J_on_tour@jayzspaze

Taking a break 2

2012-02-14T23:24:00.000Z

In a week when i re-adjust to life generally in 2012 as an armchair photographer, I am sitting here at my kitchen / dining table dreaming about nostalgic times in the past and a few pre planned trips that I hope to fulfil this year. My Mother is now back home and there are different concerns to worry about but I am mainly assisted by a professional team who are supervising her three times a day. I visit her most nights I can for about an hour and then return home to a regular rotational e-mail list to report on the progress. Contrary to what followers think, I haven't abandoned or stopped blogging but it's been difficult trying to fit everything in. Just as I wanted to publish something in February, I will endeavour to comment on blogs over the next week, sorry for my absence to your works.

In a parallel journey, my internet problems this year have led me to explore issues of watermarking and although I have moved on in life from the previous post, hence why I need to post something new ... the Hotel who were not directly profit making from the photo, apologised, removed the image and offered me a free cream tea !! ... probably worth around £5 !!

.... it's a nice thought but not the easiest of places to get to, 370 miles in the car, possibly 2 or 3 nights Bed and Breakfast ... in The Sidmouth Harbour Hotel ... moving on to the next paragraph...

The first step in my editing journey was the complex issue of Photoshop elements 10. It seemed like a great idea to sign up for the free 30 day trial. I have come to the conclusion like anything to do with computers ... "it is easy if you know how". My journey began with the difficulty of trying to access the beast. Personally I think 30 days is not long enough as it is more important to gain an understanding of how the system works during the period rather than perform advanced editing.

I managed to create some brushes thanks to a YouTube link from Petra and a Seeing to pictures post from Adrian. However I had difficulty creating a standard size brush for both cropped and uncropped images which Adrian answered personally but I couldn't understand why this didn't work. I asked a question in a Forum to which it took several replies to ascertain that my elements page had been corrupted in some way and it was unfortunate that he spoke a different computer language to me !! As I had spent too much of the month on this issue, I had a desire to sample other features of Elements ...

... next on the list was the other hot topic on my page of eliminating distorted verticals on buildings. As an introduction, all my photographic life, I have used standard lenses with the option of moving up to zoom lenses on a variety of cameras. With my lack of knowledge on the wide angle lens ... of 24mm from December 2010, the temptation was too great to push it to the limit in an area that I was unfamiliar with.

This process of correction was difficult at first but with two YouTube clips I found a complex and detailed link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpAiIVWA5t4

followed by a simpler one who sounds like one of my Yorkshire friends ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h6mQ_D4zm8

Unfortunately the file was 70MB and wouldn't load through my photo storage supplier. I found by accident a short and unusually swift presentation of how to reduce the MB size of an image or rather "Get as many hits to the link as you can because there's no way you are going to understand this after 4 plays " !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMgY22pyoNc

Unfortunately, I may not have been looking at the correct video because after the file of specific images were reduced to 3.8MB or even 1.5MB, loading was still an error.

I discovered by accident that I could copy from the Facebook note page but would not load the initial file of 70MB, however after re sizing it did. Yeah, that nasty website meant that you are looking at the next four images.

"Computers are easy if you know how" !!

Here's the images that I omitted from my past blog posts for obvious reasons, the first one due to the foreground overhead cables of a light rail system and the second due to the narrow road and high elevation of the building.

Sheffield Cathedral. The new entrance that can't take the stress of being attached to the old ... or the spire that feels a bit of sympathy with it being unloved !!! aww, well it is Valentines day.

The only building in Bethesda worth looking at apart from the oasis of the local Spar shop. Both pointed upwards for various reasons, the latter being a lunchtime snack dispenser for the Mountains on Snowdonia.

OK, these are nowhere near ideal but it's an achievement if nothing else.

I was overwhelmed by support and ideas in the comments section of the previous post. All these ideas and programs need time to explore. Wind ... you have gone way beyond the call of duty, I appreciate your input and your comments have been noted. As a tribute to Wind, here's my take using some past images...

I dream of escaping ...

My door ... in Summer

My door ... in Winter

My Car ... stuck

My Dinner !!

... My next trip :-)

Ah well, best go and get the milk out of the fridge and make another cup of tea !! ..........

Taking a break until ...

2012-01-15T21:39:00.001Z

You may be wondering why I haven't posted for a few weeks. Well maybe it was because I was partly uninspired to show the next set of photos that didn't exactly thrill me but I needed to do so as part of my thematic progression.

Currently my travel wings have been severely clipped as I am spending most of my free time visiting my Mother who is currently under observation in a temporary care home.

I realise that these are excuses for the real reason and that is the misuse of my image that I discovered on Google images by The Sidmouth Harbour Hotel ( My e-mail to them has produced a blank). I know it's mine as it was my first weekend in digital and it shows as the horizon is not straight. I consider the above image to be very poor compared to some of the quality material I have up my sleeve right now and I'm not prepared to let some of these future published images slip away under my nose onto another website without recognition.

I have been searching watermarking websites of late and can't get to grips with any of them as the explanation on how to use Batch photo and Jet photo studio is out of date. Picassa was no help, winwatermark was poor. Picmakr I didn't understand and lastly and most frustratingly I finally downloaded Photoshop elements 10 but I just ended up going around in circles chasing my tail trying to access it. Even though some software programs are meant to be mac friendly, this package seems to be unbelievably large with assistance & forum notes thats it's difficult to access even .. find the main event.

In the meantime I haven't quite thrown in the towel but I await your comments and help before I can continue.

A Fountains Abbey to Ripon walk

2011-12-29T12:42:00.001Z

I want to start by wishing you all a Happy New Year and to say that in the same way that I have commenced it with a different personal concept and part biographical with specific friends both near and far, so life has took a new direction as I come to terms in dealing with ill health in my family.

The journey that I am about to take you on may seem like a walk in the country or a wander around a town but it means a bit more to me than that as I seek direction onwards. I'm usually very modest about some of my photographic work, for example this particular post, but some of these trips were worthy of staying on for a few more days to depict some visual delights that you will not disappointed with.

The key to unlock the _ _ _ _

I have inspiration for this concept and post from Farmchick @ its a small town life who uses humorous alias names to protect identities and cranberry morning ( @ fountains abbey ) whose inspiration keeps me going in many more ways than just one. It puts me to shame that someone has to travel half way around the world to see extensive portions of Yorkshire and yet there is so much that is only 90 minutes away from my doorstep that I have just driven past to places further afield.... speaking of which this was a walk around the exterior perimeter fence !! ... and it's been about 15 years since I paid to go in.

My "Scarborough Sandcastle manager" (september 2010)

As an introduction and part biographical post... Following the ending of my 5-6 years with "The Bristol connection", I met up with a lost friend due to house moves and my constant travels to the south west of England. You can imagine his surprise when I spoke to him on the telephone after I received a circular e-mail from "The Leeds link"saying that he was organising a walk in Richmond, North Yorkshire. My rendezvous in London with The Bristol connection didn't happen and so began a story within a blog joining a Yorkshire walking group on outings to Grassington and later Masham. Around this time, the "Seaside Star" organised a fun trip to Scarborough as a social day out with an overlapping group that included non walkers and I later met up with in her home town of Sheffield for a day. The "Scarborough sandcastle manager" inspired me to join him in many more things such as Yorkshire dales walking and a Borrowdale weekend that included four posts during last May and early June.

Hill House Farm. "Right of way" rather than errr, no I'm not calling it a path !

The Scarborough sandcastle manager is a very busy person and organises walking events and town tours for voluntary and fee paying groups. On this particular day he was wanting my advice on the suitability of his planned route for the fee paying "Amblers" ! It was at this point in the walk above that I gave him .... my opinions !! .... something for the (Grassington) "Ramblers".

It was with interest and half a smile that I noticed that this walk was put on this years programme during March. It looks like that I might have some pressure applied to me to attend !!

A historic estate house just outside the West Gate.

Following a riotous dispute in St Mary's Abbey in York, thirteen Benedictine monks founded the Abbey in a sheltered and more peaceful valley in 1132. Due to its business in the wool trade, Fountains Abbey became an affluent location home for the monks for a mix of wealthy times followed by economic hardship in the 400 year period leading up to the destructive Henry VIII in 1539. When the visiting Victorians tourists in the mid nineteenth century arrived, they were governed by strict rules so as not to damage the site. In more recent times the National Trust acquired the site from Yorkshire County Council in 1983 and were the organisation to best preserve it.

Fountains Hall was built over a period of six years at the start of the 17th century partly with the stones from the ruined Abbey and was occupied by successive family descendants for about 150 years. The new owners that purchased didn't need it as they lived on the nearby Studley Royal Estate so it was rented out to various tenants until renovation about 1930. King George VI stayed here a few times and it was a haven for World War II evacuees before falling into a state of disrepair. As with the other buildings on the estate, Yorkshire County Council had to pick up the pieces before the National Trust as I said in the previous paragraph commenced preservation in 1983.

Anyhow, I don't want to bore you with any more history as I was thinking about lunch and Ripon Cathedral seems like .... lunch in Ripon won't be happening for some time !!

Sorry, I can't wait and I have to fast forward to lunchtime in Ripon square where the "Scarborough Sandcastle manager" inspired me in the local Tudor butchers shop (below) with two things I hadn't eaten before, a special herbed pork pie and Yorkshire curd tart.

The choice was too good that I had to tell you about it !

Just to let you know that I must come back here again on my own to re sample it, visit Ripon Cathedral and tell you a bit more about the place in a separate post ... sometime !! ... as there is quite a bit of history about the town ...

"Keep off my Dad's van, it's mine too!"

We rejoined the footpath at T and R Williamson Varnish and enamel works built in 1775 ...

... and made a start on the return journey following the river for a short distance through the town.

After a mix of river, road and hedgerows, it finally felt that we were back out in the country again at Studley Roger

... where I would like to tell you about my feet !!

My fellow companion checked his map in order that we didn't miss the scenic route back.

We paused at a gate ...

The long road to ... errr ... Ripon Cathedral !!

... before joining the popular walking route back on the unpaid section of the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Estate.

"The Valley of the Seven Bridges" was the short return route that my friend decided to take the "Amblers" on in the end from the Fountains Abbey car park.

Finally we reached the lake on the estate signifying that the walk was nearly over ...

Maybe I could just rest my feet in here for a minute or two !!

St Mary's church ... another time !!

As the long and weary day ( !! ) was coming to an end , it was time to reflect on some thoughts ...

... apart from a walk filled with ... Curd tart and tired feet !, it was a walk with many peaceful animal scenes ...

...... and ......

... some not so peaceful !!

Corn Exchange Leeds, Yorkshire ... and a bit more !!

2011-12-18T08:39:00.000Z

The Corn Exchange in Leeds was designed by a Yorkshire Architect called Cuthbert Brodick. After the success of his competition winning first project of Leeds Town Hall, this was his second building to be completed about 1863. He also designed The Grand Hotel at Scarborough which was completed a few years later.

From the Middle ages to the Victorian era, the City of Leeds developed as leaders in the Wool, weaving and cloth making industries. The successes of these industries brought an affluence to the City that was demonstrated in buildings like this one.

The Dome roof was specifically designed in order for the traders to be able to inspect the grain for its quality.
Unfortunately most businesses have a lifespan and the building eventually began to fall into a state of disrepair. Early proposals of a conversion into a concert hall fell on "deaf ears" and a shopping centre proposal became the favoured idea in 1985 keeping the use of the building with a similar theme.

The speciality shopping centre re-opened to the public five years later to what could be termed as alternative independent traders. Whether this was to do with the fact that the building was situated next to the market and on the edge of the cities shops, who knows ! It took another 17 years before the current owners decided to add a central food area and updated refurbishment in 2007. Another injection of new life.

I leave behind my solo trips to the hills and whatever day trip takes my fancy with the camera as I commence a new series of my real journey of life on the road. What is peculiar however is the fact that this seasonal post, which wouldn't be appropriate in for example March or April, is the very latest in a set that I will retrospectively be displaying.
Photographically, I was restricted by my accomplice who didn't appreciate fully what I was about ... and Leeds is a city for shopping !!! (Apologies to those expecting better images but I will have to return here at some point to repeat the Town Hall and German Christmas market.) This particular day marked a conclusion to a thought that had been haunting me since if not May 2011, then July ... and a step forward with a new beginning as I considered the conclusion during the 90 minutes train journey home. The 26th November was for me personally the worst and yet best day of the year.

Time to move on !!

The Victorian quarter has a number of Arcades that were opened between 1877 and the turn of the century. It carried on the affluent trading tradition of the city in wool and cloth right up to the present day designer shops.

Vivienne Westwood and Mimco boutiques

I managed to sneak outside a shop for five minutes and grab the above two simple images.

After lunch and a wander around the Art Gallery, it was time to take in some sights of the German Christmas market. Unfortunately it was very busy and I was always playing catch up to my accomplice who wouldn't wait and was slightly unfairly critical of the displays.

"Can I not have time to even change the ISO setting?!"

Wisdom learnt today from more than just the symbol of Leeds !!

Lastly I finish my post with a seasonal image that puts into perspective a few things about my 2011 journey. In an inversely proportional manner, as this post marks the end of a specific set that I will retrospectively be telling you about soon, so the final image from Sheffield Cathedral was one of the first taken in the year.

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a great New Year.

A much more important person taking a step on a journey.

Lincoln Christmas Market, SRPS/ North East railtours

2011-12-17T06:50:00.001Z

Many UK towns and cities have a twinned friendship with a European town, one of these friendships is between the City of Lincoln and Neustadt in Germany.

One Christmas in 1982 a few stall holders from the German town decided that they were going to introduce their wares to the people of Lincolnshire. The original market had 11 traditional style German stalls and introduced a new culture to the UK.

Having been on the mailing list of North East Railtours for some time, this trip was always difficult to access as it runs on a friday. The charter company use the SRPS coaches and volunteers from Bo'ness in Scotland to serve meals on board and this particular trip has an end of year Christmas party atmosphere ! Cereal, Bacon Roll, Mince Pie and Mulled Wine on the outward journey with Christmas Dinner on the way back. I first took the plunge back in 2004 to book an Annual leave day from work to sample the experience and have done so six times since that first adventure. For me it's about the whole experience of the train, the food, the market, Christmas and a heavy dose of nostalgia !!

Class 55 Deltic "Royal Scots Grey"

A railtour running on a friday doesn't seem like it's going to be a great success, but with the added interest of some heritage Diesel traction (London Kings Cross - Edinburgh - Aberdeen route 1961 -1981) is a guaranteed success with the diesel fans particularly as it uses most of its former stamping ground. The nostalgia element for me was when I was a young boy I used to watch these powerful machines standing thundering away in Newcastle central station. There were 22 of them named after regiments and racehorses and sat in the time zone in between the Mallard and the Inter City 125.

"Steep Hill"

The City of Lincoln has always attracted visitors from an early age due to it's original location high on a solitary hill amongst the flat county of Lincolnshire.

There was a Roman garrison at the top and as the city expanded, the need for an inland harbour that utilised local waterways became essential.

Unorthodox viewpoint

The Normans arrived and brought the gift of the Cathedral which was completed in the 13th century.

Modern visitors ... shoppers and shadows !

I was last here for a concert in 2010 and it was unusual to see the City so quiet. The 2010 Christmas market was even quieter as it was cancelled due to snow and bad weather. Here are some images from my June 2010 blogpost when I was a young blogger with about 3 followers !! ... post number 10.

A quiet moment in the market on a friday

The market has grown to nearly 300 stalls that commence next to the Cathedral in the first image and continue into the Castle grounds (above) and then into an adjacent park and nearby streets. In some ways as one commentator says that it has become a victim of it's own success that the organisers do not seem to recognise as a lot of saturday visitors dislike the experience of pushing through crowds as trip advisor demonstrates. It is unfortunate that it becomes newsworthy for these reasons...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire 16042776

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-16120746

and something a little irreverent .....

Peace and solitude

One of the best moments of my earlier 2010 visit was saturday lunch time when I sat having lunch in the sun near the tower for a while. I managed to peek over the market perimeter fence and dream that was me for 30 minutes ... it must have been a Castle worker.

Anyway, enough of waxing lyrical and dwelling in the past ... for the moment ( ! ), it was time to take in some sights ...

Souvenir Hunter

Bubbleologist !!

Hans handy with his hands

Somebody else handy with their hands .... and their wallets !

Exchanging plastic for wood !

The ultimate Burger

One of the Burger stalls neighbours for the weekend !

With all of this, I was left in a spin .....

... as I didn't know who was a local, a visitor or an official anymore !!

As I made my way back to the railway station, one thing was certain that there was more effort made...

... in the local bakery shop ...

... than what there was on the wall outside ... need to spread the love around !

All to soon, it was over for another year wondering if I'll repeat the experience again next year all in the name of nostalgia !! I didn't plan on taking the last image but the engine was standing there for some time and I was left wondering if this engine would ever work this charter to Lincoln again...

Deltic 22 ... or ... ISO 1600 !!

And just to re-live my childhood one more time, it's arrival and then later departure as I stood next to this film maker ... the most powerful Diesel in it's day ....

Even though it raced up the East Coast mainline back home to Newcastle and beyond, it was a named after a regiment and not a racehorse ....

Nostalgic racehorse

South West revisited .... Christmas decorations

2011-12-14T00:37:00.000Z

Following on from the previous post, I decided to take a blogging break ...
from what I normally do for one post ... had you worried there for a moment :-)

This post isn't about travelling (as these were taken exactly two years ago to the week) or photography either but rather I thought I'd ask followers what they think of Christmas decorations. It's not something that I wanted to do but then again neither is looking at old images of Burnham on Sea in North Somerset and Bristol City centre as it has memories that belong to the past but with all the digital images I have it finally puts the lid on the subject.

The residents of Trinity Close, Burnham on Sea have been decorating their houses for years and collecting money for worthwhile charities. The evening that I was taken there, it was difficult to get parked and drive in and out of the street as it became a local attraction and ... traffic hazard !
It was noticeable that only one resident in the street refused to decorate their house which reminds me of a story a bit more local to me in Seaton Sluice where the expense and work of it all forced them to abandon their "light" project. In my opinion, there's a fine line here in good taste that might be too easy to cross.

Stars in the roof of Bristol waterfront

Cathedral steps, lamp decoration

Broadmead lights

The welcoming warmth of St Nikki's market (as I used to call it ) on a cold friday December morning.

Homely and warm welcome or "I'll relieve you of some of your money! "

Get your presents gift wrapped here !

Making do with scraps of food from Pret A Manger

Discerning the bogus gifts from the real ones .... or markets for that matter

Making sure the precarious baubles don't fall on your head ...

... or snowmen for that matter

Lastly as I wait for your thoughts, this is the seventh post I've covered on .... err .... Health and Safety Bristol so it's time to leave it behind once and for all ....

Now where can I dump this ?!!

Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire

2011-12-09T07:24:00.001Z

Robin Hood's Bay is unusually both a Bay and a small fishing village on the North Yorkshire coast. Although the village has now extended up the hill where the car parks and larger accommodation are, the main focus of attention is on the separate historic area is at the bottom of the steep lanes.

It's lifeblood seems to originate from events of the sea and walking around the village, I always get the feeling that it is a place that is full of smuggling history.

Sailing back into history though, there's not a lot to find specifically about Robin Hood's Bay beyond the 15th century.

Legend suggests that the name comes from Robin Hood rescuing the local people from the French pirates who came to steal their boats and returning the assets to the people of the village.

It might be unbelievable but then again as I take you on a walk around the village, everything is unbelievable.

Fishing and ... err .. smuggling (an 18th century tax evasion haven as it imported goods such as tea, tobacco and rum from mainland Europe) were the main industry but the geography of the village would be a determining factor as to why the former declined in the 19th century and the latter succeeded !

Whole families would be involved in the fishing industry by part owning a small boat or transporting the goods to other parts of Yorkshire for sale.

A short distance to the north, Whitby has a more accessible harbour and the fishing business still survives to this day.

In order not to tantalise you with art and photography, here are a few photos that depict the village

The Old bakery tearooms overhanging the river with it's wooden extension.

The most recognised house in the village (title photo) seen here from a slightly different angle.

Tourism is the main industry these days for those who enjoy the romantic images of fishing villages from the past, artists and ... err ... photographers !

New life !

onwards and upwards

B&B accommodation

An author called Leo Walmsley used the village as a picturesque location of his Bramblewick books.

The village shop selling everything in all seasons !

Alfred Wainwright, the famous Lake District writer, artist and fellwalker, moved on to other projects later in life. One of which was to design a walk that went through glorious countryside across Northern England. The route which can be done in either direction goes through three National parks (Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors) but the favoured route is west to east where the walker has to dip their feet into the north sea to complete the walk ...

Scared of the walk or the sea ??!!

Happy sailor in a window box !

I realise that I've missed a whole season out but I'm reminded that I must get those Christmas cards written for posting next as I don't want to be left out in the cold ....

Melmerby & the journey home from the Lake District

2011-11-29T20:44:00.001Z

Melmerby is a small village in East Cumbria located on one of my favourite road drives in Northern England, the A686 (the same road that I used last year for the Alston blog post). Although the village is situated on a well travelled and popular road, it is a place where generally travellers omit to either get to their destination quickly or to continue the enjoyment of the roads twists and turns.

The village name originates from a Danish resident who stayed here during the 9th century called Melmor.

It may be surprising to know that I have passed through this village on numerous occasions stretching back to the time in my parents car when I was seven years old. Although I have never ever stopped here before, it has to be said that it has a mixture of insignificance to a 7 year old and not enough time for the Lake District Day or weekend visitor. As I was in no rush to get home, I decided to check out the most famous building in the village in a converted stone barn ... The Village Bakery.

The Village Bakery has been making bread and cakes for about 35 years and won awards for their organic produce. In more recent times, the success of the establishment has warranted the addition of a restaurant and shop opened by the organic loving Prince Charles who flew in by helicopter for the occasion. The founder & original owner of the bakery, Andrew Whitley, used a wood fired oven in favour of the poor electricity supply and locally grown organic wheat from a nearby watermill. Another local firm called Bells of Lazonby keen to join the process eventually gained a majority in the company as they wanted a bite or a slice of the organic ... Pie !! Andrew Whitley was more passionate about teaching bread making skills and began to run courses for those interested before eventually moving these training sessions to Scotland.

Although the Bakery is not seen directly from the road, the above building is, as shown in the title photograph. On looking for a place to park the car, I came across this unusual building for the first time. This was of great interest to me as an architectural piece and I had no idea what its original purpose was at the time. The details are a bit vague but it was originally a school house (1860 -1974) to the left and is thought to be converted into two houses. My research is not conclusive but I did come across two websites that suggested that Andrew moved down the road a little for the bread making courses and another that suggested the above property had a planning application in to run such a course. All very interesting but not currently topical as the building has been sold on to a private owner.

The Shepherds Inn on the other side of the road seems to be in memory, due to the painting on the pub sign, of a farmer and shepherd called Albert Bousfield Teasdale who lived and worked in the area all of his life (1880 - 1957).

Flowers & Fosters !! .... in memory of Albert ?!

Lastly I'm going to finish this trip,which has taken me far too long, a little distance further on with another visit to the highest cafe in England, Hartside Cafe with a few alternative shots.

It's a place where you can take a break from your journey and admire other machinery,

.... sample the delights of a no nonsense cafe as bikers and cyclists have this one marked on their list,

and it's a place where you can either get married !! .....or otherwise lose yourself in solitude !! ...

(A last look for a long time of the the view looking west to the Solway Firth, South West Scotland and the mountains of the Lake District just out of shot to the left)

The Old Man of Coniston (2634ft /803m)

2011-11-16T10:30:00.001Z

Coniston Old Man or The "Old man" as it is sometimes alternatively and affectionately known as, overlooks Coniston village from the west with the area being once rich in copper and slate mining. This was the last day in the Lake District and the purpose of this walk was to climb Dow Crag from a different direction covering my unconquered peaks of Brown Pike and Buck Pike.

Two points for the walkers and climbers reading this ... I considered this as an alternative Coniston round and yes, I cheated on this occasion and drove up to the Walna Scar car park ... I didn't like putting my car through that agony. In my defence I did start from the village on a previous occasion to do the official "round", but as that was back in 1996 (that was the last time I was here - shameful), I maybe wrong but I thought that there was a noticeable difference in the traffic and parking regulations for the same time of year.

The "trek" along Walna Scar road seems easy enough on the map but the constant tramping on the large stones feels like walking a few miles on a pebbly beach. As this is on the periphery of the main mountain ranges of Cumbria, the scenery can sometimes seem a little drab. A bridge crossing the stream seemed like a breath of fresh air to .... the camera at least !

As I was a bit desperate to get the photographic material started, I thought I would try something a little different with the bridge.

The above photo is the reverse viewpoint of the previous landscape showing the footpath repairers trying to improve or rather rescue a difficult section with Coniston Lake coming into view.

The only way to get across country like this ... ooh, I'm tempted to have a go !! However the sight of this is a little controversial seeing that 4x4 vehicles and motorbikes were banned from using this route several years ago to prevent further destruction to the ... errr ... road !

Walna scar road connects a remote part of the Lake District of Seathwaite in Dunnerdale to Coniston. Travellers and shepherds that get caught out with the weather on the most exposed part of this south facing route can enjoy a welcome shelter large enough for two people at a squeeze ... cosy indeed !

It was time to get a bit more serious with the ascent as I was starting to fight off todays approaching western mist on the Brown Pike to Dow Crag ridge route.

After the morning exercise, it was time for a rest and to take in the view south towards my ascent route, south Cumbria, Morecambe Bay and the distant Fylde peninsula of Blackpool and Fleetwood....

... and to sample from my rucksack the almost intact well filled cheese savoury sandwiches from the Picnic Box shop in Ambleside.

Despite the ascent route following the edge of a sheer drop and rock climbers haven, the path is relatively straightforward. The rock summit of Dow Crag (778m) requires a little more care as it isn't an appropriate place to have lunch. I had to enjoy the contents of my rucksack from a small grassy plain ... nearer the edge of the cliff !

Goats Hawse

After lunch it was time to press on and descend to what seemed like the half way point of the walk and observe my high level clockwise route around Goats Water to Dow Crag on the right.

Sheep's house

Climbing up on the other side of the valley, it looked like this sheep has been misbehaving and was being severely punished for it !!

Eventually the ground levels out into almost cricket pitch terrain and the most northerly point of the walk is the amazing cairn on top of Brim Fell. Crinkle Crags (an earlier post and walk of this week) and Bowfell are seen in the background to the left.

Although the last section of the walk to the summit of The Old Man of Coniston doesn't look difficult, I had to think of a password to get past the sheep !!

Thankfully he let me past and I was able to enjoy views towards Coniston village and Lake....

...whilst not forgetting the imposing and yet magnificent Dow Crag in the other direction

The Trig point and summit of OMC that so many budding mountaineers have conquered !!

Just to point out that the view to the left is the title photo ... depicting the Old Man of Coniston ... apologies to him as he was sat in the ... right place !!

There remained a small matter of getting down the mountain, I did give the idea of hitching a lift down to the car park a brief thought ......

..... but I was a little late !!

So I had to join the rest of the happy climbers on the rough slate descent route .....

"No Mother, I'm not walking any further " !

Grasmere, Cumbria

2011-11-03T15:20:00.001Z

Grasmere is one of the Central Lakes in The English Lake district. It is surrounded by hills and mountains including Loughrigg Fell to the south east in a previous post and overlooked in the title photo to the north west by Helm Crag.

(This post is a story of two days with the second half taken later at the end of the week on my way home. I decided to combine the Lake and the village into one as I felt that the strength of the village material wasn't good enough to stand on it's own for a couple of reasons .... I'll explain later)

As I was driving north from Ambleside on my way to do a hill walk, I noticed some magnificent reflections on Grasmere but as there was no-where to stop on the busy road, I had to continue on and use one of the Grasmere village car parks at £1:80 for the hour ... I was going to make sure that I got my moneys worth ! Unfortunately by the time I walked back the wind was starting to pick up and the reflections had started to disappear ... shame.

Not being one to be beaten about badly by a photographic situation, I decided to look for alternative material.

Found a stick to beat myself up with !!!

more sticks !! ... Jetty and picnic table

Lakeshore colours

As there were only so many photos I could take it was time to use up the hour with a sometimes light hearted look at some nearby William Wordsworth material ....

Dove Cottage

William Wordsworth the poet lived in this former public house (early 1600's) for 9 years from 1799 to 1808 during which time he wrote poems such as Ode to Duty, My heart leaps and I wandered lonely as a cloud. Wordsworth married in 1802 and three children later had to move to a larger house in Grasmere and subsequently Rydal Mount a few miles further south.
The cottage was sold to a literary friend, Thomas De Quincey, who seemed to attract just as much interest with his private life as what Wordsworth did.
The Wordsworth Trust managed to achieve possession of the building in 1890 with a view to preserving the Wordsworth heritage. About 70, 000 people visit the site each year....

The peaceful Wordsworth Trust !!

"I wandered lonely as a cement mixer !" ... building site tours optional, hard hats provided ... free of charge if you can justify your visit on Health and safety grounds !!

The Garden

Wordsworth Street ... awaiting the coach parties ...

Mass visitor entrance ... " I wandered lonely as a crowd" !!

The Church of Wordsworth's burial

Moving on to part 2 of the post and Grasmere village (on a later day in the week) where it would have been difficult to choose a title image and the light was particularly unkind to me in most of the shots.

On the other side of the road from the church is the small National Trust shop which is located on a difficult road bend with no path on that side. Consequently to my shame I realise that it is a building that I have never entered although as you can see it is best observed from this side of the road. It also incorporates a small information centre and would seem like a good place to start a visit to Grasmere village but as it is located half way between two of the main car parks, visitors tend to get "lost" in some of the other shopping attractions first. The early history of this building is a little vague but the earliest recorded resident was living here during the 1660's and was later converted to an Inn which William Wordsworth occasionally patronised.

Eh ? where are all the people ?

Back across the road, next to the churchyard, one of Grasmere village's traditions for the tourist other than Wordsworth is a visit to the Gingerbread shop. The recipe invented remains unique and secret and is unlike any other textured gingerbread that you will ever taste. Sarah Nelson had a hard life in the 19th century as a top cook and marriage to a farm labourer and part time grave digger didn't solve her financial problems. Fortunately for her at the height of the mid 19th century Victorian tourist boom, she was encouraged to sell her wares to the passing visitors.

...oh they've arrived !

Before Sarah died, the recipe was passed on to her niece partnering with another male family member who in turn sold the business to his nephew in 1969. The shop remains much the same today as what it was in 1854 with the exception of the attire of the visitors !!

Just around the corner Wordsworth's solicitors may be preparing a plagiarism case for use of Wordsworth's signature & the words "The loveliest spot that man hath ever known" ! I'm sure it's a lovely Hotel & hope it lives up to "what it says on the tin" but my years of Lake District accommodation experience prove that Grasmere village attracts a different sort of customer and the thought in my head every time I pass this sign is to convert "loveliest" to "dearest" ... and that might keep the solicitors at arms length for a while !!

From the beginning of the mid 19th century Victorian tourist boom, Artists have been visiting The Lake District to capture a landscape that their mentors had inspired them with. These days the landscape lovers come to Grasmere mainly to appreciate the art of (Alfred) Heaton Cooper who began to display and sell his work at the turn of the 20th century. His son (William) Heaton Cooper continued the great family art name up to the present by building the current studio in 1938. It would appear that the present generation have carried on the family name although not in the landscape speciality that their ancestors are famous for. As I thought it unfair to photograph copyright material, so consequently I took a sneaky general photo from the doorway. I've given one example each of their work via a link under their name above.

Those that can't afford the Heaton Cooper prices or feel they they need to buy if they enter can sit on a seat across the road and ..... errr .... enjoy the view of the studio instead knowing that their money for evening meal is safe !!

These days the artist in everyone at Grasmere get their camera's or phones out to capture this view from the bridge across the stream.

From the above two images you can see that drinking tea whilst observing beautiful scenery is for those who choose not to capture the moment !

Just to the left of the Heaton Cooper studio is a sign post that I did not notice before. In the English Lake District, there is a definite divide amongst the visitors, hillwalkers or tourists although the dividing line in my case is a little blurred as this observation and comment shows. The former use Grasmere as an expensive car park while the latter in some cases choose not to read a map at their peril !!

Lastly, after all that walking around, it's time to buy a few souvenirs and gifts to take home while the rest of the family continue to relax and wait outside patiently ...

Cold Pike and Crinkle Crags (2816 ft / 859m)

2011-10-20T14:45:00.004+01:00

After the introductory walk from the previous post (Loughrigg Fell), I was ready to do something a bit more serious with the above image showing some of this walk's targets from near the start. The undulating Crinkle Crags at the centre with Great Knott protruding from the horizon on the left. The ascent was diagonally to the far left with the descent route down the green rounded ridge of "The Band" in the right hand side of the photo.

Even though this clockwise walk at the head of Langdale valley was based on a one I did back in July 1996 when I climbed all of the Wainwright Mountains and Hills in a 10 year period, the motivation for this walk was to cover the unconquered lesser known tops of Great Knott and some of the sub summits of Cold Pike.

On leaving the Old Dungeon Ghyll car park, it is always a joy to take in the sights ......

.... and sounds of the Langdale valley. The unconventional view of The Langdale Pikes is always prominent in the background.

A working farm ... Stool End

... and some bits that don't work !!

It was time to leave civilisation behind and head for the mountains. The route up was right to left in front of the dark crag heading for the horizon at the left hand side of the photo. First objective was the top of Great Knott on the left of the photo.

The view from there looking back to where the last photo was taken and The Langdale valley. The Helvellyn and Fairfield mountain ranges are on the horizon towards the left and centre respectively.

Crinkle Crags from Great Knott

Crinkle crags is made up of five individual rocky crinkles that become a mountain range on their own that stretch between Cold Pike and Bowfell. Wainwright describes them as ".... too good to be missed. For the mountaineer who prefers his mountains rough, who likes to see steep craggy slopes towering before him into the sky, who enjoys an up and down ridge walk full of interesting nooks and corners, who has an appreciative eye for magnificent views, this is a climb deserving of high priority. .... Crinkle Crags merits respect and should be treated with respect. "

Firstly though, I had an appointment to keep with Cold Pike and I endeavoured to keep my boots dry in this a generally pathless terrain from the main footpath.

Having failed at that task with my right boot anyway ( I need a new pair !), I had some of the locals either looking or smiling at my misfortune !

I met a family had struggled to the top of Wrynose pass with their car and climbed the shorter route to the top. Apart from the father, most of the family didn't want to walk any further which included their dog. Mind you at this point in the day, Crinkle Crags in the distance doesn't look too appealing !

The weather was kind to me as I reached the main summit although the cloud to the left was never very far away. There are two routes from the south side, one is the walkers route that you can see skirting around and up to the summit on the extreme left and the other is a classic scrambling and aspirational rock climbers route called ... The Bad Step.

Not so classic ascent !!

After a lunch break and traversing the rest of the Crinkles, I had 15 minutes to take in one of my favourite mountain locations at Three Tarns with Scafell Pike and Scafell providing the eerie backdrop. As the weather didn't look promising at this point, I retreated from the mountain tops down The Band to the gentleness and calm of Langdale...

Farmer's rest at Stool End

"Peace in the valley"

"The Band"

After the long and seemingly unending walk, The pub of Old Dungeon Ghyll was a welcome sight beside the car park where I could relax for a bit, but I would have much preferred to take it a step further !!! .....

(Have a great weekend, I'm away for five to six days, I'll start catching up with your blogs at the end of next week)

Loughrigg Fell 1099ft/335m

2011-10-13T00:15:00.001+01:00

Loughrigg Fell is one of the smaller Fells in the Lake District which A.W. Wainwright once quoted as being the fell that had a wealth of interests and delights, for many people who now find pleasure in walking over the greater mountains, it served as an introduction and inspiration.

(The above view from the summit looking west is of the Langdale Pikes to the right with Bowfell and Crinkle Crags moving around the horizon to the left.)

This is usually thought of as an opening walk for an Ambleside based hillwalking holiday, which I was on, although it is still considered as a pleasant enough hill climb for those unaccustomed to the higher Fells.

See if you can spot the head. It's not meant to be but me being me ... I found one !!

The walk began from Ambleside commenced in Rothay Park and although I had done this walk some time before, there was one noticeable new feature in the shape of the Sculpture named "Turning point". This was unveiled in July 2000 and contains a newly buried time capsule.

On the far side of the park, there was a short climb on a tree lined lane and on reaching the open countryside, the Fell was noted on the right.

Even though the route to the summit seemed unending, the walk was not difficult with a variety of scenery on way including views to the south of distant Windermere.

It took 90 minutes to reach the summit from my B&B in Ambleside and it was a place where everyone enjoyed the view !!

"Smile"

The view to the south of Windermere & the title shot looking west to Langdale valley is supplemented with Grasmere to the north and a chance for people to replicate calendar scenes that they may have seen on their kitchen wall !

The serious part of the walk is the descent towards Grasmere & Loughrigg Terrace but with views above of the ever increasing Grasmere, who can complain about this.

On my return route I decided to stay high away from Rydal water in order to cover Rydal caves, an amazing geological feature created by the extraction of stone by quarry men 200 years ago. It is said that the whole population of Ambleside could fit inside this cave. I'm not quite sure how that would work as most of the surface is covered in water.

Dangers lurking in the deep !!

One of the most photographed subjects on Rydal water is this boat house. It is often seen by motorists driving southbound on the main Keswick to Ambleside road, but once seen, is impossible to stop. Consequently having seen it on numerous occasions in beautiful conditions and ... otherwise, this was a rare opportunity to photograph it albeit from a distance and without the picturesque reflections.
Rydal Water has provided inspiration for the poets and writers William Wordsworth, Sir Walter Scott and Samuel Coleridge with Rydal Mount and Nab Cottage being nearby.

I made a little de-tour to check out some buildings next to the main road in Wordsworth country. The above building is at the bottom of the lane that leads to Wordsworth's Rydal Mount.

Lake District church architecture nearby

I crossed back over the road and continued my walk on quieter lanes back to Ambleside only to be stopped, tempted and be succumbed by my favourite ice cream ....

English Lakes Ice Cream .... Blackcurrant and cheesecake

Ambleside, Cumbria

2011-10-03T21:48:00.000+01:00

The town of Ambleside at the North end of Lake Windermere is one of the main hiking, walking and tourist centres in the southern half of The English Lake District. The above photo of The 300 year old Bridge House is the classic image that marks the town.
It's original use was a river crossing over The Stock Ghyll with a room upstairs to store Apples from the orchards of Ambleside Hall.
Later it had connections to the mill industry for a short time before becoming a home to a furniture craftsman called 'Chairy" Rigg. His wife and six children lived in this two roomed house that was deemed luxury at the time. Other 20th century uses were a shoe repairer, an antique dealer and a plant seller. In 1926 a group of early preservationists including Beatrix Potter's husband bought the unique building and donated it to The National Trust for all to enjoy. In 1956 it became The National Trust's first visitor information centre.

21st century use of water !!

(I was a bit unsure of what to post next from the three threads available to me and decided that I didn't want to continue with yet more Glasgow material or start a major variety topic from this year ... I'll start that in January when material is a bit thin on the ground.... inversely proportional to the white stuff !! These next few posts depict 5 days at the end of July with Ambleside being my Bed & breakfast base at Kingswood B & B.)

Stock Ghyll

There seems to be a constant tension with regards to shopping in the town. Each year another outdoor and walking shop seems to open their doors to the public while the traditional establishments that have survived for years battle on ...

tea shop

souvenirs

Pub food

Much to the pleasure of the local resident, the intermediate satisfaction of the tourist and disgust of the walker is an unexpected Lake District enterprise. Hayes Garden World at the south end of the town is a different kind of outdoor centre with additional indoor retail opportunities to please a wide range of visitors on a rainy day.

Keeping an eye on business !!

Awaiting the menu

Throwing light on the ever increasing number of outdoor shops

A mountain to climb ?

... even the seats are talking about it !!

During the week, there was little opportunity to visit Lake at Windermere at the south side of the town, but it was a relaxing walk after evening meal on one occasion. I thought I would take the camera ...

Boats settling ....

... down for the night

Time to think about ...

... heading back to the B & B ...

... and be welcomed by Skip !! ...

.. and to make sure I get a good nights rest so that my eye is alert for things to look out for tomorrow ...

Newcastle upon Tyne ... post 100

2011-09-20T00:48:00.000+01:00

Although many of you reading this blog have long past this milestone, in recent weeks it is proving to be a greater achievement for me than first meets the eye. I thought I'd celebrate the occasion by .... staying at home, but more of that later !!
Coming from this area, one would think that my photo library would be large but if you know me by now you will know that I'm never very much at home in my spare time on saturdays.
The best place to start is with some early history and something from the engineering world demonstrating the achievements of the industrial heritage.

The name of the city is taken from the Castle Keep that towers above the River Tyne. The site once hosted a Roman fort centuries earlier that was part of Hadrian's wall, the northern outpost of the Roman Empire for some time. It is interesting to note that the Roman Government deemed the settlement of lesser importance due to it's distance from Rome ... and a contemporary comparison of citizens of South East England, where all eyes look southwards for the sun, think that either Newcastle is still in production and excavation of ships and coal respectively !! A few more consider the cities proximity to Scotland as weight to believing where the heritage lies. The Geordie dialect probably originates from a variety of Scandinavian countries (Angles) and parts of Germany (Saxons) and is generally unintelligible to the afore mentioned people. Maybe I could cheekily suggest that one of the reasons why the Roman Empire collapsed was their inability to deal with the weather and .. the hardy people :-) A contemporary comparison would be found on a friday night in The Bigg market as the youth celebrate the end of the working week probably wearing a lot less than the Roman soldiers did !!

As the centuries passed by a wooden castle was erected by William the conqueror's son to replace the desolate remains of the Roman structure in 1080 AD.

Norman's door !!

William like his Roman predecessors, was concerned about the threat of attack from the Scots. This in turn was later replaced with a stone castle by Henry II in 1177.

The main room is the castle, which houses an exhibition of different styles of existing architecture of Newcastle down through the ages, was not built with the photographer in mind !! ... and this is the only possible shot available. I did however find an interactive link that can rotate the room to give you a better idea....
http://www.castlekeep-newcastle.org.uk/keepvirtualtour/great_hall.htm

The Queen's Chamber

One of the great features of the building is how all the floors are linked together with a complicated staircase formation down one side of the Castle. During the construction period, a staircase on the opposite side of the building was left unfinished due to an invasion by The King of Scotland. It is not very photogenic but interesting to see nonetheless.

The basement floor on the street level contains a soldiers garrison and an old chapel with ornate Norman arches.

( When I was allowed to visit the city centre as a young teenager with some of my friends, we had great fun on a couple of occasions playing Hide and Seek until the curator discovered that our interest was not historical !! )

Great fun !!

Profile of ancient Newcastle ... Castle Keep and St Nicholas Cathedral, Ghost walks hunting for "The Black Shadow" or ... the house of the grim curator that threw us out many years ago !!

The Black Gate was an entrance to the Castle that was later added in 1250 with Portcullis, drawbridge and the works completing the Motte and Bailey of The Norman Castle, not quite like today's wooden footbridges. The upper floors were rebuilt in the Middle ages giving it ... a more homely feel !!

The name of the gate originated in this period by a merchant trader who was a tenant at the time called Patrick Black. The building then developed and expanded into a small housing estate including a public house and by the late 19th century, the overpopulated dwellings needed extensive restoration to preserve it for future generations.

The modern Scottish Army arrives at ... platform 3... with shopping bags !!

In the mid 19th century, The railway did what many previous Scottish Kings couldn't do and that was to drive right through the Castle grounds splitting the Black Gate from The Keep. The view above taken from the top of The Castle Keep towards Newcastle Central station is the opposite image of the title shot in my biographical post 50 (birth and early journey of a blog). The railway junction was once the largest railway crossing in the world before the car park replaced six platforms and the later re-modelling of the track at the time of electrification (1992).
The above machinery, the class 91 electric locomotive with a potential top speed of 140mph / 225km/h, is my trusty steed for York and Glasgow with occasional trips as blog followers will know to Edinburgh, Peterborough and London.

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This leads me nicely into a half time blog break and an opportunity to thank all you followers and commenters that keep me posting here. In recent summer months it has been increasingly difficult for me to keep up to date with the blog due to countless other reasons. During July, I was rarely at home (don't know how I managed to post), August was meant to be the month to do the garden and cut huge hedges but a few other things emerged in addition to the British August weather !! I started making inroads into the work during September and consequently the publication of this post makes it the longest gap for me on blogger since I signed up. On a side note, I additionally appreciate all your support as I am finding with the Google hits I get, the information has to be verified, accurate and a post cannot be written in one night. To be fair, I try to follow other regular blogs throughout the rest of the week and sometimes feel that with other commitments and a full time erratic shiftwork career that posting and following once a week is occasionally too frequent for me in the format that I do. I think I have admitted defeat on replying in my comments section but I will endeavour to answer any questions in the comments section or by e-mail.
I decided on the blog concept for a number of reasons beginning with a mixture of tourist, photography and walking posts but there is a greater meaning to it that is developing although is often obscured by my long solo trips to Scotland, Wales and The Lake District. One reader came very close to discovering what it was all about with my reply in the comments section and hopefully I have a variety of material from this year to continue with shortly.

Once again, as in post 50 it is my mini award ceremony (blogs 51 - 99) ....

Wind @ photographis. Adrian @ adriansimages and Judy @ cranberrymorning are the three very different people who provide me with inspiration in numerous ways to continue with this process. Each of them know exactly what it is that I want from them and their blogs ... long may it continue.

Farmchick @ its a small town life, JoLynne Lyon @ mountain lyon and Duta @ places with character all deserve a special mention for the dedication in following my blog. These three seemed unlikely characters for me to follow at first but I have gradually found out over the months that each have interesting things to talk about and portray.

In the travel section traveling hawk (outstanding dedication to blogging and following), Joo @ Urban stories (just joo) (mainly European photography travels that inspire some of my more specialised photographic interests) , Rafael @ Rafael Lam's Travel & Photography World (the image quality is unbelievable), Phivos @ travelling (My personal holiday brochure).

Always enjoyable for a variety of interest, fun, art and photography are rizalenio, Monika @The Bitch is back, george the lad and luzias art.

I can't forget a special mention to the one who introduced me to blogger in the first instance, my work colleague and early blog mentor ... primrose patch.

The new arrivals are midwest to midlands, cheries place and Ola @ daleka droga. The first two inspire with their photography while the third is the very latest addition to my interest.

I wouldn't want to miss out Sciarada (Anima mundi), Purple Traveller, Brian Walking, Greg (Backpacking), Walkies and Cheesecake, forget me not and Sweet Virginia Breeze. These are accessed by the side bar in addition to any others listed in that column that mean something to me from the 90 official followers that I have.

The new blogger page views make interesting reading too even though I am a small fish in the blog world. There is a battle royal going on for top spot with Banksy about to overtake tourism !!

Glasgow (2010 post) 629
Banksy v Bristol museum 606

Fenwick's Christmas window 324

Durham in Winter 280
Ingleton Waterfalls walk 248
St Conans church, Loch Awe 243
Post 50 238
Bristol Maritime 231
Hawes, Yorkshire Dales 228
Scarborough, Yorkshire 215
Lumley Castle, Co Durham 214
York arrival 206
York @ night 204
York Alleyways 201

From the remaining stats, half have hit the 100 mark. On the other hand, the early posts of Bell Busk and Lincoln managed the grand total of 7 each. The Lincoln statistic was particularly disappointing as it gave me the basis of my style but I have learned to name drop a few things in order to achieve recognition in the google search engine. Lastly it may surprise readers to know that the London post only achieved 24 page views although the last image of platform 9 and 3/4 in Kings Cross station amassed 200 image hits proving that the entertainment of Harry Potter is of more interest than major tourist destinations.... anyway I set out to prove that there was more to the UK than London :-) ... and it is meant to be a light blog even though I have to tell myself off for making it too serious and detailed at times ... ha ha !

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The Swing Bridge stands on the site of the original historic bridge that crossed the River Tyne river back in Roman times that was replaced in the 13th and 18th centuries. The major problem with the previous bridge was the inability of boats to access the upper reaches of the River Tyne's navigable waters during the industrial revolution.

It was in the interest of Lord Armstrong to design a bridge that rotated 90 degrees to allow the passage of large river traffic to a factory that he owned in this stretch of the water. This would allow his products to be shipped downstream and delivered to his customers.

Dwarfed ... by Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge and The Tyne Bridge

At first, these items were specially developed and innovative hydraulic equipment that later turned into naval armoury and eventually warships due to unsettled international problems. Lord Armstrong was an influential businessman of North East England who has left his mark on a number of regional sites such as Bamburgh Castle and Cragside House.

Engine room

The Engineering genius decided to put his hydraulic technology to good use by creating the bridge in 1873. Although the bridge was originally capable of a 360 degree swing, the historic preserved structure only does a 90 degree turn these days once a week on Sundays at 12 noon coinciding with the River charter boat tours.

This allows the structure to stay in working order. The bridge is only open to the public who pre-book on the heritage open doors weekend (2nd saturday in September) The internal photo was taken with symmetrical image of bridge ...12th september 2009, all other riverside shots ... 23rd July 2011 and Castle Keep / Black Gate ... 10th September 2011.

Enough walking and talking, it's time to go and get a cup of tea from ....... my cafe :-) ....

........... in the 1835 City Centre Grainger market ......

Glasgow, The River Clyde

2011-09-07T13:44:00.000+01:00

Like most river cities, life in Glasgow started with shipbuilding and the associated trans Atlantic shipping trade. These days preserved relics from the past stand alongside contemporary structures in the stretch of river that the tourist board want to promote most.
As an introduction to the way Glasgow has become popular with the tourist trade and the way it looks today particularly down by the riverside, the one event that breathed new life into the city was the 1988 Garden Festival with it's 4,300,000 visitors to a site adjacent to scenes portrayed here. As a result, there was a renewed awareness of Glasgow and a natural progression to becoming the European city of Culture in 1990.

( Following on from my last post, I decided to walk back to the city centre rather than take the underground subway in order to take in some of the sights in this post. )

The 1932 Finnieston Crane stands 50 metres tall and 77 metres wide as a symbol to the past glories of shipbuilding and engineering of the past. The capability it had for lifting up to 175 tons was used for lifting Glasgow built steam railway locomotives onto ships for export.

The 2006 Clyde Arc in contrast is a contemporary bridge with an unusual and interesting curved road, (nicknamed as The Squinty Bridge) that I need to re-visit photographically due to the traffic conditions at the time of day.

In 2008, the bridge was closed for two weeks while investigations were carried out into the failure of one of the supports and cracks in a second one. It was concluded that the bridge was safe and that single supports could be removed for maintenance. I was happy to cross it on foot .... keeping one eye up in the air !

At home !

P.S. Waverley, the last seagoing Paddle steamer in the world, began it's life in 1947 and after much of it's life plying it's trade as a leisurely scenic extension from a railway pier in Craigendoran in The Firth of Clyde, retired from normal service in 1973.
During the 1960's, passenger numbers dropped gradually due to Glaswegians deciding to spend their holiday money elsewhere. Although Caledonian MacBrayne have kept the ferry business buoyant on The Firth of Clyde until the present day (although not without some current Gourock / Dunoon issues ! ), a decision had to be taken at the final company merger in 1973 to dispense with the great ship. Having become too expensive to run, the steamer could not be given away and was sold to The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society in 1974 for a legal nominal fee of £1 !! Despite contracts being drawn up that the ship would never act as competition for the newly merged ferry company,"Cally Mac"(or CalMac) and the PSPS both thought that the ship would probably end up being a museum piece. Numerous financial grants over decades and a large supporting membership of the PSPS are trying to ensure it's future, but it's typical tour later in the year for excursions in The Bristol Channel, South coast and Thames Estuary is once again in doubt as the company have only raised half of the money that they have identified for the immediate future.

Money to burn !

My own memories of the vessel consist of numerous sightings going up and down The Firth of Clyde when I spent five summer holidays there as a small boy. The most memorable and sad occasion was when we went for an outing to Dunoon on a smaller charter boat and seeing it sat marooned on a group of rocks a little way from the Pier in 1977.
I had to wait until August 1988 when I was fortunate enough to afford a day rail / boat excursion from Newcastle from the not so delightful Troon docks to Brodick on The Isle of Arran ( I did say that they weren't allowed to compete with Ferry routes !!). It was a very memorable moment when a trainload of people stood behind the pier wall sheltering from the howling wind catching a glimpse of the boat in the distance coming across the almost ocean like entrance of The Firth of Clyde... with it's paddles lifting out of the water as it rocked from side to side !!
My second and most recent trip in late 2003 was an idea that my Bristol connection had of a more sedate sunday afternoon trip around the two bird sanctuary islands of Flat Holm and Steep Holm in The Bristol Channel.
It was good to catch up with it here for my last sighting in April 2010 as it was preparing for the busy summer and autumn season.

Nostalgia .... Where have I seen this before ?!!

There were several National Garden Festivals held around the UK during the 1980's and early 1990's in order to revitalise and promote development to the run down and problem areas of specifically chosen towns and cities by the Government of the day (Liverpool, Stoke, Glasgow, Gateshead and Ebbw Vale). Although the actual festival sites have usually in the short term been unsuccessful in their outcome, the promotion and success of some of these places has been an outstanding success. Having once lived in a modern house for six years adjacent to one of these sites, I was shocked to discover that after 22 years, large parts of this site in Glasgow remains largely overgrown and unsold.

Time to reflect on development and growth !

The land next to the banks of The River Clyde however is much sought after and is the premier location for starting the redevelopment of this site back in 2000 with the building of the futuristic looking Glasgow Science centre, IMAX cinema and .... Glasgow Tower !!
The £10 million Tower with it's two lift elevators and emergency staircase has the ability to rotate with the wind and consequently is the tallest structure in the world to do so. Unfortunately due to the complex nature of the tower, it has been be-set with technical problems and closed to the public on 3 lengthy occasions for at least 5 years of it's life since construction in 2001. On one occasion during January 2005, it took five hours to rescue the occupants from one of the lift elevators.

With it's history ... you wouldn't get me going up there !!

Standing next to the historic Finnieston Crane, The Clyde Auditorium on the North side of the river is a 3000 seat concert hall built in 1997 otherwise affectionately known as The Armadillo.

Although the unique looking structure may look like an animal from a distance, it is meant to show several upturned boat hulls representing the shipbuilding history on this site.

Concert goers reflect on their overnight accommodation at The Hilton

Lastly, I end up back in the city centre a famous shrine to some for shopping and another lesser known shrine to the hard hat workers of past and present that made the city what it is today !

Glasgow - House for Art Lovers

2011-08-29T01:06:00.000+01:00

For those who can remember my previous Glasgow post from November last year will know that there is a bit of rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh jostling for pre eminence !! I opted for this set here to re - dress the balance of the previous post with some more historical images taken three weeks after the Edinburgh set on 12th April 2010. In the next few posts I intend to show the much underrated qualities of Glasgow and that's not just because both of my parents and all their family originated from the western side of central Scotland ;-)

The House for Art Lovers is situated next to a Victorian walled garden in Bellahouston Park on the south west edge of the city. It was quite a walk from Ibrox tube station and needed a good street map.

The origins of this house are most unusual in that it was originally designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1901 with building work commencing in 1989 !!

Mackintosh's style

A German magazine at the turn of the 20th century held a competition to design a house possibly with a modern twist.

The entry submitted by Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a little late and consequently incomplete by the deadline date and therefore disqualified. However the plans received a special recognition award but unfortunately were never acted upon.

In 1987 a civil engineer (Graham Roxburgh) and an architect (Andrew Macmillan) finally realised the dream to plan the project by choosing the site in Bellahouston Park. The building of the house commenced in 1989 and finally opened 1996 after the traumas of a financial recession when work on the building was stopped for a period of time.

Time for Dinner ... "pass the salt please dear" !!

The plans of the house included the internal decor and furniture which his wife Margaret MacDonald assisted him with.

The Main Entrance Hall although a little dark plays tricks with the eyes as small stained glass windows entice the visitor into the next room (A trait that was used often to confuse and stimulate students in The Glasgow School of Art).

On opening the music room doors, the Mackintosh style is to impress the visitor with the contrast of light from the large windows.

Fireplace design

Unusual comfort in the ... Ikea chairs !

Unusual early 20th century keyboard

The Oval room which includes the shape of the window, cupboards and fireplace was designed for the After Dinner Ladies conversation.

Although mainly a visitor attraction, the building is also used for corporate events, piano concerts and weddings. The house is currently of a shortlist for the "Best Unusual Venue Award" in Scotland.

It was time for me to find my walking feet again and drag them back into the city centre ....

Edinburgh, Scotland

2011-08-22T22:50:00.000+01:00

Even though Edinburgh is a little over two hours away by car and a bit less by train, it might come as a shock to readers to know that I don't often visit this place as I am always unfortunate enough to encounter rain. I will be coming up to a milestone in this blog shortly and I may risk becoming more biographical once again ... for a moment, so I thought I would take the opportunity of digging into my pre blog unseen images archive to show where I came from photographically. It has to be said at this point that I had to motivate myself to show you this set as many people will be expectant of many great tourist exhibits here. You never know, one day I may return and do these buildings some justice.

All rails lead to Waverley station

From experience, the only way to arrive in Edinburgh is by train and although for a long period of time the rail fares were expensive, I was inspired to look up internet fares by a female work colleague who was organising a girlie London weekend. For those that have followed my journey for a while, this was the first trip out in a difficult few months following the termination of my south western travels. Although you have never seen these images before and it is not quite the inspiration for starting my blog journey (that was another colleague), it was what was needed for me to re-commence my own journey ... albeit a trip around a few fringe second hand CD shops south of the city centre today !

No parking ... or rather that's what people think of it !

The National Gallery of Scotland also seen in the title image was built in 1859 and is the official home of the Scottish Art collection. It overlooks Waverley railway station.

No light on Edinburgh Castle here !!

It stands in the gap between the historic old town on the hill which includes Edinburgh Castle and the more modern shopping area which includes the famous Princes street as its ... promenade.

All tourists are drawn to the Old town for obvious reasons and whichever way that is chosen from the numerous options, the result of tiredness is always the outcome !!

Trendy Cockburn Street

The fashionable Cockburn street is by far the gentler option both on the legs and the eyes.

Vantage point improving with height

Throwing light on unknown Edinburgh

After my exploration of the southern suburbs of Edinburgh with it's second hand music and book stores, it was time to return to something a bit more familiar ...

Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby was a terrier in the late 19th century who spent 14 years until his own death in 1872 guarding his master's grave. In 2011 a senior lecturer from Cardiff University tried to disprove the story and inferred that it was a cheap tourist stunt.

I wonder if he believes this

Back on the Royal Mile (the road that descends from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace), the mix of entertainment and tourism are in full swing ...

"Yes, I really am Mel Gibson, I mean ... William Wallace"

Anyone seen this before ?? !!

... There are certain souvenirs that the discerning tourist would prefer ...

Others ... maybe not !!

Unusually, there are hard earned opportunities for the photographer here

Following the crowds into the Castle

I didn't leave myself enough time for the Castle today and the ticket queue was too long at this time of day, so I just enjoyed the view down to Princes Street, the newer town, The River Forth and The Kingdom of Fife in the background.

It was time to head back out ...

... through the arch ...

... and back down those steps ...

... to Scott's Monument

After the death of the writer Sir Walter Scott, there was a decision taken to hold a competition to design a monument in his memory. An unknown and self taught architect, George Kemp, was successful in his bid to build the 200 feet (61metre) high structure. It was unfortunate that Kemp did not see the completion of the four year project in 1844 as he himself had a fatal accident on his way home from the building site.

The monument is virtually adjacent to the railway station so it was time for me to take off and disappear from Edinburgh once again ...

Liverpool, Merseyside.

2011-08-15T22:28:00.005+01:00

Following on from the previous post, I travelled north up the Wirral Peninsula from Port Sunlight and under the River Mersey via the Birkenhead Tunnel to arrive in the City of Liverpool for the final chapter in this series.

(I was looking at going on an organised day tour of the city about six weeks after this set was taken but it wasn't working out at all. I found a cheap train fare but connection times in York were poor and hotel accommodation was expensive in the city centre.)

I had an idea while I was in Port Sunlight to join the motorway home via a small diversion to visit Liverpool, instead of retracing my journey back to Chester. The only problem was that I didn't have a street map and I was relying heavily on my memory from eight years before when a friend who lived in Warrington, at that time, showed me around.

(The weather turned nasty in this two hour visit and I had to run back to the car in a severe rainstorm.)

The road into Kings Dock (overlooked by the 20th century Cathedral)

Thankfully, my sense of direction took me to the car park that we used on that day (Kings Dock) albeit upgraded from what seemed like a building site to something more suitable for the 800th anniversary of the City in 2007 and The European Capital of Culture in 2008.

"Duck-bus" ... on land ....

... and water ( "We all live in a yellow duck marine" )

At this point, I feel that readers of this blog would be expecting me to constantly repeat myself waxing lyrical about how a certain site .... "had a roman fort that became a church and fought over in the middle ages and is now invaded by an army of tourists " !!!

The history of Liverpool is not like that at all, it is a little more dark and one that the locals would not be proud for be to repeat about the former European Capital of Culture. The area was established on the east side of the River Mersey in 1207 AD and remained quite small for about 500 years.

Harbour masters house.

The City began to grow and become a success as a result of the infamous slave trade which led to the shipping business developing into the movement of more conventional cargo by the 19th century.

History has a strange way of maybe not repeating itself here but ..."what goes around, comes around" as a result of an Irish famine in the mid 19th century and a housing act in 1919, Liverpool became overrun with immigrants.

St Georges Hall was built during the mid 19th century and the large neo classical building was ideal to host civic functions and receptions.

The adjacent square is the perfect location to celebrate the forgotten heroes of the past ...

.... and those that are remembered

Brothers together

The not so neo classical building that people would like to have seen toppled in the past !!

The 1969 Radio City Tower has had a chequered past of under utilisation and creativity. It's original purpose was to be a ventilation shaft for a nearby market, but with a strange turn of events it became a revolving restaurant. After a few valiant business attempts, the structure lay empty for at least 15 years. A £5 million pound renovation took place in 1999 and has since been used as a Radio station and more recently as a location to view in the City of Culture development.

One of the most famous buildings is The Royal Liver building constructed at the beginning of the 20th century. Legend states that if one of the two Liver birds fly away, the city will cease to exist. Notice how the bird is well secured ....

"Hey, Where's my mate ?" !!

Liverpool is more famous now for the music events of the 1960's of what was called a development of The Merseybeat or Beat music. In it's own way, it changed the direction of music ...

... and I thought that beat was only about guitars and drums .... not a seat !!!

It cost me money to photograph this !!

John Lennon of The Beatles ... stands in Mathew street ...

... thinking about some of his songs he wrote with Paul

Another group called Gerry and The Pacemakers gave the city another massive tourism boost by penning the song "Ferry across The Mersey" ...

"Passenger Terminals bigger than the boat ... do they know what's on the other side"!!

The ticket office and The "Mare - sey" (local accent !)

Hey, I'm first in the queue for my ticket !!

Mixing culture with theme park !!

Mixing culture with business park !!

"Now if I can just get these two buildings out of the way ... it'll be how I remember it !!! ....

Port Sunlight, Merseyside

2011-08-08T22:47:00.003+01:00

It was a long time ago as a young traveller that I noticed Port Sunlight from a train window on a journey from Southport to Chester. Even though I could only glimpse the perimeter of the village, it was enough to make me want to return to this amazing place. The journey home from North Wales (in the previous posts) was my opportunity of a lifetime as I have never visited this village before.

Following the invention of a soap manufacturing process by William Hough Watson, the Lever Brothers (William Hesketh Lever and James Darcy Lever) decided it was the business for them in 1885 and joined forces with the inventor to make the production of "Sunlight soap" a reality. After a few years in their small premises in Warrington, business took off in a big way and a larger factory was needed. A large marshy site became available to William Hesketh Lever and he named it Port Sunlight.

The bosses office ... better not park here !!

On my arrival it was difficult to find a car parking space due to being a residential area with a large craft fair taking place in key buildings. Once I found a place to park, my exploration and hunt for the Visitor Centre with no street plans to hand proved a little difficult and I seemed to discover a lot of sites first without the large fold out map. I guessed that the above building was the factory as the original external wall stretched to the left as far as the eye could see.

In order to get the best from his employees to make them healthy and happy, William Hesketh Lever who was concerned about the poor living conditions of the time and possibly through his early involvement with the Congregational church, had contacted 30 architects to design a village to house his workers from which he took rent through their wage packets. The social lives of the workers were often watched to ensure that they were reputable otherwise evictions and the loss of the job would occur.

As a result of this initial groundwork, over 900 houses in the village today are grade II listed.

The first architect to be employed on the Port Sunlight site was William Owen who designed the above row of houses completed in 1892. It is interesting to note that he worked for Mr Lever at his previous soap factory in Warrington. Owen went on to become a close friend and later a director for the company in 1897.

1892

Certain key buildings were completed in the previous year of 1891. The successful village shop extended it's business into a Post Office within three years of opening. It continued in that capacity right up until 2005 at a time when the Government were wanting to streamline the Post Office service by closing less profitable or branches nearer a more successful one. Thankfully someone spotted a business potential ....

New life to an old building !

The Gladstone Theatre was opened by the British Prime Minister of the same name in 1891. The building is literally across the the road from the Bosses office and was used as a lunch time dining room for the factory workers for about 20 years. Plans of a works canteen within the factory site came to fruition in 1910 and ....

... the building was converted into a theatre with occasional films being shown. The building as you can see is still in use today.

(... and the date of the show is a reminder of how far I am behind on this blog !!!)

A dual purpose building of both school and church was built over a period of two years and completed in 1896. Later in 1902 a separate church and school were built next door to each other several streets away. The Lyceum, as it was later re-named, found a new use as a as a staff training college in 1917 and is currently the village social club... it seemed like it was headquarters of todays craft fair !!

Although I haven't done the huge village pub much photographic justice due to the large amount of parked cars outside (the double yellow lines at the front helped... but my restricted viewpoint didn't !!), the story of it's history is just as interesting. It originally opened as an alcohol free Temperance house in 1900 and a close vote judged by Mr Lever a few years later revealed that the locals wanted more from the premises than soft drinks. A license was granted in 1903.

C H Reilly, a promising architect, oversaw his work on a row of cottages being completed in 1906 and mentioned in a letter to Mr Lever that he wished that they were further from the road with a village green. Nevertheless, his work around Liverpool in the following years earned him the OBE in 1920 and he became the Director of The Liverpool School of Architecture.

Green space ... Bowling Green

From a personal point of view, although my tour of the village provided a surprise around every corner, I was shocked at the scale of this project and the wide open spaces that seem difficult to comprehend for properties of that time. It is worth reminding ourselves at this point that to a manual worker in a factory in the early 20th century, these houses were like palaces for them.

Mr Lever believed that well spaced and good housing gave people the chance to be the best workers and something to be proud of. The flower and vegetable competitions in which entrants could display their talents are still held today during July after 115 years.

The girls club building was opened in 1913 and designed by the main architect of the village, J L Simpson. This was the building I was meant to find originally on my arrival which now houses the museum and makes plenty of noises about the past glories that I have echoed here.

"Making noises now outside the museum"

The centre piece of the village is a tree lined boulevard with houses running behind it. A war memorial built during and after World War I stands at one end.

The monument has a selection of figures on all sides and speak of the defence of the home looking after the women and children.

"Will he return ?"

At the other end of the centre piece is The Lady Lever Art Gallery which is another grand building designed by William Owen.

It was built and opened in 1922 by Mr Lever in memory of his wife who died in 1913.

Mr Lever believed that he could improve the lives of those who worked for him by providing opportunities that other contemporaries didn't have by helping them indulge in Art, Education, Industry and Charity.

This building was the final piece in Mr Lever's village Jigsaw but it is amazing to note it's location and importance in the site.

It is unfortunate that today was not a great one for learning about Art, Education ... , although I did have the place virtually to myself and ... helped with my art !! In the next post I'll try to discover where all the people are !!

House for sale !!

The business that Mr Lever left in good hands, Unilever, has in recent times been trying to preserve the legacy of the village. The company took a decision to sell 650 of the houses during the 1980's at a time when the Government allowed council houses to be sold to their tenants. Nearly all of them were grade II listed and are governed by strict planning rules that ensures the external historical decor. A Charitable Trust was set up to look after the remaining 250 houses in 1999 with financial backing from Unilever until 2017. The idea is that the village will achieve financial independence through the rent of these houses and halls. The Trust is also responsible for looking after the green spaces and so see that everything is in place....

One that was overlooked ... (Port Sunlight .... Merseyside !! )

Portmeirion, North Wales

2011-08-01T00:38:00.004+01:00

I've now moved down to Portmeirion situated on a river estuary in the North East corner of the Cardigan Bay. This is the last Welsh post in this particular series and hopefully I have saved the best till last. For those who have never heard of this place before, these images will come as quite a surprise and this is more of a photographic post than a historical one.

I had planned to split the day in two with Beddgelert in the morning and Portmeirion in the afternoon but the amount of locations I covered in Beddgelert meant I was severely lacking in time here. I arrived at about 3pm with sufficient time to see the village in just over 2 hours, but I was disappointed to find that the entrance fee was half price at 3:30pm. The last time I was here was in 1991 and today the weather was such that it could rain at any time so I had to press on.

The village was designed by Sir Clough William - Ellis and constructed commenced in 1925, taking 50 years to complete the project.

It is thought that the design was based around the Italian village of Portofino in Italy but Sir Clough always denied this and insisted that the influence was generally meant to be Mediterranean.

On entering the site, the visitor is met by a china shop selling the famous Portmeirion brand at reduced prices.

Just around the corner, there was a chance to stop and admire the view across the adjacent river estuary that flows into the Cardigan Bay...

... before walking through the colourful unofficial entrance to the main complex.

Arrival in the square

Ice cream shop

Seat for one or Architectural statement

Upstairs

Keep out !!

There are several buildings and walkways that the general public are not allowed to visit due to the area being allocated as self catering holiday cottages by a private company. Unfortunately this covered some of the best photographic locations.

Holiday destination !

A few images of the bold colours and unusual designs that blend into the village ...

Back of a shop

Window

Out of bounds !

A walk down onto the Beach gives a very commanding and picturesque view of the site ...

... with a hotel that was meant to be designed like a castle. The fictitious boat is made of stone and incorporated into the sea wall as a children's play area !

Italian Architecture on the Welsh coast !

Sea view seats

Time to leave the beach behind

Portmeirion has been used as a location for several films including a long running 1960's spy drama called The Prisoner. There is a small souvenir shop relating to the programme for ardent fans ... that remember it. Personally I haven't watched a complete episode yet !

An unpainted stone

Just before I leave there is an ideal opportunity to get a shot of the square from through a doorway

Oops, I strayed to the wrong side of it... I'd better be careful just in case the spy camera of the stony faced security guard is watching me or I might be captured and held as ... The Prisoner !!

Lastly, In order to curtail the number of images, I found the following video someone had shot while they were there. It gives an idea of how certain locations relate to each other and you may recognise alternative viewpoints to the images I took ...

Beddgelert, North Wales

2011-07-24T23:59:00.010+01:00

Beddgelert is a village in the North Wales countryside that I have passed through on a number of occasions and have never stopped here before. I decided to do a post from here for three reasons ... it is unheard of by many, there are a variety and interesting features here and it shows a typical North west Wales countryside. Unfortunately the sun came out later in the day on my return from the location of the next post (which incidentally will be a major editing headache for me) and I didn't have time to repeat all of them (just two of the last three).

My main reason for stopping here was to visit the Sygun copper mine, something that has been on my "to see" list since the last time I was in the area many years ago. The visitor centre sits on the hillside amongst the surrounding vegetation and rhododendrons that seem to make the place look attractive in a rugged landscape.

Copper transport !!

"we're going in " !!

Although the mine closed back in 1903, extensive internal work was done to turn in into a tourist attraction opening in 1986.

The mine was presented with an award by the Prince of Wales in 1988 for "the sensitive development of facilities" !!! Let's hope that the wheels don't come off it !!

no turning back

For the tour, hard hats were given out in the visitor centre as some of the tunnels were not for the tall and the self directed tour led me to a serious of numbered exhibits .....

... caverns (smaller than what you think)

After climbing many internal steps and ladders, the tour ends about 140 feet higher up the hillside ....

Opposite the copper mine in the centre of the valley is a rounded hill (Dinas Emrys) where the Romans built a fort. Legend suggests that King Arthur and Merlin are supposed to have had a castle here. On digging foundations to such a place, two dragons (one white and one red) were disturbed and fought on this site with the red one claiming victory and the prize of being displayed on the Welsh flag.

Another legend regarding the birth of the village is the tombstone of Gelert under a tree in a nearby field. The tombstone reads.... ( bear with me, it's a long one !!!)

"In the 13th century Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, "The faithful hound", who was unaccountably absent. On Llewelyn's return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The Prince alarmed hastened to find his son, and saw the infant's cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood. The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound's side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog's dying yell was answered by a child's cry. Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but near by lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain. The prince filled with remorse is said never to have smiled again, He buried Gelert here "

They say that things always come in three's ... stories difficult to believe that is !!! A round trip in 2011 on the Welsh Highland Railway cost's ... £32 (A price that I would expect to pay to go to London on the train or nearly 2 tickets to Glasgow). Another thing that is difficult to believe is that it is virtually an all day round trip from Caernarfon.

Commuter view ?!

Many of the narrow gauge railways in north & west Wales were originally designed for the transportation of slate from the hills to the coast. These days 7 or 8 of these railways have been transformed into preserved passenger tourist services. The Welsh Highland Railway is one of the most ambitious projects in recent times with the completion of over 20 miles of track in some of the most torturous hill country. I'm not up for giving a long history lesson on the line but more of a brief one ... the original track of 1863 was closed to passengers and goods in 1916 and 1922 respectively. A revived plan in the 1920's failed as the slate industry started to decline, buses were quicker and rolling stock was out of date. During the 1930's a tourist plan was hatched to travel to destinations unheard of (my fears for it today !!) with a second failure to it's name. The final nail in the coffin came in World War II when everything was sold off including the removal of the track.

letting steam off about the WHR !

Restoration was a long process that began in 1961 with difficulties and court cases over operating rights which involves disagreements and legal battles between the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railway. Just to complicate matters even further, I remember during my 1989/90 Welsh rail rover travels that there was another railway with the same name. This smaller railway has been re-named as the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway.

Amongst other unusual things, Beddgelert has been referred to as Alpine looking area and is the fictional setting for Rupert the Bear !!

Ty Isaf is a 17th century farmhouse now owned by the National Trust as it is the oldest house in the village and stands on the site of Llewelyn the Great, Prince of Wales's hunting lodge.

Lastly with a history confusing to the tourist, it seems ideal to have a shop in the country that looks remarkably like something one would find at the coast ... & not a Rupert Bear in sight ! ....

Carnedd Llewelyn (1062m) & Yr Elen (962m), Snowdonia, N Wales

2011-07-20T00:30:00.002+01:00

The idea of this trip to North Wales was to incorporate some hillwalking into the week. As you can see from previous recent posts, the photographic touristic carrot dangling in front of me seemed greater than to risk no photos up on top of a cloud covered mountain. This particular day, believe it or not was the best day available in the mountains.

As I was staying only a 10 minute drive from Bethesda, it seemed right to utilise this as a starting point for the walk. As this was the first and indeed the only walking I did in the week, I opted for something ... a bit gentle.
For the benefit of hillwalkers reading this ... if any ! ... I made a decision to avoid Carnedd Dafydd at the bottom of the map (a future target from Ogwen cottage to include Pen yr Ole Wen) in favour of Yr Elen which may seem isolated on it's own for another occasion. I have to plan these walks carefully as it's not often that I can come to this location .... with suitable weather ( I managed Elidir Fawr in 2002, Glyder Fach in 1997 and Snowdon in 1996, a poor return for the car mileage !!)

On leaving the edge of Bethesda (where incidentally I bought my sandwich every day at the Spar shop!!), I followed the road for a bit further past a few farms and out into the open countryside. The long gentle path down the valley reached was bordered by my targets for the day on the left and Carnedd Dafydd on the right.

At the end of the valley, the path somewhat disappears a little and becomes a faint track that goes off up the hill to the left. There was time to stare in awe at the imposing cliffs of Carnedd Dafydd.

.... and look back to the light shining on it's descending slopes to the right.

1950 air crash wreckage, Bethesda and Anglesey in the distance

A rescue helicopter on a training run up and down the valley. I was spotted and it turned to go back to base.

A bit more ascent and I had made it to the top of the second highest mountain in Wales for the first time. Notice the strip of water in the distance which is the Menai Strait.

From the safety of my lunch stop shelter. I noticed two walkers who had to shout at each other to make themselves heard as the wind was so bad.

Onwards towards the lesser summit, but by no means less spectacular of Yr Elen ...

... and the view under the cloud towards Menai and Anglesey

I took a slight de-tour without covering the summit of Carnedd Llewelyn again and re-joined the path at the aircraft wreckage to retrace my steps along the valley. There is a circular route back to Bethesda but didn't like the idea of getting my feet wet in the river today !!

Time for a last look at Yr Elen in the foreground, the dark shape of Carnedd Llewelen in the background and some other friends I met near the end ...

Caernarfon, North Wales

2011-07-13T23:51:00.001+01:00

The royal town of Caernarfon is situated on the Welsh mainland at the south west end of the Menai Strait.
( I spent a day and a few evenings here having a look and eating dinner twice)

It seems that the origin of town is based on it's natural resources in the Menai Strait area with subsequent military history and proximity to the Island of Anglesey. The Romans felt that they had conquered the celtic tribes of Wales at this point and similarly William the Conquerer felt the same way when he arrived 1000 years later. Both built military enclosures of varying and progressive standards as a statement of this achievement.

Later in the 13th century, a local ruler decided that he was going to rebel against English authority and Edward I decided to retaliate by conquering the north west corner of Wales and building the castle that is seen here today.

This was where Edward I ruled in North Wales and established his English style county name of Caernarfonshire in 1284, a name that lasted until 1974 when it reverted to the original name of Gwynedd.

The Castle became a bit neglected during the Middle ages when the Welsh were left to their own devices due to disagreements and battles to the more important matter of the English throne.

In more recent times of the 20th century, the historical town was defeated badly in a ballot to make it the capital of Wales.

Prince Charles had his investiture ceremony here on this plinth as the Prince of Wales in 1969

Throwing light on the subject !

The public house and the Island from the Castle

Way out

The town walls were built around the time of the Castle's construction at huge cost and seem to be in good order today

On one of my visits, I got mixed up in a photography group who were learning about light and processing taking photos of the sunset and floodlit buildings. I was past caring where my Bed and Breakfast host thought I was at 10:30 at night with 30 minutes drive back on top of that.

"No, I'd rather not look, I've seen it all before !!"

The Anglesey balcony and Island

A night in Harbour

The sun is setting on my amazing evening and it is time to make steps back to my accommodation .....

Beaumaris, Anglesey, North Wales

2011-07-07T21:47:00.001+01:00

Beaumaris is one of the principle towns on the Island of Anglesey and has a prominent and strategic position at the North East end of the Menai Strait.

(I was lacking inspiration here as these were taken during the last hour of a long day .... and I had to seriously motivate myself to publish this post over the last few days. There were two reasons for coming here, firstly it was a final destination to my journey looking for a coastal viewpoint in between the houses of Bangor Pier (earlier post - title photo) and secondly to show that there is a normal place on the island other than the previous post of Llanfair P.G. !)

North Wales coast from the sea front (Menai Strait to the right)

The name Beaumaris originated from French builders in the late 13th century who thought the town resembled a "beautiful marsh".

It may be surprising to know that when the castle was built in 1295, firstly the focus of the town moved a little to the south away from an old Viking village...

... and secondly, Edward I built a series of castles as a conquering English king to control the local Welsh people. It is interesting to think that on the face of it, these buildings nowadays promote Wales and everything Welsh even though after examination, it is an English building built by French workers !

Victoria Terrace, seafront

Joseph Hansom was a famous architect in town during the 19th century and was responsible for a few of the buildings. Unfortunately, this terrace was impossible to photograph from a distance as there were too many cars parked on the overflow car park in front so I present to you the essential house design instead.

Awaiting sentence in The Old Court house since 1614

Alleyway behind Court House

Otherway

The old Grammar school was established in 1602/3 by David Hughes whose story is a bit vague but it appears that he was born in the area, educated in Oxford and lived for a while in Norfolk. Circumstances would suggest that he left a legacy in the area where he was brought up providing free education both in his lifetime and in his will.

These days the authorities are not so keen that builders should indulge in such grand buildings but they seem to allow the multiple duplication of other turrets...

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Anglesey

2011-06-28T00:15:00.002+01:00

This village with it's famous railway station is known to the tourist as the longest official place name in Europe and possibly second longest in the world. As the name presents it's own problems, it is often shortened to Llanfairpwll or as I refer to it ... Llanfair PG. In that sense the meaning of the Welsh translation (St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool of Llantysilio of the red cave) is a little lost !

For obvious reasons, it is not one of my favourite places but I felt that blog readers would like to this curiosity a lot more than I would want to publish this tourist only post ! It was thought the name originated in the 1860's as a publicity stunt by an unknown shoe repairer in a nearby village. His plan worked !

Although the railway station is on the main Crewe - Holyhead ( North Wales Coast ) line, most people arrive here by road transport as only local trains stop here.

The other station ..... !!

In case you wondered whether people just came to see the railway station and the occasional small corner shop in the village, you would be quite wrong in thinking that. Someone in their great wisdom decided to open a tourist venue at the other end of the railway station car park. It is unfortunate in my opinion that this shop has the overall feel of a Scottish Woollen mill dressed up in "Welshness". To be fair some of the products are made in Wales but a lot originates from over the Scottish border.

Where more people sit on the other platform !! ..........

... thinking about destinations that "Arriva trains Wales" will never take you too !!

During Roman times, the Island of Anglesey was invaded possibly for the agricultural and fishing elements but the soldiers withdrew to fight against the army of Boadicea. Agriculture continued to be a major force in the local economy down the centuries where the residents worked on farms and in more recent centuries as tenants. Following the building of the two bridges across the Menai in the 19th century, traders arrived and business increased.

The Marquess of Anglesey's column

The Marquess of Anglesey was a title given to a member of the Paget family following bravery in the Battle of Waterloo and apart from overseeing some of the farms at that time, there was a monument built in his memory.

Time to ascend the steps inside and .......

....see the building where I paid my entrance fee......

.... and see the main road/rail entrance into Anglesey... or ... The floodgates of tourism and industry are open !!

The Britannia Bridge lived without much incident from it's construction in 1850 ( by Newcastle upon Tyne bridge builder Robert Stephenson) until 1970 when it suffered a serious fire. The bridge had originally a large box tubular structure containing a railway line but a fire seriously damaged it and as it was part of the integral structure, the bridge had to be virtually rebuilt with the arched supports sitting in the Menai. A road was later constructed on the upper deck to ease congestion on the Menai Suspension Bridge. There are still four huge stone lions that stand guard in each corner.

(As a point of interest, Bangor is to the left of this picture, my accommodation was in the centre of the picture on the slopes of the small foreground hill and I did one mountain walk which was the peak on the far left horizon.

I returned later in the week on Friday as I had no success on my last full day in searching for boxes of biscuits to take home as souvenirs. .... How do you know it's friday.... because all the coach tours are on there way home ready to pick up the next batch of tourists !! ....

The other empty friday platform to match the real one !

....and I have the whole shop to myself so as I can choose whatever I want ..... well, within reason ...