photography – Page 188

A Lingering Look at The Pump Rooms

This weekly challenge is hosted by Dawn from ‘The Day After’ who invites participants to post pictures of any windows that they find curious, inviting, photogenic, or in some way tell a story. Visit her blog to see more windows and/or to join in with the challenge.

This unusual building is the ‘Pump Rooms’ in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, built and designed by William Cranston of Birmingham in 1861.

It was built in oriental Chinese Gothic style (oh really?) and is one of the earliest examples of prefabrication. The metal prefabricated sheets were made in Birmingham and assembled on site.

It was built to promote Tenbury Wells as a spa town after a saline spring was found in the grounds of the Crow Inn. The 58 ft well is situated below the octagonal tower. It was aimed for middle and working classes, but never attracted the clientèle. The building fell into disrepair and in 1939 the well was filled in. It was later restored by the district councils of Leominster and Malvern Hills with the help of English Heritage. It is now used as an administrative office, by the community for events and also for weddings.

(click to enlarge)

Door finger plate

Lovely tiled flooring

(source of information from Tenbury Tourist Information Centre and information plaque)

Cee’s Which Way Challenge: Maps

Cee’s Which Way Challenge: There is no specific theme given. It just needs to be some sort of ‘Which Way’. The possibilities are endless.

Join in with the challenge or to view other ‘Which Ways’.

When you are out and about you might come across information maps of the area you are walking in. It’s often a good idea to take a look at these before you set off on your walk or you may find that 2 mile stroll you were thinking of becomes a 10 mile hike!

(above: the various routes in the Queenswood Arboretum, Herefordshire)

Watch your step in the Skomer Marine Nature Reserve, Pembrokeshire.

access to the deer park — Access to the Deer Park

Finding your way in Marloes and St Brides Bay, Pembrokeshire with a lovely framed sign in the middle of the village designed by children from the school.

Having a stroll around Penrose Park in Helston, Cornwall

and choosing the route to take:

I hope you have some happy wanderings this spring 🙂

I for Iron Bridge

frizztext hosts a weekly A – Z Challenge

Event Type: General Blogging

Start Date: Tuesdays, recurring weekly

Description: Every Tuesday I offer the “A to Z challenge”, walking step by step through the alphabet.

If you would like to join in then please click here.

Following on from my bridge last week is another iron bridge, this time from Shropshire and much closer to home. This Iron Bridge is in the Severn Gorge and has a town named after it. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be built from cast-iron and it opened on New Year’s Day 1781, the result of work by the architect Thomas Pritchard (whose work can be seen in many Shropshire towns including Ludlow) and Abraham Darby III.

It is one of the great symbols of the Industrial Revolution and visited by many. Directly across from the bridge is the Tontine Hotel.

The word Tontine is a noun “an annuity scheme by which several subscribers invest in a common fund out of which they receive an annuity that increases as subscribers die until the last survivor takes all!”.

The idea of building a hotel here started as soon as people realised the attraction of the Iron Bridge. Those involved in the venture included Abraham Darby III, Samuel Darby, William & Richard Reynolds, John Wilkinson, Joseph Rathbone and others who were involved in the construction of the bridge.

The hotel opened in 1784. Inside are Victorian fireplaces with the traditional tiles of the area, photographs showing the area in different stages, with coracle men and their coracles, people standing on the river under the bridge when it froze on the 5th February 1917, collections of old local bottles etc.

source: Ironbridge Tourist Information and Visitor Centre.

View from the bridge – Wharfside

Cast-iron railings

The Old Coracle Shed

If you ever find yourself in Shropshire, then try to make some time to visit this once heavily industrialised, now pleasantly picturesque, town, not just for the Iron Bridge, but also its many other attractions.

The Tin Shed Experience

Ed is a truck driving photographer from Tennessee who hosts a photography challenge blog called Sunday Stills here on WordPress.

This week Ed would like to see any BARNS or SHEDS pics. in black and white.

The Tin Shed Experience – is a quirky 1940s museum in Laugharne (pronounced Larn) Carmarthenshire, – known for writer Dylan Thomas who lived and is buried there although he died in New York. This year is the centenary of his birth so if you happen to be in the town then I suggest you pop along and visit this quirky not for profit museum housed in an old zinc sheeted garage.

(click an image to enlarge)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned

The weekly photo challenge from WordPress asks us to find something to illustrate Abandoned. Cheri says “You can go literal, as I have, and share a photo of ruins, a desolate place, or your idea of a wasteland. Or you can interpret it in other ways, from images of overlooked things to forgotten people.”

An arty effect – click to enlarge the image for clarity.

If you would like to see what others have come up with for this challenge then go to the Daily Post @ WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge