The railway line sweeps out of
Castle Cary
heading east towards London
Parts
of the Hammersmith & City line near Paddington are among the
oldest
sections on the London Underground. Apposite then that this
line
should benefit from the latest rolling stock which features
walk-through carriages and air conditioning
St
Pancras Station is a Grade I listed building and underwent extensive
renovation and upgrade work during the last 10 years at a cost of
£800M. The former Midland Grand Hotel at the station's
entrance
stood derelict for many years but has now been returned to its 5 star
status with the imposing clock tower as part of the fascia
Half an hour later and the clock
tower is
seen in the twilight
The Post Office Tower appears to
have sunk!
Like
its very near neighbour, King's Cross Station has also recently
benefited from a multi-million pound upgrade which includes this very
ornate steel ceiling. It has been described as being 'like
some
sort of reverse waterfall'
A shop window display in
Darlington
This
amateur photograph of Margaret Thatcher occupies a slightly obscure
position in Darlington's indoor market and clearly refers to a visit by
Mrs T to nearby Horse Market. There is no indication as to
the
date but there was a Conservative Party rally in the town on 23 April
1979, just 11 days before she took office as Prime Minister.
At
that time she would have been 52 years old which seems to fit with the
photograph
St Cuthbert's Church, Darlington
A somewhat gaudy mannequin
outside a rifle
shop in Darlington
Paddington Station's fine 3
faced clock on
Platform 1
Paddington Station on a Sunday
evening
Devonport Park, Plymouth, dates
back to
the 1850s and occupies former military land
A daffodil in Devonport Park
A camellia in Devonport Park
Another camellia, again in
Devonport Park
An interesting house in Devonport
The War Memorial, Devonport,
which bears
more than 2,000 names
An expensive looking pleasure
cruiser
moored in Mayflower Marina
Drake's Island across Firestone
Bay
A yacht heads into Millbay with
Plymouth
Hoe in the background
Firestone Bay
The
Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Millbay opened in 1865 and was built as
Plymouth's first luxury hotel. Remarkably it survived the
WWII
bombing intact only to be faced with likely closure in 1975 due to ...
a lack of car parking space! Its terraced gardens gave way to
a
car park in 1988 and praise from Sir John Betjeman helped to secure its
future. As of 2014 it seems to be flourishing albeit only #9
of
21 on Trip Advisor!
Up market apartments such as
these seen in
Millbay usually signal re-vitalisation of a formerly depressed area
The Belvedere at Plymouth Hoe
Plymouth's Terrace Cafe was
doing a good
trade on a warm and pleasant Saturday afternoon in March
The Union Flag flutters in the
breeze
above the Royal Citadel at Plymouth Hoe
Sunset over Plymouth
Taunton's
Vivary Park derives its name from the vivarium that formerly occupied
the site during medieval times. The park itself was created
in
the late 19th century although prior to that much of the land seems to
have been part of a private estate. The bandstand shown here
dates from 1895 (the year after the Municipal Borough of Taunton
acquired the site)
A gull enjoys the sunshine in
Taunton
Vivary
Park's Queen Victoria Memorial Fountain was manufactured during 1907 by
the Saracen Foundry of Glasgow. It underwent extensive
restoration in 2000/2001 and was re-opened by the late Queen's great
great granddaughter in 2002
The tower and colours of Queen's
College,
Taunton appear above the tree-line. It has stood on this site
since 1846
Bishop's
Hull House was built during the late 18th century when the
ecclesiastical parish of Hill Bishop extended as far as the River Tone
at Tangier. Various additions were made during the 1800s and
it
remained in private ownership until 1963 when it was purchased by ...
the National Westminster Bank. It became their Taunton Area
Office and fulfilled that role until September 1987 when a restructure
resulted in its closure. BHH was sold in 1988 to Learning
South
West who continue to use it as office facilities as well as a venue
which can be hired for weddings and other functions
Parts of the Church of St Peter
and St
Paul at Bishop's Hull can be traced back to the 12th century
Bishop's Hull War Memorial
The
railway first came to Taunton in 1843 although the Fairwater
marshalling yard to the west of the station was not opened until
1946. The decline in freight resulted in it falling into
disuse
and some of the track was lifted. A revitalisation occurred
during 2006/2007 however and Fairwater is now the home to Network
Rail's 'High Output Track Renewal System' which is being used in
conjunction with track replacement around the south west
St Teresa's Church, Priorswood
Bexhill-on-Sea
is, in many ways, a typical seaside town with a large retired
population and all of the trappings that go with that status.
On
a sunny Saturday afternoon the seafront presents a very attractive
vista, with some well-maintained Victorian/Edwardian features
Bexhill sea front
The
Rover 'P4' group of vehicles was in production from 1949 until 1964 and
the model 110 (as seen here) was introduced in 1962. 4,620 of
the
'110s' were manufactured and they epitomised the classic looks of 1960s
vehicle elegance. No price was indicated for this vehicle,
first
registered on 1 April 1960, but they typically seem to raise c £4,000 -
£6,000 when offered for sale
The sun shimmers on the English
Channel at Hastings
The
original 1831 St Leonard's Church, Hastings was destroyed by a
doodlebug during the Second World War and the building now on the same
site dates from 1955. It has the comparatively rare honour of
being a post war building afforded Listed Grade II status
The Royal Coat of Arms adorns
the roof apex of the 1828 Royal Victoria Hotel at St Leonards on Sea
A dinghy offshore at Hastings
When completed in 1937, Marine
Court, St Leonards on Sea was the tallest block of flats in the UK
Hastings
Pier has seen better days having survived from 1872 until it was all
but destroyed by fire during 2010. Remarkably, however, the
sub-structure is said to be in good order and a HLF-assisted £14M
restoration project is now in its early stages
Hastings from East Hill
The coastline extending past
Pett Level and Winchelsea Beach with the Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm
in the distance
Storm damage perhaps?
Welcome relief for walkers at
this Tea Bar, positioned on the Pett Levels
A beach hut at Rye Harbour
The Church of the Holy Spirit,
Rye Harbour, built in 1849 and extended in 1912
