Images of Lancashire

Chipping

2006-10-18T07:01:00.000+01:00

I made another visit to Chipping yesterday. Chipping is a little village in the heart of Lancashire. There's not a lot there, to be honest, but it's pretty and nice to look at.

This is HJ Berry at Kirk Mills, which is a family-run business that has been producing wooden dining furniture for over 150 years.

Over the hill, there's a lake with ducks in. Very hungry ducks. Take-the-bread-out-of-your-hand sort of ducks, really.

And a pheasant:

This is part of the view of Windy Street and Club Lane from outside the church:

The street that leads into Chipping, including a very narrow section of roadway. It's funny seeing the buses just about getting through there!

On another note, I've been into the pub on the right - The Sun Inn. Not a bad place for a pint.

A look down Talbot Street:

Chipping's one and only post office:

And that's it - a view of Chipping. If you're still interested, there are a few more photos over on Flickr if you follow the links to the set. For now though - goodbye!

Garstang

2006-10-13T18:58:00.000+01:00

Took a trip up to Garstang today, which is a town in the borough of Wyre. It has a population of around 5,000 and has the distinction of being the world's first Fairtrade town, although when I tried to find the sign saying as much it was nowhere to be seen!

Anyway, here's some of the pictures I took on my visit there. It was a lovely bright mid-October day - so nice, in fact, that you could walk around with a T-shirt on!

This is one of the many banners that are festooned on Garstang's High Street:

A view of the High Street in Garstang:

A view of the Cenotaph in Garstang:

Two more shots of the High Street:

A close-up shot of the Cenotaph:

Another shot of Garstang's High Street. That building on the left is the pub:

A few shots of Park Hill Road here. A sign:

The roundabout:

The Methodist Church:

This is The Wheatsheaf on the Park Hill Road:

And a close-up shot of same:

The town hall clock in Garstang:

The Eagle and Child pub on the high-street pub. Garstang does have quite a few pubs!

The Union Flag, the flag of this United Kingdom, on Market Place:

Here's a cheese stall, in the market itself. Feast your eyes on this selection of cheeses. This stall has over 100 different types of cheese. Very nice, but perhaps not when you're on a diet!

Another pub, this time the Kings Arms:

Another look down the main high street:

This is nearer the top end of the High Street. There's a lot less here, to be honest, apart from the Co-Op (see below!):

And finally, the Co-Op:

And that's all. I could do with some help with rearranging the columns, as Flickr will only let me post the images at 500x375 or 1024x768 and nothing in between. So, if anyone could make the format look a little less crude, I'd be grateful.

There are more pictures on Flickr - this is only a selectkion.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of a Lancashire town. For now, though: goodbye!

New Flickr account

2006-10-10T21:44:00.000+01:00

Sorry I haven't updated the photoblog in a few weeks but it's starting to get a bit chilly and bleak up here, which means a slight dearth of photo opportunities in Lancashire.

Anyway, the good news is that I now have a fully paid-up Flickr account, which means that from now on if you see a picture you like here on Images of Lancashire you can simply click on the image and get the full-resolution version for free! How cool is that?

My new Flickr site can be found here.

Hurst Green

2006-09-22T19:40:00.000+01:00

I said on Wednesday's Stonyhurst College entry that I would be making another trip up to Hurst Green. And that's what I did today.

There's not a great deal in the village itself - a few hundred people live here, and there's a corner shop and a few pubs but that's about it. To get your shopping or to go to a library you have to go to either Longridge or Clitheroe.

It was a bleak Friday afternoon in Lancashire and by the time we finished it was starting to rain but I suppose beggars can't be choosers.

Anyway, on with the pictures!

This is on Avenue Road, the road onto Stonyhurst College in Hurst Green:

This is the outdoor garden of the Bayley Arms pub:

The bottom end of the Avenue Road. In the distance you can see the Shireburn Arms on the right of the picture:

Hurst Green's village club:

The sign in Hurst Green. I've been to all four of these places, so perhaps I might advise? Whalley's a nice town, but there's not a great deal there. Whalley Abbey is worth a look but not for more than about thirty minutes or so. I do like Clitheroe, more so than Garstang. If I couldn't live in Longridge, I'd probably live there instead. Longridge? Well, I live there, so what more need be said? Preston's alright if you want some shopping, I suppose, but I can't say it's my favourite place.

Hurst Green's one and only village store:

The Eagle and Child on Whalley Road going out towards Clitheroe. It's a nice place to have a meal and the food isn't bad, either:

And finally, the cenotaph, remembering the village's World War I dead:

And that's another entry of Images of Lancashire finished. I hope you enjoyed the trip. Goodbye!

Longridge

2006-09-21T17:08:00.000+01:00

Longridge is the town where I live. I believe that it's only fair that my hometown should finally get its own entry and a proper entry at that!

Longridge is a small town in the borough of Ribble Valley on a ridge above the River Ribble. It's a few miles north-east of Preston and has a population of around 8,000. The town got its name from Oliver Cromwell who, when on his way across the fells from Stonyhurst to Preston remarked, "What a long ridge this is".

It's a nice place in which to live and I love living here. The people are friendly and will often give you time of day unlike in many larger cities. Longridge is close enough to Preston yet near the lush countryside of the Ribble Valley to explore as you wish.

Anyway, enough of me wibbling on about how I love my town when you haven't even seen it. It was a lovely Thursday morning on which to take pictures so I'll shut up and let you see them!

This is one of the main roads running into Longridge at Stonebridge. You can see the small Thorougoods corner shop just across the road:

The Stonebridge roundabout. If you look closely at the top-centre of the first picture you might be able to make out a CCTV camera. Those were only put up earlier this year. The second picture shows some of Kestor Lane:

Part of Derby Road for your edification. There's the Corner Bakery a bit further on. Many a time I'd go down there of a Wednesday morning and pick up some meat and potato pies (a very traditional Lancashire dish!).

The Longridge branch of the Lancashire Constabulary:

This is the Roman Catholic St. Wilfrid's church:

And the St. Wilfrid's membership club of the same name. I've only ever been in there once or twice. Behind the membership club is a small hospital where people go to recuperate. It's lovely inside there and whenever I've been in you get the impression that they give a toss about the patients under their care.

The bottom end of Berry Lane. To the left is Carefoot's butchers' shop (see below), Barnacre Road Primary School (referred to by some people as 'Barnackered') , the Somerfield supermarket, the Alston Arms and people's homes.

Here's the aforementioned butcher's. If you're ever in the area and need some meat, Carefoots is the place.

Now we're on the Berry Lane, the main shopping street in Longridge. Across the road there is the Right Price shop - usually referred to as 'cheap shop' by us as they sell all manner of low-price things as well as soft drinks and so on. On the left of the image is A Touch of Class, a ~~hairdresser's~~ hair stylist.

The Towneley Arms Hotel, which is owned by Martin Carefoot, the man who owns the butcher's shop (and one or two other businesses in the town). This is one of the major pubs in Longridge. To account for the slightly differing climate: this picture was taken about six weeks before all other pictures in this set. I've just stuck it on as it goes well with the general tour.

The middle of Berry Lane. The office of the Longridge News used to be based just out of shot to the right of this picture but they closed it down a few years back. The building is currently owned by the Preston-based Fox & Co. estate agents.

A shot looking to the top of Berry Lane:

Another shot of the middle of Berry Lane. To the right of the picture is the Longridge Civic Hall. A market is held there every Thursday as well as a car boot sale every Sunday.

One of the local buses:

A picture taken nearer the top of Berry Lane:

The Longridge branch of Lancashire County Council's library service:

The top of Longridge. There's not a great deal up there to be honest apart from a pub (the White Bull) and the Hagans caravan site. Most of the top of Longridge is a residential area.

This is the other end. There's a few pubs (including, out of shot to the left, the Dog Inn), a chippy and the town's one and only cinema, The Palace.

A shot of the town's one-screen independent cinema, The Palace. Many a time I've come in here and watched some great films:

Much further down, this one, on Chapel Hill. The Roman Catholic St. Cecilia High School is on the other side of the road:

Now, I wouldn't normally cover a single pub but in this case I'll make an exception. Why, you ask? Well, this pub, The Old Oak on the Preston Road is my local. If you're ever in Longridge and have time go and have a pint and meet the locals. You're sure of a warm welcome!

And this, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is where this Longridge-Tour-by-Internet ends. I hope you all enjoyed this look at my home town and I hope to take you on another trip soon. For now, though, goodbye!

Stonyhurst College

2006-09-20T19:06:00.000+01:00

This isn't intended as a fully-fledged post and I would have liked to have stopped longer on this occasion to have a look at and take pictures of the village of Hurst Green itself which lies next to it. Anyway. Here is an entry on Stonyhurst College, a large Roman Catholic independent school which is a few miles from Clitheroe (although Wikipedia states that it's in Clitheroe, it would be more accurate to say that it's the nearest town). It's a lovely area to see and explore but I can't say I think much of the building itself.

A lot of moneyed people send their kids there (both from within the UK and abroad) and several very famous people went to school ther, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the actor Charles Laughton and the satirist Chris Morris (he of The Day Today and Brass Eye fame). In the late 1990s a big sex abuse scandal was uncovered at Stonyhurst College.

Anyway, enough exposition and on with the pictures!

The entrance to the Stonyhurst grounds at Hurst Green. It's a pretty little village and I plan to go back there on Friday in preparation for another entry:

A statue of Ave Maria in the grounds:

Long shot of the building:

Some closer shots of the building. There are usually loads of ducks hanging around this area but we were feeding them!

As I said earlier it's not really a proper, full-blown entry but it will have to do until Friday.

Toodle pip!

Farmer's Market (16 September 2006), Grimsargh

2006-09-16T15:59:00.000+01:00

Went along to the farmers' market in Grimsargh today, which is a little village in the Preston borough a few miles from Longridge. I must say, a lot of the stalls had some absolutely lovely-looking stuff going. A variety of Lancashire cheeses, fish, meat and ice-cream. Sumptuous stuff, it was. And all from the county of the red rose.

Anyway, enough about that. This photoblog, being a photoblog is titled 'Images of Lancashire' and not 'Dribbling Accounts of Lancashire' so without further ado I will proceed with those lovely pictures!

Here's Barry's Fresh Fish, who is from the Blackpool area. A stall with some lovely fish and a very cheery chappie he was too!

The meat stall. Nice (and inexpensive) meat to be had there. We picked up a nice bit of lamb.

The village hall from the outside. This was where most of the farmers' market was:

One of several cheese stalls. The cheese was beautiful. Can you tell I might just like cheese? My favourite cheese is really strong Lancashire. Mouthwatering stuff that I could eat hours after the cows came home!

Ostrich pies on offer on this stall, as well as various meats:

Another cheese stall, this time Procter's Cheeses from the village of Chipping:

And finally, here's the soap stall. Some really pleasant smelling soaps to be had there. Note the stallholder with the ice cream. I spotted quite a few people with them in their hands, so I deduced that they must be alright so I went and had a lovely chocolate ice cream cone. It was perfectly delicious!

That's it, then, for the Grimsargh farmers' market. I hope to have another entry up in the near future. Until then, goodbye!

More pictures of Preston

2006-09-15T15:45:00.000+01:00

I went into Preston today, this time taking my camera with me. I had time to waste so I took a few more pictures of parts of the town centre. I have done the city before, on my other blog, The Current Outlook. My previous entry can be read here.

Enclosed are another nine images I shot today.

Pictures overlooking parts of the Preston market:

Part of the seating area near the outdoor market:

Shot of a street near Ring Way. The building on the other side is a Wetherspoon's pub:

A pebble mosaic of Preston City Council's logo. The 'PP' stands for 'Proud Preston':

Here's a picture of the Preston Harris Library, the central library in the Lancashire County Council area:

A Preston City Council lamppost, including the 'Proud Preston' logo:

Image of a pub across the road on Friargate:

Turning around, here's an image of the St George's Shopping Centre:

Well, I hope you enjoyed them all. That'll be all for now. Goodbye!

Chipping Flower & Veg Show

2006-09-04T14:33:00.000+01:00

Went along to the flower and veg show at Chipping village hall yesterday. Chipping is a small village in the Ribble Valley that's on the edge of the Trough of Bowland. Nice for a look round for half an hour even if you aren't all that interested in flowers.

A selection of Dahlias:

More Dahlias:

Marrow and a variety of onions:

More onions:

Carrots:

And to round off, an orange begonia, which is probably my favourite of the lot:

And that's your lot for now. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Isle of Man

2006-08-27T17:12:00.000+01:00

"Withersoever you throw it, it will stand"

I've just come back from a two-day break on the Isle of Man, a British Crown dependency located in the middle of the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Island is not part of the United Kingdom but in a way I found it to be a little like the Isle of Wight - only more cut off. There's some lovely scenery around there and the people are really friendly and honest and the pace of life is much more relaxed than in the UK. People who don't know you will come and chat to you, which generally doesn't happen on the mainland. It's a very safe place to be but in the evenings there's not a lot to do, so a lot of Manx seem to spend it getting pissed. The accent used to be similar to Scottish, but these days most Manx speak a sort of toned-down version of Scouse but most Manx are a lot more relaxed than people from Liverpool in my experience.

We went to Douglas, Laxey, Ramsey; Snaefell and round those areas. It's all very quaint but I think that the dependency is in a bit of a timewarp. The Isle of Man is not particularly cheap - most things are more expensive than the mainland - but the two local Manx beers (Bushy's and Okells) are very nice. Douglas is still like the 1950s in some ways but with added CCTV cameras and newer high-street chains.

The island has its own separate currency, the Manx pound - minted by the Isle of Man Bank - although British currency freely circulates alongside Manx money. I dubbed it 'Toytown money' as you can't use it in the UK, only on the Island.

The Isle of Man is a pilgrimage for bikers, as they can go as fast as they want around the island's windy roads as there is no national speed limit on the Island.

I spoke to a few interesting people while I was there - a Maltese lady, an Australian bloke pining for home, two very nice German bikers (you should have seen the smiles on their faces when I told them that they spoke English better than some English people!) and a somewhat volatile alcoholic window cleaner.

The main thing that bothers me about the island is a) the aforementioned lack of anything to do; b) the fact that if you want to get anywhere you have to go to the UK and c) the somewhat prudish - and in some cases intolerant - attitude of some of the people there.

When you walk down Manx streets (in Douglas, but also in the other towns and villages too) the first thing you realise is that there are Manx flags everywhere. They're ubiquitous in their ubiquitousness. Nice to see them flying, though.

Anyway, enough of me wibbling on about what I did there which is all very boring when you've not been. On to the pictures!

Pictures of the ferry trip out from Heysham. Here's the waiting room - rather dirty and unkempt, I thought.

Pictures of the ferry trip itself:

And here's some lorries:

Setting sail:

A boat coming in to Heysham:

The view of Douglas promenade from our balcony:

A shot of Laxey village. A very nice place but not much there:

Now some pictures on the train ride up to the summit of Snaefell. This is part of the Isle of Man TT track:

More scenery on the ride up:

The train itself. A bit rickety, if I may say so:

Some more scenery on the trip down:

The train station at Laxey:

This is the Laxey wheel, AFAIK. Although there was two, I don't know if this is the right one:

Three shots of the town of Ramsey for your edification. Ramsey is the most northerly town on the Island. Quite pretty, I thought.

I took this shot of the Manx Department of Transport's crest off the side of a van in Douglas. I think it looks quite nice. Also prominently included is the motto of the Isle of Man - 'Qucocunque Jeceris Stabit', a Latin saying that translates to "Withersoever you throw it, it will stand". The phrase directly relates to the triskelion on the flag of Mann.

A tour of Douglas that tells the story of the Isle of Man. You can hear the sound of the horses going 'clomp, clomp, clomp' a mile off, it seemed to me. In the bottom-left of this picture you can see what a typical Manx car registration plate looks like. All Manx plates have the letters 'MAN' or 'MN' contained somewhere on the number plate. There are plates in this design, as well as in the British style (without EU markings). There are also a lot of plates from Great Britain and Northern Ireland and one or two from other European countries.

Another shot of the seafront. I think Douglas, and the seafront especially, is somewhat similar in style to the Lancashire seaside resort of Morecambe:

Douglas town centre. It's much like any other small town centre in England but with obvious differences such as the presence of various financial and government institutions. Also, many of the signs in and around shops are hand-written and some shops look like they haven't changed in about fifty years or so! The Isle of Man is a tax haven (emphatically not, as I first thought, a duty-free zone!) and this is how the Island makes part of its money:

The Tynwald, which functions as Mann's parliament. This is the oldest legislature in continuous existence in the world.

The Isle of Man Government office:

Relaxing in a Manx pub not far from the Tynwald with a pint of beer brewed on the Island - Okells. And a fine pint it was, too.

A close-up shot of the Queen as the Lord of Mann:

The Henry Bloom Noble Library in Douglas, run by Douglas Borough Council:

A clock tower just across the road from the ferry terminal:

Also just across from the sea terminal is the Steam Packet Company on the right-hand side of the picture. Spot the little fire engine in the image!

Yes, it was raining as we left. Such a pity, too, as the weather had been lovely most of the time we were there. It was rainy and miserable on the mainland while we were away.

And that's it. I hope you enjoyed having a look at my Isle of Man trip. The trip was never intended to be a complete analysis of everywhere on the island, just a fun few days away.

Anyway. Until the next time... goodbye!

Wycoller ruins

2006-08-16T21:25:00.000+01:00

I went over to the Wycoller area of eastern Lancashire yesterday and took a few pictures while I was over that way. Mainly of the subject of this article, the Wycoller ruins.

There is a country park there but there doesn't seem a great deal to it. You're to walk three and a half miles from the car park to the village of Wycoller itself - which, whilst rather pretty, hasn't got an awful lot to offer.

Anyway, on with the pictures.

Here's a bit of scenery from the village:

The historic bridge:

And here's part of the village. There's a few houses, a shop and possibly a pub. Really not a lot there. Nice Ferrari though - one or two people were taking a quick nosey at it while I was there.

And that's your lot. Until next time, of course.

Millennium Green, Garstang

2006-08-07T01:25:00.000+01:00

Only a quick entry this time.

Garstang is a small town (population: approx. 5,000) in the Wyre borough of Lancashire which is off the A6 road between Preston and Lancaster. It's a nice place but there's not really a great deal there apart from one or two good shops and interesting things to see on the main drag. There are many nice walks round and about. Garstang has the honour of being the world's first Fairtrade town.

Anyway, the reason for this entry, dear reader, is that I went up there yesterday for a walk round the Millennium Green.

These are the Council Offices at Garstang:

A kingfisher-y sort of thing. The scrawl on it says "Garstang Music and Arts Festival 2005".

A few shots of the park and the river. It's a nice walk, but I was absolutely knackered by the time I got back!

Dams and flood prevention wotsits. Something must have happened before for them to put this sort of thing up - that I'm sure of.

As I said, only a quick entry. I hope you enjoyed it all the same.

Poulton-le-Fylde

2006-08-03T23:39:00.000+01:00

Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, United Kingdom

I made another trip to the Fylde today - my second visit in two days, this time to the town of Poulton le-Fylde, with is a few miles north-east of the much larger town of Blackpool. I thought it was a nice, somewhat sedate town, with quite an elderly population like much of the Fylde area. The nice weather probably helped, too.

So, without further ado, here are the pictures.

This is one of the main streets into the town of Poulton. That building across the road to the left is the Poulton-le-Fylde branch of Lancashire Library, which ain't all that bad.

A street scene:

A closer shot of Poulton library:

A shot of the street just outside the library:

A few pictures from inside the shopping centre itself:

The town centre and the war memorial:

Part of the war memorial with a Group 4 Securicor van in the background. When I was in Poland my friend wanted to show me what the security men were like compared to here in the United Kingdom. In Poland, he says, they're armed to the teeth with bullet-proof vests, shotguns, rifles, pistols, knives, the bloody works. He tells me that when he first came to the UK and saw a security van he was shocked to find the driver in nothing more than a helmet and uniform. I guess it's one of the many differences between our two countries.

The Poulton-le-Fylde branch of Lancashire Constabulary:

More of the town centre:

One of the many drinking establishments in and around Poulton:

And what could it be but a bloody pigeon...?

One of the minibuses that ferries people up and down the Fylde coast.

The Poulton-le-Fylde chain of the Booths supermarket:

Another street scene, this time at the bus stop:

An old-style red public telephone box. I know a certain young lady (she knows who she is) that I suspect will be rather gratified by this sight!

Another shot of the war memorial that we saw parts of further up the page:

These last few pictures were taken at the Wyre estuary site a couple of miles away from the town of Poulton-le-Fylde but I thought it best for the sake of completeness and so on to stick them at the end of this entry.

Two men took their Vauxhall Frontera out and decided to park it down here. Where the sea is. And where the tide was due to come in an hour or two after we left this place. What cretins, we thought. I think they got themselves a tiny bit stuck there, don't you?

Over in the distance in this photo is the ICI plant.

And to finish off: two photos of the Wyre estuary:

And that's it - all done. I hope you can't wait to join me on my next visit to some random town somewhere in the north-west of England. Until then, sayonara.

Fleetwood

2006-08-03T04:54:00.000+01:00

I don't plan to retread old ground on this new post about the Fylde town of Fleetwood (I've visited the place last year: see here). When I alighted in the town today the weather was again bleak and windy. Not a great deal seems to change in Fleetwood but a new ASDA superstore has recently opened there.

To start off, here's two pictures from the port:

More photographs of the water. The houses you can see over the water is Knott End-on-Sea, another village. It's 25 miles of a trip by road but there's a seasonal ferry service between Fleetwood and Knott End.

A few shops and an amusement arcade along the seafront. A bit tatty and depressing really - quite like the rest of the town:

A shot of the amusement arcade from the outside. I used to be obsessed with amusement arcades when I was a little kid. Whenever we went to Blackpool or some other seaside resort we always had to go in. I've since grown out of that, I'm happy to say.

Tramlines:

Here comes the tram and the bus:

The Pleasure Beach tram:

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution station at Fleetwood:

Their flag, in close-up. Isn't it a bit of a no-no to but letters and stuff on a flag, according to vexillogists?

A memorial to the fisherman of Fleetwood who lost their lives whilst at sea:

A memorial, the text of which reads:

Past this place, the fishermen of Fleetwood have sailed for generations while their families watched from the shore. Their courage and comradeship under hardship is a living legend. This memorial, depicting equipment from a trawler, was placed here in recognition of the great contribution which the men and women of the fishing community have made to the life of Fleetwood.

This is a list of the Fleetwood-based trawlers that met a grisly end. The text reads:

THE REAL PRICE OF FISH IS THE LIVES OF MEN

The Fleetwood-based trawlers listed here came to grief on fishing operations at the cost of life. Many other Fleetwood fishermen have been killed or injured in ships great and small during peace and war from Morecambe Bay to beyond the Arctic Circle.

Here is a statue - a tribute to Fleetwood fishermen's families called 'Welcome Home':

Here's a plaque, which reads:

Welcome Home is erected as a tribute to the families of Fleetwood fishermen who have down the years shared the dangers and uncertainties of the industry. Around this spot families have gathered for generations to 'welcome home' their menfolk from the sea.

Welcome Home is provided by Fisherman's Friend with the assistance of Wyre Borough Council. It was designed and sculpted by Anita Lafford.

This is a plaque of one of the lighthouses at Fleetwood. The text on this reads:

THE LOWER LIGHTHOUSE

Opened in December 1840 and constructed of white sandstone. Designed by Decimus Burton in accordance with the Navigaton Plan of Captain Henry Mangles Denham. From Wyre Light, at the entrance to the approach channel, the two shore lighthouses can be lined up to provide safe passage into the port. The pebble compass, set in the adjacent pavement, is a recebt recreation of the original Victorian feature.

And the lighthouse itself:

Another tram:

Fleetwood hospital. Lancashire Constabulary's Fleetwood station is across the road:

A Fleetwood street. You can see a tram going through the town in the distance:

This is Fleetwood town centre. As you can see, it's a really 'happening' place. Sorry to deride it, but some of the shops look like they haven't been done up in about 25 years. It might just be the case that it looks barren when you're there.

Fleetwood Library, which, alas, was shut. Half-day closing strikes again:

Another shot of the town:

Fleetwood church:

A board leading into the church yard, which reads:

This is a church yard. Members of the public are welcome to sit and enjoy the peace of the garden. No dogs. No ball games.

Another shot of one of the town's main streets:

A baby shop, for baby things. One of the shops that I don't think's changed in a while:

And finally: another bloody tram!

Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed this wee tour of Fleetwood and its myriad of sights (heh heh). Next up is probably some other Fylde coastal town.

Poland (Part 3: Gdańsk)

2006-07-24T12:13:00.000+01:00

We went from Sopot to Gdańsk. The trip was about 60 miles from where we were staying in the Masurian lakes. It took us four and a half hours to drive there because the roads and the congestion was so appalling! That will be one of the things I'll always remember about Poland - the roads, the drivers on them and the terrible congestion.

Street scene in Gdańsk:

Poster for some sort of cultural/beer festival in Gdańsk. I did take a very quick look on Google but couldn't find anything in English. And as I know about five or six words of Polish I'm not going to be in much luck.

A Cossack in traditional dress:

Street scene and church tower:

The top of one of the building in Gdańsk's 'Long Market':

A church. I'm told that at a particular time of the week when all the tourists come you can see all the beggars pitch up to try and get some money off people.

One of the side streets in Gdańsk:

I took this last pic whilst waiting in the frankly endless traffic jams out of Gdańsk in rush hour. It took us bloody hours to get back to our chalet and it was only about sixty miles away.

Now, I really am sorry to use the image of Lidl Polska but it was the only actual photo of a board I took. It's important to stress that boards are ubiquitous in Poland. On streets, motorways, at the side of the road. It's not like England where there are just some in towns and cities. They seem to be everywhere apart from out in the sticks. And there are boards advertising all sorts of things, in all parts of the country.

And that concludes my series of pictures on Poland. I hope you enjoyed it, or at least didn't fall asleep viewing it.

Poland: Part 2 (Auschwitz, Masurian lakes, Morąg and Sopot)

2006-07-23T18:14:00.000+01:00

This is the second part of a selection of pictures I took while I was on holiday in Poland.

Here's two photos I took of Auschwitz, both from Auschwitz I. It's free to get in and see. The place is huge. Whilst I was there, I saw tourists snapping all over the places. Some were taking pictures of the gas chambers and stuff, which struck me as being a rather sick thing to do. Can you imagine it, someone showing relatives your holiday snaps and then saying "this was where the Auschwitz prisoners were gassed"? Eugh.

Anyway, here's the infamous 'Arbeit macht frei' (Work brings freedom) sign at Auschwitz I:

Relaxing in the Masurian lakes with a can of the local Polish beer, Tyskie. I have to say though that the beer tastes much better as draught beer freshly poured. A four-pack of Tyskie costs about 70p. The beer is very gassy - I felt like my stomach was about to explode the morning after indulging in several cans!

We were staying just over this hill. The chalets themselves were, as you'd expect, somewhat basic.

Ah, a relaxing dip in the lake. What could be better? It was nice and cool in there too - good on a day when temperatures rose above 30°C.

Poles in general eat a lot of meat - pork in particular. This is a spiced version that is then barbecued.

A shot of the fire we made to keep ourselves warm:

A shot of the trees and the lake in daylight:

A postbox in Morąg. There isn't a great deal in the town apart from a few supermarkets and a decent market.

A nice-looking row of flats in Morąg:

This is a shot of a bottle of cheap wine (10% alc. vol) that I'm told has a bit of a reputation in Poland as a cheap drink for alcoholics and drunken tramps. It costs about 30p a bottle. Astonishingly, it didn't taste that foul - just sickly-sweet, with a cherry flavour. Apparently they used to put sulphur in this stuff. Less of the sicky-sweetness remains if you just bottle-neck it, like the alkies do.

Another shot of the fire:

This was a golfball-like thing in Sopot. TVN is a major commercial TV broadcaster in Poland.

Street scene in Sopot. Quite a clean place, as you can see. Much of the rest of the country is not like this!

A bendy house:

Statue in Sopot:

This was how hot it was while we were on our way to Gdańsk. So you could say we were quite warm...

Gdańsk will be covered in the next part.

Poland (Part 1: Katowice and Kraków)

2006-07-23T13:22:00.000+01:00

This is the photoblog component of this post. This part contains some of the pictures I took while I was out there. Apologies for the lack of context.

Firstly, here's a shot of Katowice airport. Took on July 9. I saw bits of the city itself on the bus drive through the old town. It didn't seem a particularly nice place - it's a bleak industrial city.

The following pictures are all taken from Kraków. It's a wonderful historic city.

Here's a fountain in a place I dubbed 'Wino Park' because a lot of drunks seemed to congregate there. This seems to be a problem right across Poland because of the amount of unemployment there.

Historical statue:

Two shots of the main square of Kraków:

A Catholic statue. Poland is, as you'd expect, still very much a Catholic country and Pope John Paul II's memory is still revealed, as is in evidence of the portraits and memorials across the country:

Another picture of Kraków:

This is a T-bone steak and fries I had in the Grill 15-16 in the centre of the city. This restaurant has a much flashier entrance at the front. But we went into the less flashier part of the building, where everything was much cheaper. A lovely T-bone steak for under a tenner - nearly as cheap as chips. As you can see, this was washed down with sufficient half-litre glasses of Tyskie. I was fully sated after that lovely steak, I can tell you.

A clever Elvis Presley show:

Ghastly-looking street artist in one of Kraków's main streets:

Catholic church:

Another building:

A few of the many tour buses around the city. You can often see them showing people around. It's like this in many large cities. Incidentally, and on a pedantic note, I saw one tour bus very similar to this which had the Union Flag upside down!

More street artists. I think this one is quite clever:

This is a Polish beer that is supposedly very popular in England. I've never heard of it, and nor has anyone else I know. It's bloody expensive too (about £2.30-£2.50 a half-litre considering that the the cost of a large Polish beer is about £1.10-£1.20). I tried some Dog in the Fog and it tasted like shandy.

A chocolate shop in Kraków, but a nice-looking building all the same:

Another historical building:

A metallic car paint picture. My Polish friend bought one. We already have one from a previous holiday in Fuerteventura.

And that's part one over with. The second part will appear shortly.

Colne

2006-06-21T20:40:00.000+01:00

Colne, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Colne is a town in east Lancashire with a population of about 20,000. It is a principal town in the district of Pendle, and is the last station on the Colne to Preston railway. Colne is located 2.5 miles north-east of Nelson (the administrative centre of Pendle), 6 miles north-east of Burnley, 25 miles east of Preston (Lancashire's "county town"), 25 miles north of Manchester and 30 miles west of Leeds. It is commonly confused with the nearby unrelated Colne Valley, as well as several rivers also named Colne.

I found Colne to be a bit of a depressing place, with its fair share of weirdos and druggies. I know these pictures are probably not the best but when I was there this afternoon it was absolutely pissing it down.

Anyway, here's some of the pics I took from my visit.

Colne town hall, with the St. George's Cross at the top. Note also the European flag, the Union Flag and the flag of Colne town council:

Street scenes. As you can see in the second picture, it's rather wet in Colne!

This is the indoor market:

Part of the outdoor market. They were pretty much getting ready to pack up for the day when I took this shot:

A mural-y thing:

Colne library. Note the Tesco Express at the side:

The old and disused ballroom on Newtown Street. There's a CCTV camera by the side of the street sign.

The Thwaites Commercial Hotel pub on the Skipton Road:

And finally: a Tyrer Tours bus.

And that's it. Comments appreciated, and all the usual guff.

Tom Benson Way, Preston

2006-06-14T17:30:00.000+01:00

Just a few (quicker and dirtier than usual) pictures that I happened to take this afternoon on Tom Benson way. I subsequently went over to the town of Leyland in South Ribble but as it was such an utterly miserable excuse for a day I decided not to bother taking any pictures.

This is on Tom Benson Way in Preston, just across the road from the Preston Sports Arena.

Ugly bugger, in't he?

Carnforth

2006-06-11T07:35:00.000+01:00

Carnforth, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Carnforth is a small town to the north of the city of Lancaster, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay, by the River Keer. The town has a population of roughly 5,500-6,000 people. It's not a bad looking town, but there's really not a lot there apart from the railway station, a few pubs and the usual shops (Co-op, Blockbusters, Greggs bakers, etc). Carnforth is mostly a dormitory town for Lancaster.

In 1945, Carnforth railway station was used as the set for the David Lean film Brief Encounter, starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Fans of this film were one of the major factors in the recent refurbishment of the railway station, which is now run by the Carnforth Station Trust.

Anyway, here's the pictures. If you want a full-size copy of any of the pictures, please leave a comment and I'll send them along to you.

Here's some shots of the aforementioned railway station:

Here's a bus shot (I'm not particularly fond of public transport, but it's interesting anyway). This one does the Morecambe-Carnforth-Lancaster-University route. Note the Co-op in the background:

One of the main streets in the town. Note the special offer of the restaurant place at the side!

Statue remembering the men of Carnforth who died in the Great War. I find these memorials rather poignant:

A quick look part of the main street of Carnforth from the view of a bench I was sitting on:

Carnforth fire station, part of the Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service:

And that's Carnforth.

Lytham St Annes

2006-06-10T10:14:00.000+01:00

Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, United Kingdom

Lytham St Annes is a town in the Fylde district of Lancashire, England. The original twin towns of Lytham and St-Annes-on-Sea (the latter nearly always abbreviated to St Annes)have grown together and now form a seaside resort, sometimes seen as a smaller but grander alternative to nearby Blackpool.

The town is situated on the Lancashire coast south of Blackpool at the point where the coast line turns east to form the estuary of the River Ribble leading inland to Preston. St Annes is situated on the northern side of the turning and, like Blackpool, overlooks the Irish Sea, whereas Lytham is on the eastern side and overlooks the Ribble estuary.

Like similar seaside resorts it is a popular place to retire to, making the population a fair bit older than the national average.

It's a nice looking town, and there's plenty of shops to look at. St Annes is quite well-known locally for the amount of charity shops it has.

Anyway, here's the pics. If you'd like a larger sized version, please leave a comment and I shall get them along to you forthwith.

The St Annes branch of the local Lancashire Constabulary:

The train station at St. Annes-on-the-Sea (to give the town its full title):

St Annes town centre:

The Metro bus service that regularly goes through several towns on the Fylde coast:

Nice feature in the centre of the sitting down place. Note the ubiquitous England flags above the Thresher's:

Another seating area in the town centre, with the clock in the background:

One of the main parks in St Annes. I forget what it is called, so I'll look it up later:

A 1914-1918/1939-1945 war memorial:

Another picture of the park. The chap in the green and yellow to the left of the picture looks just a bit spaced out!

One of the gardens:

Out of all the pictures I took today, this one has to be my favourite. It recalls something quintessentially English, and something I find quite moving.

A waterfall:

Another quintessentially English sport: bowling!

The windmill:

This lot were having a wedding party, and they were having champagne and she was having her picture taken. So I took a few. Nice looking lass, too.

And here's an anchor, a reminder of St Annes in the days when Britannia ruled the waves:

Now, I'm really disappointed with this picture. That pole there ruins the shot, I think. Anyway.

And finally: their wedding Daimler:

And that's St Annes! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures. All sensible comments will be very well received.

Blackpool International Airport

2006-06-10T10:06:00.000+01:00

Blackpool International Airport, Lancashire, UK

Went over to Blackpool and Lytham St Annes today. While I was there, I passed the town's airport. So I decided to get out and take some pictures.

This airport has scheduled flights to various destinations both in Britain and mainland Europe. It's quite a nice airport, and much less busy or confusing than, say, Manchester or Liverpool airport.

Here are the pics. If anyone would like a hi-resolution copy, please leave a comment with a working e-mail address and I shall get back to you.

This is the main building, with 'Blackpool International Airport' being proudly displayed:

The check-in desks:

You can go to a variety of European destinations from Blackpool, as this map shows:

Passengers waiting around:

An helicopter:

And finally, some shots of the outside of the airport:

And that's Blackpool International Airport.

Paul's Photoblog

2006-06-10T10:04:00.000+01:00

This is essentially a photoblog where I post my pictures. My main blog is located here.