Birmingham
Pictures from a long weekend in Birmingam in early May. (L) Birmingham cathedral and (R) the top floor of the restored Sarehole Mill.
Blanchland
(L) Crossroads in Blanchland and (R) Blanchland parish church, whose odd L-shape is the result of reworking part of the original abbey church.
(L) Shildon Engine house above Blanchland was built to pump water out of nearby lead mines. The mines closed in the late 19th C and and formerly busy village of Shildon fell into decline.
Todmorden walk
Bluebells in Jumble Hole Clough on a walk from Todmorden to Hebden Bridge in mid May.
Calderdale is full of tracks but very few walkers!
Doncaster
Steam engines at the National Model Engineering Exhibition at Doncaster racecourse.
Tanfield railway
A short walk and train ride on the Tanfield railway in late May.
The somewhat desolate Alnwick “Lionheart” station is the first step in trying to restore the Alnwick branch line between Alnwick and Alnmouth, which closed in 1968. The station has had to be built some distance from the original Alnwick station, which is now a bookshop (Barter books), as accessed in blocked by a dual carriageway.