NYE photos

2 January 2015 11:54
hestia8: (Default)
 For New Year's Eve this year I went up to the golf club with Dad and Lesley (as Dad is Captain this year). It was a good night - amazing food - and the club is up on a hill in SE London with fantastic views into Central London (it is very close to my old flat). 

My photos were not as good as they could have been - tbh as you'll see we were too far away to really be able to make out buildings clearly without context (luckily I have all the context stored in my head, lol). I probably could have done with taking some practice shots but I didn't get the chance (there were a lot of people there so I couldn't faff as much as I wanted). However I thought I would post the pictures as I do quite like them anyway. 

Obviously the pointy thing with a light coming out of the top is the Shard, so you can sort of get your bearings from there (most of the fireworks were at the Eye):



( Pics )
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Fistral

25 October 2013 21:42
hestia8: (Default)
This is just a bunch of photos of big crashy waves on the rocks at Fistral. There was a bar at the bottom of the steps where we could get quite good views without getting massively soaked.

( waves )

Oh boy, I've just found a bunch more pictures from a house we went to visit. Guess there's still one more post to go!

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

St Michael's Mount pt 3

25 October 2013 21:18
hestia8: (Default)
Third post - gardens, chapel and views on the way back (from the boat and back on the mainland).

( Lots of pics )
STILL NOT DONE with the Cornwall photos. Think I might have one more post left.

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

St Michael's Mount pt 2

22 October 2013 21:30
hestia8: (Default)
St Michael's Mount was awarded to the Benedictine abbey of Mont Saint-Michel after the Norman invasion (seems like a very long way to me...). The original church was destroyed by earthquake in the 13th century and the current church was built in the late 14th. 

The estate is currently in the hands of the St Aubyn family, having been bought by John St Aubyn in 1659.



( loads of pics )

I still have more pictures to post (!) but I am tired so I am off to bed and will post part 3 tomorrow. :)



  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

St Michael's Mount pt 1

22 October 2013 20:12
hestia8: (Default)
More Cornwall photos, as I magically have a quiet evening in amongst all the viewings (I think I'm up to 7 now, just this week).



St Michael's Mount is a tidal island off the coast of Cornwall - for part of the day you can walk across to it, but for the rest you have to travel by boat.

The Mount is the ancestral home of the St Aubyn family, and the house and grounds are also open to the public.

The day we went to St Michael's Mount was our designated fish and chips day, and I had a very nice scampi and chips from a place in Marazion, which I mostly ate as we walked over the causeway to the island.

We were very lucky with the weather too - it had been fairly rubbish but as you can see we got some lovely blue skies.

( More photos )

Photos from around the house etc in next post.

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Cornwall photos! (pt 1)

21 September 2013 22:21
hestia8: (Default)
 So yes, I am a lucky person who got to go away again this year. As usual, Crishna and I went to Cornwall, where we got incredibly windblown due to all the walking and cliff paths. And as you'll see throughout the photos, the weather can best be described as unsettled. 

The place we were staying was right on the beach (Mawgan Porth), which was lovely:

( Mawgan Porth )

We also went to Padstow for a wander/food (haddock Cornish pasties nowhere near as nice as crab ones) and had a walk around Padstow Bay:

( Padstow )

We also went to some places that weren't beaches (so I will have more to say) but I will post those tomorrow as I am quite tired. 
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Herstmonceux Castle

3 September 2013 21:49
hestia8: (Default)
 While we were in Hastings, we went out to the fabulously-named Herstmonceux Castle as it wasn't too far away. It's a 15th-century moated castle, and the name is explained thusly:

By the end of the 12th Century, the family at the manor house at Herste had considerable status. Written accounts mention a lady called Idonea de Herste, who married a Norman nobleman named Ingelram de Monceux. Around this time, the manor began to be called the 'Herste of the Monceux’; a name that eventually became Herstmonceux (pronouncedHerst-mon-soo).

We didn't go for the tour of the castle (it's mostly used as a study centre but can be hired out for other things), or the science centre, but the grounds were lovely to explore. There are formal gardens as well as a large woodland area and a lake, and entry isn't very expensive so it's a good day out if you're in the area. 



(excited running child a bonus feature)





( Formal gardens )

( Folly and lake )

http://www.herstmonceux-castle.com/index.php
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Hastings photos

3 September 2013 21:19
hestia8: (Default)
 In August, I went down to my aunt & uncle's in Hastings with the parents and my niece. We stayed for a week and it was good fun, though not relaxing as, well, my family is not known for being quiet. Ever. 

The weather was mostly really nice, but not too hot, which was a relief after Paris. I even got to go to the amusements this time, and we went out on a couple of day trips. I also bought a shedload of wool in various charity shops :D and got some double-pointed needles (evil fuckers) and circular needles (which are fine).

We watched War Horse while we were there, which was pretty good, if not my normal kind of thing. And there was athletics on, so that was super. 

Beach photos:
( beach )

There was also a sculpture called My Heart Belongs to Hastings, which is made of reclaimed timbers and padlocks with space to add your own (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-19731311). Pudding and I duly did so:
( padlocks )

I was going to do all the photos in one entry but I think it will make more sense to put Herstmonceux Castle in a post of its own, so that'll be coming up shortly. 


  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Paris photos

31 August 2013 17:07
hestia8: (Default)
In July, I went to Paris with my parents, aunt, cousin and granddad. It was a fun holiday, but very busy as we only had 3 days. It was also very very hot (around 30 degrees), which didn’t really suit me. You may not be surprised to know that we ate a lot of food, but shockingly no mussels! Lots of photos behind the cut. 

 

( Photos yay )
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Stuff I have done elsewhere

20 January 2013 18:11
hestia8: (Default)
Just wanted to post these links as I'm actually getting on with posting photos lately...

Barbican Conservatory - metropolithan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/barbican-conservatory.html

Steam train on the tube - metropolithan.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/steam-train-on-tube.html

Empty London - pictures of London without any people (not just the big central bits, residential streets, Docklands etc) - emptylondon.tumblr.com/

I have A LOT of photos of various things. I have no idea why this is surprising to me. 

(NB in case anyone is wondering about the 2012 photos of the day, I did manage to take photos almost every day - I was without a camera for 9 days or something when my old one died - but a lot of them are on the hard drive, which is currently in a coma, so I will try to get round to posting the ones I *have* got eventually. Um.)

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Cornwall pics - Tintagel panoramas, Portholland Beach and 2 photos from the last day

17 October 2012 19:53
hestia8: (Default)
Here's the link for all the photos, in case anyone's interested (there are actually more than I've posted): https://picasaweb.google.com/113754479164189520069/Cornwall2012#

 ( Lots of pics )

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Cornwall pics - Tintagel pt 2

17 October 2012 19:26
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Cornwall pics - Tintagel pt 1

17 October 2012 19:05
hestia8: (Default)
Tintagel was great. We only did about half the castle but it was gorgeous, and the weather helpfully held out (it was also where I realised how awesome the camera function on my camera is). 

The remains at Tintagel today are from a 13th century castle built by Richard, earl of Cornwall. Amazingly, the site had no strategic value at this point and according to the guidebook it seems to have been built because of the legends around the place. OF COURSE. I mean, why wouldn't you?

( Coming up the castle and island courtyard )




 

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Rocky beaches (Cornwall pics)

25 September 2012 21:16
hestia8: (Default)
Just the Tintagel pics left to post, pretty much. And then I've got my Paralympics pics to post. 

( Rocks and sand and sea and sky )

  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

23 September 2012 17:20
hestia8: (Default)
 http://heligan.com/ 

The Lost Gardens of Heligan is a really interesting site. The house and gardens were owned by the Tremayne family for centuries but they all fell into disrepair at the beginning of the twentieth century. They were neglected for years and restoration started in the 1990s, and there are now over 200 acres open to the public with walks and meadows and structured gardens etc. 

You could spend the whole day there (if you were into that much walking), and the history of the site is really interesting. They've got a hide where you can watch many, many, many birds (and some rabbits) and plenty of other animals and birds on the site. 

( What is it about Cornwall and giant head sculptures? )







  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Eden Project!

21 September 2012 10:05
hestia8: (Default)
 I love the Eden Project, not least because once you've bought a ticket you can visit for free for the next year (which partly explains the timing of our Cornwall trip). Amazing. 

And here are this year's photos, which unsurprisingly are mostly plants (I tried to take different ones to last year's, which are here: http://s677.photobucket.com/albums/vv133/hestia8/Eden%20Project/#!cpZZ2QQtppZZ12 and wow, I should really try to put all my photos in one place):

(NB warnings for some photos of bees in this, in case anyone is bothered by bees - I am, but the lure of taking nice photos with the macro function was too tempting!)


( Lots of random flowers/plants with a few other things... )
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Cornwall picspam #1

16 September 2012 14:34
hestia8: (Default)
 Am on holiday in Cornwall with kikishua, so I thought I'd try to post my pictures in a timely fashion for once.

We're near St Austell, so here are the first set of pictures, including some nature stuff because it is always a novelty for me. Also there's insects fucking everywhere and if I have to put up with them then I am going to photograph them. 

( PICTURES! )



  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry

Germany pictures, woohoo!

10 April 2012 21:37
hestia8: (Default)
I have finally got almost all of my Germany pictures up (the ones I haven't done yet are empty street pictures - I want to do the London ones first), so if you fancy a look they are over here: http://metropolithan.blogspot.co.uk//search/label/Germany











YAY GERMANY! :D :D :D :D
  • Add Memory
  • Share This Entry