Trip to Abingdon

 

A few photos from my recent trip to Abingdon-on-Thames but around here people just call it Abingdon. It used to be the  county town of Berkshire before Reading inherited the title in 1869. The town is one of the oldest in the country. If you would like to read more about it's history the click on the above link to Wikipedia

Parking in the long stay carpark is recommended and the first thing you notice going over the bridge is the Old Gaol which was built buy French Prisoners from the Napoleonic wars. According to local legend, prior to its conversion in the 1970s, the gaol was haunted by the ghost of an eight-year-old boy who, after being convicted for arson in the mid-19th century, became the youngest person in the UK to be executed by hanging.

You will notice this church in the market place it is St Nicholas Church which I found out is locked most of the time.

 

Another point of interest is the Abbey Gateway, the Abbey used to be just past the blue hoarding you see in the distance

This was my next port of call St Helens Church which is Huge inside and like the last church a future post on the Church Explorer

 

Right by the church you find these Almshouses

These I think are older and are called Long Alley Almshouses. There is another set of almshouse a little further on the way out of town

I will take my leave here with that view along the Thames towards Abingdon Bridge, I hope to get back in a week or so for photos inside the church I found locked so I will take a few more photos of the interesting places in the town. 

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

St Mary Thame

 

This week the Church Explorer visits St Mary Thame a beautiful old church on the edge of Oxfordshire 

 

Visit to Newnham Murren

 

 The beginning of February a lady contacted me  if I had a photo of a headstone at a church in Newnham Murren a couple of miles away. Unfortunately I did not so being the person I was I popped off to the church and took a photo for her.

Morning around 7:15 and the sun was rising

 A couple of minutes later the sky was getting lighter

After parking the car I walked down to the church along a path and looked towards Wallingford

On the was back near the church I looked over towards the distant hills and took a sky shot

I stopped off to get a photo of this office block belonging to CABI

It's right beside this new housing estate

The sky above looks superb

Happy Skywatch

All Lined up

 

 

The Storm

 

For the past few days the British Isles have been battered by storms, the most violent so far was in the Friday 18th Feb, it began during the night and as the day went on became more powerful with 80mph winds in places. Many places in the UK were affected with damage from the winds and flooding that went along with the storm. I feel our area got away lightly. I took some photos during the hight of the storm

Around the hight of the storm I popped up to our bedroom to take a photo. Now from this photo you might notice it down not look much different to normal

The oak tree is being blown around

 But this is what I wanted to see, the person who owns this property had put a tarpaulin over something & we wondered how well it was anchored. From what I am seeing here not very, the tarpaulin is in tatters

Our olive tree was taking a battering

 

 

But next doors tree sis not fair so well, my son was looking out the window and saw the branch fall telling us
 

 

A couple of hours later I looked out of the back door an noticed the trees being whipped about but also something else, A rainbow

 

A full one if a little faint after I went outside to take it.

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

 

St James Sotwell

 

This week the Church Explorer visits St James Sotwell a small church only a couple of miles from where I live. It is one I visited in the past but never really wrote a blog about it. There was an older church on the site parts can be seen incorporated into this church 

Snowdrop Sky

 

I thought I would continue with my Snowdrop theme this week even though I have some nice Skywatch photos with sunsets and sunrises in them. To end my photos of Snowdrops I thought I would share a different view again. I left you with a teaser on Tuesday so you might get an idea as to what I am showing.

The teaser was taken the previous day. The next day I noticed the snowdrops open

If you are wondering how I got my camera to take these photo I used my iphone laid down and took the photo on my apple watch

One in focus the other just out of it.

 

Sun shines on the snowdrops

First try was a few days previous with the sky in the background

The iphone tilted to get the shot

I liked how it shone through the petals

 

The look tall but are small

 

 

It is not somthing I can do with my camera that easy

 Happy Skywatch

 

 

Lighting the way

 

 

A Different View

 

A different view of my snowdrops  different in that I used a macro lens on them to get closer

 A few to start with

 

 Further away

 

Looking down

 Snowdrops were not the only flowers growing

 Crocuses were opening up

 

 And easier to see inside

The focus on my lens narrows down to this area on the flower

The blurs out while I try to focus on the pollen on the petals

 I did not know what this flower was

 

 But these looked good

 Even looked down on a snowdrop

 

BTW I used this 

 

 I'll leave you with a teaser for Skywatch

Take Care

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

Happy Valentines Day