Wolds 2

 Went back to the Wolds with Rowan on Easter Monday. Danielle was busy studying. Beautiful cold windy sunny day. Great to be back in the dry valleys (I'd forgotten what walking up a steep hill was like). 

Easter Day

After the family walk yesterday we managed today to have an Easter Sunday meal for the first time I can remember. Danielle and Rowan prepared it and it was great. Helped, for me, by watching the Tour of Flanders with a pint of Ainsty Ale. A good day. Here is the meal before we descended upon it.

Family walk

This was the first time we had all been a walk together outside of York since Christmas. Lovely day up on Garrowby hill in the Wolds.

Whoopers

Whooper swans on Thorne Moors yesterday. They have wintered here in Yorkshire and are about to leave for summer in Iceland. A lovely noisy sight.

Red Deer Skull

Monday I saw the first butterflies of the year. Brimstone, tortoiseshell and peacock.

Tuesday was First Shorts Day (late but welcome) and to celebrate I went to Thorne Moors for the first time this year (outbounded by lockdown previously). It was great to be back there on such a beautiful spring day. I saw whooper swans a plenty and discovered a new path - henceforth to be know as Skull Path on account of the red deer skull which we (Layla and I) found. I took this photo, Layla chewed another of its bones. A great day.

Back on the road

Lockdown rules have changed in the UK, so we can now go further a field to walk, cycle etc. This is good news. Yesterday I took the dog to Bishop Wood and to say she enjoyed the freedom of the forest would be an understatement. I was pretty happy to. The water table is very high at the moment, so this pond, which has never existed before in the forest in my experience, appeared out of nowhere. It will be gone in a week or so I think. The height above sea level of Bishop Wood is a max of 7 metres.

NYC

It is just about impossible to get tired of taking pictures in New York City. This was taken on only my second visit to the city in 2004.

The Outgang

This is a part of York called the Outgang which is the way from the city to the pasture. It has a slightly lawless feel to it, emphasised in this shot by the BMX jumps that have sprouted amongst the trees. I like it.

Bridge

 This bridge over the River Derwent (which was in a mild flood at the time) is a great bit of architecture.

Tillmire

 I went a long walk with the dog this week, and got to the Tillmire, a piece of old heathland bog south of York. In the middle of it there is this pond, which really does feel like an oasis, complete with geese. I had never seen it before despite having cycled within a 100 metres of it many many times.

Daffs

 Various daffs around the garden are making their appearance. These are in particularly good nick.

Hemingbrough

 The majestic Hemingbrough steeple behind the majestic Layla, taken a couple of weeks ago.

DC

 Nine years ago, in Washington DC at one of the memorials.

Dorset

 Dorset. Quite hard to make Dorset look anything but benign, but I thin these dead trees achieve it.

Southend

I did some work in Southend in 2012, the light was great and a seaside town out of season is often a good subject matter.

Science

 Found this in my Glasgow file, from the science museum. I like it.

Dundee

 Cycle tour to Dundee with Ted and Dave in 2009. This is Scot's ship on the Tay waterfront. 

Sheep walking

Sheep get an unfair bad press - not that daft at all. A group crossing a river in single file, in the Highlands. Taken in 2007 when we were on a family bike tour.

Arthur's Seat

Top of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh 2007. It has to be the best city centre walk in the UK, off the train, stroll down the royal mile then up you go on a real hill walk.

Mull

Taken at Tobermory on the isle of Mull in 1994. I do remember discovering the joys of single malt whisky in a bar on that harbour. 

Strensall

Took this on Strensall Common last week. It is a beautiful place and it was good to walk there once more.

Vaccine

Had my vaccination yesterday - very pleased to get it. Today I woke up feeling exhausted and have spent the day in bed! A price worth paying by any reckoning. 

River Ouse

 A walk by the Ouse last week. The river is tidal here but still a good way from the sea. In the still mist it appeared other worldly.

Portraits

This shot is from my walk on Hook Moor last week. The whole landscape has a strangely unreal feel, and that is what I was trying to catch here.

I did a portrait session yesterday. First since last summer, and necessarily outdoors in a forest. Went really well. Great to be back at it.

Railway Pond

The pond really changes with the seasons and the light. The cold misty morning last week gave me this vista as I walked to get the paper.

More Leeds

It was great to be in Leeds last week, and see the terraced streets climbing the hills. Amazing architecture.

Oxford

This was taken somewhere near Oxford a few years ago. Not sure where but I can see why I took it. Not exactly dreaming spires.

PJD Guitar

Before Christmas I found out that there was an electric guitar maker from London, who had relocated to Pocklington, a market town in the Wolds to the east of York. So I rang up and went to have a look at PJD guitars. The founder/owner, Leigh, gave me a lot of time and showed me some lovely guitars. In then end I liked best this one, which was fortuitous as it was the cheapest, no longer made and came in this great matt red finish. So it was a no brainer. It is a lovely, simple thing.

 

Taken at the Flood

I took this a few weeks ago when the ings were flooded. Didn't think much of it at the time. Just found it again today. Think it could be a keeper.

 

Exams

I drove Rowan to a finance exam she was taking in Leeds yesterday. So whilst she was tackling that I walked up through Meanwood to Adel in Leeds. Leeds is a fantastic place to walk, with green corridors stretching right outside the city to the Pennine foothills and beyond.

I came across this Victorian aqueduct in Adel wood which I had never heard of before, a beautiful bit of industrial architecture built in 1834 to carry fresh water to Leeds from Eccup reservoir.

 

Manchester

When I worked in Manchester a few years ago I got a good few walks in. A great city to wander around. This is Castlefields.

Booths

I was glad to find the Booths bridge still intact when we went to Preston Guild in 2012. Amazingly Booths grocers (now supermarket) is still in business and seems to thrive.

 

Newcastle

Into the North East, this is Newcastle. Monumental.

 

Honey Hush

 

I use Adobe Lightroom as my photography software, and I am writing my books in Adobe InDesign. So I get additional Adobe programs like Illustrator. As is obvious from above I shall never be a graphic designer, but this is good enough to put on our jars of honey.

Sleaford Maltings

Now we are in the east of England. This is Sleaford, where I visited with Rowan to photograph the maltings (on the left in this shot). Not a mod to be seen.

Rest and be thankful

 

I have cycled through the village of Askham Richard literally 100s of times and have stopped a good few times on benches around the village pond. Today it was raining a bit, and I saw that the covered village pump had benches inside. So for the first time in 23 years of visiting the village I sat inside this open shelter. The message was most surprising and welcoming. Like so many things from the early 20th century I can't help but think that in six years from when this was built hell would be let loose on the very people who no doubt cycled on the quiet Edwardian roads.

Big Sky

Today the sun appeared and it was not freezing. Got a good walk in with the dog. There are so many people around walking that I had to go off the beaten track so that Layla could run free. Here she is enjoying the space.

London

Got to London on the trawl. Not much I can say about this. Your guess is as good as mine. It was on the embankment between Lambeth and Vauxhall.

The Lakes

Since moving to York 23 years ago I have been to the Lakes less than when I lived in London, even though I am now much closer to them. Probably because there is so much great country in Yorkshire. Still, when I was looking through my photographs of the Lakes it did make me think that I need to get back there. Just the pandemic problem. This shot is on a walk up Hellvellyn in 2003. 

Skosh

Last night we had a Skosh (www.skoshyork.co.uk) meal at home. I cycled to get it in the afternoon then assembled it as per the instructions. It was great, a vegan special with a bottle of white Rioja. Then Danielle and I watched Lunchbox, an Indian film that was well worth searching out. We saw it on the BFI (British Film Institute) player.

Today Danielle was Quakering on Zoom all day, Rowan was revising for some exams she has in a couple of weeks, and I was recording some music. 

It is freezing here, -7 in York, as cold as I have know it here.

From 2004 when we went to Ireland with Royce. Long ago.

Guernsey

My only trip to the Channel Islands has been to Guernsey for Mark and Mandy's wedding in 2009. It was nice enough but in no hurry to return. Blue Victorian post boxes were a highlight.

Spain

An amazing tree. Taken in Denia, Spain when we visited friend Kelly there five years ago.

Fuerteventura

In this trawl I am looing for pictures that I have passed over before. This is on Fuerteventura, everything in the picture is volcanic.

Rome

From a trip to Rome, this is an old Roman wall at Ostia Attica. Seen a bit of life that wall.

Snow

Fresh snow today (soon went of course) this is on the edge of Hob Moor, a seasonal pond that looks a lot better with a dusting of snow. Had a good long walk with Robert and Layla across the strays to the University. Amazing changes in the weather, from winter storm to sunny day and back to the storm.

Siena

After many years of trying, I have finally worked out how to make chapatis with Rowans help. We made a batch to have with dal yesterday and they came out great. Worth the wait.

Grim weather so I have been recording a new song. A long process involving

a] finding all the leads etc

b] remembering what a USB interface is

c] cursing USB interfacing as a concept

d] finally getting on with it.

It will be a few months.

The photo is of Siena from 2014. One of my favourite places on earth.

Hungary

Now on the Hungary from 2017, and a shot from a trip to Budapest.

Nepal

We had our first Migrateful cookery class yesterday courtesy of our Christmas present from Ro & Pete. Together with 12 other people we learnt from a Nepalese refugee how to cook egg curry and a potato salad (all via Zoom). It was a lot of fun and tasted great. Next week we go to Syria. Check it out on the website https://www.migrateful.org/ it is a really good organisation.

Got as far as Holland in 2003 when we were all cycling on a group ride.

Wuppertal

Got to Germany now in my archive trawl. This is a shot from my Wuppertal trip where the marvellous monorail unites the town.

Alps

Found this shot from cycling through the Alps in 2014 with Dave. It will be good to be able to get cycle touring again someday.