Up close and personal

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I’ve been in Northumberland for the last few days and I can’t be here without making the obligatory trip to the Farne Islands to photograph the seabirds.  Of course the star of the show is always the puffin, you can get so close you can almost hug them – if only I’d been allowed to.   When you get this close there’s no point having a great big zoomy lens.

This afternoon, while we dodged rain showers at Alnwick Gardens, I decided to do a quick sketch…if you’d like to see my photos from the trip, then just hop over to www.asnapaday2015.wordpress.com.

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Holiday UK #4 – The Ravens

ravenHoliday diary excerpt 27th June:

Yesterday we hauled our aching limbs to Dartmoor once again. Our chosen destination was Burrator Reservoir and a circular walk around Sheepstor. It was a steep climb up Sheepstor to experience 360 degree panoramic views of the moor and reservoir.  Thankfully there were no bogs. 

We happened upon a sheep carcass being devoured by Ravens and decided to stop so I could take some photos.  The one day I decide not to take my telephoto lens, was the one day I wanted to use it!…”

Frustratingly I didn’t get any good pictures due the lens issue and I still question whether they actually were ravens.  Perhaps you’d like to decide.  They were huuuge!

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Holiday UK #1 – The Hole Incident

windy walkExcerpt from the holiday diary 23rd June:

“We’re sitting in the Pilchard Inn, a tiny pub perched on the edge of Burgh Island, home to a posh hotel where you can stay for a mere £400-600 per night.  If you want to come by helicopter, there is a convenient helipad in the grounds.  The ‘Rif Raf’ are welcome on the island but only if they walk across the sand bar when the tide is out or catch the giant sea tractor…

We walked from Ringmore along the SW coastal path dotted with flowers and pretty grasses.  The winds were high but they blew the forecast showers over our heads and inland.  L has become adept at simultaneously pointing out wildlife and dangerous obstacles…”

We recently returned from a great holiday in Devon and Cornwall.  Not usually ones for taking a summer holiday in the UK (due to unpredictable weather) we decided to risk it this year and it paid off.  Clear skies, turquoise seas, belting sunshine, rolling moorland, white beaches – If you could always guarantee weather like this, who needs to go abroad, there is so much to see right here?

As always we kept a running commentary of the holiday by way of a diary and this year I aimed to draw a cartoon a day to supplement the entries.  For the next few days I’m going to share a few short extracts from the diary and a quick cartoon.  Don’t expect beautifully penned, Wordsworth-esq, descriptions of the holiday.  Sadly, I lack the vocabulary to paint a picture, instead, I draw cartoons.