Flying Scotsman

I had a favourite place to go when a steam train is coming up the East Coast main line. It's a bit of a drive, but you can get alongside the track (behind the fence, of course) and get a really good view. In addition, it's just north of where the engine takes on water and the track is going uphill, so you can get a good shot of the engine working hard to accelerate away.

I missed Flying Scotsman a couple of weeks ago so as it was going up to York today I decided I would make the drive this morning up to my favourite spot to get some shots. But I got a nasty shock on arrival; the long track next to the line has been closed off and padlocked so there was no access to it! So I had to make do with the best I could from the level crossing; this is the best of a bad bunch, heavily cropped to get rid of pylons, fences and elbows, but still with the back of a sign blocking the view. I won't be going there again.

Back home, and it was the church fete this afternoon. I didn't go, but I've added an extra of one of many teddy bears parachuting from the church tower, taken from my garden. Judging by the speed of descent, I think they needed bigger parachutes.