Cornwall 2016

We spent a week in Cornwall (or more specifically The Lizard), ambling around various villages and coves. Kynance Cove was as glorious as ever - I think this was the third time I've been there and there have been spectacular waves every time. A lovely place. Porthcurno and the Minack Theatre are favourites too. Mullion Cove was new to us, as was Coverack where a chance spot of a notice in a shop window led us to the Terence Coventry Sculpture Garden - chock full of really interesting modern sculpture. ...
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Weston-super-Mare

Despite having lived in Bristol for almost 20 years, I think I've only been to Weston once before. Last week I got together with a couple of old photography friends (we met on a course at the Watershed back in about 2001) and went down to Weston for the day to catch up and take a few photos. I quite enjoyed the traditional seaside resort ambience, a week or two before the main summer holidays begin so it wasn't horribly busy. A nice mix of shots of the seaside thing, the pier and people. ...
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Chateau and D-Day

Rather than ruin all that relaxation by dashing back through France in one go, we tend to take our time and have a couple of overnight stops on the way home, which also enables us to do a bit of sightseeing. On the Sunday morning, we went to the château at Chenonceau, just east of Tours - actually on the Cher river rather than the Loire, which is where you tend to think the famous châteaux are. As well as being the one with the arches over the river, it has two excellent formal gardens. And on top of that, it also has a magnificent vegetable, herb and flower garden, which it would be easy to miss - and which you really shouldn't! On the Monday, we were further north and visited Arromanches, Gold Beach on D-Day and where the Mulberry Harbour was - and where bits of it still are. We were lucky that the tide was out, so we were able to walk around some...
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Devon

After wading my way through a bit of a backlog, I can finally get round to posting some photos from a trip to Devon in June. We spent a few days staying in the luxurious glory that is the M5 Travelodge in Exeter, and got around a bit. The photos are of: A La Ronde in Exmouth - a rather odd 16-sided house Dawlish Warren, some long exposures Some bits from around Exmouth, including a rather nice tea room/cafe, Bumble and Bee The last bits aren't Devon, but are Montacute House in Somerset. ...
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Devon Break

A few photos from a very pleasant couple of days in Devon. We went down on Thursday after work as a friend was playing for the Exeter Music Group Symphony Orchestra at Exeter Cathedral. They played Rachmaninov's "Die Toteninsel", Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and his Symphony No 5. The 1812 is one of the few bits of classical music I know, and it was rather splendid - real cannons recorded in Plymouth earlier in the week plus the Cathedral bells and bells from a couple of other local churches piped live into the cathedral. Stirring stuff! Friday morning was spent wandering around the centre of Exeter, where I took some photos of the interior of the cathedral. In the afternoon, the sun was warm enough to go to the beach at Budleigh Salterton - the cliffs sheltered us from the cool wind and it was really rather pleasant to sit out and feel the sun on your skin at long last. On Saturday, we stopped off...
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