Day Sixteen - Full Steam Ahead

Thursday, 16th August 2018

Up in good time today as we were going to catch the 10.25 steam train to Rawtenstall, a town in the centre of the Rossendale Valley.  I mentioned earlier that the trains ran close to the site and there was a station, or rather a Halt here.




This was the train we caught.  In total, a twelve mile journey.  We bought an all day ticket meaning we could leave and join any train throughout the day.  We got off at Ramsbottom, advertised as below: 

"On the edge of the West Pennine Moors, against the backdrop of Holcombe Hill, Ramsbottom is a thriving market town in spectacular surroundings. A blend of contemporary and traditional the town is packed with independent retailers and award winning restaurants and cafes. Featured in the Sunday Time's'Top Ten Places to Live' and runner up in 'High Street of the Year 2013', it is not surprising that it is a popular stop on the East Lancashire Steam Railway"

So says the Visit Bury web site. We didn't quite find it so.  Some restaurants were closed, others we just didn't fancy and there are now several empty shops. We enjoyed the walk though, up the long and gently sloping high street to the magnificent Grant Arms Hotel, sadly now closed. Close by was a giant bronze fountain in the form of a Greek Vase.



We decided to go back to the station and catch the train to Heywood, in the district of Rochdale, and end of the line for the East Lancashire Railway. We caught a beautiful looking Diesel Multiple Unit.





Sadly it stopped at Bury for 45 minutes for a change of driver before going on to Heywood.

Fortunately, the station at Bury had a small restaurant where we managed to get some lunch.







If we had gone on to Heywood before returning to Burrs, the caravan site, we wouldn't have been back until after 6pm so we hopped on another DMU and went home.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day Ten - Robin Hood's Bay

Image
Friday, 10th August 2018 A light rain greeted us on waking and a temperature of 15℃.  This did increase to 18℃ later but the rain increased also. After a quick shower then breakfast, we decided, as heavy weather was forecast for later in the day, to take the awning down. This is because we had decided on Plan B.  Rather than travel further north, we have decided to move to the west where, so far, the better weather had been and was forecast to continue.  We booked ourselves into Burrs Country Park Caravan Club Site for 5 days from this coming Sunday, so we're here for an extra night, namely Saturday.  A couple of miles north of Bury, Lancashire, the park is for us a continuation of our northern tour.  Places we've read about, seen on the news, and never been to. Back to the awning.  Why do we listen to weather forecasters?  A light drizzle accompanied us as we took it down and packed it away.  First time we've put it away wet for a long time...
Read more

The Preamble

Preamble to our three week holiday, August 2018 For many years now, during June or July, we have taken our caravan across the channel for our annual holiday.  We've had amazing times in Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Saltzburg and many more European capitals and major cities. We've visited many areas of the UK too.  Cornwall, Norfolk, Sussex, Lake District, Wales, the list is endless.  One part of the UK we have not been to though is the North East Coast, and so this year we intend to put that right. The plan is to start in Lincolnshire, then North Yorkshire, and to make our way up the coast towards Berwick upon Tweed and the Scottish Border passing through Durham and Northumberland, weather permitting. Our final destination is Northwich in Cheshire, a base we've used several times over the years for visiting family in Liverpool. We do have a Plan B should the weather fail to live up to its grand performance so far this year.
Read more

Day Twelve - From White Rose to Red Rose

Image
Sunday, 12th August 2018 It rained pretty well all night, heavy and loud. By the 7.30am alarm, it had reduced to a light drizzle and by the time we began our moving on duties it was but spits and spots. As we left Whitby at 10.30am the heavens opened. Whitby's farewell.  A moderate 137 mile journey today and the route we choose took us to Guisbrough and across the top of the North York Moors. South to Thirsk and then Ripon, passing RAF Dishforth where, 52 years ago, I did my three month Initial Police Training as a Wiltshire policeman. Across the bottom of the Yorkshire Dales then motorway for the rest of the journey.  Just one slow section on the M65 and we arrived at Burrs Country Park at 2.30pm. I booked our stay here online but later rang to ask if we could come a day early, the Saturday.  "Oh no" she said, "we're fully booked"  Imagine our surprise then when, on arrival, we were told to take our pick from the available pitches.  There were many, ...
Read more