Our visit to Southern England took in several diverse places. Each is described below.
ARUNDEL
Arundel is a small but pretty town on the West Sussex coast. It is dominated by the castle which dates back to the Norman conquest but was extensively enlarged and modernised in the Victorian era.
ARUNDEL
Arundel is a small but pretty town on the West Sussex coast. It is dominated by the castle which dates back to the Norman conquest but was extensively enlarged and modernised in the Victorian era.
The castle also overlooks the beautiful rolling Southern Downs.
Inside we were threatened by a medieval crossbowman.... actually he gave us a very interesting talk on the history of the bow and arrows. An arms race between the armourer and the archer.
Inside were several displays of scenes throughout the history of the castle. In this civil war scene a body lies in a shroud.
Unfortunately for security reasons, photography is prohibited throughout most of the castle. However, outside the gardens were in full bloom.
In the garden was a wooden summerhouse decorated with real deer antlers....
From the garden the Cathedral Church of Our Lady and Sir Philip Howard can be seen.
Of more interest to me was this beautiful Maserati parked in the town !
SELSEY BILL
On our way back from Arundel we made a quick visit to Selsey Bill which is a seaside village. The highlight is the lifeboat station which dominates the shingle beach. As luck would have it, there was a lifeboat launch practice just after we arrived.
The lifeboat station has to be in deep water for launching the boat, so a steel walkway connects the station with the shore.
With its small fishing boats bathed in the warm glow of the late summer sun, it could almost be the Mediterranean.
Fishing is both a living and a pastime here.
He needn't have bothered as there was plenty of discarded fish in boxes on the shore ..... However the fish weren't too happy about it !!
We left a little cairn to remember our visit....
MARWELL ZOO
Marwell Zoo near Winchester is a really good zoo. It is large and has lots of endangered species. It's big failing is in its signage. Unless you have a map it is very difficult to find anything and even then some pens are tucked away out of sight. I hope you enjoy the following selection, the highlight of which must be the clouded leopards at the end of this section.
A surprise sight to greet us were these flamingoes which had laid eggs.
The giraffe enclosure was good because it had a high viewing platform where you could get really close to the feeding stations.
The zoo has quite a few zebra. Many, like this one, were really annoyed by large numbers of flies.
Not all the animals are large. This tiny Dorcas Gazelle is not much bigger than a large dog.
Sparring with your brother helps pass the time ...
These Nyala are very handsome beasts and look like Bongo to me.
Other handsome beasts are the Oryx. This one is the Scimitar Horned Oryx.
Not quite so attractive, but very impressive are the White Rhino.
You can hardly miss a White Rhino, but stick insects can be very difficult to spot.
I have seen many TV documentaries about leaf cutter ants but I was surprised how small they are - about the same size as a common garden ant. Maybe there are different varieties.
This little guy is a Dwarf Mongoose
And these sleepy customers are Ocelots. They are slightly bigger than a domestic cat.
I had heard of Przewalski's Horses before but never seen one. They were extinct in the wild but captive breeding has saved them. They look like a cross between a pony and a zebra because of the shape of the head and distinctive mane.
Not all animals at the zoo are real. They have many automated dinosaur models scattered around the zoo, including this T. Rex.
OK. Back to the real animals and this lovely Somali Wild Ass.
Another antelope, this time it is the majestic Sable Antelope.
Now we have a selection of birds. This one is the Secretary Bird, so called because it reminded Victorian naturalists of a secretary with quill pens stuck behind their ears.
This small colourful bird is a Village Weaver Bird.
Snowy Egrets always make for a nice photo.
Night Herons are also a common bird.
This unusual bird is the African Hammerkop.
These delightful little birds are Sun Conures.
Something larger in the flightless Greater Rhea.
There were several primate species in the zoo, but this White Faced Saki caught my eye.
Now the stars of the zoo - SNOW LEOPARDS. Unfortunately the enclosure was fronted with mesh and glass making photography particularly difficult shooting into the afternoon sun. I hope the photos speak for themselves.....
BUCKLER'S HARD
Buckler's Hard is a hamlet in the New Forest, Hampshire that built wooden ships for the Royal Navy in the eighteenth century. There is very little to it, just one street that led down to the slipways. When wooden shipbuilding went into decline, the hamlet reverted back to smuggling and is now a museum.
A model of the original eighteenth century village
The hamlet today looking down towards the river.
The museum contains the story of shipbuilding in the area plus numerous original artefacts.
BEAULIEU
Beaulieu is the stately home of Lord Montague and is also home to the National Motor Museum.
I visited it many years ago and wasn't very impressed. A return visit left much the same impression as the cars are packed far too close to get any decent photographs. There aren't that many cars on display either. I much prefer the Haynes International Motor Museum in Sparkford, Somerset.
Anyway, because of the restrictive conditions I had to concentrate mainly upon details of the cars rather than the whole car.
The first photo is of the famous Spirit of Ecstasy associated with Rolls Royce. This has a connection with Beaulieu as the model was Eleanor Thornton (known as "Thorn") who was the lover of the 2nd Lord Montague. She died in 1915 when the ship Persia on which they were both travelling was torpedoed near Crete. He survived.
My personal favourite in the collection is this 1910 Type 15 Bugatti, even the engine is a work of art.
My wife Linda has more style and her favourite is this 1935 Auburn 851 from the USA.
Mercedes didn't skimp on stars, even the top of the radiator has them on this 1928 36/220 which belonged to the actor Peter Ustinov.
Unfortunately, nobody has the time now to polish all that chrome and brass.
The best view of a car is a 3/4 front or rear view. This view shows off the nice clean lines of this 1971 Ford Capri.
In Beaulieu, the emphasis is on speed and record breaking cars. Some are displayed imaginatively such as these racing cars.
This is the world's fastest stem powered car at 151 mph (243 km/h).
Other record breakers were on display including Sunbeams, Golden Arrow and Bluebird.
Not all vehicles are static. Some are run around the grounds to keep them roadworthy.
In addition to the Motor Museum attractions include the stately home and gardens containing unusual works of art...
LIBERTY'S OWL, RAPTOR & REPTILE CENTRE
On our final day we spent the morning at this bird and reptile centre. Although they have many lovely and interesting birds, the highlight was the American Bald Eagle. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed the visit.
On our final day we spent the morning at this bird and reptile centre. Although they have many lovely and interesting birds, the highlight was the American Bald Eagle. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed the visit.
IGUANA
BLACK KITE
SNOWY OWL
PEREGRINE FALCON
BARBARY FALCON
AMERICAN BALD EAGLE
RED TAILED HAWK You can easily see how it got its name.
SIBERIAN EAGLE OWL
BLACK KITE
DORSET SHIRE HORSE CENTRE
Our final visit was to this Shire Horse centre that had lots of farm animals and other interesting birds and equipment.