Commuting (2)...

... or actually part '0', as that was taken 3 weeks ago:

Commuting (1)

As in probably every case, my comuting is boring too. Especially when the trafic is slow (thanks to lorries, school buses and pensioners in their Mk1 Mondeos & Mk2 Micras). The only excitment is to count how much late would I be...
Today it was so boring (and slow, and I wasn't late), I had to find something to not to fall asleep. So instead of looking straight ahead, I looked around - and was actually surprised by how many small, but quite interesting compositions can be found when looked from a different viewpoint.
As a result on my way back I made a quick stop for one of the earlier spotted views:

To be continued - 5 times a week...

Search for the best trainspotting spot around Abingdon (2)

Kennington Junction:
+nice track layout, signals etc
+variety of passenger trains rolling stock types
-a bit too much of the roofs from the bridge
-background (as below) not in scale with trains
-restricted parking options (far away or chargeable)

I hope one day to catch a goods train to/from Oxford Mini factory.

Search for the best trainspotting spot around Abingdon (1)

Inspiration comes from Thames Rail blog, which I appreciate because it focuses on freight traffic - and shows great photos!
So taking advantage of days getting longer and longer I'm on a crusaide for the best spot for train hunting around Abingdon.
Today's candidate is Denchworth (again - already covered in recent post):
+ the only distinctive landmark (Didcot Power Station) around on the horizon
+ good view from above and place to park a car
- quite remote (though not that much if going straight after work)
- class 43 HSTs only as passenger services

That view is going to be a 'classic'

And this is a nice option - I like the bends of the track and presence of the Stokenchurch BT tower.

What the White Horse can see..

Late spring allowed finally to think about some days out, and it's high time to prepare the little hiker for more challenging walks, so we headed off to Uffington. Unfortunately weather forcast traditionally failed, but still we had chance to avoid showers and see some nice landscapes.

 Between Uffington and Faringdon: the latter to the left from the Folly Hill.
Behind Brize Norton airfield.

 Fernham (Silver St.) and Kringel Wook

 Whitehorse Tipi Village and Great Coxwell

 As above, though from the car park

And the last view at Faringdon

Long time ago Faringdon was linked with Uffington with railway,
now however there is little chance to spot any train nearby ;)

Abingdon Air and Country Show 2013

Unusually weather for long weekend was really good, so I was looking forward to visiting this show for the first time. However the 4 year old, whom this day out was dedicated for, decided that he doesn't like airplanes any more and doesn't want to go there. So we anly had a glance from nearby road, which appeared located conveniently at the approach to the runway. So no show, but plenty of planes and opportunity for some shots:

(the last one is of correct orientation - the acrobatics they did with the helicopter was really impressive, I regret the camera couldn't keep focus when recording movie)

Great Western Main Line

Beautiful Saturday afternoon spent exploring locations along Great Western Main Line between Groove and Uffington - very nice spots indeed, expect more photos from over there in the future.
Ubiquitous - as of now - class 43 HST may seem boring, but soon (if electrification goes as planned) will be memory only - as were the clouds from Didcot power station cooling towers, now leaving the sky intact.

For a change - duo of Class 66