This butterfly happened to land nearby on one of the very rare occasions that I had my macro lens on the camera. I really should use it more, it’s an interesting window into another world, one which exists right under our noses, largely unseen. Kermit (below) is only 10mm long. Both seen in south Wales.
Archive for September 2011
Flutterby 3 comments
The Albatros Leave a comment
The Albatros lives at Wells-Next-The-Sea in Norfolk. In recent years, it’s been occasionally used as a sail training vessel, but is now commonly to be found berthed as a floating restaurant serving Dutch pancakes! The ship was built in 1899 as a coaster for the Baltic trade. During the Second World War, the captain and crew [...]
Sleeping with Bill Leave a comment
A night at Portland Bill, Dorset’s most southerly point, before getting up early this morning to attempt to paddle around the Isle of Portland. It was too windy and we turned back to Portland Harbour before reaching the lighthouse, but it was still good to get out on the water and catch up with friends. All good.
Islay flora and fauna Leave a comment
A few random images, from the very fine and fertile island of Islay.
Mangersta Leave a comment
Mangersta Beach, Isle of Lewis, Western Isles. This somewhat remote beachbreak is accessed by a drive down a rough track (good luck with turning around) and a carry though the dunes. Given that we were novices to this surfing business and that there was no lifeguard cover to hand (or indeed this side of Gretna Services), [...]
Eilean Fraoch Leave a comment
The photo above was taken on the last night of our trip to the Western Isles. Heather is looking out from the island of Bernera to a chain of Atlantic rocks and islets which we’d spent the day exploring by kayak. A few more photos of Mrs R enjoying the Western Isles follow below… PS [...]
Why the Whales Came Leave a comment
Why the Whales Came is a children’s book by Michael Morpurgo (previously children’s Laureate), set in the Isles of Scilly during the First World War. The plot centres around the islands of Bryher and Samson, which has been uninhabited since the mid nineteenth century. My wife reads the book with her pupils at school; the [...]
Soldier’s Rock Leave a comment
Hidden away on the Oa peninsula of the Scottish island of Islay, Soldier’s Rock guards the entrance to a spectacular network of arches, tunnels, caves and a waterfall. All good.
Barrier Island 1 comment
Taking a break on Scolt Head Island in north Norfolk, the finest example of a barrier island in Britain. I’ve made a couple of paddles out to this long uninhabited island now, experiencing its empty miles of beach, dunes and saltmarsh in both winter and summer. It’s as true a wilderness as any I’ve experienced [...]
Sunny Hunny Leave a comment
Hunstanton is the only town on the east coast with a view facing west. It looks out over the Wash and is frankly, a very fine place.
The Wherryman’s Way Leave a comment
Berney Arms Windmill overlooks the spot where the tidal Rivers Waveney and Yare enter Breydon Water, in the southern Norfolk Broads. The bench is a rest spot for those walking the Wherryman’s Way. I do not know the origins of the quote, but it suits.
Mundesley 1 comment
Paddling from Mundesley, Norfolk. To our shame, we hadn’t known that Norfolk possessed either cliffs or waves…
The Wash Leave a comment
The Wash: a bay in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. 600 square kilometres of salt marsh and mud flats. There is nothing to see here.
Blakeney Point Seal Boat Trips, Norfolk 4 comments
Up early last Thursday, visiting the Common Seal colony at Blakeney Point by kayak. Three of us enjoyed quietly watching the hundreds of basking seals from an appropriate distance. Three or four swam out to see us in the tide race where we were sat, following our kayaks around. Most just continued to snore. Another [...]
Orford Ness Leave a comment
Hidden away in a remote corner of Suffolk is a 16km long shingle spit called Orford Ness. It’s a huge and important geological and ecological feature, but what those who make the journey to this obscure spot will remember is the Cold War legacy. Orford Ness has been used for all sorts of military functions in [...]
East coast surf Leave a comment
Last week in drizzly rain, my friend Andy and I paddled out of Great Yarmouth’s unprepossessing harbour into the North Sea. We made a wet landing just outside the harbour mouth at Gorleston-on-Sea beach. This chap and a friend were making the best of the waves refracting off the harbour wall. It wasn’t Hawaii (or even [...]
Flannan Isle Leave a comment
This photo was taken on our last night in the Western Isles. We were stood on the cliffs looking out west to the Flannan Isles, around twenty miles offshore. These uninhabited isles are known as the ‘Seven Hunters’ due to the toll they have exacted on ships. There is a lighthouse on Eilean Mor (‘big [...]
Summer’s End Leave a comment
Back home at last, after six weeks away; thankfully the house is still here and the cat still loves me. I enjoyed wonderful trips to Islay and the Western Isles with Heather, and then spent the last week with a few friends exploring the coast of a very different environment; the wide open skies of Norfolk [...]
