The Easter break gave us an opportunity to travel south to see my parents. We were lucky to have a glorious sunny day so headed off to Attingham Park – a National Trust property near Shrewsbury. We took a long walk around the grounds and through the Deer Park. I realise these deer aren’t wild and …
Last weekend we had a fantastic meet-up with some of my oldest and best friends down in the Peak District. We chose to visit Chatsworth House and took few hours to walk around the gardens. Not only did we have a lovely stroll in the sun, but we also got a bit of exercise in …
What better a way to spend your Sunday morning than with a walk around a local food market. Trouble is, I just wanted to buy and eat everything in sight! We did succumb to a bread roll for lunch and nice fresh pie for our dinner, although I couldn’t quite bring myself to try Squidgeon …
Portabello has been a semi-mystical place for me over the past few years. It’s only a 20-minute drive away from our flat and we regularly pass close-by without ever venturing down to the beach and promenade. With our move to Canada inching ever closer, we seem to have a renewed motivation to get out and …
After a few days of rain, the forecast for today was sunny and dry so an outing was promptly planned. We are currently staying for a few days in Oxford with James’s parents. There are so many places to visit in this part of the country, but we settled on Winchester which is only an …
A white Christmas would have been lovely, but if it can’t be white then a Christmas with a little sunshine is a good alternative. I’m back home at my parent’s house for Christmas again this year and its great to be able to get out of the house for a lovely stroll with the dog …
Well here is more little set of photos from my trip last month to the US. Firstly a few from The Town of Little Wolf in Manawa where we rented a cottage for the weekend. We went off on a walk into town which was only small but had a lot of (almost hidden) character. …
After New York, we headed north-west to visit our good friends, Catherine & John, in Chicago. From there the four of us headed even further north into Wisconsin. We rented a lovely cabin right on the lakeside for the weekend. It was a lovely getaway and break from our city sightseeing. The autumn colours were …
There are so many views from New York that I would like to share, but here are my favourites. The first is from the High Line pathway – a fantastic reuse of a disused rail line on the western edge of Manhattan. Then on the right, we spotted this wall art when we ventured off …
I must firstly apologise that my blog has been abandoned somewhat over these last few months – I’ve just been busy busy busy! So now the summer has rushed by and autumn has well and truly set in. I was, however, lucky enough to recently spend two weeks on annual leave in the US; firstly in …
Jupiter Artland is a sculpture park situated a little way outside of Edinburgh. We visited this weekend and had a great few hours wandering round in the sunshine. Here’s a selection of the sculptures: Landscape with Gun and Tree by Cornelia Parker Life Mounds by Charles Jencks Over Here by Shane Waltener The Light Pours Out …
It is summer in Edinburgh and that means just one thing – it is festival time! Today Princes Street and Princes Street Gardens hosted hundreds of performers as part of the Carnival to mark the start of the festival season. Here are a few sights from the afternoon.
Well what a good summer we are having! I’m hoping the sunshine lasts a good few weeks yet, but we are certainly trying to make the most of it in case our luck runs out soon. So last weekend, James and I heading down into the Borders for a weekend camping trip. We stayed at …
Edinburgh’s New Town was built in stages between 1765 and around 1850. Princes Street and George Street were the first areas to be developed but later stages extended the New Town towards the north. Today, whilst running other errands, I managed to get some decent shots of some of these northern New Town’s streets. The lighting …
We had a lovely day out at Cotswold Wildlife Park earlier this week. It’s a great wildlife park where you can get very close to many of the animals. Here are some of my favourites!
Just along from our flat, there is an old disused gasholder. The Granton History website tells the story of this site. Most of the site was demolished in the early 2000s, but one of the gasholders was kept alongside the old railway station. It is actually now a listed building. I’m sure many would say …
After my work expedition to Canada, it was great to take a break last weekend and spend a long weekend in the Lake District. It was made even better by the fact that the sun decided to grace us with its presence. This set of photos are from one particular day when we visit the southern …
My recent work trip to Canada ended in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This was the first time I had visited the City and I wasn’t sure what to expect of it. Once there I discovered a really interesting mix of buildings and communities. The Exchange District was certainly a favourite area of mine. These two shots show …
At the centre of Ottawa sits the Canadian Parliament buildings. Parliament Hill includes an series of gothic-style buildings. At the rear of the building, overlooking the Ottawa River is the library chamber. And this is the Peace Tower which was rebuilt in the early 20th Century after fire destroyed the previous Victoria Tower. I especially …
A recent work trip took me back to Canada for just over a week. I landed into Toronto and had a few days there before moving on to Ottawa. I was lucky enough to get a free weekend to explore Ottawa. In May they have a tulip festival in the City. The history of the …
I must have been around 14 years old when a family holiday took us up to Berwick upon Tweed. We had taken our touring caravan up and stayed on the southern side of the River Tweed on a small campsite looking straight out towards the lighthouse. I seem to remember it being a fairly rainy …
I’ve lived in Edinburgh for almost 5 years now and until today I had never been into the Castle. I’d been up to the Esplanade on a number of occasions (including a visit to watch the Tattoo last year) but never beyond. Today, however, we donned our hats, gloves and warm coats before jumping on the bus …
On my birthday I requested a trip to Butterfly World which is to the south of Edinburgh. We’d never been there before, so I didn’t quite know what to expect but I had seen some decent photos online that other people had taken during their trips to the centre so I decided it was worth …
I realised a few weeks ago that it was the right time of year to see some snowdrops in all their glory. However, it was only today that we found time to take a trip to Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens and thankfully we hadn’t missed them. These clusters were in a fairly covered woodland area in the gardens, so …
It feels so encouraging to know that Spring is on its way. Today was a lovely, fresh day and the sun was shining so a bike ride was high on our priorities. We didn’t go far – just down to Newhaven Harbour and then around the Western Harbour Development. On our return the sun was …
Okay I promise that this is my last blog post with photos from Vancouver, but I was really keen to share this one. This photo shows the steam clock in the Gastown area of Downtown Vancouver. Apparently it is the most photographed view in Vancouver so here’s my addition to the collection! The odd thing …
I’m not long back from a work trip out to Vancouver. I was excited about heading over there as Vancouver has been on my “Want to Visit” list for some time. Unfortunately, I don’t think we were there at quite the right time of year. I hear summer is excellent but February is rather wet; …
Today brought us a crisp, bright start to January. We went out for a walk around Oxford – starting at the University Gardens and on to the overflowing river before heading into the city centre. We all had our cameras at the ready, desperate to make the most of the long-awaited sunshine. There’s so much to …
I just wanted to share one last highlight of my trip to France last week. Cadre Noir is home to the French National Riding School and is based just outside of the city of Samaur. They have one of the world’s most prestigious equestrian display teams. Visitors can have a tour of their display arena, stables …
Here is Part Deux of my selection of photos from my recent trip to the Loire. My last post focused on the fields and countryside, so this time I am turning my attention to the built features. The Loire region is scattered with chateaux and abbeys and we chose a handful of the ones nearby to visit. …
I’ve just been away with my Mom for a few days in the Loire. We were staying on a campsite in the middle of nowhere and spent plenty of time cycling and driving through the countryside. I might end up doing a couple of blog posts from the trip because I’ve got so many photos …
Well its been a good few weeks now since I last managed to get a post up on my blog, so I hope this one is worth the wait! Earlier this year mom saw a programme on TV where the presenters had visited part of the Caledonian Canal. It must have really caught her attention …
Okay, not quite an animal fair, but “we went to the animal zoo” doesn’t really rhyme very well.. But, yes, last weekend James and I went with his parents to Edinburgh Zoo. I’ve been looking forward to a trip since the pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang arrived about a year ago. We were booked …
Today, we headed west to meet friends of ours, Catherine and (Dr) John, at Blair Drummond Safari Park. I’ve been to a few zoos in my time but I can only remember going to one other safari park whilst on a Girl Guiding week-long camp. We had a great day out – the meerkats, sea …
After visiting Wenlock Priory last week with my mom, I was keen to see what else English Heritage had to offer. After a wander around Ironbridge with James and his parents, we decided to call in at Buildwas Abbey. It was quiet with only a few other visitors – perfect for taking some decent photos …
This afternoon we headed south to Glentress and while James went off on his mountain bike, I took a leisurely stroll through the forest to see what I could see. I had been hoping to get some images worthy of entering in Countryfile’s Photography Competition but I don’t think any of these really meet their …
We had a lovely visit to the Morningside Makers Market on Saturday which has given me some real inspiration to try to do more with my photographs. We bought a fantastic framed print from one of the ladies – Paper Snapdragon. She was using her photography but had manipulated it in Photoshop with some interesting techniques – …
Bo’ness Motor Museum – my dad’s second sightseeing request for the weekend. I have to admit though, that once we pulled into the car park, it did take some persuasion to get us to go in. From the outside you really couldn’t tell quite what you would encounter once you entered! It turned out to be a …
My mom and dad came to visit this weekend accompanied by two sightseeing request – the Falkirk Wheel and Bo’ness Motor Museum. James and I enjoyed our trip last year with his parents to the Falkirk Wheel so we were happy to organise a return visit. The weather wasn’t great when we arrived but it …
We recently took a walk along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Having been there previously on numerous occasions, I was on the look out for something slightly different to photograph. Most people were taking shots of the streetscape or buildings. I decided to focus the lens on some of the tartan goods for sale.
This weekend we’ve had some Belgian guests staying with us and we decided to show them some of the Scottish coastline. We headed north to St Andrews stopping, enroute, at Anstruther and Crail. We had a good wander round the harbours at both calling points and there was more than enough for us to photograph.
Every time I visit mom and dad’s new place I get to see the countryside’s changing seasons. I’ve already photographed autumn and winter down there, but last weekend gave me the chance to take some early springtime shots. The ploughed fields down the lane immediately caught my eye. Donned with mom’s camera and the dog …
This weekend I went to the Egyptian Mummy Exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland. Well worth a visit – especially if you get the 2 for 1 entry tickets which are currently on the back of Lothian bus tickets! Unfortunately photos were not allowed inside the exhibition so you’ll have to go and visit …
In search of an afternoon in the great outdoors, we decided to head north to Loch Ore Meadows Country Park. It wasn’t until We arrived that I realised I had been there before – about 8 years ago now – for a very memorable sailing lesson. Today we were promptly welcomed by some very friendly …
I’m sure I’ve said before on this blog how much I like living down on the front overlooking the Firth of Forth. There is always something going on and people to watch on the beach. Yesterday, James and I set out for a wander along the front with two aims in mind. First and foremost …
Lauriston Castle sits behind a high stone wall. We’ve often passed it in the car and wondered what exactly was hidden beyond the wall. Today we decided to go and find out. We arrived promptly in time for the 2pm tour around the house. The last owner of the house, Mrs Reid, left it to …
Whilst staying with James’s family over the Christmas Holiday, we took a trip over to Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes. Bletchley Park was one of the British centres at which teams were tasked with decrypting the coded German messages during World War Two. New codes were used on a daily basis so this was a never …
I think it’s pretty easy to stop seeing the interesting things and colours around you. I mean, when you go away somewhere new you are always looking out, eyes open, for what’s around you, but we forget to do that so much when you are in a more familiar place. Recently I took my camera …
This weekend was Doors Open Days in Edinburgh. It’s a fantastic way to see places the public aren’t usually allowed to go in to. We decided to visit the Lothian Buses Open Doors Event which was held at their depot in Annandale Street. It was a fantastic opportunity to see the insides and outs of …
I’ve been living in Scotland for a good few years now and probably haven’t explored the country as much as I should have done. This weekend, however, we got organised and headed over to Arran. It’s a great destination for a weekend away because it’s not too long a journey from Edinburgh, but the Ferry …
With not much to do with my Saturday afternoon (until 7:10 when the new series of Dr Who started) and the Festival Fringe almost drawing to a close, I decided to take my camera up to the Royal Mile and see what sights I could spot. I went up to the Royal Mile last year, …