View From Black Dog

I didn't go far today, parking at Studleybrook Farm, close to the bridge over the main road at Black Dog.

My plan was to photograph what is left of Black Dog Halt, the only railway station between Calne and Chippenham apart from Stanley Bridge Halt, on the old branch line that ran between 1863 and 1965, when it was axed by Beeching. It had made the biggest loss per mile of track of any line in the country.

Black Dog Halt was initially there solely to serve Lord Lansdowne who lived in Bowood House and whose grounds stretched beyond Calne to Cherhill. The stationmaster's house is still there and the platform on the south side, and a big platform sign saying 'Black Dog Halt' on the other. I took some pictures, but they need a better day.

I also had a look at the new-fangled bridge that replaced the long-gone railway bridge when the old track became a cycleway, and photographed that too. I tried walking across it but turned back after a couple of paces - vertigo had taken hold.

Walking along the railway-come-cycle path back towards Calne I was afforded views of the Bowood estate to my right. The hill in the distance is Buck Hill leading to Bassett's Moor. Many Blippers have remarked that I live in a very attractive area, and I can only agree. I explored it avidly in the early nineties when I first moved here and took many pictures on 35mm film. Taking these digital pictures for Blipfoto has caused me to revisit many sites I haven't explored for too many years.

Black Dog Walks, Calne, 24-25 November 2010 (Flickr set of 33 images)