Story of a photo...

Stuart Boyd • Nov 15, 2021

The Forth Rail Bridge at sunset

Every now and then I take a photo that some planning and effort goes into... These photos usually turn out to be some of my favourites. Over the next few blogs I will be sharing the stories behind some of my favourite photos.

I always knew the Forth Rail Bridge was going to be a spectacular thing to see! Friends had told me, I' d see other people post photos of it on social media, ultimately I knew taking a bad photo of this beautiful piece of architecture would be almost impossible. That said, one thing I can't predict is the weather on the day I'm in the area.

On this day in particular I was visiting stations on 2 of the 4 routes between Glasgow and Edinburgh and was staying in Glasgow for these couple of nights, for the sole reason of a strike day happening and I wanted to do the Glasgow Subway on the strike day. I had finished my day and arrived at Haymarket where I was going to head back to Glasgow. At this point I started to see the sky getting a tint of orange in it which made me think we was in for an amazing sunset that day! 
Dalmeny station with the forth bridge in the distance

I therefore decided to board a Scotrail class 170 and head to Dalmeny. After taking some photos from around the station I then decided to head down to the waters edge. The walk down through the woodlands and coming out at the waters edge was rather nice.


After climbing down to the beach area, I walked along taking many photos. I decided that the best location for the main photo would be near the pier, so along the beach I went.


In places it wasn't that easy to walk along the beach, I'd recommend to anyone wishing to visit the area to just follow the lane, it's there for a reason, don't be stupid like me and think the beach be the better option!

After reaching the pier I ended up discovering that there was no way of getting from the beach up on to the actual pier annoyingly, I can only guess the photo from further down the pier would have been amazing, I will 100% be returning to test this theory out!


So, I was stuck on the beach, but made the best of the situation by getting several photos, including the one to the left (or above on some mobile devices). After getting these photos I then headed back along the beach, thankfully not all the way, I was able to climb over a fence onto the lane.

Walking along the path led me to the main photo... Now, unlike most of my favourite photos, this one wasn't planned, and only one photo taken. Although there is two editions, the one at the top of this page and the one below - The difference in the two is one has a filter added, and one doesn't. I like both for their own reasons, the filtered photo just puts emphasis on the colours in the leaves and the sunset.

There are two things I really like about this photo; first up is the person taking their own photo. With them stood there it adds some real depth and perspective to the photo. The second thing is the fact the photo pretty much has its own natural frame, all the greenery frames the bridge amazingly! I hope everyone likes this photo as much as I do!


Below is a gallery of some other photos that I took while visiting the Forth Bridge. 

Stations to visit: KILDALE

by Stu • 28 Apr, 2024
Kildale station is located on the very scenic Esk Valley Line that runs from Middlesborough to Whitby. From the June 2024 timetable change the station will see 8 trains per day, 4 in each direction! Although this is a limited service it does give you the opportunity to do some exploring of the area.

Afternoon walk with Bailey

by Stuart • 27 Jan, 2024
I set of on a walk with my sisters dog and headed for the disused canal from Kendal. I followed along disused canal to the village of Natland. I then swapped the disused canal for the river. After following the riverside path, I came across a footbridge that I had planned to use, annoyingly it was closed! Annoyingly I was planning to use this footbridge, due to this there was a lenghty diversion. Thankfully the diversion wasn't a total waste of time, I was able to walk through the beautiful Sizergh Castle and then head back up to my original route plan and headed to Helsington church and view point. After spending a little time chatting with my Dad (who's ashs was scattered there) me and Bailey then headed up to Scout Scar before setting of back down towards Kendal. Upon reaching the River Kent I decided that my feet was still feeling good and I headed back along the river to Hawes Bridge. I then headed up into the village of Natland and then up to Oxenholme where my walk came to an end!

The Northumberland Line

by Stuart • 21 Jan, 2024
A blog about the new Northumberland Line that is scheduled to start opening in the Summer of 2024.

Walking the Great Western Railway - Day 4

by Stu • 06 Sept, 2023
This walk was a tail of two halves! The day started with walking through Reading suburbs and then through the city centre. Things mid morning took a positive turn as we headed to the The Kennet and Avon Canal which I then followed for the remaineder of the day. Only hopping away from the canal to go on to station platforms. A very enjoyable walk, even in the scorching heat! Stations visted today was: Reading, Reading West, Theale, Aldermaston & ended the day at Midgham. By walking between Aldermaston and Midgham I actually have managed to get a station ahead on my plan which can only be a good thing as I head down to the more difficult reagions of Somerset & Devon next week. Until tomorrow :)

Walking the Great Western Mainline gallery - Day 3

by Stu • 04 Sept, 2023
Todays walk was a little bit of a tough one, mainly due to the excessive heat which is only going to get worse as the week goes on. Thinking there will be some early starts coming up to try and miss the worst of the heat! Today was a mixture of roads and walks across fields. Discovered there is some beautiful countryside between Maidenhead and Twyford. I strongly encourage you to take this walk! Stations visited today: Burnham, Taplow, Maidenhead and ended at Twyford. Was great to have Nick Badley along with me today. Make sure to check out and subscribe to his YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@NickBadley . After the walk myself and Nick headed to Windsor where we met up with Coastway Will and had a Nandos dinner where the unlimited refils was very much used again and again! Until tomorrow :)

Walking the Great Western Mainline gallery - Day 2

by Stu • 03 Sept, 2023
Todays walk saw me starting at Southall and heading straight to The Grand Union Canal. We followed this for most of the walk today. Stations called at today was: Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Iver, Langley before finishing the walk at Slough. Was great to have pals Jack and Dave with me today. Laughed for the most part, especially when we got the wrong place for the London/Buckinghamshire borders. That video on twitter got filmed twice lol. Massive thank you to everyone supporting the event via donations to either/both: Donate to Samaritans: https://justgiving.com/page/greatwesternwalk Support me with the challenge: https://www.gofundme.com/f/GreatWesternWalk My photos from today are below. Daves photos from today can be found here on his Flickr photostream: https://flic.kr/ps/3ppCTV Until tomorrow :)

Walking the Great Western Mainline gallery - Day 1

by Stu • 02 Sept, 2023
The first day of the walk from London Paddington to Southall saw me call at Acton Mainline, Ealing Broadway, West Ealing & Hanwell. On the way we saw unexpected viaducts, fancy McDonalds, pretty gardens & nice market squares. Today I was joined by a couple of friends who can be found online at the following places, Please do check their accounts out. Jack All Station: twitter.com/JackAllStations Midland London: youtube.com/@MidlandLondon Below is a selection of photos from today.

Gallery: Weekend Walking around Windermere & Oxenholme

by Stu • 20 Aug, 2023
Walk around Windermere:

Carlisle Photo Collection

by Stu • 12 Aug, 2023
All photos © Every Last Station. Reuse only by permission.

New Station: Thanet Parkway

by Stuart • 03 Aug, 2023
On 31st July at just before 5am Thanet Parkway became Britain's newest station in Great Britain (at the time) and is the first station to open in Kent since Ebbsfleet International opening in 2007. As you approach the station you are greeted with what looks like a lovely and well designed station. The car park complete with 293 spaces which includes 16 spaces for Blue Badge holders and a number of charge points for electric vehicle charging. BUT, here is the stations first of several oversights: none of the vehicle charge points are in one of the 16 Blue Badge spaces and the charging bays don't have enough space for those with limited mobility to get in and out of their cars. As we approach the station from the car park the actual station looks rather impressive. The brick work along with the stylish mettle mesh on the stair case and lift shaft really makes it look the part. There is also some raised flower beds which add to the overall positive experience of the station .
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