Lincolnshire

I've lived in or travelled through many parts of the UK but had never had cause to go to, or through, Lincoln, until recently. A weekend break based in a little place called Freiston Shore on the west coast of The Wash gave me the opportunity to put that right! This location was particularly pertinent as we have often been to Snettisham on the east coast of The Wash, so the idea of seeing it from the other side added to the appeal.

Our base for the weekend looked ideal. Uninterrupted views of The Wash, Fenland behind, the 'Boston Wash Banks' in front and designated an RSPB nature reserve for good measure. Even the B&B had lots of appeal too, having once been a grand 3-storey hotel in a small village, but which is now virtually isolated. Hard to believe but Friedland Shore was once one of the major holiday resorts of the Lincolnshire coast, with Skegness recommended as a quieter alternative! It was so popular that a daily omnibus service ran from Boston and two hotels were established - (one of which was 'Plummers', our base). The resort's popularity declined in the 1860's as the coast changed and the beach started to silt up with mud. However a new lease of life is being brought to the area by the Boston Wash Banks project, which links sea defence and benefits to people and wildlife.

On arrival, we took a healthy walk along the Boston Wash Banks and got our first view across The Wash to Snettisham, as we'd hoped. But as the sun began to set we got more than we could have hoped for - a 360 degree sunset (complete with a noisy 'fly past' by a gaggle of geese), which hasn't been matched, to date! When the spectacle was finally over the search for dinner was on - quite a challenge in such a sparsely populated area. However when we did find a pub serving grub, it was worth the search - neither of us has ever seen such enormous plated dinners. The Lincolnshire sausages were superb, but some of the 11 different vegetables that accompanied them on the plate were somewhat superfluous!

The next day we set off to explore more of Lincolnshire, starting with the historic and attractive market town of Boston. Boston's history is a rich one, littered with notable characters and events. In the middle ages the town grew to become an important port for traders of northern Europe and for a period in the 13th Century Boston was the leading port in England. In 1545 the town was granted it's charter and became a Borough. In the 1700's it become a centre of religious non-conformism, inspired by figures such as John Foxe and John Cotton. Many Bostonians, including Cotton, left to take up a new life in Massachusetts, in what became the British Colony of Boston, where tea was famously thrown into the harbour in political protest against the British Government ... but enough of history.

Boston is dominated by the 14th-century St Botolph's Church whose 271ft high tower is a landmark for miles around. After a walk around this famous town and an appropriate lunch stop in the Church Cafe we headed back towards the coastline, stopping en route to see and photograph two of Lincolnshire's many windmills, at Sibsey and Heckington. Then came the obligatory stop at the much acclaimed seaside resort of Skeggy for photos, fish, and chips on the beach. Not so much acclaimed by us though!

But further up the coast we discovered the wonders of Wolla Bank. We found it after driving down remote winding country lanes, and accessed it through a small gap in an otherwise thick wall of sand dunes. Wolla Bank must be one of Lincolnshire's best kept secrets! The wide expanse of clean soft white sand fringed with pale green Marram Grass is a pretty as a beach can be ... .

Travelling further up the coast we were attracted by some colourful beach huts at Sutton on Sea. Disappointingly these turned out to be seemingly the only attraction! However the next resort on the coastline offered an attraction that no other beach had ... motor bike racing! Well, Mablethorpe certainly attracted a lot of leather and helmets! But it was fun to watch for a while, except for the bit where someone fell off, broke his leg and had to be carted off in an ambulance. But a walk further along the beach revealed another attraction ... the quiet end of Mablethorpe! Once again, the sweeping soft white sands and Marram grass dunes gave this beach the thumbs up from us. But as the light of the day began to fade, and dark storm clouds rolled in over the sea, an eerie and moody light was cast across the whole landscape ... and as with our first day in Lincolnshire, so the second had ended with another magical performance in the sky.

Before we turned the car southwards and homewards, we made a final stop at the Seal Sanctuary just north of Mabelthorpe - home to all the rescued and lovingly-cared-for casualties and orphans from local shores and beyond. A happy end not only for the seals, but also for our short but memorable Lincolnshire experience.

Isle of Wight

What is it about islands that are so appealing! I hadn't appreciated until recently that I'm drawn to places surrounded by water ... Isle of Skye, Isle of Arran, Isle of Wight. I thought it might be just because I'm used to living on one of the Great British Isles but I suspect it's more to do with the size, or rather the contained space that makes exploring whole new areas, and particularly coastlines, so 'do-able' in a few short days. Whatever 'it' is, drew me to the Isle of Wight for a long weekend in May 2008.

We took the ferry across the Solent from Lymington to Yarmouth (another appealing aspect of islands) and whilst the sun decided to stay hidden, the weather didn't cloud our eager anticipation about the prospect of exploring somewhere new. Not wishing to miss a thing, we sat on the top deck of the ferry watching the island, and our mini-holiday, get closer - and the fact that it was shrouded in mist only added to the intrigue. Once off the ferry, we headed east and began our adventure straight away, checking out places along the way. Colwell Bay and it's colourful beach huts, Totland Bay and it's rickety pier and Alum Bay with it's multi-coloured cliffs and the famous white Needles.

I guess most people associate the IOW with the Needles, Sailing or Cowes, but having done some advance Googling on the place we were more interested in what the south west coast had to offer - no large towns, deserted beaches, craggy cliffs, pretty countryside, potential for photos!. Hence our base for the weekend was in a village just a mile or two from what looked to be an interesting stretch of fossilised and crumbling Cretaceous coastline.

Discovering that our whitewashed thatched cottage was down a narrow leafy lane in a delightfully picturesque village was a good start to the weekend, and the local pub looked promising for nosh too. After 'checking in' to our B & B and 'checking out' the local amenities we set off eastwards along the coast road towards the seaside town of Ventnor, to do a recce of the area and to decide which places were worth returning to the following day. The south west coastline promised to be everything the internet blurb had said it would be, so as the sun started to set we headed back towards our B&B in Brighstone, but via Brook Bay and with cameras at the ready to capture the sun turning the beach to golden peach before it slipped behind the headland for the night.

The sun performed for us the next morning too, shining in a bright blue sky, uncluttered by clouds and making an already perfect landscape glow with it's Midas touch. Our first photo stop was the most southerly point of the 'Wight', St Catherine's Point. We parked on top of the headland and took a gentle 750 ft walk inland and upwards to St Catherine's Oratory, a 35 ft tall rocket-shaped tower and the second-oldest lighthouse in Britain. The views from this vantage point were stunning, across gently undulating gorse-covered hills to pastel patchwork fields in the distance which swept down to an almost seamless blend of sea and sky. A further short walk across the headland provided views over one of Wight's 20 'Chine's. This is the local name given to the steep-sided gorges to be found on the Isle of Wight and Hampshire coastlines, caused by determined rivers as they forged their way through the soft sandstone cliffs to get to the sea. Black Gang Chine on St Catherine's Point is a particularly spectacular example of a Chine that is constantly changing shape due to the continual erosion and landslide of the soft sandstone cliffs.

Being the person responsible for planning the weekend's itinerary meant that I had a list of 'must see' places, a list of what might be good to see if there was enough time, and enough scope to throw all plans out of the car window and doing something completely different instead! Top of the 'must see' list was the stretch of coastline that incorporates Compton Bay, Brook Bay and Brightone Bay. The cliffs along this section are a riot of colour, a feast on the eyes like a Moroccan Medina displaying richly coloured oriental spices from cinnamon and ginger through saffron and turmeric. This soft cretaceous sandstone continues to erode and crumble onto the beach as it has done for millions of years, each time revealing new strata and secrets of eras long since past, when dinosaurs rather than donkeys roamed our shores. According to my research on this area there was even the prospect of finding fossilised dinosaur footprints still intact on the beach ... .

Another 'must see' was the Needles, last visited in the 1960's on a day trip from a summer holiday on the mainland. My only memory of that visit was a tourist keepsake from Alum Bay, a small lighthouse-shaped glass container into which I'd carefully poured layers of differently coloured sands, and which I'd kept until years later when the cork stopper loosened mixing the layers up and ruining the effect! My lasting memory of the Needles in 2008 is the source of those coloured sands, the stunning sandstone cliffs in full sun, lit up like a Jackson Pollock painting in an art gallery to bring out the full beauty of the colours.

Luccombe Bay was one of those places that I hoped we would have time to see, but it wasn't the easiest place to find. It had been described on the internet as a quiet, secluded bay between Ventnor and Shanklin, with limited access from the high cliff above. That somehow made it all the more appealing, but I hadn't bargained for the steep, almost vertical steps down the cliff, which of course were no problem going down ... . Luccombe bay was pretty enough, and the sun was more than hot enough; the climb back up was more than steep enough, but the location of little cafe at the cliff top was just right!

We threw caution, and the itinerary, to the wind, put a metaphorical pin in the map and drove to Bembridge, for a picnic, and more photos. Bembridge is located almost at the eastern most point of The Island, and has a pretty little village, a small busy harbour, a wide sandy beach, a long lifeboat pier and a huge busy shipping channel beyond it! Wishing to avoid the tourist areas, we then took a rural scenic route back through the centre of the island from east to west, along narrow winding lanes, through pretty little villages, drinking in the picture postcard scenery and breathing in the pungent smell of wild garlic in the hedgerows! Our long weekend break was coming to an end ... and we hadn't seen one dinosaur footprint, not even a fossil! Hmm, if you've read previous posts you'll have noticed there seems to be a pattern emerging here (no puffins on the Farne Islands, no otters in Skye, no dinosaurs in the Isle of Wight). I'm hoping to see my first Kingfisher soon, so watch this space for a break in the pattern!

Isle of Skye

If you love remote natural places full of deserted beaches, tranquil lochs, dramatic mountain scenery and wildlife, but with very few roads, cars, people or buildings, then you'll love the Isle of Skye, Scotland's largest Inner Hebridean island. We did. In fact it remains our number one place in the UK ... to date. Okay, so it is a long way off the beaten track, but worth every one of the 160 miles and 5 hours from Glasgow airport, because the stunning route of the 'Highland Way' bends around lochs, over mountain passes and through some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK.

Our first views of Skye were from the Kyle of Lochalsh, where the magnificent span of the Skye Bridge silhouetted against the pale mauve backdrop of the Cuillin 'Hills' gave us an enticing first glimpse of what was to come. As we drove through Skye any vague preconceptions we may have had before we got there were blown away - and replaced with the realisation that we were indeed about to have a very special holiday.

On the map Skye looks a bit like a mis-shapen right hand with three main fingers pointing up towards the Outer Hebrides and a thumb pointing southwards (but no little finger). The island measures about 58 miles from it's wrist to the top of the fourth finger and around 30 across the knuckles! Our first walk of the holiday was along the middle finger, otherwise known as the Waternish Peninsula. We walked the full length of this 'finger' to the very tip. First we passed the ruins of tiny Trumpan Church, where in 1578 the Macdonalds of Uist took their revenge against their rival clan the McLeods by burning it (and all its worshippers) to the ground. The remainder of our walk was far less gruesome, just peaceful and pleasant through soft marshland, past the remains of village communities long since gone, the sea and distant Outer Hebridean coastline on our left, and nothing or no-one else in sight, other than Stuart ... . Stuart was a curious and cute little stoat who popped his head up through the undergrowth and remains of an old fence to see what was going on. In fact such was his curiosity that he kept leaping in and out of various openings in what was clearly his 'home patch' to make sure he didn't miss anything! Stuart the tiny Scottish stoat from Skye is remembered fondly to this day.

But our first day didn't end there. We headed off one of the deserted single track roads on the island to the tip of the Duirinish Peninsula (index finger) to watch what promised to be an amazing sunset - and we weren't disappointed. Sunset at Neist Point lit up the whole coastline covering everything it touched with a peachy pink blanket. If that wasn't enough, as we watched the sun go down a group of Minke whales appeared in the water to add to the spectacle .

Our holiday cottage was a newly renovated 'Blackhouse', a modern version of the traditional Skye island cottage. Originally these were built with double dry-stone walls packed with earth, and wooden rafters covered with a thatch of turf with cereal straw or reed, weighted down with stones to protect it from the strong Atlantic winds. The floor was generally flagstones or packed earth and there was a central hearth for the fire. There was no chimney for the spoke to escape through. Instead the smoke made its way through the roof. It was built to accommodate livestock as well as people. The animals lived at one end and the people at the other, with a partition between; a primitive precursor to a modern day eco house and a practical solution to heating the family home. Renovated versions of these appealing and simple yet solid structures can be found dotted all over the island with their oversized thatched hats pulled tightly down over their short squat walls. The original blackhouses have long since gone, but visits to a couple of museums on the island showed how tough life in Skye must have been, being reliant on the land for a living. Our knowledge of Scottish cultural history was further increased when we came across a tiny but fascinating Bagpipe Museum . Not that surprising you may think, but it was located in one of the more remote northern regions of Skye at the end of the Duirinish Peninsula, set in green fields and with only a scattering of cottages and cows for company! Less Scottish but just as interesting was the Toy Museum we stumbled upon in a little village nearby. In this eclectic collection of childhood memorabilia spanning more generations that we could possibly admit to having lived through, we were able to indulge in nostalgia, ably prompted by the 'curator' who knew every last detail about every one of his prized possessions! The Duirinish Peninsula is clearly the cultural capital of Skye!

On our second day we awoke to a bright blue sky, clear blue glassy lochs and mountains tinted with every hue of mauve and blue imaginable, and as we headed off to explore the west side of the island the scenery got even better. There is only one main road on Skye (A87) which runs down the east side of the island from south to north. All others are single track, radiating from Broadford Bay like a fine web across the rugged and remote regions to the west. The only traffic hold-up we encountered all week was caused by a few Highland 'Coos'! These single track roads have 'passing places' but only just enough width and length to give access to 'off the beaten track' places without encouraging more cars than is necessary. We travelled down one of these roads to search for the elusive otter. Now this shouldn't have been that difficult given that there was an Otter Sanctuary at the end of it! But it wasn't to be. We sat in a hide for some time scanning the surface of the Straits of Sleat for bobbing heads, but apart from the spectacular scenery, and a couple of eagles soaring about the mountain behind us (or were they buzzards ...) the otters remained elusive. However it was further along another winding single track road that we encountered Elgol and the Cuillin Hills.

We'd read in advance about the 'Misty Isle' boat trips running from Elgol and looked forward to the opportunity to see Loch Coruisk in the heart of the Cuillin Mountains, and with a bit of luck do some dolphin or whale-watching too. What we hadn't planned for was the awesome beauty of Elgol. The approach road was narrow, winding, and undulating, empty of everything but nature. It hugged heather-clad hills, a ruined 6th century church, reed-filled lochs and a tiny village called Torrin, which was nestled in the crook of it's path around the edges of a loch and in the shadow of the Cuillin Hills. We decided to stop at this picture-postcard village to take a few photos. We thought these views were as good as anything we'd see on Skye. But after a few more twists and turns the road wound steeply upwards, and once at the top we got our first glimpse of Elgol below, and we were blown away by what we saw. Elgol is a little fishing village with a handful of houses, a tearoom and a tiny school built on the beach! It's beauty lies in it's location, set as it is in the curve of the coastline at the foot of the majestic and rugged Black Cuillin Mountains. To have seen it on a day when the blue of sky and sea merged and was only distinguishable by reflections was sheer luck. We never did get our boat trip on the 'Misty Isle' but it didn't seem to matter!

The name 'Misty Isle' gives a clue as to the weather patterns in Skye, and it's true that the mist can descend over the mountains with alarming speed. However it's equally true that the Scottish islands regularly experience the phenomenon of '4 seasons in 1 day'! We were told by locals that if one side of the island was cloaked in heavy mist we should go to the other side as it was probably bathed in sunshine. We also discovered that if the day started off wet there was every chance it would do a u-turn within an hour. The fact that grim or 'dreicht' weather was almost guaranteed to disappear during the course of a day meant that any activity we chose was probably going to be achievable, and I think the photos reflect this was true.

The next peninsular to be explored was the longest and the most westerly, the Trotternish Peninsula (fourth finger!). This area of Skye is famous for the Highland Heroine Flora MacDonald who famously helped "Bonnie" Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender) escape from the Isle of Uist to Skye. The prince had fled following defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Flora was captured and imprisoned, but in 1750 she returned to Flodigarry in Skye. If you don't know the history, you may remember the 'Skye boat' song ... .

The Trotternish Peninsula is also known for the mountain ridge which runs down the 'spine' of Skye, and which can be seen from as far away as Broadford, 40 miles to the south. This range of mountains is well known, loved and climbed by the active, and well photographed by everyone. We planned to do both, more specifically to walk along the 'Quirang' and up to (but not up) 'The Old Man of Storr! The Quirang is a popular and fascinating rock formation reached by a long, narrow and at times precipitous path which mostly hugs the slope of the hill, but which occasionally falls away into a crevice on the rock face and reappears on the other side! The views down the Trotternish Ridge are spectacular, as long as you have the balance to look away from your feet! As the path winds onwards and upwards towards the distinctive rock formation of the Quirang you can see there are three main elements. The Needle is a rock spire which reaches a height of 120 feet. The Prison is an enclosed rock formation with the path running through the middle, while the Table is a flat, sunken shelf where, it is rumoured, locals played 'shinty' in the past. I'm pleased to say I reached this point and saw all three formations, but a combination of poor balance, loose scree on the slope and strong gusty winds prevented me from climbing to the summit. Nothing however prevented me from using my camera!

Our final foray down the fingers of Skye was to the south, the Sleat Peninsula, (or more accurately, the 'thumb'!) overlooking mainland Scotland. We found, amongst other landscape treasures, Tarscavaig Bay. It seems that the best places are the most remote and hidden, and so it was that we drove across the peninsula from south to north not knowing what we would find. We drove for several miles with only mauve peaks, blue lochs and the occasional red deer for company. Eventually the road wound round and down to the sea and to Tarscavaig, a deserted beach in a sheltered bay flanked by hills dotted with cottages, views of the Cuillins in the distance and the sun sinking behind the horizon. The scene was set for another spectacle. Where earlier in the week the sunset at Neist Point had turned the landscape peachy pink, at Tarscavaig the ripples on the sand and sea instead turned gold, reflecting the glow from the setting sun. It was hard to leave this magical place called Skye, but the memories (and the photos) remain.

Bluebell Woods

Not a travel post exactly, but hey, any excuse to get bluebells on the blog! I went to Dockey Wood, Ashridge last weekend early, (before most of the camera clubs arrived), and bathed in a sea of blue heaven - it's the same every year but I will never tire of the sight of a carpet of bluebells bowing their heads in deference to the emerging new canopy of fresh spring growth. My favourite flower, perfume, colour, season - can't go wrong really! The only difficulty is choosing what to do first - breath in the scent, gaze in awe at the spectacle, take photos or just sit and contemplate life. The need to 'capture' the experience and hold onto it is overwhelming and necessary, so here are a few attempts to do just that.

Northumbria

In a previous post I've already mentioned our trip to the Farne Islands in Northumbria in search of the elusive Puffins ... but there's so much more to this coastline than puffins alone. Designated an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" it had to be worth a look! Rather than the craggy cliffs, deeply cut inlets and rock formations of the Welsh SE Pembrokeshire coast, the North East Northumbrian coast offers instead sweeping expanses of white sand fringed with marram grass, huge star-studded skies, castles at every stage of ruin, and islands. Not just any island, but the 'Holy Island' of Lindisfarne.

I'd never been to the North East and had no preconceptions or expectations other than those suggested via Google, so I was particularly looking forward to exploring all it had to offer. Our home for the week was a fisherman's cottage in Lower Burnmouth - the last town in England, before Scotland. Our cottage sat on the end of a neat row of identical whitewashed cottages looking out over the quiet harbour, and was accessed by a perilously steep single track lane which wound down the cliff turning sharply onto the harbour wall in front of our cottage. (Behind our front door was a another perilously steep route - an almost vertical ladder to bed - fun going up, but a cautious descent needed to the bathroom in the middle of the night!).

Most mornings we woke to the rosy glow of the sun as it appeared over the horizon, turning the faces of the cottages pink. Most nights we gazed up at a cavernous black sky crammed full of starts and all manner of astronomic activity. Most days we were blessed with dry and bright skies, so were filled with as many experiences as our digital photo cards could hold.

Our first 'must see' was Lindisfarne, a small island and site of religious significance for many centuries, and famous for the Lindisfarne Gospels and (allegedly) the birth of Christianity. 'They' say the island still offers sanctuary and calm to the troubled or weary soul. There's no doubt it's a special place - it drew us back 4 times in 1 week! Some of that attraction was the access to the island, a long dramatic causeway which is reclaimed by the tides twice daily, making forward planning a necessity! The island landscape is dominated by two structures, the Castle and the Priory, but these are not the only focal points for photographers. Views west across to the Northumbrian mainland and south to the Farne Islands and to Bamburgh Castle offer pre-framed views. And thanks to a long-held custom of converting upturned boat hulls into huts, some additional and quirky subject matter was also 'on tap'.

Our boat trip to the Farne Islands was just that, courtesy of Billy Shiels, and without puffins :( However we did get to see the famous Longstone Lighthouse at close quarters, where heroine Grace Darling lived but risked her life to rescue the otherwise fated passengers on the SS Forfarshire from certain death in a terrible storm in 1838. En route we also saw seals bobbing about and shag-covered rocks (or shargs, as the locals pronounce it :), so a memorable albeit puffinless trip.

So why the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty award? The islands alone warrant a recommendation, but it is the beaches of this coastline that are special. We explored much of it from Berwick upon Tweed to Dunstanburgh and had 3 particular favourites - Low Newton by the Sea, Cocklawburn Beach and Ross Back Sands. Each offered a wide sweeping expanse of white sand, a sense of remoteness and x myriad photo opportunities. Low Newton took some finding but turned out to be a gem, and well worth the miles of narrow winding roads to get there. With no major routes accessing the place it was inevitably quiet, but imagine also a curving coastline, waves gently lapping a white sandy beach, a scattering of smooth black rocks, a striking silhouette of Dunstanburgh castle ruins on the promontory ahead, a small whitewashed pub and very little else. Perfection! A lack of road access meant a long walk across fields and dunes to Ross Back Sands but the effort involved was rewarded with a sweeping wide expanse of clean soft golden sands backed by Marram grass stretching from Lindisfarne to Bamber, with their respective castles at each end acting "in parenthesis" to the enclosed scattering of seals on the shoreline! Mention should also be made of Bamber Castle and beach which features in any Northumbrian tourist-related marketing! In short, it's an imposing castle in a significant location overlooking an impressive beach, photographed by everyone. Trouble was, everyone knows about it, so there were all there ... wouldn't have missed seeing it though!

The castles we really enjoyed viewing were perched on the most southerly and northerly points of the section of coastline we explored - Dunstanburgh castle to the south and Fast Castle to the north. We'd seen the ruins of Dunstanborough from Low Newton beach, but the tide had prevented us from reaching it on foot. A subsequent walk to the castle from the opposite direction gave us breathtaking views of Low Newton and beyond, as well as some historic walls on which to sit and eat our picnic! In contrast, our walk to Fast Castle in SE Scotland was anything but fast but it was quite an experience. It involved a one hour long and very steep descent across grassy headland to the tiny but precipitous ruined remains of an iron-age fortress built on a narrow sloping plateau overlooking the sea. Whilst my fear of deep ravines prevented me from crossing the narrow bridge to the grassy mound beyond, this castle captured my imagination beyond all others.

Having spent a week in the English/Scottish Borders, it seemed fitting to end our holiday to visit the demarcation of the first Anglo/Celtic border. In AD122 Emperor Hadrian had ordered an 84 mile, 15 foot high and 10 foot thick wall to be constructed across the country. Popular theory suggests it was built to separate the Romans from the Celtic 'Barbarians', but historians believe it acted more as a border or customs post for the Romans to track the population flow between south to north, and to protect Hadrian's new empire. The ancient site of Hadrian's Wall stretches across the UK from East to West, from Tyneside to Cumbria, and we took this scenic cross-country route along the Wall before heading off home. This was another of my 'must see' places and it met all expectations. What is left of the wall is now only a few feet high and many of its 30 forts, 80 milecastles and 160 turrets have now disappeared, but the wall is still punctuated at regular intervals with a few remains.

However at our first stop at Housesteads in Hexham we saw the most complete Roman Fort in Britain with granaries, barracks and a hospital still intact, and with commanding views over both 'Empires'. Some miles further west at Cawfields we followed the wall on foot across a steep slope and by an impressive milecastle, and this well preserved section epitomised for me the historical and cultural significance of Hadrians Wall.

Our final stop at the earthworks site and Roman Army Museum in Carvoran brought history to life for us through the various media of sound and vision - a film of Roman life at the Wall through the 'Eye of an Eagle', scaled fort models, excavated battle and personal artifacts and last but not least the purchase of many postcards - making our visit to Hadrian's Wall the perfect end to a very special holiday in the North East.

Pembrokeshire

We're just back from yet another place on this island that has kept quiet about its hidden treasures. In just a week I've seen deserted white beaches, some adorned with rock formations of every size, shape and colour, craggy cliffs and promontories that enticingly hold back the next view of yet another stunning cove or inlet, quaint fishing villages dotted with pretty cottages of every pastel colour imaginable, wild flower-covered banks and cliffs, castles with moats, castles in ruins, and last but not least, puffins!

I think I should explain about the puffins. In 2008 we discovered the Northumberland coastline, but the initial pull was that we would be able to see the puffins on the Farne Islands - John Craven said as much on Countryfile so it must be true. We went, we saw the Farne Islands, we didn't see the puffins - we went at the wrong time of year! This was not the first time I had been at odds with nature's calendar. In 2007 we'd gone to the Isle of Skye, in part because Bill Oddie had waxed lyrical about the otters on Broadford Bay. We went there, we even went to the Otter Sanctuary and sat in a hide - not an otter to be seen. Now it has to be said that these holidays were amazing in many other ways (as you will eventually see on future blography posts and photos). So the puffins on Skomer Island were very special for me. What's more they posed just a few feet away from the camera.

My love of photographing all things natural by default includes landscape as well as wildlife, and there's an abundance of it in Pembrokeshire. The beaches are a photographer's paradise in early Spring - empty of people but full of weirdly angled coloured rocks and shifting cliffs, sympathetically arranged by nature over thousands of years. Walking across Marloes Sands was at times surreal, surrounded as we were by the unfamiliar and striking geological poses. Unlike the dark rocks of Marloes, Broad Haven beach (not to be confused with Broadhaven) was strewn with boulders in every shade of pink imaginable. St Bride's cove (not to be confused with the wide expanse of St Bride's Bay), instead had the reddest cliffs and rocks imaginable, with one headland in particular bearing an uncanny resemblance to a rare steak! But perhaps the most bizarre rock feature of all is the tiny little 11th Century Chapel built into the cliff face at St Govans. This was another recommendation from Mr Countryfile himself, John Craven, and I must say, well worth viewing.

Haven for it's location (nestled between two hills, tucked into a deep inlet), the winding single track roads with 10 foot high banks covered in wild primroses, violets and daffodils, ' bread' seaweed (everywhere on My lasting memories of Pembrokeshire will be the puffins of Skomer, Marloes for it's beautiful sands and striking rock formations, St Bride's beach for it's remoteness and red hues, NoltonlaverPembrokeshire beaches and recommended by Neil Oliver on BBC Coast, but not by us!), and last but not least, Little Haven where we were based, which offered us a perfect 'little haven' of peace for our walks with cameras.

I can't leave this post on Pembrokeshire without mentioning the amazing Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail. I understand it covers some 186 miles of coastline, and we must have covered no more than 30 of them in our week there. But what made it special for me was that, far from being an obvious tourist 'blot on the landscape', it was just part of the spectacular coastal scenery, hugging the tops of precipitous craggy cliffs, winding its way up and down and around the coastline, offering walkers the best possible views at every bend. I can't speak for every season, but in Spring the path winds between banks and cliffs adorned with wild flowers - thrift,campion , gorse, primroses and violets to name but a few. Here's a couple of examples which illustrate all that is special about this path ... .

brownseys blography

Just so there's no misunderstanding before you embark on my new blog, brownseys blog-raphy will 'focus' on walks my camera has taken me on. Not so much a blog about my life, more a biography of my photography :D Let's hope my blog is as well composed and sharp as the pics should be ...