Brighton and The White Cliffs

We have been to Brighton previously to see a couple of concerts but had not stayed in the daytime to explore. So, a trip to Brighton, and a visit to those White Cliff just along the coast. Accomodation for the trip was absolute rubbish!. Definitely not staying there again! Enough of that, some images of the seafront.

The Brighton West Pier

On 28th March 2003 the Pavilion was destroyed in an arson attack, and then on 11th May the Concert Hall, already seriously damaged in a huge storm the previous December, was also deliberately set on fire. English Heritage was commissioned to report on whether after such damage, the restoration was still viable. It concluded that despite the significant damage, given the wealth of salvaged material from the pier and the considerable photographic and video archive, repair and reconstruction of the pier was still viable. It was therefore bitterly disappointing that at its meeting on 28th January, the Heritage Lottery Fund decided to withdraw its funding of the project. 

Now it sits just off the coast as a sort of tourist attraction, especially for photographers. 

"What a lovely view Mavis"

Blown away!

View of the main beach

Let's have a doze on the pier

The spectacular seaside palace of the Prince Regent (George IV) transformed by John Nash between 1815 and 1823 into one of the most dazzling and exotic buildings in the British Isles.

The Royal Pavilion houses furniture and works of art including original pieces lent by HM The Queen and a magnificent display of Regency silver-gilt. The Royal Pavilion Tearoom, with its fabulous balcony, overlooks the Pavilion gardens, which have also been returned to their original Regency splendour. For some history here. but just to quote a paragraph: 

`Brighton suited George who was a vain and extravagant man with a passion for fashion, the arts, architecture and good living. He rebelled against his strict upbringing and threw himself into a life of drinking, womanising and gambling.

This decadent lifestyle combined with his love of architecture and the fine and decorative arts – his residences in London and Windsor were like immaculate sets to show off his superb collections – resulted in his incurring heavy personal debts. In 1787, after much pleading and many promises by the Prince of Wales, the House of Commons agreed to clear his debts and increase his income.` 

Then he became king in 1830 - alright for some!

Another view of the Royal Pavilion

Looking from our bedroom window we had this evening view of the pier

On parade. Posts and their shadows.

The magnificent white cliffs along the south coast. Ever since the days of early 19th-century interest in geology, the White Cliffs of Dover and those along the south coast, have offered one of the most accessible and complete records of the story of chalk formation.

They are made from chalk, a soft white, very finely grained pure limestone, and are commonly 300-400m deep. The chalk layers built up gradually over millions of years. 

They're formed from the skeletal remains of minute planktonic green algae that lived floating in the upper levels of the ocean. When the algae died, their remains sank to the bottom of the ocean and combined with the remains of other creatures to form the chalk that shapes the cliffs today. 

Over millions of years, the seabed became exposed and is now above sea level. The resulting edge of chalk is the iconic White Cliffs. 

The cliffs only stay white because they're allowed to erode naturally. Where the cliffs are protected from erosion by man-made structures, like in the Port of Dover, plants will colonise the cliff-face making it appear green when viewed from the sea. 

Admiring the view.

View back along the coastal path we had walked.

The Beachy Head lighthouse

In 1900 to 1902 under the direction of Sir Thomas Matthews, the Trinity House Engineer-in-Chief, the lighthouse was built, sited about 165 metres seawards from the base of the cliffs. For the construction, a temporary cable car from the cliff was installed for the transport of workers and stones to an iron ocean platform adjacent to the lighthouse. 3,660 tons of Cornish granite were used in the construction of the tower. 

The lighthouse was equipped with a first-order revolving catadioptric optic made up of three double panels, giving two white flashes every 20 seconds; The lightsource was a Matthews-designed paraffin vapour burner. The newly-built lighthouse was also provided with an explosive fog signal, which was sounded every five minutes in foggy weather; it involved the keepers attaching a small explosive charge together with a detonator to each arm of a jib located on the gallery of the lighthouse; when winched into place, connection was made with a dynamo-electric firing machine inside the lantern, from where the charge was remotely fired. 

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Norfolk Broads - Windmills and water

Norfolk is a county that we have not explored to any great degree, and this was a very cursory look around the area we were staying in. We stayed in Clippesby, a small village within the Great Yarmouth Borough Council area, and located on the B1152 and surrounded by the Norfolk Broads. Besides water everywhere, the other thing you become aware of is the huge number of windmills / windpumps, which seem to be everywhere. They do make a great photo at times.

Here a couple of evening images of windmills beside the Broads. Very peaceful, and what a place to spend the night in your barge.

These windmills come in a range of shapes and sizes. This one reminding me of a skeleton windmill.

Then there are boats of all shapes and sizes. The Broads attracts more than 7 million visitors a year. All sorts of activities such as boating, cycling, canoeing, fishing, walking and wildlife-watching are ways visitors, and those living here, enjoy the area.

As for the wildlife it was on the water (above) or flitting about in hedgerows or the reeds. It is everywhere.

Swallowtail butterfly, Britain's largest and found in Norfolk.

Four Spot Chaser

....and suddenly, past a sand dune and then three naked people!! Well you have to get the photo! And as I said, all sorts of wildlife here!

Possible the greatest rood screen in East Anglia. It stretches right across the east end of the nave, being built out to form grand reredos` to the side chapels with parclose screens facing each other across the centre. As Pevsner points out, the painting seems typical of the 1470s and 1480s. The dado, the lower part of central screen, has twelve Apostle figures, six on each side.

The view from the top of Ranworth church Tower, looking toward Ranworth Broad. I will have to revisit this church now that I know how much I missed 9 years ago!

One of the beautiful visitor centers tastefully built to blend in with it`s surroundings.

Great to see a young photographer capturing images of the boats passing.

Norfolk is home to many round tower churches, more than in most parts of the country I believe. To quote Wikipedia `Round-tower churches are a type of church found mainly in England, mostly in East Anglia; of about 185 surviving examples in the country, 124 are in Norfolk, 38 in Suffolk, six in Essex, three in Sussex and two each in Cambridgeshire and Berkshire.` This one above was from Clippesby near to our holiday let.

This one was Mautby church taken in the evening light.

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Emily - Our granddaughter arrives!

Nature is amazing, just as you think it won't happen - it does! Along came this amazing baby - Emily.

 Just a few days old and using her lungs, Emily starts to make her mark in the world.

One very proud mum looking adoringly at the little bundle she has brought into this world..

Proud Nana has a chance to hold her first granddaughter.

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St Non and Caerfai Bay

More explorations today of the coast just below St Davids, and some of the natural wonders that greeted us as we reached St Nons Bay before moving just a little to Caerfai Bay

St Nons Bay with the profusion of yellow gorse. 

Common gorse can be seen in all kinds of habitats, from heaths and coastal grasslands to towns and gardens. It generally flowers from January to June (although it may flower sporadically throughout the year), while its close relatives - Western gorse and Dwarf gorse - flower from July to November. It provides shelter and food for many insects and birds, such as Dartford warblers, Stonechats and Yellowhammers. 

A mass of Lackey moth caterpillars. 

The webs of Lackey caterpillars are a common site amongst many low growing deciduous trees such as blackthorn, hawthorn and apple. Over a hundred caterpillars may be seen in a single web and if undisturbed may be seen sitting on the outside during the day. 

Even when recently emerged the caterpillars are distinctively marked having a range of blue, orange and pale stripes and long brown hairs. The caterpillars grow rapidly reaching a length of 55mm by June. 

Blister Beetle 

Shrine at St Non's Chapel. St Non being the mother of St David I believe. 

Held by tradition to mark the birthplace of St David, the ruin cannot be accurately dated but is unusual in that it is aligned north-south rather than the usual east-west. Near to the ruined chapel is a retreat, a modern chapel (below) and a holy well. Wales has a long and very rich religious history. Nearly 200 years before Constantine, Saint Lucius, a legendary 2nd-century King of the Britons (or Silures) is traditionally credited with introducing Christianity into Britain in the tenure of Pope Eleutherius (c. 180), although this is disputed. Christianity certainly arrived in Wales sometime in the Roman occupation, but it was initially suppressed.

Chapel of Our Lady and St Non 

Now this has an interesting history! A modern chapel (51.8723°N 5.2667°W) was built near the ruin in 1934 by Cecil Morgan-Griffiths, a solicitor from Carmarthen, using stone from ruined local chapels. He had built a house (now used as a retreat) overlooking the sea, and the nearest Catholic church was over sixteen miles away, so he decided to build one on the historic site. The new chapel is the most westerly in Wales and is also one of the smallest, as it is only 25 feet long by 12 feet wide. It has stained glass windows representing St Non, St David, St Bride, St Brynach and St Winifred. The stoup at the door is all that remains of the Chapel of the Fathoms, and the altar uses a white stone from the altar of St Patrick's Chapel. Cecil Morgan-Griffiths died the year after the new chapel was completed. 

A holy well close to the chapel (51.8724°N 5.2683°W) was thought to have healing properties, and to this day visitors throw coins into the well for luck. Records of a survey of St. David's by Browne Willis in 1717 state that "there is a fine Well beside it [St. Non's Chapel], cover'd with a Stone-Roof, and enclos'd within a Wall, with Benches to sit upon round the Well. Some old simple People go still to visit this Saint at some particular Times, especially upon St. Nun's Day (March 2nd) which they kept holy, and offer Pins, Pebbles, Etc at this well", and reports from 1811 state that "the fame this consecrated spring has obtained is incredible and it is still resorted to for many complaints". It was thought to be particularly effective for eye problems and was restored in 1951 by the Catholic Church, which also erected a shrine using stones from nearby ruins. The vaulting over the well replaced ruins of medieval stonework in the 18th century. Water from the well was used by Pope Benedict during his visit to Britain. 

A small rocky cove at high tide, sandwiched between towering cliffs 1 mile south of St Davids. 

The rocks around Caerfai are multicoloured with a mixture of grey, green and vivid pink. 

We were lucky as the tide was just retreating ..... 

........ leaving some lovely patterns in the sand. A lovely spot to finish our time in Pembrokeshire, surely one of my all time favourite destinations. 

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Fishguard and the beautiful hamlet of Cwm-yr-Eglwys

A visit today to the area above St Davids called Dinas Island peninsula, passing Fishguard on the way. Another stunning coastline, rather sparsely populated generally.

The port of Fishguard on a rather foggy day. What do you expect on the Welsh coast! Actually we have had amazing weather, so no complaints there.

The town is situated at the back of a north facing bay known as Fishguard Bay (Welsh: Bae Abergwaun) which offers protection from waves generated by prevailing westerly winds. It has a relatively mild climate due to its coastal position. The winds coming from the west or south-west have a determining influence on temperature and precipitation. 

Wildlife around Fishguard is rich with a wide variety of colourful wild flowers and sea mammals including the grey seal, porpoises and dolphins. The local birdlife include Eurasian curlew, common redshank and sanderling regularly foraging in the lower Fishguard Harbour and European stonechat, great cormorant and northern fulmar can be seen from the coastal path. Unfortunately we were only passing through on this occasion.

The village/Hamlet of Cwm-yr-Eglwys (English: Valley of the Church) 

Another view from above. The beautiful beach (tide is in here!) has earned a Seaside Award and a Green Coast Award, similar to a Blue Flag beach Award but for rural beaches with safe bathing.

Gannet swoops by. 

Ruins of Church of St. Brynach the Abbot in the village 

The church of St. Brynach is probable pre-Norman. The building suffered storm damage in 1850 and 1851 when the chancel was destroyed by the sea, the church footings left hanging over an abyss. The graveyard was severely damaged, the level being reduced by at least three feet, exposing human remains in large quantity. The great storm of October 1859 (the Royal Charter Storm) removed the church roof and damaged the walls. The building was abandoned immediately. In 1880, the remaining ruins were demolished apart from the west entrance wall. 

Just remind me, did they have global warming then?? 

The lone runner - a great place to get, or keep, fit. 

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