A Blipmeet at Ribblehead viaduct

We were only a few minutes in setting off for the drive to Scotland this morning and the weather was reasonable. The traffic on the M5 south of Birmingham seemed reasonably clear but that didn’t last. I was amazed at how many traffic jams we encountered sometimes for no apparent reason and remembered why I used to always prefer to drive through the night. I was worried that we might be late for our rendezvous as I had arranged to meet fellow blipper Jue, and her husband Ian, at the wonderful Ribblehead Viaduct high in the Yorkshire Dales, a place I had never seen before.

We did get there eventually but I had to put my foot to the floor rather more than my passengers, Woodpeckers and TMLHereAndThere, would have preferred. Jue and Ian were waiting at a suitable viewing point as arranged and after we quickly said hello, we nipped off to the local pub for a swift half and to use the loos! The few minutes in the Station Arms were fascinating, as I hadn't imagined such a fun scene in a local up in that remote Dales location.

The weather had sadly deteriorated and was very squally. I left Helena and Tanya in the pub to return to set up my camera because I didn't want to miss the subject of our blip meet, the wonderful Duchess of Sutherland - 46233, which was heading southbound over the Ribblehead Viaduct towards Hellifield. I tried using my tripod as I was worried that the dark conditions would be tricky and we talked about cameras and lenses. In the end I decided to go hand held and reluctantly upped the ISO as the train suddenly came into view in the far distance, heading round a bend in the dales before crossing the viaduct.

I have added a wide shot of the whole scene to my Blipfolio (see below),, but preferred to offer you a closer view of the engine just after it had crossed the bridge. As the train arrived so did a shower of rain which unfortunately created a grey haze in the scene. But I am glad we made the effort and that we could meet up with Jue and Ian even if it was so brief. After the train passed Ribblehead and its small station they left to head towards Hellifield near where they live so they could catch the same engine again when it filled up with water. Jue has quite sensibly chosen to blip a lovely and quite different view from there. I hope that we might meet again one day when they head south to visit their daughter who lives quite near to us.

This all happened at teatime and we then headed off back to the motorway to complete the rest of our journey to near Oban in Argyll; we hadn't even got halfway at this point. In fact the journey was easy until we passed Stirling, when the rather horrendous weather that has afflicted the west of Scotland for some time hit us hard with lots of rain and very strong winds. We reached Helena's mum's house right on the north shore of Loch Etive at a out 10-30pm and I gladly accepted a few drams of delicious whisky and a bite to eat.

We are here for a week so I hope the weather improves for blipping the beautiful landscape around here. I always hope that I can see an otter out of the bedroom window which overlooks the beach here, as I once managed some years ago.


46233 Duchess of Sutherland crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire Dales
..... on my Blipfolio. While you are there, check out the Blipfolio gallery called Argyll holiday -2012, which has some lovely sunny shots of this beautiful place in Scotland.