Dovey Junction

Time for one final rail adventure in 2023, and maybe the most amazing of all. I travelled to Dovey Junction in the west of Wales, this is the oddest station i have ever been to. It is literally in the middle of nowhere with no settlement within view, and a nature reserve surrounding the station. The nearest settlement is a tiny hamlet called Glandyfi which is about a kilometre away along a rough path. To be honest the weather wasn't ideal for a location so remote, with heavy rain and wind but i enjoyed it all the same! You can see my photos here, i must return one day - when the sun is out!

Review of 2023 : October

We enter the autumn. The trips began with a return trip to Nantwich, concentrating on the canal and also visiting the adjacent village of Acton. Then came a rail photography trip to Derby and then back to Merseyside to check out a new station and some new trains.

It has been a long time i visited the marvellous Coventry Transport Museum so a return visit was made in October. Finally, there was a trip to Pinvin in Worcestershire.

Song of the month was "supernova" by Softwave.

Triumph Dolomite in Coventry Transport Museum

Kirkby, Merseyside

Shropshire Union Canal, Nantwich

St Nicholas, Pinvin

A tale of two Warwickshire stations

Today i went for a modest little railway adventure to two stations close to where i live (i could probably walk to them from where i live though would rather not as it would take a couple of hours or so!) I have visited both stations before though never by train, only by driving to them. So, i decided it was high time i took the train to Coleshill Parkway and Water Orton. The two stations are quite different, one is pretty modern, the other a crumbling old building but both are fairly quiet. You can see my photos here.

Model week : Harrier completion

After a long delay, the latest model project is nearly complete. All i have left to do on this GR1 Harrier is varnish it and it will be the seventh completed project this year. This will be the most successful year in model building since 2015! Let us hope this can continue in the new year, the change in location for the model bench has really helped to be honest.

Review of 2023 : September

It would be hard to follow August for sure. Well September started with a return trip to the Jewellery Quarter. This was followed by Dunchurch in Warwickshire and Kidlington in Oxfordshire. Unfortunately, the latter trip took it out of me somehow and i was ill for the rest of the month!

I did manage a modest trip to Wolverhampton to explore some of the canals there. 

Song of the month was "taking back control" by For All The Emptiness.

Jewellery Quarter

Oxford Parkway

St Peters, Dunchurch

Wolverhampton

Great Malvern

Time to escape the crowds and enjoy a final rail adventure before Christmas. Yesterday i went to Great Malvern. I have been before though didn't have time to properly explore the place that time, especially the rather splendid Priory church. Great Malvern is certainly well named, it is pretty great! You can see my photos here.

Review of 2023 : August

It has been a strange thing, that i have travelled to the Soviet Union and the Far East many times in my life but had never been to Scotland. However, in August it was time to change that! First of all was a trip to Barnet, followed by Short Heath and Cefn-y-bedd.

Then it was time to take a flight (for the first time in over ten years) to Inverness. What a lovely place the Scottish Highlands are including the river Ness, Nairn and Elgin. We will return, hopefully as soon as 2024 but we'll have to see.

Song of the month was "wicked game" by Trevor Something.

Caergwrle castle

Elgin cathedral

Inverness airport

Old High Church, Inverness

Dialing that number

Something a little different, a video of me dialing a number on one of my GPO 746 telephones. Unfortunately the telephone is not plugged into any network so i might be waiting a while for someone to pick up!

Model week : the race is on!

It has been very quiet on the model kit front lately, however one project is in progress. A Harrier GR1 which i am doing "wheels up" (as i have done one with it's undercarriage down before). Painting is well progressed (though this did start back in August!) I really would like to finish the kit before the end of the year, but time is running out.

Review of 2023 : July

The Summer continues and we enter the second half of the year. The trips began with a visit to Goostrey in Cheshire, close to the famous Jodrell Bank radio telescope. This was followed by a trip to Moseley in Birmingham, and the week later, further afield to Alfreton in Derbyshire.

Later in the month was a rail photography trip to Stafford station and finally Digbeth in Birmingham.

Song of the month was "good enough" by Yatte.

Alfreton station

Digbeth

Jodrell Bank

St Mary, Moseley

Leicester trip

Yesterday i went to Leicester, one reason was to do some Xmas shopping though of course i also wanted to take some photographs. I visited the remains of Leicester castle and some of the surrounding areas. You can see my photos here.

Review of 2023 : June

We approach the mid-point of the year. After the last couple of busy months June was a bit quieter, not helped by the ongoing railway strikes. June began with a trip to Elmdon, close to Birmingham Airport. This was followed by Ufton in Warwickshire and South Wigston in Leicestershire.

Later in the month was a trip to London, this time exploring in the north west towards Stanmore.

Song of the month was "being without you" by Kosmic Kiss featuring Cybertronix.

Canons Park

Elmdon Park

St Lawrence, Little Stanmore

Ufton

Gower Branch Canal

The Gower Branch Canal was a fairly late addition to the canal network and Birmingham Canal Navigations though was only about 0.8 km long.

The short canal linked the Birmingham New and Old Main Lines near Tividale and allowed for easier access between the Old Main Line and the Netherton tunnel without boats having to make long detours.

The canal was authorised as part of the Birmingham Canal Act of 1768, however the canal was not completed until 1836. The canal connected to the New Main Line at Albion Junction and ran pretty straight up to Brades Hall Junction where the canal joined the Old Main Line. The Gower Branch Canal had four locks to handle to height difference between the two canals, three of them being at Brades Hall Junction and two are a staircase lock. These were connected locks where leaving one lock enters you into the next.

The canal remains a useful link for modern navigators of Birmingham's canals.

Review of 2023 : May

We move onto May, another busy month! The month started with a trip to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire, following by some exploration of the West Midlands Metro in West Bromwich. There was a train photography trip to Stafford, then it was time for the SVR Diesel Gala, always one of the year's highlights! I was also able to properly visit Bewdley.

Later in the month there were trips to Warrington and to Shrewsbury.

Song of the month was "gravity" by Final Selection.

Dudley Street Guns Village

Mansfield

Kidderminster Town

Warrington

Light engine

Passing through Stafford.

Review of 2023 : April

April and May tend to be the busiest months as Spring replaces Winter and before the heat of the Summer. I visited the Wednesbury Oak Loop of the Birmingham canals first. Then came my latest trip to Guildford, starting with plenty of rail action across two days. I also visited a couple of places in Hampshire, and in Surrey. I also walked part of the Wey Navigation in Guildford.

Later in the month there was another visit to Merseyside. Followed by trips slightly closer to home to Long Itchington and Droitwich Spa, including the canals of the spa town.

Song of the month was "stay" by Yatte.

Signpost in Bentley

Farnham

St Augustines, Dodderhill (Droitwich Spa)

Wednesbury Oak Loop