Category: Photography

Just photos – no particular theme

Catherton Common

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

Sunday 6 August: we’ve parked here before, but always headed upwards onto Magpie Hill and beyond. Today, we’ll walk in the other direction, to explore the common lands of Silvington and Catherton. At the lowest point (but certainly not the nadir) of our wander, we cross the stream at Cramer Gutter, before heading back past colourful heather and ling. It’s a very absorbing little bit of countryside – scattered cottages, patches of heather and bracken, small stands of birch, clumps of gorse and one particularly fine blackberry bush, which delayed our onward progress for a minute or two…

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=363110&Y=278621&A=Y&Z=120

Jaws (the Pocklington version)

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Saturday 5 August: a necessarily very gentle amble around the gardens and lake at Burnby Hall, Pocklington, in Yorkshire’s East Riding. The lake is noted for its nationally-significant collection of water lilies. To thousands of small children (and their anxious parents, trying to prevent them from falling in), the lake is more memorable as the home of hundreds of giant carp, which gather round the water’s edge, hoping for a tasty titbit (sold for the purpose in the small shop at the entrance).

Photographic note: We’re travelling light today, so I’m using the camera built into the phone. Tricky – the half-second delay means the shutter opens at the precise moment the fish close their mouths…

 

Oats and beans and barley…

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

…grow near the Munslows in August. A familiar route starting from Aston Munslow – across the sheepy field, up the lane to the edge and along to Munslow Common, then down the lane to Munslow and back across the fields (battling, in the last half mile, with 7′ tall maize) to the start. Very pleasant, even though the undergrowth makes some stretches almost impassable, where the sun can get through the trees.

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=351115&Y=287836&A=Y&Z=120

Coalporting

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hillsLeave a comment

A much-needed leg-stretch down to Coalport (for well-earned tea and cake…), on a grey Saturday afternoon. We may not be past July, but there are signs of seasonal change – the wheat looks ready for harvest, there are some hefty (but undoubtedly sour) apples by the farm, and ripe (but rather blobby) blackberries, with many better-looking specimens to come. Could be an excellent crop in a few weeks time… And at last the butterflies are playing to the camera!

Cronkhill

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, PhotographyLeave a comment

It’s only open to the public six days a year – and as today is one such, we thought we’d better go and have a look. The 2nd Lord Berwick, of nearby Attingham Park, had it built for a friend, a little over 200 years ago. Gosh! – here he is in person, looking sprightly despite his years, explaining those things which might not be obvious. John Nash designed the house to be a little corner of Italy in the Shropshire countryside. Is that Vesuvius over there? (No, it’s just the Wrekin).

Attingham Park Estate: Cronkhill NT

Flying Fox

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Railways...1 Comment

…was the first A3 I “saw”, too many years ago. There are no A3s at Foxfield (which is probably a good thing), but lots of retired industrial steam locomotives, fighting-fit and ready for action. Sadly, it’s not the best of days, but at least it’s stopped raining (mostly…), and we’ve time for a quick look. Visit Foxfield – a flying visit on Geoff’s Rail Diaries – now!

Church Stretton to Craven Arms

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Shropshire hills, WalksLeave a comment

We’d thought of doing this by using the train, leaving the car at Craven Arms – then realised we could make the same journey free of charge using our bus passes… An interesting trip too – not entirely along the A49, the Minsterley Motors 435 service uses some very narrow lanes through Wistanstow and Bushmoor. Who’d be a bus driver in south-west Shropshire?

Starting out from the bus stop in Church Stretton, we aim for the top of Ragleth Hill for lunch. We’d have got there quicker if we’d spotted the waymark roundels at the foot of Poplar Drive. Later, after lunch, we find ourselves taking another little detour at Hatton Wood, where the correct path isn’t the obvious one. Soon mended. After the Apedale prairies, we’ve another short climb ahead of us, onto the Wenlock Edge beyond Wolverton. It’s a very enjoyable walk through the trees along here, before we drop down to Strefford and follow the Quinny brook, and later the Onny, back to Craven Arms. On the sound principle that these things come in threes, we take yet another wrong turning where, once again, the obvious route is the wrong one. By the time we arrive in Craven Arms, we’ve earned those ice creams. But what an enjoyable walk! Plenty of variety, and a perfect day for it.

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=344805&Y=288161&A=Y&Z=126

Eccentric crankshafts

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Railways...Leave a comment

We’ve been to Chasewater today – for the “Burton Breweries Locomotives Day”. Some of those locomotives – and some of their associates who had nothing to do with brewing, are amongst the  strangest standard-gauge railway locomotives around. Illustrated are 15099 “Morris”, and the former Worthington’s no 21. Morris is nearly 100 years old; no 21 will soon be 90. Both appeared to be well into their second childhoods, having great fun pushing troublesome trucks around all afternoon. More photos (to include Colin McAndrew, old Birmingham buses etc.) will be published to “Geoff’s Rail Diaries” in a day or two.

Chasewater Railway