Julian Worker's Blog

I’m intending to write a number of travel blogs in the next few days about my recent trip to The Netherlands. I stayed in Amsterdam, close to the central railway station, and caught the train to The Hague, Rotterdam, Zutphen, Utrecht, Den Bosch, Delft, Gouda, Zwolle, and Arnhem.

I used the Nederlandse Spoorwegen app to book the tickets and it worked really well. The trains were excellent including the double-decker intercity trains and I made all my connections. There’s no need to drive when the trains work this well and the stations were about 10 minutes at the most from the centre of the town / city.

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Llangollen Railway is a heritage railway line running for ten miles from Llangollen to Corwen, following the river Dee along its picturesque valley with meadows and trees. There are five stations along the line, all with their own special charm.

The line is within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the River Dee is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its entire length. The designers styled all the stations along the track in a typical Victorian design, and in the 1950s Great Western colour scheme.

The Llangollen Railway is not part of the Great Little Trains of Wales scheme. I caught the train at Corwen, a diesel service to Llangollen. The Eisteddfod was taking place in Llangollen. Parking was at a premium, and I started from the other end of the line. 

The diesel was in the BR livery I remembered from childhood, blue sides with a yellow front and back. The carriages were a mixture of red and red/cream colours. Our first stop after Corwen was Carrog with a wheeled cart of flowers, luggage, bicycle, and a Colman’s Mustard advert on the wall of the station building.

The next station was Glyndyfrdwy, which has great historical associations with Owain Glyndwr, who had a manor house here where he proclaimed himself ‘Prince of Wales’ in the year 1400. Next was Deeside Halt before we entered the Berwyn Tunnel, at 689 yards the longest single-bore tunnel on a UK preserved railway. There are no smoke ventilation shafts. The final stop before Llangollen was Berwyn station with its historic Chain Bridge nearby.

My new book is available here.

The book covers not only the Great Little Trains of Wales but also other methods of transport in the UK.

I was eight years old when my interest in steam trains began. My parents and I lived close to someone who worked at Doncaster train station. The Flying Scotsman was the most famous train of the time, and for some reason it was at Doncaster for a few days. I was asked whether I’d like to see the train and go on the footplate. Of course I did. What I remember most was the enormous size of the train and that the driver’s cab seemed as big as my bedroom. Everything about the train, the colours, the gleaming metal, the gorgeous carriages, the mountain of coal, made a lasting impression – I wanted to go to places, and I wanted to go on a train like this one.

My father wanted to travel, and the plan was for my parents to see the world when he retired. Cancer cut short his life and their plan died with him. Once I had the finances, I felt duty bound to travel to the places he wanted to go, and if possible, go by steam train. This book is what I found.

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The author wrote this book as he was aware philosophy is no longer considered to be part of an educated person’s “General Knowledge”. Luc Ferry thinks this is not acceptable. This book is designed to allow the reader to study a little philosophy.

Philosophy is important because without it, it’s extremely difficult to make sense of the world. This is because most of our thoughts and values have meaning within views of the world that have been developed over the course of history. Without an understanding of these views, people can become fearful and discouraged.

A familiarity with texts of philosophy can allow us to live in a better and freer way, in a more meaningful way.

This books covers certain philosophers in some detail, but as a Brief History of Thought, it can’t cover all of them in great detail. There are enough examples from the history of philosophy for interested readers to branch out and discover more for themselves.

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This is an extract from my new book “Travels through History : 10 Scottish Islands” available here.

Lunga is about 30 minutes from Staffa. Lunga is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Area. and Special Area of Conservation. The boat picked up a floating jetty in a sheltered bay, which allowed the passengers to reach the rocky beach. There are a few ruined blackhouses on the island, but the island is now deserted, at least of human beings. For birdwatchers, the entire island is of interest and botanists would appreciate the many rare and endangered plants native to Lunga, including birdsfoot trefoil, sea campion, sea pinks, yellow flags, and tormentil. There are paths all around, though some can be closed if the wardens believe that by using the path, walkers might disturb birds in their nests. The biggest feature is the Harp Rock, a sea stack that was covered in guillemots. The smell is awful. 

Razorbills were sitting on the edges of the cliffs, though it was the puffins who were receiving the most visitors. A blue cord on the ground showed the line that photographers should not cross. The puffins were happily going about their business without appearing too flustered by the lenses being pointed at them. Indeed, it’s believed that the smaller birds appreciate visitors as it keeps the larger birds, such as eagles and the murderous bonxies (Great Skuas) away. Kittiwakes, petrels, and shearwaters also call Lunga home. Corncrakes live here too, but are very elusive.