Redland, Ashton Court and Clifton

Yesterday was uncharacteristically warm for February (and, it has to be said, dry for Bristol) so we decided to take Joe out for the day.  This started with a walk around Redland, close to where we were staying.

I've no idea why, but juxtapositions like the following have always amused me.

First stop was Ashton Court, which is just on the Somerset side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge and location for the astonishing International Balloon Fiesta.  It is a Mecca for golfers, cyclists and dog walkers, as well as being the home of a large flock of Fallow Deer - here photographed in Infra Red.

From Ashton Court it's a relatively short walk across the suspension bridge into Clifton.  The next shot was taken from the middle of the bridge, and shows how hazy the conditions were.

As an engineer, I have always admired Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his creations.  The Clifton Bridge is pure perfection from both aesthetic and mechanical points of view, and an astonishing achievement given the geography of the location.  It looks pretty good in Infra Red too.

I've never been quite sure about IR for people, however, but I couldn't resist a couple of snaps of Joe with his doting parents during lunch at Somerset House (highly recommended).

Despite being large for his age, Joe isn't quite ready for his first pint.  Yet.

There's some serious wisdom in those young eyes.

Baby Joe at 10 Weeks

Harriet and I are in Bristol visiting our little grandson (and, of course, his exhausted parents).  He's absolutely enormous (6.6kg at 10 weeks, which puts him over the 90th centile on the development graphs) and a real sweetie.  Butter wouldn't melt, etc.