A Grand Day Out to Stowe Gardens

2021 has been a very lean time for photography: partly because of the Covid lockdown, but mainly because I've spent almost every waking hour since Christmas working on the Cambridge Camera Club website.  Lockdown has been partially lifted and the website is all but complete, so a week ago we went on a Grand Day Out to Stowe Gardens to meet up with the Bristol side of the family.  We last saw Joe in September, and he's grown up a huge amount in six months.  We were only with him for the day, unfortunately, but it won't be long before he's allowed to visit Harston with Frances and Christopher.

Scotland 2019 21: Mar Lodge Fungi

We may not have seen any red squirrels in Mar Lodge Estate (or anything else with either fur or feathers, as it happens); but, even in August, it was clear that 2019 was going to be a bumper year for fungi.  These are a few of the species we found while walking through the pine forest, all taken hand-held with a Fuji X-E3 and 16mm f/1.4 lens without reflector or flash.  No attempt has been made to do any "gardening" (either physical or digital) so these specimens are exactly as we found them.

Scotland 2019 20: Mar Lodge Estate

Mar Lodge Estate, now operated by National Trust for Scotland, is the UK's largest nature reserve and is situated in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park.  It was originally a 19th century hunting lodge, and now comprises one of the few remaining areas of Caledonian pinewoods.  The river Dee runs through the estate, which is now a centre for hiking and other outdoor pursuits.  It is reputedly a good place to see red squirrels in their natural habitat, although they remained elusive on the day we visited.  Perhaps they didn't like the rain?

We might not have spotted a red squirrel, but other people claimed to have more success.  Mind you, one of the entries on the board implied that a haggis had been spotted recently...

We followed the Glen Lui trail, past the old salmon ladder and waterfall.  Despite the car park being totally full, we hardly met a soul during the two hour walk around the forest.  A very beautiful and peaceful location, even if the local wildlife was playing hard to get.

Scotland 2019 6: St Abb's Head

St Abb's Head is a promontory of volcanic rocks just north of Eyemouth, now operated as a nature reserve by the National Trust.  Being the end of August we weren't expecting to see much in the way of bird life; but, since the weather was dry (if not especially sunny), it was still a good place for a walk.

The inland areas are actively farmed, with both sheep and cattle being in evidence.

There's an inland "loch" which attracts freshwater birds, although not many on the day in question.  It's also acts as a perfect breeding ground for the local midge population!

The folding in the rocks in cliffs, north of St Abb's Head, is very dramatic.

From a distance it wasn't clear what the anomalous blue and yellow "thing" on the hillside might be; but, as we got closer, we discovered that it was a large bundle of dried gorse wrapped in several Jewson builders' bags.  Why?  Answers on a postcard, please.

The weather started to brighten up about mid-day, and the wildflower meadows were beautiful in the late summer sun.

St Abb's Head Lighthouse is in a spectacular position, right on the edge of the cliffs.  The final image is a stitched panorama of about 15 shots, showing the whole coastline from Dunbar in the north to Berwick in the south.