Wild, wet and very windy

So the forecast said gale force winds and heavy rain, so I do what every photographer does and head to the beach. No? Just me then!

To be fair I had been promised 11ft waves but I must have read the forecast wrong as they weren't that. The water at Hell's Mouth was wild certainly but not to that height. And there were no surfers to photograph either.

I have recently bought a rain covering for the camera. It is designed to fit on one that has a much longer lens and also a flash gun, so there was a lot more plastic than I needed, but it seemed that it would work.

So undeterred I got to the beach, attached my new rain mac for the camera and headed for a walk. The rain wasn't heavy but it was being whipped by the wind and felt like needles on my face. There was a lot of spray coming from the sea and before long I was completely soaked. My waterproof boots aren't and neither are my waterproof trousers!

It was so wild and really dramatic but absolutely none of the photos came out which is really disappointing. The one above is of Criccieth a bit later on. The spray made it really misty and it was so windy it was impossible to keep the camera still, so I put it away and just revelled in the experience of being the sole person on a very wild beach in the middle of a storm!

Then I thought that I was already soaked I might as well do my 2 minute beach clean as I couldn't get any wetter! I now always carry a couple of plastic bags and some bbq tongs with me so I can do a clean wherever I am. Its amazing how much you can pick up in a short amount of time. I know my little effort isn't going to make a huge difference but it is so important that we all start to think about taking care of our wonderful coastline.

So I get back to the car park and start to disrobe. The wind is so strong the car is rocking and I am sitting there in little more than a t-shirt and towel and the bag I carefully packed full of spare clothes is sitting on the sofa at home. The car is like a sauna as I am trying so hard to dry my clothes. It doesn't work. There is little worse than putting wet feet into wet boots through wet trousers! I just hoped that no-one would come by as if they see a rocking car, all steamed up with a scantily clad passenger I think that they might jump to erroneous conclusions!

 

On the way back I briefly stopped at Llanbedrog. I had been here over the summer and it is a beautifully sheltered beach. I found that they have moved all the beach huts to the carpark for the winter, and I thought that this would make a nice colourful photograph. I have done very little to the colour here, the surrounding areas were as grey and dismal as they look!

But I didn't want to go home, still had a couple of hours of daylight left! So my final stop a squelch along the front at Criccieth, 

Had a very welcome and warming coffee at Cadwaladers so things seemed to be looking up, but when I went for a walk on the beach and the sea went over my wellies and I found I didn't have a square inch of dry cloth to wipe my camera lens with I decided enough was enough and time to go home for a long hot bath!


Lessons Learned: I have since been taught how to read the forecasts properly. Apparently the wind was too strong and in the wrong direction for high waves, but hopefully I will know better next time.
Take the darned bag with me next time!

Half Term Outings - Anglesey

As you may already know, I have my definite favourite places to go and although I have shared many with the family, I have not yet dragged them to Anglesey, so half term arrived and off we went.

Started off with breakfast at that Welsh place, you know, the one with the totally unpronounceable name!

It was all rather bizarre actually. We go up to the counter and the food is all there under hot lights looking delicious. But instead of serving it out, the chap behind the counter writes down our order, puts it on a clip behind him and says it will take 20 mins! Bearing in mind that it took him longer to write it down than it would have to put it on plates, I can not understand the system! And 20 mins we waited. Need that one explained to me!

Still, undeterred, we then head off to Llandwyn. It's quite a wild day, although not raining, it is very windy and a tad on the chilly side. The clouds are low which makes the visibility over Snowdonia unclear and colours a little hazy, not the best photography conditions.

I am pleased to report that the family loved it almost as much as I do. There was plenty of clambering to be done and some fabulous scenery to peruse. Sometimes at the same time.

Although I do really enjoy going out on my treks by myself, it is sometimes nice to have other people with you. I think for new places, I need to go alone and be able to explore properly and take ages over taking photos, then when I have done that, share with family or friends.

Because this is a much visited place, I was able to share all the little nooks and crannies that I love, and to position myself to get the best views. However, the challenge again is to make sure that the photos don't look the same as they did last time I visited! The above photo I have taken a couple of times but on checking, realised I have never shared it on the blog, so I guess it's your lucky day!

This next photo is a bit different. I am standing by the Lighthouse pictured above, shooting through one window to the other, with the wall and the sea reflected in the window in front of me! A bit weird at first, but I really like it. The little flash of jade in the corner is my coat, couldn't quite get completely out of it.

The day then started to get a bit wild and the wind really picked up, at some points it actually started to feel a little unsafe on a cliff edge, and if I say that, in my present dare-devil mode, you know it must have been bad!

So we head back down the beach and come across kite surfers. This was the most amazing thing!

These guys were whipping across the sea at phenomenal speeds, then the wind would change direction, whip them round and zoom them off in the opposite direction. Completely awesome, sometimes they were lifted out of the water altogether!

I am completely in two minds about this. Recklessness is saying "really need to do this" but Common Sense is coming back with a swift "don't be daft, you'll fall off" 

I do need to sort out the next challenge tho', been a while since I have done something wild and inappropriate for a woman my age. Ideas that have been floating about are hot air balloons, going up in a glider and quadbiking. No decisions made yet. Suggestions always welcome!

We are staying overnight in Holyhead and I have booked a B&B which looked nice on-line. And to be fair it was nice, but when you have to drive through an industrial area to get to it and it is situated right in the middle of a slightly dubious looking housing estate, you can experience a slight case of the "what have I done's"

Ventured out in the evening looking for tea, about 7ish, and to warn anyone else that ventures this way, Holyhead shuts on a Sunday. There was nothing open apart from one very lively pub where karaoke was in full flow and the gentleman singing very enthusiastically seemed to have been in there since lunchtime! We gave that one a miss. 

So reluctantly heading out of town towards McD's on the outskirts, we come across a very nice looking Chinese restaurant, so the evening was saved!

The next day was South Stack and Beaumaris, blog post to follow!

Lessons Learned: sharing some of my favourite places can make them more special because they will have a whole new set of memories. But I do have a couple of places which I am going to keep to myself because I am not sure if anyone else will understand why they are special. Not totally sure I do myself, but sometimes things, people and places just are.

Diet Diary: Nah!

Zoo Day

Just had a whim to go to Chester Zoo. Haven't been for ages and decided it was time for a return trip! 
It was a beautifully sunny day on Monday, can't believe this amazing autumnal weather we have been having, hope it lasts a while yet! 
It costs £20 to get in, but I intended to spend the day and its funny that it doesn't seem so expensive when there is just me and not a family of 4 or 5!

So first stop of the trip are the warthogs!

Is he not magnificent! There were a few in the enclosure, plus about 3 much smaller ones but he was the show-off. He would take a few steps and then stop and pose, look at me as if to check if I had got his right side, then step and pose again. Hours of fun!

There were some wonderful animals, but the biggest "aawww!" came for the baby elephant. So incredibly cute.

The elephants were great to photograph as they weren't rushing about. There was a wooden fence I could lean on to steady the telephoto and I was very pleased with how they came out.

The zoo was really quite quiet, there were a few school parties (nothing cuter than a couple of 6yr old girls walking along hand in hand singing "all about the bass") and a few lone photographers, so I wasn't having to fight through crowds to get a shot.

Next visit was to the butterfly house. Incredible. Worth the entrance fee just to go in there. You are standing in a greenhouse made up like a tropical garden and the butterflies are just fluttering free around you.

Not a huge amount of varieties, think only about 5, but it was amazing. Tried to capture a few in flight but failed dismally at that, need to practice that one. But managed to get a few shots when they stopped briefly.

It was spellbinding. And hot, very hot. After removing as many layers as is socially acceptable, I stood in there for about 20 mins, just watching.

The main problem I had was that the lens kept misting up, so many of the shots were through fog! Not sure how to overcome that, but I suppose its like glasses, going from a colder environment into a hotter one will make the glass misty.

Then off to the section I had been most looking forward to: Big Cats!

One of the main problems that I faced was shooting through obstacles, be it fencing or glass. The fencing in some ways was easier as you could get really close to it and it often blurred into almost nothing. The above pic didn't quite do that, but I still really liked the two lions together so I am putting up with it. I am sure if I was really clever on photoshop I could get rid of them, but I'm not, so I haven't.

However, because I zoomed in really close to the lioness, the fence has gone and it almost looks like I am in there with her.

Many of the animals were being very kind to the visitor, and were just relaxing in the unseasonal sunshine. The cheetahs were no exception.

There is however something a little unsettling about having something so fast and dangerous look straight at you. It's almost as if he is working out just how fast he would have to run to jump over the fence to get to that live buffet just standing there, watching him. I didn't wait for him to work that one out!

This next photo has got to be one of my favourites, taken in the jaguar house.

I think there is something very soulful about his expression and it makes me feel sad whenever I look at it. They have really big enclosures in Chester and I don't know if the Jaguar has ever known life in the wild but you can't help but believe he is thinking of a different life.

Talking earlier of fast and dangerous animals looking right at me, here is another.

I was the only person walking along the path and his eyes followed me every step of the way. He was a real beauty and absolutely massive. There were a couple of walls and a large ditch between us, but somehow that didn't quite feel enough! So moving swiftly on!

There is a lot of redevelopment going on at the zoo. They have built a series of themed islands and I must say have done a fabulous job of it. Its not just enclosure after enclosure, they have created it like a series of African villages and it is splendid. Not finished yet and they are in the process of moving the Orangutans, but when it is done, it will be fabulous. There is even a boat ride! The new tiger area is here, but they were the only creatures not feeling sociable so I didn't even get to see one, never mind photograph it.

Most of the monkeys were behind glass which was a devil to shoot through, especially as it was so sunny there were a lot of reflections. It was either that, or being so far away, but I did like this one shot.

Last but not least, giraffes. Another baby, again very cute.

However, achievement of the day has got to be the bat cave. We have been coming to the zoo for about 20 years and I have always refused to go in the bat cave. The idea of it being dark and having things flying around my head terrified me. However, as regular readers will know, I am doing all sorts of things now that I used to flee from, so to the bat house I headed.

I took a deep breath and walked in, behind a sobbing child who wanted to be there as much as I did!

It wasn't completely dark, you could see a bit and at first it wasn't too bad, but when I got to the bit where the ceiling was lower and something flew past, brushing my hair, I will admit that I nearly lost it! But kept my head and got to the exit. Didn't rush out, made myself stay and look around. OK then, done that, never doing it again!

Lessons Learned: Bats are evil. Although I am assured they would never ever get caught in your hair, they can sense who is scared and like to divebomb them just for the sheer hell of it. OK, that might not be strictly true, but that was certainly what it felt like. But at least I did it, so one more thing crossed off the list!

Diet Diary: Due to lack of demand, diet diary has been temporarily suspended. (too much cake recently!)

Cheltenham and Bristol

I am so sorry it's been ages since I have blogged. Just don't know where the time has gone. I haven't actually done an awful lot blogworthy recently, just trying to get back into the swing of things and reclaim my mojo.

So, just when I needed it most, we decided to have a weekend away. It was Beth's 21st birthday so we headed to Gloucester to spend some time with her.

We started off in Cheltenham, a beautiful city. It has some wonderful architecture and a very eclectic mix of shops. Plus a small street market selling the most gorgeous flowers.

The Cheltenham Literary Festival was being held as well and we had a wander around some of the marquees and nearly saw Salman Rushdie. He was about to go into the Waterstones tent to sign copies of his new book, so we thought we might wait. But then it occurred to us that none of us particularly like him or his books, so decided not to bother. Headed outside and took a photo of Neptune instead. I didn't have the tripod with me, so kept it on a short shutter speed which I think works ok with the fountain which was behind him.

Because of the Festival, the city was buzzing and it got very difficult to take photos without hoards of people in them. Hardly took any that I was pleased with, so will return another time and try to do the architecture justice.

Day 2, headed to Bristol Docks.

Much better, so much to photograph here. We avoided the city centre and just headed straight for the docks. You can do a circular sweeping walk around them, about 2-3m which is fabulous. The old cranes were completely amazing, and reminded me a bit of those snow-walker things in one of the Star Wars movies.

We went to a lovely, quite artisan looking place for breakfast. The menu was fabulous, eggs benedict, smoked salmon and poached egg, but I went for the buttermilk pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. A plateful of heaven!

So all the food came and it looked amazing, apart from mine. The pancakes were burnt so I had to send them back and waited for a replacement. And waited. And waited. 20 minutes later, after everyone else had finished their breakfast, they reappeared, as burnt as the first time! Not a happy bunny! So we left, not prepared to wait again. Got the promise of a free breakfast next time we went, but I think we may have made it clear that there won't be a next time!

Anyway, back to the main order of the day, photography, no sorry, that should read spending time with the family!

Just loved this boat. The day was quite dull so it was great to have a splash of colour on the water. Just loved the teeth!

I suppose one of the main attractions on the docks is Brunel's SS Great Britain. It is a wonderful ship and you can go around it, but at £60 for the 5 of us, we decided to do that another time! Although I think I may have found my next challenge, climbing the rigging anyone?

Boats are still made and repaired on the docks and it was fascinating to be able to see into some of the workshops. The smell of woodshavings was so evocative of my childhood, spending time in the garage watching my father make fabulous things with wood, my doll's house for one.

I would really have loved the chance to have a rootle through the workshops, but unfortunately they are privately owned and that was not possible. 

The dockyards have seen some amazing refurbishment happening. It is lined with beautiful housing and fabulous restaurants, well most of them are :-( 

I loved these rows of houses looking down, I thought the colours were amazing and together with the sails on the boats, added a fabulous splash of summer colour to an otherwise quite dull day.

Since doing a lot more photography, especially with the need to blip something every day, I am finding that my view on what I am seeing has changed. I find myself looking for the different and unusual that might not necessarily make a pretty picture, but will certainly make an interesting one. Saw the mural of the Girl with the Pearl Earring, with the earring actually being the burglar alarm

I am finding too that textures now excite me in a way I never thought possible! I know, sad isn't it! But I loved the rusting paint on this gate, with the fencing in front of it and the wonderful added bonus of a spiders web.

So all in all, with the exception of breakfast, a completely fabulous weekend. Wonderful to spend some quality time as a family and also be able to take some photos of something new.

Promise I won't leave it so long next time!

Lessons Learned: Pancakes are apparently very easy to burn!

Diet Diary Well the fact that I didn't have pancakes probably helped, although having pizza for tea might have outweighed that one! Struggling a bit to get back into the diet mindset. Need to get back to some proper regular hiking!

The Watkin's Path

So, today, first major hike to a new place in ages. After brief stop at Misty Mere (see previous post) I headed for Snowdonia. 
After the obligatory coffee, but no cake:-( at Cadwaladers headed for the Watkin's Path. This is supposedly the hardest walk to the summit of Snowdon but I have been told (thank you Adrian) about a beautiful waterfall there, long before it starts to get really hard going. Plus, it's been ages since I have been anywhere new on my Snowdonia App!
After the Summer, my fitness levels have dropped, so will work up to the top another time.
On the way there I pass Llyn Gwynant, and as ever distracted by something pretty, I stop to take a couple of shots.

I took a few of just the lake, the reflection and the hills, but felt that they were lacking something, so gingerly crossed some swampy ground to get a different angle and something in the foreground and I think it works so much better. The water was quite still and the sunshine just lifted all the colours so I am really pleased with this shot.

Headed then to the Watkin's Path. The walk starts off gently through some beautiful light dappled woodlands and over a small waterfall. 

The sun was out and quite strong by this time, so it was lovely and cool in the woods. However, at the end of this part of the walk, the vista opened up and the scenery was breathtaking. To one side of you the waterfall, to the other valleys and mountains. With the sun shining and a beautiful blue sky, it was heavenly. 

Something I have found with my photographs is that they can't capture a magnificent landscape adequately. You don't get the true feeling of distance and depth, so I am not happy with most. This one is actually near the top of the path, after the water fall, but gives an idea of the view.

As I approached the waterfall, the path seemed to veer away from it, which was not good. So I jumped a wall and headed down through the undergrowth to get closer. OK, maybe not jumped, more inelegantly clambered over. But it was worth it.

It was so beautiful. The water cascaded down into beautiful crystal clear pools and the noise was deafening. I decided to forego the path and follow the waterfall to the top, crossing over the "bridge" pictured above. Being a bit accident prone of late, it was with some nervous trepidation that I slowly walked across it, but luckily emerged unscathed and more importantly, dry!

As I climbed further up, more waterfall appeared, there were layers upon layers of beautiful pools and wild flowing water. It was a sight to behold.

The pools were deep and clear and thought they would be ideal for this "wild swimming" I have heard about. It was so hot, I was tempted myself. Even got so far as taking off a boot and sock and dangling my foot in the flow. It was really, and I mean really, cold. So I went no further as blue isn't a good look for me!

As you climb higher, there are the ruins of slate quarry buildings, including the quarry managers house. Apparently, during the war, the fighter pilots used to use this house as shooting practice, and you can see the bullet holes along the walls. The quarry manager had moved out by this time of course.

It was one of those days and places where I had to keep stopping and looking around and just let it all sink it. The weather was perfect, the scenery staggering, the waterfalls so powerful and best of all practically no one else around! 

The waterfall seemed to flow from a small windy stream and it was hard to see how such a small amount of water could turn into the raging torrent I had followed.

Now the walk turned serious. I climbed up to the slate workers barracks and followed a very steep path towards Snowdon. It was hard going and very hot. I had filled my water bottle a couple of times from the waterfall, so at least I had plenty to drink. There is something very special about drinking fresh mountain water at source!

I paced myself and got quite high, with the top of Snowdon tantalisingly close, on the left of the following picture.

Wasn't the sky amazing! However, it got to the stage where I was having to rest and recover for longer than I was walking, so decided that was probably enough for one day. 

This is now my favourite walk ever, it has replaced the Precipice Walk in my affections, I'm afraid that I am fickle like that! Always looking for something new to tempt me!

This will be revisited often, and now that I have the replacement adaptor for my tripod (£9.99 for something the size of a pound coin!) I will go again soon and play around with some silky water shots.

I now have a companion on all my hikes who will be featuring in their own page. Look out soon for the Chronicles of Bert.

Lessons Learned: Know when to stop. Don't want to risk causing damage or injury to myself or the poor soul who is sent out to rescue me!

Diet Diary: Not been brilliant. Had a good week, bad, bad weekend. Hope the hike has helped.

Misty Ellesmere

It's been ages since I have posted, many apologies. Just seems to be so much to do at the moment, and blipping is quite time consuming too!
Anyhow, managed to arrange a long day out on Monday as the weather promised to be gorgeous.
The day started with a dense mist which the sun was beginning to burn off, so first stop on my travels was to the Mere so see what it looked like there.

It was so beautiful and really ethereal, just rising off the water and just leaving the trees opposite in faint silhouette.

It was gorgeous to see, but the sun was getting warm and the mist was fading, so it was almost split second timing to get shots.
I have temporarily misplaced (lost) the camera attachment for my tripod so all pics had to be handheld. 

I would have liked to have a play with some long exposures with the mist and water, but maybe next time.
Didn't have a lot of time anyway, as I was off on an adventure! See next post!

100 at 100mph

Drum Roll please, this is my 100th Post! Can't believe I have done 100 blogworthy things in the last year. Its obviously been an exciting one.
So this blog post had to be a good one and I think the timing is just perfect.
Today, Beth and I went to Zipworld Velocity in Bethesda to tackle the longest zip wire in Europe and the fastest in the World!
Regular readers will know that I have done Titan twice this year, which is not as fast and you go down in a sitting position. Velocity is anything up to 119mph head first and face down. Scary stuff!
Got there in plenty of time but the facilities are really basic at the moment so we sat with our coffee in the car watching for zippers coming down. There were none. For over half an hour. We found out later that there had been an issue with the braking systems and a technician had been called out. Not the most inspiring of news to those about to launch themselves off a mountain!

It did give us plenty of time to admire the scenery. Quarry and slate lake in the front, mountains to the side, and the Sea behind.  Even if we didn't get to zip, it was worth the trip for the views!

Finally we were ready to go and get strapped in. I must warn anyone deciding to have a go to leave their dignity in the car. Not only is it the bright red jumpsuits and harnesses again, but the strapping in positions are extremely unseemly! Basically a push-up position with your bum in the air and someone faffing around you looking for straps!

There are 2 zips in total. The first, Little Zipper, takes about 30secs and you dawdle along at about 45mph(!). Just really to get you used to the position. 
We are then transported to the top in an open backed truck. Given a fabulous history lesson about the quarry on the way up via an audio tour recorded by a retired quarry worker. The trip was hair raising enough with very steep tracks and hairpin bends!

Finally we get to the top and the views are completely staggering. It is very cloudy, but dry and not too cold which is all we could ask for.

The next picture is the view down. The little white dot I have etched into the picture shows where the zip ends, a long way down and a long way away!

This isn't Beth or me, but the person before us ready to be launched. You can see just how high we had got and how fantastic the views are.

So we are strapped in and launched. It is difficult to find words to describe the experience.

 

 This was the landing strip on the left, with the starting point being the white square top centre. You can just see the zip wires coming from it.

It was scary. You have no idea just how fast 100mph is until you fly it! The wind completely takes your breath and you feel that your stomach is trying to find a way out through your feet. But the overriding thought is "OMG I can't believe I'm doing this!" The lake is 100ft below you and you can see your shadow skimming over it and the trees just a blur as you rush past. It is breathtaking, astounding and quite simply the most amazing and terrifying thing I have ever done!

Worthy of a 100th blog post methinks!

Lessons Learned: I am fearless and I can fly! I don't know where this new and improved Sharon has come from, but I like her!

Diet Diary: Not going to end on a down, so not going to talk about it!