On Holiday - Part 2

After David's diesel train driving experience on the Monday we visited the engine house along the line of the Severn Valley Railway. An interesting mix of engines, plus various artefacts too.

For anyone who remembers Thomas the Tank Engine, this is Gordon.

I liked these London Underground signs and posters.

Back at Kidderminster station there was a museum with some signs, signals and other railway paraphanalia and I took these three pics as reminders of Dorset.

None of these exist any more.  They were from the Somerset and Dorset line, which closed in the 1960's. Broadstone is just a mile from where we live and what was the station has been long gone and is now a leisure centre. Shillingstone is a village near Blandford.

We headed for a day out on Tuesday to Shrewsbury and Ludlow.  Both historic towns and David was busy taking photos, but I took none that day, left it to the professional!!

On Wednesday we headed to Birmingham, which was where we stayed in readiness for going to Festival of Quilts on Thursday and Friday.

Not being able to book the Back to Back houses on a timed ticket for the rest of that week, we decided that we would go to the Museum of the  Jewellery Quarter.  There are makers of jewellery in workshops around this area of Birmingham and also those who will buy old jewellery for cash.  The museum was in a workshop that dated from Victorian times and closed in the 1980's, and was kept just as it had been left. The exhibition near the entrance had stories of the men from the Quarter who joined the army in the First World War.  There was a wall hanging designed by the children of a local school with stories and pictures.

At the station in the Jewellery Quarter we saw an owl and it was further into the city we discovered more.  There are nine here, but I took more pictures than that!  Similar to Shaun in the City in Bristol, posted here, this is The Big Hoot 

Quite a lot were featured around the squares in Birmingham city centre, though there are some on the outskirts of the city.

Fascinating architecture

From looking up at tall buildings and even down to the pavements, there could be plenty to inspire design. Particularly liked the Library, with its overlapping circle cladding.  We only ventured to the ground floor to enjoy a cup of tea, but if you look in the pic (top right on the yellow middle section there are some people looking over the to the square. Something to explore if we head up that way again.

More to come on the Festival of Quilts….