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Tag Archives: Hills

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Tractor, Tractor, my kingdom for a tractor!

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Tractors lined up for a meeting

Tractors. Lots of tractors! Whilst we were visiting Burton Dassett Hills, over a dozen tractors appeared and parked on the side of Magpie Hill. It appeared to be a tractor rally and although I do not know my tractors, they looked a formidable set of beasts. The owners got out and stood around chatting. I am not a brave soul on asking what was happening but I did have my camera and started snapping. I could have done so much more photography but time was not on my side as the family were ready to leave and the hills were getting very busy as it approached midday. The results of a few quick pictures are for viewing. All taken with my Fujifilm x100v except one iPhone camera picture.

Tractor with door open
Tractor with door open
Discussing the Machinery
Discussing the Machinery
Anatomy of a tractor
Anatomy of a tractor
Tractor Wheel
Tractor wheels
Lining up of tractors
Rear End of two Tractors
One man and his tractors
One man and his tractors
A dog rounding up the tractors
A dog rounding up the tractors

Photographic tips – Quickly seize the opportunity that presents itself. I was shy and did not engage the people and concentrated on the tractors which don’t need talking to. There were some good pictures of wheels, machinary and landscape pictures of the vehicle group I wish I had more time to spend looking around but i was under pressure as the family were leaving to go home!

More Burton Dassett pictures from previous visits are on my blog.
– Burton Dasset Hills Country Park – Escape to the Countryside
– A Glorious Day
If you want more information then follow the Warwickshire County Council site which is packed full of information.
– Burton Dassett Hills Country Park

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The Welcombe Hills

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I love Stratford-upon-Avon and have visited it many times over the years. There is so much to see including the beautiful walks around the River Avon, the Shakespeare properties and the pleasant shopping area of the town. I thought that I knew all about Stratford until this weekend, when my daughter and her family invited me for a walk around the Welcombe Hills.

Up to the Obelisk
Paths up the hill

I drove into Stratford from the A46 roundabout and then before the retail park turned left and made my way through a housing estate. I passed through some old gate markers and then up a road to a small car park. You do need local knowledge to find the place. You are then at a gateway to the start of a walk passing through spectacular scenery. Initially we walked along a field leading to a group of houses. One was of a mock castle design. We then passed into another field on our way to the obelisk. We passed the Welcombe hotel and climbed up to the obelisk. There were many runners out and about as well. From the top of the hill, there are commanding views of the Warwickshire countryside. The structure was erected in 1876 by Robert Needham Philips to honour his brother Mark Philips and further information and links to Shakespeare are documented on the web.

Map of the hills
Beautiful scenery and views

Following on from the obelisk, there is a walk over fields and there are many farm friends in them. We then passed through a wood where there were several tree houses probably made by scouts. We then made our way down over more fields admiring the views of Stratford upon Avon and picking out different structures. Eventually we came upon a fallen tree that my grandchildren love to call the broken tree and we stopped for a picnic. The tree had lots of different shapes and the bark provided a range of textures that proved a good vehicle to photograph.

We are watching you
Granddaughters hands on the tree bark
Broken trees

After that it was back to the car and a short journey to my daughter’s mother in law’s house for some well deserved bacon sandwiches and cake. If you are interested in following my footsteps then details of the Welcombe Hills is part of the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.

Time for Sunday Brunch
Categories blog

A Glorious Day

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Saturday was a glorious day so I ventured further afield to one of the Warwickshire country parks.  The one I was interested in was Burton Dassett Hills Country Park. There was no sign of the impending Storm Ciara and the skies were clear.  When I got to the park, I was a little annoyed as the payment machines took my £2.50 but did not give me a ticket to display in the car.  It happened last time I was there as well.  It just unsettles me but I put a note in the windscreen and set off with my camera and tripod.  Why I bothered with the tripod I do not know and I guess it just feels comfortable holding it.  I never used it as the light was very strong.  I brought my camera rucksack with all my filters and other lenses and the only item I used was a polariser that I put on the 24 to 105mm lens.  I do like this lens.  It is heavy but it does produce wonderful results.  I have really worked it in recent days especially as my Sony Compact has started to really play up on me.  

The sun was bright and it created lovely contrast of the underrating hill tops

The light was fantastic but I could see the impending weather change in the west and therefore I moved briskly around the park.  Burton Dassett Hills Country Park has an interesting history which dates back to Saxon times.  There has been a windmill on the site until just after the war.  The hill tops are uneven and with the strong light there were some wonderful shadows to be photographed.  It was very windy but not too cold.  Some of the hills required a strenuous ascent and writing the blog today my legs and other muscles below the waist are very sore.  

There are several high hills to climb and explore

I enjoyed the views and also taking photographs of several silhouettes of people walking along the hills.  I did not get a chance to go to the church but that will be my goal for my next visit.  Overall I was very pleased with myself and thought my photographs were looking good.  

The structures are interesting and can be seen for miles around
The sides of the hill still have the scars of the old Saxon style farming methods
Climbing the hills

I knew I was near to Chesterton Windmill and I did not want to miss the opportunity of not getting a quick picture of the magical place.  I set off and saw that the weather was turning.  There was less blue skies and more dark clouds coming in.  I took a cross country route to the Windmill and as I approached cracks appeared in the crowds letting rays of sun through.  I rushed to park the car and raced to the Windmill.  Two sets of sunrays were bathing the sails and it looked to my eye as a great opportunity.  Then indecision set in.  How should I  position the Windmill against the sunrays.  I tried several vantage points before the scene changed and I had to go back to my car to get my phone that I had left on the dashboard.  When I returned the cloud formation had really changed.  I took a few more shots and got home.

Sun rays coming through the sky

Burton Dassett Hills Country Park pictures looked great on the Mac and I tidied them up.  Imagine my surprise when I saw the Windmill pictures they looked amazing.  However I posted the Burton Dassett Hills Country Park pictures and left the others to the morning.  Even then I asked Sandy what she thought of them.  I was thinking everyone has seen a picture of the windmill before, this one will be no different.  When I posted the picture Instagram went crazy and scored many “likes”.  I have a slightly different edit for #WexMondays and I will see how that performs.  As it happens the Burton Dassett Hills Country Park ones did well on Flickr.

People around the Windmill add some interest to the pictures

A good day for photographing and I would never have guessed that I would come back with such a story about the pictures that I took.  

My Instagram picture

Epilogue for the Geeks out there.  Pictures taken on the Canon D4 with a 24-105mm lens.  All the pictures were taken on manual and the Lightroom/Photoshop was my normal run through.  Maybe that is another blog on how I process my pictures.