Tag Archives: Photography

Devon days. Part 4…

12 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by in Devon, Food and drink, History, Photography, Railways, Travel

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The weather finally let us down on Thursday. The rain stayed with us for most of the day with the skies remaining leaden throughout. We even had sea mist nearer the coast, so the plan for a long walk went out of the window. Instead, Clive drove us all to Hartland Quay, a former harbour near the north-western tip of the Devon coast. It’s famous for its rcky outcrops and rough seas, which we had a small taste of. There’s also a hotel and pub, which we took refuge in to enjoy a hot drink and chips after being battered by the wind. The rock formations here are amazing and well worth seeing.

The sea shows off its power.

Our next stop was somewhat more eccentric. The Merry Harriers garden centre, which features something I’ve never encountered before. A Gnome garden! No that wasn’t a typo – it really is a garden full of gnomes – of all different shapes, sizes and poses!

Heading back to base afterwards the rest of the team relaxed whilst I went for another wander into Bideford, where I crossed the river and popped in to the old railway station which is the base of the Bideford railway heritage centre. The group have reinstated a short length of track and have a small Planet diesel locomotive and a brake van which they plan to give rides on.

The old signalbox has been restored, along with a old SR parcels van and a Mk1 coach which is used as a cafe.

The day was rounded off with a visit to a restaurant and bar in nearby Northam. The Crow Bar has only been open for 9 weeks. It’s modern feel and variety of seating makes it an interesting venue. The food is tapas based with the beers locally sourced. The owner has installed their own micro-brewery which isn’t in production at the moment but will be opening just as soon as time permits. We really enjoyed our visit. The food was excellent as was the atmosphere.

A view of the main area and bar which has a mezzanine floor above containing comfy seating.
The Spanish style croquettes.
Today’s special was a delicious Trout.

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

Devon days. Part 3…

11 Thursday Jun 2026

Posted by in Devon, Food and drink, Photography, Railways, Travel, Walking

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Our third day in Devon was less about trekking and more about touring – although we still managed an old railway walk! Clive drove the three of us over to Tavistock, a lovely old town neither Dawn nor I had ever visited before. Tavi’ has a fantastic indoor market which is well worth a visit. It certainly separated us from some money!

Tavistock once had two railway lines serving the town. Both have been closed. Tavistock South was on a line from Plymouth owned by the Great Western Railway whilst Tavistock North was part of the London and South Western Railway. The LSWR was built above the town, which it crossed on on a high viaduct. This is now part of a cycle and walking trail which offers good views across town.

Moving on from Tavi we had a tour of Dartmoor which is reminiscent of North Yorkshire. After which we called in at Okehampton, where the town was restored to the national railway network in 2021. Here’s a few pictures from our travels…

Inside Tavistock’s Pannier market. There’s a great selection of stalls selling all sorts of stuff, old and new…
Need a guitar or ukulele?
Bob’s East End cafe in the Pannier market. A great place for an all day breakfast at very reasonable prices.
The LSWR viaduct in central Tavi was completed in 1890. It’s 420ft (128m) long and is made up of eight spans; five of 50ft (15m) and three of 32ft, (10m) with a height of 70ft (21m) to the road below. The old station is behind the camera but access is restricted as it’s now a private dwelling.
The view from the viaduct looking over town.
Walking along the old line. The trackbed has been raised in many places. – hence the low height of the overbridge.
Dartmoor. You can see why they built a prison up here…
Okehampton station has been restored and repainted in Southern railway colours, although…
The Great Western Railway had the last laugh as the current train service to Exeter is operated by the GWR franchise – until it’s absorbed into the nationalised Great British Railways anyway…

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

Devon days, part 2…

10 Wednesday Jun 2026

Posted by in Devon, History, Photography, Railways, Religion, Travel, Walking

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Day 2 of our trip saw us on another long walk whilst visiting some historic places with rich social histories. Clive drove us to Westward Ho! the only place with an exclamation mark in its name. The name came from a Charles Kingsley book, titled Westward Ho! It was a best seller and brought a new wave of tourism to the Bideford area leading to the creation of the village, which has grown considerably in recent years.

Our walk took us along the coast on the trackbed of an old railway that I’d never heard of before. This was pretty unique too as it’s possibly the only standard gauge passenger railway that was never connected to the national network. The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore railway had a very short life. It opened in 1901 and closed in 1917. Having walked along part of its route along the cliffs I’d have thought it would have made a great preserved railway and tourist attraction, but it never survived World War 1.

The course of the old railway makes a great coastal path. Here it is at Abbotsham Cliffs West of Westward Ho!
At this point the old railway swung inland to head towards Bideford. You can see the course of the line and a couple of breaches in the trackbed near the top of the picture. This is a lovely place to stop and admire the coastline.
The wind was whipping up quite a few white capped waves during our walk. Here’s the view looking East towards Baggy Point.

Back in Westward Ho! We explored the village and I discovered its link with one of Britain’s most famous authors whom I’ve long admired. Rudyard Kipling. Kipling went to school in Westward Ho! and he’s remembered by plaques and a line of his most famous poem ‘if) being incorporated into the seafront pavement.

Memories of Kipling in Westward Ho!
A colourful row of houses in Westward Ho! with several being repainted for the summer season.

Having driven back to Northam we popped into the local church where Ann volunteers at their regular coffee and cake days. I’ve always enjoyed visiting country churches as they often provide fascinating glimpses into British social history and St Margaret’s was no exception. Oh, and the cakes were excellent!

Many a well-to-do family’s line ended like this during the First World War, with the death of the only son.
Segregated church services!
Coffe with Passionfruit and lemon cake. Yum!

Having returned home to take our ease I couldn’t resist on last wander into Bideford to make the most of the weather in order to get a few pictures.

The most substantial surviving structure of the old railway is the engine and carriage shed in Bideford. Nowadays it’s used as a car-wash.
The old bridge in Bideford with the modern bridge in the background.

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

 

Devon days, part 1…

09 Tuesday Jun 2026

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Monday was our first full day here in Devon. We’re staying with our friends Ann and Clive here in Bideford, a lovely area on the North Devon coast. I’ve not time to write a full blog so I’m going to leave you with pictures from the days activities which involved a long walk into Appledore, the ferry across the river to Instow and then a hike along the Tarka trail (the old railway) from Instow to Barnstaple before getting the bus back.

Looking across to Lundy Island.
Rather poignant seeing as the anniversary of the D-day landings was only a few days ago.
Looking back to Appledore as we cross the river Torridge on the little ferry.
Instow station on the Tarka trail. The old signalbox and some other rail features have been restored.
Heading towards Okehampton on the Tarka trail. The trackbed had been tarmaced, making an easy surface for cycling/walking.
The cafe and information centre at Fremington Quay on the Tarka trail. This was once a busy port, transhipping coal and clay from rail to ship. The quay closed in 1969. The cafe here serves a range of food and drink – and great cakes!
An abandoned yacht on the edge of the River Taw as we approach Barnstaple.
Nice here, innit? Rather bigger than Bigland Towers too…

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

From coast to hills…

05 Friday Jun 2026

Posted by in Photography, Railways, Southport, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Friday saw me travel back from Southport to West Yorkshire, swapping the coast for the hills and sunshine for cloudy weather – along with a significant drop in temperature!

I was in no rush to get back as Dawn was busy working all day so I had plenty of time to soak up the sun, stretch my legs and get in some exercise before catching the train. I’ve really enjoyed staying at my sisters and reacquainting myself with the town I grew up in (but left so long ago). Splitting my time between between Southport and Halifax gives me the best of both worlds. I’ve lots of stories in the bank to blog about when I have time. But for now I’ve other things in mind.

Dragging my suitcase and camera kit to Meols Cop station I caught a type of train from another chapter of my life – my 25 years living in London, when the Thameslink Class 319s often carried me around the capital. Now, most have gone for scrap, but a few have been converted to bi-mode (diesel and electric) Class 769s which are a staple on Northern services from Southport to Stalybridge and Manchester Oxford Rd.

Once, these 100mph electric trains carried passengers from Bedford, though central London to Brighton. Now they’re seeing out their retirement as bi-mode units, but still working from city to coast – just a very different city and very different coast! Here’s 769434 arriving at Meols Cop, a station in Southport which is well looked after by local station friends.

They’re a definite improvement in quality compared to the old 1980s built Class 150s which are also regulars on the route. Especially as they still have the former 1st Class area with its roomy 2+1 seating, making them ideal to sit back and relax in as the rich farmland of the West Lancashire plain trundles past the window before we call at Parbold where the landscape becomes more hilly. By Wigan the landscape changes again, as the route onwards to Bolton was dominated by the mines and cotton mills of the industrial revolution. Nowadays all the pits have disappeared, as have many of the mills, and the scars on the landscape they left behind are gradually healing.

On arrival at Manchester Victoria I swapped the comfort of my 4-car Class 769 for a rammed 2-car Class 195 which was working a Chester-Leeds service. This was totally inadequate for the numbers travelling but Northern seem to have problems with short-formed services at the moment. I’m glad that I don’t have to do this part of the trip every day as I ended up standing all the way back to Sowerby Bridge. Fortunately, Dawn was available to pick me up as pulling a suitcase a mile uphill whilst wearing a 12kg camera bag is a bit of a minority sport!

Now I have a full day back at Bigland Towers before we’re on the move again – but not by train this time. The pair of us are driving down to Devon where we’ll be staying with friends for a week. Hopefully, I’ll find time to blog. They may not be wordy, but they’ll certainly contain some different pictures of a part of the UK I’ve not visited for many years.

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

Back from Banbury (and Oxford).

01 Monday Jun 2026

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We’ve had an excellent start to community rail week with a very well attended opening event at Oxford station this afternoon. The festivities culminated in a canal side walk followed by snacks and drinks at ‘Yellow Submarine’ in the city. The rain that was predicted held off, making the event even better.

Getting back has proved to be more stressful.

I hung around in Oxford to download and edit the first pictures from the event in order to get stuff ready for the press release, then spent some time taking a few pictures for myself as Oxford stations changed a bit since I was last there due to the construction of the new through platform and the rebuilding of the Botley Rd bridge which it’s necessitated. That meant I was leaving just before the evening peak, heading North on a rammed and late-running Cross-Country service. That was unfortunate, as I had a ten-minute connection time at Birmingham International. Our dwell times increased at each station due to the sheer volume of people squeezed into a five-car Voyager., which meant that at Coventry my connection was sat in the opposite platform. Thankfully, signallers put us out ahead of the Pendolino I was meant to catch and I made my connection at International with minutes to spare. I was hoping for a pleasant journey but ended up having to seat next to a surly young girl with attitude who stank of BO. Thankfully, she bailed out at Sandwell and Dudley, leaving her aroma around to linger!

But, at least I was heading home. As it sped North through deteriorating weather the Pendolino emptied out, making for quite a reasonable journey from Crewe to Wigan. I even managed to blag an empty table bay!

Swapping between stations at Wigan I caught my last train of the day – and one of my favourites. As much as I enjoy a tilting, 125mph Pendolino, there’s something to be said about the old Class 156s. They may not have the same catchet, but they’re a great train for rural lines.

The only problem was the vista. Remember I said the weather was getting worse the further North I got? By the time it came to cross the West Lancashire plain it was persisting it down – and had been most of the day, apparently.

Still, if this weather continues tomorrow it’s not too bad. I have a massive backlog of pictures to edit and things to do indoors for my sister. Let’s see what happens…

Rolling blog. Bound for Banbury…

31 Sunday May 2026

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10:45.

After a long day exploring Southport yesterday I’m on the move again today, this time I’m bound for Banbury as a positioning move to be ready for the opening event of community rail week which starts tomorrow.

Walking to Southport station’s a lot easier than back at home as the town’s flat. The only hill I encounter is a railway bridge! Even so, I’ve already clocked up over 6000 steps.

Right now I’m on a Merseyrail Class 777 to Liverpool. From a passenger’s perspective they’re not bad trains. They’ve level boarding, a/c, power points and plenty of space. From an operators point of view they’re a bit of a nightmare due to ongoing technical issues with various bits of kit – including the passenger information system. Still, this one should get me to Liverpool OK.

The line to Liverpool’s changed enormously since the days of my youth. The freight lines that dominated the docks have almost all disappeared, along with the coal yards and sand traffic. Yet rail traffic from the docks still exists, with regular intermodal trains and biomass being moved to Drax power station

12:45.

The trip to Liverpool was painless even if the train was busy. I’d time to kill in Liverpool and spent it people-watching, sitting outside Lime St station as throngs of travellers made their way to and from trains whilst seagull sat shouting at each other on the station roof, or occasionally dive-bombing unsuspecting people as they scavenged for food.

I’m booked on London North-Western’s 12:33 to Birmingham New St, but we’re already late leaving do to a ‘spillage’ needing cleaning up. I can’t say I’m too surprised as this 8-car Class 350 service was bursting at the seams on arrival. It’s far more relaxed at the moment and I have a table bay to myself, which has allowed me to set up the mobile office.

12:55.

We left 12 minutes late. Annoying, but as I have a lengthy connection time at Smethwick Galton Bridge is makes little difference to my journey. As we headed through Edge Hill we passed rakes of wagons used for the biomass traffic I mentioned earlier as GB Railfreight who haul the trains have a depot there. Today there was an unusual visitor in the shape of one of the company’s new tri-mode Class 99 locomotives, presumably on test.

13:37.

We’ve made it as far as Crewe. I’ve enjoyed the trip so far as the line form Liverpool to Weaver junction is one I rarely travel along nowadays compared to when I lived in London. Then I was up and down almost every month and I can’t even remember the last time I was on a train that stopped at Herford or Winsford! Now I’m back on much more familiar territory as we head for Birmingham.

16:45.

The last leg…

Having swapped to a battered and rather dirty Class 172 for the trip across Birmingham via Moor St to Dorridge I’ve swapped to and equally battered and dirty Chiltern Class 165 which will carry me to Banbury. Both units are badly in need of new seat upholstery as they’re threadbare.

The weather’s not looking too good either as there’s a build-up of heavy grey clouds that could herald rain. As long as it doesn’t arrive before I get to my hotel I’m not too bothered!

22:30.

Time to bring today’s blog to a close. I joined the other members of the Community Rail Network for an early evening meal, then retired to our hotel on the redeveloped canal wharf in order to do some work.

Hotel to the right, bars and eateries to the left.

However, I did notice this interesting bit of local history…

In railway circles LTC Rolt is best known for his seminal work on railway accidents, ‘Red for danger’.

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

Rolling blog. Another day, another commute…

29 Friday May 2026

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12:40.

After a restful night at Bigland Towers I’ve had a busy morning sorting out stuff for my next set of travels and work whilst helping Dawn at home. Dee’s gradually completing wallpapering the living room but needed help taking down the big TV we have wall-mounted above the fireplace. With that little chore done I prepared lunch (chickpea, vegan Feta and Tuna salad with black olives and red onion garnished with lemon juice, oregano and parsley – yum!) before my final task – watering the gardens, which are really starting to look good after our trips to garden centres last weekend.

The weather’s cooler and overcast today, making it a good one for travelling if not for Photography.

Right now I’m on Northern’s 12:00 from Sowerby Bridge as far as Wigan Wallgate which is operated by a 2-car 158. Whilst it’s crowded I’ve managed to set up the mobile office to do some work en-route.

The Sowerby Bridge station friends were busy planting for the summer season during my visit. Here’s one of their efforts which will no doubt look gorgeous in a few weeks time.

12:55.

Having arrived at Manchester Victoria we sat for 5 minutes waiting time as paths are tight here – a legacy of BR’s 1990s rationalisation of the station which decimated capacity. A mobile cleaner took advantage of our layover to whip through the train emptying bins and collecting rubbish left behind on seats and tables by lazy travellers.

Heading onwards towards Salford Crescent we passed the new carriage sidings which are being laid in recognition of the station’s growing importance in the role of the Trans-Pennine network and consequent upgrade. They’ll never replace the scale of the famous Red Bank sidings (the site of which is now being redeveloped) but it’s still good to see.

13:30.

As we made our way to Wigan via the former Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway main line via Atherton (now a shadow of its former self) I tucked into the lunch I’d prepared earlier. Sorry, pie and chip shops of Wigan, I’m giving you a pass today!

Burp!

13:40.

Arrived.

End of part 1. 158793’s carried me all the way from Sowerby Bridge to Wigan. Now to make my way to Southport. I’d half-considered stopping off at the rural station of Hoscar en-route, but as the station only has a 2-hourly service and one of them has just been cancelled maybe that’s a trip for another day when I’m not carrying so much kit and the weather’s not so cloudy.

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/

Cheers,

Paul

Back to the hills…

28 Thursday May 2026

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I’m back in Halifax for the day after returning to visit the dentists for my six-monthly check-up. Fortunately, neither Dawn nor I needed anything doing other then the regular clean

Like most people across the North-West and Wales, I was woken up at 03:00 by the most i thunderstorm. I didn’t get to see any lightning, but the cracks of thunder and torrential rain certainly made an impression! When I left Southport this morning I was amazed to see hardly any sign of the storm. I’d half expected flooding, but the streets were dry. It was the same on the journey across West Lancashire as we were treated to yet another hot and sunny day. As I had an appointment to keep I only stopped off a couple of times en-route. The first was to admire the famous listed Deep Pit footbridge at Hindley, which has been rebuilt as part of the electrification programme.

There are now history boards at each end of the bridge which explain how it was constructed.
There’s a massive new ramp on the Hindley side of the line which has been designed to fit in with the original structure.
The bowstring bridge has been lifted to give clearance for the new electric wires. The width gives you an idea of just how many running lines there were here originally.

Now I’m having a relaxing night with Dawn before heading back to the coast for part of the weekend I have to travel South to work on Community Rail week – but more of that later. I’ll be blogging from my travels tomorrow, so see you soon…

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

Rolling blog. Heading for the coast again…

26 Tuesday May 2026

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10:10.

After a baking hot bank-holiday weekend where we celebrated Dawn’s birthday (blog to follow) I’m abandoning the Pennines to head back across the West Lancashire plain to Southport and another birthday. This time it’s my ‘kid’ sister Anne.  

Right now I’m on Northern’s 10:00 from Sowerby Bridge which is heading to Manchester. Fortunately, the air-conditioning on this 3-car Class 158 is fully functional, giving me chance to cool down after walking down to the station from Bigland Towers.

Today promises to be another hot one…

10:35.

Having slowly filled up en-route my train’s arrived at Rochdale where dozens of summer-dressed travellers were waiting for us. Now we’re almost full as we head for Manchester Victoria. The weather this side of the Pennines is just as good as in West Yorkshire, which makes a change! Most of my fellow passengers appear to be leisure travellers. Only the wonan sat across the car from me is working away on a laptop, almost everyone else is staring at a smartphone screen.

11:00.

Wonder of wonders! We pulled into Victoria 5 minutes early, which put us ahead of a GBRf hauled freight train, giving me enough time to leap out, grab a picture of it as it passed through the station and then rejoin my train. Talk about a lucky break. Now I’m arriving at Salford Crescent for a change of train in order to take the route via Bolton instead of the slower (all stations) route via Atherton.

Platform capacity at Salford Crescent is about the increased by 1/3 as the new platform 3 is complete and awaiting the first services to call when the new timetable comes into force.

11:25.

I’m now heading fast to Bolton aboard a packed Class 323 EMU heading for Blackpool North which is running just ahead of the Southport train. These 90mph EMUs only used to be seen South of Manchester but new electrification and an influx of cast-off 323s from the West Midlands has allowed them to extend their area of operations to include Blackpool, Wigan and Liverpool. The only problems with ’em is their lack of air-conditioning and 3+2 seating arrangement.

11:40.

This is more like it! I abandoned the 323 at Bolton, crossed the platform and caught the Southport train which is being worked by a bi-mode Class 769. Having seen it at Salford Cresent I was wise to the fact this former Thameslink unit had the old 1st Class seating at the front of the train – which is where I’m now relaxing in a comfy single seat. Whilst not as crowded as the Blackpool service there’s still plenty of the ‘bucket and spade brigade’ who’re obviously heading for a day out at the coast.

A commuter train heading to Blackpool is less than ideal due to the lack of luggage space but at least there’s plenty of seats.