Tanfield Railway September Gala

I was working on Saturday so I could only get on the Sunday, when the sun did not shine!

Several of the locos sported a sprig of  heather on their smokebox doors, something to do with a referendum perhaps?

The star of the show was the Lambton tank No. 29, brought in from the North York Moors Railway

Seen with an appropriate Lambton Worm headboard!

Leaving Andrews House station

And here's one that I took earlier, about 45 years earlier, at the Philadelphia NCB works.

Interestingly, No. 29 appears to have its chime whistle at this time. The film was probably developed in my parents' bathroom; looks like reticulation has occurred due to temperature variation in processing. Digital is so easy!

Sony NEX 6 with manual focus lenses, not sure what I used for the B&W, possibly EXA 500.

North Yorkshire

With the prospect of fine weather south of Tyneside we drove down to Grosmont in the North Yorkshire Moors and had a ride on the North York Moors Railway. 

Two ex LNER steam loco designs, a B1 4-6-0 passes the loco shed while A4 pacific Sir Nigel Gresley stands beneath the coaling tower.

Driving back up the coast we called in to Staithes, a small ex fishing village with a sandy beach. It's rare, in my experience, to see the North Sea looking so attractive, but that's how it was on Sunday.

Sony NEX 6

Wallington, Northumberland

We try to get to the National Trust property at Wallington once a year, primarily to see the fabulous walled garden. Click on any photo to enlarge.

A NT gardener told us that the pink flowers are lobelia, but they don't look like lobelia to me

He might have been referring to these small pink flowers?

Fuchsia in the greenhouse

Butterfly on Buddleia - infinite patience required for this shot!

The water lily lake, seen on the walk to the garden.

See also Wallington Hall and Gardens

Sony NEX 6 Manual focus lenses

Redcar and Saltburn

We drove to the outskirts of Redcar and cycled through that town and on to Saltburn. A warm day, but overcast, with the sun occasionally peeking through the clouds

Fishermen launching boat with offshore wind farm in the background

Not sure if you would see this scene anywhere else. A large wooden boat being towed by an aged tractor stops at a garage to buy fuel while a Rolls Royce car is being repaired on the forecourt.

Redcar lemon top ice cream with the steelworks in the background.

The funicular railway control cabin at Saltburn

Wavy shadows

Sony NEX 6 various lenses

Seaton Deleval Hall - Northumberland

A relatively recently acquired National Trust property, now undergoing restoration.

The hall gets a face lift, clad in scaffold, but you can still go in

Work is in progress to provide cathodic protection to the corroding iron supports of the statues around the hall.

.

The garden looks better each time we visit.

 Bees enjoying the fragant lavender

I took this photo a few years ago, I'm not sure if the architectural plans are still on display.

Sony NEX 6

Cragside Rothbury

We try to get to the National Trust property Cragside at Rothbury every year at this time in order to see the rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom.

There was something new to see this time, an Archimedes screw used as a water powered turbine to generate electricity. It was not working, but the installation looks to be complete.

I assume that the blue thing in the cabinet is a speed increasing gearbox, driving 

a generator mounted above the axis of the rotor. (Pentax 50mm f1.7)

They are also installing one of these machines in the river Wear 

as it passes through Durham City. (Pentax 28mm K f3.5)

Now for some flowers. Ideally you should use a tripod and a reflector to get good crisp and contrasty flower shots, but Cragside was very busy on Bank Holiday Monday and some of the paths quite narrow, so I made do with hand holding the camera. Samsung 35mm f2 (rebadged  Pentax) at f11.

View across Tumbleton Lake looking towards the Visitor Centre.

View from the Iron Bridge towards Tumbleton Lake

For more Cragside photos see here and here.

Sony NEX 6 manual focus lenses.

Step This Way at Darlington 2014

Appalachian dance team Step This Way with musicians from the Bones Creek Band performed within the market place as a part of Darlington Arts Showcase.

Audience participation is always popular!