Abergavenny seen from The Blorenge

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The Blorenge is a summit at the south-eastern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is one of the most accessible peaks in the Park, with a minor road zig-zagging past the high-points. The area around the top gives fine views of the town of Abergavenny, the summit called The Skirrid and the distant Severn estuary. There is something satisfying about looking down on a town from above, trying to correlate what you know from ground-level with the very different experience of seeing it from on high.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

A quiet street, Tewkesbury

The Covid-19 lockdowns and the restraint shown by many people during the pandemic has produced many weeks of quiet streets where the only people visible are essential workers, people shopping for food or those taking some daily walking or cycling exercise. I took this photograph in Tewkesbury on one such day. It shows the corner of Gander Lane and Church Street. The main building is the end of a unique curving row of twenty three late 1400s timber-framed dwellings, probably constructed as a speculative undertaking by the monks of the Abbey.

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

St Mary, Ross on Wye

The church of St Mary, Ross on Wye, stands at the highpoint of the town above cliffs that fall away to the River Wye below. Its significance in the landscape - it is visible from great distances - is ensured by its 205 feet high tower and spire.

We recently climbed the tower, to the parapet where the spire begins, and briefly enjoyed the view over the town, valley and nearby wooded hills. I say briefly because when we were up there a squally shower that had been approaching when I took the main photograph, lashed the church and drove us back under cover.

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

Autumn, Ross on Wye

The village of Brampton Abbotts is on high ground just to the north of Ross on Wye. At the highest point in the village stands the church. From the area around it, and from the fields to the west, are some of the best views of the town. On a walk that took us through this area we paused to look at Ross and I took a few photographs of the buildings among the changing colours of the trees. A slight haze gave the scene a hint of John Keats' "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness".

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Spring in Ross on Wye

Our daily exercise, within the terms of the coronavirus lockdown that currently holds sway, has involved walking routes from home that we already know and trying new ones. Today's photograph shows a view from Merrivale Wood, somewhere that we hadn't before explored. As with most distant views of the town the spire of St Mary is the eyecatcher of the scene. However, it being May, spring is bursting forth and the field of oilseed rape and the different hues of the trees, as well as the varied roofs of this part of the settlement, result in a colourful landscape.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Knaresborough and the River Nidd

Many people know of the Yorkshire spa and conference town of Harrogate. Fewer know of its smaller, adjoining neighbour, Knaresborough. We visited this old, riverside town recently, and I re-acquainted myself with why I prefer it to the well-heeled Harrogate. The photograph gives a clue - Knaresborough is different, picturesque and has more interesting architecture. This view, of the River Nidd taken from near the ruined castle, is spectacular and, surprisingly, improved by the nineteenth century's addition of a railway viaduct (castellated and still in daily use).

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100