Beam shone into sky to celebrate science campus

Scientists have beamed a laser into the sky, which is visible from miles around.

The spectacle, known as The Beam, marks the 80th birthday of Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.

Harwell was established in 1946 as the UK's first nuclear research laboratory and is currently home to the Diamond Light Source science facility.

Jim Stretton, managing director at Harwell Campus, said: "The Beam honours Harwell's past scientific breakthroughs while signalling the next era of growth and innovation."

Operated by Horizon Lasers, the vertical pillar of light has been described as 2.2 million times more powerful than a typical laser pen.

It is shining from the centre of the Diamond Light Source from 17:00 to 21:00 GMT, and is visible across Oxfordshire, with scientists aiming to reach heights of about 8km (five miles).

Harwell described The Beam as a "visual celebration of the campus' world-leading expertise in light-based science".

It kicks off a year-long series of events, external to mark the anniversary.

Harwell Campus was originally founded as the Atomic Energy Research Establishment and played a major role in the UK's early atomic programme.

From the 1990s onwards it evolved into a wider research campus, eventually growing into a 700-acre site with about 7,000 scientists and engineers across 250 organisations, valued at about £3bn.

It has the UK's largest concentration of national research facilities, including the Diamond Light Source, which has studied advanced treatments of HIV, cancer and the Covid-19 vaccine.

It includes the synchrotron, which speeds electrons up to near the speed of light to produce intense beams of light that can probe matter.

Also at Harwell are the Rosalind Franklin Institute, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and European Space Agency.

Its Central Laser Facility (CLF) is currently upgrading its most powerful laser, the so-called Vulcan, which will have a power output of 20 petawatts, equivalent to 200 billion kilowatts.

A single pulse will be enough energy to recreate the extreme conditions of deep space, and it is 18 trillion times more powerful than The Beam.

Prof John Collier, director of CLF, said: "The Beam is a powerful reminder of the vital role the national facilities at Harwell Campus continue to play in advancing knowledge, technology and innovation on the world stage."

Prof Gianluigi Botton, chief executive officer at Diamond Light Source, added: "At Diamond, we harness the power of synchrotron light to reveal the structure of everything from viruses and vaccines to new materials and advanced technologies.

"The Beam marks 80 years of discovery and reflects the campus' ongoing commitment to collaboration, innovation, and using light to transform the way we understand the world.

"We're delighted to play our part on New Year's Day in marking this momentous occasion."

16:23 Westbury to Swindon due 17:06
17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19

17:35 Swindon to Westbury due 18:19 will be cancelled.
This is due to a broken down train.

Last Updated:01/01/2026 16:15

Due to a safety inspection of the track at Oldfield Park the line is blocked. Disruption is expected until 16:30 01/01.
Impact:
Train services between Bristol Temple Meads and Swindon via Bath Spa and Chippenham may be cancelled or diverted.
Customer Advice:
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What has happened?
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A track defect has been found in the Oldfield Park area between Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads, affecting one of the two lines.
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What are we doing about it?
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Network Rail have engineers making their way to site who will investigate and fix the problem. We are unable to run our services between Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington along their normal route, they will be diverted and not calling at Bath Spa or Chippenham in either direction.

Looking at the photo shared by TG, I agree entirely. It is a far from simple job, although one for which I am sure there are the proper equipment and training.

18:37 Westbury to Swindon due 19:21 will be cancelled.
This is due to a shortage of train crew.
Additional Information
Replacement road transport has been arranged to run in lieu of this train service. There will be a Travel Southwest minibus running.

Please check the stations Onward Travel Information poster and wait for the replacement road transport at the designated stop.

The replacement road transport may run later than the advertised train times owing to the additional time taken by road between stations and the time required for loading and unloading at each stop.

You may also use your ticket, at no extra cost, on train services changing at Bath Spa

Posted on 1 January 2026
We are pleased to start 2026 by announcing that this year, we are planning to run the Imberbus service on

Saturday 15th August 2026

when several vintage former London Transport Routemaster double deckers (plus a few newer ones) along with some visiting buses from other areas, will again provide a bus service from Warminster Station to Imber and other isolated locations on the Salisbury Plain between 10am and 6pm.

Once again our event will be a Car Free Day, with the only access to Imber on 15th August being on the buses operating the Imberbus service. These special arrangements help to keep traffic congestion around Imber village to a minimum, but they do mean that there are some restrictions on what you can and cannot do when you get there, details of which will be confirmed during the summer.

IMG_1116-001 (1568 x 1045)The timetable for this year’s service will also be published during the summer and is expected to be very similar to the one used in 2025.

Snow alerts upgraded to amber as Scots warned of blizzard conditions

Amber snow warnings have been issued for parts of northern Scotland as the country braces for several days of wintry weather.

Parts of the north east, Highland, Perth and Kinross and Angus are expected to be blanketed with up to 20cm (7.9ins) of snow in low levels, with blizzard conditions forecast from 12:00 on Friday until 12:00 on Saturday.

Ferry services have already been disrupted as snow begins to dust the north of Scotland and police have urged motorists to plan ahead before travelling.

A less severe yellow warning is already in place for most areas north of Dundee throughout New Year's Day, lasting until midnight on Sunday.

CalMac has said that services leaving Stornoway and Ullapool on Friday had been cancelled due to strong winds forecast and that other sailings were likely to be disrupted at short notice.


Choppy waters earlier at Kirkwall harbour on Orkney

(BBC news article continues)

I have come to the conclusion from the news reports that there was a de-wirement in one of the tunnels, sounds like it was a le-Shuttle caught up in the entanglement; that train may not have been the cause of the damage.

It is difficult enough to sort OLE de-wirements on open plane line, the logistics required in a 22 mile long tunnel are not to be underestimated; and repair cannot be done until the damaged train had been hauled clear of the damaged area.

I know from my previous dealings with Eurotunnel when I was working they are acutely aware of the demands on their systems over certain peak times of the year, Christmas and New Year being one of them; the place a lot of resources in the lead up to and over these peaks.

The did well recovering so quickly

Didn't take long, did it?

First train of the year. As a part of the regular service for the communities along the way, this is an important main stream topic and I will write up some comments later

South Yorkshire Supertram network fares capped at £3 for 2026


The fare freeze is the first in a non-Covid pandemic year for more than a quarter of a century, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority says

Travel fares in South Yorkshire have been frozen or cut for 2026, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) has announced.

The Supertram fare freeze is the first in a non-Covid pandemic year for more than 25 years, SYMCA said, and active from New Year's Day.

Adult long distance Supertram single fares have reduced by 40p to £3, bringing it in line with the national single bus fare cap, with child concessionary fare across buses and trams remaining £1.

South Yorkshire's mayor Oliver Coppard said the move was possible after the Supertram network returned to being under public control in March 2024. South Yorkshire hopes to run a publicly-controlled bus network by the end of 2027.

The fares decision was taken at a meeting of the SYMCA board in November. Aside from 2021, the fare freeze is the first since the late 1990s.

"Whether you're commuting, studying, visiting family or heading out for the night, we're building a transport network that works for everyone," Coppard said. "Freezing and reducing fares is just the start."

12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 12:59

12:17 Westbury to Swindon due 12:59 will be cancelled.

This is due to a fault on this train.

13:14 Swindon to Westbury due 13:57

13:14 Swindon to Westbury due 13:57 will be cancelled.

This is due to a fault on this train.

That's a presuming that there will be infrastructure problems in the Thames Valley causing disruption elsewhere in 2026 ....................    I am a born optimist