Steam in Shropshire on a glorious spring day – 5029 “Nunney Castle” works steadily up the last couple of miles of the climb from Shrewsbury to Church Stretton, on day 7 of the 9-day “Great Britain IV” tour
Warm sunshine, clear skies – perfect for an outing in the south Shropshire hill country. An 8-mile walk from Bridges, up beside Darnford Brook and onto Betchcott Hill, then along the top of the Long Mynd to Shooting Box, and back down the quiet track to Coates. Visit Bridges and the Portway on Walks with a Camera.
A short (3 miles) but very pleasant walk in the hills on the western side of the quiet Shropshire village.
A walk on the Long Mynd from Cardingmill Valley – ascending via the Batch Valley and Jonathan’s Hollow, then back down Mott’s Road for a cup of tea in the company of a cheeky chaffinch
Smoke and steam with Saccharine, a photo by geoffspages on Flickr.The contrast between this outing and the Stableford afternoon couldn’t be greater. Eleven locomotives – all very different* – in steam and in action on the mixed-gauge 2’ / 2’6” gauge railway at Statfold Barn. And the weather – yes – sadly, that was very different too… Nevertheless, an excellent day – we were there for six hours, which seemed to go by in the blinking of an eye. For a full account plus pictures and video, visit Statfold – the March gala on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
*Jack Lane and Statfold are, of course, virtually identical twins – though they bear different liveries, and Jack Lane has no cab. The other locos are all really different – 0-4-0, 0-4-2, 0-6-0, 4-4-0, 0-4-4-0 Mallets, some with tenders, others without, of British and German manufacture.
Another warm and sunny day – too good to stay at home. After yesterday’s walk, something gentler was in order – a couple of hours watching the trains go by at Stableford, Staffs. Lots of trains – very little variety…
Visit Stableford (if you must!) on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
Spring is really here – I walked most of the route in shirt sleeves… Broseley – Linley Green via the Honeypot, then down to the river, walking the bank as far north as Ballsfoundry, before climbing back up to Broseley via Inett Farm and Caughley Road
Full set of photos and 5 minutes of video on Geoff’s Rail Diaries – visit Chasewater Spring Gala now!
It’s spring (more-or-less) – the daffodils are in flower, the sap is rising – and small steam locomotives are coming out of hibernation. This weekend the Chasewater Railway held a Gala – four locos in steam, passenger and freight working to an intensive timetable. Here’s a taster – the diminutive Barclay “Colin McAndrew” on the brake vans shuttle. More to come…
Coalport – Madeley – Ironbridge – Jackfield – on an afternoon which felt positively springlike.
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