Fairfield in Monochrome

While staying in Rye, we took a scenic and round-about route to Dungeness in order to visit Fairfield Church.  Dedicated to St Thomas à Becket, the church stands in the middle of Romney Marsh and is now surrounded by fields containing sheep.  It's also famous with photographers, for good reason, but a sunny morning in September was unlikely to yield any masterpieces.  The sky was impressive, though, so I felt that a monochrome treatment was the order of the day.

As with the trip to Tenterden Church, these pictures were all taken with the Fuji X-T1 and 10-24 lens, with support for the internal shots being improvised where necessary!

Tenterden

I'm a sucker for a good church, having been interested in architecture since I was at school.  As a result I grabbed the chance to spend half an hour or so looking at Tenterden church in Kent while Harriet did a bit of shopping.  I was travelling light (just the Fuji X-T1 plus 10-24 lens and no tripod) so a certain amount of improvisation was in order when it came to taking the interior shots.

I promise that I put the Very Useful Table (TM) back in its proper place before I left.

Bodiam Castle

Bodiam Castle is a National Trust property in East Sussex which demonstrates just how castles should be.  As well as the imposing walls and towers, there's the obligatory moat and drawbridge.  On a warm, sunny day in September it looked beautiful against a blue sky and fluffy clouds.

The only slight downside to the castle was the presence of actors, dressed up in mediaeval garb, attempting to engage the visitors in conversation about "the olden days".  We managed to escape.  Almost.

Detail of some of the (quite ancient) graffiti within one of the towers.

The view from the ramparts was even more spectacular than that from ground level.

A great place in an idyllic setting.  It served good ice cream too...

Slimbridge in a hurry

At the end of September, while en route for Bristol, I managed to grab a short time at the Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire.  I had intended to spend the entire afternoon there; but, owing to the combination of inefficiency on my part and horrendous traffic around Birmingham, I didn't manage to arrive until 3:30.  Since the place closed at 5:00, my visit was inevitably rather rushed.  Here is a selection of pictures I took while attempting to see every corner of the reserve at break-neck speed!

Having missed the breeding eiders when we were in Iceland this year, it was good to see them displaying (even if the females weren't especially impressed).

At "last knockings" I managed to grab a couple of pictures of the swans, just outside the visitors' centre.

Next time I really need to get my act together and visit Slimbridge properly!

St Peter Port and Home

The series of workshops now being over, I had a few hours to wander around St Peter Port before catching the ferry after lunch.  I've always liked the town, and it's sufficiently small that walking is the most sensible way of getting around.  What follows is a miscellany of shots from the morning.

It was then time to board the ferry and head back to Poole.  I'm always sad to leave Guernsey, and this had been a particularly enjoyable visit.  Huge thanks are due to Carl and Gill for running the "best hotel on the island", and to all the Guernsey photographers who made me feel so welcome.  I'll be back, whether you like it or not!

The last couple of pictures were taken from the ferry just before we docked in Poole.

It was then a three hour drive to Cambridge, followed by the dawning realisation that I needed to go to work the following morning.  Roll on retirement...

Sunset at Vazon Bay

After the final day of workshops on Guernsey, Carl, Gill and I went for a walk along Vazon Beach as the sun was setting.  It was a warm, balmy evening, and the place was virtually deserted.  All it needed was a dumb blonde labrador to complete the idyll...

There was a slightly serious note to beginning of the walk as all the flags on the island were flying at half mast.  This was due to the premature demise of Guernsey's Lieutenant Governor, Peter Walker, who had died suddenly the previous day.

The evening light was beautiful, and the sea wall was distinctly warm to the touch.

The shadows of two photographers, both attempting to make pictures out of the railings above.

Carl, photographing everything which moved (or didn't, in the case of the sand castle and crab sculpture which we found on the beach).

The final picture shows the strange and ancient Guernsey sport of "rock lifting".  No, I don't understand it either...