The Greatest Gathering rolls into Derby
More than 140 locomotives and railway vehicles from different eras will be on display as part of the event.It is one of a number of shows as part of Railway 200, a nationwide year-long celebration commemorating the 200th anniversary of the world's first passenger railway journey with the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.It is the first time Alstom's Litchurch Lane Works - the only facility in the UK that designs, engineers, builds, and tests trains on a single site - has opened its doors to the public in nearly 50 years.The event has already sold out, with more than 40,000 train fans expected to attend.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Olly Murs and his pregnant wife Amelia shower their daughter Madison, 16 months, with affection as they become ambassadors for M&S parenthood scheme
Olly Murs and his pregnant wife Amelia sweetly doted on their 16-month-old daughter Madison in new family snaps released on Sunday. The pair have been announced as brand ambassadors of M&S ' Parent Hood club, which forms part of its Sparks loyalty scheme. Singer Olly, 41, and fitness fanatic Amelia are parents to baby Madison and expecting the imminent arrival of their second child next month. In family snaps to accompany the campaign they looked every inch the doting parents as they smiled at their adorable daughter. Essex based Olly said that he and Amelia 'can't wait to get started on sharing their world as parents to two young babies, including the chaos and all that goes with it ', adding that he first heard about the scheme from Amelia herself. Amelia explained: 'I've been going to the Tuesday morning Parent Hood club at our local M&S café for the free cake offer to meet my friends and talk about all the joys of early parenting. The sleepless nights, the times you are leaving the house when you must do a U-turn for a nappy change, all the joys!'. The free cake offer forms part of the Parent Hood community that enables young parents to meet and greet others in the same stage of life over a morning hot drink with a choice of a slice of cake or a fruit pot. The Sparks scheme also gives parents 10 per cent off baby grows until their child is two years-old, alongside other tailored-made offers throughout the year. Amelia commented: 'As a family we love shopping at M&S for food and clothing, and I also really love the community at the cafes every Tuesday and of course the free cake! 'It gives you the chance to share your own experiences of parenting and sharing tips with each other. 'You come away feeling that you're not the only one finding it exhausting and sharing your views is so helpful for finding that peace of mind.' Olly is looking forward to spending more time with his young family as he admits that being on tour when Madi, as they call their daughter, was a very young baby, meant that he couldn't always be there to 'change the nappies at night-time and do the nightly feed'. 'I'm going to be around much more this time, and I can't wait for the challenges of having two under two! 'Amelia is such a calming presence and takes it all in her stride – I've learnt so much from her about being more patience and taking your time when it comes to having little ones.' Amelia and Olly announced their second pregnancy in April. In an adorable black and white video, the family of three were seen walking through the park with Madison sat on her father's shoulders. She wore a denim jacket embossed with the words 'BIG SIS', while Amelia held a reel of snaps of the baby scan. They penned in a caption: 'We're so egg-cited to share this..… Another Baby Murs on the way.' Olly and his bodybuilder partner tied the knot in July 2023 and announced the arrival of their baby girl on April 17. Just 48 hours after Amelia had given birth, the singer was back on tour supporting Take That. The singer told the crowd at the time how he had been juggling nappies and late nights, but felt guilty he had been working away from home. He said: 'It's been the most craziest time. Cos obviously on one hand I've got this beautiful baby girl, my wife is at home looking after her with the nappies, and the sleepless nights. 'And I'm on tour with Take That. I feel guilty!' Last month, Olly candidly confessed he broke down in tears after he was forced to leave her just two days after her birth. He admitted to the emotional toll the decision had on him months after when he realised he had never got to know his daughter as a baby. Speaking with new dad Mark Wright on their Heart Breakfast show, Olly confessed: 'It was really hard for me as I had to leave two days after the baby was born to go on tour with Take That.' He explained: 'I didn't really process it at the time and a few months later me and Amelia were chatting and I just broke down in tears as I never got a chance to actually get to know this little baby.' Supporting his pal amid his decision to leave his family for work commitments, Mark added: 'But you were doing it all for her future.' While touring with Take That, Olly raced home to Essex after gigs to spend time with Amelia and Madison.
The Sun
25 minutes ago
- The Sun
BBC Gardener's World viewers heartbroken as star reveals terminal cancer diagnosis during show
BBC Gardener's World viewers were left heartbroken as one guest of the show revealed his terminal cancer diagnosis. Steve gave the cameras a tour of his stunning cottage-type garden and revealed his dream of restoring a windmill on the property. 4 4 4 4 The professional inventor then opened up about his ailing health, and his plans for wife Pippa to take on his work after his death. In an emotional moment during Thursday's episode, Steve said he could have "two months or two years, possibly." He said: "I don't know how long I might live. "I didn't feel down, as a result of it. I just saw it as another challenge. I thought, I'm going to have to sort something out. "Actually I had a big creative burst as a result of this. And I'm getting there, Pippa and our son will be able to manage this whole thing. "I would like to be remembered for the restoration about the mill. But I feel more strongly about the garden." One viewer shared on X after seeing Steve at work on the mill: "Let's hope he can do it and beats the disease as he dearly loves his wife. #GardenersWorld." Another commented: "Inventor man, what an inspiration # Gardenersworld." One more said: "He has the correct attitude, be positive, get up, dress up, show up and never give up #GardenersWorld."
The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Brownfields can be rich habitats': the abandoned oil refinery where wildlife now thrives
'You must see this!' Marc Outten shoulders past tangles of blackthorn and shimmies around hummocks of blackberries the size of buses and glades filled with wildflowers. What beautiful wildlife spectacle awaits? Weaving across carpets of bird's foot trefoil, we reach our destination: a vast, barren circle of asphalt, 70 metres across – the ruins of an uncompleted oil refinery. 'You'll find rare bees and reptiles around the edge and you've got these lovely stonecrops and lichens,' enthuses Outten, a naturalist and RSPB's site manager for Canvey Wick nature reserve. The derelict asphalt pad is buzzing with rare nature. This 'ruined' landscape – where disused street lamps poke up above rampant scrub – resembles some kind of post-apocalyptic London. But in its ruination, this brownfield site beside the Thames in Essex has become one of the most nature-rich places in Britain, home to 3,200 species including endangered shrill carder bees, pantaloon bees, water vole, cuckoos and long-eared owls. Canvey Wick is celebrating its 20th anniversary as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) as conservationists warn many similarly wildlife-rich brownfield sites are threatened by development, particularly in the Thames Gateway. Tilbury ash fields, home to 185 invertebrate species of conservation concern including the great sneak-spider, is imperilled by plans to expand the port of Tilbury. Meanwhile, a Google datacentre is proposed on a local wildlife site close to Lakeside that is home to nightingales, rare plants and scarce invertebrates such as the brown-banded carder bee. Canvey Wick shows what can happen when a brownfield site is protected. Since it was bought by the Land Trust and managed by the RSPB in partnership with Buglife, an astonishing range of rare species have made their home on its 93 hectares (230 acres): 11.7% of its 3,200 species are classified as rare, scarce, threatened or near threatened. Eight years ago, there were no nightingales on Canvey Wick. Today there are 21 nightingale territories in the thickets of blackthorn, hawthorn and bramble – a vital new stronghold for the much-loved but endangered songbird. 'People assume that brownfield sites are very low value for biodiversity – until they see what a brownfield site can really do,' said Outten, on a tour of the site during which we find pantaloon bees, spectacular Jersey tiger moths and increasingly rare wall brown butterflies. 'If brownfield sites are left to sit around for a while, they develop into really rich habitats. This would've been a very desolate space full of sand, concrete and tarmac and now we've got this wonderful nature reserve. There's so much structural diversity and the more structural diversity you have, the more biodiversity you have – that's what makes this place so special.' Canvey Wick was green grazing marshes until humans ruined them – and inadvertently made one of the most nature-rich places in Britain. An oil refinery was planned for Canvey Wick in the early 1970s. The ground was raised with dredging from the Thames: sands, shingle and even seashells. Concrete roads and street lamps were built. Thirty two and a half circular asphalt pads were constructed as bases for vast oil storage containers. And then the 1973 oil price shock halted work. The refinery was abandoned. Over the next 50 years, nature raced in. The unusual diversity of soil types and hot microclimates attracted an unusual range of invertebrates: there are 250 species of bee, wasp and ant on the site, including the brown-banded carder bee, five-banded weevil-wasp and carrot mining bee. They feed on an unconventional mix of native and non-native flowers including bristly oxtongue and everlasting pea. As the human ruins subside beneath greenery, conservationists must manage the rapidly changing site to balance the competing needs of different rare species. What's great for nightingales – more scrub – will cause many heat-loving invertebrates to disappear. When the site was first designated an SSSI in 2005, there was just 15% scrub and tree cover. Today it is more like 70%. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion 'Some scrub is great but having that open mosaic flower-rich grassland is really important,' says Outten. 'How do you strike the balance between clearing areas and retaining nightingale habitat? A lot of this is cutting-edge stuff. 'Restoring' brownfield is not something many organisations have got into.' A three-year project at Canvey has cut back some scrub, and created new scrapes of bare sand required by rare invertebrates and species such as adders. The cut-and-scraped areas are now burgeoning with wildflowers and insects again, while cleared ditches are home to scarce emerald damselflies and blue-eyed hawker dragonflies. Conservationists hope it will inspire the creation of more brownfield nature reserves. 'Canvey Wick demonstrates how brownfield sites can be transformed into vibrant green spaces that serve the community and provide important habitats for wildlife,' says Alan Carter, the chief executive of the Land Trust. 'We are extremely proud of the regeneration efforts carried out since taking on the ownership of the site in 2012. The site is now one of the top locations in Britain for endangered invertebrates, an impressive achievement.' Although important parts of Swanscombe peninsula were saved from development threats when Natural England designated it an SSSI in 2021, Buglife is calling on the government's wildlife watchdog to urgently give more sites the same protection, including Tilbury ash fields. Natural England has 'Thames estuary invertebrates' in Essex and Kent listed in its SSSI designation 'pipeline' but the watchdog has been criticised for failing to designate many endangered places in recent years. Carl Bunnage, head of nature policy at RSPB, said: 'Brownfield sites are not always just dead, ugly and abandoned spaces. Indeed, as Canvey Wick shows, they can provide specialist habitats and be havens for nature – full of life of all kinds. With the government currently driving reforms to the planning system in England, and prioritising the re-development of brownfield sites, it is vital that the nature-value of sites is properly assessed before planning decisions are taken.' Conservationists hope Canvey Wick can also inspire smaller ways of attracting rare wildlife: depositing piles of sand or crushed concrete on a place may not look conventionally pretty but it will create soils and microclimates where myriad wildflowers and invertebrates can thrive. Outten, who was raised in the area, hopes Canvey will inspire the creation of other similar nature reserves so there is a network for rare species, which can be enjoyed by the local community as well. 'People feel passionately about it. We want to strike the balance between giving people a place where they can access green space but also protect the species that the site is important for. It's a unique place. There's nowhere else like it,' he said.
