Well, that was fun!

15 Saturday Nov 2025

Posted by in Food, Photography, Pubs, Shropshire, Travel

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The pair of us are now back in Bigland Towers after our Shropshire sojourn. Travelling home on Friday was fun but nowhere near as bad as we feared. Our part of the Welsh borders missed the worst of the storms. They weren’t so lucky a few dozen miles further South, with extensive flooding in places like Monmouth.

We left Church Stretton just before 10am to drive up to Oswestry. There’s very few towns in the UK I’ve never visited. If it’s got a railway station then I’ll have been there. Oswestry isn’t on that list. Sure, it has a railway preservation site based by the old Cambrian Railway works, but as there’s no mainline connection the town was never high on my list of places to get to. On Friday we put that right, and I was pleasantly surprised. We didn’t stay long due to the rain which never let up, but we saw enough to make us want to revisit another time as the town has interesting variety of shops, cafes and pubs – along with a market. Unlike some towns which are dominated by chains and charity shops, Oswestry still has a range of independent outlets. One place I particularly liked was the indoor market. It’s got an eccentric feel to it as it contains cafes, a bar, lots of antique and model shops – and even has its own barbers.

Llwyd Mansion is a Tudor building dating from 1464. It’s grade 1 listed and currently under restoration by the local council who now own it.

Moving on we looked to find a country pub where we could stop for lunch. We’d decided to avoid the motorways as much as possible, so we stuck off across country along the A495 through Ellesmere before crossing the border back into England to skirt the Western edge of Whitchurch.

By the power of Google I found a pub further on by the Shropshire Union canal which seemed to fit the bill, the Willeymoor Lock Tavern North of Whitchurch.

We got there just after opening, making us the first customers of the day. This gave us chance to meet to and talk with the three generations of the family who run the place. Oh, and admire the amazing collection of over 230 teapots collected by the matriarch of the family, who at 97, is still going strong.

I ordered gammon, egg and chips whilst Dee had the home-made steak pie. Both were really good meals and very good value.

Tearing ourselves away we made a non-stop run across country to the M6 at Lymm. Needless to say, the motorway was chokka. Conditions weren’t much fun due to the rain and they got worse by the time we transferred to the M62 to head East across the Pennines. High winds didn’t exactly help matters but Dee’s excellent driving skills and my extra pair of eyes got us home safely. We were relieved to be home, but wistful too, as we weren’t really ready to leave Shropshire. We’ll be back…

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

Cheers!

Shropshire sojourn. Part 4…

13 Thursday Nov 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Shropshire, Travel, Walking

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Today, the weather Gods smiled upon us! When we woke and looked out on the world (well, the Long Mynd) we saw clear blue skies and sunshine, with visibility clear for several miles. It wasn’t a day to waste, so as soon as we’d scoffed some toast washed down with coffee we donned our walking gear and headed down into Church Stretton. After a brief stop to pick up some goodies from Steele’s family bakery (their chocolate brownie is excellent, as is the fruit flapjack) we headed up to the Burway before striking off across country to follow the town brook path uphill.

Not a place you want to get trapped on in winter.
The town brook burbles adjacent to the footpath towards Long Synalds – on the lower sections anyway, after that, the footpath begins to gain height.
– as this view shows! Here, we’re looking back towards Church Stretton with Caer Caradoc on the horizon and the Devil’s Mouth in the mid-distance.
Having made it up to 425 meters we swung round to the South side of Townbrook valley in order to get to look back over the valley and towards the North.
Looking back down over Church Stretton with Caer Caradoc to the left.
One of the ‘wild’ horses that can be found wandering the Long Mynd. They’re not actually wild, but the area is common grazing land.
Looking West across Yearlet towards Long Synalds. This time of year the colours are amazing as all the bracken is dying back.
Dawn atop Ashlet just before we began our descent to Ashes Hollow and the footpath towards Little Stretton. What a contrast in weather, we’d have been in cloud level with zero visibility if we’d been up here over the past few days! Considering it’s nearly mid November temperatures were a balmy 12 degrees, with very little wind.
Almost there! We’ve followed Ashes Hollow and the stream to the edge of Little Stretton. This house is the first sign of human habitation, but still within the area managed by the National Trust.

Having been walking for several hours we made a welcome pitstop at the Green Dragon pub. This friendly little pub serves a good selection of real ales and decent ‘pub grub’. I treated myself to the scampi (because it’s not something I’d cook at home) whilst Dawn plumped for the fish and chips.

Scampi, chips and peas with Tartare sauce. I felt I’d earned it!

Fed and watered, we continued our walk back into Church Stretton and home via another pitstop in our ‘local’ the Kings Arms. Now we’re back at the ranch, relaxing and wondering what tomorrow will bring. This Shropshire sojourn is coming to an end, we leave in the morning to head back to West Yorkshire, but the weather forecast is promising torrential rain for most of the journey – bar a small window in the morning that we may be able to make the most of en-route. Let’s see what happens…

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

Cheers!

Shropshire sojourn. Part 3…

12 Wednesday Nov 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, Photography, Railways, Shropshire, Travel

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We knew the weather forecast had predicted wet weather today, so we were in no hurry to rush out of the house this morning. Even so, I was up not long after 07:30 in order to throw back the curtains and greet the day. It scowled back, making me wish I hadn’t bothered! This is how the view across to the Long Mynd looked.

I’d had half and idea to wander down into the village to get pictures of passing trains but driving rain make me think twice and the idea of staying in the warm and dry seemed much more attractive. So, whilst Dawn was at her toilette, I prepared porage with coconut flakes, fresh blueberries, sultanas and served with honey. After all, it was the weather for comfort food!

We’d planned to catch the 11:30 train down to Ludlow in order to spend a few hours exploring the town but the weather was so crap we decided to take the car instead as that way we’d have some flexibility. It turned out to be a wise decision.

The journey down along the A49 wasn’t too bad apart from heavy traffic and HGVs – hardly ideal on a road where the verges were beginning to resemble linear ponds. That said we made it into town just as the rain eased, which made our explorations easier – although conditions meant my camera stayed in its bag for most of the day. Rather than sightseeing we ended up shopping – a pastime neither of us are particularly fond of – but Ludlow possesses a branch of one of our ‘go to’ clothes shops, ‘Fatface’, so that’s our Xmas presents sorted then! As our purchases came in paper bags we were rather limited after that, who wants soggy bags spilling their contents all over the road? We decided to cut our wandering short and plumped for lunch instead, visiting a place we’d eaten at earlier in the year, Kin Kitchen. where we both plumped for the same thing – the fish platter.

Having eaten, and with the rain renewing its onslaught we dropped off our purchases in the car before heading to the Ludlow Brewing Co, whose brewery is located in an old railway goods shed adjacent to the station. The interior’s very modern and their range of beers excellent. The modernity’s contrasted by two amazing models of the old Ludlow town halls (both now demolished). The Victorian version lasted for just 100 years. It was flattened with indecent (and suspicious) haste in 1986. From descriptions it sounded like an amazing space, which had covered market on the ground floor but a spung dancefloor above. It had survived it would have been a real asset, compared to the sad market that exists today, where a few temporary stalls huddle together, looking rather lost amongst the fine buildings surrounding them.

Here’s a couple of shots from the pub;

The model of the Victorian town hall.

Whilst we were visiting I did manage a couple of railway shots. Locomotive-hauled services have disappeared across most of the UK nowadays but this line sees several such services operating between Cardiff to Holyhead and Manchester, using cast-off intercity coaches and hired-in locomotives that were built to haul 125mph mail trains.

67010 propels 1W57, the 10:53 Cardiff Central to Manchester Piccadilly out of Ludlow station, past the Ludlow Brewing Co on the left.

Oh, there’s another trick to these loco-hauled services. Some of them offer fine dining! They carry an onboard chef who prepares gorgeous 3-course meals on board. Watch out for a blog about this in the future.

As the rain was relentless we decided to cut our losses and head home to have a quiet night at Bigland Towers in exile, enjoying some home cooking with creature comforts. Tomorrow’s our last full day her and the forecast looks very different to what we’ve seen so far. We’re planning to stay local and maybe get a walk in – depending on conditions. We need to make the most of it before we head back on Friday when we have a yellow weather warning for (yet more) rain.

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

Cheers!

Shropshire sojourn. Part 2…

11 Tuesday Nov 2025

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Shropshire, Travel

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The view from our accommodation when I threw back the curtains at 07:15. The Long Mynd is up there in the clouds somewhere!
I wandered down to Church Stretton station for an hour in-between showers, where I managed a couple of pictures. Here’s a Transport for Wales service from Cardiff en-route to Manchester Piccadilly via Shrewsbury.
A pair of the old BR built Class 153s were working a Shrewsbury to Swansea service via the Heart of Wales line. 153382 led 153352 South of the station past autumnal colours.
By the early afternoon we’d decided to abandon soggy Stretton for the delights of Shrewsbury. The weather wasn’t any better, but there were far more places to explore or seek refuge in! This Cardiff-Manchester service did the honours. Ironically (having returned from Manchester) the same set took us back to Stretton several hours later!
Shrewsbury’s replete with history, but you need to keep your eyes open, otherwise you’d miss plaques like this one on Fish St.
Half-timbered Tudor era buildings are ten a penny in Shrewsbury. Here’s one that’s had a lot of TLC – the 15th century Henry Tudor Inn, located in Barracks Passage.
Rather than being rammed with identikit food and other outlets Shrewsbury has lots of independent shops, like this craft bakery.
There’s lots of old shop fronts which display goodies like this. Here’s Appleyards on Wyle Cop, opposite Shrewsbury Orthodox Church.

By later afternoon we’d had enough of dodging the rain so caught the train back to Church Stretton where we had time for a drink in the Kings Arms before adjourning to have acelebratory meal at Sawaddee Thai Restaurant in the Square. It was our wedding anniversary after all! Sawaddee is a cosy (around 30 seat) family run restaurant. The food was very good and not just spiced for English palates. We shared a Thai fishcake starter, then Dawn had the Paenang curry whilst I had the hotter Jungle curry (both with chicken). The mains were £9.95 and really tasty. We also split a coconut rice between us.

Thai fishcakes with dipping sauces
Jungle curry
Paenang curry.

The chili rating on the bottom of the menu made us both chuckle!

Now we’re kicking back at our accommodation. Tomorrow’s weather’s not expected to be up to much, so the plan is to catch the train to Ludlow and enjoy wandering the town. Watch this space…

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

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

Cheers!

Rolling blog: Another Shropshire sojourn. Part 1…

10 Monday Nov 2025

Posted by in Photography, Rolling blogs, Shropshire, Travel

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10:50.

After a hectic week and weekend which has seen me up to my neck in judging stations and photographs for the 2026 Community Rail Awards we’ve breezed into a new week which sees the pair of us taking some time off. It’s our wedding anniversary on Tuesday so we thought we’d get away for a few days. We’d planned to visit Rome, but neither of us had time to plan things the way we’d have liked, so we’ve opted for plan B by returning to somewhere we know well – which means we can relax. Instead of the eternal city we’re heading back to Shropshire to spend time in Church Stretton and the Shropshire hills AONB – somewhere far less built up and chaotic! But first, we’ve got to get there…

Church Stretton seen from the Long Mynd during our visit in October 2021. Hopefully we’ll be able to get to walk places like this again, but the weather forecast doesn’t look too promising, so it’s time to pack the waterproofs!

14:00.

We’re on our way! We had a few chores to finish before we departed so we didn’t leave Halifax until 12:30. Right now we’re on a busy M53 heading towards Chester after traversing the M62 and M6 – which were chokka with traffic – and wet, which added to the fun!

Now the skies are clearing…

16:10.

We resisted the temptation to stop en-route, which has meant we’re now settled into our home from home here in Church Stretton. We stayed in the same place in April and loved it so much we promised ourselves we’d return. Here’s Bigland Towers in exile.

The 1st floor living room has a view looking acoss to the Long Mynd.
Looking in the opposite direction towards the kitchen and bedroom.
Our hosts left us a welcoming treat – and there’s even a couple of real ales in the fridge!

20:10.

And relax! Having established ourselves in our new surrounds it was time to walk into town in order to explore, pick up some shopping – and stop for a drink in our favorite pub, the Kings Arms.

Wooden beams aplenty. The pub is an old gem – but the narrow frontage belies just how big it is inside.
The pub is run by Joules, a brewey based in Market Drayton, here’s a selection of the real ales on offer.

The pub also serves food, which seems very popular. We were tempted by the battered onion rings which turned out to be fish-flavoured as they’d been fried in the same oil as previous foods. It certainly made for an ‘interesting’ combination of flavours!

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

Cheers!

6th November picture of the day…

06 Thursday Nov 2025

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

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Sorry for the lack of blogging recently, but it’s been a dull but busy week here at Bigland Towers. I’ve been going nowhere fast due to work commitments which have kept me tied to home. Now’s the time of year when I put my sorting hat on as one of the Community Rail Awards judges. There’s a huge amount of entries in the two categories in which I’m a member of the judging panel so it takes a lot of time to sift through them, giving our individual scores before we convene for the full judging panel.

Mind you, the weather’s been utter crap here in the Calder Valley. Most days I’ve not even been able to see the opposite side of the valley. Taking my daily stroll through the woods has been ‘fun’ too as some major branches have been brought down by the wind and rain, so you take your life in your hands. Fortunately, I’ve never been in the wrong place at the right time!

The evenings have been entertaining in a different way due to it being the week of Bonfire night, which has meant we’ve had fireworks going off every day so the place sounds like living in a suburb of Beirut or Damascus (only without the ricochets). Still, the valley’s looked very pretty with a fusillade of fireworks lighting up the sky each evening.

Now the week’s winding down. I was hoping to get out and about tomorrow but I fear I still have too much paperwork to do – and the weather’s not looking much better, even though it’s been incredibly mild for the time as year. That said, Dawn’s taking next week off as it’s our weeding anniversary and we’ve just booked a few nights away in Shropshire – so all’s not lost.

Hopefully, I’ll have time to catch up on some more blogging tomorrow, in the meantime, I’ll leave you with a taster of the weather here today. For much of the day we’ve been living just below cloud level…

The Wainhouse tower above the end of our road disappears into the clouds.

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

Cheers!

How Elon Musk’s AI is a grok of shit…

05 Wednesday Nov 2025

Posted by in Elon Musk, Grok, Mediawatch, Politics, Social media

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Think you can trust Artificial Intelligence (AI) to answer questions factually, find accurate statistics or tell fact from fiction, truth from lies? Well, think again.

Right-Wing Billionaire Elon Musk has built ‘Grok’, an AI platform used on ‘X’ (better known as Twitter) which has also been rolled out across the internet. It’s billed as;

‘a free AI assistant designed by xAI to maximize truth and objectivity. Grok offers real-time search, image generation, trend analysis, and more’.

Maximise truth and objectivity eh? What a grok of shit!

Over the past 3 days ‘Grok’ has shown this claim to be an absolute travesty of the truth. It started with the terrible events on board an LNER train which resulted in 11 people being stabbed. Grok immediately claimed that multiple passengers on board had given ‘eyewitness accounts’ that the perpetrators had shouted ‘allau akbar’ as they rampaged through the train.

It was a lie. The ‘evidence’ was a handful of X accounts claiming to have been passengers. Grok swallowed that whole then regurgitated it and amplified it, giving those claims credence. Then an AI generated picture was posted. It’s clearly a fake. Grok claimed it was real.

Dozens of people pointed out it was fake – and a bad one at that. The train interior’s wrong, the time of day’s wrong, the location’s wrong, the suspect’s ethnicity is wrong. In short – everything’s wrong.

Initially, despite the obvious glaring errors Grok tried to argue the picture was genuine.

Then it started to backtrack under the weight of humans calling it out. Eventually, the originator of the AI fake admitted it was fake!

Grok finally admitted the picture was AI, but resolutely refused to admit it had been conned by fake witnesses claiming shouts of ‘allau akbar’. Instead, it obfuscated, saying the attack itself wasn’t in doubt, but no-one had questioned that, so why keep mentioning it? Needless to say, some humans were rather scathing about this.

So, who does Grok consider reliable sources (other than non-existent passengers). Here’s a list. Spot the problem? They’re all from the far-right and have a long history of peddling misinformation and hate. But Grok has been programmed to accept them as reliable. So much for trying to ‘maximize truth and objectivity‘.

The timestamps claim is a curious one as timestamps are worthless. All they show is something was posted at the time of the event. They tell you nothing about where that person (or bot) is posting from. So, Grok claims the passengers are genuine ‘cos the posts are made during the event but won’t tell you where in the world they’re posting from. That’s an illustration of how easy it is to con Grok.

Fast forward 2 days when another person asks again about the fake picture. Grok’s reply?

The irony? Grok claims that it ‘remembers’ conversations. Really? So why’s it contradicted itself, forgotten that it’s already admitted the pictures an AI fake and doubled down on the lie to the extent it’s denying the creator of the AI picture admitted it was a fake. I mean, if they’re not ‘credible evidence’, what is?

Needless to say. Grok spreading and amplifying misinformation has not gone un-noticed. Nor has the fact it has amnesia and conveniently ‘forgets’ what its said just a day (or even a few hours) before.

Then, today, came this absolute doozy! Grok had defamed Pete Wishart, a member of the Scottish Parliament, calling him a ‘rape enabler’.

Wishart pursued this, leading to Grok’s programmers having to issue a fulsome apology.

Only for Grok to deny it had issued any such apology just a few hours later when I questioned it!

The claim that Grok is ‘designed by xAI to maximize truth and objectivity‘ is a joke. It’s quite literally a grok of shit.

Musk’s pet is quite clearly programmed to reinforce far-right narratives, amplify misinformation and obfuscate when caught out and questioned. It can’t tell truth from lies fact from fiction – and it has (Musk’s) agenda at its heart.

Do not trust it – on anything.

UPDATE:

After I included Wishart in the exchange where ‘Grok’ denied issuing an apology, it seems he’s taken it further and the story has made the Scottish papers!

Meanwhile, Grok continues its sorry story of mis-identification. Now it’s wrongly identified a Berlin U-Bahn train as being on the London Underground, presumably to fit in with Musk’s vendetta again London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and his claims the city is unsafe.

London Underground trains plastered with window motifs of the Brandenburg Gate? Yeah, right…As for that seat moquette, Oh, please!

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

Cheers!

Rolling blog. Chester circular…

31 Friday Oct 2025

Posted by in Chester, Manchester, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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10:15.

Having had my birthday treat postponed due to ‘events’ we’re making up for it today with a return trip to Chester, only this time by train. We’re also adding Manchester to the mix to split the day between the two. The plan’s to enjoy an amble around Chester and its walls, then a spot of brunch and a pint before heading back East to Manchester for another amble and drinks before adjourning to a lovely Indian eatery this evening.

Right now, we’re aboard Northern’s 09:20 from Sowerby Bridge which runs direct to Chester. Today it’s worked by a pair of 2-car Class 195/0s, so there’s plenty of available seats and we’ve managed to bag a table behind the driver’s cab. Dee’s got her book and I’ve the ‘mobile office’ so all’s well. The weather’s playing ball too, as it’s surprisingly mild – if a little damp.

Time to leave…

We’re already West of Manchester Victoria, which is where most passengers decamped. Only a handful joined to replace them, leaving around half a dozen in this front car.

10:55.

This train didn’t stay empty for long! After stopping at Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown and Warrington Bank Quay we’re around 80% full with a real mix of travellers of all ages heading for or next and final stop – Chester. The weather’s picking up too, with high, thin cloud and glimpses of blue sky. Not a bad day for a wander at all…

17:00.

We’re now on our way to Manchester after exploring old haunts and new in Chester. This time we’re aboard the 16:28 which (as it’s only a 2-car) is rammed. Chester was lovely, on leaving the station we walked down to the Shropshire Union cabal which we followed West under the shadow of the city walls to the csnal basin and junction with the spur to the river Dee. You pass through a cutting hewn from solid rock which still bears the scars of the primitive tools of the time. It must have been a hell of an undertaking when the most sophisticated tool you had at your disposal was gunpowder.

After a walk around the cabal we climbed up onto the walls to head into town in search of sustenance. Ignoring ‘influencers’  and other social media sirens we picked where we fancied to old fashioned way by peering in the window and reading the menus outside. As we both enjoy tapas we we chose Salt House on Bridge St (links later). This proved to be a wise move. We arrived at noon when it was empty. When we left 90 mins later there wasn’t a seat spare!

Salt House is a sympathetic refurbishment of an old building with some nice touches (check out the tiling on the bar).
Chicken skewers (recipe later).

To be continued…

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

Cheers!

28th October picture(s) of the day…

28 Tuesday Oct 2025

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

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There’s been another quiet day here at Bigland Towers and in the Calder valley. I’ve spent most of it working from home, having had the place to myself whilst Dee’s been over at her parents to sort out the aftermath of the car accident.

Mind you, the weather here this morning was spectacularly awful, with high winds and driving rain, so being cocooned in the cottage was ideal. This afternoon, the weather changed. We had a spell of glorious sunshine and clear skies, so I thought I’d nip out with the camera to get shots of the railway crossing the Copley viaduct surrounded by trees in their autumnal colours. Only it didn’t quite work out that way. By the time I got down to the river the weather had changed again, with leaden skies and rain heading my way. However, I did find Network Rail contractors who’d been busy clearing trees along the embankment of the line to Greetland. This has opened up a couple of new photo locations, with more in the offing as the work is continuing.

I made my way up the other side of the valley through a lovely green tunnel which has formed over an old sunken track. Then, sheltering from a sudden downpour under some Oak trees, I surveyed the valley. Here’s the results.

The green tunnel, and old track which is slowly being reclaimed by nature.
A train bound for Halifax passes the site where contractors have denuded the embankment of trees to open up this view which has been hidden for decades. In the background is a modern housing estate which has been built between the River Calder and the canal.
The same train crossing the Copley viaduct, surrounded by trees which are slowly gaining their autumnal finery. The widest arch to the right is where the railway crosses the Calder and Hebble Navigation (canal).

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

Cheers!

Happy birthday to me!

27 Monday Oct 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Musings, West Yorkshire

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Today Dawn and I were meant to be celebrating my official ascendency into old-fartdom as today’s the day I become a state pensioner. The plan was that we’d be up and out early to head to Chester by train, where we’d have lunch, a drink and a wander around the city walls before retracing our steps as far as Manchester where we’d go out for an evening meal to celebrate my new status (or drown my sorrows, depending on your viewpoint).

Unfortunately, the Gods had other ideas. Yesterday evening Dawn’s mum rang to say that her and her husband had been in a car accident. Whilst they were driving back from a day out along a country road a pedestrian appeared out of nowhere in front of their car. John (Dawn’s father) reacted in time and swerved to avoid them but the car hit a drystone wall and was a write-off (the drystone wall’s not looking too healthy either). Needless to say, Dawn dropped everything to be with her parents and stay with them whilst they were checked out in A&E, then get them home. Thankfully, neither of them were hurt, but the NHS staff at Huddersfield A&E were taking no chances and gave them a through check, which meant that Dee didn’t get back to Bigland Towers until after midnight, then had to spend much of today helping to sort out stuff with the car insurers.

So, no Chester (or Manchester) for us…

Instead, I’ve had a quiet birthday at home, wondering where the hell the last 66 years have gone! The day’s not been entirely wasted as I had time to nip out for a walk, do some shopping and cook a fiery Thai Red Curry, ready for when Dee got home. Now, I’ve time to write this whilst Dawn’s taken over the kitchen to bake a chocolate birthday cake in my honour, having already baked some stunning chocolate puddings. Thai curry and chocolate pud’ – sounds like a birthday treat to me!

Dawn’s stunning homemade chocolate puddings, with a melted filling.

Tomorrow, whilst Dawn’s back at her parents sorting out a hire-car, maybe I’ll apply for my bus pass…

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