All about Ireland

I've just come back from a 3-day trip to County Clare in Ireland, so have a few new photos to share.  I've never visited Ireland before, and have got to say it is the most beautiful country; the landscapes are just breathtaking with so much to see.

I'll stop waffling on and post the pics:

Volcanic sunset

With all this Icelandic volcano business, we're meant to be getting some pretty stunning sunsets as a result of all the ash in the atmosphere, so I headed up the hill last night to see if I could catch some pretty sunset shots.


Unfortunately, it wasn't that impressive last night.  I've seen the sky much redder on ordinary evenings.  Still with a bit of a saturation boost, this doesn't look too bad, plus the windmill at Brill is one of my favourite silhouettes, whatever colour the sky is.

Winter chill

Winter has really descended here, just in time for Christmas. There's been a dusting of snow here, although nothing compared to other places in the UK. It's almost all gone now, but there's still an icy, frosty covering on the ground, which makes for a lovely wintery scene in photos.

I went to Port Meadow, a huge common on the outskirts of Oxford. Horses graze freely all over the meadow, and in winter the river often overflows, creating huge frozen lakes. Although it was pretty icy underfoot and I nearly came a cropper a few times, I got a few shots from the afternoon.

A bright autumn afternoon

The weather was miserable on Sunday morning - grey skies, and rain drizzling down all morning. By the afternoon, though, the sun was out and the countryside was bathed in that gorgeous, warm autumn light. I thought I'd make the most of it and head up to a local spot, Brill Hill, where there's a recently restored windmill and beautiful views over the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire countryside.

Oxford Botanic Gardens

Summer here has been a bit of a washout so far, but yesterday we had a bit of sun, so I went to the Botanic Gardens to make the most out of it and to get some photos.
I could have spent all day there; it was so tranquil and beautiful, especially in the summer sun. Here are some of the pictures I took...

At the reservoir

Yesterday evening my photography group had a little field trip. It was a gorgeous sunny evening, so we went down to the local reservoir where lots of sailing and windsurfing takes place. The light was beautiful as the sun was going down, so here are just a few of the shots I got.