There were thirteen locomotives in steam at Statfold on Saturday – fantastic! It’s said to be unlucky for some (this is the only photo of the big Mallet no 9 in action).
Visit “Statfold – a Baker’s Dozen” for the full story, and lots of pictures
How (blue and) green was my valley
Just uploaded to Geoff’s Rail Diaries, the pictures and video from my Friday and Saturday visits to the Severn Valley’s Spring Steam Gala. Visit “Blue and Green – Spring Steam“
…and the SVR
They’re holding their Spring Steam Gala this weekend – one of the highlights being A4 “Bittern” on a rake of eight Gresley teak coaches – wonderful stuff!
Seen near Eardington, Fri 23rd, when the mist had mostly cleared. May have to go and take some more today…
Chasewater’s Spring Gala
Here it is, as promised – visit “Chasewater 2012” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries for the (moderately) full story and pictures from yesterday’s visit
Chasewater
…the Spring Gala at the railway – yes, it’s that time of year at last. A great day, with five locomotives in steam, and a variety of trains – a 3-coach passenger, a short freight (had a ride in the brake van) and a coal train. A shame that the morning’s sunshine didn’t last. Here’s a taster; more to follow in due course
Holyhead
A day trip on the train – and a leg stretch beside the Irish Sea, out to North Stack and back over the top of Holyhead Mountain. It may only be 720′ high, but it feels like a mountain – the ground is rugged, in places precipitous, and you have to start at sea level…
One last look…
I was sure I’d only visited Littleton twice in 1976 – and then I found this solitary photo in the archives, taken in August of that year. I have no recollection of that visit!
It’s been duly added to the Littleton page on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
Hope Bowdler
An amazingly mild and sunny afternoon – at home… The car said it was 16°C; fifteen miles away, on Hope Bowdler hill, the clouds were gathering, and the wind was getting up. It certainly didn’t feel like 16°, not with the wind chill on the tops – but the light was good, the air clear and the views extensive. Jodrell Bank, just over 50 miles away, gleamed on the northern horizon – the first time I’ve seen it from Shropshire’s hills
Littleton revisited
There’s been a Littleton page in the “Rail Diaries” for some time – photos from a visit in April 1976. Recently, with a new scanner, I’ve tackled the photos taken on an earlier visit in February of the same year. It was a dull day, and I was using (trying out, in effect – with hindsight not a good idea) an unusual home-processed slide film. This time, the scans were usable (if not exactly brilliant).
The April photos have been rescanned too – and all photos are larger than before. For the full set of photos from both February and April 1976, and some details on the fun and games with slide film in the kitchen sink, (re)visit “Littleton” on Geoff’s Rail Diaries
Old Haunts
Three days in Yorkshire, for an exploration of places that once were familiar and regular venues for family outings
Bridlington:
Sutton Bank:
A walk from the top of the once-notorious ascent, on the main road from Thirsk to Scarborough, along to the gliding field and the White Horse
Scar House and the Druid’s Temple:
The road to Scar House dam follows the trackbed of the railway used when the reservoirs were built, to the site of the contractors’ “village”. Reservoirs aside, the upper reaches of Nidderdale are remote and bleak. An old track, impassable to all bar walkers, leads over Dead Man’s hill to Coverdale
From Lofthouse, a hill road leads to Masham (that’s “Massem”, not “Mashem”). The Druid’s Temple is near Ilton, a little way off the direct routs. It’s not as old as it looks (see http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/england/north-yorkshire/featured-sites/druids-temple-ilton.html) and was a fun place when we were children – no-one else knew about it. It was rather crowded on this cold, clear February day (dodgy-looking “druids”…)
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