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Gary The Voyager

@garytravel.bsky.social
223 followers 201 following 147 posts

Armchair history enthusiast, ex-soldier, hiker and European long distance rail traveller. Love trains, mountains and ancient sites. Work in plant based chemicals, career in O&G and renewables. Pau and Bath.

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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
The first stage of today’s journey from Bologna to Villefranche sur Mer. The stops are a list of foodie dreams; Bologna, Modena, Parma and, of course, Milano. Treated ourselves to business seats to watch the Apennines slipping past as we head north after a week in beautiful Bologna.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Cassini’s 67 meter long meridian line and the aperture in the ceiling of the Basilica Di San Petronio in Bologna. I didn’t quite get there for midday!! Installed in 1655 - an extraordinary scientific instrument helping to prove Kepler’s law of elliptical planetary orbit among others things. #Bologna
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
En route from Dusseldorf to London on Eurostar via Brussels. A good view of the iconic Cologne cathedral and the stunning curves of Liège-Guillemins station. #railway #flightfree travel.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Stayed in Wuppertal a couple of weeks ago and rode on the wonderful Schwebebahn. It went into operation in 1901 and runs 13 kms, mostly suspended above the river. An absolute joy of imaginative engineering. My 📷.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Yesterday’s journey from Bath to Wuppertal via Brussels. Travelling and having a day in the office simultaneously. Yes I’m going to take a ride on the famous Schwebebahn at some point! In the meantime work intrudes.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Lincoln Cathedral last week. The original built in the 11th Century was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1185 and rebuilt in phases over the next 150 years. Viewed from a great distance or close up it is an extraordinary building. Lincoln also has other treasures, a lovely city!
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
The Palais des Papes and the famous bridge in Avignon earlier this month. Also the Tour Philippe-le-Bel and the castle, Fort Saint-Andre, in Villeneuve-Les-Avignon on the opposing bank of the Rhône. Philippe built them to keep an eye on the Popes. 13/14th century. #medieval #France #Castles My 📷.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
Cattedrale di Otranto, Puglia consecrated in 1088 with the 12C tree of life mosaic floor below. It also houses the bones and skulls of the Otranto martyrs from the massacre of 1480. #ceilingsunday
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The Bear @bearlypolitics.co.uk · 02/10/2025
Calling Reform racist isn’t slander. It’s maths. 20 incidents. 18 months. 1 Farage in a permanent huff.
bearlypolitics.co.uk
DEEP DIVE: How Does Reform Show Its Racism? Let Me Count the Ways
From “target practice” on refugees to burqa bans in Parliament, the tally tells the story better than Farage ever could.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Fontaine d'Eure near Uzès, the supply of water via the Pont du Gard to Nîmes. Slots for water level control and 2-3cm of opus signinum still visible in the rock cut channels that carried 40Km3 of water a day across 50 kms with a drop of 17m of Built 40-60AD. Astonishing #Roman #Provence. My photos.
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Sadiq Khan's team on Trump's comments about London crime The homicide rate in the US is seven times that of London
US: homicide rate per million - 68 people
London - homicide rate per million - 9.8

Pics of Trump and Khan
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mimij9.bsky.social @mimij9.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Party of the people.
REFORM UK
VOTED AGAINST LABOUR'S
EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS BILL
"THEY SAID...
NO TO SCRAPPING EXPLOITATIVE
ZERO HOURS CONTRACTS
NO TO SICK LEAVE AND MATERNITY PAY
NO TO BANNING FIRE-AND-REHIRE
REFORM UK ARE NOT FOR BRITISH WORKERS
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Christian Algar @ceebarnacles.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Written by a doctor at St Thomas' Hospital, London after the Tommy Robinson march on 13/9.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Rollright Stones on the Oxfordshire/Warwickshire border. The Neolithic/Bronze age site was used 4th to 2nd millennium BC and built in phases. A view of the King’s Men stone circle, one of three monuments at the site. What rituals took place here ? #StandingStonesSunday #Neolithic #BronzeAge
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Oh no
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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
It's easy to forget how utterly inhuman this is. How unspeakable. How absolutely appalling. Israeli forces deliberately fired missiles into a hospital. A *fucking hospital*. And - according to WHO - they've done it to at least 734 other healthcare facilities. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
theguardian.com
Four journalists among 15 killed in Israeli strike on hospital in Gaza, say health officials
Deaths take to at least 192 the number of Palestinian journalists killed in the conflict since 7 October 2023
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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
A word on immigration. Don't prejudge this, just listen to the data, and then consider what the solution is. The UK has a falling birth rate. This means that - unless things change - each generation will be 25% smaller than the one before.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 25/08/2025
Walz: "It boggles my damn mind that in the midst of a military takeover of our cities, the flaunting of the rule of law, that the press finds the need to talk about, 'Oh, there's a division in the Dem Party.' There's a division in my damn house & we're still married and things are good. That's life"
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Anti-asylum protests and threats, political dog-whistling, flag-mania, emboldened racists strutting around our streets… It must stop. People must speak out. This country mustn’t be chewed up with hatred and failure. Such an important read. @iandunt.bsky.social liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/386...
Nigel Farage isn't brave enough to tell the real asylum story

The hotels are not the result of our national generosity

20th August 2025 2:28 PM
Ministers are at least attempting to resolve the problem. All Farage ever does is exploit it (Photo of Farage: Dan Kitwood/Getty)

It's all he does. It's all he's ever done. Nigel Farage spreads hatred and fear. He takes the best human attributes - of compassion and charity - and makes them politically impossible.There is another story we can tell, if we're brave enough to stand up and do so. It is that most asylum seekers are genuine. This is a fact, not an opinion, which we know by virtue of the acceptance rate at initial decision and appeal.

They are fleeing some of the most terrible conditions it is possible to imagine. Britain can handle the numbers we receive, which are lower than for other comparable European countries. And we should damn well do so, if we still remember what it is to be kind, and decent, and motivated by empathy rather than suspicion.
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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Reform UK ‘looking after our own!? Don’t count on it. Homeless charity closes following funding dispute With Reform UK council www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...?
bbc.co.uk
Northampton homeless charity has closed, says council
A council says it
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 16/08/2025
The Iron Bridge in Shropshire. Completed in 1779; the first finished large scale cast iron bridge in the world. Made from iron smelted close by in the Severn Valley it spans, the bridge is a symbol of the Industrial Revolution and is curiously complex and beautiful with a span of 30 meters. #bridges
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Did a walk around Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) this afternoon looking at Roman stuff. There’s a lot to see, imagine what’s beneath the pavement ! The Newport Arch still in use, base of one of the east gate towers and the Mint Wall variously 1st to 3rd Century. #Roman #Lincoln
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Brilliant museum at Egnazia. Not often you encounter an aquarium in a museum displaying prehistoric and classical era material. The tank has a massive 2000 litre Roman wine amphora, and live fish ! Lots of 5/6 C BC Messapian pottery and a wide selection of Roman artefacts. #Puglia #Roman #Italy
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Egnazia, a Messapian then Roman city in Puglia. My pics of the amphitheatre, a section of the Via Traiana, the market and the interior of a painted stone cut tomb. This site has a superb museum. The city was abandoned in the Middle Ages when malaria became widespread. #Puglia #Roman #Italy
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Little Down Hill Fort sometimes known as North Stoke Hill Fort. Triangular multivallate promontory fort outside Bath. The the point looks west across to Bristol. You can walk from Little Solsbury Hill fort to this easily in a morning. Both overlook Bath. #HillfortsWednesday
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Solsbury Hill iron age hillfort ramparts built around 300-100 BC and possibly destroyed during a Belgic incursion in the early 1st century AD. The turf maze near the fort entrance has a Celtic feel, was created during protests against the building of the nearby A46 in the 1990s. #HillfortsWednesday
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Haven’t been able to visit any sites recently but spotted this beautiful single rampart hillfort built by children on the beach at St-Jacut-de-la-Mer last month. Are we naturally inclined to build these structures ? Love the shell cobbled floor !! #HillfortsWednesday #IronAge
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
Swans with seven cygnets today on the canal in Bath and a bonus heron hunting in the water’s edge. #Birds #Birding
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
The ramparts at Dolebury Warren hillfort, part of a beautiful walk in the Mendip Hills with incredibly varied landscapes. The views are across the Chew Valley to the Bristol Channel. Some of the huge rubble walls are exposed by weathering. #HillfortsWednesday #IronAge
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Last night’s journey from Inverness to London on the Caledonian Sleeper after a few working days in Scotland. Thanks to the great crew for a smooth trip. #FlightFree2025 #Trains #Railways
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
(Little) Solsbury hill-fort looking across Bath and the NE rampart, plus a view from afar. On a very clear day you can see two white horses from the top; Westbury, below another hill-fort (Bratton Camp) and Cherhill, both in Wiltshire, although I think it requires a telescope ! #HillfortsWednesday
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Two trains and a castle; Bath to Stirling today in glorious weather. Durham, Newcastle, Holy Island, Berwick in what amounts to a travelling office, lots of work done and spectacular views. Great crews on GWR and LNER - a big thank you! #flightfree2025 #trains #scotland
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
A jay that visits our garden regularly posed for a photo yesterday! I’m no photographer so apologies for the shoddy image; this bird always makes our day better. #birds #jay
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
A wonderful climb up to Crug Hywel (known as Table Mountain in English) in the Brecon Beacons. Well preserved Iron Age Hillfort ditches and ramparts with breathtaking views across the Usk Valley. #HillfortsWednesday
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
The ceiling of the Great Tinel room in the Palais des Papes, Avignon. Six papal conclaves were held in this chamber between 1334 and 1394. The Palais is an extraordinary medieval structure with many addition, home to the Catholic Church in the 14C. #church #pope #medieval #architecture My photos.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Ramparts and ditches at Burrington Camp followed by the massive multivallate ramparts of Danebury Hillfort (600 BC & 12 acres) all in one day’s walk on the beautiful Mendip hills. #HillfortsWednesday
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
The massive inner rampart and ditch (one of five on the southern side) of Wapley Camp hill-fort in Herefordshire. The ramparts must have been astonishingly imposing 2500 years ago. It also contains medieval pillow mounds, or coneygarths, for breeding rabbits. #HillfortsWednesday #ironage
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Chris Ogilvie @ogilvie.org.uk · 18/04/2025
🇮🇹 Centro Direzionale - Business District 🚉 For those that say a new metro station should be simple & austere… Naples new Line 1 station shows how it can be: Bright, colourful, bold platforms… …above ground a beautiful arched wooden structure. 🤩 Stunning. @garethdennis.bsky.social
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
The massive ramparts of Bratton Camp with the Neolithic long barrow standing out against the skyline. The re-entrant below appears like an Eric Ravillious painting. #HillfortsWednesday #IronAge #Neolithic
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Chiselbury Camp in Wiltshire with cows on the rampart for scale! Iron Age hill-fort with spectacular views. An added bonus; walk down the escarpment and you can view The Fovant Badges. #HillfortsWednesday #IronAge.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
North Stoke iron age hill fort outside Bath looking east. My photo taken from the window of an Easyjet flight into Bristol ! A promontory triangular fort (lower left quadrant) with a path dissecting it and a suspected bronze age barrow at the entrance beside the curved ditch. #HillfortsWednesday
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Amsterdam to Bath today. The strikes in Belgium meant a change of trains in Rotterdam but otherwise a smooth journey which started with a tram. Got lots of notes written up and calls made. #railways #flightfree #eurostar
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Today’s journey from Bath to Rotterdam via London and Brussels. GWR, Eurostar and SNCB. #flightfree and problem free despite a rail strike in Belgium. Better than going through Heathrow this week 👀.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Visited the Bomber Command Centre and the memorial spire last week. The steel panels covered in names are overwhelming; a very moving monument. Always astonished how the crews flew knowing the appalling odds against survival - fighting tyranny. Lincoln Cathedral in the background.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Tonight’s journey from Inverness to London on the Caledonian Sleeper. A great way to travel efficiently while sleeping and very cost effective. Great crew on board, here’s to a good night’s sleep. My cabin features a sink, shower and toilet. The dining car is warm and friendly. #FlightFree #rail
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Monday’s journey from Bath to Stonehaven, GWR to London then LNER direct from King’s Cross and the always spectacular Forth Bridge. Shout out to the LNER crews who give a brilliant service in 1st class. A day spent in fog apart from Edinburgh and a sunset from the Tay Bridge #trains #flightfree
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Helios installation at the Assembly Rooms in Bath this week. Arranged by the Nation Trust before this beautiful building closes for refurbishment over the next couple of years. Surprisingly moving and thought provoking.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
The Roman triumphal arch in Orange last week. Dated to around 27 BC to 14 AD it celebrates the military conquest of Gaul under Augustus and was later rededicated to victories in the Rhineland under Tiberius. In remarkably good condition; one of many amazing monuments in Provence. #Roman #France
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
The Palais de Papes in Avignon last week. Begun in the 13th Century and much expanded in the 14th, this was the home to six Popes and western Christianity between 1309 and 1376. It was briefly occupied by two Antipopes in the early 15th Century. A stunning place on an epic scale.
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Gary The Voyager @garytravel.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
The Palais des Papes in Avignon viewed from our gîte over Christmas. Home to the Popes and the centre of the Catholic Church in the 14th century.
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