Getting Steamy in the Valley!

The Churnet Valley Railway in Staffordshire provided the perfect location for a full day photography tutorial, as well as the perfect location for a fantastic day out!



If ever you are wandering about on the Staffordshire / Derbyshire border and wondering what to do, why not drop by to travel the Churnet Valley Railway? It is spectacular!!



Running for ten and a half miles through the Staffordshire countryside, it'll take you on a journey through nostalgia. Running alongside the Caldon Canal and the River Churnet, the railway takes you into a really interesting and exciting past.



I went along last week with Andy, who was with me for his second photography tutorial. We talked more about exposure and how to be creative using the manual controls on his camera. With the old-fashioned stations, the authentic decor and fittings, the engine sheds and the volunteers who work so hard and so enthusiastically, it's impossible not to take photos at the Churnet Valley Railway! It was the perfect place for our tutorial, a photographer's paradise!

We started off with a bacon roll at Kingsley & Froghall Station (actually, Andy had a Staffordshire oatcake with cheese & bacon and it looked lovely!!!!), where the tea rooms happily open in plenty of time to make full use of before the first train of the day. Joined by the driver and guard of the train, it's a good sign of the quality of the fare!!!

Our first engine was a diesel and we were taken along to Cheddleton Station where we could potter about the engine sheds. It was tipping down with rain, so the engine sheds were extremely inviting in more ways than one, but we didn't realise quite how inviting until we'd gone in.



Not only were we faced with the engine that graces the covers of the Churnet Valley literature in all her naked glory, but there was also a whole host of locomotive and engineering paraphernalia laying about waiting to be restored to life. It's a tremendously exciting place, but it was also a little bit disappointing because visitors were only allowed as far as a barrier just inside the doors. Not to be put off (and it was still tipping down outside!!), we spent a while getting the right exposure for Andy and getting him using his tripod.

Having pottered about for a while, a very lovely chap called Dave came over and invited us in to get some more photos. We happily agreed that it was at our own risk, and joined Dave on his side of the barrier... awesome!! Dave showed us around the sheds and then accompanied us out the far end where I thought I'd faint with excitement!!



Coaches, locos, all kinds of bits and pieces



and, of course, Dave himself. Full of enthusiasm, knowledge and an expert guide, we even managed to persuade him to model for us!



Dave, you're a star and we can't thank you enough!!

Having left Dave, we wandered over the bridge to the Boat Inn for lunch before heading back to the station for a steam-hauled trip to Consall. With not quite enough time for a walk round the nature reserve, we pottered about by the canalside.

The railway bridges the canal here and it's a popular place to moor up with the Black Lion pub just over the crossing. Giving great views down the line from the beer garden, it's a great place to try some shots with the long lens and have a cup of coffee at the same time!



Who says tutorials are like school? Ha ha.

Walking just a short way brought us along to a small weir that was perfect for Andy to practise creative exposures to blur the water.



Not everyone's cup of tea I know, but it is a useful technique to learn for the number of different applications that it can be used for, and was something that Andy can take away to get creative at home or on holiday!

We then wandered over to the old lime kilns, now owned by the RSPB,



before heading back to the station for the last train home. Back at Kingsley & Froghall gave us more opportunity to watch the guys working around the station and around the loco itself.



The weather had cleared up and cheered up, and we stood at the end of the platform like a couple of schoolkids on a trainspotting holiday!



All we needed was a tin of cheese and pickle sandwiches!! I absolutely fell in love with the Churnet Valley Railway and can guarantee that I'll be back, without a doubt! I saw a poster for an evening special that really tickled me and I only wish I was more local so that I could go... 'Diesel, Curry, Beer, £12, Nuff said!' Love it!!

Hmm, wonder what the chances are of the line extending down to Berkshire? Yeah, thought so... I'll just have to go back up!

Rebecca, x
www.rtphotographics.co.uk
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk