U.K only
Portmeirion - Gwynedd, Wales - August 2014
Portmeirion is a small villiage located in North Wales built between 1925 and 1975, now owned by a charitable trust. It has been used as a location for numerous films and TV shows, perhaps the most famous of which is the 1960's "The Prisoner".
Portmeirion villiage has an admission fee ( currently £10.00 UKP per adult )
For lots more information about the history and architecture of Portmeirion click on the wiki link here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portmeirion
Click here to link to the official website at http://www.portmeirion-village.com/
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Flamborough Head, Yorkshire - July 2014
Flamborough Head is located along the Yorkshire coast of England. It is the only chalk sea cliff in the north, dating back 100 - 70 million years ago. It has the status of both a site of special scientific interest and special area of conservation.
The cliffs have a larger number and wider range of cave habitats than any others in Britain. There are also stacks, natural arches and blowholes. During the evening of August 23rd 2006 a lightning bolt struck a buttress on the cliffs sending 100 tonnes of rock into the sea.
The current lighthouse was first lit on December 1st 1806
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Marloes Peninsula - Pembroke 2012
Marloes village is located on the peninsula 7 miles west of Milford Haven and holds approx 6 miles of coastline. Marloes Sands geology is predominantly from the Silurian period circa 428 million years ago and includes Old Red Sandstone, Gray Sandstone and volcanic rock. The red Sandstone at the southern end of the bay was formed from sediments weathered out of a mountain chain, extending from what is now Scandinavia through Scotland to the Catskill Mountains of America.
The area includes the island of Skomer, accessible from Martin's Haven at the tip of the peninsula, and the small islands of Grassholm and Gateholm.
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Clumber Park - Nottinghamshire 2012
Clumber Park, mentioned in the Domesday Book was monastic property in the Middle Ages and covers over 3500 acres. It contains a serpentine lake covering 87 acres, and the longest double avenue of lime trees in Europe. The avenue extends over two miles, and was created by the 5th Duke of Newcastle in the 19th Century.
In 1981 an area of 1301.20 acres was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). A wide variety of species-rich habitats surround the former mansion, including the lake and wetlands, grassland and heath, and mature deciduous woodland. The mature trees and dead and decaying ancient trees provide particularly good habitats for beetles.
Here is a link to the reserve website http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/clumberpark/
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Idle Valley - Nottinghamshire 2012
The Idle Valley nature reserve is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is the 5th largest of it's type covering around 450 hectares (the size of 600 football pitches). The area contains a number of lakes that were formed during seventy years of gravel extraction residing along the western bank of the river Idle. Nottinghamshire wildlife trust now manage the area.
Here is a link to the reserve website http://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/nature-reserves/idle-valley/
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Snowdonia National Park - Wales 2012
Snowdonia National Park covers 827 square miles and features 37 miles of coastline located in North Wales and is one of the wettest parts of the British Isles. I took the photographs below while travelling along the B4405 starting just north east of Tywyn, through Dolgoch and Llyn Mwyngil before rejoining the A 487 near the foot of Cadair Idris. I hope to return during the summer and post more images from the wider area.
Here is a link to the official website
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Carsington Water - Derbyshire 2013
Carsington Water is a reservoir operated by Severn Trent Water in Derbyshire, England. The reservoir takes water from the River Derwent at Ambergate during winter months, pumping up to the reservoir by 10.5-kilometre (6.5 mi) long tunnels and aqueduct. Water is released back into the river during summer months for water abstraction and treatment further downstream. It is England's ninth largest reservoir with a capacity of 35,412 megalitres
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