A Witton Park stroll

The snow has gone, to be replaced by mist and thin cloud although the temperatures are still cold. It didn't keep us in today though as we ventured out to walk off a little of the seasonal excess with a short stroll in the park.












Witton Country Park is the largest park in Blackburn, more a large swathe of parkland stretching out westwards from the town. The park once formed the estate of the Feilden family, who owned a large amount of property in the town, but by the first world war their hall at Witton was seldom lived in and fell into disrepair.

After the second world war, the family sold the Hall and extensive grounds to the council, who created a large parkland area to be kept free of developments for the public to use. Sadly the house had to be demolished in the early 1950s and only the foundations remain, hidden amongst the trees. The outbuildings survived though, and now house tearooms, stables and a vistor centre.


Our walk took us along numerous paths through the trees and open spaces, eventually reaching the duckpond close to Pleasington Priory, about a mile and a half away. From there we headed back, taking a different route once back inside the park grounds for a pleasant 3 mile stroll.

Christmas at Catterall

Although the snow and ice has been around for over a week, we didn't have the same problems as last year when Jean had to cook the turkey for us and bring it along on the day. This time although the side streets are still treacherous, the main roads are clear and we made it to my parents without any worries.


After a great Christmas meal we relaxed with a few games on the Wii - bowling being the most popular and Jean being the surprise star with a'turkey' (three strikes in a row) - very appropriate!

Beautiful winter snow

The snow lying on the ground and on the trees was set off beautifully this morning by a brilliant blue sky, and with temperatures being so cold the coating of ice in the trees was quite stunning.

This photo was taken from the car park at work - the office overlooks a number of trees, fields and woodland, although the viewpoint has to be carefully chosen to avoid the railway, dual carriageway road and telephone lines from being in view.

Blackshaw Brook stroll

The roads had cleared sufficiently by lunchtime for us to head over Bull Hill to Bolton to visit Carole's parents, and from there Carole wanted to call at the Garden Centre for a wreath for the front door. The Garden Centre is within walking distance, so we left the cars behind and set off through the snow.

One possible route to the Garden Centre goes through a pleasant wooded area known as Blackshaw Brook, which looked especially Christmassy after snowfall.

The area was previously a bleachworks and papermill, but after being derelict for many years has been converted into 10 hectares of country park, with paths through the trees leading to several small mill ponds, or lodges.










All the stretches of water were frozen solid, so much so that the birds were clearly getting cold feet as they tried to puzzle out where the water had gone!

By the time we were heading back, the sun was beginning to set, and by sticking this time to the main roads, we were able to catch a colourful sunset looking over the trees.

Lowest temperatures since records began!

Last night temperatures dropped to the coldest on record... although as we've only had our digital weather station since June that's perhaps not too surprising!

Even so, it reached a tinglingly cold -10.6C during the early hours of the morning, which is certainly the coldest it's been for a number of years, and it was still -6C by mid morning, even though the sun was shining brightly.

I took a stroll down to the newsagents on the main road, and took a few winter scenes with my little pocket camera on the way:

Shovelling snow once again

The snow arrived in earnest overnight, reminding us of the heavy snow we had last winter, and by morning there was a good 4 inches on the ground with more flurries still coming down. By afternoon skies had cleared, which gave me the chance to clear the drive and put down some grit.

Carole wasn't quite so daft, staying indoors in the warmth to catch this not-so-flattering picture of me taking a breather.

Compared to the eastern side of the country, we've fared well so far as this is the first snowfall that's really stuck - let's hope there's not any more to come.

The secrets of fine dining at Hazlewood Castle

Today was the day we'd booked our foodie experience at Hazlewood Castle, about 12 miles down the road at Tadcaster. The temperature overnight had reached -8C, but once off the side roads near the B&B the main roads were clear by the time we were setting out.

Although we'd allowed ourselves plenty of time, what we hadn't bargained for was that once at the castle gates, the driveway leading to the main entrance, which seemed to go on for ever, was thick with snow - not ideal when you're in a car which hasn't exactly proved itself good on ice! Fortunately there were no cars coming in the opposite direction and we eventually found the ice-sheet of a car park, bang on time.

As it happens we were only the second couple to arrive and there were three other parties still to make it through the snow, so we relaxed in the restaurant with coffee and biscuits while we waited.

First on the agenda was a tour of the castle, and our guide for the tour certainly knew his stuff as he explained the history of the place through numerous stories going back to the 12th century. A hall at Hazlewood was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086, listed as belonging to Sir Mauger the Vavasour. (Vavasour is derived form vassal, or tenant, and meant a tenant of a tenant: Mauger was the tenant of Duke of Northumberland who was a tenant or vassal of the King).

As a Saxon, Mauger didn't have a surname, but as Norman customs became established, the name Vavasour became the family name.

By 1290, the Vavasours were granted permission by the King to convert the hall into a fortified castle, and as a result their title was upgraded to Baron, as only Barons were permitted to live in castles.

The Vavasours stayed at Hazlewood for nearly 900 years until 1908, when large mortgage debts forced the family to sell up and emigrate to New Zealand, where their descendants developed a vineyard now best known for a fine Pinot Noir. Since then the castle has been a maternity hospital, a monastery and finally, in 1997, a luxury hotel.

It was clear during our tour that the owners in the last 100 years had an eccentric eye for a bargain, so most of the architecture and fittings throughout have at some point been reclaimed from other halls and mansions rather than being original to the castle. This included the wallpaper in some of the rooms (salvaged after the Great Exhibition), a Tudor ceiling and a panelled wall that originated in Belgium.


After the tour, we enjoyed a fine two course lunch before heading down to the kitchens to learn how the dishes are made. The class was thoroughly enjoyable with some seemingly easy dishes explained to us, plus a demonstration of sugar spinning to finish where we could have a go ourselves if we wanted to (it proved harder than it seemed, so this was one we declined).

The day thoroughly enjoyable, the only slight disappointment was that the regular head chef wasn't there, and his stand in was very nervous and a little forgetful.

Crossing the Arctic... to Betty's Tea Rooms!

Earlier in the year Carole had bought me a 'Red Letter' experience (a day's food tasting at Hazlewood Castle, Tadcaster) and we'd booked it some time ago thinking a short break in nearby Harrogate would be great, where we could do a little Christmas shopping and relax.

Unfortunately we hadn't bargained for the weather recently, which has been even more severe over the border into Yorkshire.


The journey was a little hairy but once there even though very cold the sun was out and the next few days were set fair. The centre of Harrogate was beautiful in the snow yet bitter cold, but we had an extra treat in store as we'd booked at the famous Betty's Tea Rooms for afternoon tea.

Here we put the cold to one side to enjoy a leisurely afternoon of sandwiches, cakes and pastries, lashings of tea and even a glass of mulled wine - pure bliss!

Gaynah's film star 40th

Carole became good friends with Gaynah after sitting next to her at work for several months, until Gaynah left to go and work as a project manager in the NHS. Since then they've kept in touch and tonight we were invited to celebrate her 40th birthday with a 'film premiere' theme at Bradshaw, a local cricket club in Bolton.

The weather recently has been awful, with exceptionally cold temperatures and a mix of snow and heavy frosts - very unusual so early in the winter - and it meant that many of Gaynah's guests sadly couldn't make it. But despite the icy roads we ventured out, though the approach to the club and the parking area around the side was absolutely lethal!




We dressed as if attending a film premiere, me in my dinner suit and Carole in a posh frock, and many of the other guests were in costume including Jack Sparrow, James Bond, the Blues Brothers, Inspector Cluseau, Cruella Deville and a couple of St Trinians girls too :-) Gaynah herself was dressed as Marilyn Monroe, and even recreated the scene over the air vent whilst making her speech!

Though the weather made the night more difficult, we had a great time catching up with a good friend - happy birthday Gaynah!

The official photographer

It's been a daunting and exhausting experience, but at the same time a privilege to have been Gail and Barry's photographer at their wedding today. Carole's been a good friend of Gails for many years so I was happy to volunteer to take some photos of the day, though as the wedding drew nearer it had become a slightly bigger occasion than first planned, increasing the pressure on me - the 'official photographer!'

Their wedding at Bolton's register office Mere Hall, and then afterwards at The Last Drop was a wonderful occasion, and even the threat of rain passed during the service, allowing me the opportunity to take photos outside, which made my task so much easier.



By the time the staff at the Last Drop were ready to call us through for the wedding breakfast, I'd every photo I'd wanted to take and could finally relax, enjoy the meal and a well earned drink (or two!).

Update 11/11: I've now finished all the editing work and Barry and Gail are delighted with the end results, all of which can be seen on my Flickr website. Any feedback would be most welcome.

An is-shoe to resolve before we decorate!

The en-suite's all finished but it's made the bedroom look out of place, so our next project is to decorate by painting the walls and woodwork and then seeing if I can remember how to wallpaper.

But first we need to empty the room - and moving Carole's wardrobes isn't straightforward once we've seen how many pairs of shoes she has!

Our new en-suite is complete!

Over the last week we've had our en-suite room stripped out and replaced with new, more modern fittings including shower, cubicle, sink and toilet.

The new rainfall shower is totally fantastic, we now have a heated towel rail instead of the radiator, spotlights instead of the old light fitting and the black and white tiles on the walls and floor complete the look.

We're absolutely delighted with the result, once again Chris our plumber has done a first class job for us.

Blackpool's Illuminations

Judging by the thousands of people on the promenade at Blackpool this weekend it seemed as if most families in Lancashire had made the same decision as us by making the most of the fine weather this weekend to take a trip to the Fylde coast to see the famous illuminations.

These days the illuminations still emphasise tradition and a sense of the past, as they've retained their old fashioned character even though most of the displays have modern themes.

Having made the same trip many times over the years the illuminations always bring back memories of walking along the front, usually along the stretch between the Tower and the northern end of the lights, finishing up with a bag of chips at one of the many fish and chip shops at Bispham.

The chip shops are still there, though much larger and more commercialised than back in the 70s, but still just as busy.

We'd eaten our traditional fish & chips a little earlier in the evening at Lytham before driving through Blackpool as the sun was setting behind a bank of cloud out to sea. The lights hadn't yet come on, though by the time we'd found a space to park at Bispham and get back to the sea front, the lights were on and the crowds were out in force. At first we wanted to catch a tram into Blackpool so that we could walk back, but the queues at the tram station meant there'd be a long wait.

Instead we walked towards the centre, past the larger displays which have always been on show at this end of town. As we walked, a few of the special illuminated trams trundled past just as they had years earlier, though a few of the ones I remember as a child didn't seem to be there any more.

Having walked as far as we could, we waited for a tram to take us back, but after five had gone straight past because they were full, it seemed that we'd have to find the energy to retrace our steps. Luckily we'd only walked back to the next stop before another one came which had some seats available, so we could at least travel back to the car a little more comfortably.

Return to the Fire Station

After our camera club's visit to the Fire Station a few weeks ago, the guys there were pleased with the photos we'd shared with them, so they invited us back to photograph another practice session, this time using cutting equipment to get into a car and complete a rescue.

Unfortunately the light in the evening at this time of year isn't strong enough to allow a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action, and flash photography was a non-starter as the firemen's reflective uniforms bounced the light from the flash straight back into the camera lens.

Fortunately I'd brought my tripod along and put it to good use, but even upping the ISO setting wasn't enough to avoid motion blur as the firemen set to work taking the roof off the car.


Gradually I realised that the best solution was to accept there would be movement and actually slow the shutter down some more to emphasise the effect. This produced this one shot of the men working furiously around the car which I was quite pleased with.

Getting ready for wedding photography

It's just over a month to Gail and Barry's wedding, and I'm responsible for the 'official' photographs! With the big day drawing nearer, I wanted to take a look at the two venues: Mere Hall, the Register Office for Bolton, where the wedding will be held, and the Last Drop Hotel, which would host the reception, so we'd planned a visit followed by some lunch with the happy couple.

I wanted to get a feel for the two places just to understand where I could possibly take photos, and we started by looking at Mere Hall. The only problem was the rain - it was bucketing down! Not to be deterred, I did have a quick walk round, taking a handful of snaps, before diving for shelter back in the car.

Mere Hall is a fabulous location, a large and impressive green space set in the middle of Bolton's urban sprawl. The hall itself was built by a local businessman in the late 1700s on what was at the time known as Mere Hill, then open countryside. At that time its grounds covered several acres, much of which has long since been built upon as the town grew around it. In 1890, Bolton's MP, J. P. Thomasson, bought the hall and its surviving grounds for the town as a public park, art gallery and museum, and it was converted to a Register Office in 1996.

The Last Drop by contrast is now one of Bolton's top hotels, set in acres of land on the hills on the outskirts of town. It doesn't have such an impressive history though, being previously a collection of farm buildings. The buildings were tastefully converted into a leisure complex in the 1960s, and it now includes a pub, craft shops and a restaurant as well as the hotel.










Despite the driving rain we had a look at the grounds to see where the best photos could be taken, though if the weather turns out as bad on the day itself then we'll need an indoor alternative.

Fortunately the room Gail and Barry have booked was open and kitted out for a wedding fair taking place whilst we were there, so we could get an impression of how the room would look on the day. For now though, we're all crossing our fingers for some fine weather on the day.

A lazy Saturday

With a week away from work to look forward to, today could be a day to relax and do nothing in particular. Erin, the cat from next door, had similar thoughts and decided to catch up on some zzz's in the conservatory.

The blog's been neglected recently as at the moment I'm without my camera and main lens - the lens has developed a fault which is currently being fixed and the camera's having its sensor cleaned at the same time. It won't keep us in all week and I do have a pocket camera in the meantime, so hopefully there'll be more photos to post over the next few days.

Giving 'em an earful (almost)

Dad's been in the wars in recent weeks. For few years now he's had problems with a cancerous tumour on his left ear, which has been removed several times only to re-grow again some months later.

For a couple of years or so he's been in the clear, but earlier this year it came back again, this time quickly growing bigger than it had previously.








There was only one thing to do - get to the specialists again and get it removed, but this time they had to cut more away to hopefully be sure they'd got it all.

Now that he's had the stitches removed it's clear that the result isn't too pleasant but hopefully it'll start to heal now, and as Dad will tell you, it's better than the alternative.

The car you always promised yourself

This one's for Wibs: We were at Cleveleys just for an afternoon out, when we stumbled across a classic car display right down the new walkway along the promenade. Whilst there were several cars there from the 60's and earlier, there were also plenty from the 70's and even 80's, however describing cars from my era as 'classic' makes me feel old!

There were several little sports cars such as Triumph Spitfires from the 60's and 70's, but this early 1980's Ford Capri caught my eye, being a favourite of Wibs, and in absolutely mint condition too.



The term Capri was first used by Ford in 1961 for a two-door coupe version of the Classic saloon, and then the Consul Capri the following year. The first car known simply as the Capri was launched in 1969, as a European version of the American Mustang, and it's sporty looks made it extremely popular. Ford coined the advertising slogan "The car you always promised yourself" for the Capri.

By 1974, the mark II Capri was launched with a number of small improvements, but sales were on a slow decline which meant by 1977, a mark III version was developed. This was ready for the public in 1978, and this is the version we saw at Cleveleys. The use of Capris in the TV series The Professionals helped maintain interest in the UK, giving the Capri a cult car status, but sales failed to improve significantly and by the mid 1980s the Capri was doomed. The last Capri rolled off the prodution line in 1986 - after more than 1.8 million Capris had been produced.

Beautiful butterflies

This weekend we found ourselves on a familiar short walk between Catterall and Churchtown and for a change, rather than focus (literally!) on the landscapes and scenery, I felt like zooming in to the world of insects. But although the macro lens is perfect for extreme close-ups, I found that my telephoto got better results as it let me in close whilst keeping my distance. Perhaps not prize-winning shots, but interesting nonetheless.

I'm no expert but I believe this is the small white butterfly, Pieris rapae, also a claimant to the informal name of 'cabbage white'.

The cabbage white caterpillars can decimate crops of cabbages, as you might expect, but also are fond of swedes, turnips, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. The small white is a native species to the UK, and populations fluctuate depending on the weather. There were plenty out today, so perhaps this is a good year for them.




This is a related butterfly, the Green-veined white, Pieris napi, which is more common than the cabbage white in the countryside.

Unlike the cabbage white its caterpillars don't attack cabbages, but it can often be found in damp hedgerows, ditches, riverbanks, meadows and moorland. It is considered the most widespread butterfly in the UK, so they aren't difficult to spot when you're out and about.

Photography at Salford Quays

There's many a photograph been taken at Salford Quays as the architecture and water lend themselves to photography. The surroundings are always changing too, with new developments almost a regular occurrence since the regeneration of the area in the early 90s.

I was here with the Camera Club, and around a dozen or so of us met up and then dispersed looking for the potential competition-winning photos.

The bridges are the obvious structures to photograph, but I was looking for something a little more original, so on a theme of reflections I produced three which I'm happy with - these are posted on my other blog here.







The theme of the evening for me was patterns, and they are everywhere once you start to see - you just need the creative parts of your brain to be switched on. The design of some of the buildings aren't always easy to fathom, but they do make great photos as this tower at the Lowry demonstrates.







After a drink at a nearby bar we let the sun set, and the landscape lit up in countless colours, giving us new opportunities for that winning picture.

The Lowry Theatre building nearby is another with a peculiar shape, but the blues and oranges which light it up after dark make for an interesting composition. But will it be good enough to win?

Celebrating Wibs' 40th birthday

Well we wondered if it was actually going to happen, but at the last minute the big fella came up trumps and organised a great meal for closest friends at the Sirloin in Hoghton.








As always Bev had made sure all Paul's past 40 years were well documented with a number of photo boards which featured all of us to some extent, bringing back many happy memories of past celebrations, holidays and general mucking about.

Bev had also made a fabulous cake, with Paul featuring dressed in camouflage as he tries to capture that perfect picture of a bird, proving that there is talent in the Webster house after all!


For once I managed to get everyone on camera at some point in the evening, and this included Carole and me too. The meal was fantastic and we had a great time reminiscing and generally taking the whatsit out of what is after all a top mate.

Manchester Velodrome visit

The National Cycling Centre, more commonly known as Manchester Velodrome, was built ahead of the 1996 Commonwealth Games, and along with the stadium, which is now Manchester City's home, it has become one of the Games' enduring legacies.

Britain's re-emergence as a dominant world power in cycling is in part due to the excellent facilities in Manchester, and I had the chance to go and visit this evening with the camera club, with the aim, hopefully, of taking some decent pictures.

The session we'd gone to photograph was devoted to a local club, who appeared to be a decent standard - certainly much to good for my photography as more often than not as they were just too quick for me!

We had access to all the seating areas, and without an audience I had time to set up the tripod to build this 180° panorama.



There were plenty places to look for photos inside the track circuit, from the racks of bikes to the track itself, but sports photography is more difficult than it looks and many of the images ended up being deleted once I got them on the computer.

A handful did come out quite well though, and as hopefully there'll be another visit in a few months, I may get chance to learn from my mistakes and have another go.