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Instow, North Devon viewed from Appledore. Quiet village with a a massive expanse of beach at low tide. Highlight of the day is at high tide when a local fisherman sells his freshly caught fish.
Very quiet and peaceful. |
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Appledore, North Devon, viewed from Instow over the estuary of the rivers Taw and Torridge. Peaceful old village with a history of shipbuilding. Tiny old cottages litter the hillside down to the quayside, interspersed with narrow alleyways . |
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Padstow, Cornwall. Picturesque Cornish haven with water so clear you can see small shoals of fish swimming in the harbour. A little bit touristy these days and a bit chintzy. TV chef, Rick Stein allegedly owns half the town |
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Postbridge, Dartmoor, Devon. An ancient 13th century "clapper" bridge. The two side slabs weigh around 7 tonnes and the two central slabs about 2 tonnes. Stand on it and wonder how they got there 800 years ago without JCB's and cranes. |
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Stonehenge, Wiltshire. Erected around 3100 BC from
Bluestone, Sarson, Welsh Sandstone.
Car park on the other side of the A344 and access to Stonehenge is via a tunnel under the road. £6.30 per adult to visit. |
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Hartland Point, North Devon. A drive along the hazelnut hedges brings you to a parking place. There is a steep climb to a radio tower and viewing point for the lighthouse and a shipwreck of a vessel call Johanna which washed ashore in 1972 |
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Buttermere, Lake District, Cumbria. One of the most beautiful places in the UK. Stunning views and tranqulity unsurpassed. Went during the Foot and Mouth epidemic in 2001. Access was limited but still there was this. |
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Winnats Pass, Peak District, Derbyshire
Part of a limestone cavern system which collapsed leaving a gorge made of grassy and rocky monuments. Very steep climb to the top in a car. Warms your brake discs up coming down! |
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One of the many small caves up Winnat's Pass. They are not very deep and don't contain small bearded men called Ben Gunn guarding treasure chests. Nor do they have wall paintings of Sabre Tooth Tigers. They are just caves. |
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Totnes Guild Hall, Devon. Dating back to 1553, commissioned by Edward VI, still used to convene council meetings. Previously part of a Benedictine Priory, used as a prison and where Oliver Cromwell sat and wrote in 1646. |
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Nr Glossop, Derbyshire
This strange building is on the road to the Woodhead Pass, the gateway to the Dark Peak. I took this photo because i'd never seen one of these bat towers except on the Wacky Races cartoon. |
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Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Knifesmithgate . Market town built on a Roman fort, which in turn was built on an Iron Age fort. The Romans found tin, lead and coal in the area. Tin and lead ran out & Margaret Thatcher closed the coal mines. |
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Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire. South of the Humber estuary. A traditional British North Sea seaside resort with sandy beaches, donkey rides, and a concrete crazy golf course where the ball bobbles about like mad.
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Chesterfield , at the end of Knifesmithgate is the church of St Mary's and All Saints. The spire is crooked. The local legend goes, that if a virgin marries beneath it, then it will straighten. Local legend also has it that that won't happen!! |
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Trinity House lightship # 19, Harwich, Essex. On the far bank of the estuary is Felixtowe. The estuary is the confluence of the Orwell and Stour rivers. At the turn of the tide, the currents can be fearsome. |
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The Liver building, seen from Albert Dock. The waterfront at Liverpool has seen a vast improvement over the last few years, with some so called designer shops. Park in designated areas near Albert dock, costly but safer. |
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Bude. Cornwall. has a large surfing beach. The sea seems to go out for miles low tide. We spent a few hours here. We walked along a canal bank and when we arrived at the lock gate, there was the beach and some sand dunes. |
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Brixham, Devon. Pretty little working fishing town. A lot of new holiday flats have recently been built. The basic character of a cliff side village has been retained. Several good seafood restaurants were our main reason to stay for the evening. |
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The Devon sense of humour. This Landrover was parked up at the wool town of Buckfastleigh. It is a very peaceful and rural town and an odd fact here: it's the headquarters of the National Federation of Sea Anglers! |
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Buckfastleigh, Devon. Beautiful little town, famous for wool and the wool festival. The name "Buckfast" means "stronghold" - a place where deer and buck were held, and "Leigh" would have been the pasture belonging to Buckfast |
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Crackington Haven, Cornwall. Probably the smallest surfing beach in Cornwall but a beautiful little place with a pleasant clifftop walk. Just up the road from Boscastle and also copped the same flash flood. |
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Buxton, Derbyshire. The gardens adjacent to the Buxton Opera House (to the left). Close proximity to a couple of pubs and hotels. A great place to wander around whilst the missus is watching a 70's tribute band, or to walk off a hangover. |
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Matlock Bath. It's a little bit like Scarborough but without the sea, and with a river and cable cars instead. A big favourite with bikers. For a couple of quid you can hire a rowing boat for an hour and float about on the river. |
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The Tarr Steps, Exmoor. An incredible feat of manpower dating back to pre-historic times. These gigantic slabs form a clapper bridge over the river Barle. Park at the top of the hill and walk down through one field. Worth a visit. |
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Eyam, Derbys. Well Dressing.
A quaint old tradition of drawing a picture by sticking flowers on a bed of clay from a local river. This is to thank God for food and water. Most kids today don't say thankyou, if they did it would be to Tesco. |
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Eyam Graveyard. Derbys.
This celtic cross dates back to the 8th century AD. If you are interested in graveyards this one is a must, it's got lots of strange artefacts to ogle. The church ain't bad either. Get in there...
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This is the Derwent Dam wall, used by the 617 Squadron as a practice target before going on to drop Barnes Wallace's bouncing bomb on the Mohne, Eder, and Sorpe dams above the Ruhr in WW2. Each year there is a fly over by Wellington bombers in commemoration. |
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Ladybower Reservoir, Derbys.
This is the Ladybower reservoir oveeflow. When the reservoir is full the noise of all this water tumbling down this "plughole" is deafening. Ladybower is the last of series of 3 dams, Howden and Derwent (left) reservoirs being the others.
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