Time to go home, and from London, journeys home invariably start at King’s Cross. Platform 5 for us today, though still with half an hour to go from this point in time before the 9:40 departure to Bradford Forster Square, changing at Leeds.
Random railway station, number…. quite a few. The train is the one I was catching, so from this shot you can see where I was; where I was going; and how long I had to wait. In a world where all movements are tracked I might as well be honest about it.
An abstract, though it does represent the fact that the two trains I caught today were punctual to the minute: a good start for 2026. Let’s see how long it takes before this perfect record is broken; I predict Sunday.
You can see where I was when this was taken. Newcastle marks more-or-less the halfway point on the rail journey between Dundee and Hebden Bridge, at least in terms of time taken. I just like the shape she makes and the way the pink jacket in the background sets off the rest.
More specifically, skulking right down the far end of it, where the trains never stop. It looks like he may have busted the photographer but actually, looking closer up suggests he’s oblivious to his capture for posterity. I quite like the lighting on this one.
Am I pleased allowed to say someone is a nice shape, without this being a salacious observation? Because this person definitely is.
With this photo, Stockport, the 11th place I depicted on this blog back in October 2011, finally relinquishes its title as the most-ignored-place-since. The accolade now passes to Dunsop Bridge. I know you care about these things, as do I. Overall, 477 different locations have appeared on here — a neat near 1/10 ratio — and I’m sure you already care about the carefully-maintaned stats.
There are some days when I really can’t think of any caption or explanation for posting a photo beyond the fact that I just quite like it. Daisy Hill is a place (in the Wigan-Bolton hinterland) with a cute rustic name, but its railway station doesn’t follow this lead — at least, not while some renovations are going on.
In terms of its aesthetics I quite like Blackburn station — at least at platform level (the subway below has been choked by excessive and largely non-functional ticket machines, though). The clutter of modern life throws off the symmetry of this shot but I gave it a go.
My first stop on the journey today was York, and here is its fine-looking railway station. I upload this while sat in Stansted Airport terminal along with a handful of other people, and no places of refreshment open. So there’ll be nothing more to picture today before the flight leaves just after midnight. I’ll see you in quarantine, somewhere in the South Atlantic.
Following my comments yesterday, at least the trains were still running in the other direction from home, so as often seems to happen on a Saturday, I found myself changing at Leeds station. I’ve been thinking of a shot like this for a while; taken specifically from the stairs going down to platform 16, and therefore looking across the whole width of the station. Busy scenes, and let’s demand they stay that way.
Being 42 