Autumn at Cannop Ponds

Cannop Ponds in the Forest of Dean are man-made reservoirs that were designed to send a controlled flow of water to a water-powered wheel at Park End Iron works. They comprise two ponds and were built in 1825 (lower) and 1829 (upper). Today they are a popular tourist destination and a nature site.

 In recent years there was the possibility of the ponds being drained and the land returned to its former existence as a valley of the Cannop Brook. Fortunately this project was dropped and the habitats around the two ponds will be developed to benefit more wildlife. These two photographs were taken recently at the edges of the expanses of water.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Poppy soldier

In early November paper poppies are sold by the Royal British Legion to raise funds to help former service people and their families who are in need. The culmination of events associated with remembrance happens on the nearest Sunday to the 11th November (Armistice Day in 1914) in services at churches and cenotaphs. Enterprising people also highlight the events by making and displaying eye-catching poppy-based tableaux. The wire frame person in the photograph above is the sort often seen dressed up with potted plants in summer. In this example artificial poppies have been used and a beret added to make a serviceman. It was outside the town hall in Hereford, and was certainly eye-catching, if a little creepy!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Fused art glass

This small example of fused art glass is a piece that took our fancy when we saw it on display in a gallery. It is designed to be displayed against a window so that its colours glow in the daylight. Here I used a light box to illuminate it for a photograph.

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

Ornamental oaks

Britain's two native species of oak are the English Oak (Quercus robur) and the Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea). Both are relatively widespread, are often long-lived and have suffered greatly at the forester's axe. Today they are particularly prized for the great conribution they make to the richness of nature in the areas where they are found. More oaks were introduced into Britain following the exploration of North America, and decorative species such as the Red Oak (Quercus borealis), Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea) and Pin Oak (Quercus palustris) can now be found in parkland, large gardens and some woodlands. The leaves in the photograph above are on one of these non-native oaks.

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

Cathedral lights

In the winter months the interior lights of cathedrals come into their own. The effectiveness of the lighting varies from building to building, with some using artificial light better than others. One of the best effects is lighting that emphasises the basic structure of the building. Today's photograph shows some wall lights in Hereford Cathedral. Here the effect is to emphasises the glass spheres of the lights and to throw a pool of light around them. My under-exposed shot has emphasised this effect.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Resting drake mallard

As we passed a distant, sleeping mallard I stopped and pointed my camera at it and saw its eye open. Even though the rear of the bird was pointing directly at us, with its head tucked under its wing, it could still bring an eye to bear on us to decide if we were a threat or not. The mallard was resting in shallow water at the pool's edge, on a single leg, with its feathers insulating it from the morning breeze. We must have been sufficiently distant for it to feel safe because when I looked again, using my camera as a telescope, its eye was closed once more.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Ginkgo biloba leaves

The tree, Ginkgo biloba (also known as maidenhair tree) has been called a living fossil. It is the last remaining living species of the order Ginkgoales which first appeared 290 million years ago. Fossils that are very similar to Ginkgo biloba appear in the middle Jurassic i.e. c.170 million years ago. The fan-shaped leaves of the tree are unique among trees today and are the easiest way of recognising it. If left unpruned the Ginkgo can grow to 50m tall and individuals are claimed to have live for 2,500 years. The tree's leaves turn to saffron yellow in autumn and it is this colour and the exclusive leaf shape that accounts for its popularity with gardeners.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Old crane, Gloucester Docks

When planning the transformation of an old docks into new recreational areas of water and former warehouses that feature flats and offices it must have been difficult to get the balance between old and new. Gloucester Docks made quite good choices in this regard, and retained enough, but not too much of the old. This crane has no practical function today other than to stir the visitor's imagination. My conversion of a colour photograph of the crane and its surroundings into black and white helps further in this regard.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Dried flowers and grasses

click photo to enlarge
There are a number of methods of flower preservation including hot air drying, silica gel drying, freeze drying and pressing. However, the most common, least difficult and consequently most widely favoured, is hanging small bunches in a well-ventilated area away from direct sunlight. We have a couple of vases of dried flowers and grasses. I'm no expert on suitable plants for drying but in our displays I can recognise lavender, poppy, yarrow and hare's tail grass. In the past we have had teasel and Physalis (Chinese Lanterns). I photographed  a detail from one of our vases as I cast about for a subject on a recent wet and dull day.

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

The bus station

click photo to enlarge
This is the second photograph of Gloucester bus station that I've posted. The first was taken from inside on a bright day and featured the silhouettes of people. I took today's photograph as I wandered about inside and out looking for shots rather than sitting and waiting for our bus. For this photograph I hung about until the people in the glazed waiting areas on the right had filled the buses, leaving a view to the far end of the interesting building.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Lierne vaulting, Tewkesbury Abbey

The complex lierne vaulting  above the choir of Tewkesbury Abbey dates from the 1330s. It features unusually bright red and blue paintwork alongside more traditional cream. The bosses are gilded. The central ring of suns were the emblems of the Yorkists and are said to have been added by Edward IV after the defeat of the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. This was the last important battle of the Wars of the Roses.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Poppyhead, Tewkesbury Abbey choir stalls

The choir stalls at Tewkesbury Abbey were extensively restored in 1879, with new additions, by John Oldrid Scott. He incorporated some medieval misericords and other old work with his own designs. The photograph shows one of the "poppyheads" on the north side, two winged creatures below with grapes, leaves and tendrils above. Poppyhead is a word derived from the French "poupee" meaning doll or puppet, and describes the 3-part finial carving of the end of a wooden bench or stall.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Willow pattern plate

Since about 1994 I have eaten food from willow pattern plates and bowls. It is thought that this design originated in England towards the end of the C18 when the blue and white ware of the Chinese Qing dynasty was very popular. A standard design evolved in the potteries around Stoke on Trent that had a white background with a blue water-side landscape of trees, a bridge with three figures, buildings, a fishing boat, two birds, a fence etc. The design appears to have been in production ever since those early days. A story about the willow pattern characters was written to help promote interest and sales of the crockery. Our version is the work of the Churchill company and has proved remarkably hard wearing.

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

Prior Park footbridge, Great Malvern

Most civic parks worth the name feature a small lake and most of these small lakes incorporate a footbridge. That's certainly the case at Prior Park in Great Malvern, Worcestershire. Here the bridge is constructed of unvarnished timber that, almost inevitably, has something of the Chinoiserie about it.

That oriental flavour isn't as obvious as in the timber bridge at Croome Park, but it has a sprinkling of characteristic features that derive from the popular blue and white willow pattern of crockery dating from the C18 and later.

photos © T. Boughen    Camera: Nikon Z 5

Methodist Chapel, Monmouth

Contrary to the Listing information about this Grade II* building Monmouth's methodist chapel is not "prominently sited". In fact, it has to be searched out and is easily missed, being built back from the street line. It was designed by the architect G.V. Maddox and a panel supported by scrolls in the pediment proclaims the date of its completion as 1837. Maddox gave the building a classical facade with Ionic columns at ground level supporting a porch, Ionic pilasters on the first floor, triangular pediments over the rectangular ground floor windows and round-topped windows in recessed arches above. It is a fine composition that deserved a more public location. A small step in making it better seen by the passing public would be the removal of the bushes that impair the view.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Autumn acer leaves

There isn't a season (winter, of course, excepted) when an acer tree doesn't have a show of beautiful leaves. In previous gardens we have had a few acers; in the present garden just the one. But this solitary specimen has beautiful red leaves in spring, foliage that goes well with a blue sky, and a fine mixture of orange and greens in autumn that even that season's ravages of insects, wind and rain cannot dull.

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

Ornate pulpit, Huntley

St John Baptist, Huntley in Gloucestershire is a 1861-3 rebuilding of a medieval church by the architect, S.S. Teulon. He demolished everything except the west tower which he remodelled. For this work he was given plentiful funds by Rev. Daniel Capper, the rector from 1839-1865, and he delivered a no-expenses-spared building constructed with costly materials to give an opulent effect. Possibly the most lavish piece is the pulpit made of English, Irish and Italian marbles.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Everyday history

Some of the most interesting photographs are those that capture a particular moment in history. This doesn't have to be a momentous moment - mundane is often good enough, so long as it can be compared and contrasted with a different way of doing things. In 2024 the re-surfacing of one of the main roads in Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, looked like the above with men in high-vis and purpose-built machines being used for each stage. It won't be like this 100 years in the future and at that point a photograph like this one may come into its own.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Tractor at work

Towards the end of September, while standing on the highest point of medieval Goodrich Castle, I noticed a field with a tractor about a mile or so distant. The vehicle was going up and down the gaps between rows of posts and plants. I was carrying what I call my "bird watching camera", a Nikon P950. Even with its long lens I couldn't make out what the crop was when I viewed my shots on the camera's screen and I resolved to remedy that when I got the image on my computer. But no, I'm still none the wiser!

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Wet, wet, wet

A review by the Meteorological Office of September's weather notes that, "England, and more specifically southern England, has been particularly wet compared to average. Ten English counties experienced their wettest September on record and for Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire, September 2024 was the wettest calendar month the counties have experienced, in a series dating back to 1836." Moreover, Northern parts of Britain and are noteworthy for having less rain than is usual for September. Anecdotal evidence and daily experience in Herefordshire confirms the wettness of last month. To underline the wetness theme today's macro photograph shows the tip of our conservatory door handle, positively dripping with rain.

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

Odd perches

Birds perched on odd perches is something of a recurring theme in my photography. This latest example has a wood pigeon perched on a wooden lion's head. Previous examples include a gull on cyclist, a heron on a heron, and a gull on a swan.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Autumn cyclamen

In the corners of gardens and in church yards are there are currently pockets of pink - the autumn cyclamen are in flower. They are often in the place where spring crocuses flowered and the cyclamen might be taken for a last "hurrah" of summer. But I prefer to see them as an early sign of autumn because they are usually accompanied by dead leaves that have fallen from the sheltering trees.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Daddy Long Legs

The crane fly (Tipulidae) - also known in the UK as the "daddy long legs"- is an insect I associate with the month of September. They are often seen during this month and during my working years there was a period when they regularly tripped the alarm of the building in which I worked. The engineer who was eventually called in to remedy the issue memorably said they must have been flying in formation. Why? Because a single crane fly passing through the beam would not trip it, but two within a short period would. This example was one of several on the door and windows at the front of our house one day.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Gatekeeper butterfly

The butterfly population of the UK seems to have crashed this year. Survey numbers show they are well down, and our unscientific study of local butterflies shows it to be the case in our garden and in the wider countryside too. Interestingly, the gatekeeper butterfly has thrived more than most other species, and this obliging example let me get quite close for my photograph.

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

Rowers and swans

It's not unusual to find rowing clubs and swans co-existing on a river. Rowers seem to want want deepish, clear water with a spot for a club house and boat store, in a location near the centre of a settlement. Swans (invariably mute swans) also like a location frequented by people because that is somewhere they can guarantee being fed! Of course conflicts can arise when the fast, sleek boats meet the slow, stately swans. But, with good will, they usually co-exist. One such location is the centre of the city of Worcester. These rowers stopped rowing and gently glided into the flock of swans that is usually found here. On the day I took this photograph the number of swans on this stretch of the River Severn was about four times the number seen in my shot.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

St Michael and All Angels, Great Witley

The church of St Michael and All Angels stands alongside the burnt out shell of Witley Court. It is a brick building with an exterior that was faced in Bath stone c.1850 by the architect, Samuel Daukes. The lavish Italian Baroque interior was brought to Great Witley from Cannon's House, Edgeware and fitted to the building by James Gibbs c.1735. The gilded walls and ceiling feature painted panels by Bellucci, a towering monument by Rysbrack and stained glass by Price. It is, if anything more unexpected in an English setting than yesterday's featured church at Hoarwithy.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

St Catherine, Hoarwithy

The church of St Catherine at Hoarwithy, Herefordshire, differs substantially from the usual Victorian Church of England building. Why? Well, it derives its appearance from Italian Romanesque churches. The bell tower, the rounded east end of the chancel, the loggia, the Roman tile roofs and the richly decorated, short apsidal chancel all speak of Italy rather than rural Herefordshire. It is a Grade 1 Listed building and on the day of our visit the steep path to the main entrance was covered in matting to make the ascent easier. A notice said that this had been permitted for one year during which time a more fitting finish was to be laid down.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Old warehouse, Hereford

The warehouse in today's photograph is on Gwynne Street near the River Wye and the old bridge in Hereford. It has been sensitively refurbished and displays its original polychrome brickwork, windows where the loading/unloading doors would have been and what looks like the housing for the pulley at the top of the facade. One feature I really like, and probably prompted my photograph, is the colour chosen for the paintwork.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Self-portrait in old mirror

Georgian country houses often feature rooms with large and/or plentiful mirrors. Sometimes these mirrors have holders for candles. The reason for this is to magnify the candle light which was the only source of indoor light at that time. A visit to a country house also reveals that many of these mirrors (and those from the Victorian period) have deteriorated and no longer reflect as well as they did. The photograph above shows me at Berrington Hall, Herefordshire, photographing a bronze figure in one of these old mirrors.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Mural by the Rudhall Brook

A corrugated iron fence next to the Rudhall Brook does no favours for that location in Ross on Wye. Consequently, several years ago murals were painted on it, one section depicting a colourful street scene with lights, the other with frogs, ducks and other animals to be seen on the Brook. In recent years it has shown its age somewhat and so sections are being re-painted and painted with different images. This duck's head took my fancy, particularly the glowing red eye amongs the blues and turquoise.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Witley Court's fountains

Witley Court was a large country house that succumbed to fire in 1937. Much of the exterior walls and grounds remain and the building is now in the care of Historic England. As well as looking after the remaining structure Historic England brought the magnificent fountains back into use. The main fountain, that depicts Perseus and Andromeda, is turned on for several minutes every hour on the hour and visitors assemble to see the spectacle as fountains slowly build up to their maximum height.

 photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Begonias and Creeping Jenny

Some walls maintained by the council in Monmouth are planted with the same flower scheme every year. It involves planters and pots fixed to the vertical surface and the filling of them with, mainly, Begonias and Creeping Jenny. Every year I see them and every year I admire them. And I think, as probably the council does too, "why change a winning combination?"

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Miners' Brass, Newland

In the medieval church of All Saints in Newland, Gloucestershire, is a small, rectangular brass 1 foot (30cm) long. It is fixed to a late medieval tomb slab to which it does not appear to have any connection. It is known as the Miners' Brass and shows the helmet, mantling and crest representing a free miner of the Forest of Dean. The miner is holding a pick and has a hod on his back and a candle holder between his teeth. The juxtaposition of this working man and the heraldic devices associated with the nobility is an odd one, and underlines the status of the free miners of the Forest.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Fields of borage

Walking by Offa's Dyke near Monmouth we came upon several lavender coloured fields. We knew they weren't lavender having become familiar with the lavender fields of Norfolk. Closer inspection revealed that it was the herb borage. We have seen this plant grown on farms once before, but not on this scale. Borage is grown for its seed oil which has a number of pharmaceutical uses including being the richest source of Omega 6 and for its culinary properties. This many flowering plants attracts high numbers of bees and we saw plenty of hives along the hedge sides of the fields - a further source of revenue for the growers of borage.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Offa's Dyke near Monmouth

Offa's Dyke is an 82 mile long earthwork, incorporating a ditch, that stretches along the border between England and Wales. It is thought to have been built for King Offa who was the Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia 757AD-796AD, though recent research suggest part of it may date from the early 5th century, about the time the Romans departed Britain. The dyke varies in depth and width. A long-distance footpath, the Offa's Dyke Path, is 177 miles long and incorporates about 60 miles of the earth work. The photograph shows a deep section near the town of Monmouth with a footbridge inserted to take the path over the dyke.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Pink cyclamen flowers

My wife's regime with our potted cyclamens usually results in them flowering in winter. This year due to changes in her management they are flowering in August and September. We have a few different coloured cyclamens, some subtle, others like the pink example above, are positively eye popping.

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

Church and timber-framing, Colwall

The church of St James at Colwall, Herefordshire is a fairly typical stone building, the product of construction down the ages. The earliest parts of the main building are C12 with additions of the C13, C17 and C19. The south-west tower is work of the C14-C15. What is unusual is the timber-framed building next to the church. The listed building information gives it the name "Church Cottage" and one can imagine it served as the house of the clergy in the late C16 and early C17 when it was newly built. However, it is also described as the church ale-house and today it is used as a store. Its shape - long and not very deep, does suggest an agricultural rather than a domestic purpose. Whatever its purpose it does make an interesting composition alongside the church.

photo 2 © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Common mallow

Common mallow (Malva sylvestris) is a striking plant. It grows up to 1.5m in height and has large, deep pink flowers. It is found on wasteland, roadsides, footpaths and in hedges. The leaves, flowers and seeds are edible and it is thought that the Romans cultivated the plant for food and medicines.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Sheep in the shade

On a walk up to Table Mountain (Crug Hywel) near Crickhowell (see previous post) we passed these sheep in the shade by a gateway in a drystone wall. They took little notice of us, seeming to enjoy the spot they had chosen. As I framed my shot I noticed that beyond was the distant summit of Sugar Loaf.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

View from Table Mountain, Crickhowell

click photo to enlarge
This photograph shows the ESE view from Table Mountain (also known as Crug Hywel) above Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons. It is a rather grand name for a fairly minor bump at 451m on the side of the higher summit of Pen Cerrig-calch (701m). However, the "bump" is not without interest. It is the site of an Iron Age hillfort built on a landslip that created an almost level site that was then fortified with ditches and stone walls. The remains of these workings can be seen in the foreground of the photograph. The highest distant summit is Sugar Loaf.

 photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Cafe and boiled egg

As we passed a pavement cafe in Cheltenham I did a double take and walked back to get a photograph of the artwork and outdoor furniture. The egg in its cup makes an interesting focus for the composition, and as I went on my way I wondered just how popular boiled eggs served in an egg cup are today. They are something that I associate with childhood breakfasts. But perhaps I'm not typical.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Waltham Premier pocket watch

Many years ago I was given a Waltham pocket watch. Quite soon after I received it the watch succumbed to the clumsy attention of one of my young sons and stopped working. It remained at the back of a drawer for decades until, very recently, when I came across it again. I decided to find out more about the watch and discovered it was made in the U.S.A., probably in the 1940s, was bought by the U.K. government for military use, and engraved on its well-worn back I found a War Department/Ministry of Defence arrow head. I opened it up "messed about with it" and it started working! Moreover, as long as I wind it daily it keeps working!

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

Mint moth

As I cast about the oregano flowers with my macro lens, looking for bees, I came upon a small (very small) moth that I don't recall ever seeing before. It was about half the size of my small finger-nail, mainly dark purplish red with yellow spots, and appeared to be a mint moth. This moth, as its name suggests, often uses mint as a food plant. In our garden, which has no mint, it seemed to like the oregano. But then that's true of many insects.

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

Green-veined white

The green-veined white butterfly is often mistaken for the small white. The distinguishing feature is, of course, the green veins. This example was visiting the flowers of a burdock growing by the River Wye in Herefordshire. Helpfully, the sex of the green-veined white can be determined by the spots on the forewing - the female has two and the male only one.

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

Gibbs surrounds

The Gibbs surround is a blocky treatment of a Renaissance doorway or window. Typically each block alternates on a column with a flat or a rounded section. It is a variation on the "rusticated" style. It was popularised by the Scottish architect James Gibbs (1682-1754), though it can be found in examples that pre-date his influence. The first example shown is on the early eighteenth century Old Magistrate's House, Church Lane, Ledbury, Herefordshire. The second example is on Waterside House, Upton upon Severn, Worcestershire, and dates from c.1740.

photo 1 © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10
photo 2 © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Jazz band musicians

Across the Sundays of the summer months the bandstand at Ross on Wye is home to a variety of brass bands who present a musical programme of a couple of hours duration. Brass bands entertaining from a raised, ornamental bandstand is a very British custom. However, this year tradition was broken when a jazz band was featured. "Jazz Friday" was a big "big band" and I managed to get this photograph of just a few of the musicians as they gave of their best.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950