The rain cools the air, calms the soul and replenishes life
Mike Dolan
8 Comments CherryPie on Jul 29th 2023
Following our walk from Brighton pier to Marine Parade we planned to return to the pier on the Volks Electric Railway, however accessing the station proved problematic. All walkways to the station platform were blocked off due to regeneration of the area. Rather than walk a very long way round we decided to follow the example of a local jogger and scramble down a grassy bank.
Volk’s Electric Railway (VER) is a narrow gauge heritage railway that runs along a length of the seafront of the English seaside resort of Brighton. It was built by Magnus Volk, the first section being completed in August 1883, and is the oldest operational electric railway in the world, though it was not the first electric railway to be built. It was preceded by electrification of Miller’s line in 1875, Werner von Siemens‘ 1879 demonstration line in Berlin and by the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway of 1881, although none of these remain in operation.
Today the line runs between terminal stations at Aquarium (a short distance from the Palace Pier) and Black Rock (at Black Rock, not far from Brighton Marina), with an intermediate station and depot at Halfway.
The line has a 2 ft 8+1⁄2 in (825 mm) narrow gauge, is electrified at 110 V DC using a third rail, and is one mile (1.6 km) long.
2 Comments CherryPie on Jul 29th 2023
St John the Baptist’s Church was the first Catholic Church in Brighton. The building of the church was funded by Maria Fitzherbert a wealthy widow from Shropshire who became the secret first wife of George, Prince of Wales who later became King George IV. The marriage was kept secret because at that time it was illegal for a Royal heir to marry a Catholic
6 Comments CherryPie on Jul 27th 2023
The castle motte dates from 1068 and was built with three sides protected by the River Severn but the stone walls date from the 12th to 13th centuries. There was originally a wooden keep on the motte but it collapsed in 1271 when half of the motte was washed away into the river. The castle was allowed to decay from the middle of the 14th century until in 1565 a local merchant converted it into a residence. Even though it was re-fortified during the Civil War it was beseiged and captured by Parliament in 1645. After the wwar it was used as a private residence and it was then restored in the 18th century by Thomas Telford. Laura’s Tower was erected on the motte in 1790 as a summer house.
The castle currently houses the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum, a host to a journey through nearly 300 years of British Army Evolution, seen through the eyes, campaigns and sacrifices of Shropshire Soldiers.
The Museum displays the significant collections of the Shropshire regiments between 1755 and 1968, including the formation of the Light Infantry & Rifles regiments, and the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, (Shropshire Yeomanry) Squadron.
4 Comments CherryPie on Jul 26th 2023
… flies in to Wellington town
4 Comments CherryPie on Jul 24th 2023
Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke
6 Comments CherryPie on Jul 23rd 2023
