Author: geoffspages

11 August

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38 years ago, to the day, the last steam special ran, or so we thought at the time. BR’s infamous 15 Guinea special ran from Liverpool Lime Street to Carlisle and back on 11 August 1968, a full week after normal steam haulage had finished.

11 August 2006: met some old (railway) friends at Bridgnorth – a chance for a pint and a quick look at some preserved steam.

Outside-cylindered pannier tank 1501 arrived with a fine rake of Gresley teak stock (!), then went “on shed” joining close relative 5764.

Skye

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1-5 August – and perhaps the cloudiest spell we’ve spent on the island. I don’t think we had more than 20 minutes of sunshine the whole of the time we were there. And when it wasn’t sunny – well, not much actual rain, but the constant threat of it in the distance – grey curtains of mist drifting about and obscuring the landscape. On our last day – murk and mist, no views at all. Can’t complain really – the last few trips have had uncharacteristically good weather. And as for the journey home – we caught up with the rain that had passed in the night and followed it most of the way back. Just the thing for the M74 / M6…

      

Heatherslaw and Berwick

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30 July 2006 (continued)

Our other visit on this very pleasant afternoon was to England’s most northerly tourist railway – the Heatherslaw Light Railway, about 9 miles south-west of Berwick. The 15″ gauge line follows the meanders of the Till for almost 2 miles between Heatherslaw Mill and Etal village. The locomotive, “The Lady Augusta” is a little 0-4-2 built by Brian Taylor (better known for the Kirklees Light Railway). She seemed a tad underpowered for our 8-coach train (or perhaps we were just taking it easy through the very pleasant countryside)

We spent the evening, as planned, in Berwick – a stroll along the breakwater seemed a good idea on this fine evening.

   

Locomotion…

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 30 July 2006 – we’re heading north, with an overnight stay booked in Berwick-upon-Tweed. First stop is the NRM’s outpost at Shildon – the possibly misnamed* “Locomotion”. Misnamed? I thought perhaps a locomotive might be in steam on this midsummer Sunday, although the leaflet given out at the entrance indicated otherwise (I read later, in the Railway Magazine, that the regular steam locomotive had failed – and so had its replacement, so maybe that was the reason). And, although there is an interesting and reasonably representative selection of locomotives and rolling stock at the very fine museum, Locomotion is not present – the original and the replica are both in County Durham – but not actually here! Nevertheless, “Locomotion” is well worth a visit – it’s excellent value (it’s free!), and still excellent value if one makes the suggested donation…

* Given that both the original (1830) and replica (1980) “Sans Pareil” are both present, perhaps “Sans Pareil” might be a more appropriate name…

Northumbrian wandering

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Just returned from five days in Northumberland – coinciding with (to date) the hottest July day ever*. Ideal walking conditions? Not quite…

Monday 17th July – outward via Hadrian’s Wall

Before the weather warmed up, we had thoughts of a longer walk along the wall – but in the event, Housesteads to Once Brewed proved quite sufficient – and scenic too.

Tuesday 18th July – the coast

Our main intention for this trip was some walking in the Cheviot hills – but with temperatures soaring, it didn’t seem a good idea. So, armed with the bus timetable, we drove to Seahouses, caught the bus to Longhoughton, and walked back along the coastal path and the rocks and firm sands below the high water mark – about 14 miles altogether

Wednesday 19th July – Farne and Lindisfarne

This would be the hottest day – with the forecast in mind, we drove once again to Seahouses, this time for a trip to the Farne Islands and the opportunity for some bird photography. We nearly didn’t go – it was cold and foggy in the little coastal town – we couldn’t see the end of the harbour wall. “Let’s go for it anyway”. We did – and it was a great little trip.
In the afternoon, we took a trip to Lindisfarne, for an interesting and pleasant (once we escaped the crowds) wander around the southern part of the island

Thursday 20th July – at last – the Cheviots

Thursday dawned grey and cool – much better, though the cloudbase could be a problem…
A truly long and winding road leads to the upper reaches of the Coquet valley, and the hamlet of Blindburn. A little-used bridleway – the Border Country Ride – took us to the main Cheviot ridge, the border between England and Scotland. We walked on via Lamb Hill, Beefstand hill and Mozie Law to meet an old cross-border track – “The Street”, and followed this back to the Coquet. A very pleasant stroll, about 11.5 miles – and, other than a few spots of drizzle, no problem with the clouds – it even brightened and became warm later.

Friday 21st July – home again

Another warm day, and a long drive home – and little inspiration for a walk. In the event, we pulled in at Brimham Rocks – a spectacular little bit of gritstone moorland above Pateley Bridge in Yorkshire, and a good place for a half-way leg stretch, before crossing the Pennines to the M6 and the inevitable stop-start traffic

*36.5° in Wisley, Surrey – and about half that on Staple Island…

Brockhampton

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An interesting little outing to this ancient half-timbered house, with moat and gatehouse, not far from Bromyard in Herefordshire. Rather oddly, the timbers, invariably black in this part of the world, are painted over in a sort of dirty grey. There’s probably a good reason for it.

Enjoying the sunshine

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Thursday: a fine, warm, sunny evening – just the thing for a trip out with the cameras (not to mention a quick pint afterwards…).

Started down at Ironbridge, trying to get some new angles on the (perhaps?) most photographed piece of ironwork in the UK.

Later, as the sun lowered, we spent half-an-hour a few miles upstream beside Cressage bridge – where, as well as the usual crop of riverside vegetation, including the specimen on the right, there is a patch of teasels, just begging to have their picture taken…

   

Chirk Castle

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25 June – a Sunday afternoon outing to this fine old castle just across the Welsh border, near Chirk (between Oswestry and Llangollen). Interesting building, enjoyable gardens. It’s a National Trust property – see here for more details

Very quiet on the roads on the way home (about 4.30 – 5.00pm) – can’t think why…