A brief post scheduled to coincide with my 50th birthday, There are precisely 50 photos in the gallery.
By the time this post is published I will be nearing the end of a stay in the far west of Scotland that, necessitated by my birthday falling on a Saturday runs from a Sunday to a Sunday. Posting until I am back from that holiday is likely to be light, and may even by non-existent apart from this one.
THE NUMBER 50
50 is double a square number, and equal to a square number plus one. Because we work in base 10 it is a significant number in the game of cricket – a score of 50 is halfway to one of a hundred and is generally celebrated by a batter who reaches it. It is of course this that gave me the title for this post. WG Grace was the first to play test cricket at the age of 50 (subsequently Wilfred Rhodes, who played at the oldest age of any test cricketer, 52 years 165 days, George Gunn and Bert ‘Dainty’ Ironmonger all emulated this feat).
This post is scheduled to appear not only on my 50th birthday, but at the very time of day at which I was born.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I have selected 50 of my pictures to form a special gallery for this post…
The third post in my series about the West Norfolk Autism Group trip to Pensthorpe.
This is third post in my series about the West Norfolk Autism Group outing to Pensthorpe (see here and here). This post is devoted to the cranes and flamingos. I made two visits to that part of Pensthorpe in the course of the day, one near the start, and one just after eating lunch.
THE CRANE AND FLAMINGO AREA
The Crane and Flamingo Area has two ways in and out, both in between the Flamingo pond and the Crane hide. It is close to the wetland area, and also close to the Monet inspired bridge. Pensthorpe is very well equipped with signage, so finding one’s way there is not difficult, but it is not on the way to or from anywhere else, so it requires a conscious decision to give it your attention. There are four different crane species to be seen, each viewable from a different window of the hide.
The opening post in what wiull be a series about the annual West Norfolk Autism Group outing to Pensthorpe Nature Reserve.
Yesterday saw the annual West Norfolk Autism Group outing to Pensthorpe, a nature reserve near the town of Fakenham in Norfolk. This post lays out the day and introduces areas of the reserve that I will be covering in more detail, before ending with some general Pensthorpe pictures that don’t belong in any particular post. Please note for both this and subsequent posts in the series: a gallery can be opened by clicking on the first picture there in, and viewing pictures as a gallery enables them to be seen at larger size.
THE DAY IN BRIEF
Some of those coming on this trip had chosen to make their own way to Pensthorpe and meet us there, but for those who either did not wish to do this or had no option of doing so a coach had been hired. Departure from the parking area near Gaywood Library (King’s Lynn and its environs are not massively equipped with places where a coach can park up) was scheduled for 9:30AM, meaning that to ensure a prompt departure we had to get there a bit before that to take our places. As it happens other than the driver and his young son who was also along for the day I was the first to arrive and board the coach. We set off exactly at the appointed hour, and pulled into the coach parking area at Pensthorpe at approximately 10:15 (Pensthorpe when approached from King’s Lynn is a little further than Fakenham, and a road diversion forced us closer to the centre of Fakenham than would have been normal for a journey to Pensthorpe). After a group photograph using the coach as a backdrop we were ready to start the day in earnest. Equipped with brightly coloured paper wristbands by way of indicating that our admission was paid we set off. The only absolutely fixed points of the day were the trailer rides (I was booked on the second of the two we had organized, due to depart at noon) and the return journey, scheduled for 3:15PM (and we departed exactly on time, arriving back at Gaywood just after 4PM). The rest was up to us. There is a huge amount to see and to do at Pensthorpe, and the next section briefly introduces some of things I did, with photographic highlights.
SOME HIGHLIGHTS
One of my favoured areas at Pensthorpe is the Waders Aviary, to which I made several visits (it is centrally located, so on the way to or from almost anywhere on the site).
Not all of the birds in the Waders Aviary are actually Waders.
Also ideally located for dipping in and out of as and when is the Discovery Centre.
The Trailer Ride is as far as I am concerned an essential part of the Pensthorpe experience:
My other great favourite, which I visited twice in the course of the day, is the Crane and Flamingo area.
These are neither crane nor flamingo, but were to be seen in between the Flamingo pool and the Crane hide.This shot of a flamingo taking to the air justified my second visit to that area all on its own.
GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHS
I end with photos from non-specific parts of Pensthorpe:
A nesting coot (moorhens also build floating nests).The Monet inspired bridge.The first of a number of shots of a coot family – my first ever sighting of coot chicks.
The penultimate post in my series about the West Norfolk Autism Group trip to Pensthorpe, featuring the cranes and flamingos.
Welcome to the penultimate post in my series about the West Norfolk Autism Group trip to Pensthorpe (posts 1, 2, 3 and 4 can be viewed by clicking the relevant number, and the final post, about the trailer ride, will appear tomorrow, one week after the trip took place).
FLAMINGOS AND CRANES
The Flamingo and Crane Enclosures are accessed in the same way when on the way round Pensthorpe. The path into the area that houses both enclosures arrives in between the two – flamingos one way, cranes the other. Although one cannot get close to the flamingos their enclosure is open, with nothing concealed. The cranes, of which Pensthorpe has four distinct species, are viewable only from a hide, which has four separate hatches through which one can look, one for each species. The cranes are one of many conservation projects being undertaken at Pensthorpe.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are the photographs I got of the cranes and flamingos:
Flamingo doing a cormorant impression – the feature image is a composite featuring this and the most impressive of the cranes.This shelduck was near the path linking the flamingo and crane areas.The East African Crowned Crane……and a close up of that ‘crown’.
Setting the scene for a mini-series about yesterday’s visit to Pensthorpe.
Yesterday was the West Norfolk Autism Group’s third annual outing to Pensthorpe Natural Park. This post will set the stage for a mini-series about the day.
THE PRELIMINARIES
Some of the group were making their own way to Pensthorpe, but there was also a coach laid on which was picking up and dropping back off at Gaywood. The departure time of the coach was set for 9:30AM, so I aimed to arrive at the pick up point at 9:15. I did exactly that, walking by way of the Gaywood river path, and arriving at the pick up point just as the coach was pulling in. We set off promptly, and the roads were clear. On arrival at Pensthorpe a couple of us were presented with trophies from the bowling event on April 7th.
My trophy for winning the adults section.The trophy in its new location, next to The Mallard.
PLANNING THE DAY
Only three parts of the day were fixed: I was booked on a trailer ride at noon, lunch was scheduled for 2PM, and the coach was making its return journey to Gaywood at 3:30PM. For the rest the day was what one chose to make of it. I will now introduce the various parts of my experience, on what was a perfect day for the event – warm and sunny but not absolutely roasting.
PENSTHORPE GENERAL
One starts by putting on a wristband that indicates that admission is paid for, and then proceeds through the gift shop. I opted to start with the exit at the far end of the viewing gallery, which takes one straight to the water fowl. There were many interesting species…
SCULPTURES/ ART
I will be producing a post about this aspect of Pensthorpe. Suffice it to say for the moment that there are a number of sculptures and other art pieces to be seen along the way. Here are a few images to whet your appetite…
I put this bridge among the art elements because it is inspired by Monet’s bridge at Giverny.
THE FLAMINGOS AND CRANES
My two visits to these birds (either side of the trailer ride) will get a full blog post. For the moment…
A flamingo doing a cormorant impression.Group shot of flamingosThe most remarkable of the four crane species at Pensthorpe, the East African Crowned Crane.
THE WADERS
The wading birds have their own special enclosure, with a netting roof over it. I visited it twice, as with the flamingos and cranes, and will be giving it a full blog post. For the moment…
THE TRAILER RIDE
This experience is not to be missed, and will get full blog post treatment. For the moment…
The trailer.Aberdeen Angus cattle grazing.The MaltingsThe structure in the middle of this lake is for migrating terns.bat boxes – all round the tree trunk so that the bats can always be away from direct sunshine during the day.A greylag goose family with six youngsters walking close to the trailer.
The final installment in my series about Saturday’s excursion to Pensthorpe, featuring Cranes and Flamingos.
Welcome to the final post in my mini-series about the excursion to Pensthorpe on Saturday. Our subjects are cranes and flamingos. The former are the subject of one of Pensthorpe’s major conservation efforts.
CRANES AND FLAMINGOS
As you enter the area where the cranes and flamingos are the flamingo pool is in one direction, open and visible, and the birds themselves, clustered together in numbers, are even more so. In the other direction is the crane hide, with wide, shallow windows each of which you can observe a different species of crane through. I actually managed to visit this part of Pensthorpe twice in the course of the day, near the beginning and near the end (visiting it also means passing within sight of the Monet inspired bridge, pictures of which featured in my introductory post, which is a bonus).
Part one of a three part account of the West Norfolk Autism Group’s inaugural activity, a visit to Penshtorpe Natural Park. The photograph section comes with a question/challenge.
The West Norfolk Autism Group was established in an effort to secure more local funding for activities for autistic people and also because a degree of disillusionment with the conduct of the National Autistic Society’s head office. More details about the new group can be found on its website to which I have already linked, and also in this article published by Your Local Paper.
GETTING TO PENSTHORPE
Pensthorpe is located just off the the road from Fakenham to Norwich (the X29, the bus between Fakenham and Norwich could easily include it in their route if they wanted to, and the route of the 36 between Fakenham and Wells could be adjusted to include without massive upheaval) but I did not have to worry about working out how to get there because a coach had been hired, with a pick up point at Gaywood Tesco, within comfortable walking distance of my home in North Lynn. Those using the bus were supposed to be there for 9:30AM yesterday for a 9:45AM departure. Thus at 9AM yesterday morning I set off, with a bag containing food, water and a book and made my way to the appointed place. The ride took about 45 minutes (a law abiding driver cannot do it any quicker even in light traffic, which we benefitted from). A few minutes after arrival we were good to start our exploration. Before lunch we were going to be walking around those parts of the site that can be seen on foot, and then after that some of us were booked on the Pensthorpe Explorer to experience the rest. The rest of this post covers the first part of the exploration I did on foot.
STARTING TO EXPLORE
Once one gets past the entrance, the shop and the courtyard cafe one is confronted by an expanse of water and a range of splendid water birds which set the stage for the wonders to come. I started by heading in the direction of the cranes and flamingoes, and then headed on beyond them, eventually reaching a sign pointing to the Monet inspired bridge (Claude Monet, the great French impressionist painter, had an ornamental bridge in his garden at Giverny, which his painting made famous). The bridge is quite impressive, and it does indeed resemble the structure that inspired it.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I end this with the photographs from the section of the visit up to and including the bridge, and a question/challenge. Should I go back to creating calendars as I used to do? Please comment with answers to this question, if possible fleshed out with details of photos you would like to see featured in said calendar. To view a photo at full size click on it.
The latest post in my series about my holiday in Sweden.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the next installment in my series of posts about my recent holiday in Sweden. This post is a bit different from others in this series so far in that it does not focus only where I was and what I was doing.
THE ICEBREAKERS
Some of you will recall that the last picture in my previous post was this:
The subjects of this picture will also be the subjects of my next post in this series.
At that stage, although some of the names painted on the sides of these ships were familiar to me I did not realise what type of ship they were, but enlightenment was not long away, indeed it came just after I had taken these two pictures…
Right near the covered bridge pictured above I across this:
The whole information board
The map
The text
This of course was the cue, now that I knew what they were to take some more pictures of the ships, from a better position:
The names are taken from…
NORSE MYTHOLOGY
Ironically given that we are talking ships, the Norse god of the sea, Njord, does not feature. Frej, referred to in English as Frey or Freyr is a harvest god, and also the son of the aforementioned Njord. Ymer, sometimes spelled Ymir, was the first of the frost giants, formed from the crystallization of droplets of molten ice in the heart of the primeval emptiness Ginnunga Gap, where ice from frozen Nifelheim in the North met Fire from Muspellheim in the South. Atle and Ale are both unknown to me, even though I am well read on Norse Mythology. People wishing to acquaint themselves further with these stories could start with Kevin Crossley-Holland’s compilation of Norse Myths. That book is just one of many mythology books that I own (I am unapologetic in placing the King James Bible in the category).
Although I have no more belief in the gods and giants of Norse mythology than I do in any ancient superstitions, I do quite enjoy the stories and I enjoyed seeing the names commemorated in these ice-breakers.
SOME FINAL PHOTOGRAPHS
FROM MARITIME LULEA
These icebreakers were not by any means the only camera worthy things I saw in this section of my exploration of Lulea…
This floral display was on the way back towards the train station as I headed to see what was on the other side of the tracks.
aspiblog 