Travel
Big engineering at Clifton, Cumbria, just south of Penrith. A mainline railway bridge over the M6 motorway was taken out last weekend. Motorway and railway both closed. Despite heavy frosts and technical hitches the M6 reopened on schedule after the weekend. As expected, the railway line has a big gap of about 130 m. ready for the new bridge: this will be moved in to place next weekend when the M6 will be again closed all weekend.
Sunrise on the A69 at Warwick-on-Eden
So a 2025 battery/petrol hybrid. The 1197cc Suzuki Swift convinced me as a driver and I did a double-take when I saw the fuel consumption display, which showed 63 mpg on my run from Newcastle to Keswick, that’s 88 miles using the A69/M6/A66 route.
Postcard from Menton in the French style to introduce my set of photos of Menton, the “Pearl of the Rivera”. Menton is a Mediterranean town both French and Italian, a favourite of the British for many years. Fantastic light, fabulous gardens and free beaches.
2025 petrol Corsa 1.2 turbo at the Col du Festre (1442 m.)
It’s a pleasure to drive this zippy 2025 petrol Corsa 1.2T, the T indicates a turbo. At last, a car from the hire companies that is both what I reserved and that’s enjoyable to drive. Yes enjoyable: the little Corsa is light, goes where I want it to and is nippy. The Sport button gives a useful lift in power at low to medium revs, eg for overtakes on mountain roads. The turbo comes in smoothly and unobtrusively, without a lurch to scare passengers. The one I’ve hired comes with the parking aids package etc and a previous hirer has sorted out the driver warnings so that they’re not annoying and distracting, as they often are on hire cars still on the default profile.
Postcard from sunny Brighton Madeira Drive as Mods, scooterists and bikers gather for their traditional August Bank Holiday runs. Zip-wire and Volks railway running too.
