Blog Entries by Geograph Users
1 months ago
It was the day we'd been waiting for all week, which doesn't sound like a long time, but in a week of unsettled weather with several walks having had to be modified or cancelled, the highlight of the week, the long awaited ascent of Jura's lowest Pap was anticipated with anxiety. Would the weather put paid to this eagerly anticipated event? The forecast had looked good for Friday all week, but often it changes at the last minute. I logged onto XC weather the night before and peered over my...
1 months ago
This is the last in my latest series of walks. It's taken a lot of photo manipulation and working out which photo relates to which gridsquare, so a lot of time. Don't expect to see me on here for about another year! Just kidding, this thing is far too addictive for that to be the case. Sadly, though, there's only so much manipulating that can enhance boring photos and so I apologize in advance for the lack of interest in these photos; the weather was poor and, whilst the scenery was more...
1 months ago
The new season officially kicked off two weeks ago, with the clocks going forward, allowing my freedom to go wherever I wanted given the opportunity before it got dark. The first was a shortish run to the Sussex border as there was a gap without any red squares it was easy to fill in, and a week later finally got to Cuckfield to get this wonderful pair of signs only found because of Dave Spicer.
Photo
I have a list of trips for 2013 now, that was the first, mainly as old signs are...
ambition hectads pre-worboys sign
1 months ago
Our plans to do some hillwalking had been thwarted by the heavy snowfall of recent weeks, but we remained undeterred from doing some serious walking - my daughter and I that is. I simply revised my 'wish list'. Unlike when I am on Islay, constantly perusing the maps for gridsquares yet unvisited, I was looking at a totally green map and so could choose anywhere, as long as it wasn't too risky.
I chose Glen Beanie. originally my wish list had included a circular trip which took in both Loch...
1 months ago
On what was - for me - a rare foray south of Hadrian’s Wall, I had the opportunity to visit Liverpool – opportunity in this case meaning just two hours. Using the ferry from Woodside to the Pier Head, this involved a short cruise on the Mersey, followed by one hour to explore a little of Liverpool’s waterfront - with the much-photographed Royal Iris of the Mersey performing ferry duty between Birkenhead and Liverpool.
Photo Photo Photo Photo
In Greek...
city town centre economy tourism river docks sculpture architecture
1 months ago
This was to be my third or fourth visit to what is known as the Sorn Valley in the centre (ish) of the island. The area is difficult to access and some gridsquares are therefore really only accessible by repeating some parts of previous walks. This is not a complaint, of course, particularly when the weather is as glorious as it was today.
Angus, the friendly farmer of both Scarrabus and Balole farms met us at the deer gate
Photo and welcomed us, advising us that we need not fear...
1 months ago
I was stymied from posting for most of January due to 'upgrading' to Windows 8 and then discovering that my machine wouldn't run for more than a few minutes before freezing. However, I did eventually get started and was able to post my January backlog then move on with February - blessed relief to be back on site.
On the 12th of January I filled in some of the local scenery that I have been neglecting since the 1970s with a wander round Worcester -
Photo Photo Photo...
industrial archaeology steam railway steam engine colliery
1 months ago
Having my daughter home for the Easter holidays, combined with (finally) glorious weather meant that I just couldn't wait to be out. This was a reconnaisance walk for the forthcoming Walk Islay week on which I'd been asked to lead a walk up this modest hill. Being one of my favourite hills and being near one of my favourite ruins, I decided to combine the two and make it into a circular walk. After much research and enquiry, I've recently discovered that 'Giùr' is an Islay word for crouching...
2 months ago
We nearly didn't go on this walk. The cold north-easterly wind did blow and we had planned to walk on Islay's eastern shores; well, not shores exactly; that just sounded better. I had worked out a circular route, starting at Ballygrant quarry, walking up the track to Lossit Farm, down to the bothy at Baleachdrach and then southwards at the foot of Beinn Dubh to Lochs Fada and Leathann and back to the road and the car.
It was all familiar territory to me, although I have only done all the...
2 months ago
Feeling a little sorry for myself as it was my first Mother's Day on my own - not that we had ever made much of a fuss about it in our family - I decided to pack a picnic and gain some more Islay gridsquares. After all, that was my favourite thing to do and I didn't mind doing it on my own so would be less likely to indulge in a bout of self-pity.
Perhaps my least visited area of the island is the Rhinns peninsula. I'm not sure why. But I had long ago noticed on the map the curious name of...
2 months ago
Although the calendar (read 'government') means the clocks don't go forward till the final day in March this year it's now not getting too dark for photos till 6pm, so ignoring their method of trying to cheat time and beginning my 2013 plans, even if I haven't yet carried any out yet. I was pleased to get the first medium trip a few weeks ago to the edge of Reading, as it made a little splash in a previously green void, and luckily since when I've been available more pre-Worboys road signs...
2 months ago
Ever since seeing them from the ridge during a cold February walk with a friend on Cairnsmore of Fleet in 2009
Photo, a group of 8 unGeographed squares in the valleys to the east had been winking at me. I’d rather assumed (wrongly) that they must have been protected by some sort of access restrictions into the National Nature Reserve, but a call to the warden at the Dromore Visitor Centre confirmed that those sorts of archaic conditions genuinely only affect us poor souls in England...
geographing trip report geotrip
2 months ago
I seem to be having a bit of a thing at the moment for Islay ruins - the more isolated, the better! Hence, after checking the forecast and yep, it was going to be another beauty of a day, Fiona and I met at the Coullabus road end at 9.15 am to work out car positions and the route.
The only thing was, it wasn't a beauty of a day. It turned out to be the bad day sandwiched between two good ones - and naturally the day we'd chosen to walk! Fiona is familiar with this terrain - we both are -...
2 months ago
Three very amateur archaeologists set off in search of a variety of features shown on the Ordnance Survey map off what is known locally as the 'back road' to Gruinart. We were so amateur that we did not really know what the words in fancy writing indicated: - 'hut circles', 'burnt mounds' and 'tumuli' all had to be looked up and pages printed off from Scotland's Places website before we ventured forth into the unknown at Lagstoban
Photo. For once I wasn't after gaining new gridsquares...
2 months ago
Driving along the A38 into Tewkesbury on Thursday afternoon, crossing the Mythe causeway I was aware of something was different. It was one of those moments when something you are familiar is different but you’re not sure exactly what, you know the feeling, something is missing.
To my left the railway embankment between the Mythe Tunnel and the River Avon looked very different; it had been cleared of trees. Later that day I asked a friend “What’s happening to the railway embankment in...
2 months ago
At last the sun was out again and after several ramblings with other very patient people, I decided the time had come to venture out on my own again. There's only so many times that the words 'OK folks we're in a new square', can remain exciting to anyone other than a dedicated Geographer!
I worked out a route from Burnside, Bruichladdich, northwards to Gleann na h-Uamha and hopefully reaching the intriguing Dun na h-Uamha, north-eastwards to Loch Treunaidh and south again to join a track...
2 months ago
Once again I was caught out with the weather. This really is a walk to do on a cold, crisp winter's day before the bracken, midges and tourists are out in force! We can say it snowed without lying, although it wasn't exactly blizzard conditions! But whilst my last walk was in relentless sunshine (for which I suffered a headache, not having taken my sunhat), the sun only made an appearance when the last car door was closed at the end of the walk - and I'd taken my sunhat! Of course! And my...
3 months ago
My submissions have gone down in the last three months which is down to a few things. I had uploaded 20,000 images (no fanfare for that) and the cost of driving out to places is not getting any cheaper but one of the other reasons is I have started blogging more. I juggle five of them at the moment and I blame the Geograph one for starting me off on this trail. So what have I been doing Geograph wise apart from posting photos of our village hall being built?
Photo
Well a lady who...
cholsey farimile hospital peppard newbury reading
3 months ago
Being busy and IT issues have delayed my submission considerably. However, before we all forget that 2012 existed, I'll finish it off in readiness for starting the 2013 blogs.
Friday the 2nd started with an educational event at Cheltenham Racecourse
Photo.
The next day was spent in the Ironbridge Gorge with Ashley Dace -
Photo Photo Photo Photo. However, the real fun was after dark with the Blists Hill fireworks and the operation of the foundry and...
industrial archaeology power station canals
3 months ago
Ever since I was a small child I have been familiar with Dunstall Castle, as a child I imagined it was the ruined remains a real medieval castle.
Photo Later I discovered it was in fact a sham castle, or a 'folly', one of a number built around Croome Court and its parkland for the 6th Earl of Coventry. Dunstall Castle was designed by Robert Adam in 1766/7. Over the years of neglect it had crumbled and lost its central turret. In 2009, along with the Panorama Tower
Photo and...
geographing trip report folly
4 months ago
15th February 2012. It was already late in the day when I set out to nab SU1997. I’d had to come to Lechlade on business, but that would only take a couple of hours, so I’d decided to mop up a few tpoints at the same time. The first was SU1893, where I had to run the gauntlet of angry farmers by walking quarter of a mile down a lane to take a photograph, I hoped, of the place where that lane petered out: a photograph of nothing, in effect. As it was, I found some piles of wood to add interest...
canals dudgrove thames and severn
4 months ago
A mishap with a pistachio nut leading to an astronomical dental bill meant that I was prevented from using some of my savings spending Christmas on the Marlborough Downs and Cotswolds topping up my geograph tpoint score. Instead, on limited petrol and no budget for tea and cakes, and approaching the anniversary of my joining geograph, I resolved to finish my first hectad and nudge my tpoint score up to 100. As the hectad in question was centred on Swindon, and rain was forecast for the...
completing a hectad introducing myself
5 months ago
London! Despite living there in the 1960s we decided we'd like to live in different parts of the country (together!). We began our ramble round Britain, living, working or studying in
Photo Norwich,
Photo York,
Photo Perth and
Photo Warwick for the last 28 years. In the sixties I found London increasingly oppressive but now when I visit I thoroughly enjoy it; it's easy to get around; it's a pleasure to just walk, there's so much to see. And photograph.
On a...
geographing trip report
5 months ago
2011 and 12 began my quest for distant squares, after spending the previous few years simply taking everything I knew well and then loading them in here. But if you're not an early riser taking photos (while stopping every half a mile for the next red square) 50 miles and beyond from home would mean it inevitably got dark long before I could do anything even with the new camera. But my other targets are pre-Worboys road signs, which can be taken with a flash, and with the camera able to take...
pre-worboys sign kent
6 months ago
Having completed my last long trip to the compass points to Battle, finishing the compass a few weeks before the clocks went back, it was back to local duties until around April when it gets dark around 6pm again.
Photo
Luckily pre-Worboys signs continued to turn up, and with the advent of a new camera, not because I particularly wanted one but because the other was corrupting my cards at random times (possibly after I'd dropped it) and upgraded to a serious bridge camera which...
pre-worboys sign hectads night photos
