Herb Riddle's photos

Another view from the Pen-ffordd-goch pond round walk, on the side of ‘The Blorenge’. Big hiking country for those liking the taste of the countryside. Enjoy full screen. Have a great day.

Just about a 15 minute drive from our holiday cottage in Govilon, Wales, we thought it might be interesting to search out some local history. We found this site linked to a fine walk. ‘Established in the late 18th Century near the site of an earlier works and forge, Clydach Ironworks continued operating until 1884 employing at that time 1350 men. In 1986 the site was excavated and partially restored but it was subsequently abandoned. The exposed remains include three furnaces and one charging house, together with the pit for a 12.8m diameter cast-iron water-wheel. The air blast for the original furnaces 1 and 2 was provided by the waterwheel; air for furnaces 3 and 4 being provided by a steam engine. Sited in a beautiful location rich in industrial archaeology, tramroads and pathways, the nearby beech woodlands are some of the oldest in Wales. ‘ Enjoy full screen.

A historical look at one of my local reservoirs here. Its Piethorne reservoir and this gate reflects its heritage connection to my local town of Oldham and the now defunct Oldham Corporation Waterworks. It had control of quite a few reservoirs for our drinking water but now all that is controlled by a conglomerate area organisation. This gate looks like it has been recently created and painted. The footpath entrance is just a meter or so to the right. Enjoy the weekend.

Looking like many barns in my more familiar Yorkshire Dales, this is a view as we walked around the Vale of Ewyas. Enjoy full screen.

A glimpse at this old castle ruin in the village of Tretower in Powys, Wales. We did try to find a possible entrance, to no avail. I think this might be the view from the back. It was built around the beginning of the twelfth century as a motte and bailey castle and this was probably replaced mid-century by a stone shell keep. The castle was enlarged in the early thirteenth century, but later fell into ruin. Another description reads: It was the creation of Sir Roger Vaughan and his descendants. During the Wars of the Roses Sir Roger became one of the most powerful men in Wales – and Tretower reflected his fame. It became a magnet for medieval Welsh poets who drank its fine wines and sang the praises of its generous host. Enjoy full screen. PiP HWW, have a great day.

Another look at the ‘Dark Hedges’ of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. After being reminded of this scene by photos in that esteemed publication ‘Landscape Artist of the Year’ my comparison photos taken last June (22) still seemed to lack something that made it extra special. Of course my limited two visits during specific times and one of those with lots of tourist dictated my output. I guess the thing that was missing in mine was the lack of trees that used to be there but have been blown over by severe storms during the last few years leaving big gaps in places akin to missing teeth. Here is my attempt at showing the density and encapsulating feeing of this lane by using a long lens, and monotones. Ideally I would have liked the road to be more centralised but… we have what we have :) See Pips. Nice full screen Have a great day.

Spring is such a delightful time for nature. Its when there is new life everywhere. Here we see two very young lambs getting to know each other better but the chances are that they are siblings anyway. Taken on the River Usk, Abergavenny. This is a familiar sight to many British people as much of our rural countryside still have sheep roaming around but as time goes on I am afraid each year there are less farm animals, as farmers find they are uneconomical and our open spaces gets smaller and less healthy. Best full screen. Have a good day and week. Herb ps sheep feature heavily on our Easter greeting cards.

Wishing all my viewers here a Happy Easter with one of our garden Daffodils. (The tulips have all had their heads eaten away by our local squirrel that seems to be addicted to them.) Best full screen. Have a good day and week. Herb

As we almost reach the summit here, the weather starts to turn towards the promised rains with these clouds. Just beyond these small rocks is the steep hill edge down into the valley below. Behind me, higher still a few hundred metres, stands the trig-point. See Pip. Best full screen.

Just a couple of weeks ago we were spending a week’s holiday at a small Welsh village called Govilon. Here we are, in that tall white house by the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal. I am stood on the road bridge just parallel to this attractive footbridge. The thing we never did was to take a boat ride on the canal but a great spot for many small adventures nevertheless. Wishing you a Peaceful Good Friday and Easter

We are on our way to the summit and are looking down the hill onto the town of Abergavenny on the right. It’s a hefty climb from below to here but some souls are giving it a go. The River Usk also makes another appearance. To the left are the ‘Black Mountains’ range of Wales. Directly in front of us we see ‘Sugar Loaf’ mountain and then on the back right: ‘The Skirrid’. The blue sky you see here with this super wide angle shot was the last we saw for some days. Best full screen.

A trip to the famous town of Hay-on-Wye, in Powys, Wales, allows us to lunch inside this very old building, now a museum and café. The town’s present fame however stems from the fact that with over twenty bookshops, it is often described as "the town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the site of the annual Hay Festival. See PiP for the back of the building. And, yes, I did buy some books. Hay Castle is a medieval fortification and 17th-century mansion house in the small town of Hay-on-Wye. Originally constructed as part of the Norman invasion of Wales, the castle was designed as a ringwork overlooking the town in either the late-11th or early-12th centuries. The castle has a very rich history which is well worth reading more about: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay_Castle An even better story arises out of the 'Matlilda de Braose' legend of 1215, when she and her son were thrown into the dungeon here by King John and slowly starved to death. The outcome of this resulted in part of the writing of the Magna Carta. See: www.flaminglady.com/copy-of-flaming-ladies-of-hay-1 Enjoy full screen and have a great day.

A local walk on a very rare sunny spring day takes me past some conifer trees all laden with these new shoots and cones. A good time to be out and about. Best full screen.

A trip to the old village of Clydach in Gwent South Wales to do an old industrial trail walk brings us out on this high old railway line, now a linear park walk with good views as can be seen. The impressive hill in the distance is called the ‘Sugar Loaf’ mountain at 1955ft. Enjoy full screen. Have a great day.

As we hike towards the summit of this dominant hill, we take a look down towards the east. The road is the A40 running east west through the town of Abergavenny . The town golf club is identified by its greens and bunkers just to the left of the River Usk directly below. Best full screen.

We are on our way to the summit of The Blorenge here, and this pond is a starting point for many of the footpaths. We take a stroll around it. Formerly Forge or Keeper's Pond, it was constructed as a reservoir storing water to power Garnddyrys Forge which was established in 1816-17 and had ceased operation in 1861. Just past the edge of the water is a bench lined path and just beyond that, a very steep big valley to the village of Govilon and the canal below. To my left here we can still see remains of the many years of coal mining in this area with these slag heaps. See Pips Best full screen.

Yes, another look at our days of winter here in Oldham. As yesterday the temperature soared to 16c+ it is hard to think that this was only taken a couple of weeks ago. Taken on my white walk to my local Strinesdale reservoir. Have a good weekend.

Another shot from Offas Dyke near the White Castle this time to the South East. Below us is the tiny village of Llanvetherine with its ‘St James the Elder' church. The large hill in the background is called ‘The Skirrid’, a very popular hill seen for miles around and which is normally captured from the northwest. It is part of the Black Mountains in Wales and has a prominence of 344m. As can be seen, spring is on its way and these sheep may soon be accompanied by their lambs. Best full screen.