If used to the fall colours of the eastern US and Canada then autumn in the UK might, possibly, seem rather dull by comparison… but it isn’t really. The palette is just rather more subtle and subdued. I think it is quite beautiful, especially towards the close of autumn as the winter storms encroach leaving just the last few splashes of colour to lift the greys and browns of the winter landscape. A riding buddy and I took ourselves on …
Cornwall Archive
Sunny morning surf
Just a couple of quick snaps from a fabulously mild and sunny morning kayak-surf session and catch up with friends one day last week… Self-employment is full of uncertainty, hard work and, at times, soul searching.. but there are pay-offs.. and it’s important for one’s sanity to escape from time to time I find ;-)
The return of winter skies
November seems to have brought winter with it in emphatic fashion after what seemed to be a mostly dry and sunny October… and that means the return of the stormy skies and dramatic lighting that I like very much… I dashed down to the beach for an hour between storms yesterday with my camera for some air. It was well worth it and represented some sort of compensation for being sufficiently under the weather that …
More Beach
There are days when I just need to be by the sea.. usually when, for whatever reason, I can’t be in it or on it… or on my bike. I don’t go to the beach to take pictures but I do take pictures at the beach. A beautiful autumn day yesterday with light winds and hazy, warm sunshine… so that was my morning. With kilometres of empty sand to enjoy, a couple of hours of idle …
Revisiting Summer
Having been utterly lacking with regard to motivation to write anything recently I thought I might make the effort to tell a very brief story of a regression to the summers of my childhood. Not that I ever grew up or anything it’s just that those warm summer days with their soundtrack of skylarks high above the fields of ripening wheat and the hum of bees around the wild flowers feel as if they have been …
The Beach
You know that post I mentioned in my last post that was coming… this isn’t it. Rather this is because I apparently should share more of my incidental photography.. at least until I get around to building a picture site.. so here is some… I confess I have increasing doubts about sharing anything as the frequency with which I find my pictures being used without permission by individuals and organisations for their own gain – …
Early Spring Lunch
Last weekend Cornwall was still very much in the grip of winter, but spring does appear to have since arrived… yesterday the sun was warm, the wind was light and the lanes were fragrant with the scent of flowers.. so a spin out for lunch with a riding buddy was in order.. it turned into an all day, slightly muddy, exploration of Penwith backroads, bridleways and tracks with lunch in the sunshine atop the granite cliffs …
Winter Palette
Have been feeling utterly uninspired to write of late – no stories to tell or anything much interesting at all to say really… just riding and stuff… I think it’s a late winter thing but with spring proper just around the corner I’m hoping that will change. I always quite look forward to winter – in October I’m thinking about winter things – the satisfaction of cold and stormy winter rides or sea kayak days …
Storm IX
The ninth severe storm of the season barrelled into the cliffs of Cornwall yesterday. It was the most savage so far in what has been a very stormy winter. Our winters are becoming noticeably more stormy, no doubt a consequence of climate change, but also hoping that the relentless stormy weather this year is also partly attributable to the current El Niño. There have been precious few days this winter with sunshine and light winds. Two in fact …
Winter Sunday Surf
The last few days we’ve been watching the weather and surf forecast develop with anticipation as Storm Imogen developed in the Atlantic.. thinking “nah, it’s bound to change..” as the forecast predicted winds in the Beaufort 11-12 range, gusting to 160km/hr.. and surf of up to 12m (40ft). The forecast did pan out as expected, it’s mighty windy today and the Seven Stones Reef lightship/wave buoy is already reporting a 35ft wave as I write.. …
In the West
Found myself just a little bit west of here yesterday afternoon. A favourite place to be when conditions are rough… and it is always better in the winter. So…. pictures. These, I think, make quite a nice complement to the summer time series from the same area posted here: https://www.seasurfdirt.com/2015/08/21/penwith-colour
Mid-Winter Mid-Cornwall
The ‘permarain’ of the past few weeks eased for a bit on Sunday to leave some much needed spells of sunshine between blustery showers. Rather than just go riding as usual for a few hours on the fixed wheel trainer a friend and I decided to make an all day intimate exploration of the tiny backroads and dirt trails of mid-Cornwall. It was very much a day characterised by steep hills and lush valleys, ancient …
Winter..
The last few weeks since I returned from India have seen a series of storms sweep across Cornwall (well.. not just Cornwall…), seemingly perfectly timed to disrupt the weekends.. every weekend. The one exception being that sunny Sunday a couple of weeks ago. Despite being self-employed and therefore having the freedom to go riding, kayaking etc pretty much whenever I like to make the most of spells of finer weather, the weekend as a concept still does …
Penwith Colour
Earlier this week I had a friend visiting for a couple of days so of course a day out on the cliffs for a hike was somewhat obligatory, after all the granite cliffs of Penwith are one of Cornwall’s greatest assets. It’s not something I often do in the summer season – usually at sea level in a kayak or on two wheels… I do tend to prefer the cliffs in winter when the weather …
Pentreath
This is Pentreath beach on the Lizard. Access from the landward side requires a hike followed by a scramble down a steep, broken path cut into the cliff.. so even in peak summer holiday season it is always deserted.. or close to. It produces a steep, dumpy wave at anything other than low water if there is any swell around which can make landing a sea kayak a somewhat damp but fun exercise.. worth it.. unless the swell is …