Post by Dave on Jun 15, 2010 16:28:48 GMT
The title of this thread was not the title I had in my head at 7.45am this morning as I got back into my van after doing a completely unplanned photo shoot, I had Carols camera with me as I had planned much later in the morning to get some photos of the Bickleigh football ground for Nick(Barton Downs) It was simply going to be a where is it thread, that was until 30 minutes later when I found myself doing a second photo shoot at another site that must be I’m sure connected to the first site. At the second site I was soon talking with a man and learned some very interesting news (You all know I will always find someone to talk to) I’m still not going to tell where these two places are so you will have to work it out.
Back to the first site and this real gem very small building must have been standing there for a hundred years or more and I expect I have driven past it hundreds of times and never knew it was there. That was until three months ago when I suddenly spotted it, one and a half seconds later I was past it and even now I know where it is, I have still missed it even when I have kept my eyes open as I got near to where it is.
I just love old historical buildings and it matters not if it’s some National Trust stately home or a very old factory that closed down years ago. As you know Carol and I visit many grand properties owned by the National Trust and we always make sure we read every single leaflet we find in the rooms as we like to find out all we can about the history of the house.
I have a wonderful imagination and I will close my eyes in the grand dining room and see pictures of the lords and ladies enjoying their meal, I close my eyes in the smoking room and can see all the men puffing away and having a good old laugh together. In the kitchens I see the cooks and can feel the heat and the sweat dripping off them.
Put me in the middle of a ruined castle and this time when I close my eyes the castle comes alive with all the people who live and work in the castle going abut their daily life, If I’m lucky I often hear the squeal of a pig being carried under the arm of the man walking past me as he takes it to be killed so it can be cooked on the giant spit later that day.
When I get near the outside wall I can see Cromwell’s men advancing and soon I hear and smell the raging battle, I look to my left and watch as a knight drops to the floor with an arrow through his heart.
Being able to have and use my imagination really enhances the whole experience for me and makes me feel I somehow went back in time and if there is one thing I wish could ever be made it would be a time machine. All these places have stories to tell and it does fascinate me that here I am in the year 2010 standing somewhere and long lost past generations have stood and lived out their lives in the very same spots I find myself standing in.
I would expect the first site could tell of stories of very heartbreaking and emotional partings, it might even know a story where a very young wife kissed for the very last time ever her husband as he left to set off too fight for his country and never returned. I’m also sure it has many happy stories to tell as well such as scenes were people hugged and cuddled each other as they were reunited once again, or the family member arriving from up country to spend a few weeks holiday at the families home.
Yes this site was once the village railway station and is sited just on the edge of the village, the track has long since been taken up and it would have only been a single track line and I’m not sure how far along the line this station would have been.
I jumped up onto the platform and closed my eyes, now there were four other adults standing close to me and guess what I was the tallest, now that really does require a very good imagination. There was also a boy aged about seven with a cloth cap on his head wearing baggy long shorts that came down just past his knees. He was holding what must have been his younger sisters hand, a sweet pretty young girl with her hair tied back wearing a long dress that ended just above her ankles.
I heard the train whistle and soon heard and smelt the steam coming out of the engine as it pulled up at the platform. What a magic five minutes and so enjoyable and even better as it cost nothing other than a small amount of my time. Back in the van and now and I remember another old station I have noticed before so why not go and check that one out as well and add it onto this post.
The second station was at some point converted into a pub and it’s about a mile I suppose from the town it once served. As the town is built on a very high hill, I expect it was almost imposable to route the track up to the town and so was laid along the valley that runs at the bottom of the hill the town was built on.
As you get to the very end of the town the road goes down a very steep hill and at the bottom is a very sharp left hand bend that is the bridge that goes over the old railway line. Sadly I have seem more than once flowers laid at this bend as a number of drivers have lost their lives and I expect mostly down to speed.
Just as you get over the bridge the road swings to the right again but at this point there is a turning into the car park of the old station. I drove in and parked and could see a few old good wagons on the platform side of the building. I went to take a look and then discovered the tunnel under the bridge I had just driven over.
After taking a few photos I went to take a picture of the front of the building and I saw what must be the landlord and his wife watering some flowers in the garden. I went over and asked if it was possible to walk the old line and he told me it was both a walkway and a cycle path. He went on to say the walk the other way was the better of the two walks.
My next question to him was do you do meals at the pub? He said yes in between building a railway, it seems he and a few other enthusiasts are building a line there and plan to run stream trains on it. Time to get back and do some work and I wished I had the time to talk with him a little longer, I would have liked to have asked how long the track was going to be and when he expected the firsts train would run on it.
So Barton or anyone what is the name of the two stations? While you are working that out I’ll start writing the Bickleigh thread.
The first station
The second station
Back to the first site and this real gem very small building must have been standing there for a hundred years or more and I expect I have driven past it hundreds of times and never knew it was there. That was until three months ago when I suddenly spotted it, one and a half seconds later I was past it and even now I know where it is, I have still missed it even when I have kept my eyes open as I got near to where it is.
I just love old historical buildings and it matters not if it’s some National Trust stately home or a very old factory that closed down years ago. As you know Carol and I visit many grand properties owned by the National Trust and we always make sure we read every single leaflet we find in the rooms as we like to find out all we can about the history of the house.
I have a wonderful imagination and I will close my eyes in the grand dining room and see pictures of the lords and ladies enjoying their meal, I close my eyes in the smoking room and can see all the men puffing away and having a good old laugh together. In the kitchens I see the cooks and can feel the heat and the sweat dripping off them.
Put me in the middle of a ruined castle and this time when I close my eyes the castle comes alive with all the people who live and work in the castle going abut their daily life, If I’m lucky I often hear the squeal of a pig being carried under the arm of the man walking past me as he takes it to be killed so it can be cooked on the giant spit later that day.
When I get near the outside wall I can see Cromwell’s men advancing and soon I hear and smell the raging battle, I look to my left and watch as a knight drops to the floor with an arrow through his heart.
Being able to have and use my imagination really enhances the whole experience for me and makes me feel I somehow went back in time and if there is one thing I wish could ever be made it would be a time machine. All these places have stories to tell and it does fascinate me that here I am in the year 2010 standing somewhere and long lost past generations have stood and lived out their lives in the very same spots I find myself standing in.
I would expect the first site could tell of stories of very heartbreaking and emotional partings, it might even know a story where a very young wife kissed for the very last time ever her husband as he left to set off too fight for his country and never returned. I’m also sure it has many happy stories to tell as well such as scenes were people hugged and cuddled each other as they were reunited once again, or the family member arriving from up country to spend a few weeks holiday at the families home.
Yes this site was once the village railway station and is sited just on the edge of the village, the track has long since been taken up and it would have only been a single track line and I’m not sure how far along the line this station would have been.
I jumped up onto the platform and closed my eyes, now there were four other adults standing close to me and guess what I was the tallest, now that really does require a very good imagination. There was also a boy aged about seven with a cloth cap on his head wearing baggy long shorts that came down just past his knees. He was holding what must have been his younger sisters hand, a sweet pretty young girl with her hair tied back wearing a long dress that ended just above her ankles.
I heard the train whistle and soon heard and smelt the steam coming out of the engine as it pulled up at the platform. What a magic five minutes and so enjoyable and even better as it cost nothing other than a small amount of my time. Back in the van and now and I remember another old station I have noticed before so why not go and check that one out as well and add it onto this post.
The second station was at some point converted into a pub and it’s about a mile I suppose from the town it once served. As the town is built on a very high hill, I expect it was almost imposable to route the track up to the town and so was laid along the valley that runs at the bottom of the hill the town was built on.
As you get to the very end of the town the road goes down a very steep hill and at the bottom is a very sharp left hand bend that is the bridge that goes over the old railway line. Sadly I have seem more than once flowers laid at this bend as a number of drivers have lost their lives and I expect mostly down to speed.
Just as you get over the bridge the road swings to the right again but at this point there is a turning into the car park of the old station. I drove in and parked and could see a few old good wagons on the platform side of the building. I went to take a look and then discovered the tunnel under the bridge I had just driven over.
After taking a few photos I went to take a picture of the front of the building and I saw what must be the landlord and his wife watering some flowers in the garden. I went over and asked if it was possible to walk the old line and he told me it was both a walkway and a cycle path. He went on to say the walk the other way was the better of the two walks.
My next question to him was do you do meals at the pub? He said yes in between building a railway, it seems he and a few other enthusiasts are building a line there and plan to run stream trains on it. Time to get back and do some work and I wished I had the time to talk with him a little longer, I would have liked to have asked how long the track was going to be and when he expected the firsts train would run on it.
So Barton or anyone what is the name of the two stations? While you are working that out I’ll start writing the Bickleigh thread.
The first station
The second station
I lined a game at Torrington in the Western League once when Ian Botham was playing for Yeovil Town reserves...................not only that, but Viv Richards was there watching him.
