Just thoughts …

Tag: 2026

  • Moving Google Photos to Apple Photos

    Moving Google Photos to Apple Photos

    You’re running out of storage space on the 15Gb integrated – Gmail, Calendar, Drive cloud storage that you got for free. You could of course create another Google account and have another 15Gb, or you could pay Google £24.99 pa for 200Gb – but that’s quite possibly too much storage.

    What if you already have an Apple iCloud account? You might be paying for the iCloud+ 50Gb option which costs you £0.99 pm, or you might consider subscribing to it if you’re not – it’s available for Windows as well as Apple devices. [You might also consider whether it’s worth looking at the Apple One Plan and get Apple Music and Apple TV as well.]

    But what if you have both a free Google account, and an Apple iCloud account? Might it be worthwhile considering moving your Photos to Apple iCloud to leave space on Google cloud for your Gmail, etc.

    Here’s some directions on how to do exactly that …

    Specific instructions on how to transfer photos from Google Photos to Apple iCloud Photos

    The simplest method is Google’s direct transfer service: it copies your Google Photos library straight into iCloud Photos without downloading it first. Your originals remain in Google Photos, so do not delete anything there until you have checked the import.

    Before you start

    1. Check iCloud space: Open Settings > your name > iCloud on an iPhone/iPad, or System Settings > your name > iCloud on a Mac, and make sure your iCloud plan has enough free storage for the items you intend to copy.
    2. Enable iCloud Photos: Turn on iCloud Photos (shown as Sync this iPhone on iPhone) and also enable iCloud Drive.

      Choose the option above that you’re most happy with. On your new Mac I guess that storage isn’t a problem.
    3. Temporarily turn off Advanced Data Protection, if enabled: Apple does not allow this import while Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is active. You can re-enable it after the transfer is finished. [This shouldn’t be an issue, as it’s not allowed in the UK.]
    1. Use a personal Apple Account: the service is not available for child accounts or Managed Apple Accounts.

    Start the transfer

    1. On a Mac, iPad, or iPhone, open Google’s transfer page: https://takeout.google.com/takeout/transfer/custom/photos.
    2. Sign in to the Google account that contains the Google Photos library.
       
    3. Under the Google Photos selection, choose whether to transfer all albums or open All photo albums included and untick any albums you do not want.
    4. In the Move to or destination menu, select Apple – iCloud Photos.
    5. Select Continue.
    6. Sign in to the Apple Account that owns your target iCloud Photos library.
    7. When Apple asks for authorisation, select Allow so Google can add the photos and videos to iCloud Photos.
    8. Read the confirmation screen, then select Agree and continue to submit the request. Apple will email the addresses associated with your Apple Account when the request begins and when the import completes.

    Check the imported library

    The job may take from several hours to several days, depending on the library size. Once it has completed, look in Apple Photos for an album named Import from Google, dated for the transfer; check that a sensible selection of early, recent, edited, and video files are present before treating iCloud as your only copy.

    If expected items are not in Photos, look in iCloud Drive for an Import from Google folder bearing the transfer date. Apple says that unsupported items, including RAW files, are placed there rather than imported into iCloud Photos.

    Important limitations

    • The transfer copies rather than moves your media: it does not remove the Google Photos versions.
    • JPEG, HEIC, PNG, GIF, TIFF and BMP images, plus most MP4 and MOV videos, can transfer to iCloud Photos; Google-exported RAW files go to iCloud Drive instead.
    • Basic associated metadata, including filename, description, type and location, transfers with the original media file.
    • Do not turn off iCloud Photos while it is running: Apple says this stops the import, and you would need to re-enable it and submit a new request for the remainder.
  • Old OS maps of North Cardiff

    Old OS maps of North Cardiff

    Some myths examined, some truths revealed, some issues still to be resolved.

    An overview of North Cardiff

    In this short post, mainly consisting of maps I’ll talk about the suggested tramway that supplied building materials to the construction of the Lisvane and then Llanishen Reservoirs. Then show a couple of clips relating to the New Cemetery Station from Bob Price, and posing a question about another bit of railway masonry which I’d love to have explained to me. Finally, just look at how old Llanishen once looked and how Roath Park Lake came into existence.

    It has been put to me on more than one occasion that there was a tramway that ran down from near where the old Cefn Onn station used to be to the reservoirs built by Cardiff Corporation. The map evidence suggests otherwise …

    Lisvane Reservoir shown on map of OS 6″ First Series: 1840s – 1880s

    Lisvane & Llanishen Reservoirs shown on map of OS 6″ Second Series: 1888 – 1913

    If you can find anything that looks like a tramway on these maps, please tell me!

    Literally, the day after I wrote that statement, I went back to Bob Price’s website (see link above), and watched his review of what he’d done in 2025 and he mentioned that he’d done some work on Llanishen Reservoir, which suggests (with further evidence in the comments below the video) that there was a link from just 200m south of the station crossing where west Rise, The Rise and presumably South Rise to the reservoirs. The link was short-lived, possibly only 3 years and was abandoned/demolished when the reservoirs were completed. There is however contradictory evidence mentioned in the video of the link coming down from north of Llanishen Station. Bob has indicated there’s another video on the subject to follow. I await that with some interest!

    Bob Price has documented the old and missing stations in South Wales on his website and YouTube channel – well worth a visit, which helped me also understand a little more about my investigations into the railways that went through the Taff Gorge.

    A couple of them captured my attention because I travel the line from Llanishen to Cardiff a fair bit.

    So there was a “station” between Heath Halt (built later on) and Cardiff, but what about this piece of railway masonry on the north side of the Wedal Road bridge – was it connected to the wartime activity in Heath Park? It would be interesting to find out.

    The “platform” only appears on the west side of the line – what is it?

    Finally, it’s always interesting to see bits and pieces of old Llanishen, the brick works for instance at Rhyd-y-penau, the Fid-las Farm and of course the fact that our house just doesn’t exist on the map.

    Finally, a couple of maps that show Roath Park Lake – before and after …

    Note the disappearance of the Llanishen Brick Works and the emergence of Fiddles Road as the city began to expand at the beginning of the 20th century.