The Wales Coast Path – Summit to Coast
Officially opening on 5th May 2012 the Wales Coast Path will make Wales the first country in the world to have a formal trail the whole way around its coast.
Furthermore, the Wales Coast Path (which is 870 miles long) will join up with Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail to provide 1,030 miles of walking opportunities right around the Welsh border. The sheer size and brilliance of the Path has already received public recognition with Coastal Wales being acknowledged as the world’s top destination to visit in 2012 by Lonely Planet, the travel guide experts.
St.Cwyfan's Church in the Sea - Isle of Anglesey
The Coast Path winds its way through towns and villages, across cliff tops and sandy beaches, sometimes darting inland before emerging once again at a sheltered cove or tiny hamlet that you would forever miss when travelling by car, bus or train. It will take you from the mouth of the River Dee, along the north Wales coast with its seaside towns, over the Menai Strait onto the Isle of Anglesey, from the Llyn Peninsula down the majestic sweep of Cardigan Bay, through Britain’s only coastal National Park in Pembrokeshire, along miles of golden sand, via Gower with its stunning scenery, along the waterfront of Cardiff Bay and Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, to the market town of Chepstow. The path encompasses two National Parks, 11 National Nature Reserves and dozens of Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Ynys Lochtyn - Ceredigion
Although I have travelled most of the Wales Coast, my photography to date has been limited to the Gower, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and the Isle of Anglesey. A small number of my images of the incredible coastline are shown here and others can be found in the relevant galleries
Worm's Head - Gower
I am planning to return to Pembrokeshire shortly to capture more of the Coast National Park in its 60th anniversary year which will also allow me the opportunity to walk parts of the Wales Coast Path not yet covered, particularly the North coast of the Park. When I return from that trip further images will be added to the gallery but in the meantime why not make your own visit. Details of the various areas that the Path covers can be found on Wales Coast Path website.
Print of the Month – May
This month’s Print of the Month comes from Scotland and one of my favourite areas of the British Isles, Wester Ross. The image was captured on my trip to Wester Ross in 2009 from the roadside at Poolewe which just happens to be next to one of my favourite campsite’s and if you are lucky enough to get a roadside pitch you may be fortunate enough to see a sunset like this one.
Loch Ewe Sunset
Don’t forget that that each image chosen will only be placed as Print of the Month once so if you like this particular image, buy it at the specially reduced price of 30% below normal prices (excluding postage) before the end of April.
The print will be 10 ins by 15 ins. This size is ideal for matting and framing in a 16 ins by 20 ins frame.
To start your collection just click on the image and you will be linked to where you can complete the purchase of the print. Don’t forget to indicate the finish you require, either matte, lustre or glossy.
If ”Loch Ewe Sunset” is not one of your preferred images then by all means please share with me your favourites and I will see if we can make them available in due course.
If you wish to be notified directly about new issues you can sign up for my free update on the Print of the Month Collection by clicking this link and entering your details.
The Fracturing Coast and Beyond – East Anglia
Well what a surprise to start my first photographic trip of 2012. The third warmest March on record and I just managed to catch the tail end of it before the weather changed dramatically back to what would be expected to be normal at this time of year.
The first trip was almost a 1000 miles, 30 hours of driving and almost 50 miles of walking and saw me revisiting Norfolk and Suffolk an area of the country I had first visited at the beginning of my journey in 2006. On that occasion I concentrated on the North Norfolk coast and the coastal areas of Suffolk down to Southwold. This time I was taking the opportunity to base myself initially in southern Suffolk with the intention of popping over the boundary into the coastal areas of Essex and then moving onto the Norfolk Broads National Park and the coast.
I had allowed myself three days to take a look around the first area. Its never really enough time but I managed to visit most locations I had planned on.
The first day was very busy visiting Paglesham, Essex just north east of Southend where there is the only proper access to the River Roach and the land between that and the River Crouch. A 7 mile walk saw me start at Paglesham Eastend and returning to the same spot via the Paglesham Creek and Pool. Opportunities for decent images was more limited than I had anticipated and the light was difficult being very bright and harsh.
Paglesham Pool
Moving on from Paglesham I visited the Dengie Peninsula an area of land between the River Crouch and the Blackwater Estuary. This area is considered to be one of the remotest places in Southern Britain. The objective here was to visit and photograph the Church of St. Peter’s-on-the-Wall which stands defiantly on a bank exposed to the fury of the North Sea storms, although when I arrived it was bright blue skies. The church was built in AD 654 and is one of the oldest places of worship in England.
St.Peter's Church on the Wall
Day 2 I decided to stay around my base on the Essex/Suffolk border with a 8 mile walk around Constable country and in particular Dedham Vale taking in parts of the Stour Valley Path and the Essex Way. Photographic opportunities were again more limited than I anticipated and was only glad that my visit was just before the Easter holidays with the area around Flatford Mill already very busy.
The following day a trip to Mersea Island via Tollesbury. The island, the most easterly inhabited island in England is joined to the mainland by The Strood a causeway liable to flooding at high tide. But first Tollesbury which I had been drawn to for the boathouses which appeared from my research to be very photogenic but of course when I arrived the majority had been renovated and therefore not as appealing as I had first thought. Still a walk out over Woodrolfe Creek provided some photographic opportunities including the “Trinity” lightship which is now the hub of activity for the Fellowship Afloat Charitable Trust (FACT). Moving on I crossed The Strood and completed a 6 mile walk round the East Mersea almost completing a Coast to Coast across the island.
"Trinty" - Woodrolfe Creek, Tollesbury
Well that was my brief visit to Essex and Constable Country over has I moved on to my new base on the Broads via walks at Shingle Street and Dunwich in all that shingle which was very tiring. Shingle Street reminded me very much off Dungeness, Kent although on a much smaller scale. Its little more than a row of cottages built above a stretch of shingle, which the sea has pushed up into a high bank. Dunwich of course being the town lost beneath the waves, carried away by the relentless erosion of wind and tide where it is said that at times the submerged church bells can be heard, ringing out a warning of an approaching storm.
My first day on the Broads produced probably the best day photographically so I took the opportunity to visit as many of the locations on my list as possible and capturing almost 100 images, a third of the total captured on the trip. I started off with a 9 mile walk from my base firstly to visit the ruins of Benedictine St Benet’s Abbey. Unfortunately the gatehouse which is the largest of the remains, curiously surmounted by the brick tower of a windmill built some 200 years ago was surround in scaffolding and inaccessible. Thanks to the Norfolk Archaeological Trust for placing notices to advise me before I had walked two miles there and back down a lane to visit.:-( Things could only get better and they did with the thick cloud disappearing and being replaced with sunlight and clouds. The walk was completed via How Hill, Turf Fen wind pump and the River Ant. Having recovered from the walk visits were then made to Thurne and Winterton on Sea. A good day after all despite the bad start.
Winterton Dunes
My next day on the Broads also proved to be fruitful with a walk around Horsey Mere visiting Brograve Mill and then moving on to the coast at Horsey Gap, Sea Palling and Happisburgh, the latter of which I had visited in 2006. I had not visited Sea Palling before and although the main entrance to the beach was quiet busy moving North up the coast I managed to find an alternative access where it was considerably less busy producing some interesting photographic opportunities of the nine reefs installed just off the shore in 1995 by the Environment Agency to help protect the area. On revisiting Happisburgh late afternoon I ran out of time to access the beach area North of the village due to the incoming tide so decided to revisit the next day.
Brograve Mill
The following morning at Happisburgh the weather was again perfect for a few hours but upon arrival found that path I used the day before to gain access had now disappeared and a JCB digger was busily rearranging all the cliffs. After walking northwards for a mile or so I managed to gain access to the beach by climbing down an area of collapsed cliff face on pieces of broken concrete. The walk back to towards Happisburgh from here must be the worst area of coastal erosion I have seen anywhere in the British Isles and even the staircase that use to provide access to the beach has now been left isolated from the land, the connecting bridge having collapsed sometime prior to my visit. I found it quiet amusing that the “No Admittance” sign was still fixed to the stair landing despite the fact it was abundantly clear that no one would be gain accessing anytime soon. If visiting this location you must be extremely careful that you do not get stranded on the beach due to the current lack of safe access and the incoming tides.
"No Admittance" - Happisburgh
I completed my return visit to Norfolk by following the coast road North as far as Brancaster Staithe, a location I had visited in 2006 before returning to my base to prepare for my journey home and to start planning for the next stage of my journey. Images from this trip have been added to the renamed East Anglia Gallery along with some images from my trip in 2006.
