The Cotswolds - Witney

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The Market town of Witney is on the River Windrush, 10 miles from Oxford. Witney is famous for the manufacture of blankets, gloves, and other woollen goods. Witney was selected by The Sunday Times newspaper (2014) as one of the best places to live in Britain. The place-name Witney is first attested in a Saxon charter of 969 as Wyttannige; it appears as Witenie in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name means Witta's island.

An evening in Blenheim Park & the River Glyme

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A couple of weeks ago I took a stroll into Blenheim Park on a beautiful evening to see what autumn colours I could find in the High Park, which is home to a multitude of ancient trees, many over 600 years old.

I entered via a section of the grounds situated about 1km from the palace itself, and which, with it's entrance to be found near the village of Combe, in an area traditionally known as East End, is generally a lot quieter than the area around the palace.

South Wales Day 3 - Exploring Margam Park

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It was my last day in Wales and the weather was, yet again looking very forlorn. I fancied visiting something else other than waterfalls, but thanks to the despondent conditions a coastal jaunt was out of the question, so I decided to head up to Port Talbot and visit Margam Country Park.

Margam Park is an 850 acre country estate situated two miles east of Port Talbot on the narrow coastal plain, set on the southern slopes of Mynydd Margam, a largely forested mountain rising to a height of 349m, and one of the major ancient settlements of Glamorgan. It was once owned by the Mansel Talbot family and is now owned and administered by the local council.

South Wales Day 2 - An autumnal stroll along the River Mellte

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Woke up to a morning slightly improved on the previous one, as in it wasn't bucketing it down, but it was as grey as an unwashed pair of pants, so a sunrise was, again, not on the cards. After a leisurely breakfast I took a drive back to the Brecon Beacons, and paid a visit to Aberdulais Falls. 

The falls are in the care of the National Trust, along with the copper mine that drew it's water from the power of the falls some 400 years ago. It's an interesting place, but I won't go into much detail here because when I got there it was closed, so it seems rather pointless. What I didn't check before I embarked was the opening times, and seeing as I was two hours early, I didn't hang around for it to open. Instead I carried on to Henrhyd Falls, or Sgwd Henrhyd to give it it's local name.

South Wales Day 1 - Waterfalls, waterfalls & more waterfalls

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My first morning in South Wales and I was presented with a deluge of water, unfortunately I wasn't at the waterfalls just yet, I had woken up and was watching the bedroom window being thoroughly doused with rain. Needless to say, a sunrise shoot was out of the question, the sky was a pewter cloak over a sallow landscape. So I went back to bed and hoped conditions would improve.

Once I had re-emerged, the torrent had reduced to a drizzle, so I grabbed my gear and headed up to the Brecon Beacons to visit those waterfalls.

North Yorkshire Day 4 - A tardy sunrise & a stylish waterfall

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West Pier at sunrise.

I had planned to go to Robin Hood's Bay for sunrise, but after I turned my alarm off I promptly fell back to sleep, and by the time I woke up again, it was too late to get there. I got up anyway and headed into Whitby, and as it tuned out I didn't miss much as it was the worst sunrise of the week. Thankfully my inherent laziness had saved me some wasted effort, it's a steep path down to the beach at Robin Hood's Bay, so it would have been doubly arduous on the return journey with nothing to show for it.

Instead I drove up to the abbey while the light was still low, I was going to get a shot of it lit up, unfortunately by the time I got there the lights had been turned off, it was obviously not my morning.

North Yorkshire Day 3 - Early morning groynes & a famous village

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Up for sunrise again and it was another foggy morning, but I thought I would head 10 minutes up the coast to Sandsend and see what it was like there, and if that was shrouded in thick fog as well, at least it wouldn't take long to get back.

As it turned out, the fog thinned as I got out of Whitby and my luck was in, and although there was a lot of grey cloud in the sky, I thought I would stick around and see what's what. I parked up on a side road and took the steps down to the beach, there wasn't a great deal of it to be seen as the tide was in quite far, and continuing on it's journey inwards with some speed. 

Sandsend is home to a plentiful supply of beach groynes, most of them were covered up by the fitful waves, but there was one long line of them still available to me, so I set up and hoped for some early morning colour. I didn't have to wait long, as the sun began to approach the horizon a pink diffusion of light started to appear, and thanks to the low cloud, it covered the entire scene in a rosy blush.

North Yorkshire Day 2 - A foggy start to a soggy morning

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Woke up to thick fog and the sound of the lighthouse in Whitby Bay blaring out it's fog warning every 30 seconds, and realised it was only 3.30 in the morning. So two hours of not being able to get back to sleep later, when it was time to get up for sunrise, I was more than ready to go even though the fog was as thick as ever.

After carefully navigating through the soupy conditions I got to Staithes, and thanks to the patchiness of the fog, I found that it was pretty clear there. I carried on to Cowbar, a little hamlet that sits on a headland on the other side of the Roxby Beck, a small river that runs through Staithes, and has a great view down onto the village and harbour.

I parked outside Cowbar and after walking part way into the hamlet I took the path onto the National Trust owned headland. As I started along the path I immediately regretted not wearing my wellington boots, as the waist high grasses were covered in morning dew and it wasn't long before my lower regions were thoroughly soaked.

North Yorkshire Day 1 - Reflections in the sand & a lot of steps

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Up for sunrise on my first morning in Whitby, and at 6 o'clock it was a pretty civilised time for a change. I took a stroll down to the 18th century, Grade ll listed East and West piers that flank the entrance to Whitby's harbour, and waited to see if there were any shots to be had. 

There was a lot of cloud in the sky but it was hanging low and dark, so didn't catch any of the morning light. I got a shot of the West pier lighthouse with the sun rising behind it, but other than that I didn't get anything worthwhile.

I hung around for a while, waiting for the morning light to crawl up the coastline behind me, and drape some warm light on the buildings that line the cliff edge overlooking the harbour. Got a few images but by then the biting wind had worn me down a bit, so I was ready to head back to the apartment and get some breakfast.

The Cotswolds - Kelmscott

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Kelmscott, famous as the home of the writer and designer William Morris, is a small, secluded hamlet on the north bank of the river Thames, and is at the end of a no-through road that peters out at the Thames towpath. It has remained a small and predominantly agricultural community, built around two working farms, and even today it consists of less than 200 residents.

The Cotswolds - Filkins

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The village of Filkins is actually two villages, as sat right next to it is Broughton Poggs, officially the small Broadwell brook marks the boundary separating the two villages, but in reality, you can walk from one to the other and not know it. Broughton Poggs doesn't actually have any roads that lead into the village, so you could only walk to it.

The Cotswolds - Bampton

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Continuing our tour of the Cotswolds, and in recognition of the fact that Downton Abbey is returning to the screens very shortly, we visit the lively town of Bampton. It may seem oddly familiar to Downton Abbey fans, as it doubles as the fictional Yorkshire village of Downton, supposedly somewhere between Ripon and Thirsk!

Hay Bales at Sunset

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I have been out and about in the Cotswold countryside a few evenings in the last week, to try and get some hay bale sunset action. Not as easy a task as you might think, given the changeable weather conditions we've had recently, and that the hay bales seem to be whisked off almost as soon as they appear on the landscape.

Not deterred, I searched high and low to find some shots, sometimes the sun appeared at the right time, and sometimes it didn't appear at all, sometimes the bales were still there, and more often than not they had been squirrelled away, but my efforts paid off in the end, and I managed to snaffle a few images from this years round of hay bailing.

Exmoor Day 2 - Moorland sunrise & some wild ponies

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I was up early again in the hope that sunrise would be more amenable than the previous day. I took the little lane that heads upwards onto the moors, before arriving at at the coast road and then onwards to Porlock. I stopped on the silent moor and hunted around for some heather, which was a bit of a task, as there wasn't much about. I found a small patch that would have serve as my foreground colour and parked up, watching the sky to see if my time was about to be wasted again.

Setting up in the still morning, all I could hear were the eccentric bleatings of distant sheep, as they rummaged around in the undergrowth for some breakfast, but beyond that, it was as if the landscape itself was still sleeping as there was complete stillness.

After waiting a little while a small glimmer appeared on the horizon, there was a great deal of cloud about, but thankfully a nice gap had appeared, which allowed the rising orb to fling a little colour about the surrounding brumey blanket.

Exmoor Day 1 - Battle with the clouds

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I was down in Exmoor for a couple of days, which is always a good thing, as it's such a beautiful spot. I was somewhat limited in what I could get up to though as I had recently broken a toe, so my mobility was somewhat impaired, no walks through the Barle Valley on this visit. If I could drive to it, then I would go to it, otherwise it was out of bounds.

I was up for sunrise first thing that morning, at the slightly impudent hour of 5.30, and I took a drive through Simonsbath and out onto the moorland in the hope that there would be some spectacular colour in the sky. There wasn't.

The Cotswolds - Swinbrook

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Swinbrook is a small village on the River Windrush, about two miles east of Burford. Apparently untouched for generations, it is the quintessential English village with its stone walls, pretty church, cricket pitch with wooden pavilion (above), and an old stone pub next to the historic bridge across the River Windrush, the architecture is typically Cotswolds with cottages of warm-toned stone.

Stormy Skies

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I was out the other day in the changeable weather we've been having, and managed to get a few shots of tumultuous skies above the Cotswold landscape. 

I had to dodge a few rain showers, and it was a case of grabbing the shots when I could, but with such volatile conditions it was worth the effort, as they can produce some interesting results.

These very dramatic clouds work well with the fresh green field below.

The Cotswolds - Burford

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Burford is a small town on the River Windrush in the Cotswold hills. The name derives from the Old English words burh meaning fortified town or hilltown and ford, the crossing of a river. 

With its medieval bridge, old stone houses and attractive Tudor and Georgian frontages, Burford is justifiably called one of the most picturesque towns in England. Often referred to as the ‘Gateway to the Cotswolds’, the town was originally a fortified Anglo-Saxon ford, which continued in use until just after the Norman conquest of England, when the town of Burford was built on its current site.

The Cotswolds - Asthall

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For a small village, Asthall is rich in history: a former Roman settlement on Akeman Street, which linked Cirencester with St Albans; the village church, dating back to the 12th century, possibly earlier; and the Elizabethan manor house, home to the Mitford sisters - it was here that Nancy Mitford penned much of ‘Love in a Cold Climate’. She is buried in the churchyard at nearby Swinbrook.

The Cotswolds - Ascott-under-Wychwood

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The smallest of the three Wychwood villages, the other two being Milton and Shipton, Ascott is the most isolated, and is set in a lovely location beside the quiet River Evenlode. 

The name 'Ascott' comes from the Saxon for 'East Homestead', a reference to the fact that Ascott began as a child settlement of Shipton, a few miles to the west.  Wychwood was the ancient royal forest of Wychwood, and its name originated from the 'wood of a tribe called Hwicce'. Little remains today of the forest. 

The Cotswolds - Shipton-under-Wychwood

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Shipton-under-Wychwood is a village in the Evenlode valley, its name refers to the fact that it used to be under the boughs of the ancient Royal Forest of Wychwood and was originally a royal manor, mentioned in the Domesday Book. Langley Lodge, on the east side of Shipton was the site of a Royal hunting Lodge that was built for Henry VII. Most of the Tudor monarchs stayed there when hunting in Wychwood Forest. Some remnants of the forest remain, but for the most part this is now open farmland.

The Cotswolds - Great Tew

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Nestled in the Cotswolds and overlooking the Worton Valley from its limestone ridge location, Great Tew has been described as one of England's most beautiful villages.

Historic remains have unearthed a barrow just south of the village and a Roman mosaic floor and hypocaust heating system from a 4th century Roman villa. By 1086 it was recorded in the Domesday Book as a sizeable settlement and it played an important role in the Civil War and in The Industrial Revolution.

The Cotswolds - Kingham

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Situated in the Evenlode valley, Kingham, which was anciently known as Konigsham, is a beautiful unspoiled Cotswold village with some beautiful cottages mostly dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. 

The Cotswolds - Charlbury

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Charlbury is a small town in the Evenlode valley, it looks across the valley to the fine 600 acre Cornbury Park estate almost surrounded by the great woodlands of Wychwood Forest. Evidence suggests that the town started life as a small Anglo-Saxon settlement in a clearing in Wychwood Forest. The town made prosperous during the 18th century thanks to it's glove making industry.

The Cotswolds - Chipping Norton

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As I'm in the middle of quite an extensive commission for the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, a local government run website and annual tourist guide, documenting the local towns and villages found in this part of the country, I've decided to start a regular series of blog posts with some of the images I've captured on my travels, and first up is the bustling town of Chipping Norton.

Wildflowers

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Short and sweet, here's a few pictures of wildflowers taken a couple of weeks ago. 

A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted.

Confetti Fields

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A few weeks ago I visited the flower fields in Wick, Worcestershire to get a few shots of the beautiful fields in full bloom. It was the last weekend of the year that the 26 acre field was open to the public, in fact it was the first time it had been properly opened to the public for ten years, so while the weather wasn't great, a bit of sun would have been nice, I was keen get over there anyway.

The fields are owned by The Real Flower Petal Confetti Company, and as the name suggests, they use the various colours of English Delphiniums they grow to make confetti, among other things. The flowers are hand picked, and there were already people out loading baskets with the colourful blooms while I was there, 

I spent a few hours among the vibrant colours, enjoying the odd sensation of being surrounded by so much colour and endeavoring to get some pictures that captured the feel of the place.

Cotswold poppy field

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Yesterday evening I took a drive over to a local poppy field I'd had my eye on, to see if I could get a few photos at sunrise. I had originally intended to visit a different field, which was full of the things, and curved very nicely across the landscape, but the next time I visited it, it had been completely mown into oblivion. Thanks farmer!

So I took my second choice, and arrived about 8.30 to give me enough time to set up for what I hoped would be the evening performance. The field didn't have as many poppies in it as I'd hoped it would have, nothing like the year before, but I did what a I could, and got a series of images as the sun disappeared for the evening.

When I arrived the sun was just about to go into hiding behind a bank of clouds.

South Wales Day 3 – A walk among the waterfalls

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My alarm was set for 4 am but thanks to my lack of sleep I just couldn't face getting up for sunrise, and I turned it off almost involuntarily, before quickly disappearing back into unconsciousness. Woke up again at 8 feeling slightly guilty for not making the most of day, but not too guilty, and made a quick escape back to Waterfall Country to do the Four Falls Walk I didn't have the time to do previously.

There were already a handful of people about when I arrived at the Cwm Porth car park, it was a Saturday, so I wanted to get started before the crowds arrived. Shortly after setting off, I took a short detour down to where those who have a penchant for potholing can access one of the entrances to the River Mellte as it thunders through an underground passageway, to get a few pictures of a rather fetching woodland scene.

South Wales Day 2 – I fought the weather and the weather won

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Up at 4 am to get to Dunraven Bay for sunrise. I wasn't overly hopeful for anything amazing, as unfortunately this time of year, the sun rises over the land rather than the sea so the effect isn't as good, but it's always a wasted opportunity not to get out at sunrise when on the coast, so out I was.

As I got set up, the pre-dawn light started to make itself apparent as the clouds began to garner a pinkish hue, so I took a couple of shots and waited for something to happen, and happen it did. A great big dark, grey whopper of a cloud showed up like a screaming child at a restaurant and killed any chance of a colourful atmosphere that there might have been.

South Wales Day 1 – Mistaken identity at Porth yr Ogof

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I was travelling down to South Wales to help out on a photography workshop, and as usual I was running late. I had hoped to get a bit of photography done of my own in Waterfall Country, that area of the Brecon Beacons that is home to so many beautiful Welsh falls, before making my way down to the coast to meet up with the group that evening.

By the time I arrived at Pontneddfechan, the small village that is the de facto starting point for all things watery and falling, it was already mid afternoon, and thanks to the fact it was a glorious day, there were people everywhere. I had planned to visit Sgwd Gwladys, or Lady Falls first of all, but considering the amount of bodies about, I figured my chances of getting a decent photo to be unlikely.

The Cotswolds on a sunny morning

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It was high time to get some sunrise images of my local area, as I hadn't been out for a while, mainly because sunrise is about 5 am at this time of year, and frankly I just couldn't drag myself out of bed in time. It's one thing to be on location and know that you only have a few days to get the shots you want, but quite another when you're at home and you know there will always be tomorrow...

So after some determined effort to get up and about, I found myself down on the banks of the River Windrush at 4.30 in the morning, I followed its path as it languidly snakes its way from Burford towards Swinbrook on the look out for a suitable spot to watch the sun appear.

Chesterton Windmill

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A few days ago I took a trip to the striking Chesterton Windmill in Wiltshire.

Not only is the windmill impressive in it's own right, but it had been years since the surrounding fields were planted with rapeseed, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a few shots of this unique Grade I listed building on such a beautiful day.

An ancient white horse

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The Manger, with Dragon Hill to the right. 

I recently visited the White Horse at Uffington, a particularly historic landscape located in the picturesque Oxfordshire countryside, and not somewhere I'd been for a while, despite it being only about 30 minutes away. It was high time for another visit, and on such a beautiful day, it would have been rude not to.

The internationally-renowned Bronze-Age Uffington White Horse can be seen for miles away leaping across the head of a dramatic dry valley in the Ridgeway escarpment. The Uffington horse is by far the oldest of the white horse figures in Britain, and is of an entirely different design from the others white horses that dot the country. 

Bluebells in West Woods

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Last week I paid a visit to West Woods, just outside Marlborough, for a spot of bluebell photography, as it's about that time of year when they are looking their best. West Woods is a plantation of beech trees on a former ancient woodland site, managed by the Forestry Commission.

North Yorkshire Day 5 – Sunrise at Saltwick Bay

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I motored over to Saltwick Bay for sunrise with a song in my heart and woolly hat on my head, as I wanted to get an early morning shot of that most ubiquitous of views from this part of the country, the Admiral Von Tromp.

North Yorkshire Day 4 – Flamborough Head & an old foe at Robin Hoods Bay

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In the pre-dawn darkness I was driving north to Staithes, a perfect little fishing village perched on the coastline that curves around the headland and along the banks of the Roxby Beck, which sounds like a groovy swinger from the 70’s, but is in fact a stream that runs through the village and out to sea. I drove past the turn to the village and carried on a few hundred yards up the road, taking the little lane to Cowbar, a tiny village that sits high above Staithes and the river below.

North Yorkshire Day 3 – Whitby Abbey and problems at Saltwick Bay

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I drove over to Sandsend first thing, in preparation for sunrise and a bit of early morning groyne action. Setting up shop on the beach, I kept a wary eye on the dawn tide while it approached with some speed, as it is wont to do along this stretch of coast. There was a smudge of colour on the horizon and I took a few long exposure shots to smooth out the ocean, and make the most of what colour there was.

Spring colour at Ditchley

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I took a trip over to the Ditchley estate near Charlbury at the weekend, as there were quite an expanse of rape fields in full bloom and it would have been a shame to let them go to waste. The weather was a bit changeable, with the forecast to be quite stormy that evening, so I thought it might produce a dramatic sky for sunset.

North Yorkshire Day 2 – Sunrise, Staithes, Saltburn & sunset

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Strolling down to Whitby harbour at 5.30 that morning, I was hoping for at least a blush of sunrise colour for my effort. The ocean on my left, and far below, as I walked along West Cliff in the cool pre-dawn air, seemed to have the consistency of molten lead, occasional, dull highlights fleetingly glimpsed and completely silent. In fact it seemed as if the whole town were hushed, the sound of my feet hitting the pavement the only thing disturbing the peace.

Once I had reached the end of West Cliff and descended the steps to sea level, I made my way along the outer reaches of the harbour towards the pier, just as the sky was beginning to come to life with dawn light. I walked onto the West Pier and saw that while the sky looked promising, with a smattering of clouds above, the horizon was out to possibly spoil things, with a thick bank of cloud reclining across the horizon in a disappointing ribbon.

North Yorkshire Day 1 - Smugglers and vampires

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Arriving in Whitby, located on the North Yorkshire coast, I was looking forward to a few days of photography along this scenic stretch of coastline. I had visited Yorkshire several times before, but due to its massive size, it’s by far the biggest county in Britain, I hadn’t reached the North York Moors and accompanying shoreline before.

Stormy Swanage Seafront

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Sunrise on the Sunday morning wasn’t much to write home about, mainly because I’d forgotten to set my alarm, so I slept through the whole thing. This annoyed me somewhat, until I looked out the window and saw the glowering clouds and dismal, hazy drizzle that peppered the window.

So, pleased I hadn’t missed much, I got my stuff together and headed out to Swanage seafront in case things brightened up a bit, plus I was up, so I felt as if I should do something. Apart from a couple of dog walkers I had the beach to myself at such an early hour, so I wandered along the blustery shore looking for something to catch my eye, and waited for the soupy spray to abate.

Dorset Day 2 - Kimmeridge Bay & Durdle Door

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After leaving the golden view at Corfe Castle, I was soon parked up above the windswept shores at Kimmeridge Bay. The clouds by now had started to gather, like a gang of wayward youths on the lookout for mischief, but there were still a few rays of light making their way through the growing mob, sparkling off the rippling ocean below and highlighting sections of the rocky shore.

I was certainly pleased to see a bit of sunlight still around, but I was over the moon to see that the tide was out. At high tide Kimmeridge is, despite its rich geological pedigree, a bit dull, but at low tide things liven up considerably.

With the tide is out, the Kimmeridge ledges are exposed, these long fingers of limestone rock, which were formed many millions of years ago, when the Jurassic sea was a lot deeper than it is now, stretch out into the sea and provide a nice bit of interest to any photo. They also contain a fair number of fossils, signifying the explosion of life that the Jurassic period unleashed, which is never a bad thing.

Dorset Day 1 - Corfe Castle morning and evening

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I had arrived upon the Jurassic coast of Dorset, Swanage to be exact, the day before, hoping to get a few pictures from this most picturesque of places, and hoping even more, that the weather was going to be kind to me this time, as most of my previous visits had been affected by somewhat gloomy conditions.

That evening it looked like the weather was intent on serving up more of the same, presenting a grey, soupy sky for the main, with a sharp, blustery wind on the side. But there was no point in sitting around, so I headed over to Corfe Castle to see what, if anything, I could see. 

A spot on the River Windrush

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While I was over at my favourite place on the River Windrush for a sunset shoot not so long ago, and it occurred to me it might be interesting to see a collection of my images taken over the past year or so, gathered together in one place, to see how the seasonal tides shape the landscape around this small river.

So that is what I did, and here are selection of my favourites, mainly taken at sunrise or sunset, when the best light is to be had. Even though they were captured within a couple of hundred yards of each other, along the same stretch of peaceful water, the diverse qualities of the light, and the time of year they were taken, makes each image different.

Macro flower photography

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I hadn’t used my light tent for a little while, so the other afternoon I thought it would be a good idea to give it some air, carry out a bit of macro flower photography, and put together a quick tutorial on the subject while I was at it.