Great Gable
Agra
Think India think Taj Mahal. It is on the ‘must do’ list of many. Thousands flock there on a Golden Triangle tour. Visit Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and you’ve ‘done’ India. Or so it seemed by the proportion of Europeans who never went much further. Contrary to this Vic, who was travelling with me for a few days, was quite adamant he wasn’t going to the Taj. Why? When it could be seen, so books will tell you, from perfectly good vantage points in rooftop restaurants. I figured I’d flown thousands of miles, not to...
read moreLiving in Lockdown
Since coming back from India, just over three weeks ago the world has slowly ground to a halt. The past 24 hours seem to have taken an age. Like never ending childhood summers, without the fun. I read somewhere that because those days were so packed with new experiences and our brains had so much to do, and it was this that made time expand. Now that everything is ‘unknown’. Each day is different. There is no normal. My brain has clearly had so much to do it feels time is standing still. Today, the first...
read moreThe Knott and Angle Tarn
Another photo frenzy day. Starting at Hayeswater and on to The Knott Route picked simply because I hadn’t been there for some time. There is no other reason to go to the top of The Knot bar the view. A glance over the hills to the east and Bannerdale, the first hint that you not in a mountain range of continental proportion. There was a vague thought to perhaps go up Rest Dodd, but then – I changed my mind. Instead wandering down to find Angle Tarn. Water and sunshine. A good camera combination. Before Angle Tarn the tiny...
read moreEasedale to Codale
Easy stroll to the pretty tarn of Easdale. Waterfalls and streams almost over flowing. Far more colour remains than expected. Though it looked just as good covered in snow a week or so ago. The hike up to Codale a little more of a challenge, as was our ‘alternative route’ down. Added a little adventure to the day. And back down to Easedale And the route
read moreCumbria’s Heat Wave
Cumbria’s Heat Wave! For one day The temperature soared above 30C. Those lovely lakes filled by what can feel like incessant rain have more purpose. And yes, I know they are mainly ‘waters’ and ‘tarns’ As well as the main 16, Windermere and co, scattered on the fells and hidden in woods are tiny tarns and abandoned reservoirs from days before mass movement of water. Tucked away above the southern end of Windermere, sits the pretty village of Finsthwaite with its fascinating church. Designed as a church ‘suitable for an alpine area’. A short...
read moreChange of Scene
Brexit has been but not gone! Like many, I find myself reading more political blogs than is healthy and writing little. More gripping than House of Cards. I wish it were fiction. Though I may have written little my camera has been with me wherever. One weekend in July I went to: A sleepy British town, Dodged rain in the park watched waterfalls pristine ponds, and woodlands In London
read moreGardens and Galleries
Never again will I look at Degas ballerinas eyes and imagine innocence. Learning that for the less successful the corps de ballet was a cover for the sex industry of the time. Impressionist paintings of ladies turning an ankle, of dancers. Not just the ribald or bar maids of the Folies-Berger but the delicate young. All explained and examined in Splendour and Misery. Pictures of Prostitution. Currently at Musée d’Orsay. A morning stroll through the Latin Quarter, central Paris is eminently walkable. Through the Louvre (no time...
read moreMoments in Hoi An
Little things paint a bigger picture. Colour only one number and the painting is incomplete. Fill in all those shapes to paint the full experience. But sometimes a small patch is so brilliant shines out alone. Hoi An sits astride a delta. Small islands and flat hinterland rich in alluvial deposits. Perfect bicycle country. On a bike – one day – a day when blue poured out of the sky into irrigation ponds. When kingfishers sat patiently on lines and herons stalked silent and sure footed through reeds. I realised not a...
read morePhong Nha Ke Bang National Park
‘Only just opening up’. It was this accolade which made Phong-Nha Ke Bang National Park my first trip out of Ho Chi Minh. Quang Binh province in central Vietnam has the oldest karst mountains in Asia is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Western tourists have only recently started to trickle in and tourism will bring much needed income, though some projects, such as a cable car across the park may not enhance the natural features on offer. Never been attracted to exploring caves, I was totally ‘blown over’ by their magnificence and...
read morePhotogenic Fungi
Sometimes nature is not obliging. Things move. They dance about in the wind. They fly or run or leap. Light dodges around trees or shines into a lens. Rain pours from the sky and drips down your sleeves, but sometimes, just sometimes it doesn’t The subject stands still and the light is just where you want it to be. There is more than just fungi in these pictures. I was surprised to spot a creature on close inspection. Can you see it? Waxcaps found on the edge of Gillbeck Wood, Nidderdale. A Woodland Trust Wood. You will need this OS...
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