Episodes

Season 2025 – Talk 11 – Escape of Charles II in 1651 In the ‘Escape of Charles II in 1651 after the Battle of Worcester’ Chris Hodge tells us about the Parliamentarian hunt for Charles II and his problems in getting from England to Europe. Background: When the last Tudor monarch Elizabeth I dies in 1603 there are no heirs. James VI of Scotland takes up the throne – making him James VI of Scotland, but also James I of England.. He is a firm believer in his divine right to rule, and so his di...

Wemyss Bay and Rothesay – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 19 In ‘Wemyss Bay and Rothesay‘ I travel from Glasgow Central to Wemyss Bay on the train and then take the ferry to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute.. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Glasgow’s suburbs: We leave Glasgow Central in the grey drizzle and cross the Clyde before travelling through some ‘rather weary’ suburbs on our journey towards Paisley. Paisley: The rundown buildings seem to ...

Season 2025 – Talk 09 – London End In ‘London End’ Tim Davies tells us about the arrival of the railways in London and the termini that the railway companies built. To view the images that were included with this talk please click on an image below: At the beginning: On September 27th, 1825, the first passenger train travels on the Stockton to Darlington railway. The organisers expect 300 passengers, however they carry between 450 and 600 people. Some travel in empty wagons, others on top o...

May – MrT’s Gardening Year 2026 – Episode 05 May, the end of spring and a hint of summer. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Extremely dry: Another month of very dry weather with just a few damp days. The soil really is very dry. Mrs T dug out a weed in the lawn and the top 6 to 8 inches of soil were dust. The lilac was the last of the flowering trees and kept going until the azaleas and rhododendrons peaked. Then the the mock orange with its white f...

Glasgow Central Tour – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 18 In ‘Glasgow Central Tour‘ I join a group for a tour ‘behind the scenes’ at Scotland’s busiest station. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: The Concourse: We meet in the station’s spacious concourse which dates from the station’s rebuild between 1901 and 1905. Before the rebuild the buffers were where today’s concourse is. Today the station looks after 25 million passengers a year. It is also...

April – MrT’s Gardening Year 2026 – Episode 04 April, the time where the garden changes from flowering bulbs to flowering shrubs. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Still dry: There has been sunshine, some very warm days but very little rain. Any rain has been completely ineffective! April brings the change from the bulbs that welcome spring to the flowering shrubs that mark the next phase in the garden. There are wonderful late tulips in the border,...

Season 2025 – Talk 02 – Gladstone In ‘Gladstone’ Jo Huddleston tells us about the career of the man who was Liberal Prime Minister four times. His talk suggests that he feels Gladstone was far better than our recent Prime Ministers and also his great opponent, Disraeli. Early life: Born in 1809, in Liverpool, to a pretty well off family. His father owns 2,509 slaves working in plantations. It’s fair to suggest he’s brought up in a fairly capitalist conservative way. Entering Eton in 1821 when...

Journey’s End – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 17 In ‘Journey’s End‘ I continue my journey to my arrival at Glasgow Central. I then walk to St. Enoch Square, the true home of the Thames Clyde Express. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: The last of the countryside and curling: We pass through Kilmaurs, Stewarton and Dunlop stations before passing Loch Libo. Loch Libo is a freshwater loch, the name is very old and may be pre-Gaelic in origin. The ...

March – MrT’s Gardening Year 2026 – Episode 03 March, as the month progresses we pass through both the equilux and the equinox. The days are getting longer and spring really is upon us. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Relatively dry: To be honest we could do with some rain. Lots of dry, grey days! There has been sunshine, there has been some rain but not enough of it! March sees the garden at its best. There are the flowering bulbs following on fr...

On to Kilmarnock – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 16 In ‘On to Kilmarnock‘ I continue my journey through the Scottish lowlands on a ScotRail Class 156 Super Sprinter. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Dumfries – the ‘Queen of the South’: The red sandstone station is in an Italianate style. Opening in 1848 it it has a category B listing from Historic Scotland. In 2022 / 23 the station hosts 291,000 passengers. In 1935 Carnation opened an evapora...

Season 2025 – Talk 01 – Post Napoleonic France In ‘Post Napoleonic France’ Peter Duffy tells us about the political difficulties in France in the 19th Century. He draws on Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas to show the parallels between the fact and fiction. Scope: The talk covers the period in France’s history between 1814 and the final collapse of the monarchy in 1848, and the formation of the Second Republic. The time between the Bourbon restorat...

North from Carlisle – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 15 In ‘North from Carlisle‘ I spend some time at Carlisle Citadel Station before boarding my ScotRail train to Glasgow. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Glasgow and South-Western Railway: I leave Carlisle on the lines built by the Glasgow and South-Western Railway, formed in 1850. A locomotive workshop at Kilmarnock in 1856 had Patrick Sterling as the locomotive superintendent for 10 years. ...

February – MrT’s Gardening Year 2026 – Episode 02 February, after a very long January, the evenings start to draw out during the shortest month of the year. This can be a very cold month but this year has been mainly mild and frost free. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Wet, wet, wet: Apparently this is the wettest month on record in some parts of the country. Those records go back to 1836! In southern England, where my garden is, it hasn’t rained a...

Carlisle – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 14 In ‘Carlisle‘ I spend some time looking round the city, spend a night in the Travelodge and return to the station. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Staying the night: I’m staying at the Travelodge in the centre of Carlisle, it’s a short walk from the station, good value and a brand that I know well. The building dates from 1955. It was built as the telephone exchange. The ceiling in my room is very ...

January – MrT’s Gardening Year 2026 – Episode 01 January, the first month of the year when many retreat to the fireside and look at seed catalogues or binge watch Gardener’s World. Although it is a month with less garden activity than many others there is still a great deal to do. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: A cold start to the month: Some cold weather in the first couple of weeks of the month. The fountain in the pond stops it from freezing ov...

On to Carlisle – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 13 In ‘On to Carlisle‘ I complete my journey from Leeds to Carlisle along the Settle and Carlisle line. On reaching Carlisle I say goodbye to Northern Trains who I have been travelling with since Sheffield. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Kirkby Stephen Station and the Eden Valley: We are now in the Eden Valley in Cumbria. The station is 1 ½ miles south-west of Kirkby Stephen and also serves othe...

Season 2024 – Talk 14 – The Romanovs In ‘The Romanovs’ Alan Freeland tells us about the dynasty that ruled Russia from 1613 until 1917. One family: One family dominates Russian life for three centuries,  the Romanoffs. In Alan’s view possibly the most successful Imperial Royal Family in Europe, and yet people don’t usually give them much credence. A dynasty with a very inauspicious start, with Michael in 1613 and an inauspicious end with the assassination, or execution, of Nicholas II. 17 ru...

We reach Garsdale – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 12 In ‘We reach Garsdale‘ the journey from Leeds to Carlisle continues as we travel from Settle north along the Settle and Carlisle line. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Settle Station: The Grade II listed station is at the southern end of the Settle and Carlisle Line. Just over 41 miles north of Leeds, its close to the town centre and has part-time staff. There is a waiting room, toilets and ...

Season 2024 – Talk 13 – Edward I In ‘Edward I’ Peter Duffy tells us about the King who ruled from 1272 to 1307. Click a thumbnail below to view the image gallery that accompanies the talk. History repeating itself? Imagine another England long ago, but one that you recognise. A time with many parallels to the present day. The Welsh and the Scots are revolting. The government is desperately short of money and is looking at new ways to raise even more taxes. There’s an institution supposedly d...

On to Hellifield – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 11 In ‘On to Hellifield‘ I continue my journey from Leeds to Carlisle. We travel from West Yorkshire into North Yorkshire. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Apperley Bridge: Just before Apperley Bridge station we pass Woodhouse Grove School which has around 1,000 pupils. It was founded by Methodist theologian Adam Clarke and the Wesleyan Conference. 2015 sees Apperley Bridge station open on a di...

Season 2024 – Talk 12 – The Wonders of Electricity In ‘The Wonders of Electricity’ Andrew Cole looks at the history of electricity from it’s earliest days and the effect it has had on life. Introduction: We take electricity for granted. You can’t see it, you can’t smell it and you can’t hear it, but you’d be most unwise to touch it, let alone taste it. Electricity is essential for much that we do in our modern daily lives. Early days: Cragside, in Northumberland, is the first house in the wo...

Leeds to Kirkstall Forge – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 10 In ‘Leeds to Kirkstall Forge‘ I spend time in City Square in Leeds. It is Sunday morning and although the hospitality venues are already busy the square is virtually traffic free. A big change from when I was at University here. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: The Queens Hotel: The Queens Hotel dominates one side of City Square. The front of the hotel is in Portland stone. The Art De...

Rail 200 Tour – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 200 In the ‘Rail 200 Tour‘ I join the Railway Touring Company‘s Charter train marking the 200th Anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: A bit of history: On 27 September 1825, 12 waggons of coal travel across the two Brusselton incline planes. They are hauled by stationary engines to Mason’s Arms Crossing at Shildon. Locomotion No. 1 then takes over. Th...

Leeds and Ribblehead – UK Rail Journeys Series 2 – Episode 09 In ‘Leeds and Ribblehead‘ I spend time in Leeds and take a trip to Ribblehead to watch the Railway Touring Company‘s Cumbrian Mountain Express cross the viaduct. Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with the podcast: Friday evening in Leeds: It is a beautiful spring evening and I set off from my hotel to find two historic railway buildings. I stop to look at City Square. Relatively quiet this evening unlike wh...