Smithy Bridge Railway Station

Smithy Bridge Railway Station is a 2 platform railway stop on the Caldervale Line between Leeds and Manchester in Northern England. The station is unstaffed and has limited facilities with small shelters on both platforms, information boards at the platform entrances, and ticket machines for collecting and purchasing tickets prior to travel. Both platforms are accessible via ramps rather than steps and there is a small car park between the station and Rochdale Canal, passengers are advised this is not the property of the station though. The platforms are both adjacent to the level crossing which carries Smithy Bridge Road that runs up to Hollingworth Lake. During 2017/18 the station was used by 167000 passengers or approx. 3211 per week.

Smithy Bridge Station was originally opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in October 1868, nearly 30 years after the line through Smithy Bridge was opened to Littleborough. This station remained in use until closure by British Rail in May 1960. There the story ends until finance was provided by Greater Manchester PTE and the new current station was opened on the 19th August 1985 on the site of the original station. Immediately to the east of the station is a level crossing which used to be controlled by a signal box on the opposite side of the road to the station. This was taken out of use in 2014 and has been demolished.

I took a total of 9 images on what was sadly a dull overcast day, they were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR camera on the 27th December 2019. They can be seen here and on Flickr with selected ones available to view and download on Clickasnap.

Use the arrows to navigate the album of 9 pictures or click to view full size on Flickr. The pictures below are taken from the same album of images.

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The following is taken from my YouTube channel.

West View Park, Highroad Well, Halifax

West View Park is a public park opened in 1896 and covering approx. 14 acres in the Highroad Well area of Halifax. Built on the site of a former quarry on land donated by Lord Saville, the park was the idea of Mr Henry Charles McCrea and Mr Enoch Robinson who paid for the parks development provided the local council took over responsibility for the future upkeep of the park. The park features formal gardens, play areas and a terrace. The park was named West View at the insistence of McCrea, reflecting the views over the Norland Hillside, Pennines and Calder Valley to the west of Halifax. 

In 1904 a war memorial was added to the terrace area to commemorate the 2 soldiers who died in the Afghan Wars (1839-42 / 1878-81) and the 73 who lost their lives in the South African War (1899-1902). The statue stands at 76ft (23mts) and was blown over in 1937. When unveiled the it was surrounded by 3 fields guns but theses were removed also in 1937. The statue was given Grade II listed status on the 23rd November 1973.

The full set of 15 pictures was taken in February and October 2019 using a Nikon d3300 SLR camera. They can all be seen here, and on Flickr with some also viewable on Clickasnap where they can be downloaded best quality for a small fee.

Use the arrows to navigate the album or click to view full size on Flickr. The pictures below are selected from the album.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share, you can follow me on social media via the links in the sidebar, view or subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here, and follow me, or view my profile on Clickasnap here.

Top 3 YouTube Videos of 2019

I look on my YouTube channel as a bit of something different where I try different things out without a particular focus on anything, although the stats suggest that mainly the scenic driving videos are of interest to most people. As the end of the year is nearly upon us I thought it may be of interest to share the stats on my top 3 videos of 2019.

The 3rd most popular video of 2019 is titled as Road views of Britain, A Drive through Jedburgh. Uploaded in November 2013 the video was viewed over 1100 times in 2019, giving it a total of 5355 views from the date of uploading. It shows a time lapse video of a journey through the Scottish border town of Jedburgh filmed during 2013.

The 2nd most watched video of mine on YouTube in 2019 is my most watched since starting my Channel in 2013. It was filmed and uploaded in October 2013 and shows me driving across the England Scotland border at Carter's Bar and was watched over 3100 times in 2019 gaining me an additional 5 subscribers.

My most popular video of 2019 was a filmed in November 2019 and uploaded shortly afterwards showing the MSC Lirica cruise ship sailing past ST Marks, Venice on it's way to docking. It has been watched over 3600 times since I uploaded it on the 4th December 2018.

The videos I upload to YouTube I look on as an extension of my photography rather than factual or informative, I just enjoy having a little mess around and consider it a bit of fun. You can subscribe to my YouTube channel here. You can also follow me on social media via the links in the side bar and check out my photo sharing profile on Clickasnap here. I currently have over 1600 pictures available to view there.

4 from York

Not the usual haunts in York, I was there just doing some shopping with my wife and daughter in August 2019 and whilst I had my camera to hand, I didn't have the time to get around some of the more popular places in York. There are a total of 4 pictures which can be seen here, on Flickr and Clickasnap, with the ones there also available to download for a small fee.

They were taken near Waterstones Bookstore on Coney Street, York.

You can follow me on social media and Flickr via the links in the sidebar, I also have a YouTube channel you can subscribe to by clicking here. I share the majority of my pictures on Clickasnap, which you can check out by clicking here.

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Walsden Railway Station

Walsden Railway Station serves the village of Walsden, formerly part of Lancashire now firmly in West Yorkshire a couple of miles to the west of Todmorden. The first station here was opened in 1845 between the iron bridge and Winterbuttlee Tunnel, the bridge built in 1890 is the only remains of the original station which closed in August 1961. The station used to have a level crossing which has been the scene of a few injuries and deaths, this was removed and the current station was built upon the site of the crossing. It is has a stream running underneath the station close to the iron bridge which regularly causes the station and line to be flooded during heavy rains. It was also the only place in the greater Todmorden area to be bombed during the 2nd World War.

The current station opened in September 1990 a few metres east of the original station site, and averages approx. 2100 passengers per week (2017-18 figures). There are limited facilities at the station with only small shelters to provide protection from the weather. There are electronic information boards and ticket machines, the station unstaffed.

There are a total of 10 pictures taken at the station on August 27th 2017 using a Nikon d3300 SLR camera. They can be seen here, full size on Flickr, and selected ones can be seen on my Clickasnap account and purchased as downloads.

Use the arrows to navigate the album, selected images below are taken from the same album.

Please take a moment to share, you can follow me on social media via the links in the sidebar, subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here.  You can also follow me on Clicksnap by clicking here, where I currently have over 1600 pictures to view.

Church of the Holy Ascension. Settle Parish Church

Settle Parish Church, or by it's official name Church of the Holy Ascension sits near the centre of the small market town of Settle, North Yorkshire. The church was designed by Thomas Rickman and consecrated on the 26th October 1838 and parts of the interior were remodelled in 1998. Sadly I haven't been able to find much information on the church online and I don't live near enough to call in and ask around.

The pictures were taken on August 23rd 2019 using a Nikon d3300 SLR camera.

Use the arrows to navigate the album. The pictures below are selected from the same album.

Some of the pictures can also be seen on my Clicakasnap account by clicking here. I currently have over 1600 pictures available to view there. You can follow me on social media via the links in the sidebar, and you can subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here.

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Sunday 1st December 2019, a set of 6 Pictures from Sowerby Bridge

Only a small selection and of no particular subject, on the day I was just taking a walk down to my local supermarket via the more scenic route over the Rochdale Canal and River Calder.

My initial picture shows the Rochdale Canal from the iron footbridge. The bridge that crossers the Rochdale Canal is known locally as the Sowerby Bridge Footbridge but it's actual name is the Co-Operative Bridge and it was built to allow workers easier access to the mills that used to be on the opposite side of the canal from the terraced housing. My walk then went along Hollins Mill Lane in the direction of Route 66 cycle way and my final pictures were of the former mill weir at Hollins. The weir was badly damaged by floods a few years ago and now a large part of it has been washed away.

The full set of 6 can be seen here, on Flickr and on Clickasnap where you can also purchase downloads of them for a small fee.














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Cross Hills to Colne, An Early Morning Drive Through a Rural Setting.

2 Dashcam videos I have recently uploaded to YouTube featuring a trip along the A6028 from the Level Crossing at Cross Hills, West Yorkshire to the outskirts of Colne, Lancashire. Video 1 is a short real time video which shows the journey through Cross Hills village. Video 2 is a timelapse x4 video of the full journey from the level crossing to Colne passing through Glusburn, Cowling and Laneshawbridge. The dawn was just breaking behind the wagon so whilst the video starts in near darkness the early morning light is breaking through by it's end.

They were filmed on my dashcam on Friday 29th November 2019.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here. I have many different videos on there like this. You can follow me on social media via the links in the sidebar and i also have a profile on Clickasnap which can be seen by clicking here. There are currently over 1600 pictures of mine to view there.

Stocksmoor Railway Station, West Yorkshire

Stocksmoor Station is the fifth stop on the Penistone Line when heading along it from Huddersfield to Penistone. Opened on the 1st July 1850 the station really has the feel of a rural stop, me being the station's only visitor in the time I spent there taking pictures. During the 2017 - 18 period of figures the station averaged just under 400 passengers per week.

The station is one of the remaining sections of double track being used as a passing loop for trains along the line between here and Shepley further south, the line was converted to single track status in 1989 having fought off once again plans for it's closure. It has been unmanned since 1966 when the first attempt to close the line was reversed.

There are minimal facilities at the station, with step free access to both platforms, no toilets or shop and limited shelter from the elements. When I was there in May 2016 there was no ticket purchasing machine, electronic notification board or passenger help point. I understand there is a ticket machine there now.

There are a total of 9 pictures I took which can be seen here, on Flickr and Clickasnap. They were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on the 21st May 2016.

Use the arrows to navigate the album or click to view full size on Flickr. The ones below are selected from the same album.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share, you can follow me on social media via the links in the sidebar. You can also follow me on Clickasnap where I currently have over 1600 pictures to view. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel here.

A Trip to Venice, and St Marks Square Flooding.

A Trip to Venice is a new video uploaded to YouTube I have done featuring various scenes taken around the Italian city whilst I was there for a few days at the end of October start of November 2018. The video is approx. 2 1/2 minutes long and features scenes from a boat trip along the Grand Canal, scenes around the ST Marks area of Venice and various other short clips of the canals and buildings of Venice.



St Marks Square Flooding is a 1min 50sec video of various scenes filmed around St Marks on random days and times during my stay. In 2018 whilst I was there Venice was suffering it's worst flooding since 1968 the hotel staff had informed me. On the day I arrived I had to wade through waist high water across St Marks Square to reach my hotel and every day the area was flooded to a certain degree. In recent news the reports have been saying that Venice has suffered worse flooding this year than when I was there, I feel desperately sad for the people and can only hope the plan flood defences are finally built that have been promised. The people were fantastic and just accepted the flooding as part of there everyday life.


Thanks for looking and please take a moment to follow me on social media via the links in the sidebar, you can also Subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking here. I also have a photo sharing account on Clickasnap, click here to follow me there. I currently have over 1600 pictures to view on there.