Herb Riddle's photos

Our ship to explore some of the Mediterranean. Here in the little port of Propriano in Corsica. Nice jaw structure - you should see its teeth :) Happy Saturday ps home now

A fine modern fence guides us up these steps towards the local church. A journey no doubt taken by many local parishioners. Taken in Propriano, Corisica Enjoy the weekend

Only minutes before taking this, the sun was burning my head and I feared for sun-burn. We are in the mountain town of Sartene just doing a short two hour trip here, and I am looking NE into the Island interior. As it happened, no rain dropped here but we heard and saw the lightning. We were to be hit by the downpour on getting back to the harbour of Propriano. Best full screen.

A character out-house anchors this scenic view of modern Propriano and Baetaccia on the Island of Corsica. In the distance we see the large beach of 'Plage de Barac'. A good place here to bathe or take a small boat trip. We see here too, the more characteristic views of the islands rugged mountains some hours yet before the real storm arrives. HWW, have a great day.

After disembarking our ship we search nearby for the lighthouse we saw whilst sailing into port. Here we are on the rocky side whereas beyond the high quay is a sandy beach. Clear gentle waters beckon a swim but the water is still cool. In the distance are the green hills of this marvellous Island of Corsica. Nice full screen.

Corsica, France: having walked to the town centre we spy this church sitting at the highest point. It’s quite new at being built in 2005 and has a most most attractive interior. The Pip shows an outside view. Enjoy full screen. Have a great day

As we bask in hot sun at the moment, I am reminded here of our Springtime break in South Wales to cool us down. Taken from near 'The White Castle' and at the edge of 'Offas Dyke'. The hill is part of 'The Skirrid’, I think. The PiP shows another shot nearby. Enjoy full screen.

As we sail into the port of Propriano on the south west of this Island it is nice to see these fabled mountains and landscapes. This is big hiking country with wild wonderful hills, valleys and peaks as well as a wonderful coast but for us, a splendid small fishing and hillside town to explore today in the limited time available. As can be surmised, active weather was to hit us later in the day. Nice full screen.

A bit of rope can come in very handy to stop people venturing too far. Here we have a view just near the old fishing harbour looking up to the ‘Faro della Rocchetta’ – old lighthouse, disguised as a fortified tower. More concrete fences awaited us but that is for a later time. Enjoy the weekend

The start of our Mediterranean Cruise starts from Palma, Mallorca, Spain. Here we see its cathedral with its mountainous backdrop as we sail by, just as the sun starts to set. The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, more commonly referred to as La Seu, is a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral. It was begun by King James I of Aragon in 1229 but only finished in 1601. Nice full screen.

A quick trip to the French Island of Corsica and the town of Propriano brings me here. One of many back street scenes that are quite different from the ones I see in Britain. Enjoy full size

Within a narrow gorge known as “The Thrutch” within Healey Dell nature reserve and now overshadowed by the viaduct hides a pool and waterfall, before the flood of 1838 which destroyed it, it also contained a cavern in the rock which had a pulpit, reading desk and seats, formed by the action of the water. This is still known as the Fairies Chapel. In local folklore the Chapel was formed when the King of the Fairies, aiding Robert of Huntingdon to overcome a curse, turned a local coven of witches to stone. “There” the King said, “practice your unholy rites. There you have a chapel for your evil worship. And long may it be ere any mortal be so foolish as to seek you out in your wicked den.” In overcoming the witches, Robert was forced to sacrifice his uncle’s ring which was the only proof of his claim to the title of Huntingdon and thus took his first step towards his destiny as the outlaw Robin Hood. The Fairies Chapel enters folklore once more during the reign of Edward IV (1461-1470) when Ralph the Miller enticed Eleanor Byron (the betrothed of Oliver Chadwyke) to the Fairies Chapel in return for his own soul. Having himself been tricked into entering the Chapel whilst poaching, Ralph agreed to the exchange and set about a plan to convince Eleanor that he could make her “true love” appear to her. Eleanor having been betrothed to Oliver since childhood questioned whether her future husband was the man for her, so agreed to go fortune hunting with the miller. Having (at Ralph’s instruction) cast a token into the River Beal to carry her summons to her “one true love” she went to the Fairies Chapel at the appointed time, only to be confronted by the evil fairies intent on capturing her soul in exchange for immortality. With her soul in mortal danger, her true love was indeed summoned to her and Oliver came to her rescue, breaking the spell which bound her. The tale of Eleanor and Oliver was not to end happily, however. It was fortold that Eleanor would be “Maid, wife and widow, in one day!” and this came to pass when on return from their wedding the Traffords with whom the Chadwykes had a feud attacked slaying Oliver during the battle. Enjoy full screen.

I imagine the makers of this nice bench with the metal backrest and motifs had not thought about the English youth obsession to leave their mark on everything they can. Such are our times. Can’t say I approve, but who am I to say! Seen on our recent walk around Healey Dell. This was near the Fairies Chapel, but I cannot find any more info about it Enjoy full screen. Have a great day.

A look over a small pond over to the dam wall of Castleshaw lower reservoir. Only a 15 minute car ride from my home and a very pleasant walk up and around that reservoir when it is dry and warm as it was when I took this. Enjoy the day

A springtime sun shot from the lane going up to my local Dovestones reservoir. I have walked over here countless times and taken photos before but this looked a little different with the shadows and new paint. Enjoy the weekend

Found this after realising that I had not got a single snap of the lake here on Ipernity. I do not get to see our Lake District as often as I would like nowadays and so here is one taken a few years back on Ullswater as we walked along its shores. Fairly sure I am looking southwest towards Glenridding. Ullswater is a glacial lake and is the second largest lake in the region by both area and volume, after Windermere. It is about 7 miles long, ¾ miles wide, and has a maximum depth of 206 feet. Enjoy full screen.

Digging into my 2008 archives here to show another photo with a traditional stone barn and dry-stone walls from The Yorkshire Dales. This taken in the Wharfedale valley between Starbottom and Kettlewell. HWW, have a great day.

Near the end of our South Wales Govilon trip we paid a visit to the National Coal Museum at Blaenavon, the heart of which, was the pit itself. It was a working coal mine from 1880 to 1980 and opened to the public in 1983. It is one of the few mines that one can travel down the 89m (293ft) shaft to the tunnels below and experience what it may have been like for those, men, women, boys and horses. Unfortunately, for safety reasons neither camera’s not phones were allowed down there. Manned now by very enthusiastic x-miners, we were serenaded down by splendid Welsh choral harmonies. On returning to the surface, heavy rain had set in. My photograph shows a view of the pit itself as it has always been but the surrounding background buildings are far removed from what they were a century ago. The Pip shows the shaft winding house, now run by electricity but in the old days, steam would have been king here. In 1923, 1399 men were employed here. More info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Pit_National_Coal_Museum Enjoy full screen.