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King Alfred’s Tower #50places2026

When I visited Stourhead back in February I saw that King Alfred’s Tower was close by, but was also closed. It is only open at weekends from April to October. I had always planned to revisit Stourhead, so it was a simple decision to also go and see King Alfred’s Tower as well.

I arrived just after 11am, the car park was very busy, but I think that’s more as people use the car park for walking in the woods.

The tower is a short walk from the car park. It is just a tower, one of the corners continuing the spiral staircase. There are 205 steps to get to the top of the 180ft high tower.

The views from the tower are fantastic.

Walked slowly down the 205 steps. Made me slightly dizzy.

King Alfred’s Tower

This triangular tower, two miles north-west of Stourhead garden, was designed by Henry Flitcroft for Stourhead’s second owner, Sir Henry Hoare II. The Tower is named after King Alfred who raised his standard here in 878. The tower commemorates the accession of George III in 1760 and the end of the Seven Years’ War.

Current saving £187.30
One adult £7.00
Parking Free
Total saving £7.00
Cumulative saving £290.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £194.30

I would probably go again, but in the autumn when the leaves on the surrounding trees are red, orange and yellow.

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West Somerset Railway #50places2026

Over the years I have visited and travelled on the West Somerset Railway many times. When we stayed at Butlins we would often walk down to Minehead Station and look at the stream trains. In September 2023, myself and my son headed to Bishops Lydeard and caught the train to Minehead. I did visit Minehead again in October 2025, but by then I had already reached my target of fifty places that year.

In May of 2026 the West Somerset Railway was running a steam gala, this time myself and my son went along to see what was going on. This time we didn’t travel on the trains themselves, but went to various stations across the line and then headed to Minehead for some fish and chips.

I was pleased to have reached my fifty places in 2025 for my #50places2025 series of blog posts. This year I am planning to do something similar with a new hashtag, #50places2026 and it will be the same rules. Each time I visit a place I will post a blog post and some photographs. I can’t repeat places, and in an extra twist I can’t use the fifty places I visited in 2025 in the list as well (though I anticipate visiting some of those places again).

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Then and Now Take Two Again – Fountains Abbey

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart. Now this has come to my attention I have started to intentionally take photographs of the same place.

On my recent visit to Fountains Abbey I decided I would intentionally take photographs that replicated some photographs I had taken back in 1993.

This photograph was taken in 1993, I think it was with a Canon SLR film camera, later it was scanned in as a digital file.

This shot was taken with an iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Some of the photographs I had taken were quite difficult to recreate, as I couldn’t always work out what they were of.

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York City Walls #50places2026

On my recent short holiday to Yorkshire, my plans weren’t set in stone, I had planned to visit Fountains Abbey and the National Railway Museum, but anything else would be a bonus. On the day I left York I had planned to visit a couple of National Trust properties on the way back (charging the car at the same time as well). However I woke up earlier than I expected. So, after getting washed and dressed and a quick breakfast I headed back into York with the idea of walking the walls.

I walked over to Walmgate Bar and then headed anticlockwise around the city.

I soon lost the walls at the Red Tower.

The walls don’t encircle the entire city, sometimes that was planned as there was the natural barrier of a river, other times walls were lost to development.

Walked along the River Foss and then started walking along the walls again. Came down at Monk Bar, this was the second of the four major gates that York has. 

The next section of wall has some fantastic views of the Minster, as well as the many historic buildings that lie between the Minster and the city wall.

Arrived at Bootham Bar. Here the wall sections are lost, there are some sections in the York Museum Gardens, but these aren’t able to be walked along.

I then went across Lendal Bridge before finding the wall again.

Walked pass the railway station and around to Mickelgate, the fourth gate.

Walked along the walls. This is one of the longer sections of the wall.

Came off the walls after walking pass Baile Hill and crossed Skeldergate Bridge.

Stopped to photograph Cliffords Tower.

I rejoined the walls at Fishergate Postern Tower and then walked around the walls back to Walmgate.

Decided to have an espresso at the Gatehouse Coffee which is inside Walmgate Bar.

I was really pleased I had come back into York and walked the city walls. I then walked back to the car and headed home.

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National Railway Museum #50places2026

Back in 1979 I did a school trip to York, as well as visiting Fountains Abbey, we also went to the National Railway Museum. Though I was at the University of York in the late 1980s, I never actually got around to visiting the museum again until 2013 when we went on a holiday to North Yorkshire. I also visited again ten years later in 2023.

The museum is undergoing something of a refurbishment, and the Station Hall, which had been closed for updating, was open again, which is one of the reasons for visiting.

Essentially the place is full of locomotives, steam, diesel, and electric. It covers the history of railways in the UK from their humble beginnings, through expansion, consolidation with the “big four”, nationalisation, and privatisation.

I really enjoyed visiting the museum and for those interested (not just in trains but) industrial heritage it is well worth a trip to York.