Staying in the local area, Paul and I had planned to spend Sunday morning at the Etruria Canals Festival.
A glance outside the window and at the weather forecast for Stoke made the idea less enticing.
Paul suggested the Telford Steam Railway.
Unfortunately some navigational challenges meant we arrived too late to catch the only convenient service on the standard gauge line, and the tramway was shut whilst the tram was prepared for the upcoming gala.
I was quite impressed with their miniature line, though. There is something about ground level mainline 5" gauge.
There was also a total absence of steam, so we decided to press on to Bridgnorth. Whilst Issy and I visit quite often, it was years since Paul's last visit, and he was suitably impressed with the town.
He was also impressed with the Joules pub where we had lunch after a trip on the cliff railway.
Actually, we stayed longer than planned in the pub, because there was a minor delay in the food service. That meant we couldn't catch the service to Kidderminster and get back. TBH we even had to hurry to catch the next train to Highley and the Engine House.
Once again we were out of luck as far as steam was concerned. The 33 did, though, take us back to our university days in Southampton
It was our first time visiting the Engine House. Whilst some might dislike the modern architecture, I thought it worked really well as an exhibition space. Just sad that several of the locos now on display were the ones I knew in the early days - including the only standard gauge loco I've ever driven.
Hopes of steam haulage back to Bridgnorth were dashed by the sound of another diesel, but I was still excited to see it was a Teddy Bear.
All in all it turned out to be a good day out, though a tiring one.
Nick and I had one more outing together, early in the week, to say farewell to the outgoing CO of our Sea Cadet unit. , who also happens to be Tom's dad.
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