Our coach driver detoured a little on our way from the Jacobite train back to Inverness, so that we could visit the Commando monument just outside Spean Bridge.


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This is a wee video especially for shirebound, who loves a waterfall ( Read more... )

The train journey from Mallaig to Fort William is regarded as one of the greatest railway journeys in the world. I have done it before, just on the ordinary train, and it really is a great trip. For many years it has been one of the few parts of the main-line network that had a regular steam hauled train in the summer - known as The Jacobite ( Read more... )

When D-d was on Skye with me we visited Dunvegan Castle. It was also on our itinerary this time, straight after the not-terribly-good lunch stop. I think of it as a 'proper castle' as it was first began in the 1200s and has been added to and reinforced over the centuries - but in the organic way that such buildings do - there is a little about ( Read more... )

Currently I am on Manxman, making our way home across the Irish Sea. So I have time to upload a few more holiday pictures ( Read more... )

So, on Saturday morning we left out hotel in Inverness and took the train from Inverness across Scotland to Kyle of Lochalsh. The scenery was beautiful, the mountains magnificent - and I didn't even try to take any photos out the window - just enjoyed it ( Read more... )

This is the first post about what I got up to once I moved from Coventry down to London. D-d flew in to London City Airport and met me at out hotel in time for dinner on Sunday evening. We were staying at The Radisson Blu Vanderbilt about 3 minutes walk from the Natural History Museum, 5 minutes from th V&A, and about 15 minutes from Kensington ( Read more... )

Ha! Even more about our train trip - well it was a big event, and a long day!

Finally the train was able to start back south - we were so happy to get back into our seats - look at how happy I was...


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Steam train trip - part two...

So we didn't do much during our break in Edinburgh except potter along Princes Street and spend time in Princes Street Gardens - but I did take some pictures to prove that we'd been there - including some of one of my favourite water features.

( A couple of train close-ups and some pics of Edinburgh )

So now we come to the high spot of our celebratory trip - travelling, steam hauled, the 205 miles from York to Edinburgh (and back, of course!).

This is something we had thought about a few times - and I decided this was the time to do it - and do it in style. So the plan was to travel on the Lothian Tornado - Tornado being a steam express engine ( Read more... )