One up side to travelling the length and breadth of the UK most weeks is the things you see.
An old mineshaft in the Black Country; a village of men with beards in the Welsh Valleys (I think it’s the law); a ramshackle hut in Bradford that serves the best curries ever. You name it, Britain has it.
But this week, it’s been Dundee that has given me the best delights – and, more specifically, Dundee train station.
There I was, late one night arriving on the platform when I saw something that looked straight out of Hogwarts.
On closer inspection I saw the train on the neighbouring platform was the world-famous Flying Scotsman.
Did you know it docks at Dundee during the summer months for a few nights every week?
I had no idea – and stood in wonder at the sight of guests on board dancing to the Celtic tunes played by an accordionist and fiddler.
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Men in fine suits and kilts enjoyed a cigar in an open carriage at the back, while wine flowed and fancy canapes were served.
Late at night, a guard told me they step off the train and on to the platform for a ceilidh before retiring to their onboard beds, waking to a delicious cooked breakfast and heading off to their next location.
Just a few days later, it was time for my next journey for Homes Under The Hammer filming and I saw another first.
“It’s all right,” the man assured staff as he referred to the parrot on his shoulder (you read that right, a beautiful blue macaw). “The guards say it’s fine for him to travel.”
And therefore on to the train walked Colin Cruickshank, from central Dundee, and his trusty pal Basil.
Colin told me he’s had Basil since he was a chick and takes him everywhere – and the bird has completely acclimatised to our nippier weather.
Fancy that eh? This week, I’ll be filming in Stoke, Hyde, Blackpool, Preston, Manchester and Crewe.
I might see a few things of interest but it probably won’t top the Flying Scotsman and a Dundonian parrot called Basil who only squawked once all the way to Edinburgh.
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