Tuesday 19 August 2014

Two Excellent Days in North Yorkshire

We currently have both children at home (passing through so not quite boomerang!) and they expressed a desire to have a 'Whitby Day' and Magpie Fish and Chips.  Only too happy to oblige when a trip to Whitby is mooted, we promptly booked a night at the Youth Hostel.  Droving up on Sunday, it was a bright sunny morning, but with a very strong wind which turned near gale force over night.  The journey went well and we were soon enjoying lunch near Ravenscar, high above Robin Hood's Bay with a bird's eye view down to Bay Town.  The heather was at its peak, providing colourful foreground interest to photographs and tinging the high moors with a flush of purple.  Down on the beach were oystercatchers and turnstones foraging among the seaweed and a single heron fishing in the pools exposed by the retreating tide.  Sandwich terns could be heard screeching offshore as they plunge dived into the shoals of sand eels.
After a snooze and shower it was time to head down into to Whitby for a wander along the east pier and a pint at the Duke of York before fish and chips at the Magpie, excellent as usual.

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Ravenscar
Ravenscar
Ravenscar
Rock and Kelp
Low Tide at Robin Hood's Bay
Bay Town
Alley in Robin Hood's Bay
Colourful doors
Colourful doors
Boulder
Looking towards Bay Town, Robin Hood's Bay
Heather at its Peak, Bay Town in the Distance
Ravenscar
Heather and Robin Hoods Bay
Whitby from the East Pier
Whitby, West Pier
Whitby, West Pier
Whitby, West Pier
Whitby Harbour at Dusk
Late Afternoon Light, Whitby
Late Afternoon Light, Whitby
After a good night's sleep in the Youth Hostel followed by a holiday fry up, we were ready for the day. Staying in the hostel is excellent value; as well as free parking we also had free entry to the abbey.  This is always an interesting visit and, as usual, I came away with a few images of this wonderful old building. 
As we wandered down the 199 steps into the old town, the grey skies cleared and it turned into a beautiful, if blustery day.  The gales overnight had piled the surf up and there were some magnificent waves pounding both piers of the outer harbour.
Feeling peckish again, we drove along the coast to nearby Sandsend for crab sandwiches and then shed shoes and donned shorts for a paddle and walk along the beach, looking for sea worn pebbles and sea glass,  glistening jewels of white, green and, if luck is in, blue.
As our time began to draw to a close we decided to drive homewards over the moors for some photography of the heather, using a lone scots pine tree on Egton Moor that I had spotted when up here photographing dragonflies a few weeks ago.  We delayed our journey home once more with a drink at the White Swan in beautiful Newton Upon Rawcliffe.
Whitby Abbey
Natural Sculpture
Whitby Abbey
Whitby Abbey
Classic Whitby
The Outer Harbour
Looking over the Harbour to the New Town
The 199 Steps
Rough Seas
Rough Seas
Sandsend Groynes
Sandsend Groynes
Sandsend Groynes
Sandsend Groynes
Lone Pine, Egton Moor
Lone Pine, Egton Moor
Lone Pine, Egton Moor
Lone Pine, Egton Moor
Marker Stone, Egton Moor
Marker Stone, Egton Moor
Lone Pine, Egton Moor
Lone Pine, Egton Moo

Saturday 16 August 2014

Sparrowhawks in Cleethorpes Cemetery

I was alerted yesterday to the fact that there were sparrowhawks with young in Cleethorpes cemetery so paid a quick visit this morning to see if I could see them.  As soon as I entered the cemetery I could hear the unmistakable screeching of raptors and it wasn't long before I began to get glimpses of the birds as they flew from tree to tree.  I began to think, though, that photography was out of the question when I noticed a dog-walker looking at something a short distance away.  He had seen one of the birds land with a kill.  It was so busy with this that it allowed a quite close approach for photography but it was in n awkward position with a poor background and difficult light.  We photographers are never happy!!!  It was an amazing experience though and I am satisfied with the shots I managed.

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Peregrine Falcons at Lincoln

 Heather and I enjoyed a relaxing day pottering around Lincoln yesterday.  The light was good for photography with some dramatic skies and Lincoln Cathedral was in the middle of its Labyrinth Festival which was fascinating.  Walking back to the car we heard the unmistakable sound of raptors calling and we easily spotted one swooping out from the cathedral tower.  What a magnificent sight and wonderful that these stunning birds nest in the middle of a busy city.  They are attracted to Lincoln and other cathedrals and churches to breed as the buildings are reminiscent of their natural cliff-top habitats and alive with pigeons, their main prey item.

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Peregrine
Peregrine
Peregrin
The Cathedral from the bottom of the hill
Castle Square
The Cathedral from Castle Square
The Cathedral Labyrinth.

Labyrinth
Carving in the cathedral

Green Man
Rain clouds gather
Rain clouds gather