Always The Critic

Hot air balloon near miss

A Virgin hot air balloon slowly lumbered over our house this evening before nearly landing in the allotments behind our garden. It seemed to come within a few tens of feet of touching down before wisely thinking better of it. There are lots of greenhouses, poly-tunnels, huts, etc. not to mention a row of houses on the other side.

I don't know if the pilot was seriously considering landing there, as it seems like a really poor spot that would have ended in disaster. You might get the basket down safely if you were lucky but the balloon envelope would be a nightmare to deal with amongst the allotments. Perhaps as dusk drew in on a fairly still night the pilot was getting a bit nervous about losing light and further opportunities. Or maybe it was just for fun, buzzing low over the houses. It rose quickly with a big burst of flame and then headed off to the fields just North of St Albans where I think it must have landed.

Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill

A good few weeks back now, we visited Anglesey Abbey, Gardens and Lode Mill - a National Trust property near Cambridge. As usual no photos of the house (it's not allowed) so you'll have to take it on trust that it was an enchanting time-warp covering the last several centuries, with a warm, lived-in feeling.

The gardens were large and diverse, with natural woodland, formal gardens, meadows and everything in-between. There was a strong emphasis on nature, with many habitats set up to encourage wildlife. In one corner runs the river smothered in lily pads, to Lode Mill - an interesting building in its own right, but sadly the gear wasn't working when we were there. Moorhen chicks ran across the leafy surface of the river seldom touching the water and Banded Demoiselle damselflies glinted in the sun.

Onto the pictures! First, a rather fun door in the middle of the woods, followed by a Painted Lady butterfly at the edge of the dew pond.

A quick glance of the house itself, with the corner of a formal rose garden, then a nice carved post head - literally.

Finally, the approach to Lode Mill, which I absolutely loved, being a sumptuous watery green pathway.

Shaw's Corner, at Ayot St Lawrence

On a balmy summer's day (the day of the men's final at Wimbledon) we ventured back to Shaw's Corner for a stroll around its beautifully relaxed gardens. This is where playwright George Bernard Shaw lived for over 40 years. The house and gardens aren't huge, but I like their style - lazy, slow, ambling and pleasant. Lawns, shady paths, vibrant flowerbeds, meadowy orchards, languid trees, and all kept in a not-too-formal style that sees the stresses ooze out of me.

I only had my macro lens, so no sweeping panoramas - you'll have to take my word for it on the descriptions above, or visit the National Trust page I've linked to for that sort of thing.

This is a slightly frayed Comma butterfly, amidst the meadowy flowers and grasses.

Can you dig it?

No, apparently not.

Helsinki: The Church in the Rock

We recently spent a very nice 24 hours in Helsinki, Finland before crossing the strait to Tallinn, Estonia. Helsinki is quite a modern city and its delights are subtle. We very nearly didn't go to the Church in the Rock, having failed to realise that it's one of the top tourist attractions. You wouldn't know it from the humble location in the middle of a rather nondescript residential area.

 

 

Built in the late 1960s the church is sunk into the bedrock with just a domed roof poking above the natural lie of the land. It's really not much to look at from the outside, but internally it's a symphony of modernist concrete, rough-hewn stone, glass, wood and polished copper. It really speaks craftsmanship and slightly old fashioned Scandinavian design. It also has fantastic acoustics - there was a woman playing a grand piano as we wandered around, which just set it all off perfectly.

 

Reboot

My train rolled into St Albans station from the siding as per usual, though excruciatingly slowly, and I got on. Then the lights went off and all those whirring noises you didn't realise were there fell silent. Oh dear I thought. Then the lights came back on and the driver announced "I was having some power problems but I've switched the train off and on again and it seems to have cured it." Nice.

Attingham Park

On the way back from a lovely wedding in Shropshire over the bank holiday weekend, we stopped off at Attingham Park - a National Trust property comprising a big house and a bigger estate. We got there fairly early in the day, and since the house isn't open to the massed hordes until 1pm we snuck on a free tour at 11. This turned out to be an unexpected delight, as the tour was specifically about the usually hidden process of keeping a big old NT house clean throughout the seasons. I didn't realise quite how much careful effort goes in every day just to keep dust at bay, not to mention light, insects and humidity.

 

To me the house isn't the star attraction here though (we went back and had a full look once it was properly open). The vast parkland grounds are what make it special, featuring grassland, woodland, deer, rivers and ponds. These are lightly littered with some interesting sculptures, which would be more impressive if they weren't accompanied by ridiculous texts explaining what they represent. I should have burned that leaflet! We almost missed the monopoly hotels on sticks poking out of the water of a pond.

As we strolled through the bracken there was a section that was literally swarming with large very black and rather lugubrious flies. I've since identified these as St Mark's Flies, which apparently emerge at this time of year - traditionally 25th April (hence the name).

Down by the river (I'm not sure if it was the Severn or the Tern) there were a couple of Grey Wagtails shooting out over the water for insects.

First Capital Connect Daylight Robbery

Saw this poster at St Pancras. Oh the irony! Nuff said.

More from Rye Meads RSPB Reserve

Some more photos of the range of interesting bird life at Rye Meads. See my previous post for the first instalment. There's still more to come, bit by bit. It took me a while to figure out what all these things were as I'm new to it, so I don't want to swamp my dear readers (both of you) with too much at once.

First, a twofer! That's two for the price of one. At the top a male Gadwall, and at the bottom a Coot collecting lumber for a nest I imagine. I have better pictures of both male and female Gadwalls to come in a later post.

A Greylag Goose (actually a pair of them) flew overhead and I managed to get a half decent shot.

This taxed my powers of identification but I'm now certain that it's a female Tufted Duck. Comparing it to the male in my previous post it's quite different, though there is a suggestion of tuftiness still.

Finally a Pochard, which on the day I was confusing with Shovellers, but on reflection (picture pun intended) it's clearly quite different.

Rye Meads RSPB Reserve

Bank holiday Monday and it looked like the skies might clear for the first time in the long four day weekend. So off we drove to Rye Meads wildlife reserve near Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire - a slightly strange split between RSPB and Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. It's also right next to the Rye House go-karting track where Lewis Hamilton apparently learnt his craft, and I've been karting many a time. So I can highly recommend this spot on at least two counts!

Just a very quick report for now: it's a fairly large place with loads of lagoons, ditches, reed beds, ponds etc. and 11 hides from which to look out for interesting things. A couple of notables below (but more to come).

First up, a lone Redshank. It took a bit of leafing through the book of longish billed wadey things to figure this one out.

 

Next, a tufted duck - this is a male. The female is all dark and without the obvious tufting on the back of the head.

An Oystercatcher, with it's very colourful bill. Apologies for the poor sharpness of this photo. It was probably at least 50m away.

Finally, a Shoveller - a duck with a great big spade like bill. More interesting sights to come...