Category Archives: Travel

Salisbury Cathedral

We had a nice evening out with my nephew, Chris, while we were in the UK. He took us in to Salisbury for dinner. When we had eaten, he took us for a short walk through the center of the town and to the Cathedral. It was nicely lit up for the evening. I only had my cell phone with me but the camera on that seemed to do a reasonable job capturing the shot. I was pleasantly surprised. Just for comparison, I add a picture below of the cathedral I took a few years ago while flying over Salisbury with my friend Sean in his Europa.

Tucanos Low Level (But I’m Not Prepared)

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The Lake District is an area that is known to be popular for low flying military aircraft. In all of the years I have been going there, I have hardly seen any jets coming through. Mainly that was because I was there at the weekend and the military don’t tend to fly much at the weekend. I was hopeful that we might see some traffic on this trip since we would be there midweek. We did get some traffic but it didn’t go quite as planned.

A few times we saw Hawks zipping over the town while we were outside. We were generally getting ready to go somewhere else and they caught me out as they came through. On one hike I took a long lens with me. Of course, this didn’t go to plan. Most of the time I was looking at some lovely scenery so I had a wide lens on the camera. This was the time the RAF chose to show up. No jets this time but a selection of Tucano turboprop trainers. I wasn’t expecting them when they came through so grabbed the camera with the lens I had on at the time and got a few shots. These won’t be of much use to me but they do remind me of the excitement of being caught out be a low flying plane of any type.

Needles Battery

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I posted some shots of the Needles in this post. The rocky outcrops are not the only thing of interest, however. The strategic location of the cliffs and the importance of some of the military facilities in the waters approached via the Needles mean a fort was constructed overlooking the entry to the Solent during the Victorian era. Large guns were mounted on the top of the cliffs to deal with any enemy that might come.

In the end, no enemy came. However, when the First World War came, there was again a need to protect the approaches. The existing location was not suitable for the size of guns then in use so a new battery was built a little higher up on the cliffs. As with the first one, it stood guard but never engaged any enemy.

In the middle of the 20^th century, the location again found a use. Britain had a space launcher development program with the rockets being developed at Saunders Roe in nearby East Cowes. The location on the cliff tops, a long way from most population areas, with nothing but sea below and no overlooking locations for prying eyes meant it was an ideal location for secret programs. A couple of test stands were built for the rockets to be mounted for testing purposes.

Now everything is decommissioned and is open for the public to view. The location on top of the cliffs is very cool anyway but, if you are an engineer type like me, the test facilities are even better. The bunkers and control rooms are worth a look and one of them even has the equipment recreated in cardboard. That might sound strange but it has been done well and even includes a cardboard coat hanging up on the wall. It is a very innovative approach to reproducing what had been taken apart long ago.

Above Cowes

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A large part of my childhood was spent in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. During our visit, I got some time to fly around the Island with Pete in his Piper Arrow. While I did get some stick time, I had my camera with me so there were some pretty frequent changes of control so I could get some photos of various parts of the Island. Cowes is an interesting place from the air so we managed to get a few shots as we circled overhead.

Shooting through the window of the Arrow is not ideal but the transparencies in Pete’s plane are in good shape so do not make things too distorted. Of course, when facing into the sun, the reflections from inside the plane can sometimes be an issue and they do crop up in some of these shots. The harbor is the main area of interest. I lived in an apartment just off the waterfront with a great view over the Solent. We could watch the various boats coming in and out. There are two ferry services that run to the mainland. Both are operated by Red Funnel and one is a passenger catamaran while the other is a car ferry.

Much redevelopment of the harbor area has taken place since I left. Some of the old houses on the waterfront have disappeared to – replaced by apartment developments. The marina has undergone a significant transformation and a new breakwater appears to be under construction just offshore. I wish I had more aerial shots from my teens when I was flying over the Island to compare with what is there now.

Borough Market

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When we lived in the UK, Borough Market was a favorite destination. It is a covered market near London Bridge and not only did it have a lot of good suppliers of meats, fruits and vegetables, there were other providers of food ready to eat that meant a shopping trip there could result in coming home with a lot of good stuff. There were a number of good food shops in the surrounding area too including Neals Yard Dairy, a supplier of some great cheese. We could take the train direct to London Bridge so it was a relatively easy trip to make.

We had dinner near the market with my brother on our recent visit and our route back to the hotel took us through the market. At night, it is a very different place. The stalls are all closed up and there is no-on around. There is still lighting (I wouldn’t be walking through if there weren’t) but the place has a very quiet/spooky feel to it. It is quite the contrast to a normal day there. If we had more time, we would have been there when everything was open but there was only so much time in London so we had to skip it this time.

The Needles

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The Isle of Wight is an island on the south coast of England. It is where I spent a large portion of my childhood and my mum lives there now. It is a very pretty place and a popular tourist destination. The Island has a chalk spine which, at its western end, is marked by a rocky outcrop called The Needles. This is one of the more recognizable features of the Island. A number of chalk columns rise out of the water at the end of the headland near Alum Bay. One of them was actually a thin needle shape but that fell in to the sea decades ago. However, the name has stuck.

The area has been treacherous for shipping over the years so a lighthouse is on the end of the rocks. When I was young, this was manned permanently and the crews had to access it by boat. Then a helipad was built on top to make access more reliable. Now the light is automated so there is no need for a permanent crew. The view of the Needles from the cliff top is very cool on a sunny day. We had great weather to see it. I also got to fly over the top so some of these shots are from a view that is not available to everyone. Many thanks to Pete, my pilot for the trip.

South Bank Caverns

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The South Bank of the Thames is a strange mix of places. County Hall and the Royal Festival Hall are alongside boat piers and railway tracks. The area has progressively developed and become more popular although there was a time when it was a pretty dodgy area. One strange place still there is a section of covered concrete that has become a popular haunt for skaters. The area looks intimidating enough but it has been heavily decorated with graffiti and it looks like something that you would enter in a movie with the audience shouting not to go in.

Actually, the area is quite busy and the skaters are only interested in skating. The fact that they haven’t been driven away but have, instead, been embraced is a pretty cool thing I think. The art on the walls obviously involved a lot of effort. While it may look like something to avoid, I would certainly take a look if you get the chance.

Parliament

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The hotel we used when we were in London was located just across the river from the Houses of Parliament. This gothic structure is instantly recognizable to many. I have been inside on a few occasions for events and the interior is as impressive as the exterior. It also varies in age with some parts much older than others such as Westminster Hall. On this trip we weren’t paying the place a visit and for most of the time there, didn’t really see much of it other than in the distance.

On the final morning, I took a wander around to get some shots of things before we left on the next leg of our trip and I realized I had neglected to photograph Parliament itself. The morning light is better for getting shots on the river side so this was a good time. Combine it with Westminster Bridge in the foreground and there is something to work with. I actually prefer shooting it at night. The lighting on the bridge and the buildings is pretty neat. However, that opportunity had passed so this would have to do.

HMS Belfast

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Just upstream from Tower Bridge along the South Bank is a World War II cruiser, HMS Belfast. Part of the Imperial War Museum, the Belfast has been moored up in London as a museum for many years. I visited it as part of a school trip when I was quite young. It is a slightly incongruous thing to see against the other occupants of the river. A while back it was given a repaint in a splinter camouflage scheme as opposed to the plain gray it had before. The rest of the river traffic is bright in comparison.

The ship is impressive enough when viewed from river level but, when you look from above, you get to see just how large it is. A light cruiser from that era is a substantial thing. Occasionally a Royal navy ship may visit the city and they have previously moored up alongside the Belfast. The comparison between the old and the new is quite striking. The angular lines of older ships compared to the more sweeping hull shapes show the age of the design. Sadly, I don’t have any images of that to share.

St Paul’s Cathedral

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We made a stop at St Paul’s while we were in London. It was Sunday so it was not open for tourist visits but was operating as a church. You were able to go in and listen to the service and the choir which is certainly worth hearing. However, we didn’t spend much time inside and, instead, took a look around the outside of the cathedral.

It is a great looking building, even if it is a little squashed in amongst the other buildings in the City which impacts on the view a little. Apparently, there are laws that protect certain sight lines of the cathedral but, when close in, it is quite hard to appreciate it all. Even so, we did have some fun checking it out from various angles.

We also got a good look at it from up at the top of The Shard. The aerial perspective is a good one, much like what we saw a couple of years ago when in the helicopter. With the height of the Shard, it is hard to tell the difference from flying.