Timetabled steam trains have returned to the historic Settle to Carlise line for the first time in nearly 50 years. For the next three days the A1 Pacific Tornado will replace diesel trains between Skipton and Appleby. The line crosses the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, and includes the 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct. Paul Barnfield, regional director at Northern said: "It is great to see so many people supporting this historic venture. We always knew that the first timetabled steam services...

UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has backtracked on claims he lost close personal friends at Hillsborough in an embarrassing interview with a Radio City Talk host - who was there on the day. Nuttall, a Liverpudlian, wrote in an article criticising the government in 2011 that he had lost close personal friends and repeated the claims in a separate article from 2012. But when pressed on this in the interview he admitted this was not the case saying: "That's not from me I'm...

One of the main characteristics of the today’s society is its constantly changing shape and features. The modern world is developing at such rate that it can easily be called inconsistent. Such an inconsistency can be quite challenging and one of the last resorts we can find is a family. There is a ton of investigations on the subject. Some of them argue that the conception of the family is obsolete and there is no place for it in the...

Since Theresa May vowed to push for a new raft of grammar schools many have questioned the fairness of the system, and whether is will simply exacerbate the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The PMs first flagship educational establishment is due to open in 2019 in Croydon, allowing the school to chose the thousand pupils who will attend the school and will also be able to access direct government funding, to support it. The Greens, Lib Dems and...

Videogames in this day and age are something we take for granted – where else can you be placed in massive 3D worlds, spend a human lifetime exploring landscapes, meet cool new creatures, and achieve more than you ever will in the real world? And now we even have virtual reality systems making their way into our lives. Feel guilty children of the noughties, for you know not what you have. We recall the early days, as wee ‘90s kids,...

Two years’ ago, Matthew Gibson, 38 from Guiseley, Leeds, could barely run 5K, couldn’t swim front crawl and hadn’t peddled a push bike since he was a child. In 2016 he set out on a mission to complete a year of fundraising events including the world's toughest iron-distance triathlon, several marathons and ultra-marathons as well as numerous bike sportives all in aid of Access Adventures, a charity which introduces people with physical disabilities to outdoor adventure sports. Not content with...

In a year when police conduct at Orgreave came under renewed scrutiny and the families of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster learned the real "truth", it is with a certain sense of dismay that Scotland Yard has today come under criticism for destroying the evidence needed for an inquiry into state sponsored spying on trade unions and blacklisting operations, despite a court order to the contrary. The Pitchford Inquiry into undercover policing has failed to secure potentially crucial documents central...

Climate change is seldom deemed to be a cause for celebration, but for wildlife lovers it offers up the exciting prospect that the natural world is changing before our eyes. As a Countryside Ranger in the North West of England I am fortunate to be able to see the various changes of the seasons whilst out and about at work. Having spotted my first long tailed tits, weasels and stoats over the previous few weeks, I remain ever optimistic to...

By Terry Siddall The Cubana has had a presence in Sheffield for some fifteen years and gained a good reputation for its authentic Spanish/Latin tapas menu. Leopold Square where the Cubana restaurant and bar is situated is in the heart of Sheffield city centre where Leopold Street meets the end of West Street. The square is fairly close to the two main theatres in Sheffield, that of the Crucible and the Lyceum and has easy access to bus, tram stops and...