Tag Archives: porto

30th September picture of the day…

30 Tuesday Sep 2025

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

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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 4: Pottering around Porto…

09 Tuesday Sep 2025

Posted by in Photography, Portugal, Railways, Travel

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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

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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