After my last post I had thought I might follow up with some apparently intelligent thoughts around things I wanted to say but on reflection realised that all that would have come out would have been an angry rant around a particular set of topics.. for example the environment, consumerism, the government.. or indeed the political classes in general (not fit for purpose), cars.. especially ridiculous cars like giant luxury 4x4s, otherwise known in these parts, …
Close to Home Archive
That thing that never happens in Cornwall…
…happened. It’s not news anymore, at least not if you’re in the UK, but I did enjoy a rather splendid afternoon, all the mud on the trails is now frozen solid… an opportunity not to be missed. And snow, there was snow.
January
January was the darkest winter month I can remember.. endless days of rain and gales.. riding in rain became the norm, I lost the motivation to get in or on the water… moments of brightness were few and far between but they did happen. I dusted off my old film cameras before Christmas and have been trying to be disciplined enough to use them more. In particular I’d forgotten how nice the handling of Zeiss …
October Early Weekend
Thursday morning dawned filthy wet and misty, the forecast promised better however so when the rain began to ease around midday, and with the encroaching winter very much in mind, camping gear, food, and fishing clobber was hastily thrown at bikes for a cheeky early weekend at a favourite spot just 50km east of here.
A Vintage Autumn
Arguments over whether it is late summer or early autumn aside, it is turning into a vintage season for blackberries. Apparently the summer was warm and damp while I was away, and this is the result. My Surly Cross Check makes a great tool for foraging with an old tub zip-tied to the front rack, either for specific missions or simply while out enjoying the trails. Something else it does really well given there is …
January Kayak Sheep…
It is seldom that sea kayaks and sheep appear all wrapped up in the same story but that’s what happens I suppose when one ventures north of the border into Devon, which, if you’re from West Cornwall, really is like visiting a foreign country.. they talk funny and do cream teas all wrong.. It’s not a difficult story to tell however as I have pictures. Before I start however I should introduce our protagonists, my friends …
Bicycle book-ending
Every year around this time, well.. always on the 24th, around lunchtime, to be precise, I load my bike and pedal east to the ‘ancestral home’ for a couple of days. I find the bike ride there and back makes a terrific, and deeply satisfying ‘book-end’ to a lovely family Christmas… it’s also a super opportunity to enjoy the nostalgia associated with childhood and Christmas and so on by riding around all the lanes and backroads …
Last Days of Autumn
If used to the fall colours of the eastern US and Canada then autumn in the UK might, possibly, seem rather dull by comparison… but it isn’t really. The palette is just rather more subtle and subdued. I think it is quite beautiful, especially towards the close of autumn as the winter storms encroach leaving just the last few splashes of colour to lift the greys and browns of the winter landscape. A riding buddy and I took ourselves on …
Misty Trip East
I’ve been utterly uninspired to take pictures from my kayak since returning from Mingulay. Summer light on the ocean is rarely that interesting, I much prefer the drama of winter days afloat. Yesterday however I thought I could be bothered – but just my old GF2 + 28mm in its housing because it makes a very small package and I don’t mind too much having it on my deck. As it happened conditions were OK for pictures..
Revisiting Summer
Having been utterly lacking with regard to motivation to write anything recently I thought I might make the effort to tell a very brief story of a regression to the summers of my childhood. Not that I ever grew up or anything it’s just that those warm summer days with their soundtrack of skylarks high above the fields of ripening wheat and the hum of bees around the wild flowers feel as if they have been …
Summer Nights
Just a couple of snaps from the just past weekend local ‘adventure’ with friends. I was going to include them as part of a post I’m working on that, for once isn’t about me, ha, and that also, for a change, requires me to think a little about what I’m going to write – it’s important you see. I changed my mind however on including them in that post so, while that one sits in my …
A quick spin north
When I last wrote the long range forecast suggested a weather window might form for a sea kayak journey to explore the uninhabited islands and islets that form the most southerly limits of the Outer Hebrides. With a few days in hand in the meantime I decided to hop on my bike and head north from Barra for a few days to explore some favourite places from the landward side, previously only seen from the seat …
Back on Barra
I’m back on the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides for a bit, visiting friends and renewing my acquaintance with this rather wonderful corner of the world. Some folk may remember I spent a summer out here working as a sea kayak guide for local operator Clearwater Paddling (http://www.clearwaterpaddling.com). It is a world class sea kayaking destination and that summer was one of the happiest I can remember – a combination of wild camping …
Early Spring Lunch
Last weekend Cornwall was still very much in the grip of winter, but spring does appear to have since arrived… yesterday the sun was warm, the wind was light and the lanes were fragrant with the scent of flowers.. so a spin out for lunch with a riding buddy was in order.. it turned into an all day, slightly muddy, exploration of Penwith backroads, bridleways and tracks with lunch in the sunshine atop the granite cliffs …
A brief interlude of summer
I’ll finish the five photos thing later this week, for the minute however a brief interlude of summer.. it’s been something of a scarcity recently so perhaps deserves a mention..