Friends of Glossop Station - Blog

New exhibitor Glossop Station Waiting Room Art Gallery

2/5/2025

W EXTEND a warm welcome to GRHAM LARKIN to the Station Waiting Room Art Gallery.
This is Graham's first exhibition with us. His work includes a variety of subject matter - something to appeal to everyone! Graham is a self taught artist. He has set up a project From The Annexe to raise awareness and funds for a small UK based charity Oasis Relief which primarily sinks boreholes in Zambia as well as supporting education and health projects.
Prints of Graham's work can be purchased with all proceeds going to support this charity.
We hope you enjoy the display.
If you are interested in having a display in the Waiting Room please contact John Kimpton on 07749 176796 for more details. There is no charge to exhibit. We are grateful to Northern Trains Ltd for supporting our displays in the Waiting Room.

Derbyshire Makes festival comes to Glossop

5/4/2025

A NEW COUNTY=WIDE festival DERBYSHIRE MAKES launches in Glossop on Tuesday 15th and Wednsday 16th April. The festival, a celebration of cultural activities inspired by the stories and history unique in each participating area.
Six focal hubs across the county - Chesterfield, Heanor, Cromford, Glossop, Bolsover and Swadlincote - with events taking place between Friday 28th March until Sunday 27th April.
In Glossop organisers, High Peak Community Arts, have been working for several months bringing a range of workshops and free activities to Glossop mostly centred around Norfolk Square. including artists, storytellers, film screenings with something for everyone! Event osn Tuesday are between: 2pm and 8pm and Wednesday from: 10.am to 4pm.
At the station there will be interactive workshops in the Waiting Room between 2pm and 4pm on Tuesday afternoon with some surprise visitors at the station to welcome everyone to the event! Do come along!
The event is supported by Derbyshire County Council and Arts Council England. Other delivery partners include Northern Trains Ltd.
For more information about the Glossop programme and other areas' events click here to visit the website at derbyshiremakes.co.uk

New Artist Greg Williamson at the Station

5/4/2025

WE WELCOME to the Station Waiting Room Art Gallery local artist GREG WILLIAMSON. His imaginative and colourful pictures of animals and birds are sure to catch the eye of all who view them.
Greg's art is inspired by "Glossop's breathtaking countryside which teams with magnificent wildlife and street art in Manchester."
We hope you enjoy his display.
CLICK HERE to see more of Greg;s work. He can be contacted at @sharkman art

Platinum level certificate for FOGS!

15/3/2025

THE CIVIC CENTRE in Newcastle was the venue on Thursday evening for this year's annual Community Rail Awards at which Friends of Glossop Station gained a PLATINUM level certificate of excellence in the It's Your Station category.
The four levels in the category - bronze, silver, gold and platinum - has one winner at each level. Of the four nominations at Platinum level - Hindley, Buxton, Goostrey and Glossop - Buxton was named overall winner. We send them our congratulations.
Over 500 people attended the evening which marked the 20th Anniversary of these awards.
Hazel Lavery from CRN who has organised every one of them, received an outstanding achievement award in recognition of her exceptional dedication. Brian Barnsley, now retired from CRN, was also given a special award of recognition. Brian was a guiding hand to us in the early days providing wise counsel. We send both Hazel and Brian our congratulations.
Our thanks to Carolyn Watson at Northern for providing nominees with hospitality for the evening and to CRN for assistance with travel arrangements.

. . . and so the story begins

9/3/2025

POETRY has returned to our platform display with the first part of our Rail 200 celebration.
Charting the story from the early 1800s to the present day, part 1 features the early history of the railway with accompanying poems from the period alongside the first instalment of "Skimbleshanks - The Railway Cat"!
Take a look at the display on the station concourse as you go through the station on your way to the platform and find out more about "200 Years of Rail Travel" - where it's been and where it's going.
Parts 2 and 3 of the story illustrated in verse on our Poetry Platform will follow later in the year to complete its history; but if you can't wait that long take a look at Rail 200's Timeline on the specially curated website for the celebration.

RAIL 200 . . . at Glossop

4/3/2025

2025 is a special year of celebration for the railways in the UK. Rail 200 commemorates the first passenger journey of passengers by train between Stockton and Darlington in September 1825. All rail companies, heritage railways and stations are involved in events throughout the year,
The idea is to not only celebrate the past but the present and future too. And hopefully attract the attention of younger people to possible career opportunities in the railway industry.

What are we doing at Glossop?
Firstly in preparation are three special POETRY PLATFORM contents created by Paul Marsh which celebrate trains and train travel - the first of these will be in place soon.
Secondly as Glossop is an historic station we would like to invite any group/organisation to have a guided tour of the station. Or we could visit you and give you talk on the past and present of the station and its railway routes. We would particularly like to share our heritage with local Junior Schools and, with the kind support of Northern, we can also offer free class train trips from Glossop to Hadfield and return including places for teachers and assistants. With VE day celebrations being planned locally and nationally for May/June 2025 we can offer talks about our important links with the 600 child evacuees who came from Lowestoft to live in Glossop on June 2nd 1940.
If you are interested contact us at [email protected]

For more details of the RAIL 200 events/activities click on the 200 logo in this article or go railway200.co.uk for more information.

More Children's Winter Wandering

16/2/2025

THE SECOND PART of our special 'Winter Wanders' display on the Poetry Platform has just been launched featuring a further selection of writing from local schools.
The display is the final selection of prose pieces entered by local schoolchildren in conjunction with the competition run by Glossop Bookfest at the end of last year.
Take a moment as you pass through the station to read the entries selected from the competition featuring some of the work of local school children between 7 and 11 years of age.
The Poetry Platform will be back to its usual format from April with the first of three special displays featuring poetry celebrating 200 years of rail travel and tracing its history.

Spencer Harrison - new display in Waiting Room

20/1/2025

WE EXTEND A WARM WELCOME to our first exhibitor of 2025, Spencer J. Harrison. Spencer has presented a photographic display in Glossop Station's Waiting Room Art Gallery and is his first display with us.
Spencer has studied in both Nottingham and Helsinki. His work has served as a visual journal throughout his life, documenting the subtle, often overlooked details of his surroundings-whether people, landscapes or architecture.
In recent years his focus has shifted towards rock and stone formations in the landscape, particularly ancient sites. His photographs aim to capture the unique, mysterious atmosphere these places evoke.
In 2021 Spencer moved to Glossop. Since then he has immersed himself in the local landscape which he feels has always been his true home.
Spencer's work can be viewed every day at the station - from early morning (10.00 am Sundays) to around 17.30 in the evening.
We hope you enjoy Spencer's display.

Anyone wishing to have a display in the Waiting Room Art Gallery is invited to contact John Kimpton of Friends of Glossop Station 01457 859128. John will make a booking in our diary for you and help with the putting up and taking down of the display. All displays are courtesy of Northern Trains Limited.

Winter Wandering Children's Prose for Poetry's Platform

22/12/2024

SOMETHING A LITTLE different for a very special edition of our Poetry Platform for Christmas and the coming New Year.
In conjunction with Glossop Bookfest it features some of the work entered in a writing competition for local school children.
For the competition Bookfest invited children to submit up to 500 words on the subject of a "Winter Wander". That which has now gone on display is 'Part 1' and a small selection of those entries received.
A further selection will feature in a second edition during February.
The Poetry Platform - in its usual format - will return in the second quarter of 2025.
Thank you to Bookfest for organising the competition, to Northern for their continued support of our work at the station and special thanks to all the children who submitted entries.
For those of you who want them CLICK HERE for the answers to the crossword on our Crossword Anniversary Poetry Platform display!
Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2025.

Eleven days to go!

20/12/2024

Railway 200’s profile is on the rise with just 11 days to the start of the anniversary year celebrating 200 years of the modern railway.
Railway 200 is a year-long nationwide partnership-led campaign to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway and inspire a new generation of young pioneering talent to choose a career in rail.
As part of the rail community, FoGS along with other groups is involved.
At noon on 1 January 2025, there will be a collective blast of whistles and horns led by members of the Heritage Railway Association, with the mainline railway and community rail groups also taking part.
CLICK HERE to find out more about Railway 200