There and Back

Carlton Marshes , together with Oulton Marshes, is a lowland reserve in the Broads National Park. It consists of meadows, wet grassland, reedbeds, marsh and woodland. It is run by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. We spent a pleasant few hours here and promised ourselves a revisit sometime.  Scarce Chaser - a species of dragonfly. The adult male has a bright blue abdomen with patches of black, while the adult female and juvenile male each have a bright orange abdomen. It is about 45 mm in length with an average wingspan of 74 mm. Cuckoo spit begins to appear in late spring at a time when the familiar call of cuckoos can be heard, but otherwise has no connection with the bird. It is caused by frog hopper nymphs Southern Marsh Orchid - hopefully!. The Southern Marsh-orchid typically grows to between 30 and 50 cm in height although taller specimens up to 70 cm can occur. Difficult to distinguish from the Northern Marsh-orchid, Dactylorhiza purpurella, the lip of ...

The Ipswich waterfront has been transformed in recent years and is a now a thriving area with eating places, flats, the Dance East studio and, of course, the UCS. These first few images are looking across the harbour toward the UCS and old Custom House. A great place to have a stroll and large enough to hold successful public event, which are now quite frequent. Looking across the harbour toward the UCS and old Custom House. Two views of the massive building, (The old Mill House) housing the Jerwood Dancehouse. Due to be opened in September, the £8.9m Jerwood Dance House, is a major new international centre for dance developed by DanceEast. It will be the first cultural development to be opened in Ipswich in over a decade and provides 2,500 square metres of dance facilities at the heart of a £70m renewal programme in Ipswich. The centre will offer free taster workshops over its opening weekend including Egyptian belly dancing, ballet, hip hop, an...

This is three year old Adam, at Nana`s house asking Nana a question! He is a lovely child and, like all three year olds, full of questions. Rightly so. Not sure now what the question was, but he decided to have a snack and ask Nana. Nana started to explain the answer to him, and Adam smiled and appeared happy with the answer Very happy it appears as they both had a laugh!  Then came the " what if?" .... .... followed by the " I think Nana is stumped Grandad"! Home

Holy Island has a very special place in history as the birthplace of the Lindisfarne Gospels, among the most celebrated illuminated books in the world.  According to an inscription added in the 10th century at the end of the original text, the manuscript was made in honour of God and of St. Cuthbert by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who died in 721.  Eadfrith played a major part in establishing Cuthbert's cult after his relics had been raised to the altar of the monastery church on 20th March, 698, the eleventh anniversary of his death. The Gospels may have been made in honour of that event. The book's original leather binding was provided by Ethelwald, who followed Eadfrith as bishop and died about 740. He had been associated with Cuthbert in his lifetime. An outer covering of gold, silver and gemstones was added by Billfrith the Anchorite, probably about the middle of the 8th century.  Both covers have long since vanished but the manuscript itself has survive...

Bamburgh written history begins in the times of the Anglo-Saxons with one chronicler citing Bamburgh as probably the most important place in all of England. But even before this there were people living here, there is archaeological evidence that as early as 10,000 BC there were people here. There are Bronze Age (2,400 -700BC) burials nearby and pottery sherds dating to the Iron Age (700 BC – 43 AD). With little evidence of their occupation only the name Din Guayrdi gives us a hint that Romans were sometime between 43 AD and 410 AD.  Spanning nine acres of land on its rocky plateau high above the Northumberland coastline Bamburgh is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country.  Patterns on the seashore, made by the retreating water. As the castle is in fact privately owned, we were restricted as to where we could roam, but I managed a few images to give a sense of the scale of this `private residence` ! Hopefully these are not...

Berwick-upon-Tweed sits at the most northerly tip of Northumberland, just 3 miles from the Scottish Border. A coastal town with four sandy beaches and beautiful riverside walks, Berwick is perfectly situated for a relaxing break and a haven for walkers and cyclists. This peaceful town is a far cry from Berwick's turbulent past; Berwick’s great Elizabethan walls were built to keep invading Scots from entering the town. Apparently, artist L.S. Lowry was a regular visitor to Berwick but I saw no matchstick people on my visit!  There is no doubt that Berwick can claim the distinction of being the Border Town, as it has changed hands between England and Scotland thirteen times. Its history is inextricably tied up with the struggle for the Anglo-Scottish frontier. Berwick, with an English name meaning ‘Corn Farm or trading place’ began as a small settlement in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, in which it remained until the Battle of Carham of 1018 when it was taken by the Sco...