Burnley Barracks Railway Station

 Burnley Barracks is a railway station on the East Lancashire Line. It is a request stop and offers a card only ticket machine and basic shelter as its only facilities. It has step free access but no car parking facilities other than on street parking. The station being only a request stop, 1 of 4 on the East Lancashire line is not a busy station although in the last full year of passenger figures 2020/21 attracted 9316, the previous 4 years averaging 21561 per annum, a drop in numbers of 12245.

The station became a request stop on the 14th May 2012, this means you have to inform the ticket inspector you would like to get off the train, or give a clear signal to the driver you would like to board. On the day I visited this was the busiest station of the 8 on the East Lancashire I visited with 3 passengers boarding and 2 alighting the train. The stations close location to both Rose Grove a few hundred metres east, and Burnley Central a few hundred metres west has Barracks earmarked for closure should the lines connection with Skipton and upgrade of the line come to fruition.

Colne bound training just leaving. It would 45 minutes before another train passed through the station.
There is 1 train in each direction approx. every hour.

Burnley Barracks opened on the 18th September 1848, it was the temporary terminus of the line yet to be completed to Colne and known as Burnley Westgate. In February 1849 the station was closed as the line was completed and there it's story was supposed to end, however development of the local area in to housing, industry and an army barracks led to Burnley Westgate reopening in September 1851, taking its name from the nearby cavalry barracks. The station opened as a 2 platform stop connected by a footbridge that dealt on the whole with just passengers, the nearby stations Rose Grove and Bank Top (Burnley Central) handling the goods traffic. The former eastbound platform remains although this is now largely overgrown and not visible, this was taken out of use when the line was singled beyond Rose Grove Station in 1986.

The army barracks closed in December 1898, and slum clearances of the local area in the 1960's and 70's led to declining passenger numbers, the construction of the nearby M65 motorway contributing to this too. The station has seen a steady rise of passenger use in recent years with new housing developments and peoples reluctance to use the car increasing.

There are a total of 5 pictures I took around the station, they can be seen here or on Clickasnap where they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked. Copies can be purchased there too if required.

The entrance sign to the station

The station looking west from the end of the platform. Despite Junction Street Bridge (Foreground)
and Padiham Road Bridge (Background) passing over the station, the 2 platforms were connected
by a wooden passenger bridge sighted between the 2. I assume this was removed when the line
was singled in the 1980's, but it may have been earlier as there is evidence on another site entrance
just off Junction Street Bridge.

The station looking eastward (towards Colne) from the end of the platform. The stations only
facilities are the shelter seen before the bridge and a ticket machine to my right
just out of shot.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share. All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Sunrise at Baitings Dam (Single Shot)

Baitings Dam has featured in our local newspapers quite regularly during the recent hot weather, due to how low the water level has dropped. Reading some of them online, they have claimed that the bridge which can be seen in the foreground of the picture has been unveiled for the first time in over 50 years. This is incorrect, whilst it used to be perhaps a once in a decade event the water level dropping so low that the bridge appears, it is now every couple of years. I took a set around the bridge in September 2019 with the level similarly low in the dam, and I believe it has happened again since then.

Baitings Dam is a place I regularly walk my dogs and it was whilst out walking them a couple of days ago I thought i'd try and get up there early and picture the dam and bridges as the sun was rising. The following picture is the first of the set, the others to follow in a few days. The picture can also be seen on my Clickasnap account full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The picture was taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on the 19th August 2022.

The bridge in the foreground is the original packhorse bridge that crossed the River Ryburn before Baitings Dam was completed in 1956. Its replacement bridge Back O'th Heights seen behind, the water level at it's highest a couple of feet below it. The sun is rising in the distance with the dam head wall just visible beyond the higher bridge.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share. Copies can also be purchased from Clickasnap in addition to viewed full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The picture remains the copyright of Colin Green.

Jameos del Agua, Lanzarote.

 Jameos del Agua is a set of pictures I took in July 2013. This trip to Lanzarote was the first time i'd ever taken any sort of interest in photography as a hobby and that was due to having a Samsung Galaxy Tablet. At the time i thought the picture quality was fantastic, it's only by recently going through them and finding that out of over 30 pictures taken barely 10 are usable to show the area around Jameos del Agua.

The lobster sign at the entrance.

The Jameos del Agua attraction is a set of caves formed in the lava rock around the area. You can see a subterranean salt water lake which is home to a species of squat lobster, which are small, white and blind and can only be found at Jameos del Agua. It also features a restuarant, gardens, museum, auditorium and swimming pool. It is said that only the King of Spain is allowed to swim in the pool.

The attraction first opened to the public in 1966 and was the inspiration of Cesar Manrique, fully opening in 1977 including the auditorium which was closed for several years to the public.

These pictures were taken on the 30th July 2013 using a Samsung Galaxy Tablet, they can also be seen on my Clickasnap profile where they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The swimming pool area, the guide I was with claimed that only the King
of Spain is allowed to swim here.

The stairs up from the saltwater cave to the swimming pool
and bar area.

The auditorium, the guide claimed gives one of the best sounds around.

The saltwater cave that is home to the squat lobster.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share and follow me on social media. You can also view and buy copies from my Clickasnap account.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Operation Starfish, Dummy Aerodrome at Sowerby, West Yorkshire 16 August 2022

 I previously visited the remains of the Operation Starfish Site on the 15th June 2015 and posted about that visit in an earlier post. Whilst passing on the 16th August 2022 and now in possession of a much better camera I decided to visit the scene again. I knew nothing much would have changed and apart from a bit more rubbish being left, and a bit of damage to the brick work outside nothing really has changed.

The pictures below were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR and can also be seen full size, resolution and un-watermarked on my Clickasnap account. The text below the pictures is taken from my post dated 3rd February 2018 featuring the images taken in 2015.

The blast door pictured in front of the bunkers main entrance

Inside the bunker on the left hand side of the entrance is this former control
room. Now filling up with rubbish that has been left behind.

Looking north over the bunker. In the foreground can be seen some
brickworks, probably housed washrooms and generators. Their isn't much
evidence of the site ever being linked to mains electric.

The former control room to the right hand side of the entrance.

Looking west away from the bunkers entrance, taken from the roof I
assume the site in front of me would have housed the metal pans
that created the dummy lighting effect.

The following text is taken from my previous post on the Operation Starfish plans.

Operation Starfish was a large scale 2nd World War decoy plan to fool German bombers in to dropping their payloads in the wrong areas. The plan was developed by Colonel John Turner after the near destruction of Coventry in November 1940. The sites were developed in the countryside approx. 4 miles from what were considered targets for the German bombers. The surrounding fields usually had a metal trough through the undergrowth which would be filled with a mixture of creosote, coal, diesel oil and set alight when bombers were in the area, after a short time of usually 15mins water would be added to create an explosion and a burst of flame fooling the overhead bombers in to thinking that it was the target after the initial bombs had dropped.

The site at Sowerby was developed as a decoy for the cities of Manchester and Leeds as well as the railway goods yards at, Greetland, Halifax, Todmorden, Littleborough and Rochdale. The site had a 2 room bunker which is still standing, which was entered through a short passage behind a blast wall.

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

Jumble Hole, Between Todmorden and Hebden Bridge

 Jumble Hole is a wooded Valley that runs down from Blackshaw Head towards Eastwood between Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. Jumble Hole Clough is the water that runs down it flowing towards the River Calder, although historically this was known as Blackshaw Clough.

The water was used to power a number of mills along its path and a few dwellings were also scattered alongside the stream. Water from Jumble Hole was also used in baptisms by the nearby Nazebottom Baptist Church. This waterway is the traditional boundary between Yorkshire and Lancashire.

I was walking along this stretch of Woodland on the 4th May 2022 and whilst passing a bridge over the clough I discovered and abandoned dwelling that I had to picture. I also did a couple of artworks based around the fireplace that still remains. They can be seen below or on my Clickasnap profile where they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked. They were taken using a Nikon d3300SLR camera.

Inside the abandoned dwelling I found. This artwork is based on
a photo that can be seen below.

Jumble Hole Clough.

Jumble Hole Clough, the abandoned dwelling is just to the right
of the picture.

Another artwork of the inside of the abandoned dwelling.

The abandoned dwelling, it was the top of the fireplace, just visible
that made me go and take a look around.

Jumble Hole Clough weir.

The photo of the fireplace my artworks are based on.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share. All the images can also be seen on Clickasnap.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Statue of Edward Akroyd

 The statue of Edward Akroyd was a set of pictures I took using a Samsung Galaxy Tablet on the 15th February 2014. There are a total of 6 pictures which can be seen below or on Clickasnap where they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

Edward Akroyd was an textile manufacturer born in Ovenden, a district of Halifax in 1810. He inherited his fathers business in 1847, and concerned about the terrible social conditions of Victorian Halifax built up model villages around his mills at Boothtown (Akroyden) and Copley. These were built for the workers he employed with the intention of showing how housing conditions could be improved. These villages still stand today as a reminder of his intent. Other social improvements he was responsible for included, the first working mens college outside London, a local allotment society, a school for child labourers, workers pension scheme, and he contributed to a number of Anglican churches being built around the Halifax area including All Souls Church which his statue stands outside of.

He helped found the the Yorkshire Penny Bank, and Halifax Building Society, bring the railway to Halifax, became Lieutenant Colonel of the 4th Yorkshire West Riding Rifle Volunteers in 1861 and served as member of Parliament for Huddersfield (1857-59), and Halifax (1865, 1868-74). Due to failing health, Edward Akroyd left Halifax to live in St Leonards-on-sea and died there in 1887. His funeral held at All Saints Church was attended by over 15000 mourners.

The statue of Edward Akroyd was unveiled on the 29th July 1876 at nearby North Bridge before a crowd of 10000. It has a 9ft bronze statue set atop a 10ft high plinth. Bronze Panels sit on each side of the plinth to commemorate events from Colonel Akroyd's life. It cost £2000 and was sculptured by Ceccardo Egidio Fucigna and John Birnie Philip. It was moved to its current location on the 28th October 1901 so that North Bridge could be developed for trams. Grade II listed status was given to the statue on the 3rd November 1954.

The pictures below feature on the plinth and commemorate a scene from the life of Edward Akroyd.

This panel which can be seen on the plinth is to commemorate the
statue being completed by the townspeople of Halifax.

Colonel Akroyd is represented on horseback giving orders out to the 4th
West Yorkshire Rifle Volunteers, at his feet are Major Ingram, Major Holdsworth
and Captain Holroyde. Men from the regiment are visible behind
his horse.

This panel shows the laying of the corner stone at the nearby All
Souls Church on 25th April 1856. Some of the other men shown in the picture are
Mayor Joshua Appleyard, Bishop Longley of Ripon, Reverend Canon
Fawcett, Archdeacon Musgrave, Richard Carter Mayor of Barnsley and
Gilbert Scott architect of All Souls Church.

The picture on this panel shows the cutting of the first sod of the
Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Railway of which Edward Akroyd was
chairman. The picture is to show a scene from 1846 when the railway was
known as the West Riding Union Railway. In addition to Colonel Akroyd
some of the other men featured in the picture are Jonathan Akroyd, Lord Morpeth,
Charles Wood (Lord Halifax), Colonel Joshua pollard and the lines engineer
Sir John Hawkshaw.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share and follow me on social media. All the pictures can also be seen and purchased on Clickasnap full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

All the images remain the copyright of Colin Green.

The British Museum, May 2019

The British Museum is dedicated to human history art and culture and sighted in the Bloomsbury area of London, United Kingdom. It was the first public museum in the world opening in 1759 after being established in 1753 based on the collection of Sir Hans Sloane. It owns a number of objects from all civilisations around the world, sometimes in controversial circumstances.

The 17 pictures below were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on the 25th May 2019. They can also be seen on my Clickasnap profile where they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

Outside the British Museum

The Great Court

The Lion Hunt Reliefs

The Mechanical Galleon

The Neried Monument

Vase from the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis by Sophilos

Aphrodite crouching at her bath

Caryatid from the Erechtheion in Athens

Egyptian Papyriform Column

Figure of Avalokiteśvara

Head & Upper Torso Statue of Amenhotep III Wearing Nemes

Lion of Minrud

Perikles Statue

Terracotta Statue, perhaps Demeter and Persephone

The Ashurnasirpal II Slab

All the pictures can also be seen and purchased from Clickasnap where they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

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.