The Lock Up

A lock up is a small prison in which people were locked up pending an appearance before a magistrate. It is less grand than a prison, holds few people, and was used in small towns and villages in England and Wales. Most were built in the C18 and C19, and they were often quite decorative structures. The lockup in Ross on Wye was built in 1838 and was used for holding prisoners before they were sent to Hereford courts. It had two cells and fell out of use in 1844. Today it has adjoining buildings and is a house.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Winter sun on The Prospect

The name given to the public park next to the church in Ross on Wye is The Prospect. This neatly defines its main purpose i.e. a viewpoint above the sandstone cliffs from which to look out over the loop of the River Wye, the riverside fields, the village of Wilton, the distant farmland and hills, and the even more distant mountains. It was was created by John Kyrle, who rented the land from the Marquess of Bath in 1696 and turned it into a garden and walkway.  The Prospect is also the home of the town's war memorial and is a place to sit in relative quiet. Today's photograph shows the boundary fence of the location, with a low sun streaming its light through a tree.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Winter wheat and blackcurrants

My photograph, I think, shows lines of winter wheat in the foreground behind the out of focus hedge and blackcurrants beyond, on the hill slope in wider lines. Both of these crops are grown locally and I'm told the blackcurrants go to the bottling plant of Britain's favourite blackcurrant cordial a few miles away in Coleford.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Foggy, flooded bandstand, Ross on Wye

A few times each year heavy rain causes the River Wye at Ross on Wye to spill out of its channel. This doesn't usually do much damage because it's done this for decades and buildings have, for the most part, not been erected where it floods. Or the structures that are flooded aren't damaged - like this bandstand that was recently subject to not only floodwater but fog, and made for an interesting photograph.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

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

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

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

Shadows in The Maltings

For centuries British cities, towns and some villages had malt houses. These were buildings where cereal grains were converted into malt by soaking in water (promoting sprouting) then drying the mix to stop further growth. The malt was usd in the brewing of alcoholic drinks, particularly beer. In the nineteenth century the small malt houses went out of use to be replaced by fewer, but much larger "maltings". These could be found in cities and major towns. They, in turn, during the twentieth century, were replaced by methods of brewing that no longer required massive maltings. The large premises were often turned into housing and covered shopping. The small shopping centre in Ross on Wye was built on part of the site of the town maltings, though some of the larger buildings and distinctive shape of  the roof profile can still be seen. I caught this photograph on a day when the sun was throwing shadows from the glazed roof.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix LX3

Building 02B

On a small industrial estate in Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, are a number of modern, metal, cuboid-shaped industrial buildings. Each one has been marked with a unique designation comprising a letter and number that is the most prominent feature of its exterior. So overpowering is this alphanumeric designation that it often dwarfs the name of the business within - as is the case in the photograph above. I took my photograph at a weekend and the absence of any workers or their vehicles, along with the sparse weeds at the base of the building, gave the scene something of the look of a "ghost-town".

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

River Wye swimmer

We are used to the variety of activities that take place on the River Wye at Ross on Wye, but recently we came upon a new one. It didn't involve scullers from the rowing club or hire canoes or paddle boards. Nor was it children paddling in the shallows of the shingle banks. What we saw was a swimmer determinedly breast-stroke swimming with the flow of the river. He was towing a waterproof container that, presumably, held his belongings, and acted as a buoyancy aid. It was this that made us think he must be a long distance swimmer undertaking a several mile swim. Not everyone spotted him, but the goosanders kept a close eye on him.

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

Church organ pipes

The church organ pipes that attract the attention of visitors are usually those that have received paintwork decoration - like this recently posted example, and this painted en chamade set at Usk church. But, there are many unadorned organ pipes in Britain's churches and they catch the eye with their simplicity, repetition and contrast, as with the example above in St Mary's church, Ross on Wye.

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

Leaping salmon sculpture

The sculpture shown in the photograph is a depiction of leaping salmon by the artist, Walenty Pytel. It was made in 1997, is constructed of steel with a granite base, and can be seen by the corner of the road next to "The Man of Ross" public house in Ross on Wye. It is one of three public sculptures by the artist in the town: the other two are by the River Wye and depict mallards and mute swans.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Spires and vertical accents

Is there a better vertical accent than a church spire? A case can be made for skyscrapers or mill chimneys but, without wishing to sound like the Victorian architect, designer and writer, A.W.N. Pugin, I have to say that a church spire (or two, or more) always improves the appearance of a village, town or city. This view of distant Ross on Wye seen from Wilton Bridge would be much less distinctive and distinguished without the early C14 spire and C18 pinnacles of the church of St Mary.

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

Preening drake goosander

I've mentioned before the obliging nature of some goosanders on the River Wye at Ross that now swim with the semi-tame mallards that people feed. Recently I've noted males and females preening as they drift about with the other waterbirds, a behaviour that seems to suggest they are comfortable near people. Preening allows the birds to put their feathers neatly together so they can fly, swim and dive most efficiently. It is also cleans the plumage and keeps parasites at bay. They can also spread preen oil from a gland near the tail that helps the waterproofing of the feathers. This male took little notice of me as I took my shot.

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

Receding flood water, Ross on Wye

A late afternoon walk with some family members took us past the bandstand and some of the receding flood water. I was quite pleased by this shot, taken against the sun with the iPhone. Not until I got it home and looked at it on the computer monitor did I notice the small, bright, quite odd looking cloud and its reflection.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Ross on Wye floodwater

click photo to enlarge
The first week of January saw widespread flooding across western, central and southern Britain. In Ross on Wye, Herefordshire, the River Wye left its channel and spread its waters across the surrounding farmland. Near the town a few low-lying properties were affected, but most of the flood water covered areas that have been deliberately left without buildings. After a walk around the town we descended the cliff and took a few photographs of the inundated benches, road and trees. I was quite pleased by the black and white version of one of my shots.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Sunset and mist by the River Wye

At first glance, this photograph of the sun going down behind the River Wye at Ross on Wye looks like an entirely natural scene comprising the sun, sky, mist, water, a tree and bushes. But, look closely and you'll see a boulder that is part of the bank reinforcement round an outfall. You'll also notice that the tree is pollarded to keep it anchored to the bank where it can help prevent the river channel from widening. That too is the purpose of the willows along the river banks - they are regularly cut to keep a full root system and branches to slow the flow. Then there is the vapour trail, like a knife slash in a canvas, aiding the composition but adding, remorselessly to climate change.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Foggy December graveyard

click photo to enlarge
There are few places that so readily evoke a sense of mystery, whatever the weather, than a graveyard. If you add to the tombs some trees, mist, frost and a late afternoon watery sun trying, and failing, to penetrate the gloom, then the scene can quite easily convert into a characterful photograph. This image shows part of the Victorian extension to the churchyard that surrounds St Mary, the parish church of Ross on Wye in Herefordshire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

The Prospect south gateway, Ross on Wye

The south gateway is the smaller of the two remaining gateways that date from the creation of The Prospect, a public park and viewpoint in Ross on Wye. It links the area with the extended churchyard of the parish church of St Mary. The year, 1700, is prominently placed between the capitals of the Corinthian pilasters. In the pediment is the coat of arms of the donor of The Prospect, John Kyrle. My photograph was taken as the sun was going down towards the end of a cold and frosty December day.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Resting rowers on the River Wye

A cold, early morning walk that took in the River Wye at Ross presented an opportunity for a photograph that included the mist over the water and the rowers from the nearby rowing club. But they made me wait for it, almost to the point where I couldn't include both subjects in my shot. However, with some judicious movement on my part and a period of recuperating rest on the part of the rowers, I managed it.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5