One of my favourite images ever. Approaching 150,000 gannets on Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. We had been able to smell them from several miles back…
Gannets of Bass Rock 1 comment
Crowded House Leave a comment
Presumably this little fellow is trying to figure out where (if anywhere) he is going to land. Presumably that’s him also in the photo just below, elated at having secured himself a spot.
The location is Elegug Stacks in South Pembrokeshire. Guillemots galore…
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Lundy from Mouth Mill Leave a comment
Lundy Island seen from Mouth Mill in Devon at sunset, back in 2007. A friend and I had just landed at the end of a great days’ paddling; whilst I fiddled with the camera, my mate got the dinner on.
Bishop Rock Lighthouse Leave a comment
Approaching Bishop Rock Lighthouse, Isles of Scilly. There is nothing past this, but America.
Whilst the Stevenson family lit up remote shores of Scotland, construction in England and Wales was dominated by Trinity House Chief Engineers James Walker and James Douglass. When James Walker replaced the 1776 lighthouse on Pembrokeshire’s Smalls Rock (constructed using wooden and cast iron piles), he protected his granite tower from the waves with a stepped base. Walker adopted the idea of iron piles when he built on Bishop Rock, a tiny outcrop on the fringes of the Isles of Scilly. This proved a failure, being washed away by a storm in 1850. He recommenced work, completing a 37m tower made of conventional granite in 1858. Over two decades of use, the tower suffered wave damage and developed cracks. James Douglass had been responsible for replacing Smeaton’s Tower on the Eddystone reef in 1882; he now recommended encasing Bishop Rock Lighthouse inside a 49m tower, with the innovation of a massive (11.6m high and 12.5m thick) stone drum to protect the base. The work was completed in 1887 by his son William (the Douglass’ were another lighthouse ‘dynasty’) and the tower still stands in defiance of the Atlantic’s full force, arguably the crowning glory of the lighthouse age.
Purbeck underground Leave a comment
All along the Purbeck coast into the late twentieth century, limestone was quarried away. This industry has left significant gaps in the cliffs. These now disused quarries extend back into the hillsides behind; there are numerous vast caverns measuring hundreds of metres in length. These are dangerous places to visit, with crumbling ceilings and shaky roof supports. Seriously, don’t try this at home.
Occasionally, illegal(?) raves are held inside Purbeck’s caves; playing loud noise from booming speakers whilst hundreds of folk jump up and down, strikes me as the perfect definition of ‘natural selection’…
Dart, more Leave a comment
Pleasant bimble today, on my favourite river, which gave a National Park its name. I will never tire of it.
Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team Ashburton were out after dark yesterday searching for some overdue paddlers (whom I understand turned up safe), and they were out training river crossings today on the upper reaches. They do great work for paddlers, please consider supporting them. Which reminds me, I have to go out and run now.
Full Sus Leave a comment
The English Channel seen early morning today from Swyre Head, whilst trying out a new toy.
For years I’ve ridden hardtail bikes, and my backside has grown accustomed to incessantly having a saddle rammed into it. However, I recently realised that the front suspension had long since died on my bike, and that the reason my downhill rides were routinely characterised by barely-in-control-white-knuckle-terror (whilst my friends effortlessly shot off ahead) wasn’t entirely down to my riding incompetence. The ‘logical’ solution was, buy new front forks. The ‘bloke logic’ solution was, buy a completely new and exponentially more expensive bike.
He who dies with the most toys definitely wins.
Western Isles natural arch 2 comments
Swyre Head (the other one) Leave a comment
Perhaps my favourite local spot is the hill of Swyre Head, located a lungbursting 3.5 mile crosscountry run/ cycle from my house. I’ve been seeing a lot of it recently, due to training for next month.
However, I only recently noticed that it isn’t the only spot named Swyre Head in Dorset; the pictures here show another Swyre Head, located just a few more miles down the road near Lulworth Cove. The photos were taken on a wet and windy Christmas walk. The coastal path hereabouts is ridiculously steep, going up and down repeatedly; I’m particularly familiar with this, as it was also the route of the muddy 14.5 mile coastal trail race I recently survived.
Cloudbreak Leave a comment
Local winds averaged 50 knots, with gusts of 70 mph around lunchtime today. But here is the English Channel on a relatively calmer day, last week.
Surfing the PH Delphin Leave a comment
Testing out the surfing capabilities of the PH Delphin at Kimmeridge, this afternoon. After warming up tentatively on the small waves in the bay, I stuck my neck out further and further into the bigger breakers outside…thankfully they turned out to be relatively friendly in these onshore wind conditions, with few sections breaking steeply. Some very long fast rides were enjoyed! Sadly, there is no photo evidence of this, so you’ll have to assume I’m lying/ exaggerating.
All good.
Winter swells Leave a comment
Saxon Shore Forts Leave a comment
These photos are of the Roman fort of Gariannonum, built overlooking the tidal lake of Breydon Water in Norfolk. Built in the third century, it originally guarded a much more extensive estuary.
Gariannonum is one of the enormous ‘Saxon Shore Forts’. In cAD 395, an Imperial register ‘Notitia Dignitatum’ described the ‘Saxon Shore Forts’, under the command of the ‘Count of the Saxon Shore’. Remains of all eleven forts survive, located beside river mouths and natural harbours from Brancaster in Norfolk to Portchester in Hampshire. Strikingly similar to castles built 900 years later, they are among the largest and best preserved Roman constructions in Britain.
Their given title seems to suggest that they were built to guard against Saxon hordes from across the Channel, as the Roman Empire began to crumble. However, their construction actually predated any such attacks. Archaeologists have hotly debated what exactly their function was…
January 1st Leave a comment
The brief few rays of sunlight shown here started off 2012 in a very fine way. The weather shortly after returned to the driving rain and wind that has characterised recent weeks…photos taken around St Alban’s Head, Dorset.
Happy New Year, all.
Early morning at Old Harry Leave a comment
The mobile phone pic above was taken early this morning with a couple of friends at Old Harry Rocks, halfway through an extremely muddy bike ride. This route screams off the Purbeck ridge directly towards 500 foot cliffs, and then turns to follow the line of cliffs down to Old Harry.
Grim grey seas and skies have a been a bit of a feature of the past two weeks, hereabouts; mild Atlantic weather has made for lots of grey damp windy days. No worries, this has been good riding and running weather…by running up and down Swyre Head and by strictly staying off the Quality Street and Roses, I might just be the first person ever in History to have lost weight over the Xmas break. All part of the Grand Plan…
Best wishes for a Happy New Year…hope that 2012 hold great things for all of you.
St Alban’s Head tide race 3 comments
The tide race off St Alban’s Head, this morning. A great Christmas Day walk (taking in the Square and Compass pub at Worth Matravers!) but I would rather have been out on the water…
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Season’s Greetings Leave a comment
Like the card says.
We’ve had a wonderful and productive year, getting some writing done, sharing some great adventures and embarking upon one or two new adventures also. 2012 looks to be an amazing year too.
We wish you all well and hope that you have a good one, also!
Photo taken here in Purbeck in 2009…no snow right now, unfortunately. I’m now off to surf in the bay depicted, Kimmeridge…
Kilchoman Leave a comment
A friend from oop north was visiting today, so she and I had a pleasant paddle out to Old Harry Rocks, to play in the tide race. We chose this spot as it was relatively sheltered from the strong winds forecast. We then got out the bikes and rode up onto Swyre Head and the Purbeck ridges, where the wind happened to be blowing 40+ knots when we arrived. It was all fun, but my only two photos show grey rain on a grey sea, and me looking windswept, wet and muddy, up in a cloud. To spare readers (and myself) from contracting Seasonal Affective Disorder, I dug out some images from last summer instead.
During our visit to the island of Islay, we called in one evening at Kilchoman church, which is not looking too healthy right now. The tall cross in the churchyard dates from the Middle Ages and apparently looks like this when clean. There is also a relatively new distillery nearby, which Heather visited later in our trip.
After visiting Kilchoman, we headed to Machir Bay, a couple of miles down the road. We surfed until after sunset.
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The Shortest Day Leave a comment
This afternoon, a couple of us enjoyed a great paddle from Kimmeridge to Swanage. Having read internet reports of zero surf over at nearby Bournemouth, we were surprised to find a moderate rolling swell. This certainly kept us awake. We surfed a few good waves along the Kimmeridge Ledges, and after rounding St Alban’s Head, paddled amongst exploding surges at the base of the limestone cliffs. Splendid fun.
Naturally, the camera appeared and photos were taken only during the calm and sheltered moments, so you’ll have to take our word for it.
Lutra Lutra 1 comment
I’ve just been writing about otters, which prompted me to dig out these images.
Britain’s otters are not marine animals. They evolved as river animals, but have successfully adapted to survive and even thrive in UK coastal environments, especially areas with few major rivers. Otters are part of family mustelidae, which includes stoats and weasels. There are nine species of otter worldwide, divided into three tribes. Britain’s otters are Eurasian otters (lutra lutra, tribe lutrini). They should not be confused with sea otters (enhydra lutra, tribe anoychini) which are not found outside the Pacific Ocean.
We saw otters almost daily whilst paddling in Shetland last year. Nevertheless, I didn’t come remotely close to taking a worthwhile photo of one.
