After making contact with some Dutch commmunity rail colleagues I ended up making a little diversion – and visiting the 12th country of this trip. I realised that Aachen was only a couple of …

The law of Sod came into effect today. Having spent the first few hours of the morning swapping hotels to save a few bob, the plan was to spend a day exploring the Bernina railway right up to the s…

After yesterday’s rather epic journey from Berlin, through Switzerland to Italy I was knackered by the time I arrived in the lovely Alpine town of Tirano. I was in bed not long after 20;00 as…

with my time in Dresden being short I was up early in order to enjoy a lighting walking tour of the Alstadt (old town). With it being early – and a Sunday, Dresden was very quiet indeed &#821…

I was sad to check out of my villa this morning. The place was such a peaceful retreat from the madness of Innotrans, and so peaceful. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Last…

Today’s the last day of the Innotrans trade fair and I’m back on site for a few hours just to wrap up a few more internal shots of some of the trains. The weather’s overcast and w…

I’m back at Innotrans this morning on a lovely crisp and sunny day. In fact, for some of what I want to do it’s just too sunny! I’ve been concentrating on outdoor shots and moochi…

Engineers complete three motorway crossings in weekend bridge blitz

Today Innotrans opens its doors to the world’s rail industry and the madness begins as 1000s of people flood in to look at what’s on offer. Enormous amounts of shoe leather will be expe…

Today Innotrans opens its doors to the world’s rail industry and the madness begins as 1000s of people flood in to look at what’s on offer. Enormous amounts of shoe leather will be expe…

11:50. Hi ho, hi ho – it’s off to work I go… Having been up early again I’m now at the enormous Innotrans rail trade fair, waiting for the official opening. I’ll be bl…

13:15. My plan to blog throughout this trip fell at the first hurdle. Whilst I’m in 1st Class on the Polish run ‘Berlin – Warsaw express’ there’s no wifi on board. Wel…

More than 600 people have signed a petition to improve overgrown parts of the River Welland.

I’m staying in Warsaw until 11:00 tomorrow when I move on to Berlin, so I have a full day to explore the city. The weather’s gorgeous with clear blue skies. The temperature is due to hi…

Typical! The day the rain stops is the day I’m on the move again! I was woken early this morning by the sound of military jets in the skies above Vilnius. It’s easy to forget that the L…

For the first time on this trip I’ve not actually been travelling anywhere. Instead I’ve had a full day in Riga. I have to say I’ve been really impressed with the city. There&#821…

11:40. Right now I’m on my way from Tallinn to Riga by train with one change at a place called Valga. I was up early this morning to make the most of my last few hours in Tallinn. Breakfast w…

11:40. Right now I’m on my way from Tallinn to Riga by train wuth one change at a place called Valga. I was up early this morning to make the most of my last few hours in Tallinn. Breakfast w…

The ferry from Stockholm to Tallinn was a great way to travel and a fascinating experience in people-watching. This wasn’t just a ferry, it’s more a cruise. There were live shows aboard…

Excuse the lateness of posting this but it’s been a long day and it’s still before noon here in Sweden. I left Copenhagen early this morning after a day full of memories – even if…

11:00 Another day, another city. As I was later arriving in Hamburg I haven’t had chance to explore more than the area I’m staying in, which is functional, but not very attractive. I&#8…

10:00. Having had an early night I was up with the larks at 06:15 this morning in order to make the most of the day and the opportunity to explore some of Lille sans suitcase. Some of the architect…

07:30. I’m on my way folks! The trip’s got off to a slightly rocky start. Late last night we had a torrential rainstorm, this led to the frustrating discovery that the cottage roof is l…

I’ve been back in Halifax since Saturday but tonight’s my last night for a while. Tomorrow morning I start my ‘grand tour’ of Europe (North and South) so I’ve been bus…

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Paul Bigland Photography

Richard Tice also said ‘British-born children’ are a ‘good thing’ and should be encouraged

On Wednesday I was privileged to be invited to see the construction of HS2s Duddeston Jn viaduct up close. It’s an impressive structure that’s being built on a very constricted site. To…

The blues guitarist and vocalist Sister Rosetta Tharpe performed at an empty station for TV.