A stream train on the London underground

I'm not a train or railway enthusiast, but when I read that a steam train would be running on the London underground, I had to go and have a look.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the District line, a steam train ran along parts of the London Underground. This was the last time steam trains are expected to travel into central London on the Underground network, due to signalling modernisation that will provide more frequent services and improved reliability on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.

Steam trains served the District Railway when it first opened to the public between South Kensington and Westminster on Christmas Eve, 1868.

There were 3 journeys each day on June 22 and 23. The route was from Ealing Broadway to High Street Kensington and back. On the outward journey the train ran "backwards" towards High Street Kensington, pulled by the 1923 Sarah Siddons electric locomotive. For the return journey, the steam loco Metropolitan 1 pulled it back to Ealing Broadway.

The train was comprised of the following locomotives and carriages:
Metropolitan No.1 steam locomotive
Bluebell Chesham Coaches, 387, 412, 368 & 394
District Railway Coach No.100 from the Kent and East Sussex Railway
London Transport Museum’s Metropolitan Jubilee Coach 353
Sarah Siddons electric locomotive

Tickets to ride the train were sold out in advance, despite costing over £150.

I went to Earls Court station for my first viewing. I was standing right on the platform as the train came in, which was too close for good photos

I then jumped on the regular underground train and went to Ealing Broadway, where the steam train was being watered, in preparation for the 2nd journey. People were dressed in Victorian costume and there was heritage Victorian brass instruments playing. Only ticket holders could go onto the platform where the train was standing.

And a view looking down

Madeira north and west coast

Having seen the northeast side of Madeira, my next tour was to the northwest. The first stop was at Camara de Lobos which I had been to the day before. We then went up to Cabo Girao which is Europe's highest cliff and said to be the second highest sea cliff in the world, at 580 m above sea level. There is a glass skywalk. And of course a lot of visitors.

We continued on, past a fish farm in the sea, and our next stop was at Ribeira Brava. It was Sunday and there was a Mass at St Benedict church. During this there were several very loud cannon blasts from the hilltop fort opposite, and some more at the end when the procession came out of the church.

The sea front and hilltop fort-

On past Ponta do Sol. We then headed inland, through Carnas, and uphill to Paul da Serra, the plateau. It was a nice winding road, through eucalyptus forests and we saw the native plant, Pride of Madeira -

We entered the national park, Malhadinha, where cattle are grazed.  Paul da Serra at 1,300 - 1,500 metres above sea level is the flattest place in Madeira. There are wind turbines and solar panels. There was lots of yellow broom everywhere

To the north of the plateau is the laurel forest, or laurisilva. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as it is the relict of a widespread earlier forest. As we began the descent to the north coast we saw lots of bay trees. Stopped at a viewpoint of Relva do Jordao and could hear the river somewhere in the valley. There are lots of springs in this area.

Further down there were lots of white hydrangea alongside the road. We stopped at the Eira da Achada viewpoint

Next stop was Porto Moniz. This is famous for the salt water swimming pools formed by volcanic lava

The town and mountains behind

We then drove along the coast, through the small town of Seixal and stopped at Veu da Noiva viewpoint with a waterfall

 A bee in the Agapanthus -

Next was Sao Vicente. The graveyard was full of flowers -

 Young Jacaranda -

This is not a church. It is a clock tower and there are 4 clocks each showing different times - they were used to control the water allowed into the fields from the levadas

We took the old road back through the mountains to Funchal, stopping at Encumeada view point. There was a festival going on. You can see both the north and south coats, this is the view south -

Then it was back to Funchal.

Madeira Nuns Valley

Nuns Valley or Curral das Freiras is a small parish nestling between almost perpendicular mountains in the heart of the island of Madeira.

I went on a tour and before heading inland up to the valley, we went to Camara de Lobos on the coast, west of Funchal. It is a traditional fishing village and is very popular with tourists. It was the first place to be settled in 1419. Winston Churchill used to come here and paint.

Câmara de Lobos translates as ‘The Chamber of the Wolves’, as the area was once the habitat of the endangered monk seal.

View of the tall cliffs of Cabo Girao, which I visited later -

We then headed back towards Funchal and stopped at a viewpoint at Pico dos Barcelos. The footballer Cristiano Ronaldo used to live in a village near here -

We then started going uphill to the Valley of the Nuns. Went to eucalyptus forests. Stopped at Eira do Serrado and walked up to a view point over the Nuns Valley.

This is the part of Nuns Valley that we later went to -

Apparently the nuns ran away to this valley during the pirate invasion in the 1600s. There are no nuns there today. There is a new road tunnel linking the valley to the outside world.

Down in the valley, looking up at the Eira do Serrado viewpoint which is on the tip of the tall mountain on the left of the photo -