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Back in Brighton again. Spotted a cool giant snowman in Brighton Marina.
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| Brighton Marina Snowman. |
I went to meet a new friend in Brighton. Conditions were rather rough with a strong icy wind and an incoming cold front. (Produced heavy snow further north.) But that gave me a few opportunities, such as the heavy surf on the beach and the gulls hovering overhead. My camera did struggle in the low light levels though. The gulls are a bit soft focussed and had to be processed a lot but still look OK.
Pictures of Brighton were also taken from the air, about 4000 feet up, in a glider on 7th July 2007. This picture shows clearly the pier, and the jetty to the right where most of the beach pictures were taken. Meanwhile, in this picture you can see the whole of the centre of Brighton. For more pictures of Brighton from aloft see the Gliding 2007 Piccies Page and scroll down to 7th July.
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| The Royal Pavilion and its grounds in the centre of Brighton. I like the Persian look to the Pavilion. | A gate into the grounds. | More shots of the Pavilion from the other side. | ||||
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| Heavy surf in the strong wind. Brighton Pier to the top left. | Thick foam whipped up by the wind. | Looking west towards the old burnt out pier. | Looking East to Brighton Pier. | Rough sea. This shot didn't really do it justice! | |
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| Two shots taken at the pier entrace. | Looking East from the pier at a kite flier and the surf. | Gulls soaring the sea breeze, almost hovering just above us on the pier. | ||||
I spent this period en route to Aboyne airfield via Hadrian's Wall and a tour across Scotland. Click here to see the Scotland tour pictures.
A few arty pictures from Fryent Country Park, as well as some bird shots.
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| The Wembley stadium arch in the distance silhouetted against the sky. | Two pics of isolated trees silhouetted against the sky. | A more haunting pic of a dead tree silhouetted against dark clouds with crepuscular rays. | 2 long range shots of a bird. It hovered for a while before diving to the ground. | ||
September in the garden in Kenton.
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| Ivy blossom. | Red berries. | Flowers. | Lavatera flower. | Cucumber ready to be picked. | More flowers. | |
Ever wondered what a courgette flower looks like? It grows separate male and female flowers. The female flowers are a good 10cm or more across and only last a few hours during the morning before closing again. A couple of weeks after the flower closes the courgette (the stalk of the flower) hopefully grows to full size and can then be picked.
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| The courgette flower from the front, side and closeup of the centre. | ||
A Yids on Bikes ride to Bourton on the Water in the Cotswalds.
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| Shoehorning the bikes into a small bike bay. | Looking around. | Lunch by the river. | A nearby memorial. | ||
Pictures from Blakeney and Cromer in Norfolk.
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| Blakeney Freshes. Walking along a raised path over saltmarshes by the sea. | Looking back to Blakeney. | Yaughts in the channels, and a passing boat. | |||
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| Another look at the Saltmarsh. | We got back to the car to find the carpark had been flooded by high tide. | After our desired lunchtime spot, a beach near Wells, had been made unreachable by too many people / huge jams we ended up in Cromer. | |||
More miscellaneous pictures.
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| Lunchtime on Horsenden Hill, and not just for me! A flower spider is also munching. | Didcot Power Station and Lewknor Airfield as seen from Bald Hill, Aston Rowant (from the SE). | 2 long range shots each of a Red Kite and a Buzzard taken at Bald Hill. | ||||
I went to Stonehenge today. Those stones are huge! Amazing how they managed to haul those stones into position so long ago. And pretty cool the significance of the site in terms of heritage and religious significance to some groups past and present. The path starts at approximately West-Northwest and encircles the stones, finishing back at the start. A road bridge links the car park to the site. Here a cool muriel shows an artist's impression of what the circle one may have looked like.
To the North of Stonehenge were a number of burial mounds (Cursus Barrows), as well as the site of the Stonehenge Cursus, which looked like a huge elongated racetrack 3km long.
On my way back I took a look at nearby Woodhenge which is related to Stonehenge.
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| First views. It was busy with tourists! View from the West-Northwest. | Part of a trench dug around the stones. | Closeups of the stones. One shows people in the background and illustrates how huge the stones are. | |||
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| More closeups. I particularly like the circle of sarsen stones with lintels seen from the West. | More views from approx SW and SSW and East. The latter two also show the trench clearly in the foreground. | The Heel Stone on the Northwest side, pointing towards the circle. | |||
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| View from near the Heel Stone. The stone in the foreground is the Slaughter Stone, so called because of the reddish colour. | One last close view from the North. | The muriel. Was this how Stonehenge used to look? | The entrance. Most definitely a tourist trap! | Samples of Sarsen (left) and Blue stones used to build Stonehenge. Blue always feels warmer than Sarsen. | |
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| Burial mounds to the Northwest of Stonehenge. | Looking along the Stonehenge Cursus. You can just make out the trench to the right. | Looking back to Stonehenge from the Cursus. | |
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| Looking at Woodhenge from the entrance to the North. | Looking South from the centre. | Looking North-Northeast from the centre. | A plan of the posts located at the South end. |
Miscellaneous pictures of flowers and insects.
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| Grasshopper at Horsenden Hill. | Orchids in Tugley Wood. | Bumblebee nectaring at Grove Farm. | Orchids at Sharpenhoe Clappers. | |
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| Flowers at Sharpenhoe Clappers. | Fly on a leaf at Horsenden Hill. | |
An orchid in Fermyn Woods. Lunch at the Chequered Skipper pub in Ashton near Oundle. Red Kite on the edge of Fineshade Wood.
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| Orchid in Fermyn Woods. | Lunchtime at the Chequered Skipper pub. | Long range shot of a Red Kite. | ||||
Flowers in a meadow in Horsenden Hill and Harlequin Ladybirds at Park Wood and Barnhill. Plus other misc pics from Sharpenhoe, Park Wood and Barnhill. A spider and a bumblebee nectaring on brambles at Glapthorn Cow Pasture. Finally a grass snake at Park Wood.
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| Flowers in a meadow in Horsenden Hill. | 2 shots of a Harlequin Ladybird. | Another Harlequin Ladybird. | Barnhill meadow. | ||
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| Sheep at Sharpenhoe Clappers. | Harlequin Ladybird larva and pupa. | Critters and insects at Park Wood. | And more at Barnhill. | |||
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| Spider. | 2 shots of a bumblebee. | Grass snake. | |
It's FA Cup Final day at the new Wembley Stadium. So nice to see it so busy once again. So I took a look during another walk up Barnhill. Plus the usual wildlife shots.
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| Wembley Stadium with huge crowds entering the building. | Barnhill flies, tadpoles and a water snail. | ||||
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| Helicopters flying over Wembley Stadium. | The Red Arrows performing a flypast of the stadium before the match starts. | |
Pictures taken from Holme Dunes NNR on the north Norfolk Coast. I was there to see the Wall Brown and other butterflies and wildlife. The scenery was pretty nice also. See Butterflies and Moths, and Weather piccies pages for more pictures from this place.
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| The beach. Looks like low tide. | Walking through a pine forest bordering the beach. | Peering over a sand dune covered in Marram grass. | ||||
More pictures taken while on or near Horsenden Hill, Bison Hill and Ivinghoe Beacon. Plus a couple of small spiders seen in the garden in Kenton.
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| Scorpion Fly. | A slightly blurry shot of a Hobby Kestrel gliding past quickly. | Red Kite. | 2 shots of a Glow Worm larva. | |
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| Ivinghoe Beacon from the South. | Unidentified ~0.5cm spider on privet hedge. | Unidentified ~1cm spider. |
I joined Yids on Bikes for a rideout to Finchingfield in Essex. The weather was perfect, and the country roads we took to get there were great fun. Finchingfield itself is a very pictoreque place, albeit a bit on the touristy side. As you can see it is also a popular destination for bikers. There were 40+ bikes parked around the village green.
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| Two shots taken from where I parked my bike. | The bike park. My bike is 2nd from the left. | The pub close to the bike park. | Two more shots taken from near where I parked my bike. | ||
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| Two shots taken from the green across the road. | Looking back at the bike park. | Members of Yids on Bikes relaxing and having lunch on the green. | A memorial in the village. | |
A walk around Sharpenhoe Clappers and the surrounding area.
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| 4 shot panorama of Sharpenhoe Clappers from below the ridge. Mind the wonky seams... | Classic twisty English country road. | A huge rape field as far as the eye can see. And closeups of the plants and flowers. | ||
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| A bush with pink hanging flowers. | Woodland path. | Rabbit. | |
Flowers in the woods behind the office where I work. Wembley Stadium and a Harlequin ladybird seen at Horsenden Hill.
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| Flowers growing by a path through the woods at Grove Farm, Greenford. | Wembley Stadium from near the summit of Horsenden Hill. | Two shots of a Harlequin ladybird found on a Hawthorn bush. | |||
Pictures taken during a walk around the Aquadrome and surrounding area just South of Rickmansworth.
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| Bridge over the River Colne and a weir underneath. | Views around Springwell Lake. | ||||
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| Cherry blossom by the lake. | Hillingdon Trail. | Old gnarled dead tree. | Gateway to the woods. | ||
Irises flowering in the garden and a flowring Hedgerow at Horsenden Hill.
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| Irises flowering in the garden. | Flowering hedgrow at Horsenden Hill. | |
