Tag Archives: hampshire

Interesting Hull Shape on the Pilot Boat

I don’t know the proper term for it, but it is very common these days for large ships to have a bulbous extension to the bow just below the waterline. The first time I ever saw one was when, as a small kid, I had a kit of the QEII, but they are everywhere at this point. However, I haven’t really thought of them as a thing for small boats. While heading across the Solent, a pilot boat came zipping past us. Not only did it have such a hull shape, this one looked a little different to the average. I wonder how significant the benefits are and whether they are worth it for a vessel like this.

The Wheat Is Getting Ripe

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There is a field near our house that I often walk by. When I first moved here, the field had been ploughed, and I wondered what the crop might be. Now it is clearly a field of wheat. As I recently strolled along the edge of the field, it was interesting to see how the middle of the crop was turning golden while sections along the edge or near some of the vehicle tracks were still green. I imagine that they will soon be turning golden too but something about their location had delayed them compared to everything else.

Cygnets at the Pub on Friday Evening

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Friday evening and we headed to The Willow Tree, a pub in Winchester. The river runs either side of the pub and the garden narrows to a point as the river comes back together. While there are plenty of birds around, it isn’t often that you see anything swimming in the river. The occasional duck perhaps. We were quite surprised, therefore, to see a family of swans come swimming up towards us. The adults had four cygnets with them. They would go off exploring but then, one of the adults would make a few low noises and you’d see the cygnets head straight back to their parents. I figured video was more fun for this so that is what you have below.

Washing the Posh Boat

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As the ferry was leaving Portsmouth for the Isle of Wight, I saw this small boat moored up at the marina. Clearly some people like to have larger boats than I have chosen to get! No idea who it belongs to or whether it is one that you charter for events. Either way, as we pulled away, I realised that there were a couple of crew members suspended on the side of the boat cleaning things up. Clearly a nicer time to do this when in port rather than underway. I hope they got everything looking spiffy before the boss showed up!

Roses Almost at Their Peak

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We took a trip to Mottisfont to see the rose garden. At this time of year, it is supposed to be at its best, so we made the short trip there one Sunday. We weren’t the only ones, which was no surprise. Even early in the day, the overflow car park was in use. As it turned out, we were all a bit late. The blooms had peaked early this year which, given how warm the spring has been is probably not hard to understand.

Even though the peak might have passed, there were still ample flowers to see, and they didn’t look too shabby. Getting shots of the larger garden with so many people in it wasn’t really going to be easy. Instead, I figured it was just a case of minimising the significance of the people where possible. Then you can go for some of the close ups of the individual roses. So many people were taking tons of photos with their phones. I wonder how many of them will ever be looked at let alone shared.

Cobwebs With Morning Dew

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If you look at an empty field, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was not much alive out there. However, the ground is teeming with life. What more of an indication of how much is passing through do you need than the huge number of spider webs that are on the grass. That many spiders must have a lot of food to catch and that means even more that doesn’t get caught. Anyway, early in the morning, the dew does a great job of showing the cobwebs up. This was a local field near our house as I took an early stroll before work.

Highland Cattle Make for Good Merch

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Chris and Sam asked Nancy and me to join them on a visit to a local farm that has some rare breeds. Part of the collection was some highland cattle. These things are great looking animals. They were looking pretty inactive while we were there so just sitting in the field chewing the cud. However, that is not going to stop a good sales opportunity. The gift shop had more highland cattle related items than I would have imagined possible. Clearly they know what stuff sells well and a fluffy cow with long horns is going to do the trick.

Hampshire Police’s Helicopter

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Late one afternoon, while getting ready to leave the Bournemouth Aviation Museum, I saw a helicopter flying some pattern work across at the airport. Given that it was painted black, I assumed it was a police helicopter. I took some distant shots of it and then continued with wrapping up my museum visit. When I was done, they were still flying around the pattern, and I figured I would head to the other side to see if a better shot would be possible.

As it turned out, they were flying almost over the road on the other side of the runway. I ended up shooting almost straight up which was not the ideal angle. Still, it was a chance to shoot slightly different shots than I might have normally gone for. As it turned out, they landed after this approach, so I had only just got there in time. After running on the ground for a while, they departed off to the east.

Time for Some Local Cricket

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The onset of summer in the UK got me thinking of cricket. It is true that the Pacific Northwest has quite a cricket scene that has developed – principally as a result of the many people that have moved there from countries where cricket is a big deal. However, I never really spent any time checking it out while we were there. However, village cricket is a quintessential element of the UK and I thought I should go and see one of the local clubs in Winchester.

I went to see St Cross Symondians First XI play. Even the name seems suitable for an English country game. I didn’t time it very well as I wandered up just as they were breaking for tea. Fortunately, there was a second game on the adjoining pitch, so I watched that for a bit from the other side of the hedge. Those players were in traditional whites, which fitted the traditional image I had in mind. When the main game resumed, they were playing in dark colours with a white ball. I have no idea how the decision gets made. With a lot of trees around the ground, maybe the visibility is an issue. If anyone knows, please let me know.

I walked around the pitch to watch the play from various angles for a while. I ended up experimenting with some different photo techniques while I was there because it was a sunny weekend afternoon and I was in no hurry. I will post separately about some of what I tried. For today, I just wanted to share some shots of the larger scene. Maybe next time I’ll take a chair, get a pint from the clubhouse and sit watching the game for longer. It has also got me thinking about going to watch some professional games, but we shall see.

Longstock Park Water Gardens

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Just outside Stockbridge in Hampshire is a small village called Leckford. There is an estate there called Longstock, and the retail group John Lewis owns some (or maybe all) of the land. They have the farm and run a shop there but, if you walk down the hill from the nursery area (or drive if the walk doesn’t appeal), you come to the Longstock Park Water Gardens. This is an ornamental garden area around some ponds.

You have to pay to enter this area while the other areas are free to access. It isn’t too expensive, though. Then you are free to stroll around the area around the ponds and on to the islands that are scattered throughout and connected by little bridges (although there are one or two dead ends that require you to reverse course).

The are also some areas that take you away from the ponds and behind the trees so plenty to explore. This takes you closer to the River Test that winds its way through this valley. There is a wide variety of plant life throughout the gardens. We were there, there were some blossoms on the trees and lots of other blooms flowering. I imagine that the colours change a bit throughout the season. The tree shapes are really cool too. Here is a selection of images that I took as we wandered around. If you in the area, I would recommend it as a visit for an hour or two.