Purely by accident my time here in Southport coincided with the town’s ‘big top’ festival, a free event which spread across five locations in the centre of town but mostly revolved around Lord St and its gardens. It’s a two day event and I have to say I was seriously impressed by the quality of it. The acts I saw were superb. Here’s a few pictures.
Here’s ‘Smashed2’, a group of nine jugglers who mix their act with acrobatics, choreography, humour and a wonderful mix of music, from classical to blues. How they memorise their varied and complex routines amazes me. Life is a beach are a pair of performers who explore a day at the beach through acrobatics, with a wry look at pollution and antisocial behaviorsAustralian group Circa perform ‘Wolf’, acrobatics with fangs…There’s another stage at the Monument, where I caught ‘Beyond’ performing. Moving back to catch one last look at smashed 2 I moved over to Market St, where cirque di kaka were about to perform.As part of the event, Market St lived up to its name with several dozen stalls selling a variety of goods from food to handmade jewellery.
From what I saw (and judging by the crowds) the event was a great success. The acts were excellent, the event was well-organised and the atmosphere relaxed. It was a day out which would entertain all the family. I’m loving the way Southport seems to be reinventing itself in such an imaginative way.
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It’s another hot and sunny day here in West Yorkshire so I’m heading to the seaside for a few hours to get a selection of pictures for a client. Right now I’m packing my kit before heading off to the station. It’s going to be a flying visit as I need to be back in Halifax this evening as we’re out for a meal with a friend this evening. I’ll update this blog as I go along…
09:20.
With the sun already heating the place up I decided descretion was the better part of valour,so rather than walking up our steep hill to head to Halifax I took the shorter and easier downhill route to Sowerby Bridge. The only problem is there’s no direct trains to Blackpool from here anymore (bar weekends) so I have to arrive slightly earlier to catch a Manchester Victoria service as far as Hebden Bridge and change there. Here’s my train now…
09:45.
Well, there’s worse place to change trains!
As expected, this 3-car service to the seaside is packed with ‘the bucket and spade brigade’ – young couples, families with prams and a brood of kids or elderly solo travellers whose only encumbrance is a suitcase.
10:05.
We’ve just left Burnely Manchester road where we gained dozens of new passengers including a family with a mamber in a wheelchair plus two old dears with wheeled walking frames which have been added to the pram collection.
At the last moment we were joined by a second wheelchair which has made this vestibule rather cosy – and we haven’t reached Blackburn yet…
10:20.
In order to insulate myself from the onboard mayhem and chatter I’ve retreated into listening to music. As a homage to my destination I’m playing the album ‘Too old to rock and roll, too young to die” by Jethro Tull. It’s an old favorite and those who’re familiar with it will know the connection.
10:25.
During our stop at Blackburn we lost a handful of folk but gained far more – and plenty of suitcases! Looking around I’ve observed several people who’ve clearly kept the local tattoo parlours in work. Shame it wasn’t the dentists…
11:40.
Well, this is fun! I changed trains at Preston where I had plenty of time to observe the melee as hundreds of day-trippers and holidaymakers changed trains. Many had kids in tow which was a bit like herding cats! Not easy as the island platform used by trains to the resort (1 and 2) is narrow so staff were constantly exhorting people to stay behind the yellow line. Unlike the unwary and uninitiated I knew our train would be a 2-car so stood in the right place to ensure I was one of the first one and able to get a perch seat to observe the fun. To say this 156 is rammed is an understatement! On days like this the train really could to to be a 3-car at least.
16:00.
I’ve bid adieu to Blackpool to head back to Halifax and prepare for our evening out. I’ve certainly had an interesting time. I managed a handful of pics that fit the clients needs but also captured many others that will sit quite happily in the archive for future use. It’s a shame the trip was so rushed as the weather was ideal. I need to spend a day documenting the Blackpool South branch. It’s a curious hangover from the days of BR rationalisation in the 1960s when it was reduced to a ling siding from Kirkham and Wesham. I’ll add some links later to show just how important a railway it used to be, complete with an express link. Now it’s hopelessly under capacity. It really needs to be trains a minimum of every 30 mins, not once an hour – and not 2-cars either!
Having got the shots I needed at Blackpool pleasure beach I walked along the promenade all the way up to Blackpool North, taking pictures on the way. I first visited as a child back in the late 1960s and have one abiding memory of the family visit. We visited a cafe serving fish, chips and peas (as one did). My late sister Ruth was a baby who was duly plumped in a high chair. Not being old enough to use a knife and fork she was given a spoon. This worked well until it came to eating the peas. The sight of her determinedly chasing the peas around her plate with a spoon still raises a chuckle half a century later.
To be fair to Blackpool it’s a town that’s invested heavily in the seafront and tried to reinvent its image somewhat. I didn’t see one ‘kiss me quick’ hat or anyone eating candy floss and only heard one bingo caller in the whole time I was walking. The town’s visitors have become much more multi-racial too. It’s no longer just a refuge of the white working classes. Southport, just down the coast where I grew up was always known as the place the middle classes holidayed, although it was also a big venue for Scousers on a day out.
Whilst Blackpool’s changing, the clientele isn’t always. I passed several couples deep in arguments and the use of four-letter words (even in front of small kids) was endemic. ‘Fcuk’ and its derivatives are used by many almost as punctuation.
Anyway, I’ll add a few pictures from my trip tomorrow, but here’s a few for now.
The ‘Paris of the North’, allegedly…Vintage trams are still running tourist trips.The concourse at Blackpool North has been improved with new retail outlets. Despite the infamous reputation it has with both railstaff and enthusiasts I found people polite and helpful.
18:10.
I’m home, showered and changed, ready to pick up our friend before heading over to Honley for an evening eating tapas – and not just the Yorkshire kind* either!…
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/
We were up at 6am this morning to give ourselves time to get back into Kaikoura ready for our 08:30am trip to swim with dolphins. It’s an experience I last had 20 years ago so I was really looking forward to seeing Dawn’s face when she got into the water with what can be up to 400-500 dusky Dolphins.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be. The weather had closed in overnight, bringing rain and winds high enough to make it unsafe for boats to leave the small harbour here. All this morning’s boat trips (including whale watching) have been cancelled. These things are always in the lap of the Gods, sadly. As we’ve only a couple of nights here it’s not possible to re-arrange the trip. We’re just going to have to come back another time – just not in another 20 years…!
We consoled ourselves with a wander around the headland at Point Hearn, where we sat on the cliffs and gazed out to sea, hoping to spot a whale, or maybe a dolphin or two, but all we saw was seals and a variety of seabirds.
As we watched the planes and helicopters fly out to the area where whales had been reported we realised it was a forlorn hope. Whales may be big, but when they’re miles away and mostly hidden by the sea, you ain’t gonna see much – even with my camera’s zoom lens. The only people getting to see whales today were using one of these as they weren’t affected by high waves!
Our amble around Kaikoura also took in the railway station where we were fortunate enough to be in time to see the daily passenger train from Christchurch to Picton call. By UK standards it’s a small train as it consists of a baggage car, two seated coaches plus a buffet car and an open-sided observation coach bringing up the rear.
DXR 8007 working the Christchurch – Picton passenger service. This locomotive is a rebuild of the General Electric DX class, 49 of which were built between 1972-75. It was stored at Hutt workshops (Wellington) in 1989 after suffering cracked frames. Formerly numbered 5362, it was rebuilt with new 3,300 hp GE 7-FDL diesel engine and smaller bonnet before re-entering service in 1993.
Goodbyeee! The train heads towards Blenheim and Picton
Because all the tours were cancelled Kaikoura was full of disconsolate people looking for something to do – which isn’t easy as the focus of the town is very much tourist tours. Many eateries in town don’t open until after midday – such as the Pier Hotel, a lovely old hotel and bar situated at the South end of town that has great views across the bay – and probably the best location in town. We ended up there for lunch and pigged out on two of our favourites – mussels and whitebait. As you can see the ‘large’ portions are just that!
We’ve now abandoned Kaikoura as the weather’s worsened. This is the first day where we’ve not been wearing shorts. Instead, we’re in long pants, fleeces and waterproofs! We’re spending the evening in a fabulous mountain retreat Airbnb some 55km South at a place called Lydford before moving on to Christchurch tomorrow. I’ll try and post some pictures tomorrow – when it’s stopped raining!
Whilst it’s been sad to miss out on the dolphin swim we’ve got many other exciting things planned during the next few weeks travels – and the money we’ll be refunded ‘cos the tour didn’t run can always be spent on something else! New Zealand’s South Island has a huge variety of outdoor experiences to offer and we’ll be sampling (and blogging about) quite a few of them whilst we’re here. One thing we haven’t done so far on this trip is travel anywhere by train, but we’ll be putting that right in the next few days…
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My day’s been taken up by enjoying a local tradition here in Sowerby Bridge: rush bearing. It’s an event that goes back years, to when church floors were covered in rushes which were changed at this time of year. Like many traditions, it died for a time. But it was resurrected in Sowerby Bridge back in 1977. I’m not going to get into a long explanation about this as I can provide links to websites that already explain it – such as this one. What I will do is add some pictures from today’s event and say – if you’re at a loose end tomorrow, why not come along? And if you can’t do that, remember that rush bearing happens at the first weekend in September every year. Here’s a few pictures from today. I’ll add many more to my Zenfolio website later. In the meantime, here’s the gallery from previous years.
Paul Bigland 