South Tynedale Railway

Thursday's Guardian Country Diary concerns the wonderful South Tynedale Railway at Alston in Cumbria, a narrow gauge line that epitomises the spirit of the small country railway.

Even this saddletank steam locomotive, Harrogate, here being refilled from the water tower by her fireman, harmonises with the line-side vegetation. Harrogate began her life as a shunter in a gasworks but is now in fine fettle in this rural retirement.

On this occasion we decided to follow the footpath beside the track out from Alston into glorious Cumbrian landscape. In summer the lineside is fringed with wild flowers, including spotted orchids, and some very fine displays of guelder rose (above).


The line crosses the South Tyne about half a mile out of town and it was while we were leaning over the bridge parapet that we watched this spotted flycatcher, flitting out from an ash branch and snatching insects. The afternoon was so still that you could hear the bird's beak snap shut over its prey.

Harrogate caught up with us and steamed past, sounding her whistle, hissing steam and pulling her rattling carriages, clicketty-clacking over the rail joints. After she'd passed and disappeared around the bend in the track the flycatcher was still on its branch, undisturbed by the passing mechanical monster. 

A transport system at one with its rural surroundings...

For some more photos of wildlife and scenery along the South Tynedale Railway, click here

It Pays to Advertise

Guelder rose's berries are ripening and its leaves are taking on their autumn colours already. The berries are so shiny that they look permamently wet.

Back in the early summer I photographed this same plant, in a hedgerow in Durham, when it was in flower and you can see one of the peculiarities of its blooms - two kinds of flowers in each inflorescence. Only the outer ring of flowers have fully developed petals but they are there purely to provide a long-lasting advertisement to visiting insects - they're sterile and they don't produce any fruits.

It's only the small, petal-less flowers in the centre of the inflorescence that have stamens and stigmas and ultimately produce the berries. The fine crop of fruits currently ripening shows that the arrangement works. Garden hydrangeas have a similar floral division of labour in their inflorescences.