The almost poetically sad expression 'disused railway'—10,000 miles is a lot of disused—once conjured up visions of neglect and abandonment. Heritage railways and the repurposing of some former stretches of 'permanent way' (a poor choice of words) have halted a small but significant part the decline. Before the 'Canal Walks' series (May 2011), which we featured recently , there were six episodes of a 'Railway Walks' series (Oct-Nov 2008), both presented by Julia Bradbury. Neither series is available for online streaming via the BBC iPlayer, but check the linked pages for DVD availability via Amazon and the BBC Shop. We chanced upon a picture of Bradbury on the footplate of a heritage locomotive on the Ffestiniog railway—the fireman's side of a Double Fairlie for any trainspotters: the American English translation of 'railfan', 'rail buff' or 'train buff' fails to conjure up the anoraks and woolly bobble hats of the true pe...
Heading southwest out of town around sunset into mesa country with the moon high above the mighty cliffs of Zion. --------------------oOo-------------------- The blog author almost never checks emails or comments.
Earlier in the week, a dull, cold day followed the inclement weekend weather. There was some light rain and a cool breeze, so all the desert weenies hereabouts donned Ugg boots, cable-knit sweaters, and layered fleeces. The blue sky and puffy white clouds returned over the hill around the middle of the day. The previous day was so cold that I had to roll down my shirt sleeves, although shorts & sandals are still comfortable for walkers. Today was short-sleeve weather as I strode purposefully out to take the air. There was no mistaking the changing season, and as a lover of the Autumn found myself singing snatches from 'My Favorite Things', the song Julie Andrews sang in 'The Sound of Music' just prior to the Anschluss Österreichs, when the Germans invaded the country where the movie was set. As an anthem to sentimentality, I have always found the lists in the Rogers & Hammerstein song to be less effete than the lists in the Lindsay & Smith song 'All...
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