RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted November 18, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 18, 2015 Andy, As a Real Ale fan I take great offence to your comment!!! Whilst Jason is pickling himself with various forms of fine whiskeys (of which I may indeed imbibe a few...), I will be enjoying all the Real Ale that I can get.... even warm and with various forms of pond life in it! :>) So, redeem yourself with some good Real Ale recommendations for the area! Bill (the Yank who can - and does - drink real beer) Rapido Trains If you are in Invenress for any length of time try Number 27 in Castle Street. It's a modern bar with 3 - 4 Scottish ales including some from Windswept Brewery. The Phoenix pub has a cracking oval bar and good range of ales. Turn tonight out of the station and after a few minutes walk it's on the right. Opposite is Blackfirars which was the best ale place in town but didn't visit this year and it's been up for sale for a few years. The Kings Highway, a Wetherspoons is in the street behind Blackfriars. normally a good range of Scottish ales available If you are in Aberdeen or Edinburgh there's loads of great pubs and bars. The USA now has over 4000 craft breweries and Canada has a fair few too so there is plenty of decent beer across the pond for us Brits when e visit. Last January we visited the 71st brewery to open in the San Diego area (got the T shirt) No doubt plenty more when we visit again early next year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium uax6 Posted November 18, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 18, 2015 Sorry Bill, I had no idea there were beer drinkers in Canada... Anyway if you can get out to the Black Isle Brewery I would recommend it, cracking brews! http://www.blackislebrewery.com/ If in Thurso try: The Royal Hotel http://www.perfectpint.co.uk/best-beer-pubs-in-Thurso For Wick there is The Alexander Bain http://www.perfectpint.co.uk/pubs/the-alexander-bain-wick-caithness Its a shame you aren't getting a car in the Highlands, as there are some typically Scottish pubs in Dornoch. My favorite pub (although the ale isn't great) has to be the Crask Inn. Talk about a pub in the middle of no-where! You can even bunk up there. As for a choice of Ale, you have to try 'Sweethart Stout' if you can find it. When you go to Fort Bill, don't miss a visit to the Caledonian Canal. Andy G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjgardiner Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 If i might, if Bill and Jason are staying in Fort William, the Grog and Gruel is a fantastic real ale bar. We had two fantastic meals and nights of beer there when we were in the Fort last year riding the Jacobite, and we (well, i did while my wife was abandoned) spent a chunk of the night talking shop with the footplate crew when they came in for the night after bedding down the Black 5 from her days work. Cheers, Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidotrains Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 Hi all, Day one is drawing to a close and I'm starting this blog entry from that wonderful, overcrowded, always-under-construction, concrete dungeon known as Euston Station. We arrived Wednesday night on the day plane from Canada, Air Canada 868. If you can take this flight when travelling to the UK, it is much preferred to the rest of the (overnight) flights. Except for the really busy times, there are always lots of empty seats on the plane so we were able to stretch out and get some work done. Bill insists on using his mouse, even on airplanes, so he needs an extra seat. I need an extra seat because I'm simply high maintenance. The best part is that instead of losing a night's sleep you go to bed five hours early. This will never be a problem for me. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow, which I must say was only slightly awful rather than completely awful. This is a change from the usual places we stay at near Heathrow. We'd definitely stay there again. Still looking for a "not awful at all" hotel that doesn't cost as much as the flight. When you have a BritRail pass, the relatively high cost of the Heathrow Express is no obstacle, so we travelled Expressly to Paddington this morning. Seeing a line of idling HSTs always warms the cockles of my heart. Even though they aren't in blue and yellow or the swallow scheme, they are still beautiful machines. And opening the window on a train is still a novelty for us North Americans. The BritRail pass is extremely affordable, even in first class. We've discovered that we seriously bring down the overall calibre of the passengers whenever we travel in first class. The posh toff across from us didn't seem to enjoy me jumping up and yelling "HST!" or "CLASS 66" every time we passed another train. Bill pretended he didn't know me. Our first stop was Didcot Parkway for Bill's Great Western fix. The guy really needs some help. These GWR guys are worse than Pennsy modellers. At the station we were met by the very talented railway modeller (and loyal Rapido customer), Colin Huckle. Colin kindly picked us up at the station and took us through the driving rain to the village of Long Wittenham. Most people on RMWeb know of Pendon, but few modellers in North America have heard of it. We were met at Pendon by Chris Webber and Colin Underwood, who were both very gracious hosts. (Colin Huckle, Chris Webber, and some guy view the action at Pendon.) I can honestly say I have never seen a model railway quite on this scale. Large model railroads are very common in North America, but we've been trained to divide up large rooms into narrow aisles to increase the length of our mainlines. The majority of Pendon is one enormous scene. And you can thus get a phenomenal sense of space and depth that is very rare in model railroads the world over. The first scene we saw was Dartmoor... Marvellous as it was, this didn't prepare us in any way for the Vale of White Horse. The Vale is simply stupendous, and my only complaint is that our photos don't do it justice. If you aren't familiar with Pendon, I recommend you visit the web site and learn a bit about Roye England and how he started what would end up being one of Britain's best-known model railway destinations. Colin Underwood kindly operated several trains for us, and I had some opportunities to get a panning shot or two. Here "Saint" class locomotive 2943 "Hampton Court" hams it up for the camera while pulling a Hereford-bound train. Bill took this photo of one of the pubs in the village. Roye England was interested in preserving England's cultural and structural heritage, and the structure models that he and his team have built are truly without match. The thatched roofs on his early models were mostly made of human hair and they look phenomenally realistic. Most of the buildings have full interior detailing as well. Here is a cameo outside a house in the village of Pendon Parva. Check out the interior detail. When Chris and his chums let us loose on Pendon, they did not know what they were getting into. They soon figured out what I was about, as my head started to pop up in strange places throughout the landscape. Really, you can't take me anywhere. Did you ever see the Doctor Who story Terror of the Zygons? I felt a bit like the Loch Ness Monster poking his head up from the Thames. Such fun! Long Wittenham is in many ways a typical English village, except for all the glowing people who work at the local nuclear power station. After destroying much of the Pendon countryside with my size-12 boots, we headed to the Plough, a local 17th-century pub, for a drink and a bit of lunch. Bill ordered the duck, which brought new definition to the expression "eat local." "You want the duck? Hang on, I'll just get one for you. Do you prefer throttled or shot?" My attempt to purchase some single malt whisky was stymied by the fact that nobody in Long Wittenham drinks single malt whisky. So the innkeeper doesn't stock any. He told me, "There's nothing like a Jameson." I agreed, and asked for a sparkling water. Our final stop of the day was to visit to the Great Western Society at the Didcot Railway Centre. Bill really got his way on this trip. He was in GWR heaven. GWS member Paddy Baker gave us a personal, guided tour of the entire site. I particularly enjoyed the carriage works, whereas Bill drooled so much over the steam locomotives that they had to send someone around to mop it up. Thank you again to Colin Huckle for arranging all of this for us, and for the lovely single malt Scotch that he gave us upon our departure. (Bill and I got started on that on the train to Scotland. To get in the spirit, and all that.) The GWS describes itself as a living museum, and it certainly is. We saw a Great Western King class (King Edward II) being restored for mainline operation, as well as a number of guys bodging together a new Thomas the Tank Engine 1:1 model. This sort of thing is very rare in North America. In Canada, the closest thing is probably the Toronto Railway Museum, but our efforts, space and budget are a tiny fraction of what happens at Didcot and at other museums around the UK. Next time you are complaining about the fact that there are no young people getting into railway preservation or the fact that there isn't enough money to restore every project you'd like, take a look at what the UK preservation movement has achieved. Canada has trouble keeping a handful of preserved railways and museums operational. At any one time, we have about three or four active steam engines in the entire country. And I don't mean mainline steam engines - I mean steam engines that can actually be fired up. UK rail enthusiasts have much to be proud of. As you may have guessed by my mix of tenses, I'm actually finishing this entry on the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William, so it will get posted whenever I have a good internet connection, which may well be next month. Bill will report on the start of our Scottish adventures over the weekend. But here is one awesome photo from before our departure from Euston to whet your appetite. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Happy Birthday Bill! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodenhead Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 This is what happens when work and hobbies collide. Me jealous, not a jot!! (weeps quietly to self). Happy birthday Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted November 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 20, 2015 Happy birthday Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
srihaggis Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 The size of those layouts are huge! Some people have too much space on their hands haha. Never been to Didcot but it's on my to-do list, along with most of the other railways in the UK Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Scottish Modeller Posted November 20, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 20, 2015 Hi all, OK - Bill and Ted Jason.... Where abouts are you? By my reckoning you should be somewhere north of The Great Glen and at your accommodation by now! That means you should have internet access! (probably better quality then I have). Or is it another secret? Thanks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted November 21, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 21, 2015 Day1-0.jpg . Seeing a line of idling HSTs always warms the cockles of my heart. Even though they aren't in blue and yellow or the swallow scheme, they are still beautiful machines. They look blue and yellow to me.................. Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidobill Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Hi all, OK - Bill and Ted Jason.... Where abouts are you? By my reckoning you should be somewhere north of The Great Glen and at your accommodation by now! That means you should have internet access! (probably better quality then I have). Or is it another secret? Thanks In a B&B near Onich, south of Fort Bill (I like that...!) with decent internet - on our day off! Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dibber25 Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 How can you have a 'day off' when you're on holiday? I spend a month in Canada each year and don't have a minute off! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Hey Chris, you could always come visit some UK models when you are out here. (we could do that, I think...we've had meetings for visitors in the past). Just remember what the lads from out here sung about the UK... James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidobill Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 When you’re traveling so far and working as hard as we are on this trip it is important to occasionally take a break from our strenuous activities to regroup. This is what Jason and I tell our long-suffering spouses anyway. With this in mind, Jason and I boarded the Fort William Sleeper in Euston station after a particularly grueling day of…. ummm… well….. never mind. We boarded the sleeper. Once we’d managed to get our bags down the rather narrow corridor to our center rooms we settled in for the night with a sample of the very nice whisky that Colin had given Jason earlier in the day. I planned on waking with the sun the next morning so that I could enjoy the view from the lounge car as we traveled up the West Highland line to “Fort Bill” (I like that). There was one small issue with this plan as you might expect. There isn’t a lot of sun in November in the Highlands! Still, I was on the comfy couch in the lounge car at 7:30 as the sky lightened. I had the lounge car almost completely to myself until the riff-raff started arriving about 8:30. There is no way to describe in words or even, given my limited ability with a camera, photograph the amazing scenery of this line in a way that capture the experience of travelling through it. Still, I tried to catch a few views as we rolled along. (Spean Bridge station) (Jason caught the more typical train on this line, a ScotRail 156, waits impatiently in the loop for us to pass.) The isolated nature of the countryside amazes me. I was intrigued as we passed through Corrour station with its station building, center island platform passing loops (sidings for our North American readers) and signal box - but NO access OTHER than by train! No roads and car parks to spoil the view of that station! We alighted at Fort William where we checked out the power on the head end. Sadly not a 37 as I had dreamed, but rather a DB Schenker class 67. We rented our car at the Fort William train station. If you followed our Cornish Recovery Tour outings you may remember tales of Jason’s UK driving. It’s much the same here, only with mountains. Still, no clutches have been harmed in the making of this post… well, yet anyway. We went into town to visit to the Highland Museum where we viewed their incredible collection of Jacobite relics and this “Birching Table” (go ahead, look it up…). A walk around the shops in “Fort Bill” allowed me to buy a rather nice sweater (when in Scotland…) and Jason to pick up some fine... ahem... Welsh whisky. Yes reader, we travelled all the way to Fort William, Scotland in the heart of the finest whisky country in the WORLD, only for Jason to pick up a bottle of Penderyn Welsh whisky. This is just one continuing example of why he is so difficult to travel with. THE HORROR!!!! Mind you, Penderyn is very good whisky. Still, it's the principle of the thing. We then wandered across the street to the “Grog and Gruel” where we had pub lunch to celebrate (?) my birthday. As my friend and modeling co-conspirator, Mal Houck, posted on my Facebook page; I am now reaching the point where it might be better to express my age in Celsius. I tried to forget this fact and soak in a little of the local culture with a fine local ale, fried haggis balls and a venison burger. It was really quite good! After lunch we toured around a bit and photographed the spectacular scenery on northern end of Loch Linnhe before making our way to the Cuildorag Guest House in Onich where we will be staying until Sunday. The view from my room was quite acceptable: After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast this morning Jason and I decided that we should take a walk to see some of the local countryside. Our hosts suggested that there was a wonderful walk to a local waterfall that would take “two hours”. The directions started with “walk down the road bit until you see the monument, then turn left”. We walked down the road a bit (or more), but saw no monument. We did, however, see a pub so we stopped in - to ask directions. Really. We asked the woman at the front desk if she knew of a walk to the waterfall. “Aye. Have ye got a car? No?! Ah, right, well, it’s a wee bit down the road, about four mile or so…” She stared at us quite oddly as we walked out. I’m not sure why. It seems that we had missed the monument on the way by about a mile beforehand. The fact that it was well up the embankment and surrounded by trees MIGHT have been an important factor in this oversight. Having now found our starting point and having walked only about two miles out of our way to do so, we now started our two hour hike. It was well worth the effort, the scenery and views were amazing. Once again, my camera can’t capture it nearly well enough, but here are some efforts. After this exhausting itinerary Jason and I are now sitting (to be honest, after the hike neither of us have the ability to do much other than sit) in front of the fire at the Cuildorag Guest House catching up on business e-mails. As I said earlier, when you’re relaxing as hard as we are on this trip it’s important to work occasionally. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold teaky Posted November 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 21, 2015 Entertaining as usual and lovely scenery. If only you could spell whisky. I was bought a bottle of Penderyn a few years ago. Very enjoyable. I reckon the woman in the pub looked at you oddly because she's not used to seeing people from North America walk anywhere. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidotrains Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Entertaining as usual and lovely scenery. If only you could spell whisky. I was bought a bottle of Penderyn a few years ago. Very enjoyable. I reckon the woman in the pub looked at you oddly because she's not used to seeing people from North America walk anywhere. I'd already sent Bill an email about the whisky thing but he was making his way to the TV room to watch Doctor Who. I was there already. He will fix that now, so anyone reading this after Saturday night will have no clue what we're talking about. -Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Decorum Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 I'd already sent Bill an email about the whisky thing but he was making his way to the TV room to watch Doctor Who. I was there already. He will fix that now, so anyone reading this after Saturday night will have no clue what we're talking about. -Jason I've never had a clue what you're talking about but I enjoy listening just the same. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold PaulRhB Posted November 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 21, 2015 Truly is a wonderful place to stay. I had to stay there for a couple of days a few years back and visit Fort William and Banavie boxes for work, I can really sympathise with the hard work your doing We also had to get a close up look on the footplate of the K1 to understand the RETB equipment properly Glenfinnan station mini museum is worth popping in if you're passing in the car. It's just a nice and very model-able station. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kylestrome Posted November 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 22, 2015 Nice to see you're both travelling light. How many months are you staying? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidotrains Posted November 22, 2015 Author Share Posted November 22, 2015 Nice to see you're both travelling light. How many months are you staying? Oi! I've got three Cybermen in my bag. It's actually bigger on the inside so they are quite comfortable, but the thing weighs a tonne. They are coming to promote our new model at Warley. We're concerned they may get turned back at the NEC entrance.... We've only got the licence to use them so long as nobody sees them or even finds out about it. I was wondering why we got that so cheap... Bill is carrying his two daughters in his large case. They don't have passports so they couldn't fly. Being a magnanimous employer, I offered to fly his girls business class. But the lack of passports stymied that plan and so the suitcase it was. And it isn't dimensionally transcendendal so the girls are really cheesed off. My kids could fit in that bag comfortably. Bill's kids are 17. -Jason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium BR60103 Posted November 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 22, 2015 When you got the directions to the waterfall, how many times did someone say, "Och, ye can't miss it." ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSpencer Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Entertaining as always, just to correct one little thing... There is not a lot of sun first in the morning in the highlands period - let alone November. The weather follows a pattern,rain in the morning, grey in the afternoon, sun in the evening! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidobill Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Entertaining as always, just to correct one little thing... There is not a lot of sun first in the morning in the highlands period - let alone November. The weather follows a pattern,rain in the morning, grey in the afternoon, sun in the evening! Really? We must be doing this backwards then as this is the exact opposite of what we have been experiencing,. In fact, the clouds are a lovely shade of blue this morning and the view is spoiled by this bright glare in the sky.... Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium steam-driven boy Posted November 22, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 22, 2015 Hi, Oi! I've got three Cybermen in my bag. It's actually bigger on the inside so they are quite comfortable, but the thing weighs a tonne. They are coming to promote our new model at Warley. Only three? Suggests a budget version of... http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/11/24/article-0-0C374226000005DC-828_634x404.jpg Surely not... Regards, Gerry 8) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSpencer Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 And here is my LRC walking around the Highlands from July (boldly going where no LRC has gone before) : Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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