Things on and in the Water

Returning to our so-called holiday on the Norfolk Broads, here are a few from Salhouse Broad between Wroxham and Horning.  A beautiful spot which also happens to be within easy walking distance of the restaurant at the Woodforde's Brewery in Woodbastwick.  Yum...

Izzi and Harriet decided to explore the Broad by kayak while I stayed back at base to photograph the "wildlife".  There was the occasional Great Crested Grebe and Egyptian Goose, but mainly they were kept at bay by a chap a couple of boats over who insisted on playing his accordion.

The Egyptian Goose is, of course, a duck (if it looks like a goose and quacks like a goose, etc.).

Unusually for the holiday, we were then treated to a beautiful sunny evening.  As a result we decided to let Amber have a swim in the Broad before going off for a slap-up dinner at the aforementioned restaurant.

Did I mention that the dinner was yummy?

Tyntesfield

While staying in Bristol we had a Grand Day Out to Tyntesfield, a National Trust property in North Somerset.  It was raining (well, tipping down actually) when we arrived, and did so for most of the day.  We discovered later that there had been flash floods, landslides (and, for all I know, plagues of frogs) in the vicinity, but we managed to get away with a light drenching.

The house is a Victorian Gothic pile, set in large grounds, which was bought by The Trust about 10 years ago.  One of the conditions of sale was that all the paraphernalia (i.e. crap), acquired by the family over the last four generations, were left as is rather than being discarded.  The house is, therefore, rather cluttered and not exactly pristine.  A poor cousin to Cragside in Northumberland, as far as I'm concerned, but interesting nevertheless. 

Needless to say I took advantage of the National Trust's new "camera friendly" policy...

The Billiard Room (actually an English Pool room) was something to behold.  It had a heated table, and a comprehensive array of antlered heads mounted on the wall.  The ceiling was quite impressive too.

As can be seen below, much of the furniture has that "lived in" quality, and many of the carpets are threadbare.  Rather refreshing compared to the "pickled in aspic" sense one normally gets from a National Trust house.

The hallway and staircase were suitably imposing.

A selection of some of the priceless "valuables" acquired by The Trust as part of the house sale.

A chapel was added to the house at some point, presumably when the family was more affluent than it later became.

By the time we'd finished going around the house it had almost stopped raining.  Within 30 minutes the sun had come out, and the whole place started steaming as a result.

To finish off, a couple of pictures taken in the gardens.

Doctor Foster went to Gloucester

...and, as the Nursery Rhyme predicted, there was indeed a shower of rain!  We made the trip to Gloucester to see the Cotswold Monochrome Salon Exhibition, which was being held in a wonderful old priory close to the docks.  Both Frances and I had pictures accepted into the exhibition, which is why we were making the pilgrimage.  Some wonderful images to look at, and a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so before lunch.

In the afternoon, during the aforementioned shower, I spent a very happy time inside Gloucester Cathedral.  The choir were practising for Evensong, which was the cherry on the cake.  Unfortunately there were dozens of people milling around, most of whom seemed oblivious to an idiot with a camera and a tripod.  Still, I managed to get a few pictures which I have processed very quickly.

It's a pity that the rest of Gloucester didn't match up to the quality of the exhibition and the Cathedral.  The place seemed to be relatively down at heel - despite lots of gentrification around the dock area - and was full of Pound Shops (or their discounted equivalents, 99p Shops).

Evening at Thurne Mill

By far the wettest day of the holiday involved a long journey from Beccles in Suffolk, across Breydon Water, through Great Yarmouth, and on to Thurne.  It rained pretty well the entire time, and we were all suffering from Cabin Fever by the time we managed to moor.  The rain stopped after dinner, and I managed an hour or so in the gathering gloom taking pictures of the iconic windmill.

The images have all been processed slightly differently, and I'm not sure which I prefer yet.  Probably the softer, more pastel versions, but the jury is still out.