Captured by the Camera

In the past I added posts under the heading "Rural Relaxation" with pictures of the countryside near my home in Tring. I also did the same on my other blog - "Trapped by the Box." Now that I am a member of the Tring Camera Club, and taking photographs for the Tring 700 Archive, I have changed the arrangement. To avoid duplication pictures will only be posted on the "Trapped" blog - which will also include information on the background to the picture and details of any pictures I have posted on the Tring 700 Archive or on Geograph. This will be updated once a week and a small version of the latest picture will be displayed on this blog in the right hand column.

The first "Captured by the Camera" shows the tower of St Peter & St Paul's Church, Tring, reflected in the bonnet and windscreen of a car parked nearby.  Links are also given to 10 pictures relating to Easter 2015 which have been added to the Tring 700 Archive. Next week's picture will be a wild life picture which I am submitting to the Camera Club's competition on Thursday. 

Rural Relaxation - Patterns in the Snow

Snow on ice at College Lake

My New Years resolution this year was that at my age the most important thing was to keep fit and relax - and my web sites have to take a back seat. While I have not posted any "Rural Relaxation" pictures for some time I have been out and about with my camera and have joined the Tring Camera Club - and will be involved in a project to record the town in 2015 - in connection with the 700th anniversary of the town's first charter. This is in part to keep me taking plenty of exercise (this week my pedometer clocked up 30,000 paces and I swam 40 lengths in the local pool), and a visit to the Asthma Clinic showed everything well under control - and my weight was down a further 4kg in the last four months. My "social secretary" says we should get out together more (my wife's disability means she cannot join me on rural walks) and this week we went to the Rex Cinema at Berkhamsted to see Testament of Youth - and are booked later in the month to see The Imitation Game.

So this week I have neglected my emails and updates to the site - and if you haven't had a reply accept my priorities - but keeping healthy comes first. I hope to catch up next week, but I also need to do some catching up on my other blog, Trapped by the Box, and prepare some black and white photographs for the next Camera Club competition ...

Rural Relaxation - Collared Dove for Lunch!

The dove saw the hawk as a threat

But its plans to escape were upset

When a window it hit

So I wrote this obit

And the hawk ate a feathered bagette

This morning I was interrupted by a large thump on our sitting room window, and I realized at once that a bird must have flown into it at speed. However I wasn't the first to get to the Collared Dove ...which had almost certainly flown into the window trying to escape from the Sparrow Hawk! [Another picture]

OK this was rural life coming into my garden - but I still try and get a rural walk or two each week, with pictures, but recently I haven't had the time to go through them to select the best for the blog.

Rural Relaxation - and a big thanks to Stoke Mandeville Hospital

The Cafe in Wendover Woods

The countryside changes with the seasons and with the weather, and the trees seem very different when seen on a dark and misty day which drains the colour out of the scenery so that even the pale pastel shades of the table parasols jump out at you. I took this yesterday, after a visit to Stoke Mandeville Hospital where I am thankful that with their help I can still enjoy such a view, even if today I enjoyed it from inside The Cafe in the Woods while having my lunch. If it had not been for hospital's help I would now be permanently viewing everything through a thick mist. Now with cataracts removed from both eyes, and the glaucoma in the left eye  now well under control, I still enjoy the countryside, come rain or shine, well into retirement.

And I mustn't forget that I can now hear the singing of the birds in the trees (except that today they were keeping very quiet) thanks to hearing aids provided by the hospital - and there are several other departments who over the years have helped to make my old age more bearable. 

Rural Relaxation: A Fungus Foray at College Lake

Preparing for the Fungus Foray

This weekend the Bucks Fungus Group and the Herts & Beds Fungus Group got together with BBOWT to run a "Fungus Weekend" at College Lake, near Tring. This included a "Fungus Foray" on  Saturday (and another today, Sunday) and a most interesting collection of fungi on display in the Barn.  

See My Pictures - Bigger Images

Rural Relaxation: Wallpaper views of College Lake

Clouds over the Marsh at  College Lake

For various reasons I have not done many things I had planned to do during September - including posting to this blog. I need to relax - and using these pictures as wallpaper is helpful - although taking a break and walking round the Nature Reserve is even better.

Reeds on the water's edge at College Lake

click on pictures for larger images

Rural Relaxation: The Twist at College Lake

The Seat at the Top of The Twist

The Seat at the bottom of The Twist

When I want some exercise and a breath of country air well away from a computer key board (and with the mobile phone switched off) I frequently go to College Lake. The place has many different habitats and I have been taking photographs of the Reserve for 9 years - recording the changing seasons - and the improvement made byBBOWT, who run the reserve. 

I have decided that at the end of each month my "Rural Relaxation" post will concentrate on one feature of the reserve and include pictures taken at a range of dates. 

This month I visit The Twist, a winding path with a seat at the top, giving good views across the Lake. There is also a seat at the bottom (at present) which is currently the only place in the Reserve where you can stand really close to the water of the Lake. I say  "at present" because only three months ago the water was covering the path in front of the seat, while the other seat near the Octagon hide is already under water. 

For more pictures and descriptive text CLICK HERE

The Twist and nearby features of the College Lake Nature Reserve

Posted in Memory of Graham Atkins

Rural Relaxation - Whirlwind at College Lake

On Sunday we had a bit of a storm at Tring but once it had passed I decided to got to College Lake for a walk and cup of coffee - but couldn't get there as the road was closed because power lines had been brought down near the bridge over the canal at Bulbourne. So on Monday I went to see what had happened.

OK I was a day too late to photograph the whirlwind but had come from the west and cut a gap (see above) in the tall poplar trees that border the Canal.  Between those trees and the smaller ones closer to the water there is a small hay meadow and the second photograph shows broken branches that were lifted by the wind and drop in the meadow. Other branches could be seen on the track leading back to the Visitors Centre.

The whirlwind swept across the lake, a visitor's photograph showing the water whipped up by the island on the right in the first photograph. It then crossed out of the reserve and brought down a tree in Northfield Road, about quarter of a mile away.

Rural Relaxation: Graham Atkins

Graham Atkins at Book Signing

Many of my "Rural Relaxation" walks are around College Lake, a nature reserve only a few miles from where I live. It was created out of a huge chalk pit, associated with the Pitstone Cement Works, because Graham Aktins, a lorry driver who worked for the company, persuaded the management that when the quarrying finished  the site could become a wonderful home for wild life. The Site is now managed by the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), Graham having retired a few years ago.

Graham on College Lake Buggy

Recently a small sign has appeared at College Lake, under a picture of Graham, reporting he died at the end of June. This picture was taken the last time I saw him, in September last year when he was at College Lake when the Castle Hide was rededicated to George Goddard (the former quarry manager who supported Graham's work). In addition Graham signed copies of his wonderful book Creating a Nature Reserve. He was not well at the time and used one of the electric buggies to go to Castle Hide - and we must all be pleased that he was able to leave a written record of how College Lake came about, so that visitors can understand his foresight and achievement. It also provides important guidelines for anyone else planning to establish a nature reserve ona brown field site.

My review of his book says much about Graham, and the way the work that he, and his dedicated band of volunteers, made College Lake a place where I could relax  while enjoying the works of nature. Since hearing of his death I have been thinking about how I can best ensure that Graham's contribution to wild life is remembered.

Since 2009 I have been photographing College Lake as a visitor on a regular basis, and must have taken many thousands of photographs. Some have been posted on my blogs as "Rural Relaxation" and others have been posted on Geograph (see also my latest pictures on any subject)- but the majority are on still on my computer waiting to be sorted out. I have decided that in future I will end each month with a special "Rural Relaxation" post of pictures relating to College Lake, dedicated to Graham. All these pictures (and more) will be available in high resolution on Geograph.

This Month's College Lake Pictures

The New Panorama Board overlooking The Marsh

Great Mullein (AKA Golden Rod)  by path to The Barns

Other Pictures of College Lake on Geograph

The Town Crier (and the Carnival) at Tring

Yesterday I decided to redirect my usual rural relaxation walk and take a stroll down the town to see the Tring Carnival Procession and visit the Carnival proper on Pound Meadow.

The above picture shows Tring Town Crier encouraging people to visit the stall of Tring Local Museum

The procession was lead by a venerable old traction engine. followed at a distance by the Town Crier

More Pictures below the Fold

Rural Relaxation - At College Lake Again

View from the new viewing platform (formerly site of Goddard Hide)

When I need a break I often take a walk at College Lake, which is only a couple of miles from Tring. There is always something to see as the seasons change and Nature continues to reclaim this old chalk pit. And (assuming I get back to the Visitor Centre by 4 pm (3 pm in winter) I can round off the outing with a cup of coffee and a cake. However I may be cutting back on the walks (but hopefully not for long) because yesterday I strained my back. The first time was well over 30 years ago - moving furniture in my office at work prior to the office being repainted and I was laid up for three months. However I now know what to do - and have a set of exercises which usually get me fully mobile again within a week or two.  The last time was about five years ago, when we still had Franci - who wanted his daily walk - so I went to Ashridge and took a mobility scooter so I could walk him through the woods there, with Franci trotting alongside. 

Many different species of grasses could be seen - but I don't know the names of any of them!

More Pictures of College Lake

Rural Relaxation at Drayton Beachamp

It is nice to get away from the computer on occasions and enjoy the countryside within a mile of where I live. This moorhen and chick were spotted on the Wendover Arm of the Canal which has been closed for over 100 years and which is not (yet) polluted by canal boats churning up the (currently) crystal clear water!

Rural Relaxation & Medieval Fields

     A couple of days ago the sun came out, after days of heavy rain, and I went to Long Marston to look at the effects of flooding. Not surprisingly Watery Lane was justifying its name - basically it was a small river, with water from side to side, steadily flowing north, for a distance of several hundred yards, and several inches deep. What I had come to see was the large field between Astrope Lane and the old Long Marston Church Tower. On previous walks I had noted the low ridges which suggested that it was a former medieval ridge and furrow field, but in the summer, with the grass long, it was almost impossible to photograph in a way that showed the layout.

     As the above picture shows, the plan was immediately revealed and would have been really striking from the air. A whole series of long pools filled the furrows, with the ridges standing proud.

    This is not far from the former medieval fields I have photographed under Wilstone and Startops Reservoirs. In past years, in my walks along the local canals in nearby Buckinghamshire, I have photographed evidence of medieval fields near Wendover (feint but visible in suitable light), at Bierton (very well preserved, and bisected by the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal) and at Buckland (a tiny corner of the field north of the later canal survives, but the rest south of the canal is ploughed out). (If anyone is interested I can post pictures of these.)

Rural Relaxation: The Hamlet of Ringshall, Ashridge

On Sunday the sun came out and I decide to drive to Ashridge to have a walk through the woods and take a few photographs of nature. This was a mistake - everyone had decided to take advantage of the weekend sun and the drive to the Bridgewater Monument had cars parked solidly on both sides, and virtuall all the roadside parking areas were full to overflowing. When I did find somewhere to stop the recent rain, and hundreds of feet, had turned many of the tracks to a sea of mud. However I was close to the hamlet of Ringshall, just on the Bucks side of the County Boundary and about a mile from Ashridge House. As a recent enquiry had involved an ancestor who had worked for Lord Brownlow at Ashridge House, and had lived in one of the estate cottages, I decided to take a picture of some of the former estate cottages.

Ashridge House about 100 years ago - The cottages shown above would have accomodated estate workers.

Rural Relaxation - Mallard Ducks at Ashridge

Mallard Ducks in Clickmere Pond close to the Bridgewater Monument, on the National Trust Ashridge Estate. The pond is a former dew pond - and originally there were a number in the area, probably built for the cattle on the drove roads that crossed the Chiltern Hills.

The Bridgewater Monument about 100 years ago.

In the past, when I still had Franci, I would walk on parts of the Ashridge Estate once or twice a week, often stopping off at the Brownlow Cafe, about 100 yards of the monument. Now that I no longer have a dog I still visit, but now only about once a month, and often take pictures of the pond to record how it changes through the year, and from year to year.

Clickmere Pond in February 2010

Rural Relaxation: The Autumn Sun shines on Tring Parish Church

St Peter & St Paul, Tring

Well - not quite a rural relaxation, as the church is in the centre of the town, but at least twice a week my supposedly daily walk for fresh air passes the church. Most Friday mornings I will call in, drop off some tins in the local food bank and relax over a cup of coffee, before proceeding to the market for some fresh vegetables.

[Old post card images of the church, etc.]

Rural Relaxation - A Visit to Dorset.

Tiny ammonite in a pebble at Charmouth

We have just taken a short holiday in Dorset, when we stayed in an excellent little bed and breakfast at Bridport. The aim was to  link up with the family and to go fossil hunting with our 9 year old granddaughter. The weather was not ideal. Our first rendezvous was at Maiden Castle when it started to pour with rain. We got soaked to the skin, and had to beat a retreat After drying off we went to Lyme Regis when it was sunny - and they hadn't had any rain! A very pleasant meal was had By the Bay, I started with the best whitebait I have ever had - while my wife enjoyed mussels from the River Teign.

View all my Charmouth pictures

When we arrived at Charmouth on Sunday morning I had an initial walk along the beach looking at the cliffs and spotted a few fossils - such as this tiny ammonite in a limestone pebble, returning to the car just before a very heavy shower. After the agreed rendezvous we all went into the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, where do it yourself activities such as polishing sections of ammonites were well underway. In the afternoon there was a well organised fossil hunt for the children - in an area of mixed gravel and boulders below a comparatively recent mud flow where new fossils are washed out of the mud by the waves during high tides. Everything went well and  all the children (probably about 50 or 60 of them) seemed to find something and I sat on some boulders and sifted through the gravel to make some small but interesting finds.

Back for a family evening meal at The Bull, in Bridport, and then to bed. I slept though the storm, and fortunately breakfast could be prepared on a gas stove - as the power lines had been blown down in the morning.  Then home. On getting back to Tring we found one ten foot long branch from a tree in the adjacent open area had blown into our garden, but otherwise there was no damage. However I also found a pile of post and some 70 emails (mainly not connected with this site) and they will keep me busy for the next few days.

Rural Relaxation - The Creation of College Lake Nature Reserve

My daughter Lucy's tragic death in 1985 had a major effect on my life, and was undoubtedly an important factor in my abandoning my research and taking early retirement. As a result I spent some 20 years on voluntary work to try and improve the lot of the mentally ill - and I urgently needed somewhere to relax

And I found just the place - a new reserve was being set up only a few miles from from where I live - called College Lake. When I first visited it there was a large white hole in the ground with the promise of a nature reserve at the south end - and a working chalk quarry at the north end. Graham was often seen with an enthusiastic team of volunteers, while Rita's little Sunday cafe in the old barn was not to be missed.

Over the years I have watched the quarry blossoming into a wonderful nature reserve. Under Graham's guidance the surrounding flat areas have grown up, and while the rising water drowned some of the lower parts plans were changed to make the best of the problem. First time visitors, looking out from the recently built Visitors Centre, find it difficult to imaging the natural looking marsh, swarming with wild life, is a recent human creation. And when I visit it on a weekday I am delighted to see classes of school children using the educational facilities and getting to know something about the countryside and what can be found there.

Rural Relaxation - A trip to Devon

Teignmouth Harbour, from Ness House, Shaldon

While I kept a flow of posts appearing on this blog we have just taken a short holiday in Devon. During the 1940s my wife lived in Shaldon. later moving to Teignmouth. In 1945 my parents moved to Newton Abbot (at the head of the Teign estury) and I went to school at Teignmouth. 

Ness Beach, Shaldon

Rural Relaxation; Avocet & Black-tailed Godwit at College Lake

The hot weather has meant that on many days recently my "rural relaxation" has been sitting in our small back garden, watching the birds on the feeders from the shady area under the horse chestnut tree. On other occasions my wife and I have gone up to Ashridge for a pleasant lunch at the Brownlow Cafe and a walk under the trees - and to take more pictures of the Clickmere Pond. Today was a bit cooler - and more suitable for walking round College Lake, where there is little shade. I am getting better at taking maximum zoom pictures on my camera - and took these photographs of an Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit from the Octagon hide. I don't know the recent sighting history for College Lake (in Bucks) is - but the last reported sighting of an Avocet on the nearby Tring Reservoirs (in Herts) was on the 1st May 2011.

I was also interested to note that the hot weather has reduced the water levels in the main lake by about a foot, and Big Paddy Island - which was disappearing in April. and vanished entirely in May is now just peeping above the water. Another couple of months of very dry weather and the lower path beyond the Octagon hide could be free of water!

The two ends of Big Paddy can be seen on either side of the floating tern island.