Category: Railway History

As I come to take early retirement and move from Derbyshire back to Northumberland, there are railway lines in the Midlands that need doing. We start with Steeple Grange. The most magnificent tree in the Vicarage garden is a gorgeous Magnolia. Then a trip to Liverpool. One service at Easter, and Julie preached. Then a few days in North Wales to do some of the narrow gauge lines. There was a lot of hospital at the end of April, but also an opportunity to photo this roadsign in Stoke-on-Trent. My final service was on Sunday 30 April. I had...

Let’s start a new year with a couple of rides on the Great Central Railway. Then a few days in Cambridge. It was a pleasure to revisit both the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Scott Polar Reasearch Institute – places I often went to as a child. Captain Oates’ sleeping bag brought back lots of memories, and I like the notice in the lift. Then a couple of local tram/train trips, and another visit to the Great Central. They do a superb breakfast! Northern Rail had a flash ticket sale – it would have been rude to have ignored it!...

Most of July was spent in Orkney, but we managed two train trips on return. I turned 60 at the beginning of August and we had a family meet up at Harlow Carr Gardens. At the end of the week we had booked a Fish and Chip special on the Welshpool and Llanfair line. It was a beautiful evening, I spent too much in the bookshop, Julie was well looked after (it is an excellent lift), and the fish and chips (served on the platform at Welshpool) were lovely. Like many things in my life, it also became a...