Bluebells in the Heart of England Forest

by Damien Walmsley 30/04/2023 01/05/2023

Bluebell Walk, Heart of England Forest, Great Alne. April 2023

Who doesn’t love the sight of bluebells gently swaying in the breeze. Many of our ancient woodlands are at risk by the creeping threat of development and that is why I support the annual Bluebell Wood Fundraising Open Day in the Heart of England Forest. Conserving our woodlands for future generations is very much a priority. Great Alne Woodland is just off Spurnal Lane, and is a part of a Natural Burial Ground. The ancient wood has a stunning display of bluebells at the end of April and is open to visitors for two days.

My daughter loves visiting this quiet and picturesque woodland and there are so many good photographic opportunities. I brought along my camera equipment and found that the early morning light was perfect. The contrast of blue and green is a joy to see and photograph. My lensball was also put to good use for a few pictures. A useful photographic tip for maximising the benefit of your lensball is to use your macro lens for the pictures. This technique works a treat.

My 52 week project challenge was bokeh and the bluebells provided several opportunities to focus on the flowers with a wide open lens (f/2.8). This throws the background out of focus producing lovely Bokeh.

During my visit to the woodland, I met Toby, who is the organiser of this charity event. He kindly agreed to have his picture taken and be part of my 100 strangers project which is slowly moving forward on my Flickr pages.

The organisation of the day is excellent. The walk starts in the car park and takes you through the woodland with some well positioned spots for those important selfies. I noticed that the event is becoming more popular but via the use of ticketing, our family took part in the walk and did not meet many other people. For a short time, the woodland was ours to enjoy and we were able to take in the sights of those beautiful bluebells. My grandson loves the place as you can see from the following pictures.

Please consider donating to the Heart of England Forest charity and look out for future events that they organise.

If you want to see my other blogs on Bluebells, including last year’s walk in the wood, then I have provided links below.

Bluebell walk in Great Alne Woods

Bluebells in Austy Wood

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Snow Spring Time

by Damien Walmsley 12/03/2023 13/03/2023

The snow came in March and for many it was wonderful to see. The snow fell midweek and the majority of schools stayed open. Not much time to get the slides out for some toboganning. The snow was great for taking photographs. In the evening rush hour through the village, I found that my iPhone enabled me to get some atmospheric pictures. Headlamps and snow flurries against the old buildings is a good mix for composition.

In the morning, the scenery was bright and white. More snow had fallen overnight and I went out again with my camera. The trick with snow pictures is to crank up the exposure compensation so as to counteract the camera wanting to underexpose. On the iPhone the Camera+ app allows you to adjust the exposure setting. Several of the pictures in the Nature area of the park worked really well.

I also took some pictures of the High Street. We have a red letter box and telephone kiosk. The colours set against the white snow work really well. I was also very lucky that several villagers decided to wear red that morning. The colour co-ordination made for some very good pictures that proved very popular on my social media feed.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures and now let us hope that spring returns in the following weeks.

Here are some pictures from 2017. Looking back, I should have done some better adjusting of the exposure settings but even so they show the village show bound

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Fog in the morning

by Damien Walmsley 18/03/2022 19/03/2022

When the weather forecaster says there will be fog in the morning then I listen carefully. Fog and mist always add atmosphere to a picture. However, the big decision is where to go to get those great pictures in the fog. Several places sprung to mind but I went for the simplest which is to stay near home. The area you know well is always the best. There is a golf course near me, Copt Health, which provides spectacular sunrises as the rising sun creates patterns amongst the trees. The fog dimmed the sun and in turn provided some great atmospheric picture opportunities. I have featured my top five pictures which are all edited in black and white.

All the pictures were taken with the Fujifilm x100v and the pictures were edited with Silver Efex.

Foggy Sunrise in Knowle, Solihull — A tree captures the sunrise in the fog

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Winter at Clowes Wood

by Damien Walmsley 20/02/2022 21/02/2022

Woodlands are wonderful for getting back to nature and clearing the mind. Clowes wood in Earlswood has a mix of birch and coniferous trees in a rolling woodland. There is the Stratford upon Avon railway line cutting through the wood and following work by Network Rail, the railway bridge has been reopened.

Railway bridge, Clowes Wood — The new Railway bridge over the Stratford-upon-Avon line in Clowes Wood

On the day of the visit, it was bright weather, but Storm Dudley was waiting in the wings. I felt the wind as I walked over the railway bridge waiting to photograph the trains as they approached Earlswood train station. The sun was strong, and the tall trees broke the light, softening it before it hit the woodland floor.

There was a great deal of surface water in the woods and all the rainfall had created temporary ponds. I had brought along my Canon D5 mark VI and several lenses. My tripod was used to good effect although it came apart when I started using the central column. Following on from this, I have become an expert of delving into Manfrotto spares website and reassembling my tripod. I did a couple of bracketed shots and then single pictures where the light was fleeting. Practice makes perfect and I am starting to get slick on the bracketing of pictures and using a 2 second timing delay on my Canon camera. I used both by EF24-70mm (f/2.8L II USM) and EF16-35mm (f/4L IS USM) with a polariser filter. I am looking forward to spring and seeing the leaves back on the trees until then I hope you enjoy the photographs.

If you liked this then you may wish to read my earlier account of Clowes Wood.
Details on visiting Clowes Wood are in Forrestry England’s Website

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Hillmorton Locks: the busiest in the UK

by Damien Walmsley 11/04/2021 13/04/2021

Look up any reference on Hillmorton Locks and they are quoted as being the busiest along all of the UK canal waterways. Found on the outskirts of Rugby, they are a hidden gem as accessing them is not straightforward. From the south, the locks are approached via a narrow entrance tunnel under the West Coast Railway line. Once through this, then there is parking available at the local parish church St John the Baptist. There are three sets of locks and the lower lock has a workshop and a few bridges. Nestling on the banks of the canal was a small inviting coffee shop which is getting ready to open.

The locks themselves are unusual in that there are two side by side. This was to ease congestion due to its position on the canal network as being the main highway south to London. The second of the locks is after a gentle curve in the canal and this is different as the lock beams have letters carved into them.

Locklines consists of a poem of which four lines are on the lock gates at Hillmorton. At first I wondered why they had been placed in the gates but then it made sense reading the article on them. They are interesting lines

WORKING WATER
CAPTIVE FOR A WHILE
CLIMBS CAREFULLY DOWN
THIS DOOR MAKES DEPTH

There were three poets involved and one designer and the weblink provides more details on how it all pieces together.

It is then a straight walk up to the third and final lock. This provides nice views back down the locks and the criss cross pattern of the gates makes for some nice pictures of the canal. The canal then moves onto run past a new housing estate that is built on the old radio masts that used to be a feature of Hillmorton. I remember both as a boy and young man taking the train down to London and passing the Rugby antenna masts that were tall structures in the Landscape. Little did I realise that many years into the future that I would be passing them again but under different circumstances. Walking back down the locks provided different views including glimpses of the Church of St John the Baptist which were especially pleasing to photograph with the locks in the foreground.

I am glad that I lingered around the middle lock as my attention was caught by a signpost that had the directions Vaccine and New Normal. There was even a strange red ball structure on the top that I realised was meant to represent a corona virus. Further investigations revealed that there was a third sign with Way Out. Clambered over the gate I looked around to see where it led. Nothing to see until I turned around. The back of the sign was inscribed with different lines about the Covid19 pandemic and these included

No Hugs
Mask uo
No PPE
2 metres
Clap NHS
Rule of 3
Bubbles
Home workers
Pubs shut
…..plus many others.

The whole list maybe seen in the photograph and I have highlighted the post for clearer viewing. It is great fun and it is still continuing I expect.

Finally I had a quick look at the Church which was quietly sandwiched between the railway line and the canal. Spring is starting and the blossom was just opening. I will revisit when the leaves are fully on the trees and the lovely café is open for a cup of coffee or tea. Enjoy the pictures!

More information
– Locklines tells the story how the poem was put into the lock gates
– The Canal and River Trust have lots of information about the area
My previous blogs on the Canals in the West Midlands
– Walking along the North Stratford Canal
– Lockdown 3 walking along the Grand Union Canal

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Sixteen Acre Wood

by Damien Walmsley 25/03/2021 24/08/2022

Pictorial record of how HS2 is affecting a local wood near to Balsall Common

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Baddesley Clinton in the Winter

by Damien Walmsley 07/02/2021 07/02/2021

Baddesley Clinton: a visit to the house and gardens in the winter 2021

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Walking in the winter wonderland of Solihull

by Damien Walmsley 26/01/2021 27/01/2021

When the snow first fell the skies were overcast and whilst there was a some beautiful snow scenes, I longed for a blue sky to provide some colour. The next day the sun shone and there were no clouds in the sky. I planned my walk to take me over fields to Widney Road allowing me to approach Brueton park and the nature reserve from the west.

My first stop was Lea Wood nature reserve which I had not visited before on my travels. The wood used to be a tree nursery and the trees now fully grown are aligned in lines. This creates many leading lines along the paths in the wood. There were several walkers in the wood so I was able to compose some eye-catching pictures with leading lines towards the silhouettes of people . The low level of the sun also produced lovely light that I was able to shoot towards the sun with the trees as a backdrop. I hung around for some time fascinated by the trees and the patterns caused by the light.

Finally I moved onto Brueton Park proper. It was very muddy despite the frozen ground. When I got to the river Blythe, I made the decision to go into the old Wood on the west bank to the River Blythe. The place was deserted and following the muddy path, I threaded my way deep into the wood. I arrived at the north end of the water pool which interestingly is unnamed on the map. The sun was shining brightly but the thick canopy of the trees diffused the rays. The path led around to the south side and here I was able to get close to the water’s edge. With the light low, bright and just right a beautiful scene opened up. I was so pleased with the pictures of the water and the framing from the trees. It was a richly rewarding photo walk with many different variations of the snow lying on the ground reflecting the sun. It was a much different day than yesterday and very productive.

Photo tip. Don’t be hasty in taking your pictures and try and slow down. I was very excited at first especially in Lea Wood. Then with time I started to enjoy myself in the woods and came away with many different pictures. I had my iPhone, large Canon camera with lenses plus my Fujifilm x100v. Yes it was a bit over the top in terms of photographic equipment but I was glad that I had all of them with me.

More pictures of local parks can be found on my blog
The photographic delights of Umberslade Park
Coombe Abbey Country Park during the Golden Hour
Watching the sun go down by Bracebridge pool, Sutton Park

More information
Brueton Park and its sister, Malvern is on the Solihull Council Website
Malvern and Brueton Parks
or check out Trip Advisor

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The photographic delights of Umberslade Park

by Damien Walmsley 24/12/2020 07/03/2022

The days before Christmas are a time of waiting and getting ready. It is a strange time this year and the weather is not helping the mood much either. Whilst the rain has left the ground waterlogged, it has led to some lovely puddles lying around. These provide excellent reflections when I am out and about with my camera. This series of photographs are from my visit to Umberslade Park. There is a dramatic tree lined drive that provides varied opportunities for pictures. It was very wet and there were some rather large puddles which led to some good reflections in the water.

Tree line at Umberslade Park — Black and white tree line

It is possible to get some nice symmetrical views with the trees lined up down into a hollow. There is a bridge where the Stratford upon Avon train line sits. It is possible with timing to frame the picture so that there are people standing underneath the bridge, whilst looking down into the hollow.

Umberslade Park - trees and railway bridge — Umberslade Park – trees and railway bridge

My recent upgrade of the Dxo Nik processing software allows me to play with Silver Efex Pro. Therefore many of these photographs have been processed into black and white which fits the sombre weather of the day. The walk is nice and easy as you can park at the Tanworth in Arden village entrance and then walk down towards the bridge then onto the Children’s farm. After passing the farm, I walked straight up the hill to the fringes of the Umberslade Park.

This part I had not discovered before and there are two pillars which are possible remnants of gates. From here there are good views of the Warwickshire countryside from the elevated part of the park.

Walking back, I decided to vary the pictures by using my Lensball. It worked well in all the puddles and gave some interesting views. Hope you enjoy the pictures and I will return when the leaves are back on the trees. I suspect it will also be a good place to visit when there is fog and mist around.

Under the bridge with a selfie in a Lensball.

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Hay Wood: my forrest adventure with my camera

by Damien Walmsley 11/12/2020 11/12/2020

Forestry England have a number of woodlands located across the West Midlands and my closest one, Hay Wood, is located near Baddesley Clinton. I have been a number of times and always found it a wonderful place to visit. It is best described as a peaceful ancient woodland site with a great diversity of wildlife. Usually I have walked around or cycled into the Wood via bike.

When walking, I have usually stayed around the front part of the forest near to the road as it is a bit of a hike into the far end of the wood. This time I wanted to delve deeper into the wood and therefore walked up to he end of the central road and instead of going left or right at the end, heading into the deeps of the wood. It had been raining heavily the night before and I started to regret my decision as the going was very soft and wet. There were old tractor grooves which allowed you to walk on the ridge away from the water.

Deeper into the forrest the light became more interesting. The sun came out and there were small pockets of light that managed to get through the trees. I encountered a young conifer and it was bathed in light which made for a good photograph. The dying ferns had turned a yellow orange colour and added an interesting layer to the forrest floor. It appeared to be a carpet of colour.

It was very difficult moving through this part of the wood and after a while I made my way to the roads where it was obviously much easier to move around. I took a selection of pictures and they show the light and colour of the forest.

The web site encourages you to escape to Hay Wood for your next forest adventure. Whether walking or riding, Hay Wood is the perfect place to get away from it all and relax. I could not agree more.

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