The journey to Darjeeling

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway, one of India’s UNESCO listed Toy Trains.  This narrow gauge railway was built between 1891 and 1899 and connects Mettupalayam with Udhagamandalam – Ooty – the hill town that served as the colonial summer capital of the south, the mild mountain climate making it a welcome summer retreat from the searing [...]

From the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal.

From Kalka to Shimla – the summer capital of the British Raj.  The railway opened in 1905 to bring the British and their entourage north  to escape the summer heat of Delhi and the plains.  One of three UNESCO World Heritage listed Indian hill railways, sadly this one is exclusively diesel hauled but probably the [...]

Jodhpur to Delhi to Amritsar – a bit of a journey but here is the best of it, including those camels…    

From Leeds to Liverpool on the canal – actually I cheated, starting in Skipton and travelling as far as the outskirts of Leeds – and back again, not forgetting to stop at Saltaire, Sir Titus Salt’s model industrial village.  But the scenery is diverse – from the green Yorkshire Dales to the grey of the [...]

New York, Chicago….

Once a year on the edge of the Rajasthani desert camel traders and horse breeders meet, much as they have for over a hundred years.