Glimpses of the past

The last time we visited the historic dockyard, in 2007, the remains of the Mary Rose were still being sprayed with a fine mist of water soluble wax to preserve the 16th century wood. Through the fog she was a mysterious sight but we knew she’d soon be dried out and open for clearer viewing. That process took many years and she finally welcomed visitors to the new museum, which had been built around her, in 2016, and yet it still took us another seven years to go back!

In keeping with the post-Christmas period of relaxation I decided to travel light for our visit to the Mary Rose Museum, taking just my iPhone along. It felt strangely liberating not to be carrying a ‘proper’ camera, but that wasn’t going to stop me capturing photos of the museum. Shooting almost everything through glass offer some challenges, but that would have been the same whatever equipment I was using.

As well as the ship, the museum is packed with items found in and around the ship when she was brought up from the Solent and it was fascinating to see glimpses of life on King Henry VIII’s ship. Many wooden and bone artefacts survived remarkably well, buried in the mud, but very few iron objects (such as the gun carriage above) made it through the centuries without rusting away.

Several skulls were on display, belonging to particular members of the ship’s crew. From memory I think this one belongs to the cook, Ny Cop, whose engraved wooden bowl appears below, alongside a second bowl belonging to another crew member.

Photos taken 27 December 2023

From Pittenweem to the Cold War

One of our days out during our Scottish holiday featured a very curious combination of destinations. We began at the delightful fishing village of Pittenweem, on the Fife coast.

After a stroll through the village we ended up at the harbour where we found a plethora of colourful fishing boats. Chatting to one of the locals we learnt that the iron structure pointing out from the top of the harbour building a winch which is used to fill the boats with ice to keep the catch cold.

As we stood on the harbour wall, a trawler returned to harbour, followed by a flock of gulls.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

One of the local inhabitants.

After a tasty fish and chip lunch we headed back out into the Scottish countryside and found a flock of sheep who were intrigued by our presence!

During our drive to Pittenweem that morning we’d noticed a tourist sign announcing ‘Scotland’s Secret Bunker’ (not so secret now!) which piqued our interest so we headed there to investigate. This unassuming house was the access point for a bunker where the government would have kept track of nuclear radiation over this area of Scotland and helped keep what was left of the country running in the event of a nuclear attack during the Cold War.

There were a number of these scattered around the UK and we’ve visited the one at Kelvedon Hatch (not far from our home) in Essex before so it was interesting to compare them. Like its Essex counterpart, the Scottish bunker is accessed via a long corridor and some stairs, leading you deep beneath the surface.

As we explored the building we saw the different activities which would have taken place there, from monitoring the weather and wind (to see which way the nuclear fallout would have travelled) to keeping the core functions of government going.

Because staff would have lived here for many months the bunker also has dormitories, a chapel and a canteen.

Rather unexpectedly we learnt the bunker is home to two cats these days - no doubt tasked with keeping the mice under control. One of them, called Cleo, obligingly posed for a photo. Of course, the cat flap is a more recent addition - it certainly wouldn’t have been up to the task of keeping out the nuclear radiation!

Many of the spaces were decorated to give a sense that the staff had just popped away for a moment. These human details and the dramatic lighting made these places quite eerie.

Telephone switchboards and weather monitoring. One of the tools that would have been used to learn more about a nuclear attack was a giant pinhole camera positioned on the surface. In the event of a nuclear blast someone would have been sent above ground to unload the photographic paper from the camera and then develop it. The image of the explosion would then have shown the direction and size of the explosion. Fortunately none of these plans were ever needed but it’s a fascinating glimpse back at this period of history and how government would have continued if the worst had happened.

The station doctor has evidently been here a very long time!

Photos taken 28 April 2023.

Small scenes

We enjoyed a short break in north Norfolk recently and while we were there ticked off a National Trust property that’s been on my ‘must visit’ list for a long while - Felbrigg Hall. I tend to visit stately homes without a pre-planned agenda, photographically speaking. Sometimes I’ll be taken by wide, sweeping shots of the architecture, while on other occasions it’ll be the smaller details which draw me in. On this occasion most of my photos fall into the latter category.

More often than not it’s the light that draws me in, as it falls on something photogenic or creates a lovely contrast of light and shadow. Felbrigg was full of such corners and Kevin ended up having to wait for me to catch up as I kept getting waylaid by interesting photo opportunities.

Click on any of the photos to see them larger.

I’m always drawn to libraries, and this one even had a private room with a chamber pot!

Photos taken October 2022

Northern Ireland in slow motion

Back in June we flew over to Northern Ireland for a holiday and for the first time in nearly three decades I took a film camera with me. I chose to take my little wooden 6x6 pinhole camera - about as simple a machine as you can use for image making. Getting the film to our destination was a tad stressful, not knowing whether the scanning machines at security would be old fashioned X-rays (which are ok with slower film) or the newer CT scanners, which will wipe your film before it’s even been developed! Fortunately all was well and the fact that you’re seeing my photos means they made it through unscathed.

The beautiful sand dunes at Portstewart Strand

Our destination was a cottage on the north coast, at Castlerock, which gave us endless places to visit along the coastline. One of our early ports of call was Portstewart Strand, a beautiful sandy beach, with dunes stretching as far as the eye can see.

Just a couple of miles from our cottage was the charming Mussenden Temple, a Georgian gem. Once upon a time it stood far enough inland that it was possible to drive a horse and carriage right around its circumference. With coastal erosion this is now far from possible and one wonders whether it will ultimately fall into the sea, or perhaps steps will be taken to dismantle the Temple and move it away from the precipice.

On the same site, but further inland stands Downhill House, another Georgian building which hasn’t survived as well as the Temple. During World War II it was used to house RAF servicemen and women, but all that remains today is a shell - it’s amazing how quickly a building can be reclaimed by nature if it’s left untouched.

Kevin kindly loitered in the doorway to create a human silhouette for me here

One of the places at the top of our ‘must visit’ list was, of course, the Giant’s Causeway. I’ve seen countless images of these amazing basalt columns but it was even better to see them firsthand. I took a leap of faith and used only my pinhole camera to photograph the causeway, trusting that the slowish exposure times would blur or remove many of the tourists. I’m so pleased I did as the resulting photos are more atmospheric and characterful than anything I could have made with a digital camera. Naturally, I received some curious looks from the other tourists as I climbed around the rocks with a wooden box atop my tripod, but I’m used to that now!

Do click on the thumbnails to see these larger - it’s worth it!

A Giant’s Causeway selfie with a difference - we had to remain as still as possible for ten seconds!

Views of the Causeway from our walk back to the visitor centre…

My final pinhole location of the holiday was the magical Dunluce Castle, just a few miles west of the Causeway. Standing on a rocky outcrop and reached by a bridge, it’s astonishing that building such an impressive structure here was possible in the early 16th century. It must have been an imposing sight in its heyday but today it remains as a decaying shell.

Photos taken in June 2022