Monday, August 18, 2014

Fougères Castle and Town

On the way back to Calais, we visited the splendid Château de Fougères, a medieval castle built on a granite ledge, which was part of the Duchy of Brittany's ultimately unsuccessful defence against French aggression. It is possible to climb all the towers and to walk on the high walls - like many monuments in France, health and safety are not high on the list.


Saturday, August 16, 2014

Treguir Cathedral and Plougrescant

 We enjoyed an afternoon visit to Treguir which has an impressive Cathedral as well as numerous small shops and bars.



The morning visit to Plougescant proved not great for photography with dull skies and light but the rock formations and little islands certainly produce a very attractive landscape. Lots of rocks to scramble up and rock pools to explore



Abbaye de Beauport, Brittany


Abbaye de Beauport was founded in 1202 near Paimpol. Built on high ground, it dominates the landscape, with breathtaking views of the sea and marshes. There are six centuries of monastic history plus the orchard collections, walled garden and cloisters. It is managed by the ‘Conservatoire du littoral’.

Friday, August 15, 2014

Perros-Guirec at Low and High Tides

 Perros Guirec has the fifth largest tidal fall in the world so the harbour looks very different at low and high tides. Here a couple of images taken one afternoon at low tide and then several in the evening at high tide.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Lannion and Tonquedec Castle


  A trip into Lannion in the morning visiting the Templar Church at Belevenez with its flights of stairs and then a short drive to Tonquedec Castle in the afternoon.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Pleumeur Bodou, Brittany

I visited this area many years ago when my father was working for the GPO and was involved in the collaboration between Britain with their telecommunications site at Goonhilly Downs, France at Pleumeur Bodou and the USA. It culminated in the launching of Telestar and the first transatlantic TV broadcast.
We explored the large museum of telecommunications  and went to a light and sound show inside the Radome, which explained the engineering and history of the site (all in French). The Radome was designed by Plunnett Milton. After two prototypes, the final radome (the current one) was put up at the end of July 1962.The radome shell of Dacron of 1.7 mm is inflated under pressure of 4 millibars, more during storms. The jacket weighs 27 tons and receives six tons of paint to the Hypalon regularly (every 5 years) for maintenance. Inside is the antenna (satellite dish) and all the workings to rotate and elevate the dish. The control cabin is still there. 
The sky was just right for the day, starting with blue skies and fluffy clouds and ending with storm clouds, which produced rain just as we left. These are monochrome conversions using Lightroom on my very small travel computer so I am looking forward to tackling them with Silver Efex etc.

In the morning we also visited Chateau de Kerduel; the Chateau was preparing for a large antiques fair but we had a pleasant walk in the grounds.

Ann Miles Photography - My Favourite Images of the Past10 years or so