Coughton Court

On By geoffspagesIn NT and EH, PhotographyLeave a comment

Wednesday 29 August: That’s “coaton”, not “coffton”, we’re told. We’ve been here just once before, but there are no photos – I’d left the camera at home. Today we’ve had lunch in the Bull at Ambridge, served by none other than Jolene (some readers may know what, and where, I’m talking about), and after that, we’re ready for anything. Coughton was home to the Throckmortons (spelled “Throgmorton” on the stained glass), a Catholic family with close connections to the gunpowder plot. Try not to mention bonfire night… Whatever its history, it’s an interesting place to visit and explore. The latter is a prerequisite to the house – the use of timed tickets, to regulate the flow through the building, means there’s time to kill in the grounds – including an impressive walled garden – and the tea room (of course!).

Coughton Court NT

Lazing at Attingham

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The deer, that is. They seem to be taking it easy this afternoon. But never mind the deer, look what’s parked outside, taking a drink at the Mytton and Mermaid. Those ploughing engines, on their way to the steam rally at Onslow Park, use a lot of water. (I suspect their crews were ready for refreshment too). Elsewhere at Attingham, there are signs of the advancing season. Autumn’s approaching, and the apples and pears in the walled garden look juicy, despite the dry summer.

Attingham Park NT

Sunshine and solitude

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Skye, WalksLeave a comment

Sunday 19 August: At last, some decent weather. The clouds have cleared, no rain is forecast, the wind’s dropped. We’ve had a reminder in the past few days that Skye is full in August. There are huge numbers of visitors, who struggle with the single-track roads in the north of the island – especially those in hire cars, and as for all those monster camper vans… There are some very popular destinations up here, but if we avoid them, we should be OK. So we’re walking from Port Gobhlaig, along the very quiet coastal path to Rubha na h-Aiseig, and our companions will be the sheep and the seabirds. If the tip of this grassy promontory was a few yards further north, it would be the northernmost tip of Skye – and probably more popular. But wait – what’s this? As we walk back towards the start, there are two other people! How dare they? (Why are their voices so loud?)

Tomorrow we’re heading for home. Reminder to self: avoid high summer in future.

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=143999&Y=875904&A=Y&Z=120

A grey day in Uig

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Saturday 18 August: we’ve been on gardening duties all morning. This afternoon, we need to go down to Uig to pick up supplies – we could have a leg stretch too. It’s a grey afternoon, but the rain seems less likely. The waterfall on the river Rha is a good start, then we’ll follow the shore path to the river Conon – and walk up the road as far as the Fairy Glen. The once-quiet side road is now busy with visitors, who struggle to park when they reach their destination. On foot, we can simply enjoy the scenery.

View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=140105&Y=863575&A=Y&Z=120

Waternish and Dunvegan…

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Skye1 Comment

Thursday 16 August: Sunshine and showers. We’re out in the car, exploring Skye’s north-western arms. At Trumpan, at the end of the road, there’s a ruined church overlooking Ardmore point, with views to Dunvegan Head. Later, we’ll drive past the throngs of tourists at Dunvegan Castle, and onto the low cliffs overlooking the loch, where we can watch the seals on the rocks below. Unlike the poor visitors in the open boats, we can scuttle back to the car when the showers blow across…

Soggy Skye

On By geoffspagesIn Photography, Skye2 Comments

We were at our “northern office” last week. Throughout the summer, we’ve been wishing for rain. On the long drive up, it rained, inevitably. The forecast for Skye wasn’t at all good – plenty of rain, and, when it wasn’t raining, there were heavy showers around, with a good chance of a soaking if we strayed far from shelter (so we didn’t…). Windy too – no, we didn’t suffer from the midges on this trip.

We’d arrived on the Monday – on Tuesday evening, it was dry enough for a short walk down the road. Wednesday started dry, but the clouds soon carried out their threat. Then, almost on the dot of 7pm, the sky cleared and the sun was out.

Broseley bikes

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Sunday 5 August: Broseley Festival of Motorcycling. I’m not sure what the purpose of this event is – just fun, I suspect. It certainly appeared to be fun, on this warm and sunny day (must have been really warm in those black jackets…). It was certainly quite a spectacle, seeing them all (getting on for 200) arriving and parking in Broseley High Street, after a short ride from the Woodbridge at Coalport, via Ironbridge and Much Wenlock. All very friendly too – no “show-offs” and a generally sedate rumble of engines.

Broseley Festival of Motorcycling