A Day On The Railways

I have spent much of today using our much-maligned railway system. First of all, I took a mid-morning train to Huddersfield, and things were mercifully quiet. However, I soon became restless, and the lure of Manchester, and its well-stocked Waterstones bookstore, proved too much. I returned to Huddersfield's elegant station, and jumped on a connecting train.  I took a couple of photographs during the journey to Manchester:

The journey proved immensely relaxing, aided by the sounds of Richard Wagner on my MP3 player.

I travel by this route quite often, and I regularly think to myself how much we in the North of England, even those of us who live in urban areas, overlook just how much scenic beauty resides close at hand. The countryside between Leeds and Manchester has an ominous and stern kind of beauty, best exemplified during the kind of capricious weather conditions which prevailed today, and which are captured in my two photographs.

After a couple of hours of relaxation and retail therapy in Manchester, including seeing the venue for the yet-to-be-opened National Football Museum, I returned to Manchester Victoria and caught the train home. Alas, the earlier tranquility was now gone, and the hustle and bustle had been raised a few notches. Children crying, the aroma of fast food, litter, general crowding. This time I chose Queen for my musical nourishment, or rather as a means of shutting out the din of the outside world.

Matters were not helped when the train was diverted, adding some time to my journey. There can be occasions when a tipping point is reached, and the pleasure and comfort of a railway journey becomes something more wearisome and tiring. When I reached my destination, my legs were aching and I was glad to be on terra firma again.