Flying Scotsman

For rail buffs today was a day of nostalgia as the celebrated Flying Scotsman took to the rail tracks of the South on a circular tour through much of Hampshire and Dorset.
I found a spot close to the water meadows at a nature reserve at Redbridge where the River Test flows into Southampton Water which gave an uninterrupted view of the iconic locomotive, its Pullman coaches from an age gone by, which returned to the rail tracks last year after a £4 million refit.  The railway at this point runs alongside the river and water meadows.
The train’s route from Salisbury coastwards through Romsey and on to Southampton before heading inland towards the railway town of Eastleigh, and back to Romsey on a different line before returning to Salisbury, and then heading for London..
As a weekday not as many train spotters appeared to be out today as there were when the famous train made an inaugural journey over the same route a year ago. Nevertheless, it is just as well I went early to my chosen spot, or parking nearby could have been difficult.  By contrast, last year I waited in pouring rain  at a footpath crossing the line waiting for the train.   Today the wait by the River Test was ideal in the mid morning sunshine. Even the swans below on the water with their cygnets appeared to be appreciating the sun on the last day of May.
The train is due to make another appearance on much the same route through Hampshire on Saturday evening.