There and Back

We have been to Brighton previously to see a couple of concerts but had not stayed in the daytime to explore. So, a trip to Brighton, and a visit to those White Cliff just along the coast. Accomodation for the trip was absolute rubbish!. Definitely not staying there again! Enough of that, some images of the seafront. The Brighton West Pier On 28th March 2003 the Pavilion was destroyed in an arson attack, and then on 11th May the Concert Hall, already seriously damaged in a huge storm the previous December, was also deliberately set on fire. English Heritage was commissioned to report on whether after such damage, the restoration was still viable. It concluded that despite the significant damage, given the wealth of salvaged material from the pier and the considerable photographic and video archive, repair and reconstruction of the pier was still viable. It was therefore bitterly disappointing that at its meeting on 28th January, the Heritage Lottery Fund decided to ...

Norfolk is a county that we have not explored to any great degree, and this was a very cursory look around the area we were staying in. We stayed in Clippesby, a small village within the Great Yarmouth Borough Council area, and located on the B1152 and surrounded by the Norfolk Broads. Besides water everywhere, the other thing you become aware of is the huge number of windmills / windpumps, which seem to be everywhere. They do make a great photo at times. Here a couple of evening images of windmills beside the Broads. Very peaceful, and what a place to spend the night in your barge. These windmills come in a range of shapes and sizes. This one reminding me of a skeleton windmill. Then there are boats of all shapes and sizes. The Broads attracts more than 7 million visitors a year. All sorts of activities such as boating, cycling, canoeing, fishing, walking and wildlife-watching are ways visitors, and those living here, enjoy the area. As fo...

Nature is amazing, just as you think it won't happen - it does! Along came this amazing baby - Emily.  Just a few days old and using her lungs, Emily starts to make her mark in the world. One very proud mum looking adoringly at the little bundle she has brought into this world.. Proud Nana has a chance to hold her first granddaughter. Home

More explorations today of the coast just below St Davids, and some of the natural wonders that greeted us as we reached St Nons Bay before moving just a little to Caerfai Bay St Nons Bay with the profusion of yellow gorse.  Common gorse can be seen in all kinds of habitats, from heaths and coastal grasslands to towns and gardens. It generally flowers from January to June (although it may flower sporadically throughout the year), while its close relatives - Western gorse and Dwarf gorse - flower from July to November. It provides shelter and food for many insects and birds, such as Dartford warblers, Stonechats and Yellowhammers.  A mass of Lackey moth caterpillars.  The webs of Lackey caterpillars are a common site amongst many low growing deciduous trees such as blackthorn, hawthorn and apple. Over a hundred caterpillars may be seen in a single web and if undisturbed may be seen sitting on the outside during the day.  Even when recentl...

A visit today to the area above St Davids called Dinas Island peninsula, passing Fishguard on the way. Another stunning coastline, rather sparsely populated generally. The port of Fishguard on a rather foggy day. What do you expect on the Welsh coast! Actually we have had amazing weather, so no complaints there. The town is situated at the back of a north facing bay known as Fishguard Bay (Welsh: Bae Abergwaun) which offers protection from waves generated by prevailing westerly winds. It has a relatively mild climate due to its coastal position. The winds coming from the west or south-west have a determining influence on temperature and precipitation.  Wildlife around Fishguard is rich with a wide variety of colourful wild flowers and sea mammals including the grey seal, porpoises and dolphins. The local birdlife include Eurasian curlew, common redshank and sanderling regularly foraging in the lower Fishguard Harbour and European stonechat, great cormorant and nor...