Tag Archives: europe

The grand tour. Day 6. Tallinn tales…

13 Sunday Sep 2026

Posted by in Architecture, Estonia, Photography, Railways, The Grand Tour, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

The ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn was a great way to travel and a fascinating experience in people-watching. This wasn’t just a ferry, it’s more a cruise. There were live shows aboard, multiple restaurants, a piano bar and a massive duty-free shop which was doing a roaring trade as Swedes stocked up on cheap booze. Mind you, it wasn’t just Swedes or Estonians aboard. I was surprised to find groups of Chinese, Japanese and even Indian tourists travelling.

I didn’t join in the partying. Instead I retreated to my cabin for a good night’s sleep. The ferry was large enough that there was no pitching and rolling or feeling of being out at sea so a good night’s sleep was easy.

The Baltic Queen in Tallinn.

We arrived at Tallinn at 11:00. Sadly, the sunshine that’s followed me most of the trip decided to abandon me today. Tallinn had seen a downpour and residual but intermittent rain remained. For some that was no bad thing because when I walked into town I encountered the runners of the Tallinn marathon!

Marathon running. Not something you want to be doing in blazing heat.
Encouragement. I’m not sure of the relevance of the dinosaur tho’..

As I had a couple of hours to kill before I could check into my hotel I watched the runners, many of whom had clearly come from all across Europe to take part. Next, I popped over to the railway station to check out the place before catching my train tomorrow. Sadly, Estonian railways has modernised their fleet in recent years. All that was around were modern diesel and electric multiple units. Good for passengers, but not so interesting from an enthusiasts perspective.

Passenger operator Elron uses modern Stadler ‘Flirt’ trains in Estonia.

Finally, it was time to get to my hotel in the old town, and it didn’t disappoint. The St Olav hotel’s a refurbished neoclassical building dating from 1437 with a quirky interior but comfortable rooms. It’s a great base from which to explore the old town, which is delightful.

You can’t beat a quirky vintage hotel.
My room

I’ve enjoyed exploring Tallin, a medieval town with amazing buildings and streets which are full of nooks and crannies. Unsurprisingly, it can get very busy during the day with tourists – especially when cruise ships are visiting, but in the evening it’s much quieter which makes it a great time to explore. Here’s a few shots from my wanderings.

Not a menu for veggies. I don’t think I’ve ever seen somewhere with Elk on the menu before.
A backstreet Italian restaurant.
The rain returned this evening. Which always makes for good reflective pictures, especially now the streets are quiet.
The remains of the old city walls.

I’ve enjoyed my day in Tallinn, it’s a gorgeous place rich in history. I’d certainly come back, but tomorrow I’m on the move again. This time to Riga in Latvia.

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/

Cheers,

Paul

The grand tour. Day 4. Copenhagen to Stockholm…

11 Friday Sep 2026

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, The Grand Tour, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Excuse the lateness of posting this but it’s been a long day and it’s still before noon here in Sweden. I left Copenhagen early this morning after a day full of memories – even if they were bittersweet. This was my first visit in 22 years and the last time I was there was for the funeral of a friend. Where’s the time gone? The city’s certainly changed a bit. Not Christianshavn where we used to stay, but certainly along the river, where there’s lots of new developments. Even so, it’s still a lovely city with a liberal soul. Being up late meant that I discovered new pictures like this.

In some ways I’d have liked to have lingered longer, but as I don’t have the same connections to the city anymore I was content to move on and explore new territory, which is what I did. One of the early morning trains was heading for a place in Sweden called Kalmar, which was on the end of a branch line to the coast. I thought, ‘that sounds good to me’, plonked myself in the train and promptly fell asleep!

Several hours later I woke up surrounded by Swedish forests and lakes. I now understand why the Swedes make so much wooden furniture – there’s no shortage of trees! Kalmar was a lovely little place that would be worth exploring more, if I’d had the time. Having had a short wander to get pictures of the shoreside castle I was back on another train. This was like stepping back in time too. four old coaches hauled by an equally old loco. That said, there was 1st Class and it was equipped with power sockets and wifi.

Kalmar castle on the shores of the town.
These electric locos date from 1985 but the styling makes them look a lot older.

Having retraced my steps to Alvesta I’m now on a sleek modern express heading for Stockholm…

13:30.

Bugger! We’re currently stuck at a place called Linköping. The Train Manager has announced that there’s a ‘problem with a bridge’ further down the line. I’m assuming this means that a railway bridge has been hit by a road vehicle, a not uncommon event back in the UK. Good job I’m in no hurry to get to Stockholm. On the bright side, there’s free tea, coffee and snacks in 1st Class on these trains. Despite the fact we’ve been sat here for around 30 minutes now there’s a distinct lack of complaining form my fellow passengers. If this was the UK the tutting level would have reached ‘severe’ by now.

My 1st Class coach.

14:41.

We’re still stuck! Many passengers are out on the platform, making the most of the sun. Unlike Brits who’d be sucking on fags or vapes quite a few passengers are doing calisthenics or taking the time to get some steps in! We’ve still no idea when we’re going to be on the move. Other trains are trapped here too. Only a couple of local services have come and gone, but they’re all heading South.

15:23.

We’re finally on the move!

15:40.

Whilst it’s good not to be stationary anymore our pace is best described as ‘pedestrian’ so I’ve no idea when we’re likely to arrive in Stockholm. I’m not expecting to get much sightseeing done today unfortunately. That’s a shame as I’ve never been here before, but that’s life. This trip was always going to be a taster – I’d just hoped the taste wouldn’t be this tantalising! Even so, I’m enjoying the trip. From what I’ve seen so far, Sweden looks lovely, with pretty little villages and lots of brightly painted wooden houses with red being the favourite colour.

We’ve just departed from Norrköping, a busy station that once has extensive freight yards, although most are now lifted or disused although some goods traffic still remains. There’s also an old steam era locomotive roundhouse tucked away in a corner, but I can’t tell if it’s still used for anything.

A useful feature in these 1st Class coaches is the amount of plug sockets provided. I’m in an airline seat and there’s two sockets between the seats and two in the back of the seats in front, which gives me the opportunity to power up the laptop and recharge my camera battery at the same time. I rather like these X2000 trains. They may only be 5-cars long but they still have a buffet as well as the little refreshment station in 1st class.

Free tea and coffee – and healthy snacks. Well, if you ignore the chocolates!

21:15.

And relax! We finally made it to Stockholm and I wasted no time in getting to my hotel. Or should that be ship – as that’s what I’m staying on. Rygerfjord is a collection of three ships that have been converted into a bar, Thai restaurant and floating accommodation. The cabins are cosy but offer a fantastic views of Stockholm from their moorings. Their Thai food is pretty good too! Here’s a few pictures.

The view from the floating jetty between the two housboats.
This is the view from my cabin, looking at the main boat which contains the bar and restaurant.
The stir-fry vegetables with chicken and rice was really rather good. There’s 20% discount for guests.

Right, it’s been a very long day – so I’m off to bed. I want to try and see at least a bit of Stockholm tomorrow before I’m on a different boat – the ferry to Tallin, Estonia….

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/

Cheers,

The Grand tour. Day 3. Hamburg to Copenhagen.

10 Thursday Sep 2026

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Rolling blogs, The Grand Tour, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

11:00

Another day, another city. As I was late arriving in Hamburg I haven’t had chance to explore more than the area I’m staying in, which is functional, but not very attractive. I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to see before I leave, but Hamburg tourism wasn’t high on my agenda for this trip, it was more a useful stopover on my way elsewhere.

Today I travel across unfamiliar territory to a city I once knew very well 20 odd years ago. Back then, Lynn (my first wife) and I had Danish friends who lived there. We’d often go over and stay with Didi, so we got to know the city well. Now, I’m the only one left out of the trio. I’ve not been back since Didi’s funeral, so I’ll be curious to see how much has changed.

Right now I’m leaving Hamburg aboard a rather nice Danish Railways DSB train formed of modern Talgo articulated coaches. I’ve grabbed a seat in the rear coach as there’s a little window at the back that allows you to see where you’ve come from. I’m hoping to use it for photographs later. Plus, there’s power sockets and wifi, so I can blog along the way. As this is a DSB service I’m hoping to avoid another DB farce like yesterday.

I didn’t see much of Hamburg, but then I didn’t expect to. Most of my time was spent taking pictures at the vast main station which is like a mini city in itself. I’d certainly return to Hamburg. Whilst the area around the station can be a bit seedy it looks like an interesting place that’s seeing a lot of investment in infrastructure. The cities international links can be seen through the trains that serve it. Earlier I watched a Czech train arrive on it’s way to Budapest, Hungary! If I hadn’t already got plans I’d have been sorely tempted…

The main hall, which is a rather impressive steel and iron shopping centre

Just as I was settling in for the journey every phone in the coach went off, including mine. It was the Germans testing their national alert system!

11:50.

The trip’s going well so far (touch wood). We’ve juts passed through Neumunster, a small town with a large railway works of the sort we lost in the UK many years ago. All sort of DB vehicles appear to be repaired or refurbished here. There’s still a lot of freight traffic too. Once thing I’ve noticed is the number of solar and wind farms we’ve passed so far. They’re a real sign of investment in clean energy. The countryside itself isn’t that exciting. It’s pretty flat but is obviously good farming country with a variety of uses. Maize seems to be a popular crop around here.

12:10.

OK. I take it back about the countryside being flat! We’ve just passed over the 1913 Rendsburg high bridge which crosses the Kiel canal at a height of more than 40 meters. It’s a very impressive structure I’d love to come back and photograph!

12:43.

Having made our first stop at Schleswig I decided to have a wander through the train. It’s packed, with lots of people standing. Heading to the rear was a wise move! Sadly, there’s no buffet car, just the standard Danish vending machines offering tea, coffee, fizzy drinks and sugar rushes.

Now the train’s even more packed with the last few available  seats in the rear car taken.

15:15.

Having crossed ove into Denmark at Padborg we had a prefunctory passport check. No-one actually looked at passports in our car at least. Danish Immigration officrs just stuck their heads in and looked around!

Niw we’re only a short distance from Copenhagen, having crossed between a number of islands by bridge or tunnel. It’s been an interesting trip. A lot of investment seems to be going into the railways, including building new lines. There’s quite a bit of freight around too, including pocket wagons carrying HGV trailers, which is good to see. The weather’s picked up too with lots of sunshine around. Shame I’m only here overnight…

The further

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/

Cheers,

Going up the ‘pool*. (with apologies to Jethro Tull)…

05 Thursday Mar 2026

Posted by in Blackpool, Photography, Politics, Travel

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Well, that was grim…

Having been confined to the Calder valley all week and waking up to a day where all you could see was fog I decided to take a break. But where to? Halfway through the night and in a semi-dream state my mind had hit on the idea of a trip to Blackpool, where the weather was predicted to be sunny. I’d not been for several years, so the idea appealed. Little did I know…

The trip there was easy. Direct trains from Sowerby Bridge are in short supply nowadays but it’s easy to make a connection a couple of stops down the line at Hebden Bridge. This time of year it’s not too much of a challenge to get a seat (or table) which I managed to do all the way to the coast.

En-route, the fog cleared, leaving us to travel under clear blue skies through the old ‘cotton country’ of Burnley, Accrington and Blackburn. We weren’t so lucky by Preston and the last few miles into Blackpool were bedeviled by high, hazy cloud. Even so, it was better than where I’d left.

A new tram terminus has opened since I was last in Blackpool. Now the system (which only used to run along the seafront) has a spur which ends just outside the railway station in an area that’s seen a lot of redevelopment. Much of Blackpool’s centre has seen a large injection of money over the past decade. There’s only one drawback. Whilst you can invest in infrastructure, how do you rebuild people?

Tram 001 at the new terminus. The railways station can be reached through the subway behind.
Tram 001 leaves the new terminus and heads for Starr Gate.
Tram 002 swings off the Promenade to head for the new terminus.

Having grabbed a few pictures of the changes I took a stroll along the seafront. In many ways there’s few things more depressing than a British seaside town out of season, when most things are closed. Trust me – I know. I grew up in one. (Southport, just the other side of the Ribble estuary).

The Central pier looks attractive in backlit light.

What added to the depression was the people. The hordes of pensioners and obese people on mobility scooters raised a wry smile as they reminded me of a ‘Monty Python’ sketch about ‘Hell’s Grannies’. It was the political undertow that I struggled with. Overhearing a young person holding forth in their criticism of Keir Starmer, who, in their opinion was the ‘leader of the liberal party’ (eh?). Shortly afterwards I watched the antics of a drunken young man draped in a Union flag being filmed by a couple of people who’d obviously set and staged an interview with him using Blackpool Tower as a backdrop. One of the pair was trying and failing to film with a drone which he clearly couldn’t control. I assume that this excrescence (if it ever makes it) will appear on TikTok or suchlike. I spotted said idiot wandering around later, carrying a speaker blasting out ‘Keir Starmer’s a w*nker’ on repeat. Such is the level of political discourse in Blackpool it seems.

Nothing sums up the state of English patriotism more than wandering around the streets draped in a tattered union flag whilst playing abusive songs.

Having justified being there by getting a couple of useful pictures I beat a hasty retreat, catching a train to Preston just as the rain arrived, reinforcing my reasons for getting the hell out of the place. I can’t think of any reason to return for a while…

*for those wondering, the title of this blog comes from a song by one of the bands that defined my teenage years, ‘Jethro Tull’ who were formed in Blackpool back in 1967. ‘Up the pool’ is a track off their classic 1972 album ‘Living in the Past’, which rather summed today up!

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/

Cheers,

Paul

30th September picture of the day…

30 Tuesday Sep 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Portugal, Railways

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Another month draws to a close…

I’ve rather enjoyed September. Admittedly, spending half of it in Portugal helped! Talking of which, I’ve broken the back of editing pictures from our tour. You can find the majority of them in these two galleries;

Portugal: Travel

Portugal: Railways

Plus, there’s a few others that you’ll find in the ships and shipping gallery.

Picture editing has consumed most of these past few days as I’ve been busy getting stuff out to clients whilst updating my Zenfolio website – and discussing a future project that will utilise some of the library pictures that I’ve been adding to it. Now, the pressure’s off a little so I may be able to have a day out this week, depending on how much I get done tomorrow as I prepare for a busy week next week. I’ll be in Nottingham for the Community Rail Network conference, then heading to Swindon for another job with the PWI when the focus will be on overhead electrification instead of track. I only hope that the weather Gods smile on us again. Whatever, my camera’s certainly going to be kept busy!

In the meantime, here’s today’s picture, which is from Portugal. Regular readers of this blog will know I have many interests, including railways – and architecture. Sometimes they combine, like this;

This is the magnificent concourse of São Bento (Saint Benedict in English) railway station in Porto. Construction started in 1904 and faced many challenges over the years before it was completed. It was designed by Porto architect José Marques da Silva. It’s famous for the murals, which represent moments in the country’s history and depict rural scenes showing the people of various regions. In the late afternoons this area is packed with tourists on guided tours who’re there to admire these glorious murals and learn about the history. There’s not many railway stations around the world that are on tourist maps like this!

You can find many more pictures of São Bento if you click on the link I posted earlier in this blog.

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

Portugal day 15. Time to go home…

19 Friday Sep 2025

Posted by in Food and drink, Photography, Portugal, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

I’ve not been blogging daily from here in Olhos de Água as my writing would have resembled a teenagers diary of the ‘got up, had breakfast, went to the beach, came home’ kind. The reality was far more exciting than the routine sounds. For a start, Praia do Barranco is a beautiful beach! It’s a few kilometers long strip of golden sand bordered by amazing cliffs. Once you get away from the areas lined with sunbeds and brollies where most visitors congregate it’s pretty deserted. With it being the Atlantic, the sea’s hardly tropically warm, but it’s still a damned sight warmer than off the UK and ideal for playing in the waves. Here’s a few pictures.

The studio where we’re staying is in a peaceful, well-laid out complex that has plenty of space and includes landscaped gardens with a profusion of flowers, like these.

We’ve also been fortunate to find a really good local restaurant and bar, frequented by tourists and locals alike. Miraparque serves the best Sardines and Tuna steaks we’ve had on this trip, and the prices are hardly extortionate. 9.95 Euros for a plate of 6 freshly grilled Sardines with potatoes and a side salad, whilst the beautifully grilled Tuna steak is 12.50. To make life easier there’s a really good supermarket next door, ideal for stocking up on fruit and drink to take to the beach.

Ironically, having had only one cloudy day throughout the trip we woke up to overcast skies today, which has put the mockers on our plans to make the most of the swimming pool here. Ah, well. Maybe the weather’s trying to tell us something. In a few hours time we’ll be heading for Faro airport before catching an 18:05 flight back to Leeds/Bradford. We’ve both loved out time in Portugal and fallen in live with Porto and where we’re staying now. We’re already planning on coming back.

I’ll add more to this blog later…

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

Portugal day 8. Au Revoir Lisbon, hello Algarve…

14 Sunday Sep 2025

Posted by in Architecture, Photography, Portugal, Railways, Travel, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

I’mstill 24 hours behind in my blogs but I’m hoping to catch up tomorrow as life here where we’re staying in Olhos de Água is a lot more relaxed. Our touring is over, now there’s time to enjoy beach-time..

Leaving Lisbon wasn’t without its regrets. We’d loved staying there to explore different facets of the city. It’s certainly changed since we were last here in 2010 and some of those changes haven’t been for the better, even so, it remains a great city.

Having checked out of our hotel we had one last superb pastry breakfast outside the station whilst admiring the trio of cruise ships which had arrived overnight. Some of these things are behemoths, more akin to a floating town than a ship.

Having fortified ourselves we caught a local train to Oriente station where our Intercity service to Albufeira was due to leave at 14:02. Oriente’s a really interesting multi-level, modern station built in 1998. In some ways it reminds me of Berlin Hauptbahnhof – only without the layered railways. Below tracks it’s an exercise in futuristic concrete and shopping whilst above tracks its roof owes more to Moorish traditions and austere platforms.

Dawn’s refective sunglasses were ideal for playing around with shots like this…
Our train to the South, hauled by 5620, one of 30 Class 5600 electric locomotives built by Siemens and Sorefame between 1993-95 which are the mainstay of Portugese Intercity and regional services after the high-speed ‘Alfa Pendular’ EMUs.

Our train South was packed. As it was probably our last rail journey of this trip I’d booked us into 1st Class, which was an interesting experience as we had seats in the ‘half and half’ car which is split between 1st class and the buffet area. That’s fine, apart from the fact there’s bugger all luggage storage compared to a normal 1st class coach. Either you stick your cases in the overhead luggage racks or you leave ’em clogging the isles.

The train was packed, so people-watching was always going to be fun. We had one group of middle-aged American women who embarked at Entrecampos. Having dumped their bags in the racks they demanded a family move as they were occupying ‘their’ seats. Needless to say, the Yanks were in the wrong carriage! Once we were settled into the journey and Dawn was dozing in her seat I nipped next door to have a beer in the buffet car and indulge in more people watching as the coach wifi wasn’t playing ball, so the blogging I’d intended to do went out of the window.

The buffet car’s popular with late travellers who’ve booked a ticket but can’t get a seat reservation so some people ensconce themselves for the duration, either in the table bays or squatting on the stools lining the coach sides. Many others drift in and out, giving you an idea of how international the clientele are. The Portugese woman behind the counter was kept on her feet all the way but still dealt with the queues with aplomb. There’s all ages and backgrounds on these trains. One battered old Portugese chap caught my eye. His luggage consisted of a sleeping bag in a carrier bag and a small daypack. His clothes and straw hat were as weathered as his face. He kept himself to himself as he chugged red wine, but I got the impression he’d seen a few things in life. He was another people-watcher too…

What could be finer? Observing people and watching the world go by…

We arrived at Albufeira late, but that was no real problem. We grabbed one of the plentiful taxis at the station and within 25 minutes (and some confusion over door numbers) we entered our new abode – which is a lovely little villa on an enclosed estate. I’ll post pictures tomorrow.

Having settled in we explored our new ‘manor’. There’s several restaurants and a supermarket just down the road. We plumped for one local eaterie and ended up having some of the best (and best value) Sardines of the trip – just 9.95 Euros for this little lot!

Tomorrow we’ll be staying close to home and checking out the beaches as this is the restful part of the trip. Plus, we hear the weather back in the UK is less than clement, so we’re going to make the most of wall to wall sunshine and temperatures in the 30s whilst we can!

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

Portugal day 5: Migrating to Lisbon…

10 Wednesday Sep 2025

Posted by in Photography, Portugal, Railways, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

We’ve begun the trek back to the Algarve from Porto, a place both of us really didn’t want to leave. It’s a fascinating city the pair of us rather fell in love with. Personally, it has everything I enjoy, amazing architecture, cosmopolitan people, great food and drink – and interesting transport infrastructure. What’s not to like?

Well, maybe the weather – especially this morning as we left when it was chucking down. That said, it was a minor inconvenience. A bus to the station stopped right outside our hotel. At 07:10, it took us 20 minutes to Campanhã through sodden, deserted streets. We sought refuge in a cafe opposite the station and fortified ourselves with coffee whilst watching the locals come and go. I love people-watching and cafes and bars around railway stations are ideal observation points.

Our intercity train South arrived a few minutes late and lost time throughout, but that wasn’t a problem as (in theory) we couldn’t check into our hotel for another three hours after arriving at Lisbon Santa Apolónia. The weather was miserable throughout the trip so there was little to do but doze on the packed train. Fortunately, conditions broke as we approached the city outskirts. To add to the brightening mood we didn’t need to kick our heels in Lisbon either as the hotel had our room readily available. Oh, I forgot to mention, we hadn’t far to go as for the next three nights we’re staying at the station in the gorgeous Editory Riverside hotel! Both the hotel and station have a lovely feel to them – as I hope this selection of pictures portray.

We’ve not done a huge amount on our first day in Lisbon, mainly because our attempt to traverse the No 28 tram route was foiled by the service falling down. We gave up after waiting over an hour for a tram, but we’ll try again tomorrow.

In the meantime, here’s some of what we have been up to.

The weather was still a bit moody when we arrived, as this sky over Praça do Comércio illustrates…
Residential tower block? Almost. This was a cruise ship moored in the dock by the station.
Name the Otis Redding song (thanks to Dawn for spotting this image).
Lisbon Santa Apolónia station is a relaxed place, but it has a lovely atmosphere and great facilities
The lobby of our hotel. Nice, innit?
We’re on the 2nd floor, where the window at the end of the corridor allows this view across the station.

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

Portugal day 4: Pottering around Porto…

09 Tuesday Sep 2025

Posted by in Photography, Portugal, Railways, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Today’s another blog which is light on words but heavy on pictures. This has very much been a day of two halves, partly due to the weather, which was glorious this morning but crap this afternoon. Not that I’m complaining. The heavy cloud made backstreet photography easier as there were less contrasting conditions. Here’s an idea of what we got up to…

We took the tram out along the Douro to the river mouth, where St. John the Baptist of Foz Fort still guards the entrance to the river. There’s not much to see inside, but the walls look impressive and the views are rather good.
Outside the fort is the Praia do Carneiro, a local beach were you can watch the Atlantic ocean break on these rocks offshore, safe in the knowledge that 1000s of miles of empty ocean separate mainland Europe from Donald Trump’s America.
Next stop was Porto tram museum which is housed in the old power station which supplied electricity to the tram network. There’s a great selection of restored trams showcasing the history and development of the network.
The adjacent building houses some of the original power generating equipment and switchgear. It’s an amazing room where steampunk meets ‘Metropolis’.
Wandering through the streets of the old town my eye caught this sign outside a restaurant. It’s not often you hear someone using ‘force majeure’ nowadays!
The backstreets of the old town are fascinating. You never know quite what you’ll find…

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

Portugal day 3: Up the Douro valley by train…

08 Monday Sep 2025

Posted by in Photography, Portugal, Railways, Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

It’s late in the evening back here in Porto. The pair of us have had a long, enjoyable day traversing the Douro valley to Pochino and back by train. Now we’re knackered and relaxing at our hotel. I’ve managed to get the wifi working so I can post a few pictures from today. I want to write a full blog about the trip as it’s well worth the effort, but I’ve hundreds of photos to edit first. Plus, this is meant to be a holiday!

What I will say is the train journey is amazing, but stay on it to the end of the line as the Douro valley changes character a couple of times, from lush wine country to wild landscapes and gorges that remind me of the Waikeri railway on New Zealand’s South Island. Anyways, here’s a few pictures from today. As you can see, we were blessed with stunning weather.

The railway runs through fertile areas full of vineyards like this…
…and this..
..then passes through rugged gorges like this, where the railway hugs the side of the river
In many places the railway runs just a few meters above the river, passing through many tunnels en-route.
Many trains on the line consist of vintage coaches hauled by these vintage locos – the British designed Class 1400, which are powered by English Electric engines. 67 were built between 1967-69, with many still remaining in service. Here’s 1438 running round our train at the end of the line – Porchino.

Tomorrow we’ve a day exploring the delights of Porto, which is a city I’ve really taken to. I love the architecture, ambience and cosmopolitan nature of the place, so we’re looking forward to having time to mooch around.

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