was cancelled at the very last moment as we waited in the warmth of the car. I’d already thought of a plan B (just in case) so put ot into action. VTEC were running a sparse service from Leeds but Virgin West Coast were running every 20 mins from Manchester. I figured that – even if one or two were cancelled – the odds of success were still far better! So, that’s where i’m en-route to now.

Calder Valley services are running with a few cancellations and delays. I’m on the delayed 10:27 which left Halifax at 10:50. The irony of taking this route is that I’m following my cycle training course to Rochdale. I’m glad i’m in a warm DMU as it looks perishing outside!

I’ll update you on my progress from Manchester…

UPDATE: 12.01

Well, that fell OK, I don’t need to be at Heathrow until 17.40. Time spent browsing the Virgin Trains website threw up a train at 13.15 for the bargain price of £39.50 instead of the normal £85.90! I’m now booked on that and *should* arrive in London at 15.39, giving me plenty of time to get to Heathrow.

Whilst passing through Manchester Victoria I was rather taken aback to see an old friend from my days in London – 150129.

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150129 has been about a bit. Centro to Silverlink to First Great Western to Northern…

This old BR built Class 150 was one of the local workhorses on the ‘Goblin’ (AKA the Gospel Oak – Barking line) in North London. I’ve travelled on it many times but never realised it was one of the units which has been transferred up North from GWR.

Taking my leave of Victoria I decided discretion was the better part of valour so instead of walking to Piccadilly as I normally do I caught a nice warm tram. I’m not exactly dressed for the freezing weather we’re experiencing and contracting hypothermia wouldn’t be a great start to this odyssey…

13:34.

We’ve left Manchester 13 late, not because of the weather (although the set was late in from Euston) but because of human error. Our train Manager confessed she’d been waiting on the wrong platform due to a last minute set swap!

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I’m currently between Stone and Norton Bridge in Staffordshire. We’ve been diverted this way rather than our normal route via Colwich due to the snow drifts. The fields are bare as all the white stuff’s blown off them onto the track! Hopefully, once we’re on the 4 track main line the situation will ease. The train’s packed as we’re carrying passengers who were on an earlier service that was cancelled before departure. Everyone seems stoic – people are just happy to be on the move. Mind you, the coach is warm as toast as the heating’s on full – so quite a few folk have drifted off to sleep!

15:19

For a change, the closer we get to London the worse the weather is getting. The skies darkened South of Rugby, then the snow arrived. We’ve just passed Wolverton and the snow’s blowing in at a rate of knots. I’ve had a call from a friend at Euston to tell me that it’s snowing in London.

The benefits of hindsight

28 Wednesday Feb 2018

Posted by in The 'Beast from the East', Travel, Weather

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Like many people, I took the mickey out of the ‘beast from the East’ as this weather front’s been called. It didn’t affect me travelling down to London yesterday and whilst it provided some spectacular clouds and snow showers, it didn’t really cause much disruption.

It’s had the last laugh.

When I was wandering through central London with a colleague after the Bradshaw address I went flying on an icy pavement. Apart from the loss of dignity it caused a minor sprain to my left wrist – just days before I start a 450km cycle ride around India.

This morning, when I threw back the curtains of my hotel I found Finsbury Park coated with a fresh dusting of snow. I wasn’t worried as the sky was a deep blue, so I took my time getting out and caught up with some work. What I hadn’t seen was the skies to the South…

It was only when I checked out that I saw the vast build-up of leaden clouds. Thinking “Oh well, this might be good for some snow shots” I headed over to some old photographic haunts on the East Coast Main Line and arrived at Alexandra Palace just in time for the blizzard! Now, I lived in London for 25 years and it’s not the first time I’ve taken snow scenes around there, but this was some of the fiercest weather I can remember. The wind was whipping the snow almost horizontally, so much so that I had to give up and retreat to Harringay station which is a little more sheltered. The Fast lines gave the game away, the line-speed is 90mph there, so the 4 foot was pretty clear of snow because it’s whipped away by fast moving trains. The snow was so heavy that they filled up again within minutes. Admittedly, It made for some good shots but it also made me start wondering if I might have problems getting home…

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A Siemens Class 700 powers through the snow as it passes Harringay station, heading for Peterborough.

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91107 pushes a VTEC service towards Kings Cross through a snowstorm at Harringay

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After the snow came the sun. Here’s 365503 arriving at Kings Cross.

What reassured me was the sight of Grand Central’s 1148 Kings Cross – Bradford flashing past me on its way North. It was a false sense of security. When I got back to Kings Cross after doing some cycle kit shopping I found that both following services (the 14.48 and the 16.03) were cancelled, leaving me with the option of hoping the last one at 19.52 was running, or coming up with plan B.

I’m currently sitting on Plan B, the late running 16.50 Kings Cross-Sunderland!

The idea is to bail out at York and catch the 19.18 Northern service to Halifax, which is the last through train of the day. After that I have to change at Leeds. If I do get back to Halifax at 20.38 as planned there’s a couple more obstacles.

It’s minus 5.

There’s no taxis running.

I’ve a mile and a half to walk home.

I’m carrying several bags (including a f**k-off 14kg camera bag).

The last part of the walk home is either down a steep cobbled hill (suicide), or an almost as steep tarmac road.

This is going to be fun…

The icing on the cake is that I’m in a rush to be back as Dawn and I have made new wills and we’ve got an early morning appointment to sign them tomorrow as I’m off to India on Friday.

I can hear the ‘Beast from the East’ laughing now!

20:38 update.

As with most plans, it never survived first contact. We were signal checked for several minutes outside York, which meant that we passed my connection on the way. Tbe good news is Trans-Pennine Express were running a 19:40 to Liverpool, which I caught (mid blizzard) instead.

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The railhead conditions weren’t great and the unit struggled, but it got me Leexs in time to catch Northern’s 20:19 to Brighouse via Halifax. I needn’t have rushed. It was 10 late leaving due to the driver being delayed on their way in on another service. There’s a lot of snow on the ground here and more’s falling, so it’s going to be interesting to see what happens when I get to Halifax…

23.00 update.

Well, I finally made it home!

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One of the Class 155s built for the Calder Valley services brought me home…

The snow persisted all the way which actually worked in my favour as it’s a damned sight easier to walk across fresh snow than the icy, compacted stuff. I even made it down the infamous hill without going arse over tit.

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The ‘Beast from the East’ has arrived…

27 Tuesday Feb 2018

Posted by in Railways, The Railway Children, Travel, Weather

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This morning we woke up to a covering of snow across the Calder Valley, whilst the media have been going into overdrive about the ‘Beast from the East’ as the weather front’s been christened, the effects are no more serious than anything we’re usually used to seeing in Yorkshire. Here’s the view from our bedroom, looking across the valley.

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Not too beastly (yet)…

I’ve had a quick look at real-times for our local train services where (apart form a couple of very early cancellations) everything seems to be running normally and to time. Of course, the forecast reckons that there’s more snow on the way, so we’ll have to see how things pan out.

I’m heading down to London today to attend tonight’s George Bradshaw address at the IMechE where Network Rail Chairman Sir Peter Hendy will be speaking. I’ll be staying down tonight and coming back tomorrow so this blog will get updated as I travel. The contrast between North and South should be interesting. The South tends to go into a panic over a bit of snow, whilst up here you can tell when it’s bad – the posties stop wearing their shorts.

I’ve a lot of travelling to do this week as I’ll be heading back to London on Friday to fly out to India for the Railway Children ‘Ride India’ charity cycle challenge (it’s a wonderful cause, so please help me to help them by sponsoring me via this link). I’ll be blogging from India when I can.

Meanwhile, enjoy the snow!

Whilst walking to the station I spotted this and wondered what story it tells…

A Yorkshire Cinderella?

Heading South on the trains has been fun, whilst there was a lot of snow around home, the more Easterly I got the thinner the snow was! By the time I arrived at Doncaster there was hardly anything on the ground and the station was bathed in bright sunshine. A pair of snowploughs sat, forlornly, in the sidings as they clearly weren’t needed. All changed by the time we reached Newark because then we started hitting the blizzards. The rest of the journey has been a real mix and match: Blue skies and fields with fresh dusting of snow contrasting with leaden skies and almost white-out conditions as the tendrils of snow sweep in. Then just as rapidly as it arrives, it clears and we hit a patch where houses and fields are untouched, they’re little green oasis in an otherwise monotone landscape. It’s lovely to watch from my grandstand seat in a nice, warm train!

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Fields North of Peterborough after a fresh coating of snow.

UPDATE: 16:40.

Now I’m in Central London before heading off to the Bradshaw address. The capital’s had a dusting of snow but nothing like many places which is hardly surprising as the capital’s always a degree or two warmer. On thing I did notice was this lovely ‘tiger-stripe’ pattern on the roof of St Pancras station a few minutes ago.

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I’ll see if I can add a couple of pictures from tonight’s address later…

 

 

A blustery day…

16 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by in Hurricane Ophelia, Weather

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Well, we may not be directly in the path of Hurricane Ophelia up here in the Pennines but it’s been an interesting day nevertheless. This morning the Calder valley was coated in a colourful semi-opaque red haze that made the place look like something out of the ‘Martian Chronicles’! It really was the most surreal feeling to see the atmosphere charged in such a way. A few hours later it’d cleared and we were back to a glorious summers day, with sunshine, scudding clouds and balmy temperatures hitting 19 degrees C. There was only one problem. The seasonal average for this time of year is 12 degrees C! Soon afterwards, the winds arrived. I’d nipped over to Huddersfield to visit the hotel where Dawn and I are getting married when we got hit by one enormous gust of wind that really rattled the place. Trees outside writhed like they were caught in a maelstrom. The drive back home was entertaining as leaves & twigs scudded across the roads like battalions of scalded cats.

We decided to stop off for a quick one in our local pub before heading home. When we arrived the pub sign hanging outside was doing its best to break off its hinges. Every few minutes you could hear the roar of the wind outside over the conversations & laughter inside. A few minutes after we left the lights went out. A power cut took out streetlights, traffic lights and every house within a mile of where we were. We drove to our local Sainsbury’s about a mile away to pick up some shopping but everything was in blackout. Eventually, the power came back on but the staff couldn’t serve anyone as all the tills were still down. It took them ages to reboot, leaving staff having to add up shopping lists on scraps paper. Believe it or not, Sainsbury’s are still using Windows XP on their tills – despite Microsoft stopping supporting it way back in April 2014! Rebooting XP after a sudden shutdown takes a lifetime.

If this was our experience on the edge of the hurricane, I hate to think what’s happening to people closer in…