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