Images of England – Page 12

Weightless

So many images came to mind when I looked at this week’s WPC. But could I find a delicate feather, a frothy dandelion clock, a spider’s silken web, ethereal mist, a tissue-like poppy, gossamery seeds blowing in the wind, a downy duckling, featherweight sycamore helicopters swirling in the breeze or a light as a feather sponge-cake? No, or rather, none that haven’t been published before. Even the cake.

So I decided on this hot-air balloon which I used to see silently floating overhead on the still, hot, late summer evenings in Surrey. I would hear the roar of the burners through our open windows, as the balloon filled with hot air, and then rush outside to see it as it drifted upwards over the neighbouring houses.

This was captured in nearby Petworth Park, West Sussex when the balloon was practically at eye-level.

Monthly Photo Challenge: A year in Ludlow

(The header shows what it should look like at this time of year)

lime tree collage — A year of the lime (linden) trees

Here is a slideshow of images taken throughout the year and if you want to view each month then please follow the links at the end.

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One of the most beautiful things about Britain is the changing season. From the fresh greens and soft rains in spring, the bountiful colours and long light-filled evenings of summer, the turning colours and misty mornings of autumn to the frosty clear days of winter. There is nothing quite like it and I treasure the constant shift. And thanks to this challenge I have enjoyed recording this year around my home town and sharing its beauty with you. I hope you have enjoyed it too. I have also enjoyed looking around localities at different times of the year all over the world.

The Cardinal ran a photo project going throughout 2015 – a blogging event, a monthly photo challenge. The idea was to find a location near your home, take somewhere between 5-20 photos and post them in a gallery in your blog and to continue to do so every month. The idea was to capture all the changes: the seasons, the weather, different times of the day, some night photography perhaps? And news is that he is going to run the challenge for another year. So maybe you will join in?

january
february
march
april
may
june
july
august
september
october
november
december

Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #12

For me, November and December are the harshest months. The days constrict to just a few hours and all light seems to get sucked from the air. We are left with a dull pewter greyness that seems to invade my soul making me feel dull and joyless. I look for anything that casts a precious light into this bleakness and was pleasantly surprised to find some cheer on my December stroll.

Date: December 06 2015
Weather: cloudy and mizzling
Temperature: Mild (14°C)
Time: 14:00 – 15:45 PM

The linden (lime) trees were in a sorry state, only a few golden leaves hanging on after all the recent gales, their whippy branches resembling some sort of alien creatures. The benches empty, despite the unusual warmth of the day. Continue reading Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #12

Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #11

The penultimate month of this year-long challenge. There was a time when I thought I might not be here to finish off the year as a move was on the cards. Still is I hope, but not this year. Still I am more than happy to have had a year to record the changes here in my adopted town and gather some memories.

The trees have gone from green to orange and yellow and umbers and ambers since my last post. The copper beech I can see from my house turned red, then orange and is now a golden-coppery colour. That is the few leaves that remain. Fog and rain since the beginning of the month has had their toll, but today I went out shortly before sunset after a shower to gather in the remains of autumn.

Date: November 13 2015
Weather: sunshine and showers, chilly wind
Temperature: Cold (9°C)
Time: 3:45 – 4:45 PM

I’d hoped to catch a sunset as the sky had cleared after a heavy rainstorm. Grabbing my new lens I wrapped up warm as the temperature has finally fallen to below 10°C in the wind chill and headed up to the square where the last of the market traders were packing away.

Since it was cold and the ground wet from the recent storm I decided to just do a circuit of the castle and see what I could find, but naturally I have to show you what the pollarded limes are doing now.

You may notice that the Christmas lights have been hung up between the trees, but I shall try to capture them once they are turned on at the end of the month. Continue reading Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons #11

Ancient trees and the Spanish Armada

One of the loveliest things about visiting Croft Castle in Herefordshire is to see the many ancient trees planted there. Majestic chestnuts and oaks some going back hundreds of years.

A story tells that sweet chestnuts were taken from captured Spanish ships and planted at Croft between 1580 and 1680. The avenue is said to represent the formal battle plan of the Spanish Armada with rows of chestnuts representing the Spanish ships and oaks the English. This was the original formal approach to the castle.

Continue reading Ancient trees and the Spanish Armada