We sat in a hide and gazed through the window slots at this peaceful pond or lake. As a gentl breeze blew across the top of the water, specular highlights shimmered towards us. Impossible to capture the movement in a still photograph, I still attempted to get the magic of the scene.
Wakehurst Botanic Garden
A couple days after our hike from Devil’s Dyke (about 3 weeks ago, now), friends who were members took us to see the Wakehurst Botanical Garden. I carried 2 cameras: one with a 16-55mm zoom (24 – 82mm equivalent) and the other with the 60mm macro (90mm equivalent). It was hard not to take lots of pretty pictures which I’ll be showing here over the next few days.
A view through Afloat, commonly known as the Doughnut, in Brighton.
As the i360 descended we caught a view of starlings gathering for their murmuration.
When the aliens arrive, they’ll know where to stay – the Hilton Doubletree!
A view of West Pier I’ve not had before, looking at it from above, with reflections.
Looking East we could see the Brighton Palace Pier and the Marina beyond. Looking West we saw some of the many amusements along the beach, again with reflections I could only partially clean up.
As the i360 began to rise, we had a view of Regency Square and other nearby streets. Unfortunately the curved glass saucer shape of the chamber made it impossible to banish all the reflections.
The i360 is located where the entrance to the old West Pier used to be and there is a replica of that entrance above. Looking out the café and gift shop window one looks straight at the ruins of West Pier.
The i360 is a Brighton tourist attraction we’ve walked past a million times but never been to. A glass flying saucer travels up the tower pictured here, providing panoramic vistas out to sea and of the city and beyond to the South Downs. We went as sunset approached. Below, a view of the base of the tower from the waiting area (with reflections).
1912. The statue by Newbury A Trent. Sandstone pedestal with plaques, railings and figure of bronze. The monument straddles the boundary between Brighton and Hove. Elaborately moulded pedestal, square in plan and standing on 3 steps; each side carries a bronze plaque: to the north a relief portrait of Edward VII, east: the arms of Hove; south: an inscription ‘IN THE YEAR 1912 THE INHABITANTS OF BRIGHTON AND HOVE PROVIDED A HOME FOR THE QUEEN’S NURSES AND ERECTED THIS MONUMENT IN MEMORY OF EDWARD VII AS A TESTIMONY OF THEIR ENDURING LOYALTY’; east: arms of Brighton; each plaque is under a segmental cornice. The pedestal carries a winged female figure carrying an olive branch and standing on a globe. A low rail surrounds the monument: short battered piers with bronze railings between.
This was the goal of our ramble. We stopped for refreshment near the tree line, then made our way back down.
Back in April we took a walk with the Brighton Ramblers from Steyning town up to the Chanctonbury Ring, and unbeknownst to me I was recording images on chip 2 of my camera, where the next few days’ images remained until being discovered a couple of weeks ago,
