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A Lanhydrock Selection
In the absence of Share Your World this week, here is a small selection of photos I took on a visit to Lanhydrock a few weeks ago.
I’d give you some history of the place but I’m more interested in looking around than reading the little information notices.
Godrevy in High Zoom
I took a little trip to Godrevy to try out my new zoom lens. It’s an Olympus 75-300mm (150-600mm equivalent on my Micro 4/3 camera). I don’t have a tripod so I wanted to see how things went. Obviously I usually wouldn’t use a big zoom for landscapes but it did a good job of the flowers and I could barely see the helicopter or seal with the naked eye 🙂
Also, I know the white balance is off. My camera warned me about it but I don’t know which of the million buttons to push to do that so I left it alone.
Here’s a seal on max zoom. He’s there on the rock 🙂
St. Michael’s Mount Part 3
We’re nearing the end of our journey around St. Michael’s Mount. Here are my final photos! I uploaded them full size again because I can’t be bothered fiddling about :-).
A bit more impressive than my mantelpiece.
Back outside, but still up on the Mount.
A view down to the gardens, which unfortunately were closed on the day I visited. It looks like they’re doing some work down there.
A lovely view out across to Marazion.
The little ferry boats are still running but it looks like the tide has gone out and the causeway is open!
A final look out across the bay. I wouldn’t want to brave those cannons if I were invading.
Yep, the causeway is open. I get to walk back.
View from the causeway.
A final look back. Goodbye, St. Michael’s Mount!
I hope you enjoyed my little 3 part tour around St. Michael’s Mount!
St Michael’s Mount Part 2
In my second (of three) posts featuring pictures taken at St. Michael’s Mount off the Cornish coast, we’ll have a last look around outside and then venture into the house itself. I accidentally uploaded these photos full size, so be careful if you want to make them bigger and you’re not on a fast connection.
A nice view out across the bay, or sea, or whatever it is.
Were going inside here in a minute!
They have strange taste in sculptures.
Getting closer to the house.
One last look back at Marazion before we go inside.
Inside looking out.
An impressive library.
Now that’s what I call a ceiling.
Inside the little church. Wow, they have their own church!
That’s quite the impressive organ :-).
This is probably St. Michael defeating Satan, or something. Maybe I should have read the guide leaflet or some of the little plaques dotted around the place.
His and hers royal waiting chairs. That’s Queen Elizabeth II on the left (our reigning monarch) and on the right, presumably her dad, King George VI.
Next time we’ll see some more photos outside, including my harrowing walk back across the Causeway of Doom (it’s not called that, I made that up).
St Michael’s Mount Part 1
Here are some photos I took on a trip to St Michael’s Mount a couple of weeks ago. It’s off the south coast of Cornwall, near Marazion. I was given a guide leaflet which probably had some history in it, which I didn’t read :-).
I’ll do this in a few parts as I can’t choose between all the photos I took.
I parked up the beach a mile or so away to avoid the tourist traffic, so I had a nice little walk. There it is in the distance.
The tide is in so it looks like I will have to brave the high seas to get there.
And so we set sail in the mighty ship “Sea Mist”. I hope we don’t sink!
At last, after a long and harrowing sea voyage (3 minutes), tired but victorious, we reached our destination.
Hmm, looks like a bit of a climb.
Up IÂ go, stopping often to take in the view (and catch my breath).
If that tiny hatch leads to the Giant’s Well, I’m guessing he was often thirsty.
The Cornish flag flies proudly over a bunch of slightly dodgy-looking cannons. Let’s hope we don’t have to repel invaders!
Next time we’ll take a look at the view and then enter the house (where photography was allowed!).
Lydford Gorge
Last week I went on a trip to Lydford Gorge, in Devon. Yes, I summoned up my courage and crossed the border! I took over 160 photos so I’ve chosen a few and put most of them into a slideshow, otherwise this would be a huge post.
It has a “spectacular” waterfall. Niagara Falls, eat your heart out.
One more, then we’ll slideshow the rest.
Sharing My World 2015 Week 17
It’s Sunday, the day I contribute to Cee’s Share Your World, just one of the fun challenges that Cee organises on a weekly basis.
What is your most favourite smell/scent?
My two favourite smells are quite opposite to each other. One is the smell of bacon cooking. Mmm, bacon. The other is the smell of nature. Not cow poo or anything like that, but the smell of the forest, cut grass and flowers.
The Higher Garden at Lanhydrock, near Bodmin, Cornwall
Do you prefer long hair or short hair for yourself?
Well, quite recently I toyed with the idea of having longer hair. I decided it would be cool. However at my age it would probably just look stupid, and when my hair gets to a certain point it tends to puff out. So short is the way to go for me. If I was going to try “going hippy” I should have done it 25 years ago.
Do you plan out things usually or do you do them more spontaneous (for example if you are visiting a big city you don’t know?)
Tricky one. I used to plan everything down to the last detail. I don’t do that any more. That’s not to say I’m a spontaneous person. There isn’t a less spontaneous person on the planet than me!
However, if I’m off somewhere I don’t know, I’ll plan the route, where I can park and if applicable I’ll book somewhere to stay. That’s the limit. I might switch the car display to “map” so I can see roughly where I am but I’ve never actually used the Sat Nav per se.
I’ve discovered that planning everything to the last detail leads to major stress. Knowing where I’m going and that I have somewhere to stay reduces stress, having exact things to do at exact times – well, life’s too short to put myself through that.
What is your favourite outdoor activity?
Walking in the woods, gardens and so on I guess. And I like taking pictures of it all. So in the spirit of that, here’s another picture of Lanhydrock, looking at the main house across the lower gardens, framed by little ornamental battlements.
Sharing My World 2015 Week 14
Sunday is the day that I write my post for Cee’s Share Your World.
What type of music relaxes you the most or do you prefer silence?
Tricky. I don’t listen to music for relaxation all that much. It’s not easy to get me into a relaxed state.
I listen to many different genres. Sometimes I’ll go down the “harder” end – Iron Maiden, The Pretty Reckless, Evanescence. Sometimes in the middle somewhere – Pink Floyd, Florence and the Machine, Marina and the Diamonds, Queen, Status Quo. Currently at work I’m listening to multiple Abba albums on a shuffled loop.
To really relax, I’d probably go for Mike Oldfield. Maybe Enya. Music for me is usually on while I’m doing something else, like driving. When I listen to it at work, it can give me a real boost.
Show us a two of your favourite photographs. Explain why they are your favourite. If you are not a photographer, think of a two favourite scenes in your life and tell us about them.
This is a tricky one. I love scenes around family occasions, but do I have any pictures? Probably somewhere.
I take a lot of photos of the scenery around here. In fact, I went out this morning to Bedruthan Steps, which used to be miles away but is now quite close since I moved house. So here are a couple from this morning, just as the sun was coming up. I wanted to try out my new camera, which arrived last week! For those of you who care, it’s a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6. I don’t know what the experienced photographers think about this low-middle-end camera, but it’s good enough for me and got good reviews!
I left all the settings on “automatic” as I don’t really know what I’m doing yet! Of course I could have got similar pictures with my phone, but I’m excited to start trying things out, like a slower shutter speed to blur out water. I also have a zoom lens coming next week, so I can try to get close-up pictures of bunny rabbits :-).
What is your favourite tradition? (family tradition, church tradition, whatever)
Family Christmas! It has changed over the years. Granny used to come down from Scotland and she’s no longer with us, and my brother and his girlfriend don’t always make it for Christmas dinner, but I love driving over to my parents’ house in time for coffee, chatting, having Christmas lunch and so on.
If you could go back and talk to yourself at age 18 what advice would you give yourself? Or if you are younger than 25 what words of wisdom would you like to tell yourself at age 50?
I’d probably be better off keeping my mouth shut. Failing that, I’d try “Shit happens. It’s going to happen to you. Just roll with it, it’ll get better.”
A Morning at Godrevy
Yesterday I went for a visit to Godrevy, another location owned by the National Trust. In contrast to Trelissick, Godrevy is all cliffs and beaches.
I’ll let the pictures do the talking 🙂
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