Another trip to the woods.

Another trip to the pine woods at Formby for a bit more red squirrel actions.

If you go down to the woods today

You might even find a red squirrel, lots of squirrel action at Formby but sadly no light in the pine woods. ISO 3200 at least with camera's these days you can get a shot even in the dark.

Birds of the Cairngorms

 Crested Tit

 Female Red Grouse

 Redwing

A week in Aviemore and a spot of wildlife photography for us with some of the birds which live in the Cairngorms.

Autumn Dawns

The first day of Autumn and a trip to the Lake District. We stopped off at Coniston for a coffee. Beautiful blue skies and calm waters.

Swallows and Amazons

A trip to Coniston in the Lake District this week made famous by Arthur Ransome in his book " Swallows and Amazons "

Mevagissey, Cornwall

We certainly could not have chosen better weather for our trip to Cornwall this year.

The Singing Ringing Tree

The Singing Ringing Tree is a wind powered sound sculpture resembling a tree set in the landscape of the Pennine hill range overlooking Burnley, in Lancashire, England and is one of four Panopticons .The 3 metre tall construction comprising pipes of galvanised steel which harness the energy of the wind to produce a slightly discordant and penetrating choral sound covering a range of several octaves. I am not sure if there is any connection between it's name and that of the Eat German series which was broadcast in the 1970'sThe story concerns a beautiful but selfish and haughty princess who rejects the proposal of a wealthy prince. She scorns the gifts he offers her, and says that she will marry him only if he brings her the mythical "singing ringing tree". 

A very windy Morecambe.

A very blustery Monday night outing with Chorley Photography Society to Heysham to see the ruins of St Patrick's Chapel and graves. What promised to be a great sunset was a bit of a wash out in the end.

Tarn Howes in Summer

After a not so good day at Yorkshire Sculpture Park,Tuesday was much better thanks to the weather and the National Trust. We drove up to the Lake District to have a pick nick lunch at Tarn Howes and had a nice surprise, the National Trust had two motorbility scooters for hire, so for the first time we walked the whole way round the Tarn.

Giant Hares and lots of sheep.

A visit to Yorkshire Sculpture Park and a meeting with a giant Hare and lots of sheep. This sculpture entitled " Sitting by Sophie Ryder is one of the many outdoor exhibits in the park. 

Summer in the Lake District

A beautiful summers day in the Lake District, pictured above is Coniston viewed from Brown Howe Bay.

Beach Huts

Dramatic skies over the beach huts on the shoreline, Wells-Next-The-Sea.

Sunset in Norfolk

Brancaster on Norfolk's northern coastline has approximately two miles of unspoilt golden sand and dunes. Voted one of the best beaches in the country, one of the few places you can get a sunset in Norfolk.

Boats Houses, Holy Island, Northumberland.

Taken on our trip to Northumberland, it was actually a lovely sunny evening with a deep blue sky so I decided to make a monochrome of it and process the sky on a different layer just to add a bit more drama to the shot.

The Fabulous Farne Isles

Our first trip to the Farne Isles, Northumberland. They certainly lived up to expectations, just sad we only had to come back. Pictured is one of the amazing Artic Terns who nest on the Inner Farne.

Gannet

A great day out at RSPB Bempton Cliffs,Yorkshire this week watching these magnificent seabirds.

One Man and his Dog go to the Lake District

Vic and Bailey sitting on one of the jetties on Derwent water.

The Swan

I was hoping to take some pictures of duckings on a trip to the Lake District this but this beautiful swan caught my eye instead.

Abstracts - Salford Quays

A trip to the well photographed Salford Quays, a place where you can see pictures everywhere but it is very hard to take something a little different.

Bealach na Bà - The Pass of the Cattle

Bealach na Bà is a historic pass Pass of the Cattle through the mountains of the Applecross peninsula, in Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands—and the name of a famous twisting, single-track mountain road through the pass and mountains. Historically used as a drovers' road, it is now now of the most popular drives in the highlands of Scotland.

Elgol at Sunset

A picture I have been wanting to take for many years, Elgol at sunset. A trip to the Isle of Skye this week and after being delayed with roadworks on the way down to Elgol we arrived with only minutes to spare. No time to set up the tripod I had just a few seconds to snap away before the sun fell below the horizon.

Crested Tit in the Cairngorms

Yes, we finally saw one on the last day of our spring visit to the Cairngorms. He only payed two visits to our feeding station but that was enough to get a couple of shots.

Loch an Eilean.

    For our first trip of 2014 we headed north up the A9 to Aviemore. This is Loch an Eilein ( Loch of the island) with its ruined 15th century castle in the far distance. 
    The castle is said to have once been the property of Alexander Stewart the wolf of Badenoch.The Jacobites, retreating from Cromdale in 1690, besieged the castle, which was held by Dame Grizel Mor Grant, widow of the fifth laird Grant. At this time the castle was connected to the shore by a causeway. The causeway was lost when the water level in the loch was raised in the 18th century. 
     When ospreys were driven to extinction by the Victorians, the island castle was the site of one of the last eyries. Unfortunately, although ospreys have returned to Scotland, they have not recolonised their old nesting site here


 

Bailey Meets the Four "" Clock Club

Bailey gets a rub down after his first meeting with the Four "0"clock club.

And Bailey Makes Six

Bailey is the newest addition to the Pigula household, he is a four month old Labradoodle and he really enjoyed his first trip to the seaside.

The Organ in the Lady Chapel - Liverpool Catherdral

A return trip to Liverpool Cathedral, this was taken in the Lady Chapel like last year picture but this time I took a little more time time to look around more. This is the view if you turnaround at the alter and look back at the magnificent organ which I never saw last time. The organ was built by Henry Willis and Sons and is regularly used for worship, for weddings and for funeral services (subject to Archbishop of Canterbury's limitations and conditions).

Jaguar

A trip to the South Lakes Wildlife Park this week, it's a great place if you are a Lemur but not great if you are a big cat.

RSPB Burton Mere & Parkgate

A trip to the Wirral just in time for the predicted very high tide at 2.10pm, except the wind was in the wrong direction so it never happened. We saw lots of birds at a long distance including some Redshanks and a Little Stint and our first ever Water Rail at the Burton Mere Visitor center being chased by a grumpy Waterhen.

Mere Sands

Our first trip of the year to Mere Sands wood, not much happening but we did have a brief sighting of one of the elegant Great Crested Grebes.

The Tree

Stuck in again with the builders so I am trying to be a little more creative and do some monochrome work. This tree was taken at Tarn Howes last November, the light was fading fast but it just caught this little tree at the edge of the water lighting it up.

Inside Liverpool : The Metropolitan Cathedral

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool. 

Ferry Across the Mersey

A very high hide on the River Mersey with amazing lighting on the Liverpool waterfront. Technically there where two ferries on the Mersey today, the large Stella Line ferry plus in the distance the " real" ferry across the Mersey moored near the Albert Dock.