Victorian Torquay

The Pavilion

In 1896, a competition was organised for designs for a pavilion. Edward Richards won the prize but work did not commence till 1911, some 20 years after the idea of a pavilion had first been discussed and ten years after they had been agreed. It was formerly opened in August 1912 and was popular till 1970s when it was scheduled for demolition. However was saved and is a Class II* listed building and today has a shopping centre and cafes. It presents a mixture of Victorian overindulgence and Edwardian grace and splendour.

The Princess Gardens' Fountain 

Princess Gardens in Torquay, opened in 1894,  were named after Princess Louise, the daughter of Queen Victoria, who visited the town on 6 May 1890. The gardens were designed in a typical Victorian style with elaborate fountains and ornate shelters. The gardens have lawns and large flowerbeds and also include palm trees that were imported from New Zealand. The fountain was produced by the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow to pattern used in many others gardens eg Hartlepool, Raffles Hotel Singapore.

Princess Theatre Torquay

I have utilised the feature of my digital infrared image adjustment that blues retain their colour. The Princess Theatre was constructed in 1961 but has a real Art Deco feel to it in the decoration and shapes used. I was disappointed that the Agatha Christie day cruises don't start till 1st April - sounds a great day out.

Bird Images

Images of Oystercatcher, Avocet, Redshank and Dunnocks  for El as I have been posting a lot of buildings and people pictures.

Underwater images

Here are some underwater  images for Matt who would enjoy the challenge. The Seals were great fun as people were encouraged to move objects around to play with them. They are quicker in their movements than cats. The  Four-Eyed Fish (Anableps anableps) have no swim bladders so tend to stay near the surface as they can't dive without using energy. The eyes are specially adapted to see above and below the water. The birds are Guillemot and Tufted Puffin. 

Teignmouth

I enjoyed a brief visit to Teignmouth this afternoon as it brought back memories of a holiday with my parents and my children back in 1974. It doesn't seem to have changed much. The last four images were taken later as I passed through on my way to talk to Dawlish Camera Club. 

Dawlish

I decided to bring and use my infrared camera on this trip as it looks like being bright and sunny at least for a few days. So here are a few monochrome conversions from Dawlish. You definitely step back in time in the station and the train track runs right along the seafront.

Ayrmer Cove and Burgh Island

I visited Ayrmer Cove this morning to look for adders and photograph flowers. The adders were difficult to photograph among the brambles but I did find a mating pair. The Sea Campion and Sea Thrift are at their best on the cliffs. Also Spring Squills.
There was a good view of Bigbury Sands and Burgh Island, which is reached by a causeway at low tide and a sea tractor at other times. It also has the Art Deco Hotel , which served as the setting for the Agatha Christie films Then There Were None and Evil Under the Sun.

Devon Woods

I spent a very enjoyable day photographing in various woods today. Thanks to Susan Brown for showing me round and lunch. I was practising with my Shift lens ready for a trip to Wengen for the alpine flowers later. The first picture is taken with the 24mm end of the 24-70mm lens; the second with the shift lens showing the relative shift of the fern compared to the background. The other images are also using 24mm Shift lens except for image 6, which is the 200mm end of the 70-200mm lens, and the last two taken with 50mm macro.