Author: geoffspages

The flooded Tern

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, Photography, Walks1 Comment

Friday 26 January: An easy stroll around Attingham Park, which became longer than intended. As we wandered through the snowdrops, we could see a wide spill of flood water where the Tern normally makes its well-behaved way through the grounds. If we walk back towards the house on the path beside the river, we can then cross over and walk up the other side. The result is (some of) the photographs below and the strange route shown on the map.
The inhabitants of the deer park wander about in stately fashion, posing for photographs until I lift the camera.  Beside the house, the fine stand of cedars has taken a battering. The wind? Surely not! As we guessed, the highest branches, lying in broken disarray beneath the trees, were snapped off by December’s (literally) heavy snowfall. What a shame!

Attingham Park NT

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=355137&Y=310421&A=Y&Z=115

A day on the tiles

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, PhotographyLeave a comment

The weather’s disgusting – the morning’s snow has turned to rain. It’s grey, dull and cold, certainly not a day for outdoor activities. The tile museum at Jackfield is a pretty good standby on such days – warm, dry, and full of colour.

Jackfield Tile Museum – Ironbridge Gorge Museums

Photo footnote: It’s dark in here, not ideal for photography. Most of the pictures were taken on my D90, mostly at f:1.8, and at high to very high ISO speeds. At the other end of the spectrum, several of the close-ups were taken on a smartphone, its camera set (in “Pro” mode) to ISO 100, then placed flat on the glass of the display cabinets. The quality of these tiny cameras is amazing!

A stroll on the Mynd

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

It’s not all “stroll” – there’s a steep pull up Mott’s Road to the Long Mynd plateau, and our legs haven’t had enough exercise during the past few weeks. But once we’re up, it’s a very pleasant amble. The sunshine is bright, the sky is (mostly) blue, the breeze is light – no need to hurry. It’s one of those afternoons whose only downside is the need to come down…

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=343445&Y=294706&A=Y&Z=120

Cothercott

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Railways..., Shropshire hillsLeave a comment

Cothercott’s decaying early 20th century concrete is hardly the prettiest relic of mining in the Shropshire hills. If the barytes mining had begun earlier, the remains might at least have been of stonework. The grim slab beside the road on Cothercott Hill has formed a minor landmark for many years, but now the site has been tidied up, with interpretation boards and a yellow-painted mines tub (from Gwynfynydd – it’s not a local!) set on a plinth as a reminder of the little railway which once operated here.

There are more interpretation boards just a little further up the hill – but we’re on our way elsewhere, and it’s bitterly cold despite the sunshine. We’ll come back another day, and perhaps try to follow the route of the railway back to the mines.

Stourport

On By geoffspagesIn PhotographyLeave a comment

A step back in time on New Year’s Day – a short wander around Stourport. We drove there under a clear blue sky and bright sunshine, but the sun disappeared behind the clouds as we left the car. Inevitably, our drive home was mostly in sunshine. Even under a cloudy sky, there’s plenty of colour here, in the paintwork of the narrowboats in the basin, and the bright lights of the fairground next door.

Happy New Year!

The other Newhaven

On By geoffspagesIn PhotographyLeave a comment

Tuesday 26 December – Boxing Day:  We’re walking from Edinburgh’s Stockbridge to the shores of the Forth at Newhaven, whose residents, I imagine, think of their south coast namesake as “the other”…. Much of the way is along well-surfaced footpaths on the trackbeds of former railways – there was quite a maze of lines between Edinburgh and Leith by the time the NBR and the Caley had finished. The buildings of the former Newhaven station, penultimate stop on the Caledonian line from Princes Street to Leith North (closed in 1962), were a pleasant surprise.

It’s a cold but clear afternoon – the low sun is bringing out the colours at the little harbour; in the distance are the shores of Fife and, away to the west, the Forth bridges. There are three of them now…

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=325450&Y=675896&A=Y&Z=120

Dean Village

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, WalksLeave a comment

Sunday 24 December: it’s Christmas Eve, and there’s just time for a short leg stretch, before the early sunset gets the better of us. We’re in Edinburgh, and we’re taking a walk beside the Water of Leith, up through Dean Village. A detour takes through Dean cemetery, where we chance upon a familiar name – Sir Thomas Bouch, the designer of the Tay Bridge, the one which collapsed in a gale

On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember’d for a very long time.

McGonagall’s doggerel is worth reading, if only as an example of “how not to do poetry” (and I’m no expert! Inevitably, it rhymes (after a fashion), but McGonagall knew not scansion…)

The Tay Bridge Disaster: William McGonagall