Norfolk in summer

31st August 202131st August 2021 By cpadmin

Norfolk in the summer brings lots of photographic opportunities. Our visit was in July 2021, with facemasks, distancing and limits of the number of people allowed in shops.

Weeting

Summer in Norfolk — The row at Weeting, built before 1777

Weeting was one of the first places we stopped. It is an old village with the remains of a castle nearby. “The Row” on the village green is a row of thatched cottages build before 1777. No one is sure exactly when, the records have been lost! The compass photography website has a page with 14 images of Norfolk in the summer including Thetford Priory and Wells-next-the-sea, which is a great base for travelling around the county.

Gooderstone Water Gardens

Norfolk in summer — Weeping Willows overhang one of the ponds at Gooderstone Water Gardens, Norfolk

The image above is of the still waters at Gooderstone Watergardens. Here the willows weep over the water and the empty rowing boat. They reflect in the water making a gentle, very English scene.

Norfolk has some wonderful village names. The page includes images of Great Snoring and secondly Little Snoring. Both villages have remarkable village signs. Great Snoring’s sign is shown, reflecting agriculture and the village’s position in the Stiffkey valley, whereas Little Snoring’s sign is dilapidated.

The image from Little Snoring shows its church with the separate round tower. One opportunity not to be missed, was capturing images from the top of Blakeney Church. Despite of the long climb up the tower the view was marvellous. Here an image of the windmill at Cley-next-the-sea is shown along with the sea in the background.

Beeston Bump is a hill just east of Sheringham. The views from the top undoubtedly make the climb worthwhile. Besides the sea views you can see Sheringham to the west and Cromer to the east.

Great view of Maldon

14th May 202114th May 2021 By cpadmin

You get a great view of Maldon from over the water on the Heybridge side of the Blackwater. Its a long walk round from the carpark, especially on a hot summers day. It was going to be 30 degrees centigrade on the last day of July in 2020 and so I was in position here before 10am to catch the high tide. This image shows the Hythe Quay, with a line of Thames barges moored alongside. There is a row of old buildings at the back of the quay including the Maldon little ships club. This recalls the “little ships” which went to Dunkirk in 1940 to collect the troops from the beaches. Sitting majestically atop the image is the church and its which steeple. The water tower also pokes its head above the trees, however we are not high enough to catch site of the Moot Hall.

A surprise?

It was a surprise to me that there was a grassy bank between the Heybridge side of the River Blackwater and the Hythe Quay. When you stand on the Hythe Quay side you are not aware of the bank and the further water after it. It must be visible from higher up though. Perhaps if you know where to look you can make out the bank in the middle of the water?

Still when all is said and one it is a great view of Maldon! More images from this shoot can be seen on the Compass Website. You can find out more about Hythe Quay here

Both ends of the rainbow

5th May 20215th May 2021 By cpadmin

Both ends of the rainbow is an image captured at Clare Castle in Suffolk.

Clare castle and Clare are interesting places to wander around and the castle has things for children to do.

The images on the web page include ones captured at Bures and Bures St. Mary, separated by the River Stour. Two images of the river are shown. Both are from near the bridge over the river. Firstly, an image has nice reflections of a multi-stemmed tree whereas the second image has deep blue coloured water coming down the straight, canal like part of the river. Imagine being able to sit on the deckchairs by the river in the summer! use the link above to see them all.

Waterfront at Godmanchester

29th April 202129th April 2021 By cpadmin

The waterfront at Godmanchester from the water meadows. Unlike the original image, this panoramic has been created by removing proportions of the sky and the water. Consequently, this allows a focus on the ribbon of old houses on the road by the waterfront and their reflections. The age of the properties varies. Some are Georgian, whereas others may be even earlier. You reach the water meadows by crossing the Chinese bridge. It is then possible to walk to the river Great Ouse. More images of the waterfront at Godmanchester are shown on our website. Click on this link

Godmanchester is in Cambridgeshire, next to Huntingdon. It is on the site of the Roman town of Durovigutum. In addition, there is archaeological evidence of Celtic habitation prior to the establishment of a Roman town and a Mansio (Inn). people have lived here continuously for more than 2,000 years.

The website of the local paper indicates that “telling people that you come from Godmanchester” elicits a look of confusion! We visited on a bright spring day and fed the ducks. Then we wandered round the water meadows and past the boat houses. A couple of narrow boats were plying the Great Ouse and people were using magnets to fish in the water. They brought a a pistol!

See more of our images at – Compass Photography Group

Low tide Sunset

16th March 202116th March 2021 By cpadmin

Low tide sunset is one of a collection of image capture on the river crouch at the Hullbridge Crossing, South Woodham Ferrers side. The setting sun was a strong orange globe and offered possibilities. The brown mud tempered by enthusiasm. High tide would have offered much more photogenic opportunities, nevertheless we were where we were! This image shows the sun reflected in the pink finger of water which is extending to the shore from the centre of the river. While the sun is setting people are walking on the river bank. Their reflections also appear in the water. The chocolate coloured mud is also turning golden under the setting sun.

Following other attempts, the position of the camera has moved to capture the globe reflected in the water. This shows the challenge of capturing images of a sunset at low tide. The position at high tide is different. Reflections are frequently offered from different positions. It is undoubtedly worth noting that a wet suit would be required to get an image from this position at high tide! So perhaps not! This image does show the pink water, which like a finger is lengthening as the water returns.

Six more images captured at this time can be seen on the Compass Photography website. Use this link to see them

Clements Green Creek SWF

26th January 202126th January 2021 By cpadmin

Clements Green Creek SWF is in South Woodham Ferrers in the County of Essex. The tidal River Crouch fills and empties from the Creek twice a day. At high or low tide there is either a wide expanse of water of a wide expanse of mud. When the water is high and calm like a mill pond it is possible to see reflections from the clouds. One of the images below shows that.

A gentle breeze leads the clouds across the face of the water. High water and wind can make for some turbulence Low tide brings a huge expanse of dark brown chocolate coloured mud into view. It brings lots of bird to peck in the mud for food and as they do this they make whistling noises. The mud looks like a pancake rolled out by a rolling pin. At low tide a trickle of water progresses round the narrow channel and down the estuary to the sea. The second image shows the chocolate brown mud at low tide.

More images captured recently at Clements Green Creek SWF are shown in the “latest images” gallery on our Compass Photography website. Clements Green Creek – Compass Photography Group

Clements Green Creek - Low tide — Mud looking banks with a brown chocolate pancake texture

Bright day at Hadleigh Castle

21st January 202121st January 2021 By cpadmin

Bright day at Hadleigh Castle. Hadleigh Castle in Essex is an English Heritage property near Southend. English Heritage’s website describes it as “The romantic ruins of a royal castle overlooking the Essex marshes”. Hadleigh was begun in about 1215 by Hubert de Burgh, but extensively refortified by Edward III during the Hundred Years War, becoming a favourite residence of the ageing king John. See more on the English Heritage website

Falling over — The falling tower at Hadleigh Castle

My visit to Hadleigh Castle in Essex took place in the week before Christmas 2020. It was a week day and there were not too many people about. A selfish thought but it was good for capturing images. The website also tells us that In 1215 King John gave this area of land, known as the manor of Hadleigh, along with many other gifts, to Hubert de Burgh, his chief minister. The castle is a ruin. Two towers are still visible, one of them leaning precariously. The other one is upright and it is possible to go inside it.

The bright day at Hadleigh Castle provided some magnificent views from the castle and its surroundings. Looking up the Thames the Great Cranes at Tilbury are visible. Looking down the Thames, the pier at Southend is visible. A bracing walk along the grass offers lots of opportunities to capture interesting images.

This post shows two of the many images captured. Go to the Compass Photography Website www.compassphotography.co.uk to see more images captured that day

Five star trip Godmanchester

22nd August 202022nd August 2020 By cpadmin

Five star trip Godmanchester. Had a five star trip this week. I went to five places en-route to and around Huntingdon. This post shows three of the images captured at one of the ports of call, Godmanchester. Click here to see the page on our website with ten images from that day.

First up was the United States Eighth Army Airforce Cemetery near Cambridge. It’s a very moving place, with rows and rows of white crosses. There is also a wall of remembrance and a visitor centre chronicling the events from 1942 to 1945

Next up was Paxton Pits near St Ives (Cambs). This old quarry is now a Nature Reserve with “a rich mosaic of wildlife habitats, with beautiful lakes, riverside, meadow, reed bed, scrub and woodland”. There are lots of places to wander and look at the bird life. Check out Paxton Pits

Moving on, Godmanchester was a place I had not been to before. The waterside and river Great Ouse are extremely photogenic. There is a white latticework bridge and boathouses along the side of the river. The causeway seems to be an area where people congregate. One of the images catches the white bridge (known as the Chinese Bridge) and the spire of the church hiding behind. A panoramic image shows the causeway. A shot of the two storey boathouse also manages to catch the church in the background.

Brampton Mill was the fourth port of call on the tour and I finally ended up at the National Trust property Houghton Mill, also on the Great Ouse. All in all a great day out with four of the five places visited on the Great Ouse.

Success in photography competitions

9th July 20209th July 2020 By cpadmin

Crantock Poppies

Sucess in photography competitions — National Trust Poppies at Crantock

We have had success in photography competitions with two images recently. The poppy field captured at Crantock near Newquay was one of the images that did well. We were there in June last year and the whole hillside was covered with poppies. Most were red, some were yellow. The National Trust field sloped down towards the sea and the hills on the other side of the valley. The sun was out that day and it was summer at its best. This image was entered in a competition called wildflower landscapes, it came 11^th out of 1374 entries, in the top 1%! Use this link to visit the National Trust website for Crantock Beach

White Statue

The second images is more of a strange one. It has had success in photography competitions entitled “strange but true”, “off the wall” and objects on grass. The image shows a sculpture at Marks Hall Gardens last autumn. The white sculpture shows the top half of man supposedly climbing out of something. His arms are levering himself up and he is concentrating on what he is doing. It makes quite an impression. This image came 9^th out of 1004 in its best position. Use this link to visit the website of Marks Hall

To look at more of the images go to www.compassphotography.co.uk

Carpets of Yellow

16th March 202016th March 2020 By cpadmin

Carpets of yellow

There were carpets of yellow at Warley Place Nature Reserve in Essex today. I have never seen so many daffodils in one place. It was amazing that there were several “fields” full of them as you walked round the nature reserve. We have not been to this place before and only realized what there was to see there from a Facebook post by a friend in the Team Essex Photography Group. Wendy saw a Woodpecker as well, but we were not that lucky.

Daffodils over the hedge
Daffodils everywhere
Daffodil slopes
Daffodil corner

You will have to be quick to see the carpets of yellow, as the daffodils will finish soon.

I image that the country park has bluebells too. I can’t wait to re-visit at the appropriate time and see them. BUT, given the government’s announcement today I wonder if that will be in 2020?

Warley Place Nature Reserve is run by Essex Wildlife Trust, it is open every day during daylight hours. This 25 acre reserve is the site of a house and once famous Edwardian gardens belonging to Ellen Willmott. Click here to link to the Warley Place Nature Reserve website

See more of our images by visiting our website www.compassphotography.co.uk

Compass Photography Group

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Category: Panoramas