So the last adventure of the Summer happened yesterday, a trip to the Mecca of photographers, the fabled land of Cumbria!
At 5.15am, I bundled both my daughters into the car and we were off. I was clever enough this time around to go to the library and borrow a couple of audio books. My soundtrack was "The Moving Toyshop" by Edmund Crisp, all 7 CD's worth.
I had been checking the weather over the last 2 weeks and the general consesus appeared to be changeable, rain, cloud and sun in Cumbria, sun at home. With this in mind, we all packed coats and prepared for another North Wales experience. The weather on the M6 seemed to bear out the forecast, however, once we neared Cumbria, the sun came out and the rich dappled shading on the Mountains near the motorway, was spectacular, taking all of our breaths away. The word "stunning" passed my lips for the first time of the day and certainly it was not the last.
I was organised for this trip and we had an itinary courtesey of that book of 1000 top places to see in the UK, plus some other places of interest. I have been to Cumbria a few times but never for the sake of the beauty of the place. My No.2 daughter wanted to go to Coniston Water where Donald Campbell, Speed King and National Hero, died in Bluebird. I wanted to go to Thirlmere, Castlerigg Stone Circle and Wast Water.
I had been in touch with an old friend who lives up there and although he wasn't available, he did say to avoid Windermere at all costs.
With his words ringing in my ears, I took a later junction off the M6, to avoid the main throughways and stupidly headed straight into Windermere. I have absolutely no idea why I did this and shortly after 9 we ground to a halt. After much stop starting and even more bad language on my part, we took an early turning to Coniston. The last time I was here was approximately 8 years ago and it was a sleepy little village. This time it was a bustling, thriving community of fat tourists with their fat cars that took up all the parking spaces. We couldn't get parked so I drive down to the foot of the Lake and watched as my girls taught themselves to skim stones, coached by a kindly old gentleman.
Our next stop was Thirlmere. I remember this Lake from that previous visit. It is in actual fact a reservoir. The Victorians flooded the valley to provide water for Manchester. It is beautiful and in places is very reminescent of Scandinavia. All 3 of us started towards the Lake when after 1/2 a mile we hit mud, deep, squelchy mud. No 1 daughter was not amused and went back to the car, No 2 and I continued. It was a difficult Lake to capture properly and given the short amount of time we were there, I made a start.
Next stop was Castlerigg Stone Circle. I was excited about this as the photos I have seen have been pretty incredible, an ancient stone circle surrounded by high peaks on all sides. The weather was so glorious this would be the photo to end all photos. This idea crashed and burned the moment we arrived there. It was absolutely heaving with people. There was no chance of that atmospheric and moody shot as there were families climbing all over the stones, fighting, arguing and generally being obnoxious..... I say obnoxious but only as they were ruining my picture. Everyone knows that wherever I am belongs to me and everyone else is a damned foreigner and tourist and is there just to strain my patience. However it is a magnificent place and a panoramic shot early or late in the day would be worth the trip alone but unfortunately not for me on that day.
The next stop was Wast Water. This was the highlight of the day for me. I wanted to see Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England and wasn't expecting too much but it was breath taking. A true blue sky with a few moody clouds creating drifting shades on the mountains, a clear lake and not too many people.
There was a path of stepping stones to a large rock formation in the actual lake. It would make a perfect staging post for my tripod....I was getting a feeling of deja vu but couldn't quite place my misgivings. I carefully picked my way across the slippery stepping stones and clambered up the rock formation, relieved to have nothing more than dirty finger nails. The view couldn't have been more perfect. It was windy so the lake was rippling rather than reflecting the powerful mountains that surrounded us. I took various shots, including a 3 bracketed series with the intention of using HDR's to create a panoramic shot. It was truly a case of wide angled isn't enough to capture this, it needed more mountains, more water and even that wasn't enough. It was a scene that you wanted to peel off, wrap it up and take it home to use as the back drop for your house. As I was stumbling back over the rocks, slipping and sliding, No 2 daughter warned me not to fall in like at Hebden Bridge. It all came rushing back and all of a sudden my footing was less sure, my balance less steady and the water started to look particularly cold. I put my safe arrival to shore down to the fact that I wasn't wearing a suit.
Time was getting on a little so I got the camping stove out and fried up some Chinese rice and added Cumbria hotpot to it. It was a foul mix, both dishes being lovely singly but not a good mix together. However, we were hungry and the hot food was more than welcome. I burnt the cooking pan so it was much like my cooking at home, a little charred in places. It was really time to go home so I picked a scenic route back along Hardknott Pass. This involved a single track lane over the mountains. It was surprisingly busy and amazingly steep. I had a couple of moments where I wandered how high the centre of balance on the car was and imagined the steering becoming a little too light as the front wheels were lifting. The drive was fun and the views were amazing, but as the road was single track, there were no places to park. After an hour I was becoming a little bored with concentrating and relished finishing this leg of the journey. The next leg that I hadn't bargained on, was Wrynose Pass, another mountain pass with sharp bends and no space. It did have a parking space a one point and I managed to snap a couple of shots of the view to ground, the mountains on all sides, a lake in the distance and lots of clouds and colour. Actually, I got the shot but it really didn't capture the moment. As I learn more the most important lesson that I have learnt is that not everything can be captured, there truly are moments to be savoured and remembered.
We eventually reached the M6 at around 7pm. A brief stop at Tebay Services as they have a fantastic Gluten Free range there (Sticky Toffee pudding, a Chocolate Indulgent pudding, biscuits, sausages etc). The journey home was uneventful, the audio book finished as I pulled into my road and as good as it had been, it ended up not making much sense, that could have been tiredness on my part but the ending spoiled an otherwise most enjoyable story. Still, who cares, it was a superb day, the weather had been glorious and the scenery breath taking, the icing on the cake was finding out that it had been torrential rain at home. I wished I'd taken more shots and wished that I'd seen more but there is always another day....roll on October for the return visit!
Monday, 30 August 2010
Friday, 27 August 2010
...everywhere I go is wonderful to me, except......
Ah, London, the Capital City to shame the many smaller and less intricate capital cities. There is a common theme to my last few photography posts and they all revolve around the classic British Summertime, yes it was rainy and grey in London.
There was actually only one shot that I wanted. On my last trip I took this shot using IR but I really wanted to take it as a standard photo. As with any picture, there are options. I could bracket the shot and make a dramatic HDR, use it as an exercise and come back when the weather was better or use my filters. I opted for the latter. The issue was the amount of wind as I was using some branches from a tree to frame the shot. The exposure was 2-3 seconds using several filters, including a sunset filter to give that red look and they all increase the exposure time. I ended up with a string of shots, all perfectly exposed but with too much movement in the branches. I did get the shot, not quite as I wanted but good enough.
As a note to any coeliacs or wheat and gluten free folk that visit London, go to Danny's Gourmet Wraps on Lamb's Conduit Street, they are Coeliac aware and have some delicious gluten free wraps. We have been there a few times and they take extreme care so the danger of cross contamination is absolutely minimal.
One of my photos was selected for the Schmap website to advertise the Brighton area:
http://www.schmap.com/brighton/activities_daytrips/p=369195/i=369195_25.jpg
I felt a teensy weensy bit guilty as it was someone else's photograph that inspired me to go to Battle Abbey and take this shot but I guess that inspiration comes from what we see about us, including other photographs.
I would recommend the Brighton area, there is so much around it to see and do. I like to drive and see as much as I can and everything is very close together in this area. There are a lot of castles and some very good beaches.
Mind you, everywhere I go is wonderful to me, except for the East Anglia region. I am sure it must have some wonderful things to see and do but it is so flat. I like rolling hills, the atmosphere that comes with an undulating landscape and the woods and streams that flow down the sides of hills. We had one visit to Suffolk, we went to Orford. It was a miserable day so the weather really didn't help but there was so little to inspire. I didn't get a single shot that I would be proud of. My photographic trips are now focused on the rest of the UK, leaving the East coast from East Anglia to just North of Skegness until I have exhausted all else or someone puts me straight. There must be something there that I will love, after all it was the birth the place to one of England's greatest hero's, our own God of War, Nelson. We tend to forget the true legacy of our history. People are not remembered correctly. Nelson was a Lion for this nation when we needed a legend, he most certainly saved us from any potential invasion from Napoleon, he was a loose canon and knew how to work the press for his own self promotion, possibly one of the first documented spin doctors, his self serving self promotion made him a National hero, a title that he more than fulfilled. I read up on Nelson, and more recently, Sir Francis Drake. Drake is remembered for the Spanish armada. That is in actual fact probably the least of his achievements. He opened up trading routes between England and China, kept the Spanish at bay, circumnavigated the Globe and had coloured crew members, not slaves, earning an equal share of the spoils of war. A great man and rightly remembered as a hero but possibly not for all the right reasons.
I have now gone totally off track so I may have to start waving a flag and listening to Churchill's speeches on my ipod to ensure that I get that full effect of National pride. All I need now is a flypast, a Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster would complete my day!
If anyone does know of anything in East Anglia that doesn't involve Windmills and Canals, that would give me a good day to take photographs, I am absolutely prepared to recant everything that I have said as I can't believe that such a large area can be so devoid of interest to me.
There was actually only one shot that I wanted. On my last trip I took this shot using IR but I really wanted to take it as a standard photo. As with any picture, there are options. I could bracket the shot and make a dramatic HDR, use it as an exercise and come back when the weather was better or use my filters. I opted for the latter. The issue was the amount of wind as I was using some branches from a tree to frame the shot. The exposure was 2-3 seconds using several filters, including a sunset filter to give that red look and they all increase the exposure time. I ended up with a string of shots, all perfectly exposed but with too much movement in the branches. I did get the shot, not quite as I wanted but good enough.
As a note to any coeliacs or wheat and gluten free folk that visit London, go to Danny's Gourmet Wraps on Lamb's Conduit Street, they are Coeliac aware and have some delicious gluten free wraps. We have been there a few times and they take extreme care so the danger of cross contamination is absolutely minimal.
One of my photos was selected for the Schmap website to advertise the Brighton area:
http://www.schmap.com/brighton/activities_daytrips/p=369195/i=369195_25.jpg
I felt a teensy weensy bit guilty as it was someone else's photograph that inspired me to go to Battle Abbey and take this shot but I guess that inspiration comes from what we see about us, including other photographs.
I would recommend the Brighton area, there is so much around it to see and do. I like to drive and see as much as I can and everything is very close together in this area. There are a lot of castles and some very good beaches.
Mind you, everywhere I go is wonderful to me, except for the East Anglia region. I am sure it must have some wonderful things to see and do but it is so flat. I like rolling hills, the atmosphere that comes with an undulating landscape and the woods and streams that flow down the sides of hills. We had one visit to Suffolk, we went to Orford. It was a miserable day so the weather really didn't help but there was so little to inspire. I didn't get a single shot that I would be proud of. My photographic trips are now focused on the rest of the UK, leaving the East coast from East Anglia to just North of Skegness until I have exhausted all else or someone puts me straight. There must be something there that I will love, after all it was the birth the place to one of England's greatest hero's, our own God of War, Nelson. We tend to forget the true legacy of our history. People are not remembered correctly. Nelson was a Lion for this nation when we needed a legend, he most certainly saved us from any potential invasion from Napoleon, he was a loose canon and knew how to work the press for his own self promotion, possibly one of the first documented spin doctors, his self serving self promotion made him a National hero, a title that he more than fulfilled. I read up on Nelson, and more recently, Sir Francis Drake. Drake is remembered for the Spanish armada. That is in actual fact probably the least of his achievements. He opened up trading routes between England and China, kept the Spanish at bay, circumnavigated the Globe and had coloured crew members, not slaves, earning an equal share of the spoils of war. A great man and rightly remembered as a hero but possibly not for all the right reasons.
I have now gone totally off track so I may have to start waving a flag and listening to Churchill's speeches on my ipod to ensure that I get that full effect of National pride. All I need now is a flypast, a Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster would complete my day!
If anyone does know of anything in East Anglia that doesn't involve Windmills and Canals, that would give me a good day to take photographs, I am absolutely prepared to recant everything that I have said as I can't believe that such a large area can be so devoid of interest to me.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
....one more stop at the Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall.
I made it!! I survived the busiest weekend of the year and I'm tired but unscathed. The weather ensured that the weekend was a physical washout but I still managed to get some nice shots and more than that, I had both my daughters with me.
I got up at 4.30 on Friday morning, headed up the M40, M42, M6, turned left on to the M54 at Stafford Services and I came thence to North Wales. The journey was the usual swapping of radio stations to keep me amused whilst my daughters slept. I had a plan for the journey and it went wrong very easily as I missed a junction of whatever "A" road I was on and the next thing I saw was a sign for Chester in 10 miles. Having woken my youngest to tell her off for not warning me, I apologised and asked for her map readng skills. After a few hours I realised that we were taking the longest route possible and was expecting to see signs for Stirling. My beloved daughter was taking us the incredibly scenic route, but without the scenic bit.
Eventually we found something to look at, the Conwy Falls. It was indeed a powerful double chute style fall. As we stood there in the pouring rain, getting wet from the spray, it dawned on me that this was going to be a very wet day and could very easily end in tears all round.
I was due to meet a friend and her children as they have a holiday cottage somewhere in North Wales and we agreed to meet mid afternoon. As it was now 12 and I wanted to see Snowdon, we didn't have much time. I drove and we saw various cloud formations masking anything taller than a metre. I took lot of pictures and I am sure that one of them must have part of Snowdon in it but I couldn't tell you which one. The driving rain and heavy mist/cloud should've dampened even the most hardy of spirits but for some reason Wales is more atmospheric and mystical because of it. It was certainly inspirational from a photography standpoint but all the more difficult to capture.
Our friends cottage is breathtaking. I had to abandon my car and she drove me to her cottage in her 4 wheel drive as there was no way on Gods green earth that my car would have made it. The track was little more than tire grooves in swamp. The cottage is tucked away on a hill. A busy stream cascades down the hill right next to the cottage, creating various waterfalls on its way. The cottage is picture book, white with a black slate roof. The surroundings were bleak but beautiful. This was real Wales, the stuff of legends, the hidden life that beats beneath the thin veneer of civilisation. Some places are closer to it than others. In the South we are the furthest removed and the most likely to see it, without even being able to name it.
Anyway, we went for a walk around the cottage and it didn't take long till my feet were soaked but it didn't matter, I was snapping away, trying to capture the mist, wildness and beauty. We jumped streams, squelched through bogs and generally had a lovely time getting wet and dirty, it made me feel 9 years old again.
The real reason for this trip had been a song my youngest sang for a music exam, it mentioned Cadair Idris and a little white cottage. We left the cottage at 4.30 and headed to Cadair Idris. Again, it was covered in mist but looked absolutely stunning. By this time, everyone was cold and hungry so we decided to leave it for another day and passed it by. Now I am a little like Columbo, it's always "Just one more thing" so I did make the executive decision that we should make one more stop at the Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall. The only reason for going there was because I had bought a book on a 1000 must-see places in the UK. The entry didn't have a picture so it couldn't be that impressive so it was a case of let's go see it just to check it off as we're passing.
All I can tell you is that if you go to Wales, it is an absolute must see. It is glorious, powerful and pretty. The fall is listed as 240 feet and it is amazing to see. There is a long drop to a bowl and the water flows out of that for the final drop. All three of us stood there with our mouths open, this is not what we expected. I am now thumbing through that book, working out what else I need to see and worse, what I missed.
The journey home was uneventful and we arrived home at 10.30pm.
Saturday I did get up and run 2 miles. It helped with the tiredness and stiffness from sleeping so heavily.
Sunday we got up at 5am and the 3 of us headed to Dorset as my daughters wanted to play in the Sea. I understand that the weather forecast hadn't been great but we decided to take a chance. As we had number 1 daughter with us again, we decided to show her some of the things we had seen and to visit Swanage. It all went a little pear shaped as the weather was attrocious once we neared the coast but Corfe Castle looked amazing in the grey mist and rain. We reached Swanage and it drizzled, then a little harder and then it poured down. My girls were frollicking in the sea, laughing and just enjoying it. Sensible people were under umbrellas and getting coffee. I was standing on the beach under my umbrella, watching my growing daughters morph into children, it was a wonderful moment.
From here we went to Blue Pool. As my girls are wheat and gluten free, it was a real revelation to find that Blue Pool has a gluten free menu. We had a very short wander round as the rain had stopped which made the colours particularly vibrant.
I used the satnav to get home and it listed the fastest route as 150 miles in 2 1/2 hours. It listed the shortest route at 100 miles in 3 1/2 hours. Now I know that 100 miles could be crawled in 3 1/2 hours, there is no way the satnav could be right and to save 1/3 of the journey, it had to be done. Once it started directing me up single track farm lanes and I was crawling along at 3mph, I understood. I did manage to make up some time and when my daughters stirred from their slumbers, I was 28 miles from home and totally reliant on the satnav as I didn't have a clue where I was. As the miles counted down, I was still clueless as to my location. It wasn't until I was 15 miles from home that I knew exactly where I was. I found that incredibly disconcerting, I know my local area pretty well but to find that I can be 15 miles from home and effectively lost, that is a most odd feeling. Anyway, we were home by 5pm and I can tell you that I am absolutely paying a price for this weekend. I hurt so much this morning that I didn't run. I feel like a wreck and I am so tired, infact it is very easy to describe how I feel, remember burning the candle at both ends as a teenager? Those late nights with far too much alcohol and no thoughts for the following days? I feel like the following days.
Nevermind, time to be brave, I have a London trip mid week and my last adventure of the Summer next weekend and it is the big one!
I got up at 4.30 on Friday morning, headed up the M40, M42, M6, turned left on to the M54 at Stafford Services and I came thence to North Wales. The journey was the usual swapping of radio stations to keep me amused whilst my daughters slept. I had a plan for the journey and it went wrong very easily as I missed a junction of whatever "A" road I was on and the next thing I saw was a sign for Chester in 10 miles. Having woken my youngest to tell her off for not warning me, I apologised and asked for her map readng skills. After a few hours I realised that we were taking the longest route possible and was expecting to see signs for Stirling. My beloved daughter was taking us the incredibly scenic route, but without the scenic bit.
Eventually we found something to look at, the Conwy Falls. It was indeed a powerful double chute style fall. As we stood there in the pouring rain, getting wet from the spray, it dawned on me that this was going to be a very wet day and could very easily end in tears all round.
I was due to meet a friend and her children as they have a holiday cottage somewhere in North Wales and we agreed to meet mid afternoon. As it was now 12 and I wanted to see Snowdon, we didn't have much time. I drove and we saw various cloud formations masking anything taller than a metre. I took lot of pictures and I am sure that one of them must have part of Snowdon in it but I couldn't tell you which one. The driving rain and heavy mist/cloud should've dampened even the most hardy of spirits but for some reason Wales is more atmospheric and mystical because of it. It was certainly inspirational from a photography standpoint but all the more difficult to capture.
Our friends cottage is breathtaking. I had to abandon my car and she drove me to her cottage in her 4 wheel drive as there was no way on Gods green earth that my car would have made it. The track was little more than tire grooves in swamp. The cottage is tucked away on a hill. A busy stream cascades down the hill right next to the cottage, creating various waterfalls on its way. The cottage is picture book, white with a black slate roof. The surroundings were bleak but beautiful. This was real Wales, the stuff of legends, the hidden life that beats beneath the thin veneer of civilisation. Some places are closer to it than others. In the South we are the furthest removed and the most likely to see it, without even being able to name it.
Anyway, we went for a walk around the cottage and it didn't take long till my feet were soaked but it didn't matter, I was snapping away, trying to capture the mist, wildness and beauty. We jumped streams, squelched through bogs and generally had a lovely time getting wet and dirty, it made me feel 9 years old again.
The real reason for this trip had been a song my youngest sang for a music exam, it mentioned Cadair Idris and a little white cottage. We left the cottage at 4.30 and headed to Cadair Idris. Again, it was covered in mist but looked absolutely stunning. By this time, everyone was cold and hungry so we decided to leave it for another day and passed it by. Now I am a little like Columbo, it's always "Just one more thing" so I did make the executive decision that we should make one more stop at the Pistyll Rhaeadr Waterfall. The only reason for going there was because I had bought a book on a 1000 must-see places in the UK. The entry didn't have a picture so it couldn't be that impressive so it was a case of let's go see it just to check it off as we're passing.
All I can tell you is that if you go to Wales, it is an absolute must see. It is glorious, powerful and pretty. The fall is listed as 240 feet and it is amazing to see. There is a long drop to a bowl and the water flows out of that for the final drop. All three of us stood there with our mouths open, this is not what we expected. I am now thumbing through that book, working out what else I need to see and worse, what I missed.
The journey home was uneventful and we arrived home at 10.30pm.
Saturday I did get up and run 2 miles. It helped with the tiredness and stiffness from sleeping so heavily.
Sunday we got up at 5am and the 3 of us headed to Dorset as my daughters wanted to play in the Sea. I understand that the weather forecast hadn't been great but we decided to take a chance. As we had number 1 daughter with us again, we decided to show her some of the things we had seen and to visit Swanage. It all went a little pear shaped as the weather was attrocious once we neared the coast but Corfe Castle looked amazing in the grey mist and rain. We reached Swanage and it drizzled, then a little harder and then it poured down. My girls were frollicking in the sea, laughing and just enjoying it. Sensible people were under umbrellas and getting coffee. I was standing on the beach under my umbrella, watching my growing daughters morph into children, it was a wonderful moment.
From here we went to Blue Pool. As my girls are wheat and gluten free, it was a real revelation to find that Blue Pool has a gluten free menu. We had a very short wander round as the rain had stopped which made the colours particularly vibrant.
I used the satnav to get home and it listed the fastest route as 150 miles in 2 1/2 hours. It listed the shortest route at 100 miles in 3 1/2 hours. Now I know that 100 miles could be crawled in 3 1/2 hours, there is no way the satnav could be right and to save 1/3 of the journey, it had to be done. Once it started directing me up single track farm lanes and I was crawling along at 3mph, I understood. I did manage to make up some time and when my daughters stirred from their slumbers, I was 28 miles from home and totally reliant on the satnav as I didn't have a clue where I was. As the miles counted down, I was still clueless as to my location. It wasn't until I was 15 miles from home that I knew exactly where I was. I found that incredibly disconcerting, I know my local area pretty well but to find that I can be 15 miles from home and effectively lost, that is a most odd feeling. Anyway, we were home by 5pm and I can tell you that I am absolutely paying a price for this weekend. I hurt so much this morning that I didn't run. I feel like a wreck and I am so tired, infact it is very easy to describe how I feel, remember burning the candle at both ends as a teenager? Those late nights with far too much alcohol and no thoughts for the following days? I feel like the following days.
Nevermind, time to be brave, I have a London trip mid week and my last adventure of the Summer next weekend and it is the big one!
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
We were surrounded by "twitchers".......
Last weekend we went to the Forest of Dean. I decided on Thursday, and this time I was going to avoid Puzzlewood. The reason for this is because it had become the highlight of the trip, to the detriment of the Forest of Dean which was playing second fiddle to this wondrous slab of ancient forest.
So, at the ungodly hour of 4.30am on Sunday, I stirred my lazy behind from my bed, staggered through the shower and hit the road just after 5am with my youngest daughter in tow. She was asleep within a mile so it was just me and the radio for company. I found out that at Waddesdon I could pick up Jack FM, a brilliant Bristol radio station that plays music from all eras, one after the other. Depeche Mode rubbed shoulders with the Cult, Blondie and XTC. The banter between the songs bordered on offensive in places but with enough humour that I laughed like a drain. There were several stupid jokes:
There are 2 1/2 million obese people in this Country but that's just a round figure.
The library in Swindon burned down and they lost both their books, one of them hadn't even been coloured in!
Anyway, long story short, the journey there and back was plenty of fun for me. Our first stop was Tintern Abbey. I'd seen the pictures on line and it absolutely lived up to expectations, except that at 8am on a Sunday morning, nothing is open. Next stop was Symonds Yat Rock. This was impressive, perched high above the River Wye, watching it wind it's way through the gorge upon which I was standing. We were surrounded by "twitchers" and just when I started to become concerned, a nice lady told us a little about the birds they were watching. In the cliffs alongside us, are a pair of nesting Peregrins. In the tiny Islet in the Wye, somewhere below us, were a pair of Kingfishers. As the lady explained that the Peregrins will catch pigeons in flight, I started to worry about the Kingfishers, they had really picked a stupid place to nest. Peregrins are the fastest creatures on earth, reaching speeds of 100mph. The Kingfisher would become little more than a tuft of bright blue feathers in swift breeze.
From here we walked the half mile down hill to Symonds Yat East but as that was little more than a village with a wide variety of hotels, we walked back up the half mile hill that was now feeling like a cliff climb.
Back at the car I consulted my faithful OS map and decided that Fancy View looked like the place to see. It wasn't. It was certainly high up and is apparently a good place to view Sparrowhawks but the trees that stretched to the horizon weren't overly impressive as there was no concept of scale.
Next stop was back to Tintern. The morning visit there had been a visit to a sleepy village/town. The afternoon visit was to a busy, bustling and bric-a-brac centre of craft and history.
My first visit was to Stella Books. A Second-Hand Emporium of Literary wonders. I found a couple of wonderful books. One of Famous Composers, written in 1899 and another, more recent, 1982, on Virtuoso Musicians. As I opened it, it fell open on the page that mentioned about Fritz Kriesler seeing the 13 year old Heifetz play. It had several references to Leopold Auer. My wife learns with Edmund Reid. Edmund learned with Sascha Lassersson, Lassersson learned with Auer. Auer was also the teacher of Heifetz and as Lassersson was the older pupil, Heifetz held him in some regard. Edmund met him on several occassions and I hear some of the stories through my wife.
Our next visit was to Tintern Abbey. For those that know nothing about it, it was a thriving community of Monks. With the dissolution of the Church under Henry VIII, many monasteries, including this wonderful Abbey, were destroyed. It is hugely imposing, roof open to the skies and the massive front window, devoid of the wonderful glass that must have once shone with a myriad colours with every beam of light.
There is a breathtaking shot that has probably been taken by every photographer since they were called Daguerreotypes. It is to the side of the main hall, a series of pillars and arches stretching down to an eyeless window. It is atmospheric and you just have to take the picture, no matter that it has been taken millions of times before. As you line up the shot, waiting for the throngs of people to clear, watching the sunlight spilling through the windows, creating the light and shade effect. You take a final glance to make sure that the focus point is correct and....wait a minute, what the hell is that through the open window, the very focus point of your shot? A bloody chimney with an aerial on it? Of all the spoilers to have in a shot, this is possibly the worst, right up there with litter and power lines. The thought did cross my mind to edit it out, even my wife suggested that but it really seemed like cheating. If ever there was a challenge, this was it. How to take that shot, knowing that from every conceivable angle, the rooftop, chimney and aerial would be showing, there is no simple way to hide it. Well, infrared is the answer, it distracts from the real by fading them out and creating an unreality that actually worked far better than the actual shot I could have taken.
Tintern Abbey is huge and there is a real feeling of peace about it. It is truly a religious building and the feelings of faith and harmony have remained ingrained into the walls. I stood there lost in thought, the sunlight playing through the windows, a light breeze softening the summer heat, truely at one with the World. The rumble and roar of the motorbikes reverberating around the empty ruins with the screaming children and tinny toy music of the Ice Cream van thumbing it's nose at the long dead Monks, truely a place where truth meets reality.
Tintern Abbey should be on your hitlist. On my next visit, I will be visting both Tintern and Puzzlewood and my quest to find the Heritage Centre, somewhere in the Forest of Dean, will continue. I have planned 2 very different trips next weekend and it is threatening to be either a phenomenal weekend or a washout. I will, of course, keep you posted after the event.
So, at the ungodly hour of 4.30am on Sunday, I stirred my lazy behind from my bed, staggered through the shower and hit the road just after 5am with my youngest daughter in tow. She was asleep within a mile so it was just me and the radio for company. I found out that at Waddesdon I could pick up Jack FM, a brilliant Bristol radio station that plays music from all eras, one after the other. Depeche Mode rubbed shoulders with the Cult, Blondie and XTC. The banter between the songs bordered on offensive in places but with enough humour that I laughed like a drain. There were several stupid jokes:
There are 2 1/2 million obese people in this Country but that's just a round figure.
The library in Swindon burned down and they lost both their books, one of them hadn't even been coloured in!
Anyway, long story short, the journey there and back was plenty of fun for me. Our first stop was Tintern Abbey. I'd seen the pictures on line and it absolutely lived up to expectations, except that at 8am on a Sunday morning, nothing is open. Next stop was Symonds Yat Rock. This was impressive, perched high above the River Wye, watching it wind it's way through the gorge upon which I was standing. We were surrounded by "twitchers" and just when I started to become concerned, a nice lady told us a little about the birds they were watching. In the cliffs alongside us, are a pair of nesting Peregrins. In the tiny Islet in the Wye, somewhere below us, were a pair of Kingfishers. As the lady explained that the Peregrins will catch pigeons in flight, I started to worry about the Kingfishers, they had really picked a stupid place to nest. Peregrins are the fastest creatures on earth, reaching speeds of 100mph. The Kingfisher would become little more than a tuft of bright blue feathers in swift breeze.
From here we walked the half mile down hill to Symonds Yat East but as that was little more than a village with a wide variety of hotels, we walked back up the half mile hill that was now feeling like a cliff climb.
Back at the car I consulted my faithful OS map and decided that Fancy View looked like the place to see. It wasn't. It was certainly high up and is apparently a good place to view Sparrowhawks but the trees that stretched to the horizon weren't overly impressive as there was no concept of scale.
Next stop was back to Tintern. The morning visit there had been a visit to a sleepy village/town. The afternoon visit was to a busy, bustling and bric-a-brac centre of craft and history.
My first visit was to Stella Books. A Second-Hand Emporium of Literary wonders. I found a couple of wonderful books. One of Famous Composers, written in 1899 and another, more recent, 1982, on Virtuoso Musicians. As I opened it, it fell open on the page that mentioned about Fritz Kriesler seeing the 13 year old Heifetz play. It had several references to Leopold Auer. My wife learns with Edmund Reid. Edmund learned with Sascha Lassersson, Lassersson learned with Auer. Auer was also the teacher of Heifetz and as Lassersson was the older pupil, Heifetz held him in some regard. Edmund met him on several occassions and I hear some of the stories through my wife.
Our next visit was to Tintern Abbey. For those that know nothing about it, it was a thriving community of Monks. With the dissolution of the Church under Henry VIII, many monasteries, including this wonderful Abbey, were destroyed. It is hugely imposing, roof open to the skies and the massive front window, devoid of the wonderful glass that must have once shone with a myriad colours with every beam of light.
There is a breathtaking shot that has probably been taken by every photographer since they were called Daguerreotypes. It is to the side of the main hall, a series of pillars and arches stretching down to an eyeless window. It is atmospheric and you just have to take the picture, no matter that it has been taken millions of times before. As you line up the shot, waiting for the throngs of people to clear, watching the sunlight spilling through the windows, creating the light and shade effect. You take a final glance to make sure that the focus point is correct and....wait a minute, what the hell is that through the open window, the very focus point of your shot? A bloody chimney with an aerial on it? Of all the spoilers to have in a shot, this is possibly the worst, right up there with litter and power lines. The thought did cross my mind to edit it out, even my wife suggested that but it really seemed like cheating. If ever there was a challenge, this was it. How to take that shot, knowing that from every conceivable angle, the rooftop, chimney and aerial would be showing, there is no simple way to hide it. Well, infrared is the answer, it distracts from the real by fading them out and creating an unreality that actually worked far better than the actual shot I could have taken.
Tintern Abbey is huge and there is a real feeling of peace about it. It is truly a religious building and the feelings of faith and harmony have remained ingrained into the walls. I stood there lost in thought, the sunlight playing through the windows, a light breeze softening the summer heat, truely at one with the World. The rumble and roar of the motorbikes reverberating around the empty ruins with the screaming children and tinny toy music of the Ice Cream van thumbing it's nose at the long dead Monks, truely a place where truth meets reality.
Tintern Abbey should be on your hitlist. On my next visit, I will be visting both Tintern and Puzzlewood and my quest to find the Heritage Centre, somewhere in the Forest of Dean, will continue. I have planned 2 very different trips next weekend and it is threatening to be either a phenomenal weekend or a washout. I will, of course, keep you posted after the event.
Monday, 2 August 2010
.....I bought an OS map on the way down to Dorset and stupidly looked at it.
It occurred to me, whilst showering this morning, that my idea of a holiday, isn't the norm. I couldn't imagine spending 2 weeks in 1 place or contemplate more than 1 hour lazing on a beach. The reason this came to mind is that it's Summer and my day trips have just started.
Last weekend, I decided to spend investigating local features. It dawned on me that I'd never visited Stowe Country House and Gardens. I've lived around it for many many years but not even thought of visiting, so last Sunday was the day.
A day isn't long enough to view Stowe but it was enough to show me that it is worth seeing more of. I enjoyed it and it is certainly a place I would recommend but I was not enamoured or in awe of it in the same way that I am with, say, Hampton Court, Puzzlewood or Kenilworth Castle. My youngest daughter was my usual companion and she took lots of pictures, using my camera and often the shots I wanted to take. I am very sparing on the shots, I only take those that I can see, I usually go somewhere and take maybe 10 to 15 photos, sometimes 30 but never anymore than that. My daughter is trigger happy and I have a camera full of pictures and a flat battery. However, some of the pictures we both took are lovely so I am wondering if I misjudged Stowe and it is really glorious and maybe it was me and a funny mood, I'll let you know when I do a return visit.
Yesterday was Sunday and that was the start of my real day trips. I gave my youngest the choice of where to go. I wanted to go to Puzzlewood and see it in all it's Summer glory but she decided that we should go to Dorset and specifically Blue Pool, Lullworth Cove and Durdle Door. These are places we visited last year so I knew what to expect and that the wonderful Corfe Castle would be en route.
We meant to leave at 5a.m but both overslept so we didn't leave till after 6. This put us at Corfe Castle for 9.15. For those that have never been there, you must go. It is a ruined Castle on a hill, at the base is the village of Corfe Castle. The Castle is amazing to see (with an even more incredible and bloody history), so much so that I'm not even going to bother to try and describe it, take a look at my flickr page or look it up. The shot I wanted to take was from a railway bridge towards the Castle and capturing the steam locomotive that ferries people to Swanage via Corfe. Unfortunately I made my daughter climb a hill so I could take some pictures of the Castle from an equivalent height and she refused to walk any more. So it was onwards to Durdle Door on Dorset's jurassic coast. It is quite simple a huge natural stone arch in the Sea. It must be nearly 200 ft high and for some reason I find it impossible to photograph. I think I find the contrasts too difficult to deal with so I thought that HDR's may be a good way to capture them. The sun came out and my daughter kicked off her shoes and paddled in the water. The cliff behind Durdle Door, Swyre Head, is imposing and white. The sky was blue with white clouds and this huge chalk cliff, it was impossible to not to get a good picture, all the ingredients were there, laid out in a way that all you had to do was point and shoot.
I made a mistake, I bought an OS map on the way down to Dorset and stupidly looked at it. My eyes alighted on the words "Waterfall, Egmont Bight". "Wassat?" Thought I and texted my wife. She sent back an incredible picture of a huge waterfall spilling into the Sea over a cliff. That was it, that was where we were going next. After an hour we had travelled in various circles and little dirt tracks into nowhere and we came across and carpark near to where the falls are shown on the map. I was clever enough to ask the first trekkers if they knew of the falls and an old man told me that we had to go to Swyre Head (a different one to the Durdle Door one), hang a left, then a right onto a farm track and follow that. It was apparently quite a walk. Now I run in the mornings and this was an old man, how difficult could it be? I looked at the map and we marched along a path, down a steep slope and after 2 miles I realised we were in a farmer's fields and not on a footpath. The barbed wire fences gave me a clue.
The only choice was to walk 1/2 a mile and scale a sheer wall of mud, brambles and thistles and hang on to a barbed wire fence to stop from falling. This took an hour or so and was worse than running a half marathon. Once at the top I realised that we weren't even halfway there and the prospect of following the path down the cliff and walking the next 3 miles to the falls, followed by the walk back was too much, this would be a day trip in itself, so I never made it but it is on my hitlist.
From here we went to Blue Pool. A forest with a pool that is blue, it's all in the name, clever that. It is a beautiful place and I recommend it to anyone. It is peaceful, scenic and tucked away from the milling crowds. It is great to relax and get away from it all and is a superb place to take photographs. I didn't take very many this time as the weather was less than perfect and my time, as always, was limited.
My next quest was to find a sandy beach so that I can bring my eldest daughter on our next outing. The stipulations were, sandy beach and a Costa Coffee in the near vicinity for my wife. That counts out all the usual suspects that I would go to as we would need a town to fulfill that last point. I decided that we should look at Mudeford, it was on the map, near Christchurch and it could fulfill all the criteria......it didn't. The beach was part sand, mostly pebbles and packed with tourists. Without wishing to offend anyone, it was like an Essex outing, full of families, all squawking, shouting and screaming, barging and shoving, many obese and others Posh spice skinny. The beach wasn't what I expected and the funfair that was setup to fleece the tourists on the beach front, was something out of the 1970's.
That was the last straw, it was time for home. We arrived home at around 8pm and I was absolutely shattered but in the best kind of way. I had a great day, enjoyed all of it and whilst I may not want to do that run again this year, I will certainly do it next year.
My recommendations are Corfe Castle, Durdle Door for a quick visit if you're passing and Blue Pool for some peace.
Last weekend, I decided to spend investigating local features. It dawned on me that I'd never visited Stowe Country House and Gardens. I've lived around it for many many years but not even thought of visiting, so last Sunday was the day.
A day isn't long enough to view Stowe but it was enough to show me that it is worth seeing more of. I enjoyed it and it is certainly a place I would recommend but I was not enamoured or in awe of it in the same way that I am with, say, Hampton Court, Puzzlewood or Kenilworth Castle. My youngest daughter was my usual companion and she took lots of pictures, using my camera and often the shots I wanted to take. I am very sparing on the shots, I only take those that I can see, I usually go somewhere and take maybe 10 to 15 photos, sometimes 30 but never anymore than that. My daughter is trigger happy and I have a camera full of pictures and a flat battery. However, some of the pictures we both took are lovely so I am wondering if I misjudged Stowe and it is really glorious and maybe it was me and a funny mood, I'll let you know when I do a return visit.
Yesterday was Sunday and that was the start of my real day trips. I gave my youngest the choice of where to go. I wanted to go to Puzzlewood and see it in all it's Summer glory but she decided that we should go to Dorset and specifically Blue Pool, Lullworth Cove and Durdle Door. These are places we visited last year so I knew what to expect and that the wonderful Corfe Castle would be en route.
We meant to leave at 5a.m but both overslept so we didn't leave till after 6. This put us at Corfe Castle for 9.15. For those that have never been there, you must go. It is a ruined Castle on a hill, at the base is the village of Corfe Castle. The Castle is amazing to see (with an even more incredible and bloody history), so much so that I'm not even going to bother to try and describe it, take a look at my flickr page or look it up. The shot I wanted to take was from a railway bridge towards the Castle and capturing the steam locomotive that ferries people to Swanage via Corfe. Unfortunately I made my daughter climb a hill so I could take some pictures of the Castle from an equivalent height and she refused to walk any more. So it was onwards to Durdle Door on Dorset's jurassic coast. It is quite simple a huge natural stone arch in the Sea. It must be nearly 200 ft high and for some reason I find it impossible to photograph. I think I find the contrasts too difficult to deal with so I thought that HDR's may be a good way to capture them. The sun came out and my daughter kicked off her shoes and paddled in the water. The cliff behind Durdle Door, Swyre Head, is imposing and white. The sky was blue with white clouds and this huge chalk cliff, it was impossible to not to get a good picture, all the ingredients were there, laid out in a way that all you had to do was point and shoot.
I made a mistake, I bought an OS map on the way down to Dorset and stupidly looked at it. My eyes alighted on the words "Waterfall, Egmont Bight". "Wassat?" Thought I and texted my wife. She sent back an incredible picture of a huge waterfall spilling into the Sea over a cliff. That was it, that was where we were going next. After an hour we had travelled in various circles and little dirt tracks into nowhere and we came across and carpark near to where the falls are shown on the map. I was clever enough to ask the first trekkers if they knew of the falls and an old man told me that we had to go to Swyre Head (a different one to the Durdle Door one), hang a left, then a right onto a farm track and follow that. It was apparently quite a walk. Now I run in the mornings and this was an old man, how difficult could it be? I looked at the map and we marched along a path, down a steep slope and after 2 miles I realised we were in a farmer's fields and not on a footpath. The barbed wire fences gave me a clue.
The only choice was to walk 1/2 a mile and scale a sheer wall of mud, brambles and thistles and hang on to a barbed wire fence to stop from falling. This took an hour or so and was worse than running a half marathon. Once at the top I realised that we weren't even halfway there and the prospect of following the path down the cliff and walking the next 3 miles to the falls, followed by the walk back was too much, this would be a day trip in itself, so I never made it but it is on my hitlist.
From here we went to Blue Pool. A forest with a pool that is blue, it's all in the name, clever that. It is a beautiful place and I recommend it to anyone. It is peaceful, scenic and tucked away from the milling crowds. It is great to relax and get away from it all and is a superb place to take photographs. I didn't take very many this time as the weather was less than perfect and my time, as always, was limited.
My next quest was to find a sandy beach so that I can bring my eldest daughter on our next outing. The stipulations were, sandy beach and a Costa Coffee in the near vicinity for my wife. That counts out all the usual suspects that I would go to as we would need a town to fulfill that last point. I decided that we should look at Mudeford, it was on the map, near Christchurch and it could fulfill all the criteria......it didn't. The beach was part sand, mostly pebbles and packed with tourists. Without wishing to offend anyone, it was like an Essex outing, full of families, all squawking, shouting and screaming, barging and shoving, many obese and others Posh spice skinny. The beach wasn't what I expected and the funfair that was setup to fleece the tourists on the beach front, was something out of the 1970's.
That was the last straw, it was time for home. We arrived home at around 8pm and I was absolutely shattered but in the best kind of way. I had a great day, enjoyed all of it and whilst I may not want to do that run again this year, I will certainly do it next year.
My recommendations are Corfe Castle, Durdle Door for a quick visit if you're passing and Blue Pool for some peace.
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