Château de Bissy-sur-Fley

Going through the old holiday pictures still, I found some more of a very interesting château we visited in Burgundy in 2012. It is at Bissy-sur-Fley and is the oldest looking château I have ever seen. It was begun in the 15th Century and completed in the 16th Century and nothing much has been done to it since.  In fact, it was, in parts, in need of some repair! It is commonly known as Château Pontus de Tyard, after its most famous inhabitant, who was a renowned poet of the late 16th Century and the local seigneur at that time. It is now in private hands, but there is an organisation dedicated to its restoration. I have always felt that it looks like a true medieval French château and certainly nothing like the modernised great houses of the late 17th and 18th Centuries. Very atmospheric and certainly worth using as an example to model.

Images of Burgundy

While I work on getting my wargaming stuff sorted and ready to use, I acquired a more up-to-date computer from my son-in-law - my old one dates from 2002! - which as everyone knows requires moving saved files from one to the other. In the course of doing so, I took the opportunity to update our holiday photographs by trimming them down to the ones we really wanted to keep, not the random collection that existed. The task revealed images that I thought might be of interest to wargamers who like to model scenic items. So here are a few of buildings from Burgundy in France. Don't worry, there aren't too many!

This is the château of Bussy. Its most famous inhabitant was the comte de Bussy-Rabutin, who was a cavalry general under Louis XIII and Louis XIV. He did not like Turenne much and he lost his position for writing a racy novel about the French court, having to spend the rest of his life in exile at Bussy. I can think of a lot of worse places to have to retire to, although he seems to have spent a lot of the time being bored and pining for his lady loves back at court! The big round towers were converted from the original medieval castle.

This is the château of Commarin. Like Bussy, the big towers were part of the original medieval castle.

This is the château at Epoisse - yes, where that delicious but very smelly cheese comes from! It belonged to the prince de Condé, one of Louis XIV's great generals.

This is the little château of Fley, the village where we were staying.

This little château was in the village of Posanges, tucked away on a side street. It shows a much older style than those above, probably still very much as it looked in the late Middle Ages, unlike those of the 17th and 18th Century, which were mostly conversions of old medieval castles.

An old medieval tower in the town walls of Semur.

Old houses in the little town of Vitteaux.

So, hopefully that might give some inspiration to the modelmakers amongst you. Burgundy is full of historic sites, towns, villages. And of course it has lovely wine and cheese!

North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Another visit last month to Yorkshire to see daughter, son-in-law and grandson saw us going to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. If you get the chance, it is one of the best heritage lines in the United Kingdom, which winds its way through the moors for almost 20 miles and has lots of locomotives and rolling stock, with its main station at Pickering, a nice town on the southern edge of the moors.

We had a bit of a treat as the Flying Scotsman was visiting the line for a fortnight and we got to see it at Pickering station. I had seen it many, many years ago, but not running. It was something of a special moment, for the locomotive is rather a national treasure, although there are many other fine steam locomotives about. The people waiting to see it all fell quiet, something of a reverent hush descended, as it came into sight and steamed smoothly into the platform. A special moment.

Anyway, some photographs and captions.

A Black Five sitting in the platform, waiting its path to head north. A workhorse of an engine.

Now this was an extra surprise. This is a replica of Locomotion, the first locomotive to pull regular passenger traffic on the railways in 1825. It is normally at the Beamish Museum, I think, but had come down to Pickering as part of the 200 Anniversary of the railways in the UK.

Imagine travelling in one of those! Open to the elements, hard seats, no facilities! As a former railwayman, I can hear the customer complaints!

The view north - country end as we would have called it in my time - from the station's bridge.

The people gathering to see the Flying Scotsman.

The Flying Scotsman.

In British Railways dark green colour.

A rake of burgundy red coaches behind.

Running round to what will be the front of the train for the return journey back up the line. There is no turntable on the railway, so this means the locomotives run backwards for one direction, forwards for the other.

A lovely moment, seeing this locomotive and the others. And I bet I get way more hits for this post than my usual wargaming stuff!

National Rail Museum, York

Well, not having been to a museum for some years, suddenly I have been to three in less than a month! Not only did we visit the York Air Museum when we were house-sitting for my youngest daughter, but we also went to that wonderful place, the National Rail Museum in York itself. It is a great place to see all kinds of locomotives and rolling stock up close, including some from outside the UK. Easily accessible to all ages, with a café and toilets on site, undercover as well. Admission is free, which is a rarity these days in such a large museum. It is easy to reach from the main railway station - worth seeing as well for its Victorian splendour and one of the few main line stations built on a curve - and there is a car park, which costs £10 but you can stay there all day. However, there is major upgrading of the roads around the museum going on at the moment, so you have to follow diversions to reach the car park, which is also smaller than normal. In addition, not all the exhibits can be seen as they are being upgraded, but there is still a lot to view in the main hall, as well as the North Hall, which is absolutely stuffed with railway memorabilia! If you are a train buff, it is a must see. Even my daughters and wife, who are not, love to visit it!