Walton-on-the-Naze's Unique Features

From Black-Headed Gulls that like to break the rules to rows of stacked beach huts, Walton-on-the-Naze has plenty of character. It has the smartest public toilets of any seaside town.

 

 

Walton-on-Naze Pier

Saturday, the rain stayed away from the coast until I was leaving at 2pm though the light was very dull. I enjoyed a visit to the pier. The original pier was built in 1830, one of the earliest in the country. It was built for landing goods and passengers from steamers. The pier was badly damaged in a storms in 1871 and 1880. In 1895, the Walton-on-the-Naze hotel and pier company (then owners of the pier) opened a replacement pier 500 ft longer (150 m) than the original. Several extensions have increased the pier's length to 2,600 ft (790 m), the third longest in the UK. 

Today, the pier remains a popular attraction, with amusements and funfair rides in a hangar-type building. Beyond this, the pier extends into a promenade popular with anglers.

Holland-On-Sea

 I took a walk on the beach at Holland-on-Sea prior to giving a lecture at Clacton CC (thanks for the warm welcome). This lies between Clacton and Frinton and has a character all of its own with wide expanses of sand and shingle banks. I got distracted by the excellent Beach Cafe but still had time for a few creative shots and the sunset.

Anglesey Abbey; Dahlias and Cyclamen at Their Best

It had been raining overnight so the dahlias were all covered in water droplets making an irresistable photographic subject. This year's cyclamen are better than ever and some interesting bark patterns showed up in the wet conditions.

 

Rosemary Beetles

Rosemary Beetle, Chrysolina americana, is between 5 and 8 millimetres and feeds on various aromatic herbs, mainly on rosemary, lavender and thyme. On the plant they look an uninteresting blackish beetle but under lighting and enlarged, the wonderful colours and texture are apparent.

This species was first discovered living outdoors in the United Kingdom in 1994. By 2002 it had become widespread in the London area and is now common in many areas.

40 stacked images F4 or F8.

Focus Stacking Green-Staining Wood Fungus

I found a small twig on the ground where the wood was stained jade green and found on inspection small green, saucer-shaped fruit bodies. This is Chlorociboria aeruginascens, commonly known as the green elfcup or the green wood cup. I photographed it at home using the Focus Bracketing facility on the Fuji (30 shots at interval 5). Here the final and first and last frames. It is only 2 mm in size so was surprised at the accuracy of the final stack (Zerene stacker).

Bletchley Park - 1940s Weekend

Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire was Britain's secret decryption establishment during World War Two. Ciphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted including, most importantly, those generated by the German Enigma and Lorenz machines.

Over the last 10 years since we first visited the site, BP has undergone great modernisation presenting now a very sophisticated audiovisual presentation and numerous high-standard reconstructed rooms in the House and Huts. I must say I preferred the decayed and altogether more atmospheric feeling of the site in 2011 (one image here but see https://pin-sharp.blogspot.com/2011/08/bletchley-park.html).

This weekend was 1940s theme - people, vehicles to follow.

One of the great losses is the split with the National Museum of Computing, now completely separate.  The National Museum of Computing, located on Bletchley Park, is an independent charity housing the world's largest collection of functional historic computers, including the rebuilt Colossus, the world’s first electronic computer.We decided that this would warrant a whole day's visit so will return and do just that site.