Tag Archives: Walking

13th April picture of the day…

13 Sunday Apr 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Picture of the day, Travel, West Yorkshire

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Sorry, I got a bit lost on our return from Surrey as there’s been a lot to do – hence the lack of blogs. The journey back was fine. It’s the first time when we’ve travelled to and from West Yorkshire to Surrey and back when we’ve had wall to wall sunshine in each direction – even the traffic played ball and the absence of roadworks ‘up North’ (where converting the M1 to a ‘smart’ motorway took years) was a welcome change. The only thing that made the journey a bit edgy was Yorkshire drivers who saw lane discipline and speed limits as optional.

Friday was a chance to revel in the glorious weather and adjust to being back home. Dee had the day and pottered around at home whilst I managed to get out for a walk whilst preparing to edit the hundreds of pictures I’d taken over our Southern sojourn. Admittedly, I did get chance to indulge in the Friday night quiz in our local pub and catch up with Friends.

However, Saturday saw me glued to my office as I edited picture after picture ready for adding captions -another marathon task as I identify locations and individual train workings. Now that task is done and the pictures have been added to my Zenfolio website. You can find the images in these falleries.

South-Western Railway

London Underground

Great Western

Travel images

The only shots I have left to list are the ones from my HS2 site visit. Expect those to appear tomorrow.

Today’s been rather a more active day as we travelled over to Huddersfield to see Dawn’s parents (dropping off supplies and staying for a chat) before heading back to the Calder valley and a stroll around Norland Moor, which we spy across the Calder valley from our bedroom window. Admittedly, we were up there late in the day but it’s the first time we’ve seen it so devoid of other walkers – and their dogs!

Now we’re back at home and preparing for the week ahead, which will see me based at home, catching up on lots of stuff whilst planning for future trips (we’re off to Shropshire soon). Right now I’ll leave you with today’s picture, which is a view from the edge of Norland Moor looking home.

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

A walk around the Langsett reservoir.

24 Saturday Aug 2024

Posted by in Food and drink, Photography, Pubs, Travel, Walking, Yorkshire

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Today we decided to eschew our usual walking locations around West Yorkshire for a change of scenery by venturing further (but not too far) afield. The recent gales had smashed some plant pots in the garden and to replace them like for like we had to visit a garden centre near Holmfirth, so as we were in that neck of the woods we chose the nearby Langsett reservoir as a suitable place for a stroll. It’s surrounded by pine woods and has a pub and cafe in the village nearby, so all the right boxes were ticked.

It was a walk we really enjoyed because of the contrasts. Here’s how it looks on Ordnance Survey maps.

Having left the car in the (free) Yorkshire Water carpark we headed West along the woods at Langsett bank on the North side of the reservoir. There’s some impressive pine trees along the path. Mere striplings they ain’t!

At the far end we crossed over an attractive stone arch bridge then explored a short distance along the little Don river which feeds the reservoir. I spotted these interesting rock formations along its banks.

Rock sandwich anyone?

Doubling back on ourselves to the bridge we then began the climb along the South side up onto the moors at Hingcliff common which offer great views across the area. The heather’s in flower at the moment, which adds extra colour to the scene.

The rest of the walk took us along well defined paths back down to the reservoir and through the woods which border the Southern side as far as the dam itself. These allow access to the water’s edge, where we were surprised to see just how low the water levels were. Considering we’ve had such a wet Spring and Summer we were at a loss to understand why water levels were so low.

Looking back to Langsett (on the left side of the dam) and the dam itself.

Back in the village we stopped off for a well-earned drink at the local pub, the grade 2 listed Waggon and Horses, which dates from 1828. The pub serves real ales (Abbeydale Moonshine and Timothy Taylors Boltmaker were on today) as well as food and it also has a beer garden which partly overlook the reservoir. The size of the pub’s deceptive, as it’s a lot larger on the inside than it first appears, having several rooms. It also offers accommodation.

We certainly enjoyed the change of scenery and we were lucky with the weather, which has been unpredictable to say the least. Tomorrow we’re expecting traditional bank-holiday conditions. Rain!

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

Up hill and down dale…

24 Sunday Mar 2024

Posted by in North Yorkshire, Photography, Railways, Transport

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Sorry for the lack of a blog yesterday. That was due to the fact that – by the end of the day – we were both knackered, having walked between 16-19* miles. We’d completed a circular walk from Glaisdale to Danby and back via Lealholm and the moors above the valley. Walking into strong winds added to the exercise and gave us both the ‘windswept and interesting’ look. En-route we tried local pubs and cafes (more about which later) before ending up at our temporary home to have a hot bath full of Epsom salts and home-made chili con carne before curling up in front of the log burner to watch ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ on TV.

As much as all this was pleasure, there was a slight divert into business as I managed to get several shots along the Esk valley railway due to being in the right place at the right time, which isn’t easy when there’s only five trains each way a day!

156421 and 156454 call at Glaisdale with the first train of the day, 2D83, the 0654 Middlesbrough to Whitby. Glaisdale is the only station on the line East of Battersby that still has a passing loop.
The pair pull away from Glaisdale.
Here’s the attractive station at Lealholm with 156421 and 156454 again, this time working 2D87, the 1019 Middlesbrough to Whitby
Dawn on the moors high above Houlsyke. What you can’t see (or hear) is the strong winds that we were walking into! It may have been windy but having so much sunshine and such clear skies was lovely.
From Danby we returned to Lealholm along the valley floor, following the railway. Here’s 156487 and 158843 passing us whilst working 2N28, the 1156 Hexham to Whitby.

Today (Sunday) we’re giving the old knees a bit of a rest. We’ll still go out walking later – but not anywhere near as far. I’ll add more to this blog after our return this evening.

Sunday. 22:30.

Sorry, plans for a major picture and other update of today’s blog have gone a bit ‘Pete Tong’. That’s not because we’ve had a bad day – far from it as we’ve been on the coast. We popped into two places neither of us visited before. Staithes being one. The weather’s bern stunning again too. The problem was when we got home and I fired up the laptop, only to find the battery wouldn’t charge and it refused to run off the transformer. I refused to kick things and swear despite the temptation. It’ll be sorted out, but for now you’ll have to make do with a couple of phone pictures of Runswick and Staithes.

Runswick Bay. It’s amazing how quickly this picturesque beach gets evacuated once the tide’s coming in.
Staithes is a little more funky and rundown than Runswick, but it shares the same problem. There’s no ‘proper’ shops. Still, it looks good in pictures.

*I’d done a few more than Dee as I’d nipped out to Glaisdale station to get shots of the first train of the day.

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

24th February picture(s) of the day…

24 Saturday Feb 2024

Posted by in Architecture, Food and drink, History, Ossett, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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The pair of us have had a real mix of a day here at Bigland Towers thanks to different appointments and the improving weather. I’d planned to stay at home this morning whilst Dawn went off to an appointment in Ossett but once the early morning cloud that blanketed the bottom of the Calder valley cleared and we were treated to wall to wall blue skies and sunshine it became obvious that it was too nice a day to be stuck at home. Instead, I packed the camera bag and joined Dee for the journey Eastwards. I didn’t go all the way to Ossett, instead I got dropped off in nearby Horbury Bridge, the nearest place to the old Healy Mills railway marshalling yard. Built as part of British Railways 1955 modernisation plan this huge yard was once the centre for sorting coal traffic from the vast Yorkshire coalfields. Now it lies abandoned. But, recently, parts of the yard have been cleared of Silver Birch and other trees that have taken over, to expose the tracks once more. The grapevine suggests part of the yard will be brought back into use as a staging area for the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU) but I’ve yet to see this confirmed. Here’s how it looked today.

Horbury Bridge itself is cut through by the River Calder, the Calder and Hebble navigation – and this magnificent old railway viaduct, which once carried the Midland Railway’s eight-mile route from Royston Junction to Thornhill. The line closed in 1968 and the 17 arch viaduct has been disused ever since.

I’ve passed under it so many times but never been able to get pictures, so today was an ideal day to try. To be honest, it’s difficult to do it justice from the ground. Really, you need a drone as it’s hemmed in by buildings and there’s no public vantage points that give you the sense of scale.

After walking from Horbury to Ossett (a great way of getting exercise as its all uphill) I spotted something else of historical interest. Ossett has a fine collection of Victorian buildings in the centre. This one caught my eye as its an old Liberal Club. That political party vanished decades ago in a merger with the then SDP to form the Liberal-Democrats, but as a teenager I remember Liberal clubs all over the place and sometimes used to play snooker in one in Southport. Like the one in Ossett, it’s been closed for years. Mind you, with the way the Conservative party’s tearing itself apart at the moment I wonder if soon many ‘Con’ clubs will be following the Liberal ones into the history books…

The former Ossett Liberal club on Station Rd. Neither the club or the station exist anymore.

On the way home Dawn was kind enough to stop and allow me to get pictures of TRU upgrade work at a place I’d never managed to get to before. Colne Bridge Rd overbridge East of Deighton, just before the junction of the lines from Huddersfield and Brighouse. here’s how it looks today.

Looking East towards Heaton Lodge Junction. This section will regain four-track status with the new fast lines from Huddersfield being laid to the right of the existing tracks. In the middle foreground the railway passes over the Huddersfield canal.
The view looking West towards Huddersfield with Bradley Junction and the site of the former station obscured by the overbridge in the background.

Once back at home the tempo changed. I indulged in some DIY before heading out for a walk and a pint in our local (The Big 6) whilst Dawn began to cook up a storm in the kitchen. So, whilst I quaffed one of these..

The Attamire Pale was lovely…

-Dawn rustled up two very different vegetarian dishes. Here’s one – a Caulifower and Chick-Pea curry (although it has many more ingredients than that).

Now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of Dawn’s labours whilst we enjoy a quiet Saturday night at home, watching a good film. See you all tomorrow…

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

13th November picture(s) of the day…

13 Saturday Nov 2021

Posted by in Derbyshire, Photography, Railways, Travel, Walking

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As promised by the weather forecast Saturday turned out to be a bright, crisp and sunny day – so the pair of us tore ourselves away from computer screens and headed over to the Hope Valley in Derbyshire for an afternoon out walking somewhere where we’d been promising to revisit but had never got around to doing so. The 517m high Mam Tor and the ridge Eastwards to Lose Hill along the South side of the valley is a wonderful (if at times challenging) walk. The views South across the Hope Valley and North across Edale are sublime.

With the weather being so good the area was teeming with walkers and it was great to see so many people of all ages and backgrounds enjoying walking. Oh, and not to mention the paragliders who were also out in force! The skies above the ridge were teeming with them as they drifted lazily on the winds.

Here’s a few pictures from the day.

The ridge affords some excellent photograph opportunities to capture shots of trains passing through Edale between Manchester and Sheffield. Here’s a Trans-Pennine Express service made up of units 185103 and 185123 working.1B79, the 1226 Cleethorpes to Manchester Piccadilly.
Northern trains run the only local stopping service. Here’s one of their Class 195s working 2S72, the 1349 Manchester Piccadilly to Sheffield passing the base of Lose Hill. The autumn colours and low light in Edale were stunning.
Walkers descending Lose Hill on their way East into the Hope Valley with the railway curving away in the centre of the picture. The edge of the village of Castleton can be seen to the right.
This is the 463m high Win Hill seen Eastwards across Edale from Lose Hill along with some rather moody skies on the horizon.
The same view from Mam Tor and zoomed out to show the landscape and colours in slightly different light.

All the high-res versions of these pictures can be found (and purchased) from my Zenfolio website by following this link.

Sadly, I don’t think I’m going to be getting out to do much exploring like this over the next week. Instead, I’ll be glued to a screen at home writing for a living. Not that I’m complaining as there’s a damn sight worse ways of earning a living, and if I get lots of type-swiping done quickly, who knows what I might be able to get up to later in the week?…

I’ve a favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this blog, 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 to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site – and right now (because of Covid), us freelances appreciate all the help that we can get to aid us in bouncing back from lockdowns. Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Thank you!

Rolling blog: I love to go a wandering…

22 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by in Calder Valley, Food and drink, Pubs, Travel, Walking, West Yorkshire

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It’s bank holiday Monday and the weather’s absolutely stonking! After spending a morning pottering around at home, picture-editing and sorting out some chores Dawn and I are preparing to walk through the Calder Valley to a favourite old haunt, the Robin Hood pub in Cragg Vale, which is a great place for a spot of lunch after a few hours walking. No doubt we’ll have time to post a few pictures and comments later, so watch this space.

15:31.

We’ve stopped for a break at the Shoulder of Mutton in Mytholmroyd after walking down the hill to Sowerby Bridge, crossed the Calder, then slogged uphill to Sowerby on a road I call ‘Lost dreams Rd’ because it’s always littered with failed lottery scratch cards! In the distance you can see our starting point under the Wainhouse Tower.

The view the other way (looking along the valley towards Mytholmroyd) isn’t bad either!

23:18

It’s the end of the day and it’s been a very active one. We made it to the Robin Hood for an excellent Sunday lunch (OK, it’s bank holiday Monday, but never mind) of succulent lamb and Yorkshire puddings, accompanied by a huge amount of vegetables (not in the picture).

For £10, it can’t be beaten. Whilst we were eating a drama was unfolding which made it feel like we were actually in an episode of ‘Emmerdale Farm’, only this wasn’t fiction. Poor Roger (the landlord) and his wife had suffered a serious arson attack and trashing of vehicles on his farm, apparently carried out by some young teenage scrotes who’re causing trouble in the area. The police had arrived to gather information whilst a number of concerned locals were popping in to see if they were alright or offer help. Meanwhile, in the bar, other locals were complaining about the outrageous prices in a nearby pub (which shall remain nameless) and a less than placid relationship between a local couple (who will also remain nameless).

We ended up having a couple of drinks in a very quiet Sowerby Bridge after walking back along the Rochdale canal. I got the impression the good weather had meant that many people had stayed at home with a barbecue and a few beers. Still, we’d had a good days exercise, as the screen for my Fitbit shows.

fitbit

A wet Wednesday in the Calder Valley

07 Wednesday Nov 2018

Posted by in Calder Valley, Musings, Photography, Travel, Walking

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I’ve had another day working from home –  which has been fortunate as the weather’s been pretty mixed to –  say the least. One of the beauties of homework is that I can nip out for an afternoon constitutional when staring at a screen and a numb bum combine to force me to take time out.

Right now the woodland around where we live is at its autumnal best as the leaves have turned from green to a range of coppers and yellows, depending on the type of tree and its location. All I need now is some spare time and a sunny day to get a few pictures to really do it justice, rather than a couple of shots grabbed on my phone in the woods I’ve just walked through. Still…

Here’s the view from the edge of Halifax, looking across the Calder Valley. See what I mean about the trees?

Right now I’m down in Sowerby Bridge, taking a break from the rain before walking back up the hill to home. The weather’s closed in and the skies have opened. As a photographer, I really don’t mind the rain. OK, it could be a bugger if you were trying to shoot some picturesque calender shots, but the way light reflects off wet surfaces is a delight to play with – as are the colours. I’ll update this blog with a couple of examples later.

17:53.

Here’s what I mean, these pictures just wouldn’t have the same impact if it hadn’t been raining.

DG201371. Tram 3069. Piccadilly Gardens. Manchester. 21.11.14crop

FDG2464. Tracks in the rain. Limerick Jn. 22.10.05

Off to the moor…

25 Saturday Aug 2018

Posted by in Pubs, Tesla, Transport, Travel, Walking, Yorkshire

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The weather forecast isn’t as good as it was but we’re off to Ilkley for a days walking with friends regardless. For once we’re not travelling by rail. Instead we’re in a rather different vehicle. Can you guess what it is?

It’s a Tesla.

So, part of the day was really interesting for a completely different reason – the chance to travel in an electric car, hear what the owner thought of it and gather our own impressions.

Jason’s had his Tesla for two years and covered a fair bit of ground in it as he uses it for both business and pleasure. I doubt he’ll mind me describing him as a car enthusiast who’s owned many different vehicles over the years.

Firstly, here’s my impressions of the Tesla S. It’s very roomy, but then it’s a big car. A lot of space inside the saloon is saved by the lack of a transmission. The fact it doesn’t have an engine means it has a (small) front boot as well as a rear one. It’s also very quiet – and stable, that’s because the battery covers the base of the chassis between the wheels, giving the vehicle a very low centre of gravity. Acceleration is impressive, very impressive. It would easily beat shit off a shovel. Jason told me it will do 0-30 in something like 1.5 seconds. He gave us a demonstration of what happens when by putting his foot down for a few seconds and it really did move (all within the speed limit of course).

Then come the caveats. Jason and his partner Nikki talked about the vehicles autopilot and the problems they’ve experienced. Apparently, you can trust it(ish) on roads where there’s clearly defined white lines, but if there’s none – forget it. Jason talked about the time he’d left the car in Autopilot when he was in a queue at traffic lights. The car suddenly decided to take off. Now, when you consider that at Tesla S weighs well over 2 tons and can accelerate rapidly, that’s a lot of kinetic energy – as the car in front that the Tesla didn’t sense found out. Jason’s Tesla rear-ended it so hard that it caused £10,000 worth of damage! Other things I learned were that the build quality is ‘typically American’ (and no, that’s not a compliment) and that because of the cars limited (but still impressive) battery charge life, you really have to be careful about travelling long distances as you have to make sure you can find working charging points. They’re not ‘go anywhere’ vehicles, but I’m sure that this factor will change as the technology improves and expands.

All in all I was quite impressed with the vehicle, just not the much-vaunted auto-pilot capability. Electric cars are certainly here to stay and the technology will continue to develop and improve. They cold make a real difference, but we have to be realistic about them. I still remain deeply cynical about the autonomous car hype and Jason’s experiences re-enforced that. Oh, there’s also the small matter that a Tesla isn’t exactly cheap, this one cost North of £65,000, which doesn’t exactly put it in the household car spending bracket. That said, other car companies will produce mass produced vehicles – which Tesla is failing to do.

OK, I realise that I’ve turned into ‘Top Gear’ here, so let’s get away from cars. The four of us had headed over to Ilkley for a day walking and chance to catch up – and we couldn’t have chosen a better day. Despite the forecast we didn’t see a spot of rain. In fact, the weather was far sunnier than was expected, so we had a great few hours exploring Ilkley Moor. Here’s a selection of pictures.

 

DG305910

Looking across Wharfedale North-East from above the Cow and Calf rocks on Ilkley Moor. There’s an interesting collection of ‘golf-ball’ radar installations on the horizon, but I’ve no idea where they are as I can’t find them on any maps! 

DG305913

Looking down on Ilkley from the Moor, with the railway station middle left of the picture. 

The Cow and Calf rocks are a busy tourist destination as there’s a car-park just below them. They’re a good base from which to explore the Moor.

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A closer view of the Cow and Calf rocks. 

DG305904

Close to the rocks is the hotel and pub of the same name. It’s a great place to have a meal or a drink whilst admiring the views. 

 

The selection of real Ales isn’t bad either! 

West Yorkshire rambling

15 Sunday Apr 2018

Posted by in Travel, Walking, West Yorkshire

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We had some beautiful weather in Yorkshire yesterday, hours of sunshine on what’s been the warmest day of the year so far. We joined a couple of friends who live in Sowood for a ramble around the countryside where they live, high up in the Pennines. I’m still a relative newcomer to this neck of the woods so there’s still plenty of places for me to discover and yesterday was no exception. What was lovely was having a local guide. Our friend Clive has spent quite a bit of time reconnoitring the area so he had a lovely walk planned for us. One of the beauties of this part of West Yorkshire is the elevation – as you can see from the photo’s. I’m not going to describe the walk in great detail. Instead, I’ll let you enjoy the pictures.

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The country lane that took us out of Sowood towards the M62, gaining height as we went. The views were superb, even thought the weather was hazy. This is a wide angle view looking back towards Halifax.

DG294619

Looking across the valleys. In the middle distance is Norland Moor. Beyond that is the Calder Valley (which you can’t see – for obvious reasons), then there’s the edge of Halifax and an area called Norton Tower. Beyond that are the wind turbines on far-away Ogden Moor. 

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Looking down over Sowood across to Halifax in the middle distance.

 

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The view in the opposite direction to the last few pictures, looking across the M62 motorway, which was built across the massive earthworks that form the dam of the Scammonden Reservoir 

 

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Would you believe that this little waterfall exists only a couple of hundred yards away from the M62 motorway? We passed through this lovely glade on our way to Scammonden

 

 

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The dam that holds back the Scammonden reservoir. How many people drive along the M62 motorway atop this structure and have no idea of its size? Most, probably…

 

 

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This is what the dam contains. Scammonden  reservoir’s a popular place with hikers, dog-walkers and outdoor pursuit enthusiasts as it has an outward bound centre.  

 

 

DG294623

Spring is here. The massive amount of rain we’ve had these past few months mean the fields are muddy, but very, very lush. Now the trees are bursting into leaf, which means skeletal shadows like this will disappear very soon.

 

 

Those dogshit blues…

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by in Abandoned railways, Leicestershire, Melton Mowbray, Walking

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I had a commission in rural Leicestershire on Monday so my partner, Dawn and I decided to use it as an opportunity to explore the area. We booked a couple of nights at the Sysonby Knoll hotel on the outskirts of Melton Mowbray. The hotel’s part of the Best Western group & displays all the quirkiness & individuality that many of their properties do. It’s set in an attractive garden that’s bordered by the meandering River Eye. Our gorgeous first floor room looked out across the river & meadow beyond to the embankments of an old railway. As we had fabulous sunshine blessing our visit we both decided to go for an early morning walk along the footpath that’s replaced the rail tracks*. What could possibly go wrong?

Lazy & ignorant dog owners, that’s what!

We noticed the first pile of poo within minutes of stepping off the pavement. After 100 yards it became obvious the area was heavily used by dog walkers. It was like walking through a faecal minefield – and some of these dogs were clearly a damned sight bigger than Chihuahua’s! What should have been a pleasant walk & chance to explore was marred by inconsiderate dog-owners who (metaphorically & literally) didn’t give a shit.

The condition of the River Eye wasn’t much to write home about either. Perhaps I’ve been spoilt living on the clear Calder with its abundant wildlife & pristine waters. In contrast the Eye is a murky mess that bares the hallmarks of pollution from phosphate run-off from farmers’ fields along its banks.

What a shame. People remember Melton Mowbray for its pork pies & cheese. Sadly, Dawn & I will always associate it with dogshit.

* For anyone interested in old railways & who’s foolhardy enough to run the dogshit gauntlet here’s a link to the line’s history (and a selection of fine old photographs) run by local enthusiast Peter Smith;
http://www.meltonmowbrayrailways.info/

I’ve added a selection of pictures from the walk & the rest of our trip here:
http://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/p921265531