Tag Archives: Travel

Rolling blog: following the good weather Southwards…

28 Wednesday Aug 2019

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08:30.

After the past few days glorious weather up North the rain’s reappeared and today’s forecast is less than optimal. Because of this I’m heading down to London to fulfil a more unusual commission. One of my clients needs pictures of Buckingham Palace. No, I’ve no idea why either, but ours is not to reason why…

Whilst I’m in the capital I’ll be getting some library shots of the ever changing railway scene, so expect a few bits of interest to appear throughout the day…

09:30.

I’m on the road slightly later than planned as I had to send a batch of pictures one of the rail magazines had requested. To speed up the trip I’m getting a lift into Huddersfield with Dawn so I can take the direct TPE route to Leeds rather than walking to Halifax for the meander via Bradford. Typically, just as we left the house the drizzle started! Not only that, but a few minutes before we drove past, this came down on our road.

10:06.

Normal service has been resumed on TPE. I’m stood in the vestibule of a packed Class 185 on it’s way to Leeds. On the drive across I was scanning the news about the latest Brexitshambles and BBC story that Johnson is about to ask the Queen to suspend Parliament, thus enacting the political coup that will allow him to crash us out of the EU with no deal, rendering Parliament powerless to stop him. Truly, this country has become a dictatorship and the effects are going to be appalling. The Brexit zealots have no idea of the consequences of what they’re doing. They want Brexit at any cost, no matter how damaging. I fear the UK isn’t going to survive if they get their mad way.

11:21.

I’m now speeding my way to London on LNER’s 10:45 Leeds – Kings Cross. The train’s not too busy but I’ve drawn the short-straw as I’m now surrounded by a group of middle-aged women on a jolly to London, one of whom insists on showing the rest of the group the video contents of her phone. Why anyone would want to watch video’s of a baby screaming is beyond me! We’re just calling at Doncaster, so I expect the train’s going to get even louder. I’m kicking myself for not packing my iPod this morning, especially as I had it to hand just before I left the house. Instead, I’m taking refuge in work and trying to thin out the contents of my email inbox.

12:18.

We’re on our way from Peterborough now and the weather’s looking a lot more promising than at home. Although there’s high cloud it’s very broken. If this keeps up I should be able to get the pictures I need. Meanwhile, I’m making the hoped-for inroads into my inbox and clearing a backlog of pictures filing so it’s been a pretty productive trip so far…

14:43.

Would you ‘Adam and Eve’ it! Despite dashing across London to Buckingham Palace, I arrived at the same bleedin’ time as clouds and a brief shower. This was despite leaving Kings Cross which was baking in sunshine! So, there was me, sitting on the steps of the Victoria statue across the from the palace, pondering the place on the day of our deepest political crisis since world war 2 and thinking ‘kin ell! Eventually the weather played ball long enough that I could get a couple of shots that were fit for purpose. I’m now off to Victoria to head across London to hunt a different quarry: Class 710s.

15:25.

After travelling on my old friend the Victoria line I’ve emerged from the foetid atmosphere of the tube into the fresh air at Blackhorse Rd, North London. The station is an interchange with the ‘Goblin’ (as the Gospel Oak to Barking line’s known to locals). After years of difficulty with delayed electrification, cancelled services and late-delivery of new trains the line’s beginning to settle down and look forward to a reliable and prosperous future. In a scene replicated across so much of this area, the station’s overshadowed by a multitude of tower cranes building new high-rise blocks of flats, although who can still afford to rent them is a mystery.

16:58.

Whilst I was on the ‘Goblin’ I saw the last of the day’s sunshine in which I managed to grab a couple of decent shots at Blackhorse Rd and Harringay Green Lane before deciding to call it a day and begin my trek back to Yorkshire. As I was back in an old haunt I couldn’t resist getting one of the Turkish flatbread stuffed with minced lamb and spices that are popular fast food on Green Lane.

The area may have gone more upmarket from when I know it in the 1990s-2000s but there’s enough that’s familiar and the area still holds some wonderful memories for me. Wandering up the ‘ladder’ as the streets there are known I caught a train from another old haunt, Hornsey station and hopped between a few of the tired old workhouse Class 313s and their shiny new replacements, the Siemens Class 717s. The rush-hour hadn’t begun to bite so there were plenty of spare seats. At Potters Bar I changed once more, this time to a Siemens Class 700 which will carry me to Stevenage where I’ll pick up an LNER train. The weather across the Northern suburbs has turned dark and dismal with small showers, hardly ideal for photography so the camera’s getting a rest!

18:21.

My penultimate train if the day’s an ancient HST working a Kings Cross to Harrogate service. If there’s many typos in this part of the blog I apologise, the rocking and bouncing on this train at speed is awful! They may be liked by enthusiasts but the ride quality’s not a patch on an Azuma!

19:44.

We’re just leaving Wakefield under some exceptional skies as the edge of a heavy band of cloud is meeting the setting sun which is picking out a few stray clouds like a search light. It’s glorious! The effect was the same in Leeds but there was no chance of ne getting in a place to get pictures I was straight on to my last train of the day, Northern’s 20:06 to Huddersfield via Halifax which is worked by a neatly kept but tired Class 156.

20:07.

The final trip of the day’s begun and I’m looking forward to getting home and relaxing for a few hours as tomorrow’s going to be another much-travelled day…

Rolling blog: messing about in boats…

24 Saturday Aug 2019

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07:30.

We’re both bright eyed and bushy tailed (well, I may have exaggerated that bit), as we’re about to head off for what I’ve no doubt will be a very enjoyable day on a friends narrowboat. But first we’ve a two hour drive to get down to Leicestershire. Stay with us and watch the day unfold…

08:37.

For once, the M62 motorway was traffic free so we’re now on an equally quiet M1and making good time, hopefully the next 70 miles be trouble-free too.

POSTSCRIPT (Sunday 25th).

Yesterday was such a lovely relaxing day I decided not to bother blogging and enjoy the great company and relaxing trip on the River Soar, just living for the moment rather than recording it for posterity. I didn’t even take my camera out of it’s bag for most of the trip! The weather was stunning. We had a classic summers day which was ideal for a river cruise. The route we took meant we only had a couple of locks to navigate, just enough to keep us occupied and entertained without becoming too onerous. Whilst Nigel navigated the boat, Dawn, myself and Phil (accompanied by Mojo) worked the locks. At Trent lock we moored up for lunch. I’d prepared several home cooked curries which we shared along with the fantastic cheese scones that Lilian had made plus various offerings contributed by the others. Here’s a couple of pictures that capture the spirit of the day.


Rolling blog: All change in the East Midlands…

19 Monday Aug 2019

Posted by in East Midlands Railway franchise, East Midlands Trains, Railways, Rolling blogs, Travel

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07:00.

I’m here in Derby for the launch of the new East Midlands rail franchise, which sees Abellio take over from Stagecoach, who’ve run the franchise since 2007. There’s lots to look forward to in the new franchise, which includes a replacement their train fleet with either brand new or cascaded trains. There’ll be lots of events happening throughout the day which I’ll blog about here…

08:33.

EMR are kicking off the new franchise by giving out free cupcakes to passengers at many of their major stations. Here’s some of the folks at Derby.

The trains are being rebranded with two separate identities – Intercity and Regional. Here’s one of their Class 153s at Derby. These units will be replaced by larger trains cascaded from other franchises.

This is how the Class 222s look. All these trains will be replaced. EMR have ordered 33 five car bi-mode units from Hitachi at a cost of £400m.

It’s been a very busy day with launches at bother Derby and Nottingham. Now the re-liveried train is on it’s way to London, couple up on the rear of a normal service train. The main launch event was held at the Roundhouse opposite the station, with speakers from Abellio, EMR, Network Rail, Transport for East Midlands and also the Dutch embassy. Here’s few shots from the day so far.

Guests at the EMR launch

19:29.
It’s been such a busy day I’ve really not had time to blog. After the events at Derby and Nottingham we travelled on the rebranded train to London where there was a final stakeholder event at St Pancras. The train attracted a lot of attention from enthusiasts whilst the launch was busy with the mainstream media who were willing to pick up and run with a good news story. Let’s face it, a £600m investment in the new franchise is certainly that!
After the event was over and my job was done I wandered over to Euston to have a look at progress on HS2. The  demolition phase is well underway now and it won’t be long before it’s completed. Even the big tent that covered the old graveyards starting to come down. I’ll add a few pictures later.

I headed back North up the Midland Main Line as I wanted to get shots of progress on the route rebuild so I stopped off at Wellingborough where the 4th platform’s being reinstated.
Of course, the irony of all this is that Network Rail are having to spend vast sums reinstating infrastructure that British Rail ripped out in the name of rationalisation and balancing the books…

After Wellingborough I made a brief stop at Kettering where I transferred to a Sheffield bound service. Sheffield’s where I am now, waiting for Cross-Country’s 20:21 to take me to Leeds.

20:39.

My Cross-Country service turned up on time and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was worked by one of their HST sets – only this one’s had the slam doors replaced by automatic ones. They certainly seem to make a difference to the ambience inside the vehicle. To my mind it seems quieter and without the same pressure pulse when you enter tunnels or pass other trains. You still notice passing but it doesn’t have the same impact on the ears! Unfortunately, a family travelling in my coach with a young child have undone any benefit…

I’ll add a few more pictures from today’s events later or in the morning.  I’m posting this from my mobile so don’t have the facilities. I’m looking forward to having a day working from home tomorrow as I’ve a shedload of pictures to edit and get out to clients in readiness for the next jobs.

2124.

Back to earth with a bang! My final train of the day is Northern’s 21:08 from Leeds to Brighouse and it’s being worked by a rather tired and unrefurbished Class 150 – my least favourite train. Actually, the train’s going to Huddersfield, but they don’t display that on the screens at Leeds in case folk get the wrong (slower) train!

Rolling blog: destination Derby

18 Sunday Aug 2019

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Bliss! The pair of us actually had a lie-in this morning! Last night we went round to some near neighbours for a very convivial meal and a few drinks and didn’t get back until 01:30, so this morning we both thought ‘bugger it’ and slept until late, enjoying the comfort of our own home after our Irish sojourn and constant change of rooms.Normal service has now been resumed and I’m busy packing and sorting out my camera kit to head off for a night in Derby, ready for the new East Midlands Railway franchise launch tomorrow. It’s going to be a busy day. meanwhile, I’ll be blogging about today’s travels as they happen, so stay tuned…

17:29.

Slightly later than provisionally planned I’m now on my way to Derby. The reason for such tardiness is the fact I was enjoying being at home and spending time with my other half – even tho’ we were both busy. That said, we did find time to to a detour on the way to the station to nip in to our local pub for a ‘swifty’. In Dawn’s case this was an alcohol-free Beck’s Blue, whilst I had one of these. People who know me will guess which end of the row I gravitated to!

Right now I’m on a TPE service from Huddersfield to York. The station was jumping because at the weekend the Kings Head pub on the Leeds end of the station has live music and the band obviously have a bit of a following. They were belting out old rock and roll classics that I could hear whilst waiting on the platform!18:18.I’m now on one of those services that are a hangover from the BR era that survived the Strategic Rail Authority cull of Virgin Cross-Country services after the problems of “Operation Princess”. In other words I’m on a 10 car Cross-Country Voyager from Glasgow Central to Guildford! I can’t help wondering about the operational value of such services in 2019. I mean, is there anyone on this train that’s going all the way?

19:34.

Isn’t social media such an amazing thing? Whilst I was on the XC service I tweeted about how good the Train Manager in the rear set was. Almost immediately I received a private message from a friend – who happened to be the Train Manager of the front set! We met long enough to say hello at Sheffield whilst I was changing trains.

19:39.

I’m now on my first East Midlands Rail service of the new franchise – and it’ll be one of the first to go.

20:53.

Having checked into my hotel which is right outside the station as it was built by the Midland Railway I’m having a quiet point in a local with a railway theme. No doubt some of my friends will know exactly where I am!

Being here for another new franchise launch has made me introspective as I’ve seen so many. Yet this is very much the passing of the old guard. We’ve seen several owning groups grow, then shrink, and Stagecoach is yet another example. The loss of the East Mids franchise marks their departure from the rail industry after being part of it since they won th very first franchise (Southwest Trains) way back in 1996. They’re not alone. At one point National Express were the biggest owning group with (IIRC) 7 franchises. Now they have none. Nowadays, the ‘big beast’ in the franchise jungle is the Dutch owned Abellio. Tomorrow will be an interesting day…

Rolling blog: the Rovers return…

16 Friday Aug 2019

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07:05.

We woke up at 6am this morning to the sound of rain tapping on the window here in Tramore, County Waterford. Sadly, our last day in Ireland looks like it’s going to be a wet one which is a bit of a bugger as Dawn’s driving us back to Dublin today as we’re catching the 14:50 Stena ferry back to Holyhead and home. Hopefully, our crossing won’t be suffering the sort of seas we saw here yesterday!

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Despite the vagaries of the weather we’ve had a wonderful time here in Ireland. It’s been fantastic to catch up with old friends and make some new ones, but the focus of today will be travel. Let’s see how it goes…

08:05

We’ve packed and are getting ready to leave. To be honest, we’d much rather stay! The Airbnb we’re in is a lovely self-contained flat that would make an ideal base for a few days exploring the Copper Coast and the old railway that’s been converted to a greenway. if only we had more time and the weather was better…

09:00.

We’re on the road again! The ferry doesn’t sail until 14:50 but we’re giving ourselves plenty of time to get to Dublin because of the conditions – although the mucky weather isn’t exactly conducive to sight-seeing as visibility’s reduced to a few hundred metres!

10:21.

We’ve stopped for coffee and cake in Carlow which us an odd little place. It has a castle, well, the remains of one. Apparently, most of it was ‘accidentally’ blown up in 1814 when it was being converted into a lunatic asylum. No, really!

Considering the fact it’s Friday, Carlow is remarkably quiet. You have to wonder why many of the shops have bothered to open as the streets are deserted. The one place we found that had some life was a stylish cafe and bar called Brooks, where we’ve called in for coffee and cake.

Their home-made scones are certainly substantial…

We’ve arrived in Carlow at the right time as the weather’s broken and the rain’s stopped, although a blanket of low cloud sits over the town, blocking out most light, leaving the day feeling like a damp dusk in December.

11:12.

Having fuelled up ourselves we’ve done the same for the car. I’m beginning to warm to Carlow. Once you see past the number of empty shops it’s actually a friendly little place with a variety of cafe’s, bars and restaurants. Shame we couldn’t have stayed and explored…

13:30.

After an easy drive into Dublin and an amble around the city on the North Circular Rd we’re now waiting in line at Dublin docks, ready to board our ferry.

The weather’s remaining mixed with threatening skies but for the moment it’s dry and warm. This is Dawn’s chance to relax for a bit after driving 1180 miles since we left home last Wednesday. This is how the Dublin skies looked as we eased out of the port and headed out into the Irish sea.

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18:06.

After a crossing that was nowhere near as rough as we feared we’re about to dock at Holyhead.

20:41.

After getting off the ferry we zipped through Holyhead and the bad weather to enjoy a vintage run along the North Wales cost on the A55. The sun shone, the traffic was light and all was well with the world until we crossed the border into England when we caught up with the rain! Right now we’re navigating the M6 motorway before joining the M62 to head back to Yorkshire. For a Friday, the traffic’s remarkably light, which means we *should* get home by 21:40…

Ireland. Days 7 and 8.

15 Thursday Aug 2019

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WARNING: This blog’s going to take a couple of day to write, so here goes. When it’s finished I’ll remove this caveat.

We’ve had a really busy couple of days for two reasons, the number of things we’ve seen, but also the amount of ground we’ve covered. Right now I’m scribbling this from our new AirBnB in Tramore which is on the coast South of Waterford. It’s our final stop before heading back up to Dublin to catch the ferry back to the UK tomorrow.

Yesterday we had a really interesting day around Cork and Cobh, which was our first port of call (if you’ll pardon the pun) yesterday morning. Cobh – formerly known as Queeenstown – is famous for two things. Firstly, it was the place where hundreds of thousands of people left their homeland as part of the Irish diaspora. Few left voluntarily. Most left through force of circumstances. Many left because of the famine, others because they were deported as criminals. Nowadays Cobh seems like a lovely place. It’s a massive natural harbour and the town itself is a major tourist attraction that attracts people from all over the world because of another tragic story – that of the ill-fated luxury liner, the Titanic. Queenstown was the Titanic’s last port of call. It was never seen again because four days after leaving Ireland it struck an iceberg and sank with the loss of more than 1,500 lives.

Wandering around the town nowadays it’s difficult to imagine the way the town was the centre of so much human stress and misery. It’s a jolly place full of bars, restaurants and buskers entertaining the crowds. It’s only when you visit the excellent Cobh Heritage Centre which is located in the old railway station that you start to realise the enormity of the town’s history. Their exhibition is a real eye-opener. It documents the history of Queenstown which includes immigration, imperialism and the history of the Trans-Atlantic Liners, including the Titanic. All of the exhibitions are fascinating, but for me as a photographer, the pictures of the Titanic taken by Father Francis Browne are of especial interest. Their quality is superb and the scenes they capture are incredibly powerful as he had no idea that he was documenting the last days of the ship.

Ireland: day 6.

13 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by in Abandoned railways, Food and drink, History, Ireland, Railways, Travel

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Today’s been very much governed by the rain which has put the mockers on a lot of things, including any walking and also the change to get any decent scenic pictures of what’s a beautiful bit of Ireland. To be honest, the day started slowly anyway as poor Dawn went down with a migraine yesterday evening, which left her feeling woozy, so she had an early night and a late morning start. At first, the weather looked promising, so we stuck to our plan of driving over to pretty Kinsale on the River Brandon. But then we pushed our luck and ventured further West. Our first stop was at Courtmacsherry which is an attractive little village that’s spread out along a single long street on the southern shore of Courtmacsherry Bay. We stopped for coffee and cake (a rare holiday treat) at the Travara Lodge, a B&B with a lovely café on the ground floor and a garden on the banks of the Bay. You have to admit, the cakes do look tempting and the Pecan pie was gorgeous.

Like many places in Ireland, Courtmacsherry once had a railway station. The Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Railway finally closed in 1960 after many years when it was only used for summer excursions and freight. Part of it remains as a footpath which is marked by an old semaphore signal arm on a makeshift post.

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Looking towards Courtmacsherry

The old station building in Courtmacsherry survives as a residential property.

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The village also contains a memorial to the sinking of the liner Lusitania which was torpedoed in May 1915 and sank in 20 minutes, with the loss of 1,198 lives. The ship went down not far off the coast from the village.

Taking a gamble and really sticking our necks out we ventured further West through Clonakilty and Skibereen as far as Baltimore, a village with a harbour that serves as the ferry terminal for boats to Cape Clear, Sherkin and Hare Islands, as well as trips around the famous Fastnet lighthouse. The area’s popular with boaters so the harbour’s busy with yachts and other small craft. In the right weather it must be an absolutely stunning bit of coastline. Today was not that day! As usual, we arrived the same time as the rain which cut visibility to a few hundred metres. We cut our losses by taking up refuge in the local pub which had been recommended by a friend. Bushe’s Bar overlooks the harbour and contains a vast array of nautical memorabilia including lifebelts from some of the ships wrecked in the area over the years. The place is popular with both locals and visitors and serves food as well as a good selection of drinks. It’s certainly worth a visit. On a sunny day the barrel tables outside are especially popular.

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We hung around for a couple of drinks, hoping the weather would clear, but it wasn’t to be, so we gave up and headed back to Kinsale to eat at another recommendation, Fishy Fishy is (as the name suggests) a seafood restaurant just back from the River Bandon that specialises in locally caught fish. The menu isn’t huge, but what you get is delicious. I went for this, pan cooked Hake.

Suitably stuffed, we’re now lounging at our Airbnb before exploring Cork and Cobh tomorrow – and praying for better weather!

Rolling blog. Ireland day 5 – From Limerick to Cork the long way round

12 Monday Aug 2019

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09:00.

The weather here in Limerick has been (to use the local vernacular) ‘shoite’ It’s been chucking it down overnight and the forecast remains mixed for the rest of the day although the sun is breaking through to defy predictions. Undeterred, we’re embarking on a bit of a tour today, taking in some of the historical, cultural and railway sites as well as the scenery on a roundabout trip that will eventually see us end of in Cork where we’ll base ourselves for the next few nights. Keep popping in through the day and see what we get up to. For now, here’s a shot from Limerick showing the 13th century King John’s castle.

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As you can see from the fullness of the river Shannon, there’s been plenty of rain recently!

11:10.

We left Limerick just as the heavens opened, treating us to a torrential rainstorm that’s left roads and pavements awash and us warm and dry in the car as we head for out first stop of the day: Foynes.

15:10.

The Gods have smiled upon us and the weather’s brightened up, making our visit to the Flying Boat museum in Foynes much more pleasurable. This is an excellent museum that documents when the River Shannon played a pivotal role as a base for the air-bridge across the Atlantic to America when flying boats dominated the trade before the war and subsequent advances in aviation technology killed it off in 1945. As well as a fascinating mixture of memorabilia there’s also the full size recreation of the fuselage and interior layout of the largest of the flying boats, the ‘American Clipper’. If you’re in the area I’d recommend a visit. The museum also hosts a section on the Irish-American film star Maureen O’ Hara (who was married to a pilot who flew flying boats in and out of Foynes during the war), the origins of Irish Coffee and also a look at the history of Foynes harbour. Here’s a few pictures from our visit.

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Memento’s, trinkets and even the remains of a crashed flying boat in one of the museum galleries.

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The replica of one of the luxurious Boeing B314 flying boats used by both American and British companies on the Atlantic crossings.

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Interior of the B314 replica

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The spacious flight deck of the B314 which could accommodate seven people.

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Fold-out beds in the cabins of the B314.

16:00.

Moving on from Foynes to Listowel we visited another museum, but to a very different era and very different technology. This one was a dead end – the Lartigue monorail system that was used on the 10 mile long Listowel and Ballybunion railway between its opening in 1888 until its closure in 1924. The museum was opened in 2008 on the site of the former broad gauge railway adjacent to the original route of the L&B. It has a 500 metre demonstration track complete with the unique turntable switches used on the monorail, along with a replica of one of the engines and some carriages. The replica engine is actually a diesel hydraulic as building (and maintaining) a steam replica would be prohibitively expensive. In the former goods shed is a museum to the line which has some excellent quality old photographs of the line, plus a superb old newsreel which was filmed on the route back in 1916. The whole site is run by volunteers who give you a warm welcome and an informative tour.  Here’s some of what we saw.

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Yes, the headlamp really was that big!

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One of the switches in action. They’re curved as that way they can connect with lines closer to each other than if the track on them was straight, but you can’t turn locomotives on them. That’s only done on straight turntables.

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The museum inside the former board-gauge goods shed has some really excellent quality old pictures of the L&B as well as a selection of railway memorabilia.

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22:13.

After leaving Listowel we essentially ran out of time to explore. Instead we drove down to Tralee for a late lunch, then headed on Down to Cork where we’ve booked 3 nights in a lovely Airbnb, which is where we’re relaxing now. Tomorrow we’re up early and heading out to explore the coast as the weather forecast’s looking promising, so expect another rolling blog.

 

Ireland. Day 4.

11 Sunday Aug 2019

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Well, Neil and Breda’s wedding yesterday was a brilliant event. The hotel they’d booked for us in Thurles was a lovely place where it was great to catch up with friends and meet some of Neil’s family we didn’t know on the night before the big day. We actually had a restrained night, limiting ourselves to a few drinks in the hotel bar. Well, I did anyway. Dawn was on day 40 of her alcohol free challenge so supping nothing stronger than Heineken Zero anyway!

After having a leisurely breakfast in the hotel we drove to Neil’s house which was some 40 mins away to meet up with part of the wedding party before heading over to the church early as John, his stepfather was going to be singing at the wedding and needed to practice at a sound check beforehand. Acoustics in churches can be temperamental things, so you never leave anything to chance. It also gave me the opportunity to suss out lighting and angles for photographs.  I’ve never taken pictures at an Irish Catholic wedding before but it was a delight. The priest was very relaxed about the whole affair so there were none of the restrictions that you sometimes face in England. The church was a lovely little place too, so it all went really well – apart from the weather, which was windy and wet.

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No-one let the weather spoil the occasion, it just meant we had to get the family group shots in the sheltered gardens at the hotel when we had a window in the weather.

The evening meal was great fun due to the speeches which were witty rather than wordy. Then there was a surprise neither of the newlyweds know about in the form of two actor-singers whose performance had everyone clapping. The evening ended with a band playing the old classics which had many up and jiving until the early hours – although I only lasted until half past 12, by which time I’d taken nearly 950 pictures.

This morning we checked out of the hotel and began our holiday by driving down to Limerick. I’ve not been outside the station since 2002 so for me it’s a chance to rediscover the city.

Rolling blog: across the Irish Sea…

08 Thursday Aug 2019

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06:41.

We’ve woken up here in Holyhead after a night in a very nice little bed and breakfast called Crossroads. They’re obviously used to people travelling to/from Ireland as the room’s set up with a little breakfast bar stocked with tea, coffee, cerals and fruit, plus juices. It’s very self-contained. I plumped for the healthy option and had the porage!We’re here because we’re catching the Stena Sealink ferry to Ireland this morning for a break (and to go to a wedding) in the Emerald Isle. We’re not travelling far as we’re heading for the Wicklow Hills on the coast South of Dublin. Stay with me and watch the day unfold…

09:12.

Our Stena ferry’s on it’s way to Ireland. I have to say it was a very slick operation by them loading all the cars and lorries. Dawn was nervous as she’d never taken a car on a ferry before but the crew were great, directing her and aiding her to get exactly where they needed the motor. We’re now sat in the lounge on deck 8, watching the world go by.

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Gone are the old days when foot passengers would just walk up gangways onto ro-ro Ferries and have to be herded like cats as cars and lorries were loaded. Now they’re bussed directly on to the ferry. 

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12:41.

We’ve landed in Dublin and heading South after what was a classic millpond crossing of the Irish Sea. I’ve never known it so calm!

20:40.

It’s been a slow day for a rolling blog so I’m going to fill in much of the detail here. After leaving the ferry in Dublin we were both taken aback at just how good the weather was. We’d been expecting grey skies and probably some rain. Instead, we’d basked in the sun on the ferry over and the good weather stayed with us for pretty much most of the day.

This is the first time I’ve sailed into Dublin port and I was fascinated by some of the industrial archaeology, like this old power station (known as the ‘Pigeon House’ that opened in 1903 after being converted from an old army barracks. It lasted until 1976.

DG330461. Former Pigeon House generating station. Dublin. Ireland. 8.8.19.crop

Next door are the two massive chimneys of the power station that replaced it – Poolbeg – which closed in 2010.

Getting out of Dublin port was a bit of a pain, as was heading out through the southern suburbs. Dawn drily observed that she’s never driven in a country that insisted on having traffic lights on every street corner!

After crawling out of Dublin, and with having plenty of time on our hands, we decided to take the scenic route and explore part of the coastal route via Dún Laoghaire. I remember it as the port that was the traditional gateway to Ireland. Nowadays the ferries have been replaced by fancy yachts as the town’s gone much more upmarket! There’s some beautiful buildings there and a real buzz due to the cafes, restaurants and shopping. Our next stop (albeit briefly) was Bray, which was a real disappointment. It felt like an Irish version of Blackpool and it was packed! So much so that all the car parks were full so we chose not to stay and wander up Bray Head but drive on to Greystones instead. We made the right choice. Greystones had a much nicer feel to it, more laid back, cosmopolitan and up-market. We decided to stay to eat and found a really lovely Spanish restaurant on the main street called ‘Las Tapas’. The large and well furnished interior’s complimented by tables on the street, which was a great place today, allowing us to sit in the suns and soak up the atmosphere of the town. The food was very good too. We ordered five different dishes and enjoyed every one. Both of us would recommend it.

Afterwards we drove the few miles down the coast to where we’re staying the night, in the hills just above Wicklow in a very nice self-contained Airbnb. By the time we arrived the weather was starting to turn. Our hosts informed us that a severe weather warning had been issued for overnight, so instead of wandering around the town we’ve elected to hunker down in their lovely room and catch-up with some work and the world.

You can find the first few pictures from Ireland in this gallery on my Zenfolio website. I’ll be adding to it regularly during the week – time, weather and wifi permitting of course! For now, it’s goodnight.