Sunday Variety

Whoops! Bludner!

Of course, it was the EAST Hill Lift that featured in yesterday's blog. fbb struggles with his "east" and "west" but can still manage "right" and "left" - just!

Another Poster - St Abbs

The building on the cliff is St Abbs lighthouse, very distinctive.

A walled path leads down the clifftop ...

... and there's a little foghorn hut beyond.

For those who, like fbb, are a little fuzzy on their knowledge of where St Abbs is .,..

... it lies off the A1107 (at Coldingham, map above bottom left) which in turn is a loop off the A1 north of Berwick.

If you wanted to get to St Abbs by train, there were once two options, both involving significant onward road journeys. There was a branch to Eyemouth ...

... or you could use Reston station on the main line. Eyemouth station is long gone (closed 1964) but the properties on Victoria Road give identity to its location.

Reston station was swept away as the East Coast mainline was improved and electrified ...

... but Scotrail has announced a new "rail-head" station.

Getting to St Abbs today is straightforward if you can make it to Berwick. 

There are six return trips Monday to Saturday operated by Borders Buses.

The Berwick area has seem some bus turmoil over the years.

The town of Berwick has changed hands between England and Scotland many times during its colourful history.   Its bus history is equally varied.   In the golden days of bus operation, United Automobile and Eastern Scottish jointly operated the town services.   Their successors, Northumbria and Lowland, continued to work in harmony until the early 1990's when competition broke out.  Eventually Lowland (First) withdrew leaving Arriva Northumbria.   Although it appeared they had won the battle, they had in fact lost the war as they decided to give up the town service in October 2002.  Local Scottish operator Perryman has now assumed control of the routes and six of Arriva's Metroriders.   The final skirmish?

Apparently not!

Underground Preservation

As well as the former IoW train preserved at Havenstreet, a second two car unit has found a home on the Island. Here it is at Holliers Farm undergoing a full external repaint.

Heres what the farm's management says:-

We are very excited about the progress of the retired 1938 island train we have saved and restoring back to her former glory as an important part of island history. This will join our very popular yellow bus stop cafe and offer a unique dining experience with sitting on the train and soaking up the atmosphere of days gone by with a very informative museum to pay homage to the great service these beautiful trains provided.

Holliers Farm lies between Sandown and Newport.

A Puzzle Picture

It's quicker by tram? And by tram to the beach?

But where?

Answer tomorrow.

Pretty Picture Department

Sunrise over Portsmouth! Bootiful!

Tomorrow we go back north.

And a Truly AWFUL Advert

to keep you awake at night!

You can go off the "green" agenda!

Currently, most Hydrogen is most definitely NOT "green".

As someone once said ...

... blah, blah, blah.

Please go back to red!

 Next Halifax blog : Monday 8th November