Rumble over Ribblehead

Slept better, still pretty dark when the alarm went off this morning......an earlyish start for the likes of us ;-)

Rucksack ready, packed lunch done, camera batteries fully charged, everything loaded into the car, including walking boots and waterproofs and off we went just after 9am.

As we left the rain started again, despite the forecast for a dry day! We headed north, it got darker, the clouds got lower, the rain got heavier; we thought the day was going to be a disaster, but once we got to Lancaster and left the motorway towards Ingleton them skies brightened, the rain stopped and we never looked back :-)

Met up with our friends near the Station Inn right besides the Ribblehead Viaduct, in good time for a walk up Blea Moor to find a good vantage point for the approaching 1927 steam loco, Royal Scot, seen here in all its glory :-Added another in extras too.

We saw a few freight trains and the local train back and forth too. We sat and had our picnic lunch right facing the viaduct.....most of the,train spotters and photographers had disappeared by this time, just a few hikers about.....so very peaceful and pleasant, despite the absence of the sun.

We had to depart by 2pm as we had to get home for in time for our granddaughters birthday meal at 4pm this evening, Emily is actually 12 tomorrow. We went back to,the Istanbul Grill where we went for her mums birthday a couple of,weeks ago. We all enjoyed it again too......a lovely sunny evening by the time we left too!

All back to daughters house for an hour or so, waited for another of her friends to call around, with her mum, who had made,Emily's birthday cake, as a gift, it was a very nice Malteser cake...of course we had to sample it before coming home! Just as well I wasnt getting weighing this evening! Still feeling rather full some 4 hours later.

Just about to watch next episode of Condor now, which we are enjoying.

Hope your all safe. & well.