There is a statue of King Alfred in the centre of Winchester. When we had previously visited, I had taken some shots of it. However, because it is quite high up, you got a distorted look at him with the sky behind. I figured I would try a longer lens shot from further away to get a more normal look at the statue and have a darker background with the hill behind. This was the result!
I’ve had other posts recently with swans so, sorry if you are getting fed up with them. (Makes a change from cormorants I guess!) This is a simple one. A swan was swimming towards me at the end of the day and the backlight gave some nice colour to the water and emphasised the outline of the swan nicely.
While strolling around the centre of Winchester one Sunday morning, I cam upon the entrance to Wolvsey Castle. This is a ruin of the residence of the Bishop of Winchester which was used in the Middle Ages. It is an English Heritage site and I am not currently a member but, when I saw that it was free, I figured I would stick my nose in briefly to have a look. I was heading home as I had an appointment so didn’t have time to explore fully.
The old stone walls of the residence are pretty impressive although sadly a few areas are cordoned off with metal fencing which does rather take away from the medieval feel of the place. I will go back at some point to look around further, but I was taken by the stonework in the arches in one area. Cropping in tight on them made for a more abstract feel. The woodwork has generally decayed and falling so you can see openings up on the walls that probably had a floor near them in the past! Probably not a safe place to walk at this point!
A group of swans was swimming up the Itchen as I was out walking one Sunday morning. Suddenly they decided to get airborne, and I was almost caught out by them. The first two were by me before I was able to get a shot, but I was very close to them and struggled to get something framed. The third was close behind them and I was able to pick it up earlier. A swan at low level over the water is a graceful looking creature. I suspect I will be out and about trying to get more swan flying shots before too long.
The station in Winchester is the start and finish for most of my workdays at this point. The station is on a long straight section of the main line to Southampton. From the platform, you can see a long way in either direction. Looking south, there are a number of bridges across the track before it curves out of sight. On a misty afternoon, the view looks quite pretty.
I was taking a walk along the River Itchen in Winchester and there were some swans swimming up the river towards me. One was swimming along quite normally but a second was following it and was swimming in a strange way. It had its head low to the water and was swimming in a surging motion rather than the regular paddling. I don’t know whether this was some sort of mating action or just a weird swan! Video seemed to be the best way to record this.
When I first moved to Winchester, I was initially staying in a couple of Airbnbs before we moved into the house we are renting. One of them was up in the roof of an old school building. The view out of the windows was across the rooftops of the neighbouring houses. The chimney pots caught my eye. One of them seemed to have a serious branch growing out of it. I think it was dead, but it did look like it had done well to get established in the brickwork.
During my first stroll around Winnall Moors, I caught a glimpse of a bird of prey as it swooped across the grass. I tried to get the camera on it as it moved by. It headed to the grass and then took off again, apparently carrying something with it. Not sure what sort of rodent it had found but it had found a meal. I hadn’t set the camera up for fast moving targets so got whatever I could as it flew away. The light was a little low but the high ISO shots these days are really nothing to worry about. I am hoping to get plenty more opportunities like this. Now to find some kingfishers!
The move to Winchester had me initially staying in an Airbnb in the town while we made the full transition from the Pacific Northwest. The first place I stayed was very close to a nature reserve called Winnall Moors. It is not a huge area but it is a protected space amongst the larger park area and along the water that is the result of the many paths the Itchen takes through the area. I have taken a few strolls through since arriving and will, no doubt, be there a lot more in due course. Here are just a few shots of the place. Some of the wildlife encounters will have their own posts of course.
Old English towns often have almshouses somewhere near the center and Winchester is no exception. We wandered under an archway and came upon some old places that definitely had the look of almshouses and turned out to be exactly that. Some maintenance was underway (which required some careful angling of the camera) but they seemed in good shape. It was a peaceful little space given how close it was to the center of the city.
