Late last month, I visited Nottingham to find some things (and was not helped by a certain illogically-named place that was on the opposite side of the city centre to where one would have thought it was!) Of note is Nottingham's transport network, which is one of the most advanced transport systems in the country, featuring a substantial number of electric buses, the world's largest fleet of gas buses (143, after the latest order) and a stylish modern tramway, which is what this post is about. Nottingham, like many other cities, had older tramways, but like so many other cities in the UK, during the middle of the 20th century, the trams were replaced by buses, Nottingham losing theirs in 1936. (Blackpool's tramway was the only tramway that survived this period.) The present tramway was opened in March 2004 and was extended in 2015. It is twenty miles long and has two routes with a total of fifty tram stops. It is served by 37 low-floor articulated five-car trams, all of wh...

Today, we'll take a look at some photos of buses in Coventry that were taken earlier this year in May. The main bus operator in Coventry is National Express Coventry, a subsidiary of National Express West Midlands. Some of the buses they were running this summer were older than anything used in public service in Leicestershire! However things are changing as a horde of electric double-decker buses is taking over bus operations in the city. Other operators include Diamond West Midlands, Stagecoach and Arriva Midlands. Among the oldest buses in Coventry in May was this 52-plate Volvo B7TL with Alexander ALX400 bodywork. National Express (NX) 4417 (BV52 OCM), new to Coventry in January 2003, is seen on Trinity Street on the 7A to Coundon in north-west Coventry. NX 4766 (BV57 XKK) is seen on New Union Street, near the Bull Yard, on the 21 to Wood End in the northeast. It was new to NX West Midlands' Perry Barr depot in 2008, and after being transferred to Walsall in 2010, it was tr...

 At the junction of Market Place and Biggin Street is a pair of large emergency exit signs... outdoors. Why would anyone need an emergency exit sign outside? Well, my theory is that people would need a way out should anything happen during a crowded event... like the fair... P.S. After I initially wrote this article, I found a second, temporary sign outside the Odeon on the Cattlemarket. Must be the fair, then!

 There are some things in the UK that seem exceedingly peculiar. Bizarre, even. The unfinished Pipi Brothers Buildings is one of them. The Pipi Brothers Buildings are situated at the eastern end of Cooper Street in Belgrave, Leicester, on Belgrave Road, also known as the Golden Mile for its large range of Indian shops and jewellers in particular. The peculiar thing is that they are still unfinished after more than sixteen years! Planning history indicates that the first proposal for the buildings occurred in 1995, which was to build a two-storey and three-storey printworks. Permission was renewed in 2001, and construction probably started after this, as construction works are visible in Google Earth satellite imagery in 2006. In 2007 and 2008, the plans were revised, with the buildings now becoming up to four storeys tall. After this, construction went on at a snail's pace. In 2017, a further planning application resulted in the proposed use of the new buildings being changed from ...

Here are various photos of Highland Drive on the Grange Park estate in Loughborough taken in September 2022.