Traveling Home

Even though I left home over 30 years ago, I still refer to the trip to Scotland as going home. It is about 435 miles if I go direct, but as I do the trip three or four times a year the direct route is getting very boring. 

This trip I did the usual A2/M25/M1/M6/M74 but this time I cut across the hills of Southern Scotland to visit Leadhills and Wanlockhead. Located high in the hills the two villages were the home to lead miners. The mines are long closed and are now the home of several museums.

Union Flags

The flags are out in Piccadilly for the Jubilee. With the light behind and a lot of HDR processing the image looked a bit painterly.

Seven Dials and The Temple Church

Two places I passed through in London were The Temple church in The Inner Temple just off Fleet St, and The Seven dials area near Covent Garden.

Building Bits

As ever a trip to London would not be complete without some photographs of bits of buildings. I am always attracted to buildings, either by the shape and colour or by details. In London there all these things are on view in abundance. intact I am sure I could spend a day just shooting details.

Street Photography

Street Photography is not an area of photography that I have done much or cared much for but two locations I found in London called out for some human shapes to add that extra dimension.

The first is near Southwark station, the second was in Covent Garden.

London

Day off today and with the first bit of good weather in days I was off up to London with my camera.

A long meandering walk across london was on my mind, with lunch at Borough Market, coffee later and a snack in the evening. What could be better.
The weather stayed sunny and I ended up shooting about 10Gb of images.

These are the last I shot but the first I am posting. The low sun was lighting up the skateboard park on the south bank and that mixed with some HDR processing gave some great images.

Hosta Leaves

The sun was out tonight for once.

Sweeps Festival Rochester

This weekend is the Sweeps Festival at Rochester, and with the bad weather we are having, there were very few people about. It meant that I was able to get in close to most of the morris dancers that were performing.

The groups that proved the most photogenic were the border morris dancers here.

Episode Three

The second episode of my trip across kent had me at Sissinghurst gardens. The sun was out and I got some nice images. Some clouds were on the horizon, but it was still looking good so I pushed on to Bodiam castle. I had not visited in nearly twenty years but it had not changed much. I had a walk around the moat and climbed the towers. The shots I did came out well but the clouds were rolling in and by the time I was back to the car it was grey and overcast.

Sissinghurst

Driving on from Eynsford I drove across the county, finding myself near Sissinghurst I decided to stop and see if the gardens were open on a Monday. They were and as the sun was still shining so I had a walk around the gardens and got a few interesting images.

Eynsford and Farningham

My first destination yesterday had been Farningham and Eynsford, both villages on the River Darenth. I had been past them a week or two ago when the river was flowing at very low levels. With the rain over the past few days I expected the river to be much higher. It was but not so hight that it was bursting its banks.

I did a couple of images at each village.