The promise of sunshine yesterday had given way to a damp evening, so I elected to take the bus instead of walking. Lazy perhaps, but I'm on holiday after all! I couldn't see out of the fogged up and grime-covered windows of the bus, and given that I'm no native here that meant I spent most of it trying to puzzle out when to hit the bell via my iPhone's sat nav. I recall a drunken previous visit to The Captain's Rest - a tiny hole in the ground beneath an almost painfully cool pub, where I naturally feel entirely out of place, deeply ancient and worryingly conspicuous. However, it was worth the pain and self-sacrifice tonight to see a couple of acts who I've raved about here and elsewhere. So, after a much delayed start and a clumsy stumble through the snug and down the stairs, Edinburgh based Debutant swiftly took to the stage. It would be easy to pin one man and a guitar in the singer-songwriter category and have done with it, but that would be missing the point where this one-man avalanche of sounds is concerned. With a guitar and a loop pedal, Debutant builds washes of atmospheric noise and melody, the tiniest touch of the instrument appearing to conjure impossible complexities of sound. Throughout his short set he was self-conscious, indeed self-deprecating at times - the sheet weight of anticipation of Conquering Animal Sound's set bearing heavily on his connection with the audience. However, he needn't have worried. Over the course of three compositions, culminating in the sublime and epic "King of Doublespeak" he convinced more than a few of those present of his talent for constructing a moving, emotional atmosphere and then turning it on it's head in the space of a few flicks of his guitar. This is remarkable music which is beautifully unaware of it's power. An album is promised, and hereabouts certainly much anticipated.

Hot on the heels of Debutant's short set, the live line up of Field Mouse arrived. As I understand it, Field Mouse is essentially the recorded output of Jai Kural. I first, stumbled across this on the 45 A-side Glad Cafe fundraising album and was curious to discover how what seemed like a studio-bound project would translate to the stage. It's testament to the skill of Jai and his band of multi-instrumentalists that this works so amazingly well. Throughout the technically complex set, the warm fuzz of analogue clicks, buzzes and bleeps grounds the music and provides an essential human element to the machine-generated noises. Live bass adds a depth to the mix, and somehow it all spirals together to form far more than the sum of it's parts. I always struggle to connect wholly with instrumental electronic music somehow, but the sheer delight in making interesting sounds which Field Mouse displayed tonight was enough to keep me listening.

I've offered my thought's on Conquering Animal Sound's recent album "Kammerspiel" elsewhere - and after repeated listening it's grown more and more essential to me. So, like much of the audience I was anticipating something special from this evening. The annoyingly noisy crowded hushed completely as James and Anneke began to play, the sudden strange silence creating the same tense backdrop which is evident in many of their recordings. The mechanics of reproducing their work live were remarkably complicated - James' flitting around the stage manipulating an array of instruments and machines, a one-man sound generation industry. Meanwhile Anneke stood before three microphones, connected to a bewildering array of loop pedals and clever tools which enabled her to generate live the multi layered vocal performances which the record showcases. Her voice is as much an instrument as James' various contraptions - manipulated and echoed around the tiny venue, an unassuming chanteuse. It was especially good to hear the remarkable "Bear" reproduced, with it's dynamic and soaring vocal even more powerful at first hand. The short set drew heavily on the new record, and its clear that this short tour is going to create interest around what has evidently been a well-received debut. Again, the warm human elements of their songs shone through the wash of electronica - the lyrics particularly leaping forward in the live environment and surprisingly revealed more as poems than songs as such. A rapturous response from the hometown crowd called James and Anneke back for an encore, and they chose to end with their own take on Robyn's hit "Dancing On My Own". Like lots of things this incredible duo attempt - it probably shouldn't work, but it does - and in doing so it redefines things entirely.

My customary February trip to Glasgow has been a long time coming this year. In the past, its not always been the most successful of events. My attempts to initiate others into the ways of the city haven't always gone down too well. So this time, like last October's trip I decided to stick to the winning formula. Just me, a proper relaxing break and lots of music and wandering. I've got into a pattern on these trips too of spending the mornings zipping around the place at high speed, then relaxing in the afternoon before heading out in the evening. With this in mind, I set out to catch the 09:00 to Ayr - primarily because this was worked by new Class 380 sets. There is an earlier diagram, and I was tempted to cover that and head for Wemyss Bay too - but the thought of struggling through the peak crowds wasn't conducive to the relaxed holiday mood so I settled for this one. Arrived at Central Station and after grabbing breakfast, was disappointed to note that a Class 334 was in Platform 11. It soon appeared that this wasn't the Ayr train however, and a pair of shiny new 380s in ScotRail's new Saltire liverly slipped quietly into the platform in front of the 334. Transfered into the newly arrived train - the comfortable and spacious interior of the Desiro family was recognisable straight away, and I was soon speeding out through Paisley and towards the coast.

After a quick turn around at Ayr with time for photos and coffee, I headed back to Glasgow on the same set. The day was a little dull and murky overhead, and I thought about a break now. However I pressed on with the plan to get the 11:28 from Queen Street Low Level all the way through to Edinburgh Waverley. This took in the reopened Airdrie-Bathgate line in the opposite direction to last November's railtour and stopped at some of the new stations. Noted that a few, including the resited Drumgelloch were still not complete as we passed by, but that Caldercruix would open on Sunday. The route felt much slower than other options to Edinburgh, but ran smoothly and quickly enough to ensure this will be a huge asset for travellers in the central belt and who live west of Glasgow once the full service is in place.

Took advantage of a break in Edinburgh to get some lunch and to wander over to the newly relocated Avalanche Records in the Grassmarket. An impressive, tidy new store with ever enthusiastic staff. Picked up a couple of things I certainly couldn't afford, including a pre-release copy of the much anticipated new Zoey Van Goey album. Grabbed some lunch before heading back to Glasgow on the quicker E&G route. The rain appeared to have settled in for the day now, but it was good just to be here and not to have anywhere in particular to rush to. In fact I felt pretty relaxed for the first time in months.

I'm not used to having much of a Sunday transport service, living in the sleepy South West. There were a few bits of track left uncovered over the past couple of days in Glasgow which I hoped to be able to pick up today despite a fair bit of engineering work affecting service - particularly early this morning.

Started out with another run out to Newton, in daylight this time. The object of this run was to cover the line from Cathcart North to East Junctions and position myself for a run over the remainder of the Hamilton Circle to Motherwell. Despite being a damp morning, there was a promise of sunshine lurking behind the clouds, and it was good to be out with an objective in mind. Arrived at Newton, realising just how bleak the surroundings of the station are. The unit crossed over to the wrong line prior to arrival rather than using the reversing siding beyond the station, and this meant a wet trudge down the deep subway to regain the platform for the Motherwell train. With the shelter being occupied by an amorous couple, wasn't sorry to see a warm and dry 334019 arrive.

Arrived at Motherwell, and realised what a substantial station it is, with a complicated building with lots of stairs to negotiate to get from one side to the other! Realised that my terminating unit would now form an onward train to Bellshill and then back to Glasgow. Noted that bailing here meant missing the crossovers back onto the mainline, but I had a plan to follow. Firstly, this meant retracing my steps to Newton and changing again to head back to Cathcart East, covering the dive-under to Cathcart North and thus completing my exploration of this little complex of lines. Realised the extent of the closure at Glasgow Central when we arrived back into the station, with only platforms 8 to 13 in obvious use. Predictably, we arrived on 11A which meant a long walk into the station.

On passing the end of Platform 12, noted a few Pathfinder staff boarding the unit there, and out of pure curiosity checked where it was headed. Amazed to find it was the 11:15 to Ardrossan Harbour which I'd assumed was going to be a bus like earlier trains via Paisley. Quickly boarded and settled in for the ride. A sudden burst of sunshine at Shields Junction made for a really pleasant run out to the coast, and a chance to cover the short branch from Holm Junction to lines end at the harbour. With a few minutes to spare, wandered into the Ferry Terminal for a coffee and took some photographs.

The train back to Central was fairly busy, and it was interesting to see First Group staff north of the border not selling discounted tickets where there were staffed stations - but then the PTE clearly invests in staffing and ticketing facilities, which makes this an easier proposition for the guards. On arrival back in Glasgow I had one last mission - to finally catch a train from the Low Level station. Again, I've always avoided this because of the escalator concerns, but I noted a lift from platform 12 down to the station, and with this and the judicious use of some convenient stairs, I got down into the dark tunnel in time for a train to Garscadden. I only needed to do the tiny stretch of track between Hyndland East and West Junctions which the tour had avoided yesterday. I should probably in fact have pressed onto Dalmuir to cover the whole line in both directions, but I was eager to get off the train and into the city!

I realise that much of what I've written about this trip has focused on the railways. This isn't of course the whole picture by any means. I've loved visiting Glasgow now for years, and despite the need to make early starts each evening has been spent visiting old haunts and in my favourite spots. There is always something new to discover here, and having not often stayed more than a night in recent years I wanted to get out west to see how things had changed. So, hopped on a bus outside the station using my Daytripper ticket and headed along Bath Street and Sauciehall Street towards Kelvin Hall and over the river. A right turn by the Western Infirmary and off at a stop somewhere in the maelstrom of traffic which is Byres Road - even on a Sunday. Fantastic to be back, and amazed how much was open today. Browsed the excellent Oxfam Bookshop, finding an aposite quote from John Clare which will eventually adorn the header of this site. Time for a coffee, though not from the interestingly converted 'tardis' on Great Western Road!

Strolled around Ruthven Lane and Ashton Lane too, remembering previous visits and some very good times had hereabouts. Spent quite a bit of time wandering in a fugue before catching a bus which took me a different route back to the city, via Great Western Road, Cowcaddens and Garnethill. Time for more coffee and a chance for the first time to watch the world go by, which is always a pleasant prospect here. After popping back to the hotel, out again and time to visit more old haunts, including the Horseshoe Bar before popping into The 13th Note for the last pint of my visit.

Back home tomorrow, and it's always a bit of a wrench leaving Glasgow. I've never quite managed to explain it to anyone. Still, I have 400 miles or so of rail travel to look forward too, and since the mileage has been a little lean this year so far, that's a bonus!

The first day of engineering works around here, but a cunning plan was devised to get out and about. I managed to summon the small gang of us who end up hanging around the railway together. It's been a while since we were all in the same place at the same time, so there was something of a nostalgic atmosphere as we set off by road for Okehampton in amazing weather. The target was the Dartmoor Railway, and eventually Meldon Quarry. This was a little bit of new track for me, and the opportunity to see the stored locomotives at Meldon.

After a simple enough journey along the M5 and A30 we arrived at Okehampton Station to find the 11:00 departure for Meldon waiting in the form of thumper 205032. We'd watched this unit being hauled through Exeter on its way here in January 2005, so it was good to see it in action, now in all-over Southern Railway green. As the only passengers on board, we left the attractive little market town of Okehampton and thumped our way west for a couple of miles, into the fringes of Dartmoor. The guard gave us useful instructions on how to see almost everything at in the sidings.

First off, we explored the immediate environs of the station. The Dartmoor Railway has an intersting set up here, with a static display and a buffet in a Mk 3 sleeper coach - not open yet as we were the first train of the day on a winter Saturday! From the buffet and picnic area, there are panoramic views over Dartmoor and in particular the spectacular viaduct. Walked over the viaduct and along the former railway line for a little way, before returning to see what was stored.

Followed a cycleway from the viaduct, behind the DR station and soon found ourselves alongside a row of stored locomotives. Lots of photography going on now! Spent a pleasant hour wandering along the path, looking at the rather forlorn parade of rusting metal, before heading back to the station where the thumper had returned, this time with a few more passengers on board. After the short trip back to Okehampton, took the opportunity for a few pictures of 205032 before exploring the station, then heading into town for refreshments at the Red Rooster Cafe and the Plymouth Inn. Okehampton seems like a busy little place - my one visit back in around 1998 when Wessex began the summer Sunday only service here is a bit hazy now.

Decided on diversion on the drive back, heading roughly alongside the railway to Sampford Courtenay, North Tawton, Bow and Crediton before turning north to Bickleigh, home of the Devon Railway Centre. Not open, but possibly worth a future visit. Investigated the water mill, before pressing on homeward. Disappointed to see Fairwater Yard empty as we passed through Taunton.