Like most families, Ian and Vanessa enjoy travelling together. Since retiring in 2019 we started this blog to allow people to follow our journeys. Hopefully you find the locations we visit of interest.
Author: Ian Bateson
Retired at the end of April 2019 and planning all those trips we never had time to do before.
With an uncertain forecast, we left it until the morning to decide on today’s itinerary. I woke to a small shower and grey skies, so we left it until 11am to travel out. Our first destination was Cromford Mills which was very disappointing, so we only stayed 30 minutes and moved on to Bakewell. The A6 was like a carpark, so we turned around and took a back road which allowed this view down onto Matlock-Bath.
Bakewell was a pleasant town to wander around, which also allowed me the opportunity to buy another lightweight waterproof jacket which helped keep out the cold as today was really quite cold.
Of course, we had to stop for a coffee to warm us up, but we couldn’t leave the town without purchasing an authentic Bakewell Tart.
With grey skies persisting, we headed away from Bakewell to a waterfall along the River Wye.
We soon spotted a pair of Dippers dashing in and out for the river, so I fitted my 40-150mm f2.8 lens with 2x converter which gives the 35mm equivalent of 600mm at f5.6 for a full frame camera.
Another reason we are pleased to have swapped from Canon to OM-Systems. The equivalent lenses are smaller, lighter and much cheaper. We’ll probably look for more wildlife now.
Remember the motorhome battery issue; well today was the day I would have a go at replacing it. Not sure if there was any special procedure involved, but as a precaution I removed mains power to the motorhome and turned the fridge and leisure control panel off.
As you can see there was a complex power distribution circuit connected to the positive terminal. Fortunately this all came off once the +ve terminal clamp was released and the two posidrive screws were removed. The negative terminal was just a quick release clamp.
With the power disconnected the motorhome dashboard started to click, click, click…. Well I assumed that the solar panel was still providing the circuit some power? Replacement was quick and easy and then reattached the cables.
Eureka – the engine started first time! That was one worry out the way. So back to enjoying the day – we stayed at the motorhome until after lunch to give our aging dog more time to rest.
We then set off to visit Lud’s Church – No not what you think; it wasn’t a religious site, but a chasm in the rocks behind the Roaches. It was a steady one mile uphill walk from the carpark with Holly getting a carry for any of the steeper sections.
There was a steady stream of people heading through this popular site so taking photos and avoiding people was going to be difficult. Patience was required (yes, even Vanessa had to be tolerant) or in some cases I had to use a new AI removal feature in Lightroom to magically erase them.
The most remarkable point about these photographs was the OM-System cameras we have changed over to from Canon. As you might expect the light level was quite low in the chasm and we had to use them hand held as there were just too many people passing through to consider using tripods.
In the two images below, the camera was set to ISO 1600 with an f10 aperture. The shutter speed was 1/5th second. Look at the blown up section in the 2nd image of the plants growing on the rock face – and these images haven’t been sharpened in Lightroom.
The chasm turned to the left past this point and after waiting 10 minutes for the people to clear, I gave up and took the image with approx. 12 people in the way. Thanks to Lightroom’s AI deletion tool I still got a good photo.
On the return journey to the car we passed a converted watermill and stopped for a well deserved latte and flapjack.
We had a quick reccy of the Roaches on our way back to the motorhome to select a spot for an evening shoot, hoping to get the early evening light. Then enjoyed a nice steak meal before returning.
Despite the sky being clear in front of us, there was a significant cloud covering behind us, which we hoped would still allow a few bursts of sunshine….
After this photo we had to wait about 30-40 minutes for the sun to appear beneath the clouds and hopefully light up the scene with some great warm light…
Unfortunately, the clouds behind us were a fiery red, but that didn’t extend to the clouds in front – a pity as that would have been a great final image. Another evening we may have more luck.
I got up early in search of Three Shires Head, which was very easy once I had the route plotted after accessing the internet last evening. I suppose if I’d had a paper map; which would have been how I found it over 21 years ago, then I wouldn’t have had an issue yesterday.
I parked the car just along small lane a few miles south west of Buxton on the A54 and followed the footpath using my saved route on the Komoot app and had no problem getting to the location, which was about a 3/4 mile walk down into the valley.
River Dane on the left meeting an un-named stream on the right.
I arrived at 7am not knowing when the sun might appear over the hills. Using my ‘Sun Surveyor App‘ (more details in the ‘Planning‘ menu of this site), I confirmed the sun might appear on the bridge at approx. 7:45am. Of course when photographing water you don’t want direct sunlight as exposure becomes an issue, but I was hoping for light on the bridge. Anyway, plenty of time to photograph the area. The lighter sky was still reflecting off the water, so for most shots I fitted my polarizer….
Without and with polarizer filter
Comparing the images, you should be able to see the benefit of the polarizer.
Unfortunately by 7:45am the sky had started to cloud over, so I took a few last shots of the pool of the 2nd stream before heading back to the car.
I returned to the motorhome for breakfast and continued my search for a replacement battery. One of the potential suppliers confirmed they couldn’t source a replacement and recommended that I try Euro Car Parts. Bingo – they had a suitable replacement in stock, so after lunch we headed down to Newcastle-under-Lyme (adjacent to Stoke) and even better news was that it was £46 cheaper than the one the Fiat dealer was trying to source.
From here we then travelled Northeast for an hour to another viewpoint – Windgather Rocks which I hadn’t seen before. Unfortunately there was a ‘Road Closed’ sign in village just outside Macclesfield with no clue where the closure was – 4 miles later we found out it was on the road we needed to turn down. So a long detour (avoiding a 2nd lane closure) was required.
It was early afternoon and the light wasn’t really favourable for good photos, but wifey did get a few good shots of a climber on the rock face.
I tried the Infrared camera, but I wasn’t happy with the results, so clearly foliage is the preferred subject matter. However, I did grab this shot from the top of the rock (after finding an easier route up).
From here, we headed off to Hope (where we stayed in 2010) for a pub meal before moving onto Stanage Ledge in search of millstones. Despite a lengthy search from the road we couldn’t find any. So we moved on to Curbar Edge; but I was sure Stanage was where they should be?
I knew they should be at Stanage, so later that evening I reviewed some of my photos taken in April 2010 with our Misty who has now passed on.
Arriving at Curbar Edge I could see straight away this wasn’t the millstone location, but the sun was getting low in the sky, so we stayed for a few early evening photos.
Headed back to the motorhome when I researched those old photos of Stanage Ledge against Google Earth views of the area. I may have found the right spot, so if we get another good evening, we’ll try again. Tomorrow’s forecast is cloudy, so we’ll not have an early start and I’ll have a go at fitting the new battery.
We’d been preparing the motorhome ready for the trip for a few days with no issues. We had one problem to overcome on the day we left home as our 13.5 year old dog, Holly needed acupuncture (which frees up her back and joints) at the vet in Burley, which was in the opposite direction to our route north. So I was going to travel onto the M27 and meet up with Vanessa at the Rownhams services. Meanwhile I finalised a few checks before leaving including a fuel level check – unfortunately I couldn’t start the engine.
I tried to jump start it with Vanessa’s hybrid car (using some dumbbells to keep the accelerator depressed), but this didn’t work so I had to call out the Driver Guardian service. They would get to me by about 11:50 (a 90 minute wait), so I contacted Vanessa to return home.
Well the recovery truck was delayed eventually getting to us at 13:20. He had to use the large set of jump leads from his lorry to get me going. The alternator was working and charging the battery and he was sure it would now be OK with the 4.5 hour journey sufficient to fully charge the battery.
So I set off with Vanessa following, just in case of any issues and the plan to couple up with the car at Rownhams Services. I was still sceptical about the battery health, so left the engine running while we connected up the car. The journey took about 5 hours with 2 short comfort break stops (leaving the engine running each time). We eventually arrived at our campsite around 7pm and reversed the van onto the pitch. I stopped the engine to use the keys to get the levelling ramps out and restarted the engine!!! Oh no it didn’t, the battery was still dead so clearly not holding any charge.
To cut a long story short, I tried to source a battery in Stoke-on-Trent (20 minutes away) but the one they requested for delivery later that day was wrongly listed in stock. My son is travelling up to see us on Tuesday, so I rang Adams Morey in Southampton – yes we have one; great I thought…. They phoned back this morning – sorry their stock listing was wrong, we don’t have that battery! Aaaagggghh. So our search for a battery continues, at least we don’t travel home for another week.
We did finally get out for our first day….
Whilst awaiting news of the battery, we visited an old friend who used to live in Southampton and we went out for the day. First plan was to try and find a water course where 2 streams meet, which is the point where Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire meet. Well in an area of no phone reception I failed to find the correct path to the ‘Three Shires Head’ viewpoint. So we returned to the car and headed off for lunch at the Rudyard Hotel. Afterwards we walked down the the nearby lake and I tried out a few infrared shots with a converted camera that I had borrowed.
A month ago we traded in all of our Canon cameras and lenses as the weight was getting too much for our elderly frames to carry. We have purchased OM-System cameras and lenses (previously Olympus) which have a sensor of half the area, but same pixel resolution. Thus all lenses with a similar focal length to Canon are half the size and weight (and much cheaper). We’ve been trying them out for a few weeks now, but this is the first time using them on a photographic holiday.
Gentle evening light across the valley leading to the Roaches
Our campsite is quite close to the Roaches, so we tried to find a hilltop location to take a picture of them in the warm evening light.
The Roaches
Tomorrow I’m going to find the Three Shires Head, so watch this space.
We decided on a relaxing day today, but it turned out to be more religious than expected. We decided to visit Arundel for a few hours which started with a short walk along the river Arun to give the dog some exercise.
The plan was to have lunch in one of the many cafés in the town. We tried the Moathouse Bakeaway & Coffee Co. a couple of days ago and had to return, so can definitely recommend this one.
Afterwards we wandered up the High Street, but this time I avoided the cheese shop as it cost me dearly last visit. We went to the Arundel Cathedral of Our Lady & St Philip Howard and I sat outside with the dog whilst Vanessa went inside. Then one of the staff told me I could take the dog inside – that’s a first! The inside was Ok, with the usual architecture…
Nearby was the St Nicholas’ Church which caught our eye because of the large number of primrose in the graveyard.
Headed back to the car and diverted into a sweet shop to some liquorice and other treats. This was the end of our short adventure around Sussex which we thoroughly enjoyed. We’ll be back another day in the late autumn perhaps.
Decision today was to head off to Chartwell House which was about 90 minutes away. Chartwell was Winston Churchill’s home and another National Trust property. It was 17C when we arrived so no need for a coat. We had to visit the house in turns as the dog wasn’t allowed in. The items on display were interesting but needed more time to take in all the information, so we will be returning again in the future.
House view from the gardens
A peak into his studio shows many of Churchill’s paintings…
The staff on site were very helpful and informative and the next time we visit we will definitely partake in all the discussion sessions. They also have a 1 hour tour around the house from 1600 to discuss a number of topics – it is recommended to book these, so check on line to book.
From here we headed back into Sussex to see Battle Abbey, but only had 1 hour before closing. To be honest this was just enough time for what we wanted to see…
Of course, this was the location of the battle of Hastings where King Harold met with an untimely death.
As they closed at 4pm, we had time for a pint over the road before heading off to Beachy Head for the last stop before returning to the Motorhome.
Tomorrow the weather is due to change, so we’ll wait and see.
We decided on capturing some wildlife images today, but the WWT at Arundel didn’t allow dogs, so we headed down to RSPB Pagham for a pleasant walk in the sunshine. This was probably to last outing for our current long lenses as they would be traded in for the OM-System which will be much lighter. Here’s a range of photos we took.
The only other location we visited was the Worthing Pier.
We were hoping the clouds would light up red as the sun sets to the right of this image. So we also swapped to the other side of the pier to be ready for it.
I like the black and white version above
The sky showed a some promise of colouring up red, but our luck ran out. The image below was the last before we packed up to head back for tea.
After a rapid turnaround from landing back in the UK from Vienna we had to get the motorhome in for a rear stop lamp replacement so it could pass it’s MOT. Then we headed off to Littlehampton arriving at approximately 13:30. After setting up, we were too tired to go anywhere.
The next morning we were away by 07:30 and headed off to Newhaven to look at the lighthouse. The journey was reported by Google last night to take 48 minutes. Well it took over 90 minutes to get to the lighthouse – so we must avoid the A27 in the future during the commute times.
We were curious about the lighthouse location, after seeing several images of this structure during severe weather storms where the waves crash over the top (click here to see one of those photos). No expectations for the same today, although there was a stiff breeze.
Location understood, so we headed off to breakfast at the Fort Road Café nearby. We had one of the best breakfast rolls with quality ingredients and will definitely return here again.
Where to next? We are National Trust members, so headed off to Bodiam Castle which we last visited about 25 years ago. It hadn’t changed but I discovered the grounds are accessible outside the Nation Trust hours, so handy in future for sunrise or sunset.
From here we travelled another 25 minutes to Scotney Castle which would be more spectacular later in the spring when the gardens start to bloom. But we enjoyed what we saw today…
The Old Castle
The Old Castle
New Castle in the background
We really enjoyed this location and will revisit again in the future.
Finally, we headed off to the Seven Sisters which is a location I’ve wanted to get to for many years. It should be visited at sunset to get the best light, but the light was already disappearing from the coastguard cottages as we arrived, so in future we have to be on location at least 75 minutes before sunset. But I was still pleased with these images.
Sunlight disappearing from the cottages
Light gone from the cottages
I was lucky to capture this last image at all. I realised too late that the best location for the photograph would be back up the track on the higher ground. So I picked up my tripod with camera attached and turned only to fall over the dog who was immediately behind me. At all cost, I had to protect the camera as we are trading in all our Canon kit for new OM-System kit at the end of the week. I landed heavily on my palm and knee ruining a pair of trousers and taking the skin off my palm and below the knee. If Vanessa had seen this, she would have wet herself laughing, but at least I was spared that embarrassment.
All packed and with the bags left in the office, we headed off for our few last hours in Vienna. Back on the tram and making the most of our 72 hour ticket (which was well worth the expense) we head off south to Schloss Belvedere (Belvedere Palace).
Große Bassin view
Garden and fountain view
Vanessa wanted to look at St Anne’s church which had another colourful décor. The church was just behind the Opera House which we didn’t photograph before due to the rain. But today it was staying dry, so we grabbed a few images. You can only go inside as part of a booked tour, so we had to make do with the exterior.
Now off to Annakirche (St Anne’s), but unfortunately there was a service in progress, so we went next door for a coffee and shared cake and waited for the church to empty.
Returning back to collect our bags, we passed the Spanish Riding School building and stables…
…and our last photo of the holiday was the performing arts theatre Burgtheater. The trip back to the airport was very straightforward taking the U2 to Praterstern and changing to the S7 out to the airport. Eventually arriving home at 2030 to spend a few hours preparing the motorhome for our next trip tomorrow.
Another damp day, but this time colder than yesterday, so we wrapped up well. We still had a leisurely start and headed off to the Spanish Riding School for our booked performance. Unfortunately they didn’t allow any photography, so nothing to show. However, we were unimpressed by the whole thing with three 10 minute routines and 5 minutes of introduction between each. Each routine was very repetitive, so we were pleased we didn’t book for the longer performance on the Sunday. Maybe ballet would have been more exciting (did I really think that?).
After this we headed back to our usual lunch venue at Nordsee, taking this image on the way which is the exterior to the Riding School (just to the left out of view).
We then headed east down the narrowest streets to find some of the older parts of the city, passing some standout building on route. Eventually we found another unattractive exterior of an old church, but the inside was magnificent.
The images below are from the Jesuitenkirche (Jesuit Church). It always seems to be the case that the old unkept church exteriors appear to have the best looking interiors.
Whilst I was taking pictures I think Vanessa sat down at a pew for a quick prayer or two. (She would need more than that to get back into his good books). Afterwards we carried on wandering through the streets when she suddenly realised she had lost her phone in the church. I could track it’s location and it was still inside, so we dashed back for it. It wasn’t where she thought she’d put it down and a kind person told her where he had seen it. No missed calls from the almighty though – what did she expect! So we carried on with our trek and came across the other end of a passage that we photographed yesterday, followed by another old church.
About time for a coffee and cake (at an establishment that takes credit card this time). After this, we headed out towards the University Campus but with a small detour to look at the inside of the Russian Church we visited yesterday. Unfortunately photos weren’t allow, but that didn’t matter as the inside was very dull. So onto the university and the Academic Department Building – why you may ask? I saw this building in LocationScout which I’ve already mentioned and was amazed with the architecture…
This wasn’t the only impressive site…
The day was drawing to a close and in the distance we could see the amusement park lighting up in the clouds, so we headed off for a quick look.
Trying our hand at ICM (in camera movement) I had these few shots. I would have preferred a darker sky, but to be honest we were getting quite cold by now, so kept our stint in the park to just 30 minutes.
Headed back to our apartment for our evening meal. Tomorrow being our last day in Vienna, but we hope to see a few more locations before we need to leave for the airport.
Bateson's Travel log 