Category Archives: West Yorkshire

Rolling blog. Yorkshire return…

30 Saturday Sep 2023

Posted by in Photography, Rolling blogs, Surrey, Travel, West Yorkshire

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09:30.

Our time in Surrey has come to an end. Now we’re busy packing as we’ll be driving back to West Yorkshire later today. That may be ‘fun’ due to extra traffic on the roads as today sees another strike in the long-running labour dispute on the railways – which the government are doing nothing to resolve as they see it playing into their hands politically.

Plus, whilst the weather’s still lovely ‘darn sarf’ friends back home have told us to expect to return to heavy rain. Ho hum. Well, at least I won’t have to water the garden when I get in! As we’re in no rush we’ll be nipping out for coffee and cake with a neighbour for we leave. The local pub has sublet an outhouse in their beer-garden which has become a food hub. There’s now a coffe shop cafe occupying the place whilst the outside of the buildi g is home to a pizza oven run as a seperate business.

13:45.

Suitably fortified with coffee and cake we’ve made it out of Surrey, round the M25 (busy but mostly free flowing) and onto the M1.

15:30.

After our traditional pitstop at Watford Gap services we’re now whizzing up the M1 in Leicestershire. The further we get from London the more the traffic thins – although lane discipline hasn’t improved. So many folk seem to have no idea how you drive on a motorway.Thy stick in the middle lane as if their car’s on rails! This leads to lots of damgerous weaving and undertaking as others try to get past them.

16:06.

Our luck – and the weather – held as far as Junction 28 (Matlock). Now we’re driving along in clouds of spray but traffic is flowing and the M1 remains quiet.

16:40.

Good job it’s a Saturday and there aren’t many of these on the road kicking up spray.

21:30.

We’re home safe and sound, unpacked and settled in for the night on what’s a wet end to the day and real contrast to where we’ve just come from. I’ve begun the marathon task of doing the first sift of the 1000s of pictures I’ve taken over the past week whilst Dawn’s relaxing and winding down after her long drive by watching some TV. Looking at the weather here back in West Yorkshire it seems we accidentally chose an ideal time to go away!

Still, tomorrow’s another month – and who knows where that will lead…

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

That went well!

20 Wednesday Sep 2023

Posted by in Hampshire, Musings, Railways, Travel, West Yorkshire

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I’m typing this from Bigland Towers, which is rather unfortunate as you should be receiving this missive from darkest Devon…

On Tuesday Dawn and I were due to drive down to North Devon in order to stay with some old friends who moved there from West Yorkshire a few years ago. It would have been the first chance we would have had to visit them as Covid got in the way before now. Then on Monday we received a message that the pair of them had gone down with a stomach bug so we provisionally knocked the trip back for 24 hours. On Tuesday we found out the bug wasn’t of the 24 hour variety so we reluctantly (but sensibly) decided to postpone our visit until next year due to hectic schedules between now and then. We were all gutted as our friends had planned some brilliant trips such as beach walks and (of course) railways.

Our ‘rain-check’ proved to be eminently sensible in more ways than one as the weather here in West Yorkshire and in North Devon was shocking – and in many points in between it seems. We’ve had torrential rain and gales so driving all that way on motorways would not have been fun at all – especially as we’d planned to do the 300 mile trip in a day. So, we’ve stayed at home, which has been frustrating as the climatic conditions have made it impossible to get much exercise in. I could have gone walking but even with full waterproofs it would’ve been a miserable experience. Instead I’ve been trying to stop the garden blowing away as my Gladioli and other plants have taken a battering. We’re now on day 3 and the weather’s finally changed. We nipped out for lunch with Dawn’s parents over at a garden centre near Holmfirth where I picked up some Pansies to replace some of the summer plants that are past their best. Late afternoon blue skies put in an appearance, the wind abated and the rain finally sodded off. So, tomorrow, rather than enjoying the hedonistic delights of Devon I’ll be at home, repairing the garden and putting up shelves. However, all’s not lost, we’re only stuck here until Saturday, then we head down to Surrey, where we’ll be based for a week – and the weather forecast is looking very promising indeed. I’m hoping I may be able to take the camera for a walk around this neck of the woods on Friday, but we’ll see how much gets done tomorrow…

I’ll leave you with a picture from one of the lines I should be back exploring next week. Here’s the old signalbox at Haselmere station, seen on the 5th July 2017.

This London and South Western Railway type 4 design is 127 years old and listed Grade 2. There are plans to preserve it in situ when the line is resignalled.

The Portsmouth direct line is in the process of being renewed and resignalled. You can learn more about the project here.

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

11th September picture of the day…

11 Monday Sep 2023

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

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There’s only a short blog from me today. It’s late and I’ve had a long day glued to the computer editing pictures which have now appeared on my Zenfolio picture website. As usual, they’re spread around various galleries which are dedicated to particular train companies, aspects of the railways – or other interests. There’s still more pictures to edit but the majority have been uploaded. You can find them in these galleries;

Greater Anglia

Govia/Thameslink

Infrastructure and engineering

East Midlands Railway

Social issues

UK travel photography

Odds and sods

Another of today’s chores was to package and parcel the latest eBay sales of old railway slides and memorabilia and get them down to to post office for dispatch to the lucky winners. There’s still plenty of items on offer (I’ve just started another 5 day sale now) so if you want to browse what’s for sale, click on this link.

I’m having break from the office tomorrow so expect a rolling (ish) blog, although I can’t tell you where I’ll be going as I don’t know myself yet! It depends on the weather and what’s happening.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a taster from my new travel pictures. This one’s of Saffron Walden in Essex. It’s a delightful little market town that couldn’t be more different in character and design than West Yorkshire…

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

10th September picture of the day…

10 Sunday Sep 2023

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

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We’ve had a mixed weekend here back at Bigland Towers. Much of the time’s been taken up with catching up on daily chores that have been neglected after a week away. The one item missing from our accommodation was a washing machine, so ours has been working overtime to process a weeks work of dirty clothing. Thankfully, the sunny weather continued over Saturday, which was probably the hottest day we’ve had here in the Calder Valley this year. The pair of us were too busy to venture far but we did manage a wander into Sowerby Bridge to pick up some shopping, stop for a quick drink, then wander back along the canal. I even managed to nip out for a few games of pool and catch-up with friends before returning to evening cooking duty when I experimented with a new Thai recipe.

Today’s been in similar vein with the exception that Dee’s been out most of the day at a relaxation and meditation course whilst I’ve stayed at home to wade through more washing and get stuck into editing the hundreds of pictures I took whilst we were away but which haven’t (yet) made it onto my Zenfolio website. I’m making good progress and many of them will appear by tomorrow.

I still managed to get my daily constitutional in and 12.5k steps but it was a close run thing as the weather really has turned the afternoon. I’d hung around until late in the afternoon before getting out and just managed to dodge a heavy shower. That said, we’ve escaped the storms that seem to have hit to the North and South of us. all we’ve had is a few mild rumbles of thunder, but (disappointingly) no lightning – otherwise I’d have had the camera out as I love a good storm. Today’s picture is an illustration of all the weather offered us, hardly dramatic compared to some pictures I’ve seen.

Here comes the rain again…

Now I’m typing this listening to more distant rumbles of thunder as storms are moving through our area this evening but they’re still failing on the pyrotechnic front. Tomorrow’s going to be another day stuck at home as I’ve a load of eBay sales to dispatch, pictures to edit and stuff to sort out for later in the week. It’s the National Rail Awards on Thursday, so it’s time to dust off the Tuxedo…

See you tomorrow!

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

26th August picture(s) of the day…

26 Saturday Aug 2023

Posted by in Food and drink, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Vegetarians may want to skip this blog…

We’ve had another quiet Saturday here at Bigland Towers, partly because we’re preparing for a lot of adventures in September. Well, that and the fact the weather’s been shocking. August? It feels more like Autumn. Today the mercury’s struggled to get over the mid teens, making it one of the coldest Augusts for many years. Before the climate-change denialists start rubbing their hands in glee can I point out that weather isn’t the same as climate (especially global climate) – a distinction lost on these people. Look at charts of average temperatures and the picture becomes all to real – and all to frightening.

We had brunch with Dawn’s parents over in at a farm shop near Huddersfield, which led to a classic moment. Norah sometimes forgets history. John and Norah are 88 and 82, during a conversation Norah asked ‘what was it like for you growing up during the war love’? The Scouser in me immediately kicked in and said ‘which war, the Boer war’? I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea Norah had me pegged as older than her and John. That reminds me, maybe I should put in a bulk order for anti-wrinkle cream. Or maybe just keep a portrait in the attic…

After brunch the pair of us ventured into Halifax to do some clothes shopping. Well, I should clarify. Dawn was doing some clothes shopping yet I still came back with some new schmutter due to Dee ‘suggesting’ I needed some new polo tops. Who was I to argue?

Afterwards we popped into our local pub (The big 6) for a drink and a giggle with friends and locals – and dogs! The pub’s always been very dog friendly and the attentions and actions of the local pooches can be just as entertain as some of the human visitors.

Another source of entertainment was the weather I mentioned earlier as we were prevented from venturing out earlier due to thunderstorms and torrential rain. We thought July was a washout but August’s giving it a run for its money. On the bright side, clinging to the side of the Calder valley as we do – we get a grandstand view of the storms approaching and the rain blanking out Sowerby Bridge before it hits us. It’s rare that the rain sneaks up on us here.

Walking back from the pub to skies like this…

Now we’re having a quiet night at home. Dee’s busy in the kitchen (it’s her turn and her choice) preparing steak in peppercorn sauce with garlic mushrooms, potatoes and green beans. We eat steak once in a blue moon but today Dee decided today was the day – and it was delicious! Having eaten our fill the local foxes will be dining on the fat.

At the and of next week we’ll be leaving the life of domestic behind as we’ll both be on the road so I’ll be bringing you a variety of blogs from different parts of the UK. In the meantime (wherever you are in the UK) enjoy the last bank holiday of the year. To my other readers spread around the world – don’t worry – you’re not missing much!

This brings me on to today’s other picture which was taken at Sheffield station the other day. Sadly, not all wildlife is railway savvy, especially birdlife. Peasants being particularly dumb but pigeons aren’t far behind. Still, the pigeon/train interface often provides lunch for other animals. In this scenario it was a case of fine dining for crows…

‘Fancy a takeaway’?

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

20th August picture of the day…

20 Sunday Aug 2023

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

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The pair of us have had a weekend at home here at Bigland Towers but it could hardly be described as a relaxing ‘feet up in front of the telly’ kind of weekend as both of us have kept busy. Dawn’s been on a mission. Having borrowed a carpet cleaner from her parents (think of a Dyson, in that it looks similar, weighs about the same – but works) Dee’s been methodically going from room to room, washing each carpet. The cottage is only small but these things still take time. Whilst Dawn’s been occupied thus I’ve kept out of the way and worked in the garden or on the outside of the house. For once the weather’s been conducive to such activities – despite the tail the end of storm ‘Betty’ which brough gusting winds to the Pennines. I’ve managed to fill several bin-bags with plant based detritus, including the trimmings off a Jasmine plant which was blocking a lot of light from the front of the cottage. The only problem was as soon as I saw how much extra light was coming in through the windows I also realised how dirty they were! Cooking when the kitchen is stacked full of exercise weights and office equipment was fun but I still managed to rustle up a typical Indonesian Nasi Goreng which has kept us going over the weekend.

Today’s been occupied finishing off the chores from yesterday, with one major difference. Dee wanted to watch the football world cup match between England and Spain whilst she was working. This involved plugging herself into the commentary via her phone whilst having the video on her iPad. Me? I was outside up a ladder cleaning windows, which was quite amusing as the expletives and exhortations coming from inside the house made me think Dee had suddenly contracted Tourettes!

Now it’s Sunday night, the carpets are drying and the cottage is slowly coming back together ready for another working week. The kitchen’s no longer an obstacle course and all the rubbish has been taken to our local recycling centre so it’s time to relax. The only thing left for me to do is post a picture of the day but as the camera’s been tucked away all weekend, the question is what to choose from the archives. How about this one which is completely random and not related to anything I’ve been talking about?

I’ve been crap at finishing scanning all my old slides this year because other things (modern life, mostly) have got in the way. Well, that and trying to earn a crust. But, I have a stack of already scanned slides I’ve just never got around to editing and sticking on my Zenfolio site. This is one, from February 1998, taken just after sunrise at the ghats in Varanasi, India.

A Brahmin (an upper caste Hindu – evidenced by the sacred thread he wears) gets his head shaved by a barber at the ghats in Varanasi.

Tomorrow’s the start of another busy week (as if this weekend wasn’t active enough) so expect pictures from one or two locations around the UK that I’ve not covered recently…

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 August picture of the day…

18 Friday Aug 2023

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

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I think the expression’s meant to be ‘thank God it’s Friday’, although it’s not really one that’s in a Freelance’s lexicon – and especially not if you work in the rail industry! Hence it being nearly 9 o’ clock on a Friday and I’m still editing pictures and sending them off to magazines. There’s no time to go to the pub tonight, but I’m also trying to be good after having had a week that’s been less than abstemious due to various events. That said, looking at the bin fire that’s the UK economy and stock market this week I should be reaching for the Brandy. We have a Government that’s more interested in fighting culture wars and posturing on pubs opening early so that folk can watch football rather than deal with anything important. You know – like the economy? The Tories feel very Romanesque right now. It’s all about bread and circuses.

Still, today’s not been a bad day to be stuck at home working. The weather’s been dull, cold and wet. I went out earlier and noticed that one of our neighbours had lit their coal fire. Yep – in the middle of August! Temperatures are hovering around 15 degrees here in the Pennines right now, which is hardly summer temperatures, but it’s not exactly Iceland either. With conditions not being that of a classic English summer keeping busy seems to be the only sensible thing to do. Who wants to leave a hostage to fortune by booking to go to any outdoor events when so many have been cancelled this year?

Right, time to go. This was always going to be a short blog but one batch of Wetransfer files are now winging their way to a client so it’s time to send a last one before I can call it at day. I’ll leave you with a picture of the day which is one from the series of images I took at the new Siemens train factory at Goole yesterday. Whilst the first London Underground trains to be built on the site won’t happen until March next year there’s a lot of work going on in one of the buildings where components for various trains (and not just Siemens products) are being overhauled.

Here are traction motors that power Eurostar trains being refurbished in a brand new on-site facility, although the company who’re doing the work have moved to Goole from Leeds – and expanded in the process…

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 August picture (and video) of the day…

14 Monday Aug 2023

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

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Another soggy week begins here at Bigland Towers atop the Calder Valley. Today the scanners of seaweed and tappers of barometers got it spot on – although I wish they hadn’t. The rain’s been persisting down and for most of the day we’ve hardly been able to see the other side of the valley apart form the odd break when the sun’s toyed with us for a few tempting moments. August has followed July in the path of being an extremely wet month. I’ve no ide how much rainfall’s fallen so far but it must be getting on for a record.

I’d already planned accordingly so I had plenty to keep me occupied indoors. First job was so complete updating my Zenfolio website with the hundreds of new pictures I took last week. You can find which galleries they’re in by following this link to the ‘recents’ section. Having all the pictures captioned and filed I could concentrate on writing for a living, researching and scribbling my next RAIL article on the Blyth and Tyne railway. I enjoy writing these articles because – despite them needing extensive research, that investigation means that I get to learn things too. I also get to discover old videos that sometimes divert me, like this one of Blyth Cambois loco depot on the day it closed in 1994.

Here’s how the depot site looks today…

Oh, that’s not today’s picture by the way – I have something better to offer than a flattened depot – honest!

Having spent most of today type-swiping I did get in my daily constitutional – even it has to be broken up into several short walks in between heavy showers although I do enjoy walking through our local woodlands after heavy rain. There’s a wonderful freshness in the air which is combined with the smell of wet leaves and damp earth. What’s not so wonderful is wading through the torrents of water running down the road. Due to repeated Government cuts to council funding nearly all the grids on our road are silted up as they’ve not been cleared out for years, leaving the drains blocked and unable to cope. There’s a downhill run of around half a mile past our cottage to Scarr woods so that torrent’s almost a river by the time it hits an even steeper hill and road to the valley floor.

Now it’s late and time for me to call it a day as I want an early start tomorrow to fit in everything I need to do. All that remains is to leave you with today’s image which was taken earlier this evening as I was watching more stormy weather approach us from across the valley. Our vantage point up on the valley side offers fantastic views like this which I never tire of as they’re constantly changing thanks to the weather and the change of the seasons.

Who knows how the valley will look tomorrow morning…

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 July picture of the day…

29 Saturday Jul 2023

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Picture of the day, West Yorkshire

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We’ve had a fairly relaxed Saturday here in West Yorkshire. Rail strikes meant I wasn’t tempted to venture anywhere – and I’ve a busy week next week anyway, so the pair of us have freestyled the day – apart from having a brunch date with Dawn’s parents over at Hinchliffes farm shop in Netherton, which is in the hills South of Huddersfield. The shop has a cafe called the Rusty Bull which is a great place to eat as the foods normally very good and they have a great view across to Castle Hill. Since our last visit the menu’s changed and one of our favourites (Shakshuka) has disappeared, to be replaced with another Turkish inspired dish – Cilbir. Dawn wasn’t quite sure of the idea but I wanted to try it. It’s poached eggs in a Garlic yoghurt sauce with pickled Dill and Aleppo pepper in Olive oil served with a flatbread. Here’s a recipe.

Unfortunately, the kitchen wasn’t on the ball today and my dish came without one of the main ingredients (the Aleppo pepper in oil). When that was added the dish was gorgeous – although the garlic quotient meant that people would be keeping their distance from me for the next few hours!

Heading back to the Calder valley the pair of us made the most of the decent weather to enjoy a stroll through the local woods and park which included a visit to our local pub (The Big 6) where we caught up with friends we hadn’t seen for a while and also had a giggle with staff and punters alike.

Now we’re back at home, enjoying the fruits of Dawn’s culinary expertise (I’ve got the night off) before settling down to watch a film, having made the most of the weather as tomorrow and the rest of next week’s looking pretty wet – which could make things ‘interesting’ for me as I’ve a lot of travelling to do.

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is one for beer aficionados. This is what was on offer on handpumps at the Big 6 tonight.

The 2nd handpump from the left’s always a dark beer, the others are pale with the strength rising from left to right.

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 July picture of the day…

25 Tuesday Jul 2023

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

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There’s been much of a muchness here at Bigland Towers today. I’ve made progress with the various weeks projects that are keeping me tied to the office with the intention of escaping as soon as the weather permits – which may be tomorrow if I’m lucky and the rain avoids areas I need to visit. At least a number of jobs have been crossed off my list which is always a positive feeling at the end of the day. I’ve also lined up a couple of trips for the beginning of next month which will add a varied start to August. Hang on – August? Yep, the year’s that far advanced, which seems strange as I feel like I’m still waiting for summer to arrive. July’s been such a wet month here in the Pennines I feel that I don’t really have a tan, it’s rust! Hopefully the proverbial ‘Indian summer’ will save us. If not – I’m buggering off abroad just as soon as I can – which may be difficult as the diary’s already full of events.

Still, I can’t complain too much about today. It’s been productive and I’ve hit all my exercise targets. Now I’ll I’ve got to do is hit the financial ones, which isn’t quite as easy, although the decluttering and sticking stuff on eBay’s adding the occasional bonus. The last sale’s ended but a new one has started, so feel free to check out what old railway slides and hardware (or clothing) is up in the final July sale by following this link. Oh, there’s also the opportunity to buy prints of some of the 83,800 rail and travel picture I have on my Zenfolio website should you be so inclined.

OK, enough of the salesmanship. The next picture’s for free. Dawn’s out with friends this evening so I decided that my daily constitutional could be postponed until then. This coincided with the best weather we’ve had all day, so here’s a shot from Wakefield Gate, the cobbled road above our cottage but below the Wainhouse Tower. There’s a great little place to stop and admire the view and this is how that view looked an hour ago.

Happy valley…

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