Lapwing Lake

One of the lakes at Moore Nature Reserve which comprises almost 200 acres of woodland, meadows, lakes and ponds. It has been managed as a nature reserve since 1991, after being used as farmland and for sand quarrying. It is managed by wardens employed by FCC Environment, operators of the nearby Arpley Landfill site. Arpley Landfill began operating in 1988 and covers more than 500 acres. The landfill is being restored to a mix of woodland and grassland and, together with Moore Nature Reserve, should eventually provide an important public amenity and area of rich biodiversity on the edge of what is a busy, and growing urban area.

More information about the nature reserve can be found on its website.

All of my photographs taken that day can be found at Geo-trips plotted on a map and available as a slideshow.

A contribution to
Our World Tuesday;
NF Trees and Bushes;
ABC Wednesday;
Wednesday Waters.

Bench and gorse tree at Moore Nature Reserve

Last week my friend Gordon White took me on a visit to Moore Nature Reserve near Warrington. It comprises almost 200 acres of woodland, meadows, lakes and ponds and is home to many diverse species of plants, animals, birds and other wildlife. Here am I sitting on a bench underneath a gorse tree.

Here is my own photo of the same bench and tree a few moments after Gordon had walked on by.

More information about Moore Nature Reserve can be found on its website.

A contribution to Our World Tuesday and NF Trees and Bushes.

St Mary's Graveyard, Haughton Green

Looking across the graveyard of St Mary's, Haughton Green.

For more photographs and information about the church see my earlier post from March 2015

A contribution to Skywatch Friday and Inspired Sundays.

N is for North Western Gardens, Llandudno

North Western Gardens was reconfigured in 2000 to prioritise pedestrian movement as part of a multimillion pound Heritage Lottery Urban Parks funded renewal programme. The park used to be known locally as 'Bog Island' because its underground toilets were marooned in a sea of cars. While traffic is still present on two sides of the triangular space, one side is now anchored to the shops. Thick planting borders of perennials surround the green lawn, wide pavements and dozens of long comfortable benches can now be enjoyed without interference from traffic.

This recent view looking over the gardens from the cafe in the Mostyn Art Gallery shows where the road used to run on the left.

Until 2014 the square included a beautiful old oak tree but winter storms have destroyed it and now there is only a stump left. The wooden sculpture of the White Rabbit was installed in 2012.

The view above was taken in 2007 from the opposite direction and before the sculpture was installed.

A contribution to ABC Wednesday and NF Trees and Bushes.

A view of the Conwy Valley

A contribution to
Our World Tuesday;
NF Trees and Bushes;
Water World Wednesday;
ABC Wednesday;
Wordless Wednesday.

Shadows on Bridge #2

Bridge #2 on the Peak Forest Canal carries the B6139 Ashton Street over the canal near Shepley Industrial Estate.

We passed under it last Friday when we celebrated our son's 34th birthday and escaped the aftermath of the election by taking a trip on Community Spirit, a narrowboat operated by the East Manchester Community Boat Project.

On this section of the journey the sun shone and cast shadows of the trees on the bridge.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Bowling Green Shadows

Autumn shadows on one of the bowling greens at Victoria Park, Denton, Manchester, UK.

A contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Pollarded tree at Bowness on Windermere

Whilst at St Annes last week we went on a trip to Windermere and had a lovely sail up the lake from Bowness to Ambleside and back. I'll maybe post some photographs of that some time but for now I thought I'd share this view of a pollarded tree on the Glebe.

The Lake and busy shoreside shops are out of sight on the other side of the hill.

This is a contribution to Shadow Shot Sunday.

Denton Mural

Last Monday was cold but with a bright low sun. I took this photograph of the crocuses peeping their hands above the grass in Victoria Park, Denton.

In doing so I also captured the shadows of a tree thrown against the Denton Mural. The mural was painted on the wall of Denton Pool facing Victoria Park in 2000. It was conceived by David Vaughn and commissoned by the Denton Town Twinning Association. It serves to commemorate both the second millenniumm and the continuing friendship between the people of Denton and Montigny le Brettoneux.


To view the whole length of the mural one has to walk to the other side of the flowerbeds across which stretches the shadow of another tree.

At this distance and with the light falling directly on to it the detail is difficult to discern. At a later date I hope to take a series of closer shots. For now you can see an enlarged view of the central portion on my photoblog sithenah.

This is a contribution to:
Shadow Shot Sunday
Monday Murals at Oakland Daily Photo
and ABC Wednesday

ABC Wednesday:W is for Winter Wood

This was the view through my window last Saturday morning.

Please note I may not be too active online for a while as my computer was taken away today for repair. For the time being I am borrowing my wife's computer. It runs a lot slower than mine though and I've no access to all my photographs and data (although they have all been backed-up on to DVDs).

Visit ABC Wednesday for more W posts.

Shadow Shot Sunday:United Nations Tree

These shadows are mostly belonging to a tree planted in the Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Park at St Brelade by Sir Robert Le Masurier D.S.C. Bailiff of Jersey on 24th October 1970 to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Founding of the United Nations.

You can see the whole tree on my Jersey 2010 website where you'll find a selection of the best 55 photographs taken on our recent visit.

See more Shadow Shot Sunday posts at Hey Harriet.

ABC Wednesday:Y is for Yew Tree Maze

Vernon Park in Stockport features regularly in my posts here and today we are back looking at one of its newest features. I'm fairly sure this Yew Tree Maze wasn't here last year.


As you can see it isn't much of a maze as yet. You can just look over the top of the bushes to see where you are.


Come to one of the "dead-end" paths and you can step smartly through the gaps.

In time, however, it should all knit together and prove an amazing challenge.

For more Y posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Shadow Shot Sunday:Pole Bank Hall

Two days ago my Friday Bench was from Pole Bank Hall.

Behind it was this large tree casting a huge shadow.

Blogger has done its occasional trick of rotating the image.

I usually circumvent this problem either by waiting for blogger to get its act together and eliminate the glitch or post the photographs in some other space.

Here however it looks quite fetching so I've left it as it is. You can see the whole tree and shadow the right way up on Hyde Daily Photo.

For more shadows visit Hey Harriet

A vintage view of Pole Bank Hall can be found on Old Hyde.

Shadow Shot Sunday:Woodend Lane

I had a lovely walk last Sunday in bright sunshine and captured these long shadows on Woodend Lane.

For a more normal view of Woodend Lane see Hyde Daily Photo.

To find more Shadow Shots, visit Hey Harriet.

Shadow Shot Sunday:Another from Vernon Park

Another shot following on from last week's shadow from Vernon Park in Stockport.

For more shadow shots visit Hey Harriet.

Shadow Shot Sunday:Vernon Park, Stockport

Today's shot is a follow-up post to my Friday Bench post from Vernon Park in Stockport.

To see these shadows in the context of their surroundings visit Geograph.

For more shadows around the world visit Hey Harriet.

Shadow Sunday: Swains Valley

I took this photograph last Sunday after overnight snow covered the Swains Valley.

You can see earlier snow on this Christmas Day (click link to view) shot which is looking from a position to the top left of this viewpoint across towards the entrance to Haughton Street which is at the top right.

The first snow of the winter came in mid-December (click link to view) in which photograph you can see the path leading from Garside Street to the TransPennine Trail. Here we are looking at right angles to that path now hidden under the snow.

Today on Hyde Daily Photo (click link to view) is another photograph taken in mid-December that shows the trees whose reflections dominate this current scene.

For more shadow shots visit Hey Harriet.

Friday Bench (28): Etherow Park

Back in February I introduced you to Etherow Country Park.

I was back there recently on a bright morning. There are many benches around the park, some donated by local societies and others are memorial benches.

This one, dedicated to Ellen Taylor is just below the top of and facing the mill pond. See the top of the pond on sithenah. Behind the bench is the valley of the River Etherow as it flows through Ernocroft Wood.


My favourite benches discovered recently include Inverness Daily Photo's in Rosemarkie, Ben's in Pasadena, Barbara's in Queen's Park and Dina's in Jerusalem.

Friday Bench (27): Hyde Park

This bench is in Hyde Park, Hyde, Cheshire.

It is one of two benches in an area used to provide a setting for a memorial stone "Lest We Forget". The pillars are two of the four which are the only remains of Newton Lodge, the former home of the Ashton family who gave the park to the people of Hyde in 1902.

The setting was created when the park was refurbished in 2000. The stone had previously lain in one of the gardens.

The full setting can be seen on Hyde Daily Photo and the memorial stone on Hyde DP Xtra.

My favourite benches discovered recently include Rune's in Grimstad, Christchurch Photo Diary's by the Avon river, Leatherdyke's in Queen's Park and Julie's in Sydney.

ABC Wednesday - R is for Rotorua

This week I've been looking through my archives and decided to post eight images from Rotorua 2001. They were taken with an early Olympus digital camera and are only 640 x 480 pixels but with the modern photo-software I now use I've been able to reveal more details than were evident when I originally downloaded them.


Rotorua was one of the stops on our tour of New Zealand which I describe in my journal THE LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD.


We reached Rotorua on Day 22


In the early evening we were just driving around and found ourselves at Kuirau Park. On the 26th January 2001, less than two months before our visit, an eruption occurred. Mud, steam and debris were thrown into the air. Notices warn visitors to enter at their own risk and not to cross the makeshift fences.


I went walkabout discovering ash-covered trees, small lakes of boiling mud, and large swamp lakes over which hot sulphurous clouds blew. It was the weirdest scene I had ever encountered. Beyond the park were modern buildings.



Much of the grass was green, but it was not a place for picnics nor football. The fumes, as long as one stayed away from the thickest clouds were not overpowering.


For more "R" posts visit ABC Wednesday.