Regular visitors to the blog will know I find the A350 to be the best-looking airliner in production at the moment. During a visit to Heathrow, I got my first look at one of the more recent operators. Air India started taking delivery of jets last year. They have done the decent thing and put a colourful livery on their planes as opposed to the usual mostly white. I am grateful for this as well as for the good light I had when it came in.
Part of the reason for our visit to Bushy Park was because the rut was underway and I thought it might be possible to see the stags at their best. I hadn’t anticipated just how prevalent the deer herds would be. One herd was right in the middle of the trails and, while there was a dominant male that was overseeing things, there were a couple of younger stags within the herd.
These two were trying out their jousting skills. They would engage their antlers and push each other around for a bit before getting distracted by something nearby. They would look at that for a while and then get back into training. It felt like they weren’t really trying to prove anything to each other but were just getting in practice for the days when they might be genuine contenders for dominance.
Initially, I was on the side away from the sun and thought I would have to make do with that. However, it proved easier than I thought to walk around them and get shots from the other side. They seemed uninterested in the people that were watching them. After grabbing a bunch of images, I thought that video might be a better way to record their action – even if it makes it clear that they weren’t really going for it.
The Pakistan Air Force IL-78 showed up at RIAT in 2025 supporting the JF-17 Thunders. Unlike the more recent versions of the IL-76 family, this jet has the original engines. They are a low bypass ratio jet and are not in any way quiet. The high-pitched scream that they produce when idling is really hard on the ears. An occasional bit of fingers jammed in ears was necessary when the angle to the plane made the noise particularly painful, but it was worth it. However, nothing about stills images can convey just how loud these four engines were!
During some previous visits, I had seen the Thames Clipper/Uber ferries running up and down the river. They seemed to be pretty powerful beasts as they fought the strong currents that the Thames can produce. However, I never used them myself. I finally got around to using one recently. We had been down to Battersea and decided to take the ferry back towards the station rather than retrace our steps on the Tube.
It was a pretty good ride but had me wondering about its use in the centre of town. We didn’t go very far but we stopped multiple times en route. We were crisscrossing the river a lot so our overall progress was slow. We were not in a hurry but, even so, decided not to go where we originally planned and cut short to walk to the station. The speed with which they dock, unload, load and depart is very impressive. They have the whole thing well worked out. It is just a slow process. I imagine that a longer run would be a very efficient way to get through the city, but the price premium wasn’t worth it to me.
The arrival of the American Airlines retro 777 at Heathrow got me thinking about other liveries that American Airlines has included on its planes. As a result of mergers, there are a lot of legacy airlines that have been engulfed by American over the years. They do reflect this by painting planes in liveries of the older operators. Some of these will probably have shown up on the blog over the years but here is a compilation of different paint jobs on American (and predecessor) planes including variations on their own livery.
Windsor Great Park has a long, straight road that aligns with the castle, known as the Long Walk. We started our day out in Windsor itself and walked around the castle to the beginning of the Long Walk. I took some photos looking out into the park with the many people walking up the road. However, we weren’t going to join them yet.
We drove to the other side of the Great Park to have a longer walk (get it) around the parklands. As part of this route, we did end up at the statue of George III on his horse at the other end of the Long Walk. From here you have a great view back towards the castle. There were loads of people at the statue. Most had clearly walked up from the town and would be heading back. We were heading in a different direction, though.
I posted a bunch of shots from Heathrow in an earlier post, but I saved this one for its own post. The A380 is a plane some love and some hate. If you have been a passenger on one, you probably love it. It really is a great experience on board. It does seem to make people feel better about themselves that it wasn’t a huge success. Not sure why that happens but people are strange.
I have seen a ton of them over the years, but Etihad was an operator whose fleet I had never photographed until I moved back to the UK. At first this was only from a distance too. When I saw one was coming in a little after the American Airlines special, I decided to wait for it. In an era of white planes, a colourful plane is so welcome, and I find Etihad’s livery very appealing. Here is a great looking jet.
The route into Lymington from the Solent involves a relatively narrow channel. Alongside the deeper water are mooring points for the local boats. As we headed back in after our day over on the Island, I was quite taken by the organised lines of boats. They seemed so perfect in what would normally be a relatively random looking scenario. Here is how they looked from up on the deck of the ferry.
My weekend visit to Heathrow was focused on arrivals but, before I headed home, I did want to check out one more thing. This was not for a lot of photography, but I just wanted to see what the location offered. It was along the south side of the field and would give me a view of departing jets from the south runway. It doesn’t provide much in the way of variety of shot types, but it can provide a dynamic angle on jets just after they have rotated. In nice light, it was a few minutes well spent. Not sure I would spend too long there but it would be good for getting something specific. The fence is a nuisance immediately after getting airborne, but AI tools can do a good job of removing that since I wasn’t up high and the planes are soon clear of the fence line.
In a previous post I showed Scarborough as I arrived after the second leg of the ride from Liverpool. I was feeling some pain after that section and was not sure whether I would be able to ride the next day. First thing in the morning, I got up and went out for a walk. Partly, this was to explore Scarborough and mostly it was to see how my knees felt and test them on the climb back to the hotel in order to decide whether to try the last day. (The answer was not great.)
The early morning in Scarborough means the light is coming off the water so the waterfront is illuminated. The Grand Hotel is the dominant feature of the skyline, and it was nicely lit. I am told the outside is better than the inside and was happy to stay out here.
There is also a bridge that connects the upper part of the town with the spa further along the front. This bridge did look impressive in the morning glow. I spent a little time walking around and having the place pretty much to myself. Not many people out at that time of the morning so a tranquil experience too. Then I headed back to the hotel to meet up with the team and wish them well on their leg while I grabbed my stuff to go in the van.
