Croft Castle, Herefordshire

A building has been on the site from the 11th century and it has from this time been the home of the Croft family. The present building originated as a castle in the 14th century and has been much altered since.It now consists of a stone quadrangular manor house with a small castellated round tower at each corner and a small square tower flanking the north side. The castle is under the care of the National Trust and members of the Croft family still 

live there. The chapel dates from the 13th Century

Notes to Myself!! The first image is taken with the wide end of the 10-24mm lens on FujiXT-10 and the second, a panorama of 7 vertical shots, so has a lot more pixels though should have used the wider end of the lens to keep more sky.

Berrington Hall, Herefordshire

In the morning, we visited Berrington Hall, a National Trust Property near Leominster. It is a neoclassical country house building which was designed by Henry Holland in 1778-81 for Thomas Harley. Berrington has been in the care of the National Trust since 1957 and is, along with its gardens, open to the public. the grounds are Capability Brown's last landscape design with  ha-ha wall  a lake and island.

Symonds Yat Rock Views and Birds

After visiting some friends near Monmouth in the morning, we explored Symonds Yat Rock area in the afternoon. The weather turned showery rather than continuous rain but more cloud than sun on the rock itself though the views under clearing skies were great. Took a lot of the birds feeding on sunflower seeds in the bole of an oak tree - the light was not great so high ISO and less than ideal shutterspeed.

Hereford Cathedral

We are staying in Hereford for a few days and took the opportunity to visit the Cathedral yesterday afternoon. It dates from the Norman period with additions and alterations through the centuries. The first is a panorama of 9 shots to show the Lady chapel. The main nave and transepts show many original round Norman arches. From the outside it is a very solid and square red stone building.

Another Day and Another Beach at Southwold

On Wednesday, we spent some hours on the wilder beach at the Hatbour end of Southwold. Again a beautiful day with sunshine but a cooling breeze - good for kite flying. Meredith, reflection and shadow enjoyed the surf and even a few Blue butterflies among the Sea Holly. 

 

Perfect Summer's day at Southwold

We got on the beach early on Monday morning with an almost cloudless blue sky. first panorama is 16 shots merged in Lightroom. Loved the coordinated Beach Hut owner. I am not sure whether I prefer the very short or very tall version of myself (fun on the pier)

 On the Sunday, we went to BeWilderwood near Wroxham. although it looked a fabulous adventure playground for kids with lots of confidence on highwalkways and slides, there was as much of the Fantasy theme our Sadie and Meredith would have liked - the first part with the boat ride through the Swamps and past the Grubbles home was enjoyed very much.