Herb Riddle's photos

An autumn walk along my local linear park just some days before the leaves were stripped away by wind and rain. HBM, enjoy the week.

Seen on our walk of Bratislava. We knew this was here and so sought it out, unfortunately I have taken this with a P.o.V that leaves the lid (top) of the sewer inspection hole largely out of sight behind our hero. “Čumil the Peeper is the brainchild of Viktor Hulík, created in 1997. He represents a smiling Communist worker who is either looking up skirts or reportedly saying to his government employer: "I pretend to work, you pretend to pay me.” Said to be Bratislava’s most famous inhabitant! Enjoy the day.

As the sun dips over the horizon and we move into the blue hour we are treated to a scene of tranquillity reminding us of days long past. This taken in Suffolk some time back now. This was posted here for this month CWP competition (The Blue Hour) but on reflection was a little too red for that and so here it is for you now. Enjoy full screen. Here is the one substituted for the competition: www.ipernity.com/doc/1081863/50649164

The answer of a Yorkshire farmer when asked where his sheep are! - Another pleasant view to the fields of Reeth with its walls, fences and barns. Sheep are everywhere around here so we are never far away from the baa sounds. Best full screen Have a good weekend.

Here we see part of the south edifice of the famous cathedral of York showing off it most beautiful architectural features in this late winter afternoon light. We had walked past earlier but this light was far more attractive. There are really too many superlatives to describe this all dominating homage to God and man, suffice to say that this building began in 1220 and took 250 years to complete. An earlier Anglo-Saxon church standing here was opened in 637AD. It is dedicated to St Peter.Best full screen. The Pip (adjacent photo) shows the choir just before Evening song. Enjoy the day.

A spectacular look at the choir in this lovely cathedral. It actually runs from west to east on our right hand side here. We arrived at the church too late for an internal visit but realised that we could attend the choir here for an hour. In the end it was full to capacity with the choristers' sat behind the candle lit places also to my right but not in view. Above me to my left was the majestic organ that together with the singers held everybody in thrall. I was amazed how good this phone photo came out as there was no flash and I noticed as I left that photography was in fact forbidden! Enjoy full screen

Roaming around the old town of Bratislava in Slovakia one comes across a few little alleys like this. Enjoy the week.

Driving back from the Aysgarth Falls we spotted this from the road before taking a closer look. We had visited the castle once before but in this instance on seeing the amount of visitors already there we forewent the experience. Bolton Castle is a 14th-century castle located near Leyburn in Wensleydale, Yorkshire. The castle is a Grade I listed building and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It was damaged in the English Civil War, and “slighted” afterwards, but much of it survived. Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned here for six months around 1568. It has never been sold and is still in the ownership of the descendants of the Scrope family. WiKi More info: boltoncastle.co.uk/what-to-do-yorkshire/medieval-castles-history PiP shows nearby Bolton Hall -owned by the same family. Best full screen. Enjoy the day.

Life on board, atop our river cruise: the Tui Isla. This is quite a long ship and we are about half way along the top. No swimming pools on these floating pleasure hotels but a lot of seats with some game area’s too. Sitting here, it would not be long before a waiter would ask if you required refreshments. When sailing under some of the lower bridges, these canopies would be collapsed, as well as the bridge/wheelhouse section. HBM, enjoy the week.

We are here in the York Railway museum, home to some of our most prestigious railway engines. This is the Mallard, officially the World’s fastest Steam Locomotive. This powerful, aerodynamic masterpiece rocketed to 126mph in 1938, a steam speed record that was never surpassed. It has been on display here since 1975 after retiring from service in 1963 It last completed a run in July 1988 from Doncaster to Scarborough and back. The need for speed Mallard is an A4 class locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley. The A4s were built to power high-speed trains in the late 1930s, and their shape was honed in a wind tunnel to help them cut through the air as cleanly as possible—making speeds of 120mph and above possible. www.railwaymuseum.org.uk The Pip, (adjacent photo-best full screen too) shows the cab view of the Mallard. Best full screen. Enjoy the day.

As the tea continues to brew see how much care is taken into keeping the interior here clean and shiny. It would have been a hive of activity in here with at least two men (women were rarely in these cabs during the days of steam) hard at work. The fireman, constantly shovelling coal into the firehole and the engine drivers hands never still as he adjust levers and turns the controlling valves. All this whilst trying to look ahead through the small side windows to see what is happening outside. At least they were lucky in here as they had side windows and a fully enclosed cab keeping the weather elements at bay. A rare thing in steam engines. This seen in the York Railway Museum. See adjacent photo for full view of the locomotive.

Minutes after taking the photo in the PiP I was amazed to see this cloud formation too. It is actually called a Lenticular cloud which are stationary clouds that form mostly in the troposphere, typically in parallel alignment to the wind direction. They are often comparable in appearance to a lens or saucer. Nacreous clouds that form in the lower stratosphere sometimes have lenticular shapes. The second PiP shows the same formation a few minutes later, which to me, looks a little more like a UFO. Of course I could be wrong about it being a cloud and it really was a giant UFO (˚◡˚) Enjoy full screen.

A look at the Autumn reflections on this most popular reservoir. Best full screen

A rather unusual view down this staircase seen in the most interesting ‘Bar Convent’ in the old city of York. To me this also reminded me of the old fairground rides. “The Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, at Micklegate Bar, York, England, established in 1686, is the oldest surviving Catholic convent in the British Isles. The laws of England at this time prohibited the foundation of Catholic convents and as a result of this, the convent was both established and operated in secret.” Wikipedia Best full screen Have a good weekend.

A rare trip to the Yorkshire city of York gives me a chance to see a live grand railway station. Here we are looking down onto platform six with one of the LNER (London North East Railway) Azuma trains ready to depart to London’s Kings Cross station The station itself was built in 1870 replacing the older one and is operated by the LNER and is on the ECML (East Coast Main Line). York being approximately halfway between London and Edinburgh. The original wooden station built in 1839 was the largest railway station in the world possessing 13 platforms. Best full screen. Enjoy the day.

As the sun drops below the horizon here in Budapest I see some attractive colours around this bridge. "Liberty Bridge or Freedom Bridge in Budapest, Hungary, connects Buda and Pest across the River Danube. It is the third southernmost public road bridge in Budapest, located at the southern end of the City Centre. It was originally named Ferenc József híd." Wikipedia The PiP shows it by day Best full screen.

A quite bench awaits someone here on my local railway path. HBM, enjoy the week

Almost the last of my captures from this area here. As the light swung from almost flat to startling dappled, I could not help myself but to snap this scene. See PiP for another view and approx location mapping. This is the last of this years magical trip to Scotland. I hope you have enjoyed my trip in the photos reproduced here. Enjoy full screen