Midnight Mooring

Weymouth at night.

Quiet, still and calm. Even the water is static. Hardly any ripples, so you can see an almost perfect reflection of the boats, buildings and streetlights.

If only water was like that all the time.

Finished For The Day

A photographer friend of ours called Stewart put a photo on Facebook the other day that he had taken of a stormy coastal scene at Canvey Island. It included some upturned boats in the foreground and a lighthouse in the distance. And very nice it was too.

So here's my version of the scene. The rowing boats on Highfields Lake with one of the university's buildings peaking through the trees. Sadly not the seaside. But the next best thing.

Review Of The Year - March & April

Most of March seemed to be a really snowy. Marmalade certainly knew the best place in the house to keep warm. It wasn't a very good one for me either, as I had to start a new job, after nearly 12 years in the old one

The bad weather had gone by April and Gail & I took a trip up to Whitby in Yorkshire to see the Steampunk and Goth festival that takes place there twice a year. There were certainly some interesting costumes, and Whitby is a very nice, old fashioned seaside town, with quite a picturesque harbour.

Shame It's Not Venice

Not a very productive day photographically speaking, as had my fisheye lens on, as I was planning to see what the Riviera would be like.

But it's been a fairly overcast day. Although the sun did come out at 5.30, so it was nice to ride home in the sunshine.

So here's a shot of the canal lock gates near where I work, with two boats waiting for the water to rise.

Land, Sea and Sky

Well it's been gloom and showers today. So another typical English summer then!

So this photo is from Wednesday, when it was actually sunny. Some narrowboats at the marina, where I cycle past on my way home.

Looking for a fixed point of interest, I was taken with the name of the narrowboat; The Black Pearl. Could it be a pirate boat perhaps. But if so, they are a long way from the Caribbean though, being so close to the River Trent.

As it's Skywatch Friday, I thought I would join in with the fun for the first time in a long time. Here's the LINK, if you want to go and see some more scenes with sky in them

Hello Whitby

Here are three shots from this good old English seaside resort, that fortunately hasn't changed that much since the Victorian times.

The first shows the famous abbey which was founded by Benedictine monks in 657AD, and like Beauvale Priory here in Nottingham was closed by Henry VIII during the Reformation of the 1530s. It is a Grade I listed building and now owned by English Heritage.

The second shows the harbour area and the inlet of the River Eske. Whitby was, and still is famous as a fishing port, and we've eaten some very tasty fish and chips using local ingredients.

Also on a fishing theme is this pile of cages that are used for catching crabs and lobsters. There were loads of them all piled up, ready for the next trip out into the North Sea.

Going Down South

I took a long train ride today down to Bristol. Just for the day. It took over three hours to get there, and then another three hours back. In fact I was sat on the train longer than I was sat in the office.

I had about half an hour for lunch, so I went in search of a sandwich and a drink. I then had a little walk around the area close to where the office that I was visiting was. Couldn't stray too far and get lost now could I?

Bristol has the River Avon running through it and I was pleased to discover that it was just a short walk from the office to reach a part of it. As I didn't have too long,  I only managed to take a few shots like this one. It was lovely and sunny too, with a great blue sky. I wish I could have spent longer there to look around and see what else was on offer.