Vintage Postcards, Aspremont. Meggen, Jaffa and the Taj Mahal

Whilst sorting through my large postcard collection I have decided to digitise them all and share occasionally in addition to my own pictures.

The pictures in this post are unposted and undated but I am told they are from between the wars from the 1920's - 30's.

Aspremont is a small village in south-east France, 10km north of Nice with a population of approx. 2190. I have searched for the tower in the background beyond the apartment blocks and I believe it is the tower of the Church of Saint-Jacques le Mejeur.


Jaffa (Yafo Hebrew, Yafa Arabic) is a port city in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The picture on the postcard which is unposted so not dated shows the coastline from what is the modern day Tel-Aviv Promenade.

Meggen is a mining community of approx. 2900 residents in Lennestadt, Western Germany.

The Taj Mahal, the most famous picture of the postcards featured. The "Crown of Peace" is a mausoleum close to the Yamuna River, Agra, Indian. Built between 1632 -53 as a tomb by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal.

A late addition to the postcards I uploaded on the 23rd May 2020, is the following one, I missed when writing the post.

Thanks for looking, please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to my Clickasnap profile.

Let's go Dutch - Vintage Postcards from Holland

The following post features 3 postcards from Holland that are part of my collection. 2 are posted and from the 1970's with a third from the 1930's, which is unposted and shows the former building of the Netherlands Supreme Court prior to it's refurbishment in 1938.

The rear of the card is addressed to A.G Leeves, Capstone, Burwash, England and as best I can make out the message is "Greetings from Anneke and Whim Hoenew" I can't make the date out on the card.

This card is also addressed to the same people and dated 1976, I can't make out the message on this occasion.

Thanks for looking, please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to my Clickasnap Profile where I share the majority of my pictures.

Yadkin Hotel, North Carolina - Vintage Postcard

The Yadkin Hotel, Salisbury, North Carolina is a postcard I have owned for a couple of years now. I am currently sorting through a few with a mind to sell them on Ebay and this is one I am minded to let go. 

The hotel no longer operates, having opened in 1912, expanded in 1922 and closed after many years of decline in 1973. The building was left to decay, with a fire, substantial water damage and vandalism resulting in the hotel being gutted and stripped of anything valuable.

In 1980 the building was renovated overseen by architects Tenant & Tenant and received a new lease of life as an apartment building, now known as the Yadkin House Apartments, housing senior citizens and disabled adults. The picture is thought to have been taken in the 1930's.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

Clicking the image should open a link in another window to my Clickasnap profile. I have over 3000 of my pictures displayed there.

Timanfaya National Park, Lanzarote

Timanfaya National Park was a trip I took in July 2013. The visit was part of a tour of the island of Lanzarote of which it has to be said I had little enthusiasm for. They visit to Lanzarote was something that my wife and daughter planned and in the lead up to it was something I looked forward to less and less, I will admit now I was wrong, the island being one the places I have enjoyed visiting the most and look forward to one day getting the opportunity to revisit. One of the many highlights of the trip was the day we took the tour of the island which included the visit to Timanfaya. I did not know what to expect upon the visit as I was aware that the area was still home to an active volcano, but despite the disappointment of finding whilst active there was no lava flowing or bubbles to view the trip was still worth it. There were demonstrations of how close the heat was to the service and a look inside the El Diablo Restuarant, where you could see the food being cooked over an open well of heat.

Please take a moment to view and subscribe to my YouTube channel to see more videos like this.

Timanfaya National Park was established in 1974 and covers an area 19.72 square miles of the south western area of Lanzarote. The park is regulated with only selected areas open to the public and most viewable only via a coach trip. There is an area for visitors to take camel rides and a restaurant for refreshments when visiting. It was along with the rest of Lanzarote designated a UNESCO  Biosphere Reserve in 1993. This is to protect the unique flora and fauna that can be found on the park.

The Volcano whilst active is considered dormant, the last eruption being in 1824. The greatest eruptions to hit the island were through a 6 year period from 1730 until 1736 when much of the landscape around the park was created. During this period the island lost the villages of Tingfa, Mancha Blanca, Maretas, Santa Catalina, Jaretas, San Juan, Timanfaya, Rodeo and Mazo, and much of the land covered by volcanic ash was the most fertile upon the island so it was a time of great hardship. The land is considered to be of great interest to science as it's one of the newest places on earth and they are interested to see how it develops with no major human interaction.

Whilst the volcanic activity is still active, this activity happens just below ground where temperatures can reach between 100 to 600 centigrade at a depth of 13 metres. The park offers a geyser demonstration to show how hot the below surface temperature is. The following video shows the demonstration.


The pictures and video were taken using a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. They can be seen below or alternatively on Clickasnap full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The Fire Pit is used as a demonstration to show how hot the temperature is
just underneath the surface of the park.

The parks restaurant can be seen to the left of the crater.

El Diablo, created by Cesar Manrique is the symbol of
Timanfaya National Park.

The restaurant uses geothermal heat channelled through open pits like this
to cook the food served.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to follow me and share on social media.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to the un-watermarked, full resolution image on Clickasnap.

All the pictures and video remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Spen Valley Greenway. Low Moor to the M62.

The Spen Valley Greenway is a cycle-pedestrian corridor connecting Low Moor with Ravensthorpe, West Yorkshire, passing through the towns of Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Liversedge on route. The route runs for approx. 8 miles along the former routes of the Spen Valley Railway and Ravensthorpe Branch Lines. 

The Greenway was planned after Sustrans acquired the trackbed in 1998, and opened in 2000. In addition to the remaining bridges, occasional railway signposts and ornamental benches along the route, there are artworks including Sally Matthews flock of Swaledale sheep and Trudi Entwistle's Rotate. The route is traffic free and pretty flat along it's length, with a few small gentle slopes up and down. There are supermarkets along the route including a Tesco alongside the former site of Cleckheaton Station and a Morrison's a short walk from the site of what was Heckmondwike Station.

The following is a short video i put together of the pictures I took along the line, it includes images of the station sites whilst still operational.

Please take a moment to subscribe to or view my YouTube channel which features more videos like this.

Before conversion from an overgrown and abandoned former railway to a pleasant tarmacked cycle and pedestrian route, the greenway had a life as a railway known as the Mirfield and Low Moor Railway. The original double track line opening was in 2 stages, from Low Moor to Mirfield on the 18th July 1848, and the Ravensthorpe Branch connecting Thornhill with Heckmondwike on the 1st June 1849. At it's height the line had 8 stations along it's route which included Low Moor, Cleckheaton Central, Liversedge Central, Heckmondwike Central after which the line split with stops at Northorpe North Road and Mirfield along the Mirfield route, and Ravensthorpe Lower and Thornhill along the Ravensthorpe Branch Line. The line remained in use until passenger services were withdrawn in July 1965 and goods traffic ended in the late 1980's.

There are currently small campaigns trying to get the line reopened, as much of the trackbed remains clear and unbuilt upon this seems an easy but perhaps expensive plan. There is currently a population of over 50000 along the Spen Valley Route with limited access to rail without commuting. There are competing plans featuring heavy rail and light rail proposals.

The following pictures are taken on the route from Low Moor to the M62 Motorway Bridge at Chain Bar. They were taken on the 30th December 2019 with a Nikon d3300.

Thanks for looking, please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

Clicking any image should open a link in another window to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap.

All the images remain the copyright of Colin Green.

The Halifax High Level Railway

I previously did a post on the Halifax High Level Railway  on the 2nd January 2017 featuring a set of pictures I had taken whilst walking the remains of the route in February 2014. I had planned to re walk the route in the early part of this year but recent events with regards to the Covid 19 outbreak have ended those thoughts for now. The reason I had planned to walk the route is that in recent years I have acquired a number of pictures of the route from the days of operation or just after closure and I thought a combination of before and after pictures would be of interest. I recently put together a short video for YouTube of what is like a virtual walk along the line from the terminus at St Pauls Station, King Cross to Shay Lane, Holmfield where the line met the Queensbury line. It is put together featuring old pictures of the line and the set I took in 2014 in a order from the 2 places named above.

Click here to subscribe and view my YouTube channel for more videos like this

The Halifax High Level Railway was first planned in 1884 where it was envisaged the line would run from the Queensbury Line at Holmfield and provide a new through route to Huddersfield and beyond. This never got beyond the planning stage so only a short 3mile long branch was constructed as far as the St Paul's area of King Cross which opened to Pellon Station on the 1st August 1890 and through to St Paul's on the 5th September 1890.

The line although busy for goods was never overly popular with passengers, the short 1.3 mile journey to Halifax Old Station taking over 30 minutes including a change at Holmfield, and by the time trams had reached the Pellon and King Cross areas of Halifax by the turn of the century passengers numbers had dwindled.

The line had originally planned for a passenger station at Wheatley between the tunnel and viaduct but this was never realised only a small goods yard for Webster's brewery at the opposite end of the viaduct. Passenger services were withdrawn on the 1st of January 1917 and whilst reintroduced after the war they were only to last in limited numbers until until 1927 with only occasional excursion trains after this date, the last passenger train to use the line departed St Pauls on Friday 6th February 1963.

The line was still popular with freight traffic and this continued until the 25th June 1960 when all services were withdrawn and the line closed. The station buildings were demolished and the tracks lifted in the early 1960's and their ended the short life of the Halifax High Level Railway.

The fantastic 10 arch and 100ft high Wheatley Viaduct still remains and the tunnel entrance on the west side still stands although the eastern portal was infilled and covered by a housing estate in the early part of this century, I feel this was an opportunity missed as the tunnel and viaduct would have made an excellent bridleway connecting King Cross, Pellon, Wheatley, Holmfield and beyond. It could have also provided a link with the plans for a cycleway through the Queensbury Tunnel if these are successful. The site of St Pauls Station, Pellon Station and Holmfield Junction have now been developed in to industrial units or in the case of St Paul's a now closed and dilapidated car showroom and garage. A large number of the bridges at Hopwood Lane, Gibbet Street, Hanson Lane, Battinson Road and Keighley Road still remain but are now filled in. The Pellon Lane, Brackenbed Road, Wood Lane bridges are still complete across there roads as well as bridges across footpaths at Field Side and Church Lane. Once beyond Wheatley Tunnel and Viaduct, the tunnel airshaft can still be seen on cousin lane and the bridge abutment or at least half of it can be seen on Shay Lane.

The pictures below are a small selection of the ones I took walking the remains, the full set can be seen on Clickasnap or my original High Level Railway post by clicking here. 

Field Side Tunnel Path

Brackenbed Lane Bridge

Wheatley Viaduct

Wheatley Tunnel Entrance

Inside Wheatley Tunnel. I never entered the tunnel this was taken from the doorway.

Wheatley Tunnel Air Shaft.

Remains of Shay Lane Bridge.

Over 20 pictures from the Halifax High Level Railway taken in February 2014 using a Polaroid is2132 bridge camera can be seen on my Clickasnap account.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share and follow me on social media.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.