Spotting 2024 – Weeks 35/36

A week away on holiday – I’ll spare you the shots of the aircraft engine above the clouds😉 I’ll also spare you the shots of the trains taking us to and from Gatwick airport – That’s easy because I didn’t take any🤣 It suffices to say that I picked up 3 new sightings and 3 new for haulage on my way.

Madeira: Hardly a trainspotters delight although there was once a railway here from Funchal up to Monte. It has long since disappeared although there is a museum to its existence and also part of the viaduct it used – something we failed to visit and a good excuse to return? The upshot is that this spotting post will be populated by other forms of transport 😉 It may even talk more about Madeira than about transport!

This is our second visit to Madeira – our first was over 25 years ago. Much has changed in the interim and yet much remains the same. One change is that I now use a digital camera which means that I can take lots of photos and present them here in a short period of time. We’ve already seen a couple in my two most recent posts. One of the other major changes is transport related, so I think we’ll talk about that in this post.

High above Funchal is a place called Monte. In the past it was almost certainly a small village high above the medieval port but today urban sprawl has it in its grasp and it can be seen as a suburb of Funchal. The name Monte tells you all you need to know – it’s up on the mountain side. That’s why there was once a rack and pinion railway to connect the two. When we last visited there was only a bus option if you wanted to go up to Monte but in 2000 a Cable Car opened connecting the two. It has become an important tourist asset for Madeira though I doubt the local populace use it because of the cost – There is still the bus. But the quickest way up to Monte is definitely the Teleférico Funchal-Monte…

…And the trip provides some great views although they can be compromised by reflections in the windows…

You may be wondering why a visit to Monte is worth the trip on a cable car – and I’d be first to admit that cable cars are not something I put my highest level of faith in. It’s because at the top there is the Monte Palace and Gardens – a tropical equivalent of London’s Kew if you wish – and also the Monte church, Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte.

The Monte Palace gardens are both botanically interesting and stunning. The house itself has a wonderful pond with waterfalls around which visitors can spend their time…

The Gardens display a mix of indigenous flora and also some examples from further afield and also incorporate formal garden settings like this Chinese water feature…

Here are some flowers…

Hydrangeas seem very happy here – their blooms double the size I’d expect in London…

The gardens also present some great views over Funchal…

As a result of the current owner’s interest in minerals and art, there are many examples of Zimbabwean sculpture – A link to Epi’s heritage – dotted around beside the paths…

…And there are exhibitions of modern art to be enjoyed and a museum displaying gems in their native form before being turned into jewellery.

After visiting the Gardens there is the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte to visit, if you feel up to climbing the stairs…

…They’re actually well spaced to make the climb easy and it’s worth it to see the inside of the church…

It’s a very beautiful example and inside you will find the resting place of Charles I of Austria – The last ruler of the Austro-Hungarian empire who came to the throne when Emperor Fransz Joseph was murdered, triggering World War I. Unable to keep the empire intact Charles ended his days in exile on Madeira and was Beatified by the Catholic Church – You can read the full story on Wikipedia.

This post has shown just a day from our week in Madeira. I’m not going to try and cover everything but I will post some more images with commentary over the next couple of weeks. I hope you have enjoyed this post😎👍