Sat, 27 December 16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:05
Sat, 27 December 17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:18

27/12/25 17:36 Swindon to Westbury due 18:18 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.

Search called off for two swimmers missing at sea


Two men remain missing after a Christmas Day swim at Budleigh Salterton, Devon

A coastguard search operation for two men who went missing in the sea during a Christmas Day swim has been called off.

Emergency services were called to Budleigh Salterton, in Devon, shortly after 10:25 GMT on Thursday.

While some people were brought back to shore, two men in their 40s and 60s could not be located.

The coastguard stopped searching the water at 17:00, but police said on-shore enquiries continued into the evening. The men's families have been informed.

While there is no official weather warning in place on Boxing Day, some sea swims have been cancelled and police in Devon and Cornwall have urged people not to get into the water.

Residents of the small town have described the incident as "shocking" and "tragic".

"I've never quite witnessed anything like this," said John Smyley, who lives close to the beach. He described it as a "particularly cold day" in the town and said the sea "looked ferocious".

"It's very shocking and it's sad - particularly on Christmas Day," he added.

...

Det Supt Hayley Costar from Devon and Cornwall Police described the incident as "truly tragic" in a statement on Thursday. "Our thoughts remain firmly with the families and friends of the two men who are currently missing and to all who may have witnessed and been impacted by the incident," she added.

In a post on social media, Budleigh Salterton Baptist Church said its prayers are with the men's families and friends as well as emergency services. It said: "We are sad to hear the devastating news of the two men missing after yesterday's swim. If you would like to pray or talk to someone at this difficult time, please don't hesitate to get in touch."

Hmm.   From another topic:


My wife was a serving Merchant Navy officer, on the 'Queen Elizabeth II', before I met her and led her back on to dry land.

Somewhere, I have pictures of the 'engine room' on the QE2, where you could have parked a whole fleet of London buses, without even touching the sides.

(My wife of over 30 years now was in the Engineers team: I therefore had onboard unrestricted 'staff' access to those deepest bowels of the ship - as well as up to the Bridge, actually.)

More anecdotes are available. CfN.

Christs Hospital. Was on an RRB from Horsham and was dropped in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Fortunately I was not immediately concerned about the station, just doing one half of the Downs Link on the bike.

Dovey Junction is a mile along the footpath to the A487 - the nearest road.

Posted today onto the Southern Electric Facebook Page

Throughout the Christmas period, the Scandinavian high collapsed, but a new high formed near Iceland, bringing northerly winds. Significant snowfall occurred on the 26 and 27 December as the air mass moved south, the snow arriving in Shropshire around lunchtime on the 26th and parts of Southern England late that same day.

By the end of the month, there were snow drifts 8 feet (2.4 m) deep in Kent and 15 feet (4.6 m) deep in the west.

When will Waverley be in our area in 2026?   From the Waverley Excursions page

 ... let me show you what Waverley looks like (and an excuse for sharing some pictures)

I love ferries. CfN.

It is, isn't it. Of course, everyone forgets Luxembourg, as if it's tiny like Lichtenstein or Andorra. I'd actually just been looking there, but to see if the hillier bits of scenery and buildings might fit no. 29. So far it was a draw with a less mountainous bit of Austria, which must now be the best bet. Specific location definitely "somewhere" - or perhaps "nowhere (middle of)" fits better.

Oh, for goodness' sake.

After much more poring over my paper remnants of grahame's original itineraries, I conclude that image 24 is, as close as you can get to it, platform 6 in Luxembourg's main railway station.

I shall now go to lie down, with a cool Taunton towel across my fevered brow.

Looking at no.3 again, fortified by a traditional Christmas turkey lunch and a few glasses of sparkling wine, it has clicked!

Small black tank engine, green coaches, it can only be-

Germany, Rugen Island and the Rasende Roland narrow-gauge railway!

If the quiz master requires a location on the line, I might consult my Kompass map to see if it helps....

Courrour?

Berney Arms doesn't even get a RRB, passengers are told to go to Reedham or Great Yarmouth instead.

I concede my even-a-half-point, and I am now starting again to read through paper copies of grahame's itineraries - which he gave me, at the beginning of the year. I am still struggling here. 

 Are there any other stations where the RRB calls only a significant distance away?

To my mind 3 and 29 were always going to be hard ones, not being "places". Since Austria is still availble one should be there. 24 is maddening, as it ought to be well-known.

28 might not have been Sweden, since SJ run much of the railway in Norway as well as Sweden. But while the train in 11 is barely visible so no help, there is writing on the hotel in the background. That leads to Bodø, Norway, fitting in with 28 being Sweden.

No 12 has to be Taunton?! Platform 2?

Another quick look before being summonsed to do turkey carving duties, I think that the Lithuanian one may be Klapeida.

To help anyone else who dips into this today, most remaining are easy to get to the country (17 Italy, 21 Spain, 25 Switzerland, 28 Sweden), but beyond that it looks like Googling if Christmas TV gets boring this evening!

Thanks Grahame for all your efforts with this years quizes, and Happy Christmas all - that turkey isn't going to carve itself!