Hope

 

On a recent brief visit to Hereford Cathedral we came across enormous capital letters spelling out the word "HOPE". They were parked in the south transept and featured lights cycling through a series of colours. I don't know if they were left over from a previous use, were waiting to be used, or were just a generalized exhortation to worshippers and/or visitors. Whatever their purpose their modern incongruity against the medieval stonework prompted a photograph. And caused me to hope that in the UK and across the world 2023 will be a clear and lasting improvement on 2022.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Who needs window dressers?

Window dressing is, I'm told, a job. If you aspire to the heights of that line of work I imagine you end up dressing windows in somewhere like Oxford Street, London. But, there is another way of encouraging people to stop and examine the items you are selling. Simply cram the windows of your establishment with the multifarious objects you sell. That seems to be the approach of The Architectural Store in Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, which has several windows filled in this manner. And, it works. After I had taken my photograph I crossed the street to look at what was for sale.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Santa and his helpers

Father and Mrs Christmas don't seem to be blessed with children of their own. However, that isn't a problem because they have a relationship with millions (billions?) of children across the world. And, having so many presents to deliver to these children, they clearly need helpers. Many sources say these helpers are elves. However, this photograph suggests they may be teddy bears.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Angel and Shepherds

The stained glass window from which this detail is taken can be found in the church of St Michael, Ledbury, Herefordshire. It dates from 1913 and is by the celebrated firm of Morris & Co. These panels depict the part of the Christmas story where an angel visits the shepherds to tell them of the birth of Christ. It is based on a design by Edward Burne-Jones and was used elsewhere by the firm. It is a beautifully drawn and composed piece with sparing and subtle colour, refreshingly eschewing the detail upon detail that often overpowers religious stained glass.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Christmas yarn bombing

The yarn bombers of Ross on Wye have had a very full year. In addition to their regular Easter, autumn, Halloween, Remembrance and Christmas offerings they also had the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and the Queen's passing as themes. The photograph above is one of the Chrismas-themed pieces decorating the town and putting a smile on the face of all who see them. It shows Father Christmas with presents at his feet, flanked by a snowman and Rudolph with his red nose. Behind them (and giving support!) is a Chrismas tree decorated with tinsel and surmounted by the star of the Christmas story. The pillar box on which the tableau is mounted is an aged, slightly leaning, but still functioning example next to the Market House.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Christmas wreaths

The tradition of hanging a Christmas wreath on the front door of a house is one of long standing. In the past it would have been made of what the householder could lay his or her hands on - holly, conifer, perhaps pine cones and mistletoe. Some people continue to make them in this way but the majority, from what I see, hang one that has been factory made and bought from a shop. As with all such things commercialism has widened the palette and wreaths now consist of traditional materials but also artificial branches and flowers, seasonal symbols, glitter, painted objects etc. A "pop-up" Christmas shop is now a feature of many towns and such wreaths are one of the main items sold. I photographed these wreaths for sale in a Herefordshire town.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

The first snow of winter

The first snow of winter fell on us recently. There wasn't a great quantity but what there was did linger due to the temperature registering below zero, sometimes substantially so, for several days afterwards. As is often the case in our part of the world, the snow was enough to please the children but not so much that it significantly impeded movement. The first falls of snow were also enough to tempt me to go out with the camera. Our walk coincided with children, parents and sledges heading for a much used local hill.

 click image to enlarge

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Herefordshire timber framing, Allensmore

It's not unusual to come across an old house next to a medieval church. Often these are former vicarages but just as likely is a manor house belonging to the wealthiest person of that period - church and state were mutually supportive and maintained close relations. The timber-framed house shown above is next to Allensmore church, separated I recall, only by change of level. It is insufficiently grand to have been built by anyone of great wealth but its name, Church House, suggests it may have been the dwelling of a priest, though the adjacent old barn may indicate it was a farm house. The framing is classic Herefordshire in style with cheaper squares rather than more expensive close studding. It is on a stone plinth to deter rot, and the original infill has been replaced by bricks. It dates from the mid-1500s; tree-ring dating shows it to be constructed of oaks felled in the summer of 1552.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Restoring medieval churches

We often come upon workmen who are busy restoring or repairing medieval churches. It's not surprising really - how many buildings can survive for several hundred years without regular maintenance? Recently we called in at the church of St Andrew at Allensmore in Herefordshire and found workmen busy restoring the timber frame of the south porch. This structure last had major work done in 1857 when it was completely rebuilt. The two workmen in the photograph had stripped off the roof tiles and were replacing some of the timbers that gave structure and strength to the porch. Work of this kind can't be done by just anyone, and the van of the workmen showed them to be accredited for work on ancient buildings.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Late afternoon pond

The pond in the photograph is one that we regularly walk past. Like many such features its appearance changes with the time of day, weather and season. It is also favoured by three groups of  birds - residents that can be seen all year round, and summer or winter visitors. This shot was taken on a late afternoon in December. At that time of year it can be all but obscured by fog or rain. On this occasion a very cold day with a cloudless sky had prompted the trees to shed a mass of leaves that had been hanging on for an unseasonally long time. Combined with the low sun they have produced an image that looks much warmer than it felt.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Nave vaulting, Hereford Cathedral

Hereford's Saxon cathedral was rebuilt in 1030-1040 but in 1055 was burnt down by the Welsh. The Normans set about building the cathedral again, and it was consecrated between 1142 and 1148. Thereafter the cathedral was added to down the centuries. However, the building was also subject to a number of collapses and restorations and consequently care is needed to distinguish original from renewed. The nave, for example, has some original, rebuilt Norman columns (though eight bays were reduced to seven), an Early English style gallery (but late C18) by Thomas Wyatt and vaulting, also by Wyatt, made of lath and plaster.The paintwork of the vaulting dates from c.1850 and is by  N.J. Cottingham. George Gilbert Scott, who led a restoration in the later nineteenth century, called it "offensive". Most people today, I think, would not agree with his judgement, seeing in it a subtle richness.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Motorcycle in black and chrome

Near the car park we use in Hereford is another car park with an area reserved solely for motorcycles. Occasionally I notice a machine parked there. Not that I have much (any?) interest in motorcycles. What usually grabs my attention is the gleaming bodywork lovingly prepared by an owner who is the polar opposite of me when it comes to this form of transport. We saw such a motorcycle recently with burnished chrome and gleaming black paint. I didn't study it in great detail but later, after I'd taken my shot, I remembered that I didn't notice what make it was. Fortunately, on the section I photographed were the words "Harley-Davidson".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Tewkesbury Abbey decorative metalwork

In the medieval past the cost of the upkeep of the nave of a church usually fell to the lay congregation. However, the chancel and everything therein was funded by the church i.e the clergy, since it was their private domain in which they worked. But, since much of the money of the clergy derived from tithes paid by the laity, the congregation's pockets were hit twice. This pattern of cost sharing was true of many cathedrals and greater churches too. Consequently beautiful embellishments were made in the chancel, less so in the nave. And these embellishments were hidden from the congregation in the nave by rood screens, gates etc. This gate, which looks to be of Victorian origin, separates the choir from the crossing and nave at Tewkesbury Abbey. Today, in keeping with the times, it is usually open.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Potted cyclamen

For many amateur gardeners the cyclamen is a seasonal indoor plant. Many people like to have a few on a kitchen window sill or in a conservatory during the lower temperatures of winter. On a visit to a garden centre to buy a few heathers to replace some that didn't manage to survive the dry summer I came across a whole section devoted to different kinds of cyclamen, and I couldn't resist a quick photograph.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Organ practice

Recently we were in Hereford Cathedral at a time when the organ was sounding. The organist was playing a fiery piece on the massive instrument and at times it felt like the old Norman columns would give way as the deep notes and heavy reverberations filled the ancient space. A few days later we were in the church of St Michael, Ledbury, where an organist was playing gentler tunes on the more modest instrument. The dullish day required illumination so that the music score could be seen and it made a nice pool of warm light to emphasise the focal point of the scene.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Abbey Mill, Tewkesbury

 

Abbey Mill (also known as Fletcher's Mill) stands on the bank of the Mill Avon, a watercourse that connects downstream with the River Severn. The earliest mill on the site was built in 1190 by the monks of nearby Tewkesbury Abbey. The building we see today dates from 1793 and accommodated 4 water driven wheels. It ground corn until 1920 when the owners found they could no longer compete with the bigger, more modern Borough Flour Mills (also known as Healings Flour Mills) upstream from the Abbey Mill. The Borough Mill now stands empty and the Abbey Mill has been converted into flats (apartments). I have photographed this mill on several occasions with this photograph from 2011 being the best of the crop.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Wet autumn woodland

We recently had a walk in the Forest of Dean after quite a bit of rain had fallen. The trees had given up more leaves to the deluges but, nonetheless, more remained firmly fixed to branches than is usual for the time of year. It was slippery underfoot and water droplets twinkled in the sunlight that pierced the tree canopy. The dead and dying bracken looked bright orange as we walked towards the sun but the tree ferns remained resolutely green. Our route took us through Nagshead Plantation, an area that includes an RSPB reserve. Everywhere we looked it seemed there was a competition between the oak and the beech for which had the best leaf display. For me the beech was winning.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Four-colour Acer tree

Walking through the Old Market (most of which is quite new) in Hereford we came upon this Acer tree with its remarkable show of colour. The leaves were, from the bottom working upwards, green, yellow, orange and red. Set against the blue sky it made a splendid sight that too few people seemed to notice. When I stopped and pointed my camera at it I saw a couple look at me and then at the tree. I hope it brightened their day like it did mine.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Newent Lake

The small lake in the Gloucestershire market town of Newent was created from former medieval fish ponds as part of the grounds of Newent Court, a large house built c.1810. Much of this building was destroyed in a fire in 1942. Later, after it had been demolished to make way for housing, the lake and some surrounding land was given to Newent Town Council who developed it and now manage it as a public amenity. It is stocked with fish and large carp can readily be seen from the adjacent balustrade and other spots. Duck houses have been provided for use by the mallards that populate the lake. They can be seen in the distance of the photograph that was taken during a late afternoon in mid-November.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Gilwern Hill and industrial landscapes

click image to enlarge

The views of Gilwern Hill from the Blorenge are dominated by a telecommunications mast of the twentieth century and limestone quarries of the early nineteenth century and later. Tracks with man-made gentle inclines tell of horse-drawn tramway systems that moved the quarried stone. Dilapidated drystone walls mark out, as they have done for decades (probably centuries) improved grassland claimed from the heather and bracken. Old and derelict buildings and grassed over undulations can be seen, the latter the only remains of the village of Pwll-du that was demolished in the 1960s after the quarries closed and its inhabitants relocated to nearby valley villages including Govilon and Llanffwyst.

click image to enlarge

Today the area offers walks for hikers as well as holidays and courses built around outdoor pursuits. On the day of our visit the cloud was rising from the hills and mountain tops but still lingered on distant Pen y Fan, the highest peak in the Brecon Beacons of south Wales.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Ross on Wye from Brampton Abbotts

The clarity of summer seemed to extend well into autumn this year but now that season's mist is regularly upon us. Hard outlines have become softened, strong colours muted and distant objects reduced to outlines. It's a time of year when I like to take landscape photographs with long lenses, stacking up the scene's layers in the image. Today's photograph shows a view of the town of Ross on Wye, with its prominent spire of St Mary, taken from near Brampton Abbotts church.

 photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Bus station silhouettes

We regularly walk from home for business and pleasure. It's good to leave the car in the garage, stretch our legs, enjoy the sights to be seen, and feel we are reducing, in a small way, our contribution to climate change. We also, periodically and for the same reasons, use the train or the bus. Our bus journey usually takes us to and from Gloucester and necessitates the use of what I call a bus station, but what is labelled the Transport Hub. It's across the road from the railway station so I suppose it has greater claim to the title of Hub than many similarly named places. But to my mind it is, and will remain, the bus station, a place where bright yellow double-deckers and passenger silhouettes can be found.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Weather vane and autumn leaves

This weather vane has featured in one of my blog photographs before. It is on a building in Ross on Wye that was originally a church, then became an antiques shop and is now a collection of flats (apartments). I was drawn to the subject by its close visual juxtaposition with the top of a tree that had turned red for autumn.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Autumnal silver birch

There are a number of striking trees in autumn - the lime trees with their yellow leaves, the beech with leaves that I suppose are orange but look like gold, and the acers seemingly capable of producing leaves of any colour or even any two colours. However, for subtlety the silver birch (Betula pendula) takes some beating. We came across this example as we walked home and the juxtaposition of the leaves and bark lit by the low sun was hard to resist.

 photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Two Hereford views revisited

There are photographers who, on principle, take a picture of a view or other subject once only. More common are those who revisit locations looking to get a better shot. Time of day, time of year, type of weather and other factors make such an undertaking quite rewarding. I'm firmly of the second camp. Here are two views in Hereford that I have posted once and photographed several times. The first shows a statue of Edward Elgar (with bicycle) looking at the cathedral. The second image features an interesting house called "The Fosse". Both take advantage of autumn leaves.

 photos © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Wet autumn leaves

Regular spells of useful rain are now following our dry summer and early autumn, and the leaves are steadily falling from the trees. A walk in the Forest of Dean found us tramping through carpets of assorted leaves that still glistened from a recent downpour. The low morning sun illuminated them quite nicely adding shadows and bright points to the subtle colours, inviting a photograph.

 photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Welsh Mountain Ponies

The first time I saw Welsh Mountain Ponies was during a visit to Llanthony Priory in the Vale of Ewyas at the eastern edge of the Brecon Beacons. As I surveyed the medieval ruins I heard a shepherd high on the valley side calling to his dogs that were herding sheep. When I looked at the scene through my lens I could see the shepherd was riding a white pony - an unusual sight in the UK. On our recent walk to the highest point in Herefordshire we came across a group of these semi-wild ponies foraging in the grasses near the mountain summit. They took little notice of us, not even moving away very much. As I took this photograph on a day of benign weather I reflected on the harshness of their life in the winter months.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Edge of Herefordshire views

The topography of the county of Herifordshire is often described by analogy with a saucer i.e. lowlands in the centre with hills and mountains at the edge. That's not wholly accurate but the western rim where the land rises to meet the east of the Brecon Beacons fits that picture. Our recent walk took us up the rocky ridge called the Cat's Back (from its profile) (see first photograph) onto the mountains that are often hidden under low cloud.

The views on clear days are magnificent with the field boundaries of the ancient countryside looking like a net or latticework stretched across the terrain. As our walk progessed the cloud came and went then eventually rose completely. Many views resembled the scene out of an aircraft's windows as it makes its descent. The third photograph shows the Olchon Valley, the Cat's Back and a view across Herefordshire.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

View of Pen y Gadair Fawr

When you walk along the ridge that includes the highest point in Herefordshire (and Southern England) you have good views to the west and east. In the easterly direction is a panorama across the county of Herefordshire. To the west are some of the higher peaks of the easternmost Welsh Brecon Beacons. The notable prominence on the skyline in the photograph is Pen y Gadair Fawr, a peak of 2,625 feet (800m). The name translates as "top of the large chair". During our walk we had intermittent low clouds that   looked threatening, but as the day progressed they all but disappeared.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Herefordshire's highest point

We recently undertook a strenuous family walk to the highest point in Herefordshire. This lies on the border with Wales on a mountain known by two names, Black Mountain and Twyn Llech (hill of stone or crag). The summit is on a wide ridge 2,306 feet (703m) above sea level and is the highest point in Southern England (there are higher summits in Wales). This location comes as a surprise to many who do not know the area and assume that Southern England's highest point is on Dartmoor at High Willhays which is 2,037 feet (621m). The most southerly summit in the North of England that surpasses Black Mountain is Great Whernside near Kettlewell at 2,310 feet (704m).

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Halloween pumpkins

I'm not a fan of Halloween. What was an easily ignored modest festival (All Hallows' Eve) has, in the past 20-30 years, become a confused, frenzied mish-mash of U.S. pumpkins and trick or treating, ghosts, ghouls, spiders, witches, bats, black cats, grave stones etc all served up in the tackiest ways possible way for the benefit of commercial interests. But, when you have grandchildren, you get drawn into aspects of it, hence our involvement in the trip to choose pumpkins and the carving of them in our kitchen. The pumpkin above, the work of one of our sons, features a Minecraft shape surrounding an Enderman. The accompanying photographs below were taken at the pumpkin field.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Vicars' Close, Wells

The vicars of Wells were minor officials of the cathedral. The street shown in the photograph housed them and was built as early as 1348. It is 456 feet long and most of the twenty seven residences (originally 44) are identical. The front gardens are an addition of c.1410-20. Improvements and modernisations have been applied to the buildings of the Close during every century between their initial construction and today. Despite this, it is considered to be the oldest purely residential street in Europe.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

The brightest autumn leaves?

I imagine that if people were asked to name the leaves that produced the brightest colours in autumn most would mention the Acer, a tree that has been bred specifically to produce colourful leaves. However, this autumn, though I've photographed my share of Acers, I've also come across a leaf that could well be brighter than the brightest acer. I don't know the variety of Cotinus (also known as Smoke Bush) shown above, but I do know that its leaves "out-glow" most Acers. I came across this one growing behind a school fence, stretching towards the pavement seeking light.

 photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Reflections on the River Avon

The meaning of the word "reflections" includes "thinking about" and "mirroring". I employed both those meanings when I sat down to process this photograph of the reflections in the River Avon of the Borough Flour Mill, Tewkesbury. I reflected that the name "Avon" is one of the most common river names in the British Isles, is an ancient word meaning "river", and hence the River Avon is "River River". I also noted that the surface of the water reflecting the windows and brickwork had been beautifully disturbed by passing mallards making it worthy of a semi-abstract photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Abbot's kitchen, Glastonbury Abbey

Not many medieval kitchens have survived the years since their construction. One of the best preserved in Europe is the Abbot's Kitchen that still stands in the ruins of the Benedictine abbey at Glastonbury, Somerset. It dates from the second half of the fourteenth century and is, externally, square in plan. However, in each corner is a fireplace and this makes interior space octagonal, a shape that is carried through in the truncated pyramidal roof. The latter is surmounted by a tall lantern which itself has a tiny lantern on top.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

West front, Wells Cathedral

I haven't had much luck photographing at Wells Cathedral. On the last but one visit to the building it rained making outside shots difficult or impossible and interiors a lot darker than I would wish. On my most recent visit, a few weeks ago, we were about to step over the threshold and enter the building when the fire alarm sounded within and everyone came briskly out into the close. A wait of twenty minutes or so was only enlivened by the arrival of a fire engine and finally the all clear at a false alarm. This time I did the inside shots first - fewer people! Then went out  and took this photograph of the west front and its impressive tiers of canopies, many with medieval carved figures.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Puzzle on Hergest Ridge

The puzzle on Hergest Ridge is this: why is there a 3X3 grid of monkey puzzle trees (Araucaria araucana) on top of the upland hill? It is unusual to find this tree, also known as the Chilean Pine, outside of gardens, and its presence on this exposed, wind-swept summit on the border of Herefordshire and Wales is a conundrum. They are likely to be there on a landowner's whim, and are perhaps associated with the former horse racetrack whose oval can still be seen. The tree was not widely known in Britain until around the 1850s, and I remember reading that one of the Victorian houses below the Ridge had a driveway flanked by them. Perhaps that is the connection. 

photo © T. Boughen     Camera:iPhone

Views from Hergest Ridge

click images to enlarge
A road closure involving us in a detour down muddy, single-track roads, followed by a bank of cloud that appeared over Kington and Hergest Ridge, nearly caused us to look for a different destination than our planned walk on the famous hill. But we overcame and accepted the impediments and were rewarded with an interesting (if very windy) walk and some reasonable views. Here are two taken when the clouds admitted pools of light. They show the cultivation of the lower valleys and the uncultivated steep slopes and tops of the outcrops.

 photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

On Hergest Ridge

We recently made our first visit to Hergest Ridge. This 1394 feet (425m) hill is on the Herefordshire-Wales border. Its summit is notable for piles of local rock, gorse, small pools of water, semi-wild Welsh Mountain Ponies, an odd stand of trees (see later post) and quite good views. People of a certain age, or with a relatively deep interest in popular music, will recognise "Hergest Ridge" as the title of Mike Oldfield's second album of 1974, following his very popular "Tubular Bells (1973). The composer/performer bought a house near the Ridge where he composed his music.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Boston Ivy

At this time of year many garden climbing plants become much more eye-catching as their leaves change colour. A couple of weeks ago we came upon this Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) making a fine display as its green leaves turned to pink against a brick wall. In the past I've considered this to be a variant of Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), but if I'd taken note of the Latin names I'd have realised my error - the clue is in the tri and quinque.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Gothic Revival at Tyntesfield House

Tyntesfield House, in Somerset near Bristol, is a Gothic Revival country house designed in the 1860s by the architect, John Norton. It cost £70,000, a large sum that could be well afforded by the owner who has been described as "the richest non-noble man in England."

 Pevsner describes the south elevation (photo 2) as "an object lesson in the technique by which a High Victorian architect endeavored to keep balance while avoiding symmetry." Money was lavished on every elevation - see east elevation,  photo 1 - as well as the interiors. The chapel, on the right of photo 2, was added in 1875, the design of the architect, Sir Arthur Blomfield. It has been likened to the chapels of Oxford colleges. The house became the property of the National Trust in 2002 and the public were first admitted ten weeks after purchase.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300