Rye and Nearby
Rye in Sussex has long been one of our favourite destinations for a short break, particularly in winter.
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Pumpkins
Every year, many millions of pumpkins are grown in the silt fens around Emneth, Outwell, Upwell and Three Holes for the Halloween trade. From above, they make wonderful colourful patterns,
Winter Floods, Ouse Washes
When Dutch engineers under Cornelius Vermuyden drained the fens from the 1600s onwards, they created two huge parallel linear waterways 1/2 mile apart, the Old and New Bedford Rivers. They
Derelict Church, Norfolk
Near the village of Edgmere. The church was at the heart of a mediaeval village, but all that remains of that are a few bumps in the ground. The lush
Tilbury Fort
A Napoleonic era fort on the north bank of the Thames estuary. Built in the Vauban star-shaped style, with multiple layers of defences. The naval guns were a WW2 addition.
Sugar Factory, Wissington
The factory was originally built a century ago on the banks of the river Wissey, so that beet could be brought from across the fens by barge (and by rail).
Skaters, Upware
These meadows by the River Cam, near Upware, experience shallow floods most winters, and in a cold spell, the floods freeze and provide perfect skating conditions.
Ardnamurchan
Another favourite holiday destination is the Ardnamurchan peninsula on the west coast of Scotland.
Isle of Mull
One of our favourite UK holiday destinations.
Thor Missile Sites
From the late 1950s to just after the Cuban Missile Crisis, eastern England was home to 60 American-built and jointly operated Thor missiles, each with a 1.4 megaton nuclear warhead
Trains
Ely sidings, waiting for the Flying Scotsman, and Pymoor bridge in the fens.
Pigs
Near Mildenhall, Suffolk.
Fuller’s Mill Gardens, Suffolk
These wonderful gardens were created from a patch of forest adjoining the River Lark, over a period of over 50 years, by Bernard Tichner, former head brewer at Greene King,
Saltmarshes
I love the abstract patterns in saltmarshes. Tollesbury, Essex Thornham, Norfolk
Sand Quarries
My current drone obsession! Between Earith and Haddenham. Junction of Twentypence Road and Long Drove, NE of Cottenham. Halfway between Mepal and Chatteris. Also between Mepal and Chatteris.
Fenland Vistas
The East Anglian fens are flat – very flat! So from a few hundred feet up, on a good day, you can see for many, many miles.
Radio Telescopes
Cambridge University’s Mullard Radio Astronomy Laboratory, at Lord’s Bridge, near Barton. Built a decontaminated WW2 mustard gas depot! The line of white dishes sits on the route of the old
Lakenheath Fen
A few decades ago, all of the RSPBs Lakenheath Fen Reserve was carrot fields in the rich peat fens. Lagoons were excavated, millions of reeds planted, and the reserve is
Brassicas
Rows of different brassicas growing in the deep silt fens.
Sandwiches!
I love to find lots of (approximately) parallel bands of varying colour and texture in the landscape. A camera club colleague calls these my “sandwich pictures”. The Fens have many,