St James the Great, Denchworth

 

This week the Church Explorer takes you to St James the Great in Denchworth which is not far from Wantage. The church looks very historic from the outside, just a shame it was not open but I do intend to return when I find out it is.

The Whole Rainbow

 

Sunday It rained a lot of the day and when it stopped I looked out and noticed the sun was shining, I thought would there be a rainbow so looking out the opposite side I noticed the end of a rainbow. So I got my phone then Going around the front of the house I spotted the whole arc

 Could not believe my luck

 Zoomed in on the centre to show the colours and what I thought was another underneath

 But looking at the photo after I noticed a second arc above. Perfect

Happy Skywatch 

Flash Feet

 

The old Railway

 

There used to be a railway that ran from Didcot to Newbury  then onto Southampton. It went over the Berkshire downs and on to Newbury till the 1960's when Dr Beaching had it and many others closed down. Mush of it can still be traced which is what I did a number of years ago. Part of it went through a village called Hampstead Norreys where there was a station and a bridge it went under. I first stopped off there to see what remained in 2011.  This post is a little longer than I normally make it.

 

 

This was where Hampstead Norreys station used to be

And this was where the railway went from the bridge on the right towards Hermitage

Last year West Berkshire council made the old line into a cycleway where people could ride or walk between the two villages

It is certainly a far cry from the saplings that used to bar the way

This is the view towards the bridge which is downhill. I suspect the cutting was partly filled

Above looking through the station to the road bridge, Hermitage is in that direction

Further after coming from Hampstead Norreys you go through another cutting the under a bridge

The last time I was here it was impassable with trees growing in the cutting

Now it is quite clear and easy to go along.

A little further brings you to the end near Hermitage

Where you come out here to go under the M4 and then back into another cutting for a shorter section before coming out in a housing estate. I thing this was a good use for this section of the old railway, it's just a shame the government did not have presence of mind to to that back in the 1960s after the railway closed. If you would like to find out more about the railway then visit my blog the

 Didcot to Newbury line  

 Taking Part in My Little Corner of the World  Our World Tuesday and Imag-in-ing, you can find all the links in the right hand column

Take Care Everyone

St James Little Milton

 

This week the Church  Explorer visits St James Little Milton, a church I have been to many years ago but at the time it was locked. After the visit last week I found out St James was also open so I visited it on the way home for photos of the inside. Please visit the link and have a look.

Prince of Wales Bridge

 

Week ago we were coming back from Wales the sky slightly cloudy but mostly clear. As we came to the Prince of Wales bridge that spans the River Severn I thought it would make a great Skywatch as we came to the centre span

The photos are a second or so apart and the sky is cloudy with clear blue patches

Back across to England

Happy Skywatch

 

Big Healey (Drool)

On the Hilltop

 

 

 

Back in September  I posted a photo of this tractor parked on a hill. it was taken early one morning when my wife & I took an early morning walk up the hill near the caravan site we were staying at. We continued up the hill

The tractor is over to my left somewhere and the path we are taking is straight up

Further along the track I looked back down

and over to the right towards the caravan site direction

It did not take long to reach the top where we found this pond, the sun was trying to break through the clouds. A little further along I looked across the hillside and spotted this triangulation pillar. What I did not take was a photo of the hill it was on and took a photo of the pillar to see if that was what it was. I'm stood off the side of one hill and this is around a kilometre away on another

We decided to head back to our caravan and some breakfast so it was back along the track

You can see the odd sheep in the bracken their white fleece showing up

I looked across the hillside and notice what looked like animals on the hill

Zooming in I could see pony's grazing 

After walking a bit further we saw our destination at the bottom of the hill

 Taking Part in My Little Corner of the World  Our World Tuesday and Imag-in-ing, you can find all the links in the right hand column

Take Care Everyone

St Peter Great Haseley (Return Visit)

 

This week the Church Explorer takes you back to St Peter  Great Haseley to have a look around inside. The church was well worth the return visit. Please check out the link to seem more of the inside.

Last Friday

 

 Last Friday I was up around 6am and while looking out the window at the kitchen sink I noticed a glimmer of light appearing so I necked through the patio doors and saw the first light of dawn. Well it was too good to miss so I grabbed my iPhone and went to watch the dawn

 A star could be seen in the East

Six hours later I though why not take another shot of the sky

Looking to the East more the clouds threatened rain

The Red Kits just wheeled around and did not care

Another six hours or so later and the sky was getting darker

Out front the sun was setting

Another day gone but at least the sunrise and sunset were worth watching

Happy Skywatch