#raised railway sleeper seating

[mrdelamont]

Landscape - Fountain Image of a medium-sized, modern, stone-paved backyard in partial sunlight.

[bloodtohold]

London Landscape Fountain Photo of a mid-sized contemporary partial sun backyard stone landscaping.

[davidstimber7654]

All Aboard The Pine Perfection: Transform Your Garden With Railway Sleeper Landscaping 

Image Source: Google 

Railway sleepers are durable wooden beams originally used to support railway tracks. However, these days, they have found a new purpose in landscaping due to their rustic charm and versatility. Transforming your garden with railway sleeper landscaping can add a touch of character and create stunning visual effects. In this article, we will explore the various ways you can use railway sleepers to revamp your outdoor space. 

Benefits of Railway Sleeper Landscaping 

Using railway sleepers in your garden landscaping offers several benefits: 

Durability 

Railway sleepers are built to withstand heavy loads, making them a durable choice for outdoor use. 

They are resistant to rot, making them ideal for long-term landscaping projects. 

Cost-Effectiveness 

Railway sleepers are relatively affordable compared to other landscaping materials. 

They require minimal maintenance, saving you time and money in the long run. 

Versatility 

They can be used in a variety of landscaping projects, from building raised beds to creating pathways and retaining walls. 

Railway sleepers come in different sizes and shapes, allowing for creative flexibility in your design. 

Popular Railway Sleeper Landscaping Ideas 

Raised Beds 

Creating raised beds with railway sleepers can add depth and dimension to your garden. Here's how you can do it: 

Stack railway sleepers vertically or horizontally to build the raised bed structure. 

Fill the beds with soil and plant your favorite flowers, herbs, or vegetables. 

You can also add a seating ledge on top of the raised beds for a cozy sitting area. 

Retaining Walls 

Building retaining walls with railway sleepers can help prevent soil erosion and define different garden areas. Follow these steps to create a stunning retaining wall: 

Place the railway sleepers horizontally or vertically along the slope to create a sturdy wall. 

Backfill behind the sleepers with gravel and soil to provide stability. 

You can add plants or decorative stones on top of the wall to enhance its appeal. 

Pathways 

Designing pathways with railway sleepers can add a rustic charm to your garden while offering a practical walkway. Here are some ideas for creating railway sleeper pathways: 

Arrange the sleepers in a linear or zigzag pattern to form the pathway. 

Fill the gaps between the sleepers with gravel, bark, or grass to complete the look. 

You can also incorporate lighting along the pathway for an enchanting nighttime effect. 

Tips for Using Railway Sleepers in Your Garden 

Here are some tips to help you make the most of railway sleepers in your garden landscaping projects: 

Choose the Right Type of Railway Sleepers 

Opt for new or treated railway sleepers to ensure longevity and durability. 

Consider the size and shape of the sleepers based on your design requirements. 

Prevent Rot and Decay 

Apply a protective sealant or use a liner to prevent moisture from causing rot in the sleepers. 

Ensure proper drainage in your landscaping projects to avoid water accumulation around the sleepers. 

Use Railway Sleepers Creatively 

Experiment with different configurations and orientations to create unique landscaping features. 

Combine railway sleepers with other materials like rocks, plants, or pebbles for a diverse and textured look. 

Conclusion 

Railway sleeper landscaping offers a versatile and cost-effective way to transform your garden into a picturesque oasis. By incorporating railway sleepers into your design, you can create raised beds, retaining walls, pathways, and other stunning features that will enhance the overall beauty of your outdoor space. With their durability and rustic charm, railway sleepers are sure to add a touch of Pine Perfection to your garden. 

 🌐Website : https://www.davidstimber.co.uk/ 

[railwaysleeperspecialists]

Transform Your Outdoors: Buy Railway Sleepers and Timber Sleepers from Railway Sleeper Specialists

If you're looking to elevate the aesthetics and functionality of your garden or outdoor space, investing in railway sleepers and timber sleepers can be a game-changer. These versatile and durable materials are perfect for a variety of landscaping projects, from garden borders and raised beds to decking and pathways. At Railway Sleeper Specialists, we offer a comprehensive range of high-quality railway sleepers and timber sleepers that cater to all your landscaping needs. Read on to discover why you should buy railway sleepers and how they can transform your outdoor space.

Why Choose Railway Sleepers and Timber Sleepers?

Railway sleepers and Timber Sleepers have become increasingly popular in landscaping and gardening due to their numerous benefits. Here are some reasons why you should consider them for your next project:

Durability: Railway sleepers, particularly those made from hardwood, are incredibly durable and can withstand the elements for many years. This makes them an excellent choice for outdoor projects that require long-lasting materials.

Aesthetic Appeal: Timber sleepers add a rustic and natural charm to any outdoor space. Their unique grain patterns and textures create a warm and inviting atmosphere, making them perfect for gardens, patios, and pathways.

Versatility: One of the most significant advantages of railway sleepers is their versatility. They can be used for a wide range of applications, including garden edging, retaining walls, steps, and even outdoor furniture.

Ease of Installation: Timber sleepers are relatively easy to work with, making them a popular choice for DIY enthusiasts. With the right tools and a bit of creativity, you can transform your garden in no time.

Sustainability: Many timber sleepers are sourced from sustainable forests, making them an environmentally friendly choice for your landscaping projects.

Applications of Railway Sleepers and Timber Sleepers

The possibilities are endless when it comes to using railway sleepers and timber sleepers in your garden or outdoor space. Here are some inspiring ideas to get you started:

Garden Edging: Define the boundaries of your flower beds or vegetable garden with sturdy and stylish railway sleepers. They provide a neat and attractive edge that keeps your plants contained and your garden looking tidy.

Raised Garden Beds: Create raised garden beds with timber sleepers to improve drainage and soil quality. Raised beds are also easier to manage and can reduce the strain on your back when gardening.

Retaining Walls: Use railway sleepers to build retaining walls that help to level out sloping ground and prevent soil erosion. Retaining walls made from sleepers are not only functional but also add a natural, rustic aesthetic to your garden.

Garden Steps: Construct steps with timber sleepers to connect different levels of your garden. This is especially useful for gardens with uneven terrain, providing safe and attractive access.

Pathways and Walkways: Design charming pathways and walkways using railway sleepers. Whether laid flat or on their sides, sleepers create a robust and visually appealing path that guides you through your garden.

Outdoor Furniture: Get creative and build unique outdoor furniture, such as benches, tables, and planters, using timber sleepers. These pieces add character to your garden and offer practical solutions for seating and display.

Why Buy Railway Sleepers from Railway Sleeper Specialists?

At Railway Sleeper Specialists, we pride ourselves on providing top-quality railway sleepers and timber sleepers that meet the diverse needs of our customers. Here’s what sets us apart:

Extensive Range: We offer a wide selection of railway sleepers, including new and reclaimed options, in various sizes and types of wood. Whether you’re looking for hardwood or softwood sleepers, we have something to suit your project.

Expert Advice: Our team of experts is always on hand to offer advice and guidance on the best products for your specific needs. We can help you choose the right type of sleepers and provide tips on installation and maintenance.

Competitive Prices: We believe that high-quality landscaping materials should be affordable. That’s why we offer our railway sleepers and timber sleepers at competitive prices, ensuring you get the best value for your money.

Sustainable Sourcing: We are committed to sustainability and ensure that our timber sleepers are sourced from responsibly managed forests. This means you can buy with confidence, knowing that you’re making an environmentally conscious choice.

Customer Satisfaction: Our dedication to customer satisfaction is unmatched. We strive to provide a seamless shopping experience, from browsing our website to receiving your order. Our reliable delivery service ensures that your railway sleepers arrive on time and in excellent condition.

How to Get Started

Ready to transform your outdoor space with railway sleepers and timber sleepers? Here’s how to get started:

Browse Our Selection: Visit our website to explore our extensive range of railway sleepers and timber sleepers. Use the search filters to find the perfect products for your project.

Consult with Our Experts: If you’re unsure about which sleepers to choose, contact our team for expert advice. We can help you select the right materials and provide guidance on your project.

Place Your Order: Once you’ve chosen your sleepers, place your order online. Our secure payment system makes the process quick and easy.

Prepare for Delivery: Our delivery service will bring your railway sleepers directly to your door. Make sure to prepare a suitable storage area to keep your sleepers in good condition until you’re ready to use them.

Start Your Project: With your railway sleepers on hand, you can begin your landscaping project. Whether you’re building garden beds, pathways, or outdoor furniture, let your creativity guide you.

Conclusion

Railway sleepers and timber sleepers are versatile, durable, and aesthetically pleasing materials that can transform any outdoor space. At Railway Sleeper Specialists, we provide high-quality sleepers and expert advice to help you achieve your landscaping goals. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a DIY enthusiast, our range of railway sleepers will inspire and support your next project. Visit our website today to Buy Railway Sleepers and start creating the garden of your dreams.

[txladyj-blog]

This Time Around - Chapter 23

A Daryl Dixon x OFC collaboration written by @xmistressmistrustx​ by request of @txladyj-blog​

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character

Tags: Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Awkwardness, Awkward Flirting, Awkward Crush, Fluff and Humor, Angst and Humor, Mild Smut, Strong Language, Eventual Sex, Eventual Romance, Slow Burn, Canon Divergence, Some Canon Scenes and Dialogue

Chapters 26/?

Back in Alexandria, it was early evening and Abraham was hauling wooden railway sleepers from a truck and dragging them to the vegetable patches along with some of the other members of the community. Daryl’s trip with Jess along with their prolonged hug had been playing on his mind over and over for hours and he felt his skin begin to crawl with anxiety if he sat still for too long and so, decided to give Abe a hand when he walked past and saw the sweat-covered, ginger man swearing to himself and dragging the heavy items around.

Daryl and Abraham weren’t exactly close. They trusted each other enough to have each-others backs and recognized each other’s fighting skills and abilities, along with the out-of-the-box way they both seemed to view the world. From time to time, they engaged in basic conversation but Abraham's brash and extroverted personality was the opposite of Daryl’s and he often found that his energy was sapped from a five-minute interaction. On this occasion, chat wasn’t needed but Daryl did have an ulterior motive. He had a question to ask and needed to hear the answer from Abraham’s point of view but had no idea how to go about it without letting the proverbial cat out of the bag. Spotting his chance when Rosita ambled past and held a hand up in a wave to them both, he decided to bite the bullet and just ask.

“You uh… you n’ Rosita, you still a thing?” He questioned warily.

Abraham slotted the sleeper he was holding into position with a swift and strong kick of his boot and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. His white vest was stained with perspiration on the front and his gloves were saturated from being used as towels.

“Still very much got me by the short n’ curlies.” He chuckled.

Daryl cleared his throat and checked over his shoulder, seeing most of the others gathering around the truck a good distance away to be able to overhear anything.

“Right. Right. So, you um, you ain’t gunnin’ for Jess?”

Abraham shot Daryl a suspicious look and his mouth curled into a smile beneath his thick mustache. He laughed loudly and did a double take at him while retrieving a cigar and a box of matches from his pocket and lighting up. It wasn’t a total surprise, he had to admit. He’d seen the way Daryl scowled and stalked off when he spoke to Jess and he was witness to the scene in the armory which had left her beside herself with guilt. Rick had also mentioned that he thought it to be a matter of time before things evolved between them. He wasn’t sure himself if he could see it happening at the time, but there was Daryl standing in front of him and asking if he had any romantic intentions for Jess.

“Goodness gracious, Ignatius.” He said tunefully, quickly lowering his voice and glancing around “She’s got your attention”

“What? Naw, man. I’m just checkin’.” Daryl denied a little less convincingly than he’d hoped. His heart rate was starting to increase and he was instantly regretting saying anything at all.

“Checkin’ for what, exactly?” Abraham pressed.

Panic jolted through him. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. Why exactly could he say he was asking? Jess had already put a stop to any ideas that they were more than friends, but Daryl had to be sure and cover all the bases. He just couldn’t admit to Abraham of all people that he had very confusing and strong feelings for his best friend before even telling Jess herself.

“She’s a friend. I don’t want her getting’ her ass kicked by Rosita. Y’know, this ain’t no romance novel bullshit.”

“Huh. My love life is more of a porno than a romance novel. I ain’t about to change it. So long as I can keep pouring’ the Bisquick without makin’ pancakes.” He remarked, amused at his own humorous take on things “Huh? Huh?” He encouraged with two nudges of Daryl’s arm.

“Right.” Was Daryl’s reserved response.

Abraham bustled past him, placing a big hand on his back and guiding him away from the workforce that were now making their way over to the patch adjacent. He turned him away from any prying eyes and addressed him with a permanent, knowing smile.

“C’mon, I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck. I know what’s going on here.” He said.

“Yeah, what’s that?” Daryl challenged, only slightly confident that he could hold his own with the conversation.

“You gotta just grab the bull by the nut sack.”

Daryl raised an eyebrow and leaned back slightly, perplexed by Abraham's choice of words and even more so by his grabbing gesture with one hand. It wasn’t far off from how his brother used to speak, only Abraham was quite clearly intelligent enough to use colorful metaphors without caring what anyone thought of it.

“What in the hell are you talkin’ ‘bout?” He questioned “Jess ain’t no bull”

“OK, forget that. Tell her you wanna get busy with her, see how she reacts” He suggested.

“I aint tellin’ her nothin’.” Daryl quickly replied with a step backwards as if he wanted to leave the topic, which he very much did by then.

“Then the only way you’re gonna get laid is if you crawl up a chicken’s ass and wait. It’s the apocalypse, Daryl. Sometimes you gotta just ask for what you want.” Abraham reasoned. After all, he’d asked Rosita and she’d been more than happy to oblige. He didn’t see anyone else as being much different and figured that if everyone was just straight with one another, things would be a lot easier.

“I ain’t doin’ that.” Daryl dismissed.

Abraham chuckled once more, slapping Daryl’s back with a huge paw and shaking his head in amusement.

“Ahh, hell. Balls just called. They wanted to know if you’d like a pair.” He joked.

“Look, it ain’t like that. I’m just…makin’ sure she’s okay.” Daryl confirmed, shrugging Abraham from his shoulder and backing up. He could see some of the other workers glancing up at them. Far from being a quiet man, Abe’s booming voice proved to be a lot louder than either of them first thought and Daryl was becoming highly uncomfortable.

“Whatever. Just think about it. She’s a peach, she’d be damn good for you.” Abraham suggested, puffing cigar smoke into a large cloud between them and tugging his gloves off. “I gotta go to guard duty. But I’ma get me some ass first.” He conveyed casually as he stepped down from the vegetable patch and headed across the street.

“Didn’t need to know that.” Daryl grumbled to himself.

*

Tower watch was usually done on a rotational basis and Jess, being a non-resident of Alexandria, was exempt from such duties. From time to time, she would surprise Deanna and volunteer her time, finding that walking the perimeter or sitting in the tower was a cure for her restlessness. Daryl was no different and as a recruiter, he was also omitted from the guard schedule but often found himself in the comforting, quiet confines of the wooden structure with a rifle, a pack of smokes and his jumbled thoughts when reading to Judith didn’t quite manage to calm his soul enough.

It was a cold night and a dense fog hung in the air like a blanket over the trees. Recent conversations floated around in his memories and he was sure his sides still tingled from time to time with the memory of Jess’s arms wrapped around him. He lit a cigarette and time passed between the spark of his lighter and when he smiled as he dwelled, yet again on the thought of Jess telling him he could hug her whenever he wanted. He wouldn’t, of course. It was far from how he conducted himself and any physical contact normally came with a lot of forethought and mental preparation.

His cigarette balanced precariously between his lips as he tilted his head back and took a drag without even touching it. He expelled the smoke from his nose, the cloudy appearance of the small tower room reminding him of his dream in which Merle had tried to urge him to do something about his feelings.

‘Times a-wastin’, Daryl. Get to it.’

He wished he could. Wished that everything really was that simple. Wished that he knew for sure that she felt something for him the way he did for her. But all he had was a notion, a few blushes and compliments that could be nothing more than a basic appreciation between two friends.

The door below clunked shut and Daryl could hear footsteps on the rungs of the ladder approaching. He threw his smoke away and looked over his shoulder to await the arrival of his visitor. It was past midnight and highly unusual for anyone else to be up in the tower except for the person on guard. Daryl never had company while he was on watch and that, to him, was one of the perks of the job.

When Jess appeared clutching a bag of cookies and pushing her hood back from her face, he figured that maybe tower watch had other perks too. Namely, that he could very well be about to spend time with a pretty girl, cooped up in a wooden box in the sky.

“Ya don’t gotta stay.” Was the first thing he said. He didn’t know why and realized as he said how strange it sounded. Almost like he wanted her to turn around and climb back down the ladder, which he didn’t.

Unimpressed, Jess squinted down at him and huffed out her obvious disapproval.

“Really?! ‘Can I visit you, Jess? You don’t have to be here, Jess’.” She quoted “Talk about mixed signals, stinky.”

Daryl, confused by his own actions, messily waved a hand at the empty chair beside him.

“Take a damn seat n’ quit complainin’.” He grumbled.

The two chairs in the tower were no more than a foot apart and Jess dragged hers even closer still and settled down in front of the window with the rifle resting on the wall on Daryl’s side. She opened the paper bag in her lap and handed him a cookie, telling him they were from Carol and she’s sent them because she knew he hadn’t eaten that day. It was evident that Carol was right when Daryl managed to put away three large cookies in a matter of seconds and Jess peered down at her first, half eaten baked treat as hers was made of lead.

Since the boat and Daryl’s admission of his dream about Merle, Jess wondered if he would ever provide her with more information pertaining to his death and the events that lead up to it. She was curious and more than that, she was concerned that his inability to move past it was presenting itself in his subconscious, when he dreamed. Having reached what she thought to be a pivotal point in their friendship, where they hugged and she awoke with him curled up against her, she guessed it was now that was the right time to ask.

“Can I ask you something? About your brother.” She said

Daryl threw the last of his third cookie into his mouth and chewed noisily before brushing the crumbs from his lap and side glancing at her. She could see the questioning behind his eyes already, the hesitation to discuss what was bound to be a sore subject.

“OK.” He grunted.

“What did he tell you about where I was?” She wanted to know. They’d touched on it before, briefly and on a need-to-know basis.

“He didn’t. S’a long story.” He mumbled, falling quiet and instilling a heavy guilt in Jess. For at least two minutes, he fiddled with the radio in his lap.

“I’m sorry” She eventually managed. “I shouldn’t have asked; I don’t want to drag up bad memories for you.”

“Nah, s’ok.” He said sincerely with a small glance in her direction. Hesitating, it dawned on him that he did want to tell her what happened and that, alone, was a breakthrough in itself. Daryl wasn’t a talker, he never discussed his innermost thoughts and feelings with anyone, but in the time that he’d known Jess, it was becoming easier and more desirable to do so. “I ain’t talked about to nobody before. But I’ll tell you. If ya wanna know”

Feeling as thought a compromise was needed so as not to drag him too far from his slowly expanding comfort zone, Jess decided to offer him a simpler suggestion.

“Give me the short version and maybe some other time you can tell me everything. Only if you want.” She proposed.

Seemingly content with meeting her halfway, Daryl slid further down in his seat and propped one leg up on the window ledge in front of them. As he spoke, he picked at the messy stitching around the repaired hole in the knee of his pants leg.

“After the crazy sommbitch cut his own hand off to escape that roof in the city n’ you saved his ass, he got mixed up with this psycho. Started workin’ for him. This guy, he wanted to kill us all, take the prison we were livin’ in.” Checking she was still with him, he peeped to his side at her, she was listening, now turned towards him and slowly chewing on another cookie. “Merle… he sacrificed himself in the end. Knew his time was up. Michonne was with him, he asked her to give me a message when she saw me. I went straight to find him, bring him back. But he was already turned.”

“I’m so sorry, Daryl. That must have been so hard.” She whispered sincerely “What was the message?”

Daryl looked out at the misty and still night beyond the tower. From where they were, the horrors below were obscured, masked by a serenity that was often taken for granted. But these moments were Daryl’s moments of peace and they were becoming more frequent because of the dark-haired girl beside him. She was becoming his haven away from the misery. He trusted her to ground him, to distract him and to remind him that not everything was lost.

“Said ya was holed up in an apartment opposite a bookstore in the city. That you was doin’ OK n’ that he didn’t tell me ‘cause ya asked him not to and he owed ya.” He explained, catching her small smile as she studied him when he spoke. “And…”

“…and?” she echoed.

He hadn’t meant to let the conjunction slip out. In fact, he’d intended to scrap it altogether, thus getting himself out of revealing everything else that Merle had said. But it was done and if he backtracked, he would be lying and that was one thing he never wanted to do to her.

“He uh-he didn’t know what he was talkin’ ‘bout. It don’t matter.” He tried to dismiss.

Jess’s interest was well and truly hooked by the last, little word on the end of his sentence and she was not about to let it slide without any inclination as to what he was referring to. She had some opinions about Merle of her own and so, concluded that the best way to get Daryl to continue talking, was to be honest herself.

“It does. It does matter. Your brother wasn’t as bad as everyone made out. I saw who he was. He was rude and sexist and racist and he stank of whiskey like, all the time but he was brave and he knew what it was to be loyal. I didn’t expect to, but I respected him and I know now that he respected me in the end, because he didn’t tell you where I was until he was sure he was going to die.”

He briefly looked round at her at her and she heard him sigh. She could tell he wasn’t comfortable with confessing whatever else Merle has said and decided that if her attempt turned up nothing, she didn’t want to push him to anger.

Daryl wasn’t sure if he could endure yet another conversation that left him feeling vulnerable and exposed, it seemed to be what they did now, spent time alone and toed the line together. Although, quite what line Jess was nearing, he only wished he knew. A part of him wanted to tell her the truth and in the back of his mind, he could hear his brother.

‘Don’t be no sissy.’

“He wanted me to know he thought you’d make a good Dixon” He told her.

“Really?” Jess asked in a tone that told him she was a little surprised. “Seeing as I have you as an example of the better half of the Dixon’s I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Don’t know ‘bout that.” He mused with a shy huff “… he um, he also said somethin’ else. But I don’t wanna make ya uncomfortable or nothin’.”

Jess’s eyebrows shot up and a look of captivation swept across her face, her lips curled into a grin as she searched her memories for any clues as to what he could possibly mean.

“You can’t say that and not tell me. C’mon, pleeeease?” She pleaded with a giggle and having to stop herself from gripping his arm and playfully shaking it.

She was too much. Too much to say no to. Her laugh and the sparkle in her eyes made it impossible. He was going to have to give in, he had no choice. His hands furiously picked at the threading on his pants and he was altogether very aware of it, forcing himself to sit still and summon the courage to tell Jess what she was waiting to hear as she leaned towards him across the arms of their chairs.

“Said that everybody knows that you’re my girl n’ I’d be a damn fool not to find ya n’…tell ya that.”

“Oh” Jess breathed quietly, setting back into her seat and blinking away the surprise. “I see.”

“Like I said, he didn’t know what he was talkin’ ‘bout.” Daryl added in the hope that it would do something to help filter the awkwardness from the air.

“That asshole wanted us to squirm with embarrassment even after his death. Very Merle.” Jess chuckled to herself. “Well, ‘your girl’, huh? I should be so lucky.” She mused, slowly turning her head to check his reaction. In the low light, she could just about make out the darkened top of his ear peeking through the gap in his hair. She’d made him blush.

“Are you…blushing?” She grinned.

“What? No.” Daryl huffed awkwardly.

Feeling triumphant and noting it down as more than one occasion that she’d successfully managed to turn those ears pink and witness the slight tint to his cheeks, Jess felt a surge of self-assuredness rush through her. Now, she had the control.

“I did I get the ever-stoic, badass that is Daryl Dixon to blush. Oh, that’s right…again?!” She giggled, nudging his elbow with her own and almost dying at the sight of him hiding a smile and flat refusing to let her have the glory.

“Stop. and ain’t nothin’ lucky ‘bout that.” He scoffed.

Jess tutted and rolled her eyes, releasing a very deliberate sigh and crossing her arms over her body, allowing the empty cookies wrapper to fall to the floor. She didn’t even bother to stop and analyze just how honest she should be, Daryl was going to hear what she really thought, and that was that.

“What are you talking about, you idiot?” She questioned “You’re a catch.”

Daryl side-eyed her, wishing he could find the words to ask her to elaborate, or drag more out of her about what she really thought of him. Hearing that she thought he had something to offer had almost knocked him for six and all coherent thought was suddenly dispelled in his mind like pins at the end of bowling lane.

“Huh. Yeah. Whatever.” He mumbled.

Jess was getting used to risk-taking around Daryl. Most of them had paid off and gifted her with something more than the minimal, closed-off person he presented to everyone else. She’d even managed to get herself some physical contact in the form of a hug and would not be forgetting being able to touch his arm or hold his hand in a hurry. With that in mind, she dived in again, risking placing her hand on his forearm and was pleased when he showed no interest in moving away.

Daryl slowly dragged his eyes down to where her hand rested, then he met her gaze briefly and rendered her completely speechless when he shifted his arm back, catching her fingers in his and threading them together.

“Thanks” He whispered to her.

“What for?”

“I dunno why…but you see somethin’ good in me.”

I wish I could be the man you deserve.

Jess slid further down in her chair, still clinging to his hand and rested her head delicately on his shoulder. If he could snuggle into her at night and fit close to her like the missing piece of her jigsaw, then she could snuggle right back. If she could have seen his face, she’d have discovered the pure astonishment on his features. His mouth dropped open and he feebly glanced about the room, unable to believe that what was happening was real. As she sat there with her hand in his and her cheek pressed against his shoulder, her eyes grew heavy and she noticed how comfortable she’d become.

“I only ever see good things in you” She sighed, closing her eyes and letting her weariness take over.

Daryl knew he didn’t need to respond when her head became heavy on his shoulder and her breathing slowed. He certainly hoped that his tower shifts were similar to this every time he volunteered and that he would see more occasions where he would be able to sit with her hand in his and her sleeping form against him and just…be.

 *

Her eyes opened one first, then the other, weighed down by fatigue. It was dark all around her and her neck was stiff. She scrunched her face up, rubbing her fingers over her tired eyes and groaning. Daryl moved to the side and Jess, having completely forgotten where she was, jumped and scraped her chair along the floor while he watched her, tickled by her lack of awareness. She’d been asleep for around an hour, softly breathing against his arm and he’d struggled with the desire to lift his arm and position her underneath, against his chest and in a motionless embrace. But he’d stayed put and exulted in her being nearer to him than any other woman had managed in the past.

He reached out in an echo of when she’d woken beside him in his room and gently brushed at the corner of her mouth with his thumb.

“Droolin’ again.” He chuckled

When it all hit her, where she’d been sleeping, his mocking of her involuntary saliva escape and the delightfully entertained look on his face, she shoved at his arm and covered her bright red face by pulling her hood down to obscure her cheeks.

“Oh my god, don’t be a dick!” She complained

He laughed without reservation, a genuine, unashamed laugh that she had rarely heard without some kind of barrier or means of obscuring it.

“Like a bloodhound” He remarked with a quick flicker of his eyes to his damp shoulder.

“Shut up!” She gasped “Don’t be mean. I was comfortable.” She crossed her arms and pouted at him from beneath her hood. “Shouldn’t have such a comfy shoulder.”

“So, it’s my fault, now?” He asked.

“Yes” She confirmed with an unsure glance in his direction.

You held my hand. I wasn’t exactly going to move away.

“I’ll ask Judith if ya can borrow a pacifier next time” he smirked.

“Enjoy making fun of me while it lasts because I won’t be falling asleep on you anymore.” She muttered to herself while standing up and straightening her clothing, readying herself for the climb down the ladder to the street below. While it was all very light-hearted, she needed to leave the situation and try and erase the memory of Daryl seeing her drool like a baby as she slept.

“Shame.”

She thought she heard it but she couldn’t be certain. It was uttered almost as quietly as his breathing. It wasn’t clear, but it was definitely something. She wondered if her ears were playing tricks on her or her tired mind was making things up. She caught his eye and noted a hint of shyness in him as he nudged his head up at her in a wordless goodbye. Her stomach fluttered furiously because that’s what he did to her now. He gave her butterflies like a girl with a crush. Except it wasn’t just a crush and as the days passed, those butterflies were growing in size, just like her affection for him.

*

Jess was sitting on the Ferris Wheel upon returning to the fairground. Now out of use and locked in place, she was able to climb up to the top car and sway with the breeze while watching the stars and doodling the outline of her family crest on the front cover of her journal. It was rare she wrote in it anymore, she had Aaron and Eric who bore the brunt of much of her venting. But the heavy nature of the secret she carried with her was steering her back to journaling. Only, she hadn’t quite made it past the front cover yet.

“…And I'll use you as a focal point, so I don't lose sight of what I want…”

She sang quietly, absent-mindedly working her way through the song, grateful that her secluded location meant that she could sometimes sing as loud as she wanted to without fear of judgement. The only audience being the odd Walker, who she would quickly put down with a well-aimed arrow before it had time to cross the trap-ridden area in front of the fence.

“…and I've moved further than I thought I could, but I missed you more than I thought I would”

She tilted her head at the sketch of the crest, she wasn’t the most proficient of artists but was pleased with her efforts and made a mental note to attempt more drawing in the future. It was a break from carving arrows, training, stabbing Walkers and hunting that she needed. Something different to try.

A red streak in the sky caught her attention and she slowly moved the journal and pencil from her lap. She’d just missed it, but it looked like a flare. She waited, straining her ears to listen and squinting at the tower, which could just about be seen through the trees from where she was. The pop-popping of gunfire made her nervous and then, another flare went off in the sky above, closer and clearer this time.

“Oh shit, not again!” she cried before scrambling down the metal structure and racing to the fairgrounds gate.

*

The scene at Alexandria was more brutal and distressing than she could have ever imagined. With the gate wide open and blood smeared across the asphalt, screams could be heard coming from just about every corner of the town and as Jess crept in through the shadows with her machete equipped and her mask and hood up, her heart beat a solid rhythm in her chest. Her hands trembled but adrenaline was forcing her forwards, putting one foot in front of the other until she halted, whirling to one side and seeing a bloodied woman sprinting across the street towards her. The sound coming from her mouth was garbled yet utterly desperate and her blonde hair was smattered with red from a gaping head wound that reached from above her ear to her collar bone. Following closely behind her, was a burly man with a large knife and a bald head. His face was obscured by a bandana, much like Jess’s and as he barreled along, grasping for the woman’s arm, Jess stepped out from the blackness and ran.

Human bone is incredibly sturdy. It is stronger than steel and concrete of the same mass. The human skull encases the most important organ of the human body, the brain, and has evolved to be as strong as possible to withstand trauma. Strong enough, in fact, that a recently sharpened machete alone is unlikely to penetrate such strong, non-decaying bone with one hit, a fact that Jess was already aware of. Months of reading had paid off and in the slow-motion seconds of her swinging her blade at the bald cranium of the man pursuing the injured Alexandrian, she had the foresight to think of her secondary weapon; the knife that Daryl had given her. The clunk of the metal against his head was so sickening her stomach clenched and her jaw locked shut. The side of the man’s head exploded with blood from the baseball-like swing that collided the blade with the assailant. It peppered her mask and eyes with crimson dots and created a sprawling firework in the air. When she stepped back and watched him stumble, ignoring the loud and gruesome shing from metal scraping on bone as she retracted her machete, she slid her hunting knife from its sheath on her belt and drove it, with all her might into his ribs. He gripped her wrists, terror filling his panicked eyes when his knees hit the ground.

From behind her, Jess could hear the woman’s piercing screams and she quickly turned on her heels, flicking blood from the wound in the man’s side across the surface of the road. He glugged and wheezed and Jess paid him no mind while she focused on the severely hurt woman peering up at her from the floor, where Jess had flung her when she stepped to her aid. Grabbing her arm, Jess began dragging her up to the sidewalk, all the while trying to hush her inconsolable crying and whimpering. Finding a dark spot under a platform and against the perimeter wall, she propped the woman up, ripped her jacket from her shaking shoulders and set to tying it around her wounded head. She’d lost so much blood her entire right side was a deep red and it was pooling under her, dripping from her elbow. Jess snatched the woman’s hand up and placed it on the jacket.

“Hold it. Put pressure on it to stem the bleeding.” She whispered to her with a quick glance over her shoulders. Other people were dashing past, some holding weapons up and wearing similar clothing to the man Jess had attacked. Others, she recognized to be the occupants of Alexandria. Gunfire crackled around her and she could only hope that she was far enough from the road to avoid being shot intentionally or caught in the crossfire. “What the hell is going on?” She asked the woman. Then, it dawned on her. The party. She was from the party and was the unfortunate recipient of Jess’s unwanted cannibal information. Her eyes flickered in a dazed state and her skin was paling fast. Jess shook her shoulder gently. “Hey! Stay awake! What happened here?” She demanded

“The-they came out of….out of nowhere. Started…started…hacking p-people to death” She stammered breathlessly. Jess felt an insatiable fury rise in her entire body.

The group from the city. The group from the woods. The man that shot Daryl.

The woman’s hand slapped around Jess’s wrist, snapping her from her realization and she suddenly leaned forwards, inches from Jess’s face. Her eyes bulged and saliva and blood trickled down her lips.

“Leave-L-leave this place. Not…safe…for-for women. They…they t-take women. M-my children…m-my family…they’re gone…they r-ran.”

It was as plain as day but it didn’t make it any easier for Jess to accept that the gravely injured woman before her was dying from blood loss and likely wouldn’t last another few minutes, let alone long enough for Jess to head off and find her family for her. Swallowing hard, she looked into her tear-filled eyes, held onto her free hand and squeezed it, hard.

“Everything is going to be okay.” She whispered, ignoring the blurry despair that was brimming in her own eyes. “Everyone is going to be fine. Your children, they’re in the church” She lied “They’re there. They’re all there. I saw them go in when I got here. It’s okay…it’s-it’s okay.”

In a display of relief, the woman sighed before eyes began to flutter closed and Jess felt all hope abandon her when her body went limp, her hand went lax and her face froze. Tears erupted from Jess’s eyes and a loud sob forced its way up from the depths of her soul.

“Oh…Fuck” She gasped, sagging forwards and clutching the lifeless fingers of the dead woman to her chest. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough.” She sniffed to the chorus of chaos transpiring from behind her.

As was customary and necessary in the apocalypse, Damaging the spinal cord or the brain enough to avoid reanimation was the next step in a death that didn’t involve one or the other to begin with and now, Jess had to commit an act of mercy to stop the woman from becoming a Walker. She held up her knife and chose not to think too much, it was the way of the world now.

 *

Keeping to the shadows was her forte and it had served her well during her time alone. Jess considered herself lucky that it was the middle of the night and therefore, she was able to move from house to house in search of anyone that may have needed rescuing. From the bedroom of an empty house, she spotted a man being cornered by two strangers with exceptionally large blades. Just out of sight under a tree, she couldn’t make out who the man was, but she didn’t need to know. She slid the window up, climbed out onto the roof and equipped her bow, nocking an arrow and steadying her erratic breathing.

The first arrow was aimed well enough to eliminate one of the men, but the second fell just short, scattering across the road surface and giving away her location. The remaining man’s vision shot up to her, locking her in his sights as he pointed and bellowed at the top of his lungs. Jess stumbled backwards, her back hitting the gables of the house in time to see Aaron run out from behind the tree, pick up the arrow and slam it into the side of the man’s neck. She held her breath for a second while she gawped at Aaron, who quickly began grappling with the arm of the man which held onto his blade.

“I-I have to get down there” She said to herself.

Spinning around, she clambered back through the window and thundered down the stairs, spilling out onto the street in time to see Aaron with the man in a head lock and dragging the knife across his throat. Blood fountained from the wound and Aaron quickly threw him to one side and ran to Jess, dragging her to the side of the house and flinging his arms around her while rambling incomprehensible words over her shoulder. His embrace was so tight that Jess struggled to breathe and had to physically step away to break the hug.

“That was…violent.” She commented.

“Yeah…I know” Aaron panted, blinking in disbelief at the gargling man behind him on the ground. “Are you okay? You can’t be here. I don’t know who these people are but they’re trying to round up the females and kill the men. A lot of people are already dead. You-you have to leave. Now. Rick’s group, they’re working their way around the town. You should go. Please, Jess. Go.” He blathered, grabbing her arm. Jess tore away from him.

“No.” She announced defiantly. “Where is Daryl?”

“Uh…He-he was in the tower at first. The last time I saw him, he was with Rick.” Aaron replied with a wipe of his forehead.

“Eric is safe?” Jess asked

“Yes. I can’t say where. In case they can hear us.”

“Carl? Judith? Enid?” She continued.

“All safe.”

“Lord.” Jess puffed in relief. “C’mon, we have work to do. Stay with me”

Before Aaron could protest, she flung him against the side of the house and was inching her way to the edge, unsheathing her knife again. She spat on the blade and dragged the flat edge across her thigh, revealing it’s reflective surface. It was a trick she’d learned in the city to enable her to check around corners for Walkers. It was also a tried and tested military technique to use small mirrors and reflections for such a task and she was sure that if her brother was watching over her from somewhere, he’d have been proud of her, not only for doing what she had to do, but for having the intelligence to educate herself before running into battle.

The glint of the knife provided her with a tiny, but accurate view down the street towards Aaron's house, where she could see two of the enemy group enter the house. She retreated and pressed her back against the house, next to Aaron.

“Your house.” She whispered “The door is open.”

Aaron's head thudded back against the surface behind him and he squeezed his eyes shut. “Shit” He hissed.

“Eric?” She asked.

“I told him to hide. He’s not a fighter.”

“Did you close the door when you left?”

“Yes”

“Then the chances are, he’s already gone. I’ll check the house.” She decided, moving back towards the corner of the house and gripping her machete.

“I’ll go with you.” Aaron told her quietly. She spun around, pushing him back, in no uncertain terms telling him that he would be doing no such thing.

“I got this. I want you to go and find Daryl for me” She expressed with her hand on his chest.

“I’m not leaving you” He argued.

“Yes, you are.” She gripped the front of his clothing in her fist and shoved him against the house with a thud. “Listen to me” She growled. “I’ll be damned if I lose the man I love again. So, you are going to find him for me. We both know I’m not a perfect fighter but I’m better than you and I can do this. What I can’t do, is live without Daryl in my life. So, go and fucking find him, Aaron or so help me god I will tear down every single one of those licence plates you’ve collected and lovingly attached the wall in the hallway and toss them on a fire while I dance around it singing Kum ba yah!”

Aaron blinked at her in shock but did not for one second take her for a fool. He knew that she was not only deadly serious, but that she was right; She wasn’t as proficient against humans as she needed to be, but he wasn’t as capable a fighter as her. Conceding, much to his worry and trepidation, he gripped her arm.

“Alright, you get my man and I’ll get yours.” He stated.

Jess nodded and went to turn back to the corner, before pausing and looking slightly confused.

“Wait…then we’re swapping back, right?” She asked, a slight smile tugging at her lips. Aaron sniggered and pat her shoulder before dashing off in the other direction, taking the route around the back of the houses in order to stay out of sight.

All around her, gunfire still rang out but the screams were dying down. Bodies littered the street and it wouldn’t be long before they reanimated. They needed to push the invading group back and do a sweep of the bodies with their brains still intact. But first, they needed to kill as many of the violent and ruthless men as possible.

 Aaron and Eric’s place appeared to be empty when Jess gradually inched in through the already open front door. Inside was dim, the only light pouring through the windows from a floodlight on the main gate. She checked the shapes in the dark, ticking them off in her mind, each one recognized as a piece of furniture or a blanket or cushion. The house was eerily still and compared to the commotion going on outside, it unsettled Jess’s nerves and caused her to clutch the handle of her blade even tighter than usual. She could hear her heart pounding in her head and she suppressed a shiver as she reached the kitchen. So far, so good.

The hands seemed to come out of nowhere, morphed from the blackness like creatures of the night, grabbing and manipulating her limbs. Gruff laughter and putrid breath licked at her neck and the side of her face as she was jostled across the room. Her blade was ripped from her hand and all that remained at her disposal was her knife, obscured by her sleeve and held out of sight by her fingers curled up to her wrist.

The room flashed before her when she was twisted around and slammed onto the kitchen counter, her head bouncing from the hard surface. For a few seconds, everything blurred and her hearing dropped out before coming back and presenting her with the sinister laughter of the shadows around her. The air left her body, her lungs strained and her stomach contracted. Her throat gasped. Black figures hovered above her, grappling at her clothing to a tune of gruff and sneering laughter. Jess felt a sharp sensation at her throat, long and lethal. She dropped the knife from her sleeve into her hand and hit out with the sharp end of an uppercut, topped by the hunting knife but coming into contact with nothing but air. A mocking voice commented that she was bound to be a lot of fun before they killed her and that they couldn’t let ‘the boss’ know about this one. She could sense that there were two men holding her down, taking her only weapon and pinning her arms to the table. She thrashed and bucked and tried to scream but was soon hushed by the rancid breath of one of the men, leaning close to her face and telling her that if she made a sound, they would gut her like a fish. Her legs were forced apart and she could hear a belt buckle being undone.

No! She thought No, No, No! Please, No!

The back of her head felt wet and began to bleed from the blunt force trauma. Her inner thighs thrummed with agony as one of the men held onto her flesh so tightly, she thought he might tear her skin from her bones. Dread twisted in her gut and she thought she might throw up when the pressure on her thighs released and the sharpness against her neck vanished. Her sheer horror was making everything a little difficult to make out and she rolled onto her side, coughing and reaching up to her head, wincing at the pain.

Daryl hardly ever missed a shot and was glad of his proficiency with a crossbow when he managed to kill one of the men holding jess down with one shot, straight through his temple. The other one looked up in shock as Daryl tossed the bow onto the kitchen counter and ran at him, bulldozing him from the table and landing on top of him. He ripped the weapon from his hand, which he quickly noticed to be Jess’s own Machete and began hacking at him, over and over, growling loudly and driving the weapon down and flinging it up again, all the while fueled by the image of seeing her restrained and about to be hurt in one of the worst possible ways. He didn’t stop, pummeling the brain matter into the flooring, each blow representing only a small fragment of his pure rage.

Jess climbed down from the table and dragged herself into the safety of the corner, pressing her back to a cupboard and hugging her knees as she watched Daryl hack the man into tiny pieces in the light from the window. The metallic odor of murder filled the air and she flinched with every brutal chopping sound until eventually, he stopped and sat back on his knees, panting wildly and tilting his head back to the ceiling.

It felt like hours but it was mere seconds before Daryl got to his feet and turned to face her. She knew it was him, knew he would never hurt her but in that moment, he looked utterly chilling. He charged out of the kitchen, to the living room where he checked from the window on the state of the town. People were re-grouping in the street. Rick, Glenn. Carol, Maggie and Michonne were all in the middle of the road and all in one piece. On his way back to Jess, he slammed the front door closed and adopted a calmer and slower demeanor with her. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket, clicked it on and placed it on the counter, shining the beam to the ceiling so it wasn’t too harsh but he needed to see her face. Like a frightened animal, she peered up at him with blood running down the side of her head. His chest tightened in sorrow at the state of her and he pushed away the urge to lunge at her and wrap her in his arms, knowing it would scare her even more. Slowly, he leaned down to her and offered her his hand. He said nothing, hoping that she could see in his eyes that his number one priority was her and her safety. But she just crawled further into the corner.

“Jess, it’s alright.” He soothed, lowering himself to his knees “Ya safe. I got ya.”

She stared down at his blood-soaked hand and felt something rising inside her. It was distress. It released from her chest in a loud exhalation and tears started to soak down her cheeks. She gingerly reached out and touched his hand, he bit down on his lip at the sensation of her shaking violently. She wrapped her fingers around his and gradually, he felt her hold on tighter and tighter until he was pulling her onto his lap and enveloping her in his arms. He listened to her gentle sobs and with each sniff, another piece of him fell away. He hated her being hurt and wished he could take it all away.

“You good?” He asked, tenderly stroking the uninjured side of her head. She nodded and began to shift from his lap, staggering to her feet and holding onto the countertop. He got up, grabbed his crossbow and dragged his hand across his eyes, clearing some of the blood from his vision and lifting the bottom of his shirt to wipe his face.

“Uh… I…” Jess tried to say. She pushed her fingers into her hair, feeling a lump forming at the back and a gash at the side. It was wet and sticky with blood. When she started to run thought exactly what had happened in her mind, Daryl could only watch her helplessly as she paced about, her eyes scanning the wooden floor under her boots. She quickly refastened the button on her camo pants and smoothed her hands over her painful thighs. “…Um. I think- I…” she stops and stared at him with tears still forming in her eyes. “…I think I almost got...They were going to…”

Daryl was totally perplexed when she burst into fits of laughter. Squeezing her eyes shut and entering into hysterics, using the countertop for stability. Baffled by her behavior but glad she seemed to have let go of her fear, eventually, he started to smile along with her but was still deeply concerned.

“They almost fucking killed me!” She cried “They almost raped and killed me. I can’t believe it! Holy crap!”

The more she looked at him and his confused expression, the more her laughter waned until finally, she stood in front of him breathing heavily and glaring at him with a strange kind of intensity that Daryl could not place.

“You saved my life. Again.” She uttered.

She closed the gap between them, crossing the wooden flooring as if she was on a mission. She stopped inches from him, placed both of her hands on either side of his face, and kissed him. Without warning. Without permission. Without even deciding to do it or ruminating the consequences. He’d held her life in his hands and he still did and she needed it. She needed him simply because her whole being was so thankful, so unashamedly appreciative of his very existence that she couldn’t have done anything else. When her lips met his, she was alive again.

Daryl was hopelessly unprepared and caught off guard and he was certain that every single muscle he possessed locked into a tight knot. He stood there, immobile and wondered how, for so many months, he’d spent time admiring her and studying every part of her face and lips and yet still, did not see this coming. His mind was screaming at him to react in a mixture of his own voice and that of his brothers.

This is what you’ve wanted for so long. Kiss her back.

She tore away from him, stumbling back and covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes were wide with panic and he could see her fingers quivering in front of her lips. His own were parted and tingling from the soft sensation of her kiss, now lingering like a reminder of his own inaction. He peered cluelessly at her through his wet, bloody hair.

“Shit” she breathed “Oh shit.”

She whirled around, running for the door like it was an Olympic sprint and was gone from the house before Daryl could even blink. He released a strained breath and leaned back against the kitchen table, gripping the edge either side of him with knuckles turning white. His head lowered and he closed his eyes.

I guess this is where everything changes.

*

Had she stayed in Alexandria that night, she would have discovered that the group responsible for multiple murders in the town was indeed the same one from the city and the woods and it was apparent that their spotters had followed Rick's group back from a recent search. Biding their time, they’d waited until the gate guard was distracted and taken their chance, filtering into the community in the darkened corners of the streets and taking out the guards as quietly as possible.

Deanna was notified with enough time to usher the vulnerable into her attic and wait for what she hoped would not be the downfall of her dream.

But Jess fled from Aaron’s house like a bat out of hell, darting across the street and past the exhausted and re-grouping crowd, which contained Aaron and Eric, who exchanged a worried glance after seeing Daryl race in through their open front door in search of Jess. Eric started forwards with the intention of following her, but was stopped by Aaron taking his hand and slowly shaking his head.

Whatever happened, she needs to be alone.

Daryl emerged sometime after Jess with his crossbow on his back and holding onto her machete and knife. He trudged towards the waiting stares of Rick’s group, who were all in various states, but none of which were as stained red by blood as him. Carol ran out from the middle, skidding to a stop in front of him and gasping at the state of him. Asking if it was his blood, he solemnly shook his head, looked up at Aaron and Eric and told them not to go into the house until he’d been able to remove the bodies.

 Jess used water from her tank at the large sink in the diner’s kitchen. She stripped down to her bare skin and scrubbed until she was red raw, shivering and trying to wash off the dirt and the blood and the terror and the sadness. Her mind kept flicking back to being held down to the table and her thighs ached from the hand-shaped bruises forming.

Her own morality wasn’t something she dwelled on too much anymore. In her reasoning, she was a survivor, until she wasn’t anymore and that was no less certain even before the world died. But Daryl saving her life had shoved her, staring into the void of her own demise, forcing her to acknowledge that had he not been there in time, ultimately, it was the end for her. Being taken away and used or being killed there and then, it hadn’t mattered to her because there simply was no difference, both meant it was over and it was a thought that stabbed pure fear into every inch of her being.

Jess had come to the conclusion since the turn that everyone had a monster inside them in some way or another. That most people's monsters lay dormant, in a constant state of disuse because they were brought up a certain way, because they’re not wired that way or because they’ve been conditioned, in some way shape or form, to control them. Others, dance with their monsters and feed them and nourish them on their path to immorality, prison or hell. But those that become nothing but monsters at the end of the world were a new type of depravity to Jess. Those that chose to take that path, instead of surviving in the best way possible and retaining their humanity.

The violence she’d witnessed from Daryl had been like watching a horror movie on a screen, only the noise was real and she could smell the blood and the chopped up, mutilated remains would undoubtedly be an image that she would never forget. But she understood that the difference between Daryl and the men that charged Alexandria for a murder spree, was their monsters and now she’d seen with her own eyes just how vicious Daryl’s was. But he’d made a choice to be on the right path, using death only to protect and prevent, contrary to the men he’d killed.

 Wandering out to the wooden seats that still remained at the front of the diner from its days of use. She drew a thick blanket around her shoulders, covering her Star Wars hoodie and sweatpants. She quietly slid onto the seat and brought her legs up, crossing them underneath and studied the long grass between the rides as it swayed in the wind. The ringing of the bell on the gate tinkled through the metal structures and she leaned to one side, squinting and spotting Daryl with his body pressed against the gate and his fingers laced through the fencing.

Wearily and with a certain degree of frustration, she hauled herself up from the bench and padded to the gate, stopping in front of it and not even bothering to tell him that she wasn’t about to let him in.

Don’t mention the kiss. Please, Daryl.

Daryl got the message as soon as he saw her face. His clothing was still crimson in color but his skin had been cleaned enough to make him look human again. His hair was matted and his face was tired, his filthy fingers clung to the metal fencing.

Jess approached the gate and stopped two feet away, not bothering to tell him that she was not going to let him in. But Daryl could tell he wasn’t going to be allowed any further. It was written all over her face and she was paler than he’d ever seen before.

“Needed to know you’re OK” He said quietly, his voice croaky from the sheer ferocious nature of chopping a man into multiple pieces and expelling his rage through his throat.

“I’m not OK. I just need to be left alone.” She said honestly.

“What can I do?” he asked, ignoring the latter part of her sentence and focusing on the fact that she was not, in fact, okay.

I’m not going to mention the kiss. Now ain’t the time.

“Nothing.” She whispered, running a hand through her hair and clutching the blanket at her waist.

“Ya head alright? Ya took a beatin” He observed after noticing the cut to her right temple had been cleaned up and was luckily, smaller than he’d expected.

“Sore.” She shrugged. Concussion was a very real possibility and Jess was aware of that. Her head stung and ached with pain when she’d attempted to get some sleep and so she decided that she would think her night away while sitting on the bench outside.

“You okay other than that?” He continued

Usually always delighted to be in his company, when she looked at him, she experienced a bizarre mix of emotions, among which was humiliation, but also gratitude. She needed him to leave but didn’t possess the mental energy to find the most polite way to ask.

“Daryl-”

“-Don’t you dare argue with me right now, Jess.” He interrupted firmly. The gate rattled on its hinges when his boot hit the bottom of the frame, adding an element of irritation to his warning. “I said, are ya okay, other than that?”

“Some bad bruising on my thighs. That’s it.” She sighed, noting him shift and move closer to the gate, levelling his gaze with her.

“No, uh, I meant…” he pauses “they were gonna-”

“-I know.” She cut in “I know what they were going to do. I’m ok. Really.”

She didn’t need to file through the details, didn’t need to talk about how frightened she was or how her skin felt like it had been marred even though it didn’t get that far, she also didn’t want to talk about how she’d witnessed the man she loved bludgeon someone else to a pulp. What she needed was sleep and to start moving on.

“What you saw…” he croaked “…what ya saw me do…I’d never hurt you. Don’t be scared of me, Jess. Please.”

A lump formed in her throat at the thought of him believing her to be scared of him. He was the person she trusted more than anyone else in the world and he was responsible for her still being alive and able to step forward and entwine her fingers with his through the fence.

“Remember when I told you I’d kill anyone that tried to hurt you?” She asked. Daryl only nodded at the memory. “You did the same for me tonight. I’ll never be afraid of you.” She sniffed “I adore you.”

He unlaced his hands from the fence, pushing them back through once more, over hers and held them there tightly.

“I couldn’t stop. I just…couldn’t stop. Everything went black n’ there was just me n’ him and I thought of you and what he could’a…” He explained. “…I’m here. If ya need to talk. I’m here.”

“I’m okay, Daryl. It didn’t happen. You stopped it.” She assured him

He tried to step back but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her hands, his feet moved but he was soon against the fence again, pleading with her to just let him in, into the fairground and into her thoughts. But she was more independent than he remembered and she needed to start to process it on her own. His eyes never left her, even when a long and intense silence lasted for almost a minute and his hands only gripped hers more.

“I’m the one you tell.” He rasped. “Me.”

She rested her head against his with the fence dividing them like a physical representation of the barrier that had been cemented between them from the beginning.

“Always” She agreed.

---  Tagged as requested ---

@lilred254​ @woundmetender​

Masterlist

[jcrcabserviceinrajasthan]

Step by step instructions to Reach Bikaner

The verifiable Jain sanctuaries, complex pink sandstone havelis, and winding paths loan a specific old-global charm to the infertile locale city of Bikaner.

Bikaner has a flourishing camel safari scene, in spite of the way that most sightseers select score up in Jaisalmer. This way you might partake in the verifiable sights and partake in a desolate locale setting up camp experience without the buzzing about of the Golden City. Bikaner's old city district is enveloped through a 7km divider that was raised in the eighteenth hundred years.

Back inside the fifteenth 100 years, Bikaner changed into wild desert u . S . A . Known as Jangladesh. A Rathore sovereign who would not acquire his dad's nation chose to found the realm of Bikaner. Today, this north-western Rajasthan city is home to some of the most pleasant sand hills and camels. A portion of Rajasthan's top notch camels are situated here and you really want to give Bikaner an opportunity most certainly. There are many strategies to head about on the most proficient method to arrive at Bikaner. In the event that still up in the air on coming here, you're in for an illustriously fitting time!

Bikaner

Via Air:

The Bikaner Airport (Nal Airforce Station) (BKB) has a limited home air terminal that has Alliance Air trips to and from Delhi and Jaipur. The Bikaner Airport is around 15kms from Bikaner town.

The closest overall air terminal is the Jaipur International Airport and Bikaner is around 350kms from that point. Prepaid taxi contributions are to be had at the air terminal and the excursion to Bikaner is productive due to wherein you're going. Another home air terminal this is nearer than Jaipur to Bikaner is Jodhpur Airport. Arranged at around 250kms from Bikaner, this air terminal has flights interfacing Delhi and Mumbai.

From Airport, enlist a Taxi Service in Bikaner.

By Rail:

Bikaner Junction and Lalgarh Railway Station are the 2 rail route stations serving Bikaner. The previous is under 2kms distant from the essential city place, while the last option is 10kms away. Contingent upon wherein you're going from, Bikaner has plenty of trains that come and move from these stations.

Whether you're taking an Inter-City express or a Super-quick, you'll constantly track down a train that suits your region and timing. One of the ideal ways of getting to Bikaner is via boarding a train. You can make some romping memories, get to satisfy a few energizing people, and leave away with an essential outing. Take Car Rental in Bikaner.

3. By Road:

Public Highways eleven, 15, and 89 join Bikaner to all the most significant towns across the US of America. On the off chance that you settle on a transport venture or a street ride to Bikaner, you will not be upset because of the lovely perspectives on the fruitless district on the way. Your excursion to Bikaner might be an excursion in itself. There are plenty of visit associations that proposition seats on Volvo and non-AC transports. The RSRTC employs various engines that take visitors to and from Bikaner. Since Bikaner is very distant from the other well-known voyager urban communities in Rajasthan, there are comfortable sleeper transports at the cost range cognizant.

At the surrender of the day, a method for accomplishing Bikaner isn't the issue. The issue emerges when you remember you need to disappear whenever you've experienced passionate feelings for this adorable city.

[mingyangrt]

Railway Sleepers Are Made Of A Variety Of Materials

Railway Sleepers, like other backstage technicians, off-camera performers, and support workers, have never received the respect and appreciation they deserve. They can reasonably be said to be the backbone of the railway business, as they lay on the railway rails at precise gauge places.

As a result, selecting the right material for railway sleepers is crucial. Except for the first efforts with stone block sleepers; the railway sleeper business has largely been dominated by timber or wood. With the advancement of technology, higher train speeds, and increasing axle loads, new materials are being evaluated.

There's a reason why wood has been the dominant material in the sleeping business since its inception. Wood is a durable, inexpensive, readily accessible, and flexible material. Unfortunately, it is highly susceptible to wear and tear, which is why alternatives are being sought. Even when the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, one may always strive to find the ideal material.

These are formed from concrete slabs that are inside laced with steel wires and have been gaining popularity since the Second World War. Because they are fragile, they cannot withstand heavy loads. Prestressed Sleepers, of course, eliminate this flaw, but the technique and materials needed to create them raise the cost, so they can't be utilized for large-scale railway sleeper construction. It would, however, be a smart alternative if the price were to drop in the near future.

Concrete Sleepers appeared to be an ideal solution because they were stronger than wood and less expensive than pre-stressed concrete. However, due to their susceptibility to corrosion, the wear out of rail seats and lack of insulation, as well as network faults due to high conductivity, Concrete Sleeper pose more problems than benefits.

[the-brown-man]

Just Pinned to Garden/Outdoor Spaces: Les Mable’s raised beds with bench seats from new railway sleepers

[paul-s-walks-uk-blog]

Walk 3: South Brent to Broad Falls

‘I first noticed how the sound of water is like the talk of human voices, and would sometimes wake in the night and listen, thinking that a crowd of people were coming through the woods’.

Freya Stark

It was time to go camping. And it was time to camp by a water. The chatter and the bubbling of running water, or the steady lap of waves on a rocky beach work a peaceful charm. It’s not quite sailing off over the oceans, but as Ishmael says ‘It’s a way I have of driving  off  the spleen’

This walk visits three waterfalls along the River Avon. The falls at Lydia bridge. then the first of the series of falls at Shipley, and finally a campsite at Broad falls, where the young Avon, barely three kilometers. from it’s miry sauce, leaps down a rocky outcrop on it’s way to Avon Dam. I had passed by this last several times, but had not yet camped there.

see pictures from this walk by clicking this link

Walk data

Distance: Approximately 7 miles, 11 km (14 miles, 23 km if  not camping but returning  by the same route)

Grade: moderate, some sections would require map and compass work in low visibility. If you are not going to camp, but instead return the same day, this would be a strenuous walk, and would not be advisable outside summer due to daylight hours.

Start Point: South Brent Tourist Information, which is in the Old Toll House, 3-6 Church Street, approximately SX697601: A picture of it is here to help locate it

End Point : Western bank of the River Avon, near Broad Falls, approximately SX652670

Facilities: Supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, coffee bars, tourist information are all to be found in South Brent. Public toilets and (if you are lucky) an ice cream van, at Shipley Bridge Car Park

Transport: By bus: From Torquay, Paignton or Totnes, catch the Stage Coach West Gold bus bound for Plymouth. From Plymouth, the same bus, bound for Torquay. From Exeter, the only direct bus is the Stage Coast West X38 (from Exeter Bus Station). There are only five of these per day. There are other routes involving changes, consult Traveline South West

Map: Essential, as is a compass. Ordinance Survey Explorer OL28. The coordinates used here are in reference to this map

Walk overview

The trail starts with a fair amount of road walking and some public footpaths through woods. Then, from Shipley Bridge, moorland. Mostly following an clear path through tussocky grass, with some boggy patches. After the Sky Tip, there is  section open moorland to cross, with possibly very boggy areas. The very last section is over rocky ground 

Route Map

Click on sections to see route map

Stage 1 : South Brent to Shipley Bridge

Stage 2 : Shipley Bridge to Red lake

Stage 3 : The Red  Lake to campsite

Woods near Shipley Bridge

Stage 1:South Brent to Shipley Bridge

This is primarily road walking, with some stretches of country footpaths. The roads are not busy (except in the holiday season).

The walk starts at the Old Toll House in South Brent, which is now a tourist information center. South Brent is either a large village, or a small town, depending on how you look at it. It is not generally a tourist attraction, which gives it an attraction of it’s own. The street are busy with local shoppers and farmers.There are plenty of traditional Devon buildings to look at, mostly Victorian, but some clearly dating from the sixteenth century or earlier. 

From the Old Toll House head towards and past the church, where a footpath takes you under the railway bridge. There is a very nice walk along the banks of the Avon, which ends with a set of granite steps leading up to Lydia bridge (click here to see a photo).

Turn right and cross the bridge. The first of the waterfalls on this trail are on the right side of the bridge. Here the river thunders down over a steep and surprisingly boulder strewn drop. It makes a churning sound like great wheels turning. The banks are green with thickly growing trees.

Since most of this section is road walking, I have built in a little detour, but you can stick to the road if you wish, the detour rejoins the road art Avon Cott, about a third of a mile (half a kilometer) along. There is a public footpath to your right soon after crossing the bridge. This takes you over some fields and through a small, but delightful patch of woods, before rejoining the road. It has been a warm winter and even though it was January, the woods were still in their autumn browns and oranges, and the leaves still crunched underfoot.

After passing Avon Cott (the building has a sign  with it’s name on the wall, so it is easy to see), you come to Binnamore cross. Take the right fork and follow the road. There are a couple of junctions, but ignore them, The directions to Shipley bridge are well signed. On reaching Shipley Bridge then turn left into the car park. If you are very lucky there will be an ice cream van, selling clotted cream ice creams. Try one for a proper Devon treat.

There are public toilets at the bridge, but no other facilities.

The car park at Shipley is the site of two distinct and defunct industrial enterprises on this part of the moor. Stage 2 of the walk takes you past the relics of both of these.

The first was the extraction of naphtha from peat which was taken from diggings near Red Lake. Naphtha was used in Victorian times to make candles. The material was transported to Shipley Bridge along a tramway to where the car park now is. The wagons were dragged by horse and manpower and it must have been back-breaking work. The tramway will be followed in stage 2 of this walk. Nothing else remains of this industry which ceased working after only a few years. But the tramway was reused by the second industry.

The second enterprise was china clay extraction. This is still done on the moors to the south east near Shaugh Prior. The clay was dug at red lake, and dried here at the car park. The clay extraction lasted until 1880, when it was abandoned.

Stage 2: Shipley Bridge to Red Lake

This stage ends at Red Lake on the south eastern end of Green Hill on the open moor. The entire length follows the Victorian tramway, which is easy to follow.

Head from the car park along the road towards the Avon Dam. On your right the River Avon runs in a little rocky valley. If it has rained on the higher moors, the river here can be a loud torrent, and the air is full of spray. Usually it rolls merrily down and there are little beaches of flat rock where you can stand and listen to the gurgling and splashing of the water

There are several falls along the way to the Dam, especially at this end of the road, where the land descends suddenly. This walk follows the road for only a couple of hundred meters, past the fall seen below.

The River Avon at Shipley

After a few minutes you will come to a white sign on the left that points to the Avon Dam and ( unromantically) to the Water Treatment Works. Follow the sign left to the Treatment Works, up a steep section of concrete road. This soon levels out a bit and bears to the right and passes the  Works. Leave the road, keeping the wall of the works to your left. This is where the tramway departs from the Water Works road. Initially it does not look like any sort of tramway, there is a rocky section, overhung with the branches of tall gorse bushes, but this soon opens out.

The tramway was made of wooden sleepers bolted to granite blocks. The sleepers have long since been reused by local farmers, but the granite blocks remain,covered in moss and grasses, sometimes obvious, sometimes not. The builders tried to keep the tramway (more or less) level, so sometimes it forms a ditch beside the path (the bottom of the ditch is generally soggy) , and sometimes it is raised a little higher.

The trail follows the contour lines of a wide valley. To your left, at the bottom of the valley runs the Bala Brook. On the far side the hills are scarred with the cuttings made by miners, to the right Brent Moor rises in gorse covered slopes. Once out on the moors the tramway bears northwards and after a while turns again north-eastward. As it does you will see the hill ahead crowned with what can only be described as a nipple shaped structure. This is Eastern White Barrow. It will be visible for most of the rest of the trail. (see the picture below)

Eastern White Barrow from the Tramway

The barrows are the sites of bronze age burials. Huge piles of rock were piled over the graves of chieftains.The bodies of the chieftains have long since dissolved in the acidic peat, and over the ages any treasure buried with them have been plundered, but the barrow still remain. Someone at some time built a cylindrical structure on the top of Eastern White Barrow, giving it it’s distinctive shape.

Eastern White Barrow is now behind your right shoulder, almost hidden by the upper slopes of the hill. A single tall stone will be seen standing rather forbiddingly on the moors. This is a boundary marker, one of many found on Dartmoor, defining the borders between different parishes

Ahead, past the boundary marker is another barrow. The is Western White Barrow (SX653654). It is close to the track an worth a visit. This is not a very tall barrow, and the reason soon becomes clear. The Victorian mine workers have hollowed out the middle and made it into a small house. The roof has long gone, but there are still stout walls, and the rectangular remains of a chimney place, This makes a perfect seat for getting out of the wind, and making a cup of tea, if you have a stove on you. On top of the barrow stands Petre’s Cross. It has stood here since the middle ages. The Victorian miners, clearly not superstitious, cut the arms off and made it the backing for their fireplace in the hut. Someone has since rescued it and put it back on top of the barrow. There it stands, looking maimed and sad, through heat and rain and snow. (see picture below)

Petre’s Cross on Western White Barrow, with the Sky Tip in the distance

From the barrow you can see in the distance what looks like a little mountain, standing by itself on the moor-side. This is called ‘The Sky Tip’. It is the spoil tip from the china clay diggings. Red lake sits at the bottom of the sky tip, and it is there that this section of the walk is heading.

On the other side of the track, just past the barrow, you can see a small cylindrical  stone structure. If you go and look at it you will find that next to it two strange constructions, like elongated horse-shoes (click here to see a picture). These are settling tanks. Here the clay slurry was washed under high pressure. The heavier particles, containing the china clay would settle to the bottom, and the other material would be washed away. The cylindrical structure would have housed a pump.

From here the path goes down hill and soon you can see it joins a wider track. This is the Puffing Billy track, where once a small railway carried workers and material from the clay works to near Ivybridge on the southern end of the moors.The path soon joins this track (SX649660) and leads to Red Lake. This part of the track is often waterlogged and you may need to climb at times to the higher, tussock covered banks to avoid getting wet feet (the right side is best). Take care, as there are hidden holes and gullies among the grassy mounds.

You soon come to the remains of the clay works. The building have been destroyed, but there are still concrete and stone blocks, with rusty iron support sticking from them. It must once have been very busy here, but now it is quiet and still, and the wind whistles through the grasses.

Straight ahead is the Sky Tip and Red Lake(SX645668). Climb up the white, clay path to the top of the Tip. There is a good view all round. Two other lakes can be seen, separated by a causeway, and a further smaller tip at the other side of the lake. 

Take time to sit and breathe the peat scented fresh air. Not too long, as it is often very windy at the top.

Red Lake

Stage 2: Red Lake to Broad Falls 

This is the shortest stage.

Look eastwards and you can see a wide area of moor land, and beyond it a valley. This is the Avon valley where Broad falls are. Do not head straight in the direction of the falls, as this area is extremely boggy, and you will be drenched up to the knees if you traverse it. Instead, bear slightly to the left. From the Sky tip you can see some rocky outcrops in this direction. Head on the higher ground to these, and then bear slightly to your right, down the grassy end of the valley, which is strewn with large granite boulders.

Broad Falls soon come into view. The river tumbles down between massive granite rocks. (picture below)

.

This is a seldom visited spot. You can sit here all day in peace and quiet, with very little chance of seeing anyone else, except maybe a walker or two, and on the far bank, where it is less rocky, you may see a hill farmer on a quad bike, with a sheep dog lolling around on the back.

I have not camped here before, and it was difficult to find a suitable pitching spot. The ground next to the river is damp and very rocky. But higher up there are small cliffs and there are grassy patches on top of these. I found (at last) a space wide enough about half way up and pitched my tent there (see the picture at the top of this post).

Dinner was a trekking chicken korma and tea and ginger nuts. Who could ask for more? It was now 4 o’clock and soon it would be dark. I lay in my tent with the door open as darkness fell, listening to the water below. It does indeed sound like voices. I am used to it now, but the first time I camped out alone by a river, I became convinced that there was a group of old ladies nearby, chatting and giggling indistinctly. I couldn’t work out where they could be, and eventually got up in the pitch dark to investigate. Some people say the voice of the river is telling us things, but I don’t. That is the beauty of it. It exists solely for itself, without regards to our little lives, burbling and gurgling through the granite stones. It has been doing this for millennia, chattering away as it slowly but surely carries the rocks down stream.This is the same sound that the neolithic hunters would have heard here four thousand years ago.

The night darkened to blackness and I fell asleep, waking at one in the morning, slightly damp as I hadn’t zipped the door up.

[craftygal65]

Raised Garden Bed Benches gb25 Would you like to add raised garden beds to your yard while also adding some extra sitting space? If so, this design is for you. Imagine sitting in your yard being fully surrounded by gorgeous flowers and plants. Not to mention, when it came time to weed or harvest you could literally sit down while you work. That certainly makes for a more leisurely and enjoyable experience. (http://www.railwaysleepers.com/projects/benches-chairs-from-railway-sleepers/les-mables-raised-beds-with-bench-seats-from-new-railway-sleepers) #raisedgardenbeds #raisedbeds #diy #gardening

[davidstimber7654]

From Tracks to Backyards: How Pine Railway Sleepers Are Revolutionizing Outdoor Spaces

Image Source: Google

The use of railway sleepers in outdoor landscaping has been gaining popularity in recent years. These sturdy wooden beams, traditionally used to support and hold railroad tracks in place, are now being repurposed to create stunning and functional outdoor features in residential and commercial settings. Pine railway sleepers, in particular, have emerged as a top choice for many homeowners and landscapers due to their durability, versatility, and aesthetic appeal. Let's explore how pine railway sleepers are revolutionizing outdoor spaces.

The Advantages of Pine Railway Sleepers

Pine railway sleepers offer a range of benefits that make them a preferred choice for outdoor landscaping projects. Some of the key advantages include:

Durability

Pine is a strong and resilient wood that can withstand harsh weather conditions, making it ideal for outdoor use.

Railway sleepers are treated to resist rot, decay, and insect damage, ensuring longevity and low maintenance.

Versatility

Pine railway sleepers can be used in various landscaping applications, such as creating raised beds, retaining walls, pathways, steps, and outdoor furniture.

They can be easily cut, shaped, and stacked to fit different design requirements, making them versatile for different projects.

Aesthetic Appeal

The natural warmth and beauty of pine timber add a rustic and charming touch to outdoor spaces, enhancing their visual appeal.

Pine railway sleepers can complement different styles of landscaping, from traditional to contemporary, and blend well with various materials like stone, gravel, and plants.

Popular Uses of Pine Railway Sleepers in Outdoor Landscaping

The versatility of pine railway sleepers allows for a wide range of creative applications in outdoor landscaping. Some popular uses include:

Raised Garden Beds

Creating raised garden beds with pine railway sleepers adds depth and dimension to the landscape.

These beds are perfect for growing flowers, herbs, vegetables, and other plants, providing a functional and attractive garden feature.

Retaining Walls

Using pine railway sleepers to build retaining walls helps prevent soil erosion and creates distinct levels in the garden.

These walls can enhance the structure of the outdoor space while serving a practical purpose in holding back soil and defining garden boundaries.

Pathways and Steps

Installing pathways and steps made of pine railway sleepers adds a rustic and inviting element to the landscape.

These features can guide visitors through the garden, connect different areas, and create a visually appealing and functional transition.

Outdoor Furniture

Repurposing pine railway sleepers into outdoor furniture, such as benches, tables, and seating, offers a sustainable and stylish alternative.

The durable nature of pine timber ensures that the furniture is sturdy and long-lasting, perfect for outdoor use.

Tips for Using Pine Railway Sleepers in Outdoor Projects

When incorporating pine railway sleepers into your outdoor landscaping, consider the following tips to achieve the best results:

Preparation

Ensure proper site preparation by leveling the ground, removing debris, and creating a stable foundation for the railway sleepers.

Treat the pine sleepers with a wood preservative to enhance their longevity and protect them from moisture and decay.

Design Considerations

Plan your design layout carefully to maximize the use of pine railway sleepers and create a cohesive and visually appealing outdoor space.

Consider the dimensions, heights, and alignment of the sleepers to achieve the desired look and functionality for your project.

Installation Techniques

Use appropriate tools and techniques to cut, drill, and secure the pine railway sleepers in place, ensuring a sturdy and stable construction.

Consider anchoring the sleepers with rebar or screws for added strength and stability, especially for retaining walls and raised beds.

By following these tips and creatively incorporating pine railway sleepers into your outdoor projects, you can transform your backyard or garden into a unique and inviting space that reflects your personal style and enhances your outdoor living experience.

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[railwaysleeperspecialists]

Railway Sleepers: Transforming Gardens Across Australia

Transforming Gardens with Railway Sleepers

Railway sleepers, originally used to support railway tracks, have found new life in garden landscaping. Their robust construction and weather-resistant properties make them ideal for a variety of outdoor projects. From raised garden beds to retaining walls, seating areas to pathways, railway sleepers can add both functionality and aesthetic appeal to any garden.

Versatility of Hardwood Sleepers

Hardwood Sleepers, in particular, are prized for their durability and natural beauty. They come in various sizes and finishes, allowing homeowners to create custom designs that suit their garden style and preferences. Whether you prefer the rustic charm of weathered sleepers or the sleek look of polished hardwood, Railway Sleeper Specialists offer a wide range of options to choose from.

1.Raised Garden Beds: Railway sleepers are commonly used to create raised garden beds, providing a defined space for planting flowers, herbs, and vegetables. The height of the beds can be adjusted to accommodate different plant varieties and soil conditions.

2. Retaining Walls: Hardwood sleepers are excellent for building retaining walls, which help prevent soil erosion and create terraced levels in sloped gardens. These walls add visual interest to the landscape while providing structural support for the garden.

3. Pathways and Edging: Railway sleepers can be laid horizontally to create pathways or vertically to edge flower beds and borders. Their sturdy construction ensures longevity, even in high-traffic areas, while adding a rustic charm to the garden.

4. Outdoor Furniture: With their natural warmth and character, hardwood sleepers make beautiful outdoor furniture pieces such as benches, tables, and chairs. These durable pieces can withstand the elements and provide a comfortable seating area for relaxing in the garden.

Benefits of Choosing Railway Sleeper Specialists

1. Quality Materials: Railway Sleeper Specialists offer high-quality hardwood sleepers sourced from sustainable forests. Their products are known for their durability, longevity, and resistance to decay, ensuring years of use in the garden.

2. Custom Solutions: Whether you’re a seasoned landscaper or a DIY enthusiast, Railway Sleeper Specialists provide expert advice and tailored solutions to meet your specific garden requirements. From selecting the right type of sleeper to offering installation tips, their team is dedicated to helping you achieve your landscaping goals.

3. Wide Range of Options: Railway Sleeper Specialists offer a diverse selection of hardwood sleepers, including various species, sizes, and finishes. Whether you’re looking for classic Jarrah sleepers or contemporary Merbau sleepers, you’ll find the perfect match for your garden project.

4. Excellent Customer Service: With a commitment to customer satisfaction, Railway Sleeper Specialists provide friendly and professional service from start to finish. Their knowledgeable staff are on hand to answer any questions and assist with product selection, delivery, and installation.

In conclusion, railway sleepers from Railway Sleeper Specialists offer a versatile and practical solution for Railway Sleepers Garden, garden landscaping in Australia. With their durability, natural beauty, and wide range of options, hardwood sleepers can enhance the aesthetic appeal and functionality of any outdoor space. Whether you’re creating raised garden beds, retaining walls, or pathways, railway sleepers are sure to transform your garden into a beautiful and inviting retreat.

[livingcorner]

How to level or terrace a sloping garden@|how to terrace a sloping garden@|@|21

                                                                                                                                          Vacancy for a landscape gardener

Garden levelling Information on this page; 

[external_link_head]

Do It Yourself tips to level a slope

What materials are used to terrace a slope. 

Building retaining walls to form terraces.

How to level a slope yourself?

Sloping Uphill & Sloping Downhill, design tips.

How to dig out the soil when levelling a slope.

 Levelling or terracing sloping gardens, require a different approach at the design and build stages, based on whether the garden slopes down and away or upwards toward the house. The visual stuff like the shape of walls and wall facings, not forgetting garden lighting become important.

Also if you are terracing or simply levelling your garden to make it easier to get around because of age or problems that affect mobility. The planning of pathways, steps and hard surfaces become very important considerations. My article here  garden design for elderly could help.

Levelling a sloping garden for whatever reason makes gardening easier and creates outdoor dining and play areas. If your garden has a steep slope planned landscaping can make it accessible and usable again.

These are some of the most popular materials used to retain terracing.

Stone retaining walls using pre-formed concrete stacking blocks (not cheap), breeze blocks, house bricks or natural stone (expensive).

Reclaimed railway sleepers are fairly cheap and treated to last. But the downside with railway sleepers is the oil and tar used to preserve them making them unsuitable for sitting on or contacting with bare skin, especially if you suffer from allergies. 

New sleepers are a cleaner, but slightly more expensive option to build the retaining walls from. They will need to be treated over the years to prevent them from rotting.

Gabions (wire cages filled with stone or rubble), are being used more and more in domestic landscaping for building, cheap, safe and attractive retaining walls. See below

Building materials used for paths and hard surfaces where mobility is a key factor. Materials for paths and hard surfaces should be carefully chosen for safe and comfortable use by people using walking aids and wheelchair users. Surfaces need to  be well constructed with a  firm, non-slip, level access. Gravel is unsuitable, however, there’s a wide range of materials available. Block paving is fairly easy to lay, looks good and is permeable (lets water through).

Path surfaces should be firm, level, non-glare and non-slip when wet or dry and have a well-consolidated sub-base to avoid the surface cracking up or shifting. 

Gabion baskets make building a retaining wall simple

[external_link offset=1]

3 galvanised gabion baskets which can be used to bring your creations to life.

90 FREE gabion connectors to help attach the baskets together.

12 FREE strengthening gabion hooks included to reinforce and maintain the shape of the baskets.

FREE CE certified comfortable protective gloves guarantee easy assembly.

FREE next working day UK mainland delivery when ordered by 2pm (excluding Scottish Highlands).

Terracing or levelling a sloping garden adds interest and creates workable space, allowing planting at different levels, maybe flower borders and a patio on the top terrace and a vegetable patch lower down the slope, with a herb garden near the kitchen. The combinations are endless once the slope has been levelled. 

For gardeners, plant choice is not limited by soil erosion, for families, space is created for children’s play areas and entertaining.

Levelling and terracing a sloping garden takes a lot of time and effort. Shifting earth, maybe digging out clay, but yes it is a job you can handle yourself. Bear in mind though, if things start to go wrong and the walls retaining the terraces come tumbling down. And you end up calling in landscape gardeners to put it right. It will cost lot more in the end. It is very very important to get the retaining wall right.

If you do decide to terrace the slope yourself it is worth the hard graft. Stopping the impact of erosion by forming even a short slope into terraces will save money on plants and make the area more workable, also makes mowing lawns much easier.

digging the slope

Advice for building safe retaining walls.

You can use a range of materials to form the retaining walls from the main ones we have discussed earlier, treated wood, gabion wire cages or stone, through to house bricks (reclaimed brick makes an attractive wall), concrete, quarry rocks and if the terracing isn’t very steep you can use compacted piled earth. The durability of the wall will depend on the material you use and the quality of the footings you build the wall on. 

High retaining walls have the greatest risk of failure. As the retaining wall height increases, the force trying to topple the wall increases by a large factor. For example, if you double the height of a wall, the tipping force can increase by a factor of three or four times. 

Not to high and not to much.

For the reasons we have covered above, if possible avoid very high retaining walls.  If your garden slopes away from the house and you’re planning a patio area directly outside the house, the further into the slope the patio extends the higher the retaining wall will need to be. A higher retaining wall will need more steps to access the next level. With a downward slope away from the house, it might be worth considering positioning the patio on one of the lower levels rather than sacrifice dining and entertaining space. 

Dry stone walls. This article explains how to build  stone walls. retaining walls.  

How long will it take to level a slope.

Doing it yourself will depend on the size of the garden, the steepness of the slope, number of terraces, access to the skip and how much help you can count on. If I can get a digger onto the slope. The levelling and terracing work normally takes me a couple of weeks in a small to medium garden.

To save time shifting soil from one area to another.

We use the cut and fill method to form the terraces.

This means digging out soil to lower the top half of the area, using the same soil to fill the lower half.

If you divide the area you intend to level in half, you won’t have a lot of surplus topsoil to get rid off.

Before starting levelling, you will need to have the new retaining walls in place.

As you dig deeper into the slope you may hit clay or stone, possibly rock. So, it is a good idea to have a pick-axe handy. Bury the clay and rock saving the best soil for the top

Diagram of the cut and fill method of moving soil to level a sloping garden.

3 galvanised gabion baskets which can be used to build retaining walls,

90 FREE gabion connectors to help attach the baskets together.

12 FREE strengthening gabion hooks included to reinforce and maintain the shape of the baskets.

FREE CE certified comfortable protective gloves guarantee easy assembly.

FREE next working day UK mainland delivery when ordered by 2pm (excluding Scottish Highlands).

Gabions filled with stone or rubble), are being used more and more in domestic landscaping for building safe and attractive retaining walls. 

You are now ready to begin building the retaining walls and levelling the terrace. Before you start however, its worth spending a little bit of time considering the different design ideas for uphill or downhill slopes. This can make all the difference in the aesthetics of the finished job. 

Both uphill slopes and downhill slopes need a slightly different approach at the design stage. On a downward slope viewed from the house you only see the tops of steps and walls. However, with an upward slope viewed from the house. The steps and walls become the focal point.

Downhill slopes often look better with straight walls, sweeping paths and gradual slopes.

Uphill slopes look better when the walls are curved making the retaining walls a garden features. 

To get an idea of what you will end up with, stand at the bottom of the slope you are designing the terraces into and imagine the finished job. Do you like what you will be looking at one day?  It is an expensive undertaking terracing and levelling a sloping garden. The benefits will be, easier maintenance, space to entertain and space for kids to play safely. With an extra bit of planning it will look good too.

Paved terrace. The golden rule for a paved terrace is that it is big enough to dine and entertain without falling of the edge. To work out the space you will need. Place a dining table in the middle with six chairs around the table, now move the chairs back 18″. That’s the minimum space you should aim for and don’t forget to include space for the BBQ! What you include in your sloping garden design will depend on the size. Creating to many different levels will mean that terraces could be too small to build a comfortable dining area.

Kids play area and seating. A family with young children might want to include a safe play area and maybe a sand pit/shed to store the kids’ toys. If you are not including a paved terrace. Aim to have plenty of natural seating spread around the garden. The tops of stone retaining walls and sleeper raised beds make great places to sit and ponder. Try to have seats spread around to follow the sun. Also, make the steps wide enough to sit on.

Illuminating slopes, terracing and steps. Positioning garden lighting tips, can be found here.  lights on a slope

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What features can I include in my terraced garden.

Features;  Can include birdbaths, bird feeders, big flowerpots and trellises all add interest. But don’t go over the top in a small sloped garden. Too much clutter makes it look smaller, design tips can be found on my small garden page. 

Water features.

Water features and streams running from the top to the bottom work well and look good in a sloping garden. They seem to connect the various terraces together and the sound of running water bubbling over pebbles is something else. 

Existing plants and shrubs can be dug out whilst the groundwork is going on, planted in containers and flowerpots and saved for replanting when the terracing is complete. Working around plants is time consuming.

Plants for terraces. 

Some deep rooting plants as well as looking good, actually help retain the soil stopping erosion on slopes whilst shallow rooting plants, like ivy can cause erosion. I have listed plants on this page best plants for slopes 

Plants that like to flow down slopes like coneflowers, black eyed susan, garden phlox, shasta daisies, purple russian sage, herbs like catmint and creeping phlox work well on the edge of a terrace.

Plants like artemesias and soft wooly lambs ears with grey or silver foliage add contrasting colour against brighter blooms and dwarf evergreen shrubs. 

Vegetable beds. You may of course be unsociable and more interested in growing your own vegetables than entertaining. I am, that’s what my wife says anyway! If  like me, a growing area is more important than paving, include space for a compost heap. If you can’t completely level the growing area, a slight slope won’t effect the plants. 

What you include in your sloping garden design will depend on the size. Creating too many different levels will mean the terraces could be too small to build a comfortable dining area. 

What do you want from your levelled garden.

You can see why it is worth taking time to think about your new terraces before you start levelling the slope or calling in a landscape gardener to do the groundwork. When I am called in to price a terracing job, I always ask this question “What will be the main purpose of the new terraced garden?” It’s expensive to make major design changes once the levelling is started. 

Don’t be put off by the cost, or hard work if you are going to do the work yourself. Soil erosion, areas you can’t get to and slippery slopes can be a nightmare, especially as we get older. With some thought and hard work it really can be turned into a safe place to enjoy using again.

If drainage is a problem, visit my lawns and garden drainage page.

Gabion baskets make building a retaining wall simple

 The Benefits of levelling or terracing a slope include; 

Creating space to build functional patios and kids safe play areas.

For gardeners stopping soil erosion and rain water washing the nutrients and seedlings away.

For older gardeners, the main benefit after levelling the slope and forming terraces, is the garden will be easier to work on and get around.

Make it an enjoyable place to be in, instead of a daily challenge. 

Hope you find the DIY levelling tips useful, but if you haven’t got the time? We are Landscape gardeners specialising in levelling, terracing and landscaping sloping gardens in Weston super mare, North Somerset, Somerset, Bristol, Portishead, Clevedon, Nailsea, Yatton and Bridgwater and sometimes further afield.  Contact Mike

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source https://livingcorner.com.au/how-to-level-or-terrace-a-sloping-gardenhow-to-terrace-a-sloping-garden21/

[railmitra]

How To Book A Lower Berth With Train Berth Availability On Mobile?

Booking Of A Lower Berth With Train Berth Availability On Mobile Is Now Easy.

Many senior citizens, Ladies, and differently-abled persons find it difficult to climb up to middle or upper berth in Indian Railway’s Trains. Due to which while booking tickets, people often prefer the lower berth especially for women and senior citizens. Indian railways form has an option for berth preference. Despite selecting a lower berth as berth preference we did not Get A Lower Berth Seat on the train. We always lost in thought how to get a lower berth seat for our old age parents or relatives suffering from health issues.

There is an option in the form about our preferences for the need for a Train Berth Availability of Lower Berth or Middle Berth or Upper Berth or Side Lower Berth or Side Upper Berth. Once the preference is entered and a ticket is booked, after payment, we are shocked to see that our preference was not available and so some other berths were allocated. So there is no assurance to provide lower berths or to provide seats in the same coach as well. The allotted different seats make us agitated and we try to cancel the ticket. If it is a Tatkal Ticket then all money is lost. You can check Indian Railways Train Seat Enquiry with Railmitra App which offers you to access detailed information regarding any IRCTC Train Seat Availability for any destination. 

The Online Ticket Booking System is very dynamic, the situation and availability of the berths change every second. So, it's quite possible that one who gets the early access gets the desired berth, and others may not get it. To resolve this situation the railways have recently also hiked the number of reserved seats in Sleeper and AC-classes for the women and senior citizen passengers. So, if you are pondering on some tricks and processes to get a lower berth in the train, here are few but Guaranteed Procedures To Get Lower Berth Preference In Train.

How To Book Tickets In The Lower Berth By Checking Train Berth Availability?

Here is how to book tickets only for a lower berth and don’t want to book tickets if no lower berth is available. 

Book Lower Berth By Selecting A  Quota

Selecting these quota increases the probability of booking Lower Berth Preference In Train.

For Whom The Indian Railway Has A Special Quota?

This quota is for:

1. Senior citizen: Male over 60 years, traveling alone

2. Ladies quota: Female over 45 years, traveling alone. 

3. Two passengers traveling on one ticket with the same PNR with the above criteria.

4. Pregnant Female. Pregnant females need to show a certificate to avail of this quota.

Concessional tickets are not allowed for Garib Rath, Gatimaan, Vande Bharat, Suvidha, and Humsafar Train or Quota or Class. Six lower berths are reserved in sleeper class and three lower berths the third tier and second tier coach are reserved for female, senior citizens, and pregnant women.

Select Lower Berth Option While Filling The Form

While filling an online form for booking tickets, after entering your Name, Age, Berth Preference, and ID card Details scroll down and you will see lower berth preference options in Train Berth Availability. The IRCTC also allows a user to select a choice of berth while booking the tickets online. While this feature doesn't guarantee that you will be allotted the same seats as opted. 

There is an option for booking a lower berth ticket as below:

1. Book, only if all berths are allotted in the same coach

2. Book, only if at least one lower berth is allotted

3. Book, only if two lower berths are allotted

Select the checkbox according to preference. The system debits the amount first from your account and then searches for availability. If the condition is fulfilled, it shall not ask back for anything. However, if LB is not available; it will ask back to the user that the selected option cannot be met. 

Choose Yes or No. When selected yes, the system shall book a berth as available in the system. When selected no, the transaction fails, and the refund shall be credited back into your account within the required days. If the amount is not credited to your account, you can raise a request with the IRCTC Quoting Transaction Number to get a refund.

Higher Chances To Get Lower Berth Seat Or Berth

It's advised to select the Dedicated Lower-berth option only if you cannot travel without it. To get a lower preference berth in train select the option only if there are at least 150 berths available on the train. In this case, there is a higher probability of getting the lower berth. While Indian Railway Enquiry Between Two Stations shows less than 70 berths available on the train, avoid selecting the option.

This facility is available only if there are available tickets and if there are no available tickets available and only a waiting list and Reservation Against Cancellation(RAC) is there you can’t use this method.

Source

More Links

Train Time Table, Train Running Status, Trains Between Stations, Live Station Train, Train Fare Enquiry

[biofunmy]

The Nightjet: A Big Bet on Train Travelers Who Take It Slow

On a recent morning, as Venice awakened to crisp November sunshine, a group of travelers appeared on the steps of Santa Lucia Station. They stood in awe of the Grand Canal just opposite, rummaging for sunglasses in their bags.

There were couples, like Natalia Goia, 28, and Maximiliano Amestoy, 33, from Uruguay. On a tour of Europe, they had left rainy Vienna the night before, slept in a compartment with reclining seats, and were up and ready to explore Venice before most visitors had even finished their breakfasts.

“We had lots of sleep,” Ms. Goia said, sitting on the steps of the modernist railway terminal, visibly pleased with the 11-hour journey that had led them through the Austrian Alps. They swapped a night in a pricey hotel in Venice for the cheapest fare on the train, she said.

The nighttime link to Venice is among a growing number of destinations offered by ÖBB, Austria’s state-owned federal railway, under the Nightjet brand. In recent years, as operators around Europe wrote off night trains as unprofitable and shuttered services, ÖBB expanded its network, provoking questions about just how the company had managed to do it.

“Sometimes you get lucky,” said Andreas Matthä, the company’s chief executive. In 2016, when Deutsche Bahn of Germany, struggling to cut costs, decided to end night services, he said, Austria was faced with a similar dilemma: whether to invest in costly rolling stock and continue serving a niche market, or to focus on daytime connections.

ÖBB decided to jump on the opportunity, taking over Deutsche Bahn’s most lucrative routes and buying secondhand sleeping cars that, although newer than their own, had suddenly become obsolete.

Passenger numbers have doubled since Nightjet began operating in 2016, and ÖBB said it carried 1.4 million people on the service last year.

Mr. Matthä, 57, is a seasoned railway man, having climbed the ranks of the federal railway in more than three decades. To him, comfortable and unhurried travel is the main selling point of Nightjets. During an interview, his eyes lit up at a mention of the sleeping car breakfast, with two Viennese bread rolls, jam and coffee.

“It’s a common misconception that a night train must travel fast,” Mr. Matthä said. “The most important is to depart and arrive at a convenient time,” he said, adding that if the train to Venice traveled faster it would arrive at 4 in the morning.

The demise of Germany’s night services wasn’t the only factor that helped Austria’s expansion. After the climate activist Greta Thunberg sailed the Atlantic in treacherous waters just to avoid flying to a United Nations summit in New York this summer, many travelers in Europe pledged never to fly again, or at least to drop short-haul flights for trains and buses.

Others have campaigned for a Europe-wide effort to revive the Continent’s night trains as a more sustainable way to travel. Germany will raise its tax on flights to domestic and European Union destinations beginning in April, while the value-added tax on train tickets will be reduced in January. The Swedish government is exploring new nighttime connections to Continental Europe, and has pledged to provide funding for the project.

Among those traveling to Venice on a recent evening, many said their concerns about climate change had motivated them to choose the train for a weekend away. Travelers’ tickets were printed with information about the journey’s reduced carbon footprint compared with cars.

Noemi Trevisan, 22, of Padua, in Italy’s industrial north, was on her way home from Vienna.

“It’s an issue, and you want to do your part,” Ms. Trevisan said of climate change, settling into a tight compartment with four bunk beds unfolded. “In our region there are a lot of cars, a lot of pollution.”

ÖBB said it expected ridership on Nightjet to increase 10 percent by the end of this year, to 1.5 million passengers, a rise fueled by people who want to avoid flying.

Nightjet trains have a variety of accommodations, including seated coaches, youth-hostel-style couchette carriages sleeping four to six passengers at a time, sleeping cars with hotel-style key cards and fluffy bedding, and private cabins with their own miniature bathrooms. On some services, travelers can take their cars in trailers, and sleep instead of driving through the night.

Prices for a seat to Venice start at 29.90 euros ($33) one way, which is still competitive with airfares, but they quickly climb to more than €100 for a sleeper cabin shared with two others.

Lorenz Putz, 28, said he still remembered taking the train on a school trip to Rome as a teenager. The students had smuggled beer on board and didn’t sleep much. But this time he was traveling with his girlfriend, Jessica Morar, 22.

“I wouldn’t go to Bangkok by train — that would be too long,” Mr. Putz said jokingly, as they reclined comfortably in their seats, his feet up on an unoccupied seat. But for a quick trip they decided that the train was the perfect option, he said.

Despite its modern branding, the travel experience on Nightjet harks back to an era when trains with evocative names like Orient Express and Wiener Walzer crisscrossed Europe at night. But today, with stark competition from cheap flights and buses, experts say night trains need more innovation, too.

Marco Bellmann, a professor of transportation and logistics at the Technische Universität in Dresden, Germany, who has surveyed passenger trends, said he thought Nightjet needed to be more innovative.

“The concept of ÖBB is not very different from the concept of DB, which was not successful,” he said. “I think there is a lot to do.”

Mr. Bellmann said his research showed that customers now expected more privacy and comfort. Compared with the traditional bunk-bed compartments, Mr. Bellmann said, sleeping pods, like those found in airports, are a better model, with more individual space and airplane-style entertainment options.

And while small private operators run single routes and bespoke luxury services, all of the national companies, including ÖBB, rely on subsidies to maintain complex networks.

Night trains, research has shown, actually cost more to operate because they are less efficient than daytime services. Dick Dunmore was the lead author of a 2017 study into night trains by Steer Group, a consulting firm, for the European Parliament. He said the main obstacles for night trains were track access charges, low occupancy in sleeping carriages, once-a-day routes and the complexity of staffing at night.

Austria may be at the heart of Europe, but every time its trains cross the borders they run into hurdles. The Continent’s railways still run on vastly different signaling and power supplies and, in some cases, incompatible tracks. ÖBB can’t run the same engine to Italy that it does to Germany, Mr. Matthä said, gesturing toward a scale model of an engine on his desk.

Still, ÖBB is investing heavily in the future of Nightjet. Production started this year on around €375 million worth of rolling stock from Siemens, including 13 night trains with a new design featuring individual sleeping pods for solo travelers. That move will introduce the first new night trains in Europe since Caledonian Sleeper, connecting London with Scotland, rolled out new hotel-style carriages this year.

The company has high ambitions for becoming a crucial Pan-European railway provider. It already runs international passenger trains in 14 countries and cargo trains in more than 18. Beginning on Jan. 19, Nightjet will expand to twice-a-week services to Brussels, and ÖBB has plans to follow that with Amsterdam the year after.

Even if overnight train journeys make up less than 5 percent of long-distance travel, the Nightjet brand has helped the company raise its profile across Europe, Mr. Matthä said.

And in Mr. Matthä, ÖBB has a strong believer in night trains. In his office, he spoke of the joy of savoring Italian coffee straight off the train in Venice.

“Turn left,” he told a reporter at the end of a recent interview, with a hand gesture and a smile. “Espresso ristretto.”

Sahred From Source link Travel

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[jeremystrele]

Moody Modern Industrial Interiors With Wood And Concrete Decor

Modern industrial decor, moody black accents and a scattering of uplifting indoor plants shape these two stylish home interiors. Concrete and wood installations build texture within the schemes, whilst unique lighting fixtures add character. Our first home interior is on the darker dramatic side, where black decor plays the most dominant role. A mezzanine level introduces a cool twist to the open plan interior, and a provides a base for a home office and second bedroom. Our next tour has a somewhat lighter vibe, with eye-catching bespoke wire fence elements. Orange accents pack some punch between cool concrete features this time around, raising the energy with loud and proud personality.

Visualizer: Marra Group   Heading straight into the living room of our first moody modern home, a darkly dominated scheme of black and white decor fills the double height space. Black curtains hang long and heavy around large windows. A huge indoor plant lolls over the sofa.

A brickwork feature wall towers behind a piece of colourful artwork. A modern chandelier adds a luxe metallic touch.

Round nesting coffee tables stand on the bare timber floor. A black TV stand positions the TV screen in front of a concrete staircase, which leads up to a mezzanine home workspace and bedroom.

Looking down from the mezzanine level, over a healthy border of plants, we get a good view of bold industrial style lighting over the dining area.

The huge industrial pendants shape the look of the dining kitchen, as well as throwing their light far and wide.

A black kitchen with peninsula runs around the modern dining set. Open fronted shelving units have been set between the upper and lower cabinets, set shallow against the backsplash.

Integrated appliances are installed into the return wall of the kitchen, centred between full height cabinets.

The unique dining table design has a small recess to hold a centrepiece. Herbs have been placed here to add a little lively greenery–and to keep the chef well supplied.

A couple of small pendant lights illuminate the kitchen peninsula. This small extension is a breakfast bar, where two bar stools stand facing into the room.

Between the kitchen run and the concrete mezzanine staircase, a doorway exits into a hallway. Closets line the walls here to provide practical storage for the home. Display shelving adds an attractive element.

There is also a ground floor bedroom in the home. A concrete feature wall grows from behind an illuminated wooden headboard. The same tone of wood flooring extends across the room beneath a black bed and a modern black lounge chair.

A grey rug hold the pieces of furniture together as a cohesive layout.

Yellow highlights found in the exposed brick wall have been picked out as an accent colour for the bedroom, with the colour echoed in a piece of wall art. The bedroom has its own ensuite bathroom, accessed through the door we see on the left here, and a walk in closet to the right.

Smoked glass divides the bedroom from the lounge.

With the addition of a glass panel above the door, the bedroom is opened up to all aspects of the living room.

The mezzanine has its own bathroom, or rather an ensuite shower room.

A black toilet and vanity unit contrast with white walls.

The black heated towel rail adds another dark base note.

Bookshelves are stacked along the mezzanine wall, spanning the home workspace.

A black swivel chair pulls up to the keyboard.

The bed on the mezzanine is turned away from the work area, although, a transparent headboard design visually links the two.

Botanical art brings plant life further into the mezzanine bedroom. A rustic wooden hearth underlines the TV as a media unit.

Secretive black closet doors that line the walk in wardrobe of the downstairs bedroom look like decorative wall panelling.

The powder room by the front door is dark and dramatic.

Concrete tiles team with timber panels.

Home plan with mezzanine level.

Designer: Form'8 studio   Source: Nature   Home interior number two has a lighter mood, but is still filled with gritty industrial moments.

Metal railing panels have been commissioned to divide the lounge from the kitchen in the open plan living room, whilst still maintaining the generous sense of space and light.

An indoor plant contrasts freshly with the punchy orange accents in the room.

Concrete walls have a cooling effect on the orange decor.

Railway sleepers build a rustic coffee table.

The timber table nestles perfectly into the length and nook of the sofa’s L-shape.

A cutaway in the fresh white ceiling reveals a slice of raw concrete. A concrete column slots flush into the recess. A tower of shelving builds a transparent wall between the kitchen and home entryway.

Concrete features are left rough around the edges.

Ambient LEDs highlight the concrete ceiling feature and the wire fence room divider.

Orange dining chairs are seated around a small wooden table by the window. Two neat white dining room pendant lights subtly anchor the zone.

In the kitchen, a glass backsplash shields an exposed brick wall from cooking mess.

Orange accents continue in the grey bedroom.

Atmospheric lighting gives a small shower room big personality.

Another sheet of wire fence is mounted to the wall by the toilet. Warm recessed lighting floods the concrete behind it, dramatising its effect.

Recommended Reading:  Industrial Style Living Room Design Industrial Style Dining Room Design Industrial Style Bedroom Design 32 Industrial Style Kitchens 51 Industrial Style Bathrooms

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Two Industrial Style Homes With A Colourful Twist

Warm Industrial Style House (With Layout)

Rustic-Industrial Interior Design Examples

Luxury Apartment With An Industrial Vibe And A Cool Hallway [With Floor Plans]

Darkly Designer Interiors Decked Out In Stone, Marble And Concrete