Beach at Sidmouth, Devon

The shingle beach at Sidmouth, Devon, is constrained by the presence of cliffs to the east and west. Like many towns along this coast its name derives from  its geographical location where a river flows into the sea. In this case the town is at the the mouth of the River Sid. The settlement, again like many of its neighbours, was principally a fishing village but today its prosperity derives from tourism. The attractive sea front with thatched houses on the cliffs now draws visitors who want to experience the beach and the water sports that are available.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Sea front at Sidmouth, Devon

The success or otherwise of a seaside town that relies for its livelihood on tourism is very dependent on what it offers for visitors to see and do. Attractive, interesting buildings contribute enormously. So too do activities connected with the sea. The small Devon town of Sidmouth has a good mixture of buildings and sea-linked activities, in fact rather more than you might expect in a settlement of its size.

 
The building shown is a fanciful mixture of styles and materials, something that is a feature of many British seaside towns.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Pink houses, Lyme Regis

This short terrace of houses on the seafront at Lyme Regis catch the eye, initially, because of their colour. They have been painted pink and given bright turquoise doors. Further examination shows them to have thatched roofs, a not uncommon feature on older seaside housing in Dorset and Devon. The forms of the decorative ironwork and the ground and first floor bowed bays tell of the date of their construction - around 1800-1820. This suggests that they may have been known to Jane Austen whose last novel, "Persuasion", includes scenes set in Lyme Regis. It was published in late 1817, six months after her death.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Herring gulls and scallop shells

This pair of herring gulls in the harbour at Lyme Regis seemed to be examining these scallop shells more in hope than expectation. All the shells had been opened and all seemed to have been there for a long time. What struck me most about this encounter was the combination of colours - the soft grey and white of the birds, and the white brown, orange and almost yellow of the shells all set against the lurid green of the algae/weed.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Harbour, Lyme Regis, Dorset

These photographs of Lyme Regis harbour were taken one minute and three seconds apart and illustrate a difference that a wider angle of view can make to a shot. Whilst the first shot offers information about the harbour and what can be seen there the second gives that information but in less detail. It also sets the harbour more in its geographical context and shows off the sky to better effect. It is, in my view, a better picture, more of a landscape than the first photograph.

 photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Fishing boats, Lyme Regis, Dorset

There's no doubt that most photographs of boats (and ships) give more attention to the bow than the stern. In a way, it's like photographs of animals where the head invariably features more prominently than the tail or rear end.

However, the stern of boats and ships are the more often the "business end" of the vessel and as such have more of interest on show - as with this pair of fishing boats in the harbour at Lyme Regis, Dorset. 

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Horas Non Numero Nisi Serenas

Near the pink houses in Lyme Regis shown in the earlier post is a newer (1904) house by the architect Arnold Mitchell. It is in a vernacular style - rough stone with mullioned cut stone window surrounds and an angular bay- and is notable for its sundial. Like most sundials it features a representation of the sun, here with a face and flames that become foliage. And, also like most sundials, it has a Latin motto: in this instance, "Horas Non Numero Nisi Serenas". This translates as "I count only the hours that are serene", meaning, I suppose, "only the summer hours" because sundials are limited in the hours that they can record by their prospect and by the time of year.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Dutton Surf amphibious car

If you were a photographer walking alongside the River Avon in Tewkesbury, or perhaps a duck swimming along that water course, what is one of the least likely things you would expect to come across? Somewhere in your list of improbables may be a bright yellow Dutton Surf amphibious car. And yet that's precisely what I saw chugging along, scattering mallards as it made its way upstream.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

London's waste

Today's photograph shows the tug, "Recovery", on the River Thames in London. It is towing two barges loaded with waste containers. These are probably full and are being taken to the waste disposal site south of the Greenwich Peninsula. In the background is the Albert Bridge, a crossing that connects Chelsea in Central London on the north bank to the Battersea area on the south. I recall photographing a tug with barges years ago in Rotherhithe. On checking, I found that it was eleven years ago and the very same tug as the one above! I also found a shot of a tug at work in the evening.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Trees and the city - 2

"The Chelsea Barracks masterplan set out to create traditional Belgravia garden square living with an unprecedented five acres of Central London green space". It also claims to be "the most significant development in Central London for decades, combining state of the art contemporary living in a historic setting, but is also the most sustainable development in Europe, and one of only 16 developments in the world to reach this standard" i.e. LEED Platinum. I'm sure that the residences of this development cost an arm and a leg, and possibly a kidney too. So, I wondered as we walked by the edge of these wonderful homes, what's with the big metal tree?

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Trees and the city - 1

Walking past 100 Liverpool Street, the multipurpose new edifice near Liverpool Street railway station, London, I looked up and noticed a young tree peeping over the top of the building. I imagine there is a space on the roof open to some of the occupants where people take a break, eat lunch, or have a coffee. The contrast between the natural form of the tree and the man-made form of the building was stark. Perhaps in the fullness of time it, and its companions will take root and soften what is currently an expanse of concrete, glass and steel. As I looked at the tree I couldn't help but compare it with the tree in the next post.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Preening drake Mandarin

On a late April walk round Cannop Ponds in the Forest of Dean we came across a reduced number of mandarin ducks. This is probably accounted for by the fact that in April and May the ducks are nesting in cavities in trees in the area around the water. Of the remaining ducks all but one were males, and most of these were spending their time preening on branches overhanging the ponds. The biological imperatives that govern behaviour seemed to be at work here - the females doing the important stuff and the males making themselves look the best they can!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

More City towers

The skyline of London has altered dramatically in the past twent years or so. Tall towers have proliferated initially in two main areas - Canary Wharf and The City. In both cases what began in a modest and relatively unintrusive manner has gone mad and now towers rise next to each other with no apparent thought given to the appearance of the clustering of these glass and concrete monsters. The Shard seems to be the catalyst for more towers south of the river, and St George's Wharf and Battersea Power Station are magnets for towers in the west of central London. One of the South Bank viewpoints for The City is a specially constructed spot at New Globe Wharf by Bankside Pier. I took this photograph of some tourists enjoying (?) the view.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The London tourist trail

A commonly followed London tourist trail involves a walk along the South Bank. One of the optional forks in this trail is the Millennium Footbridge that crosses the River Thames between Tate Modern and St Paul's cathedral. The bridge is a good point from which to photograph Sir Christopher Wren's fine building. I've taken a shot (or two) from this point before and on our recent visit I got myself in position to take my photograph. But, too slow! The act of raising my camera to my eye here caused a few people around me to notice the view and stop to get their shot - as you can see.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Snowstar, Ramsgate harbour

Most of the boats in the harbour at Ramsgate, Kent are white. On the day of our visit there were several grey, Royal Navy  boats, a bright orange pilot boat, and few others sporting bright colours. But, the predominant colour was white indicating to me that they were mainly private yachts and launches. The Snowstar stood out with its blue, yellow and orange and it suggested to me that it would make a good foreground subject against the boring white boats. I looked at the boat to see if I could deduce its purpose but nothing told of what it did when it set sail. However, a quick trawl of the internet indicates that it has been, and may still be, a boat that takes anglers out into the English Channel for a day's fishing.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

April on Broadstairs beach

I took this photograph of people enjoying the sun on Broadstairs beach, Kent, on the 17th April. The English weather isn't so often benign in the middle of April, and it is usually only hardy souls who venture into the sea and strip off in this month. But, the sun, a little shelter from the harbour wall and the headland slightly out of shot, left enough of the sun's power available and everyone took advantage and pretended it was August.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2