Lancashire

This giant bridge in the desert is in reality a 25cm piece of drift-wood on the beach at Formby Point near Southport on the Lancashire coast. A magic moment caught just moments before all was gone again. Another that deserves to be viewed full screen.

A rather artistic view here but not a distraction I hope.

** HERE IS HOPING THAT WE CAN GET BACK TO SHARING WITH OUR FAMILY, FRIENDS AND COMMUNITIES SOON! ** A dull wet windy day at Blackpool can be made quite bright. Here we have an insight into one of my other hobbies (Ballroom dancing) as we see the dancers take to the floor on this Monday afternoon tea-dance. In the background, we can spot the famous rising Wurlitzer organ.

Stroll with me through these woodlands and experience the sounds, smells and light of our natural parks in Autumn.

There are fences everywhere in Britain. Here we see a lone fence on a big beach at Formby Point near Southport. HFF to all, and enjoy your weekend, Herb See Pip for my other Dune fence. ps more info on these fences: www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/heritagemanagement/erosion/appendix_1.4.shtml

A rare steam capture for me, here we see the 'Witherslack Hall' pulling mixed vintage carriages to its terminus from Heywood on the 'East Lancashire Railway' line: www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk Built for the famous GWR around 1948, this 4-6-0 was mostly stationed at the Main GW Paddington Railway shed. More info about this iconic engine: www.gcrailway.co.uk/the-railway/locomotives/6990-witherslack-hall See PiP for close-up detail. Worth viewing full screen. Enjoy

The Dee estuary towards the Welsh coast always has attendant weather. This snap taken between heavy showers displays the possibility to of a quite walk.

The lifting bridge at Salford Keys, Manchester. A new bridge going over one of the many waterways at these keys, from 'The Lowery Centre' to Imperial Point. A lot of glass around here, hence the interesting reflections too.

Seen in the recent Winter snowstorms -just a mile or so from home. I'm always amazed how these sheep can be out in all weathers. The chances are that they are both pregnant too as lambing time is usually March/April.

A warm day takes me on now a rare outing to this wonderful Lancashire town and its River Ribble walk. Here we are at the start of our five mile round walk along both sides of this splendid river, seen here in drought conditions with my new Tokina 11-16mm. The bridge is the very old Edisford Bridge. About Edisford Bridge, Clitheroe Edisford Bridge incorporates the structure of a five arched bridge possibly dating from 1339, when a grant of pontage was made. Today the bridge has nine spans and is considerably wider than the original. It is thought that a timber bridge had been constructed on the same spot before that date. Edisford - "the nobleman's ford" or Anglo-Saxon nobleman - was the scene of an 1139 battle, where King David of Scotland's army fought and defeated the less numerous Lancastrians. The 1339 bridge was 2.44m wide, later widened by 3.65m on the downstream side. It had pointed cutwaters. Its arches were Gothic in shape and each had three ribs. These can still be seen under the main arch. The four arches to the east (nearest Clitheroe) span the river, the others are over the meadow. The first is a squared Gothic ribbed arch made of sandstone. It spans 7.5m and rises 2.6m. The second span is the largest. It is a segmental circular arch, measuring 17.95m across and rising 4.2m. The next two arches are Gothic and ribbed, spanning 7.6m and 7.7m, and rising 2.47m and 2.56m. The following five spans are over land. Starting at the river, they measure 7.8m, 4.3m, 3m, 3m and 2.9m. Their rises are 1.85m, 1.7m, 1.4m, 1.2m and one metre. All are segmental circular arches. The bridge is located about a mile west of Clitheroe Castle and is the subject of a noted painting by Turner. www.transporttrust.com/heritage

As I see perfect reflections and try to stop the front bright sun from obliterating the scene the end result is this, Moments later the birds where in the air and the reflections starting to vanish.

Another dune fence from me here, again done at Formby on the Merseyside coast. I have tried to capture the timeless feeling that these scenes provoke as the sun goes down. Footprints and shadows make it for me. I wish you all, a great weekend, Herb Best viewed full screen. See PiP for my other Dune Fence

A night view from my local Hartshead Pike looking west towards my hometown of Oldham with the city of Manchester on the left too, including some of the brighter stars. I have left this at a very big 4000px wide so that you too can bathe in all its glory. This is a four photo stitch, 11mm, 800iso, 2.5s @ f5.6 Enjoy large, in black & F11 pip

We can see this local monument from our windows. To get there, it is a 60 minute walk or a short car ride. In the depth of winter, it is another story altogether, as you can see, my once walked country lane that I traveled –completely blocked by deep snow and drifts. The fence here-part of the scene as well. This was actually taken in 2010. A little too nice to be left languishing and so its nice to present it back here in our HFF group. Enjoy full size on black. HFF, have a great weekend.

The recent cold spell and snowfall provided me with another chance to get a winter fence. Here, just an hours walk from my home is a tree and seemingly the same horse that I have been photographing for years. This time this HFF group has pulled me closer to the fence. I wish you all, a great weekend, Herb

These scenes are getting much rarer than they once where over here in England, as more and more of these old brick mills are demolished or ironically, destroyed by fire. Not far from my home, this makes for a rather unusual neck-aching view where for a moment you don’t know if you are going up or down. Of course the solid red rails (or fences) are meant to keep you safe in the event of an emergency exodus here. Enjoy full size on black. PiPs. HFF, have a great weekend.

After browsing today, a 1925 photo book of old Germany, every large page in magnificent sepia, I was tempted to remind myself of how our modern digital scenes might look again using this effect. Here, after a brief cold snap, is a local reservoir, seen in quite a different light. Enjoy full size on black. ps look at the dates of this and my last photo here.