Today’s been a quiet one here at Bigland Towers for several reasons. I’m still trying to wade my way through editing the hundreds of pictures taken on my recent travels. Plus, the weather’s been crap – but no change there then. Mind you, I say that, but tomorrow we’re forecast to have a whole day of sunshine. Just the one of course, after that we’re back to the rainy conditions that – if you were biblically minded – might have made you consider building an Ark. Well, if you had the space…
For once the constant rain’s been alternating with snow flurries. They’ve achieved sweet FA around here as we’re not high enough up, but when I gaze out across the valley I can see a decent dusting at the higher tops and beyond towards the moors around Marsden. As tomorrow’s Saturday (not to mention Valentine’s day) we’re hoping to make the best of the conditions and get out for a walk somewhere and the idea of fresh snow and blue skies is rather appealing, so watch this space.
In the meantime, here’s today’s picture which was taken in London last Saturday in similar conditions. Rain can be a real aid to photography because of the lighting conditions. Here’s a shot I took of the trackwork at London’s Victoria station where images are almost monochrome well, if it wasn’t for the train in the background, but I think that adds to the effect.
I’ve still lots of pictures to add to my Zenfolio picture website and there’s far too many galleries that have been updated to post individual links, but if you want to browse this ‘recent’ section link you can find what’s been added – and where.
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/
This will be a short blog tonight. Mostly to say sorry for my long absence which has been due to a number of factors. the muse has not been upon me and the recent political ructions in the UK and via Epstein island have left me speechless – unless you fancy a blog full of expletives! No doubt my spleen will need to be vented soon, but right now’s not the time.
Another thing that’s been getting me down has been the persistent dull and dreary weather here in ‘God’s own country’. Quite why God would bless his own country with such execrable weather for the past month is a mystery, but that’s Gods for you, apparently. Today started no different as the Calder valley was so full of fog that if I didn’t know it existed I’d have questioned a belief in it (sorry, God). But, being stir-crazy I decided to head out with the idea of showing how difficult it is for train drivers to see signals in these conditions. God had other ideas. As soon as I arrived at the valley floor the fog lifted, leaving me with no option but to persue it through the valley and across the Pennines into Greater Manchester, where conditions were very different.
I won’t go into too much detail but I ended up in Littleborough where I managed to get some useful pictures along the line where a major flood mitigation project is underway. Then I took a detour to Rochdale to change trains in order to head back East. Which brings me to today’s picture, which is of a tram desperately trying to give a train a run for its money as they both head East with the Pennines in the distance.
Tomorrow I’ll be pottering around locally, but on Friday I head back down to London for a couple of days as I’m at a photo awards event on Friday evening. Remember I mentioned that I’d been a judge for the Avanti West Coast photographic competition? Well, Friday’s when the winners are given their prizes at an event at the National Portrait Gallery. I’m staying overnight with the intention of doing some exploring on Saturday, so expect a couple of rolling blogs.
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A new week begins back here at Bigland Towers. We returned from the Todmorden annexe yesterday, not that it made much difference to the weather, which remained dank and dismal throughout and looks like it’ll stay that way for the foreseeable, which is a bit of a bugger to say the least. The lack of blue skies and sunshine is starting to weigh on the both of us. Oppressive, low clouds and semi-twilight don’t make for great mood-enhancers. Oh, for clear skies and warmer climes…
There’s one consolation, which is having access to all our normal home facilities for both work and pleasure. Dawn’s been slaving away in her upstairs office whilst I’ve been making the most of working in the living room and having access to all my hard-drives and records. One thing that’s allowed me to do is add a shedload of new stuff to my eBay account. There’s new railway memorabilia and souvenirs but also a selection of old pop/rock concert badges from the 1970s onwards. So, if you fancy an old Black Sabbath 1978 tour badge, Led Zeppelin at Knwbworth in 1979 (and many others) take a look here.
Whilst working I’ve been keeping one eye on the latest political psychodramas as they unfold. Sometimes I think the British media and much of the commentariat have completely lost the plot – hence the storm in a teacup about the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, not being allowed to stand in a by-election in Manchester. Labour (quite sensibly) have decided that as Burnham’s only half-way through his term of office letting him stand and having not one but two elections is a waste of energy and money. Needless to say, this is far too simple for some members of the 4th estate, who’re making it out as a referendum on Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. But lets get something clear. Even IF Burnham had been allowed to stand, and even IF he became an MP, there’s a very long process before any leadership challenge. Plus, Burnham’s been here before – and lost in 2015.
Of course, the media love all the speculation as it fills column inches. But let’s be clear about something else. Even IF Labour lose the by-election in Gorton and Denton, their current working majority is 168 – and there’s no general election until 2029. Plus, we’ve no idea who the Labour candidate will be as one hasn’t been chosen yet, so calling it as a loss is premature to say the least.
Meanwhile, across the floor at the Reform home for aged and useless Tories, they have another recruit in the shape of Cruella – sorry – Suella Braverman, another former Minister in Boris Johnson’s Cabinet. That means Reform now have Boris Johnson’s old Chancellor (Zahawi) – communities secretary (Jenrick) – culture sec (Dorries) – attorney general (Braverman) – political sec (Kruger) – skills minister (Jenkyns) – Northern powerhouse minister (Berry) – health minister (Caulfield) – parliamentary private sec (Nici) – assistant whip (Holloway) and Scottish minister (Offord).
If that’s not mad enough, Reform have Liz Truss’s Party chairman, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Home Secretary and Minister for Health! Talk about putting the band back together!
You can see why Reform have dropped their ‘vote for change’ slogan, can’t you? Oh, they’ve also acquired the human chimp, Gullis. What a bunch of all-stars! There’s also the supreme irony of children of immigrants joining a party that would have refused their parents entry to the UK, and I’m not entirely sure the influx of ethnic faces like Braverman and Zahawi is going to sit easy with some Reform voters, who’ve struggled as it is with Zia Yusuf and Laila Cunningham. This could get interesting…
What’s also going to be entertaining to watch over this year is the way all these competing egos deal with the fact that Reform is less of a political party and more of a dictatorship with one supreme leader – Farage, with whom all the power rests. As we’ve seen many times in the past, Farage makes short work of anyone who gets too uppity and thinks they’re as important as the Dear Leader – just as Rupert Lowe for a start!
Oddly, whilst the media pick over (in forensic detail) any mistake or supposed mistake Labour make, Farage seems to be teflon coated. No-one’s asking where the near £1m came from for his girlfriend to buy the house in Clacton, nor is their any real interest in the £360,000 of earnings Farage ‘forgot’ to declare to Parliament in his register of members interests. And there’s very little interest in the murky connections and finances of donations to Reform from the Iranian billionaire who paid for Farage’s little jolly to Davos. But, if You’re Angela Rayner or Rachel Reeves, the media are like terriers, always snapping at your heels…
Phew! What a year – and it’s only January! I’ll be glad when it’s Spring and I can start to think of getting away for a while! In the meantime, here’s today’s picture. There’s no sunshine in the UK, so I’ve dug into the archives to bring you some. Here, have a beach!
Tangalle beach. Sri Lanka.
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Typical! Just as we’re packing up to return home tomorrow, the weather picks up! Friday started optimistically enough. The skies were cloudy but the weather was dry, so I headed out with the camera in the hope of photographing some different railfreight flows. I should’ve know better! Almost as soon as I got to my favoured location atop a bridge overlooking Hall Royd junction the rain and sleet started. I managed a couple of shots, including this one of a Liverpool Docks to Drax power station loaded biomass train before the light was so low and the rain so miserable that I gave up.
GBRf’s 66755 powers a trailing load of 2400t through Todmorden, heading for Drax power station in shitty weather.
Despite the weather I was determined to have a wander and at least get my daily steps in – even if photography was a bust. It was a shame as there’s some really interesting backstreets and odd buildings I’d like to photograph. West Yorkshire’s blessed with many odd-shaped dwelling which follow strange footprints so have weird shapes. God know how you fit furniture in rooms that mirror New York’s famous ‘flatiron’ building.
Finally defeated, I called in for a pint and a warm in what’s become our local pub here, the ‘Alehouse’. I enjoyed a pleasant interlude chatting to staff and customers alike about local life and international politics. As you can imagine, Donald Trump’s latest mad utterances and disrespect of British army service men and women who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan was causing a lot of anger.
– and relax…
Back ‘home’ I took time off before Dawn finished work, when the two of us wandered back into town to reprise our great Thai meal at the Three Wise Monkeys. We’d enjoyed the fish dishes we’d had so much that we ordered exactly the same again, only this time accompanied by deliciously crisp stir-fry veg in a delicious sauce.
Suitably stuffed, we stopped for one last drink at the Alehouse before returning home, where our feline charge ‘Luna’ decided to have a mad half-hour, zooming around the place like she’d discovered a secret stash of catnip!
Today’s been our last full day, so the weather’s taunted us with the promise of better things – if only we could stay. We’ve made the most of it by walking into town to hit the market, which has become a firm favorite. Whilst the indoor section remains unchanged Saturday’s the day the outdoor section changes from bric-a-brac to food, with a wide range of fruit and veg, artisan breads and cakes and other edible delights on offer.
We stocked up on a host of things, including excellent home-made sausages from Fieldings butchers.
Here’s my weakness. A cheese shop!
After the market, Dawn wanted to check out a spiritual shop, so whilst she did that I had one last chance to explore with the camera as the sun played across the town, creating interesting opportunities with shadows and light.
A break in the clouds allowed the sun to illuminate the frontage of the grade 1 listed Tod town hall, seen from the cobbled Water St.
We’ll miss Todmorden. We’ve both seen it in a new light after spending so much time here. It’s a town with a lot to offer and it’s in a great location at the junction of two valleys surrounded by some great hill walks. But, as we only live up the road, we’ll certainly be coming here more often in the future.
Of course, we’ll also miss the feline person we came here to look after – ‘Luna’, who’s proved to be a delightful charge.
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The weather’s really cramped my style here in Todmorden as it’s been bloody awful these past couple of days. My plans to get in some walking up on the valley tops have been frustrated by rain and low cloud that’s made it pointless. I’d have spent my time slipping around in the mist for nothing.
Instead, much of yesterday was spent working from home, editing the pictures I’d taken so far whilst sorting out others for future magazine articles and blogs. The weather’s been no better today as the rain’s been almost a constant companion. Even so, I decided to get out for the day, explore more of Todmorden and get a few pictures. Here’s the results.
I spotted these buildings at the back of some large Victorian houses a few days ago but couldn’t get pictures due to cars parked in the way. I took me a while to realise that they’re ornate sheds that combined a coal store (hence the wooden hatch) and an outside toilet. They were probably still in use as both up until the 1950s. It was only after the war that the new Labour government started funding home improvements that allowed people to install indoor bathrooms. Central heating to replace coal fires wouldn’t have been common until the 1970s.Unlike most West Yorkshire mill towns sho’s economy was wool based, Todmorden was a cotton town. It’s hard to imagine how it looked in Victorian times when there were 110 mills here! Today the daily empty ‘binliner’ from Teeside to Knowsley (Liverpool) was hauled by a smart looking 66011. I didn’t hang around after getting this shot as the weather was too miserable! Thursday is ‘tat’ day on Todmorden market with stalls selling bric-a-brac, old tools, clothing plus books and CDs. It was business as usual in the indoor market. This is our favourite butchers (one of several in the market). Nick Fielden is this butchers name. They have an excellent range of home-made sausages which we’ve been busy sampling. Their lamb Koftas aren’t bad either. We’ll be stocking up on supplies to take home with us before we leave. There’s also a cracking cheese shop nearby. Exchange coffee Co is a very popular stall with an great range of coffees from around the world. Drink in or take out – or buy in bulk…Dawson’s in a classic old hardware shop and stall of the sort men especially love to mooch around or admire. For a town of its size, Todmorden has more than its fair share of antique or arts and crafts shops, along with bookshops, making it an enjoyable place to wander around.
Sadly, tomorrow’s weather forecast is no better so I can’t see me getting into the hills at all. Instead I’ll try and get pictures of some of the more interesting buildings here. Then, once Dawn’s finished work we’ll be heading out for a couple of drinks and another excellent Thai meal. It’s a hard life!
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Another working week begins, but this one’s different due to our change of location. In truth, today wasn’t that different for Dawn as she had to head back to Halifax and work from our real home for various reasons. For once Dee had a real commute rather than just wandering across the landing for the bedroom to the office!
I stayed behind in the Todmorden ‘annexe’ to look after our feline charge, although to be fair to Luna, she doesn’t take much looking after. Being a young female cat (just a big kitten, really) she’s very independent, doesn’t crave much attention and spends most of her time outside. My main task is to keep here fed and ensure she doesn’t get up to mischief in the house.
As the weather here is so closed in, with very low clouds and mist, I wasn’t going to be venturing far anyway. Plus, most of Todmorden’s closed on a Monday, which adds to a general feeling of isolation. Undeterred, I went for a wander to at least try and get a few photos, despite the murk, and check out a few new photographic possibilities – just in case the weather does pick up. I also wanted to get a shot of the only scheduled freight service via the Copy Pit line to Burnley which is a limestone train from Shap in Cumbria to Drax power and the return empties. The loaded train only runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the empties are scheduled to run Monday to Friday.
Long gone are the days when there would be banking engines based at Todmorden to assist heavy coal trains up the line to Burnley. The engines vanished at the end of steam traction in the late 1960s and the coal trains a couple of decades later. Until recently there was a regular oil train between Lindsay oil refinery in Lincolnshire to Preston docks, but that finished last year. Now, there’s just the stone train. So, I thought I’d try and get a picture for posterity. Only the bloody thing was cancelled! Still, I did manage a few other shots, as you’ll see here…
The classic view of Tod over the rooftops, with two trains passing on the viaduct. As you can see, the weather was less than ideal…Taken at the same location, a Headbolt Lane (Kirkby) to Blackburn service crosses Stansfield Hall Jn on the Todmorden curve which was only reopened in May 2015. Before then a short spur had been retained as a siding for banking engines, but it hadn’t been used for decades. Nearby is Hall Royd Jn where the line to/from Burnley (on the left) joins the Calder valley line. Here’s a DB Cargo Class 66 working an empty Tees Yard to Knowsley (Merseyside) empty ‘binliner’. It’s Monday, so the shops are (mostly) shut, including this cafe in the lovely former Co-op building. ‘Tod’ does have its bohemian elements, hence this book repository fixed to a telegraph pole on one of the backstreets. Having climbed the hill behind the town I found this gap in the trees for a more elevated view of the viaduct. Now, if the weather would only clear…
As the clouds closed in I returned to our temporary home to warm up and make the place cosy for when Dawn got back. I think Luna appreciated my efforts too!
Tomorrow’s weather isn’t expected to be any better than today, but I’m going to have another crack at that stone train…
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Today’s been an enforced lazy Sunday. That wasn’t my plan, but the weather decreed otherwise as it’s been absolutely crap all day. Most of the time we’ve been closed in under low cloud and mist that’s chopped off the tops of the valley. Then there’s been the rain. There was no chance of getting any serious walking in and taking the camera out would’ve been pointless
So, a lazy morning was in order, keeping our feline charge happy. Luna was very comfortable curling up on the bed with us whilst we enjoyed a caffeine fix. Like us, she wasn’t as comfortable with the weather and spent much of the morning zooming around the house like a cat demented!
Luna before she hit her catnip stash…
We did manage to get out later in the day by driving back to Halifax to pick up more clothing and bits we’ll need for our stay here in Todmorden. Bad as the weather was here, it was worse back home where we were literally in cloud level.
Now the weekend’s winding down. On our way back we stopped off for a drink in our new ‘local’ (the Alehouse) which was its usual relaxed and friendly self – although I still can’t get used to hearing so many Lancashire accents and intonations. Britain’s a fascinating place in that respect. Dialect and accents can change in a very short distance, even in this day and age where TV has had such an impact in introducing homogenised language and Americanisation’s.
The highlight of the day’s been scoffing steaks that the people we’re cat-sitting for were kind enough to leave for us. We’re certainly not starving here as last night we enjoyed some fantastic fish dishes at a local Thai restaurant called the Three Wise Monkeys.
Chu Chee Pla. Seabass in a gorgeous sauce. One of the best I’ve had outside Thailand.Seabass with chili and tamarind.
Tomorrow we’ll be back to the grindstone. Sadly, the weather forecast is looking like the entire week is going to be fairly grim, although I’m still hoping I’ll be able to get out in the surrounding hills for one day at least. If not, I may have to venture further afield. Let’s see…
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Welcome to the first day of our Todmorden sojourn whilst we become surrogate humans to ‘Luna’, our friends young cat. I’ll post a picture of Luna when she finally sits still long enough for me to get one. That may take some time as she’s a young thing – little more than a kitten – although you wouldn’t think that from her size! She’s also just getting used to me being in her space.
Cute…
Dawn went off to do other things this morning, so I caught the train over to Todmorden in order to be ready for feeding time, after which I ventured into town to explore. ‘Tod’ as it’s known to locals isn’t unfamiliar to me. I’ve spent plenty of time here in the past, but that’s always been in transit. Being based here’s a little different.
The town has a curious vibe as it’s an odd mix. There’s the bohemian/old hippy element that’s a spin-off from nearby Hebden Bridge then there’s an undertow of old far-right racism and ‘flag-shagging’. Years ago, when far-right British National Party (BNP) membership list was leaked by an insider Todmorden had an unhealthy number of names attached.
Despite that, the town does have a lot to offer. It has a great market – both indoor and outdoor. Whilst the outdoor offerings change depending on the day, the indoor market has its regulars. There’s few tat stalls, instead it’s a mix of cafes, butchers, sweetshops and grocers. Just how a market should be.
The indoor market.
Tod’s at the junction of two valleys and two rivers. Just outside the market where the two join I spotted this Heron waiting patiently to catch its next meal…
Like many towns, Tod’s changed. A lot of old pubs have closed in recent years which is a shame, but then the place had plenty of them.
Another one bites the dust…
Some have been replaced by micro-pubs based in former shops, which appear to be doing rather well. I visited two, both of which had different characters. The first was the Alehouse on the Burnley Rd, a short walk from the town centre. It has both indoor and outdoor seating. There’s a good range of real ales (although other inebriants are available) and the staff are both friendly and helpful. It feels very much a local pub that’s a meeting point for the community, although strangers like me are made to feel welcome. What I found interesting was the range of accents. Todmorden’s part of West Yorkshire, but it’s borderline Lancashire (in the past its moved counties) and only a few miles from Burnley, so there was a real mix of Lancashire and Yorkshire accents on offer from the folk frequenting the place. Oh, and dogs. It’s a very dog friendly pub – not that the dogs are always friendly with each other!
Moving on into the centre to look for possible places to eat I stumbled across another micro-pub, ‘The Beer Necessities’ which is set back on a cobbled Water Street. This is another long and narrow converted shop on two levels, with a disabled toilet on the lower of the two. The clientele seemed to cover a greater age spectrum than the Alehouse, but that could just be its proximity to the town centre. The atmosphere was really good and its certainly a place I’d visit again.
To be continued…
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After walking over 15 miles up hill and down dale (not to mention up and down a bloody big viaduct) yesterday I’ve been taking it easy on the exercise front. Mind you, I’ve had plenty to do at home, so that’s no bad thing! Much of my day’s been spent editing all the images from yesterday to supply to the magazines that have requested them – along with detailed captions for one. Having prioritised the HS2 shots there’s still many other pictures remaining to caption and add to my Zenfolio website. Hopefully most will be done tomorrow. In the meantime, you can find a far bigger selection of HS2 Curzon St shots here.
I need to get the decks cleared of work tomorrow because Bigland Towers is moving! Not for long you understand, we’re relocating to Todmorden to cat-sit for a week whilst friends are off on holiday.
We’ll both be flitting between the two locations but we’re excited about having feline company again as it’s now 4 years since we lost ‘Jet’, our venerable moggie. In between being a cat servant I’m looking forward to having time to explore photographic opportunities around Todmorden without having to commute from home. Plus, I’ll get to update images like today’s picture which was taken way back in 2013.
Seen over over the rooftops, one of the old ‘Calder valley’ Class 155s crosses the wonky viaduct which bisects the centre of Todmorden on the 28th August 2013. Nowadays these units are based in Hull and rarely make it even as far West as Halifax.
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After yesterday’s escapade I’ve had a quiet one here at Bigland Towers. The sunny weather fleeting, we’re back to low cloud, dull skies and the odd snow shower with temperatures hovering just above freezing – which has been a relief as its kept roads and pavements ice-free.
Much of my day’s been spent editing the pictures from my trip. You can find the full range in these galleries, just click on the link…
Whilst editing, a couple of media invites/jobs came in via email. They’ll see me visiting two very different sides of the railways over the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’d love to get more snow pictures. Sadly, getting up to the far North of Scotland before it all melts is unlikely, but we may yet see more in this part of the world. If we do…
One part of the world I certainly won’t be visiting for the foreseeable is the USA. Trump’s paramilitary force (ICE) are too out of control, having shot dead an innocent woman today. The way trump and his cronies have dealt with the whole thing is appalling. Not content with killing her, they’re now killing her reputation. I can’t help wondering how long it’ll be before Trump declares martial law and cancels the mid-term elections, whilst the MAGA morons cheer him on. What’s happening in the US right now is an object lesson in just how fragile democracy is. Sadly, we have some of his acolytes here in the UK (yes, you Farage) who’re aping his playbook when it comes to lying and sowing division whilst spreading hatred. I’d hope Britons were smarter than Americans, but sometimes I wonder…
Leaving politics and returning to the weather and mother nature, here’s today’s picture, which was actually taken yesterday. This is a snow covered Pen-y-Ghent (one of Yorkshire’s three peaks), seen from Ribblehead.
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/
Paul Bigland 