One final rail adventure of the year, and with Tier 4 imposed the last rail adventure for the foreseeable future. Yesterday I went to Walsall to update my photos from there, the icy pavements did curtail my walking though so i didn't take that many photos. Those i did take can be seen here. So that brings to an end the travels for 2020, lets hope the 2021 adventures can begin soon.
Our traditional end of year A-Z of the artists and bands we listened to this year.
November was the month of Lockdown 2.0, therefore rail adventures were put an end to. The only trip was a drive to Kingsbury with it's medieval church and manor house ruins. Most of my walking was in the local area, i did manage to see a rather spendid red Ford Cortina which bought back memories of the grey one my Dad used to have.
Other than that it was a blank month. Preparations for Christmas of course began. Song of the month was "miracle mile" by Ollie Wride.
Arriving on Christmas Day was the Birches Green Light Railway's latest locomotive! It is a little Roco diesel shunter (named Boco). Following running in it will replace New Plymouth in the active fleet.
With the lockdown storm clouds gathering again, October was a final chance for some major rail adventures. It was another busy month. Things started off with a trip to Stourbridge. Long Eaton was next including a trip to the town itself (which i didn't do on my previous trip) and another canal walk. I did another canal walk on my third trip to Rugeley of the year.
Next up was Kidderminster, to see the new station and also to visit the town itself. Obviously i have been here many times before but always for the SVR. This time i walked the canal in the town instead. I also returned to Hatton, to take some rail photographs with my Nikon DSLR. I also did a canal walk here too!
Beaconsfield was another place i returned to, this time walking to the Old Town. Finally there was a trip to Cheltenham, heavy rain did ruin the fun slightly but i would have plenty of time during Lockdown 2.0 to dry out!
Song of the month was "false reality" by Trevor Something.
We reach another Christmas, after a year no one could have predicted this time last year! At least the weather is fine today, quite what 2021 holds for us all is hard to predict (and to honest it is probably a good idea not to try and predict!) A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of this's blog's visitors.
The end of the Summer. Now as you may know, one of my blogs is on railway stations. To ensure the blog can keep going i need to visit a certain number of new stations a year. Originally my target was sixty but due to lockdown i revised that down to forty. I achieved this target (in fact reached forty one) with the trip to Liverpool as mentioned below.
The adventures this month began local with a trip to Acocks Green and the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. This all changed the week after with a trip to Church Stretton near the Welsh border which is reached via Shrewsbury. Then came the trip to Liverpool, to hoover up as many new stations as possible, and reach the target! Finally there was a trip to Warwick.
Song of the month was "we were young" by Prizm.
August was another busy month, the lesson to be learned from this year was to take the opportunities when they arose for you never knew what might happen next! The adventures began with a trip to Hereford and it's fine cathedral and churches. Another place with a fine church was Pershore and it's former abbey.
Next up was a trip to Hinckley in Leicestershire. Then came a trip to Longport in the North of Stoke-on-Trent including a canal walk. Another canal walk was done when i went to Five Ways. I also visited Widney Manor and Rugeley again. Finally there was a trip to Coseley and another canal walk!
Song of the month was "tranquillised" by Chatham Rise.
As with Nuneaton last week, Bromsgrove is a place i have been to by train before but never left the station. I therefore went yesterday to change that, the town centre is a good walk from the station but exercise is a good idea pre-Christmas. Bromsgrove is a nice little county town with a glorious church atop a hill. You can see my photos here.
After the return to rail adventures last month, the floodgates truly opened in July. Things started with a trip to Oakengates in the North of Telford. A few days later there were trips to Tile Hill and Lye. I went to Rugeley for the first time, and also walked the canal there too.
Away from the rails i drove to the village of Berkswell (which isn't anywhere near the station of Berkswell i went to in June!) Later that month were trips to Hartlebury and to Winsford in Cheshire. July really was a case of making up for lost time.
One big event in July was the arrival of my new Mac mini, Emily, which finally allowed Miriam the Macbook to go into retirement after eight hard working years!
Song of the month was "unnoticed" by Nina.
Project #092 is now building a Folland Gnat, it will be the last model project of the year. As the paint job is pretty simple it should be possible to complete before the end of the year. That will make six projects completed by the end of the year which is a big increase on last year.
The half-way point of a year, still in lockdown though the rules were loosening. A busy month began with a trip to Meriden, followed soon after by Harborne. My latest drive into Northern Warwickshire took me to Maxstoke and Fillongley.
Then, suitably masked up of course, was the return to rail and a trip to Albrighton. It was good to be back into the rail adventures. I also visited Curdworth and made my second rail trip of the month to Berkswell station and Balsall Common.
Song of the month was "the vibe" by Yota.
A Class 139 arrives at Stourbridge Town, charging energy in it's flywheel system which will be used to help it make the return trip up the hill.
Lockdown continued in May but the rules loosened by mid-month to allow for journeys by car. I started off though with a long walk, to Castle Bromwich. Once behind the wheel I did some exploring of North Warwickshire starting with a trip to see four churches in Water Orton, Shustoke, Over Whitacre and Nether Whitacre. Next i went to Polesworth which i had been planning to visit by car anyway, the town has a station but the service barely exists which means the only feasible way to stand on the platform is to drive to the station!
I also went to Lichfield, a place i have been to a number of times before but this time visited a number of churches and the cathedral. More churches were visited in Middleton, Wishaw and Canwell. Finally at the end of the month i drove to Brownhills.
It was great to spread my wings a bit (safely of course), i still missed the trains though i could feel the return to rail would come soon. Despite being at home all of the time i only started model building this month.
Song of the month was "Something is missing" by Softwave.
Today i headed to Nuneaton, now this is a place i have been to a few times before but everytime i have stayed in the station. I therefore thought it was high time i ventured into the town itself. I did have a few issues in getting there. I did plan to go via Lichfield on the train but the Cross-City Line was borked this morning. Instead I had to take my first bus since March to get a train from town instead. In the end i only arrived twenty minutes later than originally planned!
Nuneaton is one of those places which is often maligned though i thought there was plenty of good things to see including the rather nice parish church and a number of other buildings of interest. You can see my photos here.
