Dockside crane and tracks

Gloucester Docks and the adjacent shopping attraction, Gloucester Quays, are an interesting mixture of the old and the new. The warehouses and the water of the docks attract people who want to know more about the area's past. To help kindle the atmosphere a few old cranes are parked where once they would have busily shifted goods from dockside to ship and vice versa. The tracks set in the tough granite setts make a good foreground for one of the most interesting cranes.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Refurbishing boats, Gloucester docks

On a recent visit to Gloucester docks we noticed quite a few boats, launches, yachts etc undergoing refurbishments of one sort or another. It was a fairly typical overcast February day and on reflection I suppose it was a good time time of year to be getting everything in "ship-shape and Bristol fashion". Standing out among the muted colours of the vessels was this yacht with its bright yellow hull - a good subject to brighten up the photographic scenes in front of me.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Gloucester - warehouse flats and narrow boats

Gloucester Quays is the fancy name given to the restoration of an area of Gloucester Docks. It includes a large shopping centre, places to eat, many flats (in converted warehouses as well as new-build), a college, ship repairers, museums etc. All this stands alongside the actual docks themselves which are home to sailing ships, motor boats and lots of narrow boats, virtually all being pleasure craft. The docks were originally built to connect the city to the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal and the River Severn, which they still do. However, their commercial purpose is no longer required and they have found a new purpose in the activities described above.

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

The Gloucester big wheel

Well, not that big really, but looking quite big against the backdrop of the regenerated docks. The weather was very changeable on the day we visited and the owners of the attraction seemed to be putting the finishing touches to the construction of the wheel. The first photograph I took presented itself to me with the white wheel emphasising the dark grey of the water-laden clouds. The wheel's reflection in the dock added to the visual interest.

 The second shot appeared as I looked up at the hub of the wheel, my eye catching the movement of a workman connecting wires to the structure. He obligingly looked down at me and shouted "cheese"!

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

Restoring the sailing barge "Gladys"

On a walk through Gloucester Docks we came upon the sailing barge "Gladys". It was undergoing restoration in the dry dock of T. Nielsen & Co. The spritsail barge was built in 1901 at Harwich. For sixty years, from 1912 to 1972, it operated as a bulk grain cargo vessel. A diesel engine was added to "Gladys" in the early 1950s. In the 1970s the barge was used as a pleasure yacht and in more recent times has been the provider of corporate entertainment.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Anthemion

When I was being taught about the history of art and architecture I learnt to to distinguish anthemion and palmette ornament on the basis that the former was derived from the honeysuckle flower and the latter from palm leaves. Today, it seems, that distinction no longer applies and the two types of Egyptian, classical and renaissance ornament are grouped as variations of a single form. That is an unusual trend: usually finer classifications prevail over a reduction in types. The anthemion design in today's photograph is part of the cast iron railings that formed part of the perimeter of Gloucester Docks and is presumably of the late Georgian or, more likely, Victorian period.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100