Buzby
Member
You would think that… but I’ve lost count of the media stories of dwellers complaining about church bells, flights taking off/landing all sorts of annoyances that were all in place before their arrival!
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People buying houses with associated noise (churches, railways etc) and then complaining about the noise?
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R
RailUK Forums
Yeah but its all so unfair etc etc...
I have a tiny bit of sympathy for people who are annoyed by church bells, since they don't ring all the time so you could easily miss the fact that they're there.
As a personal example, before moving to my current home I had no idea that the campanolgists practice every Monday at 8pm. I don't mind it though.
Airports and railways though...
D6130
Established Member
Harking back to the dim and distant days of my childhood in the 1960s - when one set of grandparents lived alongside the West Coast Main Line in Dumfriesshire and the others lived alongside the Leeds Northern between Eaglescliffe and Yarm - I can recall the railways being much noisier than they are now....what with chuffing, snorting, whistling steam locos all over the place and carriages and wagons clattering along on sixty foot (or shorter) jointed rails. Living beside a railway nowadays is positively tranquil in comparison (except possibly when there's a 37 or 68 in the vicinity!).
philthetube
Established Member
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Although I get where you are coming from if you move next to a church with a tower wouldn't you think about bells.
It's surprising how far Church bells can travel, and I can understand that if you move from a busy city or at least noisy town to a village you might get caught out.
One issue with bells is the bell ringers. I used to live across the road from a church where the bell ringing was random, rather than rhythmical.
I met another bell ringer who said that it was because that church had bell ringers who were more interested in drinking than campanology.
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I remember the Minister of Rhu Parish Church having to explain to elderly parishioners that the bells would be ringing at unusual times (can't remember why) and that it wasn't an invasion. But I always loved the sound of the bells drifting lazily up the hill and similarly the sound of Class 27s echoing up and down the loch: both very reassuring sounds that all was well with the world and running on time.
Quite... the difference between good striking and bad striking is quite noticeable. Of course, as they are practice nights during the week, perfection is not expected. And of course, it depends on the quality of the fittings - 1910 bells are far easier to ring well than something from 1724, say.
Mind you, you're not wrong about bellringers being into beer... a triple venn diagram of beer fans, train enthusiasts and bellringers would have several overlaps.
Bellringers don't have the same persuasiveness as the railways in terms of the noise being linked to something of value to the whole community. At the same time, the same principles apply - the trains and the bells normally came before the current occupants!
Killingworth
Established Member
Are there any church bells near Altnabreac? I used to stay in a house immediately opposite a church with a striking clock. I'm fairly sure it got silenced at night some years ago.
Presumably no news from Altnabreac?
Moderator note: any further discussion regarding the Altnabreac situation belongs in the following thread, please:
No trains to call at Altnabreac for the foreseeable future
No trains calling at Altnabreac for the foreseeable future. A quote from the Friends of the Far North Line facebook page A very concerning situation has been developing for a while at Altnabreac Station on the Far North Line. The station is in a remote part of Caithness and there is no road...
www.railforums.co.uk
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As a bellringer I can tell you that I am equally interested in Bell ringing and real ale drinking, but not at the same time.
According to Doves Guide there are only only 23 towers in the whole of Scotland where there are bells hung for change ringing. The nearest one's to Altnabreac would be at Tulloch where the bells are hung in a former farm building and used for teaching purposes. They are fully sound proofed.
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dangie
Established Member
An ex-workmate of mine lived in an old cottage right next to the West Coast Main Line at Colwich Staffs. He said that when he went away on holiday he often couldn't sleep as it was too quiet.
Enthusiast
Member
- Joined
- 18 Mar 2019
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- 1,125
If you mean concerning the shenanigans with the neighbours, there was a development at the beginning of this month:
The Friends of the Far North Line
Moderator note: any further discussion regarding the Altnabreac situation belongs in the following thread, please:
No trains to call at Altnabreac for the foreseeable future
No trains calling at Altnabreac for the foreseeable future. A quote from the Friends of the Far North Line facebook page A very concerning situation has been developing for a while at Altnabreac Station on the Far North Line. The station is in a remote part of Caithness and there is no road...
www.railforums.co.uk
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ChrisC
Established Member
For about 10 consecutive years during the 1990’s I used to go on holiday for a week every Easter with my local bellringers. We always stayed in Southwold in Suffolk. We used to ring bells at churches in towns and villages all over Suffolk and parts of Norfolk during the day and then spent the evenings in the pubs of Southwold drinking Adnams beer.
Hard to resist -- the tale from the days of persecution of religion in the USSR. There is in a country town there, a zealous church bellringer; who despite everything, doughtily rings the church bell prolongedly and often. In what seems altogether a suspiciously put-up job: he is apprehended and put on trial for disturbing the peace of the neighbourhood; and duly sentenced to a term in the Gulag. He is subsequently awarded the No Peace Bell Prize.
I was brought up in a house on a main road with three bus routes and opposite three schools. It was also under the flightpath to Heathrow. When a Concorde or Trident flew over, the whole building used to shudder. When the road and airport was quiet you could hear motorbikes racing each other down the M4 at over 100mph. And when it was really quiet, you could hear the Piccadilly line and Class 50s on the GWML. Very distinctive engine noise. And there were church bells, both from the CofE Parish Church and the RC Church further down the road. You could smell aviation spirit in the air.
People who complain about farming noises and smells, nearby railway lines, road, factories etc...
You know nothing.
Moved out many years ago and presently just listening to the foxes.
People who complain about farming noises and smells, nearby railway lines, road, factories etc...
You know nothing.
Moved out many years ago and presently just listening to the foxes.
Purple Train
Established Member
Which are louder than the aeroplanes!
I have lived next to railway lines and a motorway and on a flight path - but you get used to it - so much so you don't hear it. I remember leaving a house I lived in for a while and filmed a video in the back garden, the background noise was so loud I couldn't hear what people were saying, but at the time I could hear everything as if they were no background noise.
Mating calls? If you've not heard them before, you would be wondering what the hell was going on.
Western Sunset
Established Member
I wouldn't buy a house near a railway.
I wouldn't be able to relax as I'd be out watching the trains...
I wouldn't be able to relax as I'd be out watching the trains...
Baxenden Bank
Established Member
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- 4,018
A similar situation applies to people buying houses with footpaths (public rights of way) through the garden / land adjoining. Some then complain about 'lack of privacy / security concerns' and apply to have the path 'stopped up' (closed) or diverted. In practice the consideration of the closure / diversion cannot take into account their only recently moving into the property, it has to be considered on its merits.
I would feel it my duty to always have a supply of cakes in hand for visits by forum members.
I wouldn't buy a house that was also an open station.
I would feel it my duty to always have a supply of cakes in hand for visits by forum members.
D6130
Established Member
....and a wee dram!
I once stayed with a friend who lived under the flight path from Aberdeen airport and he was very apologetic about the noise. As someone who has lived between two RAF bases for much of his life and was used to all sorts of aircraft noise at all times of day, it didn't bother me in the slightest!
It's something you get used to after a while and the only time I really notice these days is when there's additional flying due to a military exercise, or when there are stray Russians nearby.
It's something you get used to after a while and the only time I really notice these days is when there's additional flying due to a military exercise, or when there are stray Russians nearby.
75A
Established Member
I remember it happening when houses were built next to Goodwood motor racing circuit are people really that dim?
This comes from someone who lives 3 fields away from Bishopscourt racetrack, and loves it.
This comes from someone who lives 3 fields away from Bishopscourt racetrack, and loves it.
Sun Chariot
Established Member
1991-1993, my back garden was adjacent to the Chiltern main line.
1994-2000, back garden adjacent to the London-Cambridge main line.
2000-2005, I lived on Heathrow's arrival path (over Fulham).
2005-2012, I was on the Docks the other side of London City Airport.
Other than the daily Concorde flyover, I found the flights were quieter than the passing trains.
Mind you, the latter were far more satisfying to watch.
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I remember reading about someone who bought a house near a lighthouse that had a foghorn. Cue one very foggy and sleepless night followed by a letter going in to Trinity House asking if the foghorn could be turned off, so that he could get some sleep.
Trinity House wrote back and told him that the alternative to a loud foghorn was a silent shipwreck.
The correspondence ended there.
Trinity House wrote back and told him that the alternative to a loud foghorn was a silent shipwreck.
The correspondence ended there.
I used to volunteer at an arts centre and there was a steady trickle of silly complaints.
Best was the guy who picked up a hirer's leaflet and called the police to complain about every gig listed. When they phoned about the one that had been cancelled the attending officers had "words".
Best was the guy who picked up a hirer's leaflet and called the police to complain about every gig listed. When they phoned about the one that had been cancelled the attending officers had "words".
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I'd be wary of buying a house next to a railway line for the potential issue of sleep disturbance, I don't sleep that well at the best of times. I used to live in a quiet neighourhood at the end of a residential road until people moved in next door with screechy kids and yapping dogs, now it is like periodically listening to a hybrid of Crufts and a primary school playground (some dogs get anxious if left alone). It is tolerable although was more annoying during the pandemic when the young children would be screeching about outside my house for up to five hours straight whilst I was trying to work from home. I sometimes wish they would go on the playing field 50 meters away if they want to make that much noise.
Acey
Member
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- 16 Nov 2018
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- 255
Oh I don't know,quite like having the railway at the bottom of the garden
Sun Chariot
Established Member
Luv-er-ly!
That's near-identical to the view I had in Bicester, 1991-1993, of "Shakespeare Express" steam excursions - and 47-hauled Paddington to Banbury (via Chiltern) workings.
75A
Established Member
Nice one.I remember reading about someone who bought a house near a lighthouse that had a foghorn. Cue one very foggy and sleepless night followed by a letter going in to Trinity House asking if the foghorn could be turned off, so that he could get some sleep.
Trinity House wrote back and told him that the alternative to a loud foghorn was a silent shipwreck.
The correspondence ended there.