Trip to Three Locks

               The opportunity to meet up with family is not an opportunity to miss under the current situation, so when my younger daughter called to suggest a meeting halfway between both of us, with her children. The destination on offer was for us both to head to the Three Locks Public House on the Grand Union Canal.

               We both had a reasonable idea of just how far this destination was from each of us and though I arrived earlier, it was not long before we both pulled up along the main road. It was a bright afternoon with large clouds in a bright blue sky — excellent weather for us all to be out in the fresh air and at the healthy distance as required under the current restrictions, and for me to grab the obvious photo opportunities available. It was a chance to catch up with Lizzy and for the children to run around in a different location. I was pleasantly surprised that despite the obviously well known spot, there was more than enough space for everyone to have no difficulty in keeping adequate separation at all times.

               As before, the camera I chose on this occasion was the LUMIX FZ10002, especially since this was very much a family outing, not a specifically photographic sortie, though still too good an opportunity to miss in such inviting weather, and photogenic location. The only disappointment was just how short a time we had together. I have to admit that I do find it tough to be forever keeping my distance from my family; especially as we have always been ones for family hugging.

               So to my mind the gallery of images in this instance was simply my stamp on the occasion, and a memory of a relaxing, all too short time in glorious sunshine with family and a camera as ongoing therapy!

Canal and Reservoir, by Tring – All Life Abounds

      I have visited these lakes over several years, and in all weathers, and they never disappoint — the most recent is no different, though the start point and the route were different. The start was at the Wendover Arm, which beyond its present end, is being restored, and the reason, I investigated this short stretch was on the off chance I might encounter kingfishers, but I was destined to be disappointed, none of those I encountered and questioned had seen any along this short stretch. 

I returned to my startpoint, and took the opposing direction, which I knew would bring me to where the canal would link with the familiar stretch that skirted the narrow neck of Marsworth Reservoir. Before that point however, I paused a while to watch a young bird head across the canal to forage food along a narrow ridge on the Heygates Mill side, and whilst that crossing was made I spotted a Grey Wagtail flit from the cover of the trees onto the towpath, and eventually I was rewarded by a few shots, before it decided I had reached the extent of my quota, but at least I was just quick enough to capture it in flight!

Along this stretch of the canal, I was again lucky enough to get a few shots of the rather fine Banded Demoiselle damselfly; I had found a spot where the patches of floating weeds, close by the Bank seemed to hold their interest, but only so far, I only spotted one occasion when one actually landed on these islands, they seemed to prefer the reeds, which made my ability to get clear shots almost impossible! Their iridescent colour is captivating.

The. Swans and Canada Geese had young families to protect, and one Swan became determined to make one Canada Goose realise, that it was not welcomed so close to its own youngster! The highlight of my day was when I was watching one of my personal favourite aquatic birds the Great Crested Grebe, this one proved to be a highly efficient angler of the underwater denizens of the lake, freshwater crawfish and smaller fishes — he made three successful dives during the time I was watching, and he obliged to coming reasonably close once he had had his fill, and began his grooming; by that time, the surface of the water was remarkably still, making the shot number 102 in the final gallery totally serene, and no doubt one day will become a greetings card image for a family member or  friend, as it is so surreal and serene.

I never tire of Grebe or Kingfisher images, but there are some others that to me are special, the Teal, and the Mandarin Duck, and now the Sigma Sports 60-600mm, especially with the 1.4x Converter bring these birds so much closer.

Marsworth January 2018 Reservoir Visit

After several days with almost no sun, this day held promise, but the high wind did require some thought be given to how to reduce windchill; in sheltered areas this was less of an issue and with no rain. I set off south via country roads in case trunk roads were congested or suffered from wind-related accidents, and headed towards Tring Reservoirs.

 I chose a heavy corduroy overcoat and my fingerless gloves with silk gloves beneath. I can say this was indeed a good choice, because when topped off with a woolly hat that came over my ears, I was not in the least bothered by the cold! The wind did dictate a heavy tripod, so my load could not be classed as light in weight, and necessitated changes over which shoulder I carried the assembled Gitzo-mounted, 7D MkII, with the 150-600m Sigma lens. This was as much to check nothing had worked loose as to give me a rest.

On the journey I was called back by a government-sponsored survey that seemed almost impossible to avoid, so although I concentrated on road safety, I put less effort into choosing the route I was taking and no sooner had this been completed, my phone rang again and it was the Water Bailliff for Tringford Reservoir, so I stopped in the wide entrance to a caravan park to take the call. Before leaving I spotted the Ivinghoe Beacon’s iconic shape in the distance so decided to grab some shots with it on the distant skyline before continuing, since Bob was just leaving having been there for some hours, so there was no hurry.

I had forgotten to bring my key to the parking area which was a shame, but at least there was plenty of space due probably to the cold. I assembled my gear and headed towards the canal, and found myself able to cover River and Canal Trust making their way through the locks which made interesting images of their transit. The reed beds had suffered a battering in the last few days of heavy wind, but every so often those that still stood made interesting pictures, and were a sufficient challenge to capture, as were a Pochard and Gull, and so rather than lump the three disparate groups of images into a single gallery, I have given them a gallery each, which are Canal Trust Transit, Pochard Preening, and Attempted Gull Landing Aborted.

So here are their Links – Click on either of the images to reach the relevant gallery thumbnails.

It was good to be outside taking photos again, this day at least had some sunshine!

A Visit to Slapton Lock – Gull War

Gull Wars-Territorial Dispute

I decided I might like to check out the Lensmaster Gimbal Head, manufactured in this country at Grimsby with both the EOS 7D MkII and the Tamron 150-600mm lens, so I headed for Slapton Lock.

As I was about to leave my parked car a large estate pulled up and three men came out, seeing me with my camera and tripod, we got into conversation and I learned they were interested in locating a shrike that was rumoured to be nearby, I had heard a day or two back one had been seen near a bridge on the Grand Union Canal, but could not be sure of the number, though I thought it was 128; they had a chat amongst themselves and set off for Bridge 118 as they reckoned it was more likely. I later learned from at least two others that the shrike was indeed at 118 and they had all met up.

Since it was too far to walk encumbered with my gear, I took a chance and stayed alongside the canal, in the end all I had to my credit were gulls fighting for a landing spot on a canalside pole, but that was certainly better than nothing, and I did find it amusing. Some birds managed to retain their perch, but others squawked noisily but relinquished their tenure with minimal opposition; two against one made that a fair choice! The burst speed of the EOS7D proved its worth in these shots, but some of these could have benefitted from my pausing to lower the ISO when the sun broke through a bit.

Marsworth and a Grey Wagtail

After an early start and a comprehensive cleaning of the house for a viewing mid morning, I just felt I needed to be outside and taking pictures, it was also warming up, with the sun beginning to show, so though I would have been better being at the reservoir much earlier, I took a chance on my getting some meaningful images nevertheless.

Tringford lake had but one angler afloat on the still water, and the level was much lower than on my last visit. As it was a few days since it had rained the woods where the stream entered Startops were dry underfoot, so I chanced  a quiet approach through the undergrowth in case any herons or egrets were on the dry shore, but all I spooked were some waders and ducks. I returned to the path and headed alongside Marsworth lake and the Grand Union Canal, and settled to wait.

Though in all the hours I was there, I only spotted a lone kingfisher in a flyby, I was visited by a squirrel, a heron overflew atop the trees and either an otter or mink gave me a brief visit, but I was twice graced by a lone Grey Wagtail in beautiful condition, and very twitchy. Naturally, collar doves and wood pigeons were noisily around, and my sleek robin only flew over once to the obvious interest to a plump and dishevelled specimen that inhabits the bush on the far shore. I found this slightly surprising as an earlier visitor visitor to the same spot as myself had poured a good amount of seeds for our regular.

When I finished and retraced my steps to the car, the early evening light on a narrowboat moored in the canal caught my eye, so I grabbed a quick shot of that scene.

Taking a Canalside Wander from Slapton

I decided to take a wander along the towpath from Slapton Lock, heading past the Lock Cottage and down the slope, taking a look at bees hard at work amongst the cottage's blooms and beyond. It was whilst I was concentrating upon bees, that I spotted the minutest daytime moth alight on a nearby leaf that had a wingspan that was barely two thirds of a centimetre across.

The clouds very occasionally parted to show shafts of sunlight on the boats, and it was close, even occasionally looking as if a shower might come.

I was passed by cyclists and walkers as I wandered by anglers, separated by around fifty to a hundred yards; some would turn and acknowledge me and I would enquire as to their luck, and on two occasions as I passed I would look back and see a taut rod curved under the pull of the fish versus the angler, and therefore twice I was able to capture that moment as the fish was carefully coaxed towards the bank; one was a Perch, the other a Bream, and yet another a Common Carp, but it was already landed, and I was asked could I take a shot of the catch in the man's hands using his iPhone. Only too happy to oblige, I forgot to try to record the accomplishment for myself, but it was a fine strong fish that a few moments later was free to chance its luck against the fisherman another day.

I continued my stroll in search of the small glimpses of Nature's beauty as couples took their narrowboats through the locks, and I observed that in most cases I observed it was the fairer sex that worked the locks as their menfolk took the tiller and the easy life, so Chauvinism lives on, along the Grand Union Canal! I did however try to redress the balance by coming to the rescue of one lady who had sought her partner's help in vain, and was warmly thanked.

As I turned around and returned to the bridge by Slapton Lock a few desultory raindrops fell and returning home a few more splashed the screen, but it never developed into a shower.

Sweltering Reservoirs Afternoon

It was very hot, so being near water appealed, and I hoped to see dragonflies out and about, but I only glimpsed one at high speed as it shot by whilst I was at the Tringford reservoir, though what I refer to as standard damselflies abounded and many were now flying tandem. I always assumed if they were blue they were male, if brown – female, but I caught sight of at least two occasions where I saw blue on blue or blue on blueheaded, brown damselflies, so I need to look into this assumption further.

On Tringford the tern were successfully fishing and were around in fair numbers with only the occasional gull coming in, whereas later on Marsworth, black-headed gulls predominated. I was invited to be rowed to the bottom end of Tringford in case I could get slightly closer to the egrets which had seemingly supplanted the grey herons of earlier seasons, but they were mostly far more nervous than herons and our rowing soon displaced them from a greater distance than herons. According to the water bailliff, the cormorants had taken a day off from their recent massive incursions, but he was not there during my visit and they still came in, so maybe his presence earlier this day had deterred them temporarily as I saw at least four during my stay, and one in particular seemed anchored to the middle tower, presumably using the extra height and the still waters to keep an eye on its prey. Certainly whilst we were on the water we spotted at least half a dozen fish clearly, keeping close to the edges of the weeds, as they made there way to the bottom end.

I moved to Marsworth and the canal, where I only saw a few tern, but did get a glimpse of a grey wagtail on the steep sloping banks of Startops. The brightness of the day and the heat seemed to keep the fish from feeding on Marsworth, where the fish though often right at the surface, took the flies rather than from the bait offered by the anglers, so most of those to whom I spoke were hoping for better luck towards evening.

What was noticeable was the abundance of tadpoles close to the shore in places, so if they can avoid massive predation, frogs could be having a resurgence later in the season. This day then, was to prove to be the day of the damselflies.

Late Spring in Herts and Beds

Home Counties fieldscapes are a testament to how the weather has adversely affected our crops, and a reminder if ever we need one that food prices later this year will be higher than before. The rape fields in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire show large barren areas and overall patchy coverage quite clearly, and the long cold spell has left the bees keeping to their hives. I have tried to do my bit, by picking up weary bees that have been near no vegetation outside, and carefully placed them near wild flowers, and inside in just the last couple of days helped trapped ones indoors to reach the outside. One way I have learned that can help is to place a small saucer or somesuch with a few pebbles and water near to where they frequent – they need water, and the pebbles will ensure they do not drown.

Whilst photographing in country lanes and woods, I am really saddened by the numbers of plastic drinks containers, crushed cans that abound maybe we should have days when we hold littergather days and give out prizes for the amount collected within designated areas, and also have a star grading for areas of natural beauty that remain clear of our detritus.

Sunday was cool but bright and the kerbside near Studham caught my eye with its clusters of opening fern fronds, gorse bushes with Cow Parsley entangled, bluebells and really surprisingly: white bluebells. It would seem from information I have gleaned these are native, as their pollen appears to be creamy white.

I only stopped awhile as I was heading for Hudnall and Nettleden, I wandered for a short while in the woods where there were surprisingly few bluebells, and at one stage spotted the towers of Ashridge College, but the most stunning wildflower that I do not remember seeing before, was in abundance here, and I spotted it in three different stages – I now know them to be ramsons; it has broad floppy leaves, and what look like seed pods, but these sheaths protect the flowers till they are ready to emerge and then burst open to display a cluster of white six-petalled flowers, and I saw bumble bees hanging precariously from these fragile flowers, obviously enjoying the nectar they provided. One area was simply a green and white carpet surrounding a tree trunk. Above in a canopy of green, backlit from the sun, a chaffinch sang its melodious heart out out.

By my feet I spotted a tiny butterfly, which I took to be a grizzled skipper, but this one had unusual ‘roundels’ dotting its wings, and when I first spotted it, it was amazingly well-camouflaged, as only the flick of its wing gave it away, and if I glanced away, it took a while to relocate it. These woods had numerous stone-built walkways and bridges, and there was new brickwork and fencing going in in places, I came out of the woods and returned to my car by road, spotting tiny blue creeper flowers clinging to the ancient walls of the building opposite to where I came out. When I arrived at Nettleden, Yew Tree Cottage sported a new flowering of Wisteria lending a chocolate box air to this delightful 16th Century building, and the road that led from its side uphill sported some more colourful gardens. I then drove towards Tringford, so that I could visit the Grand Union Canal and the Tring reservoirs.

I parked up and walked almost the entire distance to Bulbourne Lock taking in what I could of the wildlife and occasionally chatting to members of the public along the way. It became obvious that this was the time for chaffinches to be singing their hearts out for a mate. I also spotted a young Mallard family out for the afternoon away from the reeds, and some slightly older ones in a mad dash for some food offered by some of the public along the bank. The anglers were also out in force, but the conversations I overheard did not suggest they were having much success. The locks on the other hand were working overtime and considerable energy was being exerted by young and old alike to keep the boats flowing in both directions.

I found one spot near Lock 40 to sit and watch what was happening on Marsworth reservoir, and was greeted again by a chaffinch, and then a young robin approached, and a kingfisher flew by at high speed three times, and coots, mallard and grebes came close and after watching one heron land amid the reeds, another pair appeared and flew by, and the few common terns that I saw seemed successful to a degree in their swoops for food, as did the swallows, the flies were out in profusion which seemed to be handy snacks for the chaffinches.

Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire fieldscapes, chaffinches bluebells, white bluebells, woods, common tern, grebes, coots, Marsworth reservoir, Grand Union Canal, herons, Canada geese, mallard ducks, Hudnall, Ashridge, Oilseed rape, Nettleden

Slapton Milieu

After a long spell of unusually cold weather for late April, warmth arrives, but still tempered with a strong wind, that in the shade still has a chill. Lunch over and desk cleared and telephone calls all made, I grabbed the opportunity and my camera and drove to the village of Slapton and on to the Grand Union Canal.

On the way, I stopped to get a shot of the church resplendent in its fresh coat of Portland or Magnolia paint; somewhat strange for a church, but it certainly stood out well in the milky sunshine!

I pulled in by the nearest bridge to Slapton Lock and did a limbo dance beneath the rails to get down to the towpath, not the easiest way with a camera and case, but certainly the shortest distance. As before I noted how well the lock keeper's cottage garden was tended, and noted it was appreciated by the bees, out for almost the first time in abundance this year. I had taken a look to decide which direction to take, and chosen that lock and cottage and beyond for a start, and later I returned and took the way to Horton Wharf Lock.

The sheep were quietly mowing the farm lawn amidst old and gnarled trees, some even venturing to the water's edge where the fence was broken, then beyond the cattle were also close to the canal side with the Whipsnade Lion cut into the chalk hillside of the Dunstable Downs beyond in the afternoon haze.

Sporadically the birds would come alive; there were swallows swooping low into the middle of the canal as were a group of common tern, pigeons and crows would also venture from the farm building roofs and off into the trees. I also spotted magpies, a robin and a chaffinch, and every so often the Mallard ducks would take to the air.

I met a couple from Kent on their houseboat, who had travelled from just south of Stoke Bruerne and were planning to stop the night here before continuing their ten day trip further south, they had been intrigued as to what I had been photographic, so I showed them some of what I had gathered by that time and we chatted a bit about what birds they had seen along the way this trip, before I left them to their tea, and the wife returned to her knitting, possibly for a male grandchild, judging by the colour.

On my later return by the houseboat the husband was inside, and caught sight of my passing and we exchanged waives.

A Seriously Early Rise

I arrived at the reservoirs before dawn, very much at odds with my biological clock, after a far too brief, and very disjointed sleep. It was mild as I walked eventually along the path between the Marsworth and Startops lakes, and setting the camera to ISO 6400 took s a few shots of the reflections and silhouettes of the far bank against the slow dawning light.

I then walked to my bankside destination where I crawled through the undergrowth to arrive by a fallen tree and set up the camera and my seating, and awaited the rise in the light and hopefully, the arrival of a kingfisher. Ten minutes elapsed whilst still in comparative darkness, and there was a rustling of leaves and cracking of twigs. I greeted the visitor with the guess that he was after the same as myself. It turned out to be Merv, the generous and experienced wildlife photographer who had alerted me to the spot just a week back, I continued to set myself up, and we chatted in whispers. He spotted a kingfisher that I was unable to even see, such was his experience, but even at elevated ISO my chances of getting a shot was zero.

Merv spotted a muntjac in the clearing on the opposing bank, and when it came into my sight I managed to get a few shots of it before it continued its stroll back into the undergrowth.

Later, we both spotted a kingfisher zooming past, but on at least two occasions I simply had to accept that one had passed by, as I failed to register anything. Finally, one alighted on a branch in plain view and I managed to take a shot or two even when it moved to a fresh perch, and as he left I managed to get a blur of wings, that you can just make out is a kingfisher.

Those were the last sighting of any kingfisher perched in our tree studio, though we did see two more fly-bys.

At the end of four and a quarter hours we bid farewell to our viewing platform and walked along the canal till we came to the fork in the path where we went our separate ways saying that we would no doubt meet again as we both frequent these reservoirs. I was no longer a kingfisher virgin! There were too few images to create a gallery, but as a record…

Early Tringford Visit

I was awoken very early by a client wishing to call in to collect some DVDs from me before he went to London, so rather than greet him in pyjamas, I made up my mind to take advantage of the early start as the weather was bright and dry even though on the chilly side.

I delayed him a few moments to show him other examples of my work, then tidied up and set off to be early at the reservoirs. I called at Tringford initially in time to help Bob Menzies with the preparation of a few boats for the anglers to set out on the water, then captured one angler casting. Across on the far side a large group of greylag geese were assembling, so I waited to see whether they would be flying off and just before they did, I received a call on my mobile, so missed most of that opportunity, but not long after I did capture a group of Canada Geese setting off, and they flew very past the very angler who had earlier been casting.

I then headed for Marsworth as there were now only a few coot and a lone grebe to be seen here, as I walked by the reeds I spotted a dragonfly, flitting by, and with great difficulty did manage to get a few poor shots of it in flight. Walking further along the path I heard a frantic flapping of wings and just caught sight of a grebe seemingly simply practising a takeoff, since it never took to the air but made several spurts despite not being chased by any other bird. At the junction of paths a coot was twice spotted dragging reeds to presumably create a nest, and on the bank of Marsworth two mallard were in animated conversation whilst others nonchalently stood alongside.

 I took the right fork to follow the canal and spotted some interesting artwork on the side of one of the narrowboats, that was named after the lady’s Nanny and had been painted by her husband, and towards the lock I spotted two artists facing opposite directions, one sketching the Lock, the other the canal and trees, and behind the bench I walked down towards the lake and some fallen trees in case these would provide any interesting wildlife, but all I found were a myriad of water boatmen.

I returned to Tringford in time to spot one fortunate angler landing a trout! And a wonderful rope ladder cloud formation.

Testing the new 'Boomerang' Plate

Back at the Focus on Imaging Show earlier this year, I tried to find a manufacturer interested in the production of a camera plate that would add functionality to the ease of use a gimbal head when using lenses of around 300mm. My issue was that with very long and heavy lenses these proved really efficient, but the lesser mass of say a 300mm f/4 did not work as well. I reckoned that there was not sufficient leverage from gripping the camera body because of its proximity to the axis of the rotating arm and the centre of gravity of the lens.

Panning was fine using the bulky upright of the gimbal head, it was the vertical movement which was less efficient, to test out my theory I angled a straight bar forward from the camera baseplate and added a pistol grip that was now in line with the centre of gravity of the lens/camera body, and with the added leverage of the pistol grip the balance of effort in both panning and raising or lowering of the lens was more equal resulting in far smoother use of the gimbal head with such a lens.

This morning Calumet came up trumps with a prototype of what I envisaged, and I set out out to test whether it worked by taking my Canon 7D, 300mm f/4 and gimbal head and the newly christened 'Boomerang' plate to the Grand Union Canal near Wilstone, and the gallery of images here is the result.

Obviously I have no idea whether Calumet will produce the plate, but for those photographers who would like to have smooth and controlled movement from the less weighty and shorter focal length telephotos, this plate opens up the world of gimbal heads, and I think it's the way forward – it is far more controlled than a ball head.

I only used the 300mm lens here and was only disappointed that the two kingfishers I spotted that sped like Exocet missiles along the reeds did not return later, which would have been the real test! But I did spot a Muntjack and a mobbing of a mating pair of damselflies by a mating pair of water boatmen!

Grand Union Canal at Hunton Bridge

An angler had mentioned that kingfishers were in abundance along the canal around Hunton Bridge, and I thought he mentioned Mary Capel’s Wharf, but maybe that was a failing of my memory, as search as I might online, I found nothing beyond who she was and her connection to Cassiobury Park and her marriage to the owner, the Earl of Essex. However on my return from a long walk in both directions from Hunton Bridge, I used the phrase Lady Capel’s Wharf, and realised I had all but arrived there when I came to the White Bridge, which gave onto the Grove.

The gallery of images depicting my journey along the towpath, initially cover the distance towards Hemel Hempstead, before returning to Hunton Bridge and setting off in the opposite direction towards Watford. Rhodadendrons were just coming into bloom on the far side from where I joined the path. much of the journey was within the tunnel of overhanging trees, but in the sunlight beyond I first spotted a comma butterfly i the hedgerow, then just beyond I spotted a snake swimming leisurely from the far side, asking those I met what species it was, proved to be fruitless and despite an angler’s insistence it was an adder, it turned out to be a grass snake!

At a fork in the canal, a family of swans had settled with its cygnets, and then beyond the towpath alongside a lake was an amiable dinosaur, followed by a crane and a heron, the crane being of the species ‘mechanica’, and one I recognised from my time photographing progress work at the Foresters Development in Harpenden over the last eighteen months.

A robin was gorging itself on a worm; though spotting wings, maybe this mouthful was not for itself but possibly for its offspring. A recent set of apartments along the far bank looked extremely appealing in the pleasant sunshine, and the repetitive shapes of the flyover supports I found fascinating as I passed beneath. The locks, the curves of the canal’s travel and the bridges also have charm as do the manicured lawns of some of the private dwellings along the route, but it does disappoint me to see so much discarded rubbish alongside such amenities and I felt this was epitomised by the plastic throne in the undergrowth by the ashes of a small fire and crushed lager cans. How is it difficult to bring back lightweight empty cans when it was so easy to carry weighty full ones?

Easter Sunday Activities

Unlike Friday when the sun shone from a clear blue sky, the day started with mist, and during the course of the day, the best we had was milky sunshine. I had printed one picture from Good Friday of one of the flowers I had captured in Soulbury, and used it to say thank you to the couple who had kindly allowed me to step into their front garden. I drove to their house to pop the card in – they had a family gathering, I handed over the card – they thanked me, but it was I who was grateful.

My drive took me to Three Locks, on the Grand Union Canal, and it was packed with visitors both on the water and at the canalside pub alongside the locks. I watched for a while before setting off  again, this time in search of landscapes, but the misty distance prevented me from pure scenes, but allowed me to capture horses, some in fields, some being ridden. I also managed to capture some of the blossom.

As I returned we were stopped at a roundabout to allow a vast procession of bikers of all ages with highly individually modified bikes and trikes, so I opened my door and squatted by the roadside capturing a few of them as they passed on their way; my journey ended with a couple of more peaceful shots of the canal and river.

On days like this, it seems easy to forget the harsher realities that exist around us.

Signs of Spring at Last

If work is not flooding in then I hope for good weather. Thursday offered me generally misty sunshine, so I headed for the Grand Union Canal close to Ledburn, hoping to find images that showed Spring was here.

Along the way, I spotted interesting chimneys, extreme rustic dilapidation, an interestingly sited church, a happy white pony, several locks and bridges over the canal, one village had an absolute mass of varied coloured daffodils which provided a beautiful set of images of the charming doorway to a cottage named Cottesloe.

The weeping willow that overhung the canal and the white walled canalside cottage was beautiful in the spring sunshine, and another bridge provided interesting shapes and colour. The towpath was being used by fishermen, cyclists, dog walkers and lone walkers. In Wingrave, there was a charming piece of topiary over a house entrance, and on the way towards Mentmore, the rolling fields were being ploughed by a tracked tractor in the distance.

Altogether, a reasonably productive afternoon.

Windy and Cold Marsworth

There was a constant chorus of birdsong in the wooded entrance path to Marsworth reservoir, but all the birds were hidden amongst the bare branches, so to tempt them out into the dappled sunshine I spread liberal amounts of birdseed on the tops of the fence posts that lined the path, but only on those in sunlight.  I then put a small groundsheet on the damp earth and sat and waited.

They were in no hurry to oblige, but I was sure they would come to accept my presence if I kept still and when I moved, did so slowly. I had surmised correctly, and soon I had shots of  robins, blue tits, great tits and chaffinches. Fishermen and dog walkers began to arrive and they were disturbed too often, so I got up and walked along further till I spotted a dry path that led to the water’s edge of Startops End reservoir, so I strolled along the stream that came between them, and all I found were a pair of grebe just visible between the branches at the foreshore, so I came back and found another spot by the hide to see a pied wagtail and more robins.

I continued from there along the Grand Union Canal, and watched a narrowboat through Lock 42, then back for a spell at Marsworth. The sun had by now disappeared and the wind had got up, but I did get some shots of the reeds before the sun went. There seemed to be only one pair of pochards left, but numerous black headed gulls and mallard pairs.

Buckland Puddle and the Grand Union Canal

Monday morning and promise of clear skies and sunshine. I set off for Buckland and the Grand Union Canal after checking all my emails and diverting calls to my mobile. The destination was a small pond just off the canal that I gather is known as Buckland Puddle. It is a fair trek alongside the canal, from the nearest I can park the car, when carrying a tripod, small seat and a full camera bag, but I need the exercise.

I hoped that I would stand a chance to capture some of the birdlife, but considering how remote the spot, I was amazed at just how silent it was; nary a whisper of birdsong, and I stayed quite a while with only one brief visit from a couple checking out the pond. Birds overflew but only very occasionally. I took a series of shots to show the scene, a few reference shots of the camera and gimbal head, and little else. I did notice that several fishermen had lost their floats, high in hawthorn branches. After several fruitless hours of waiting, I resigned myself to the failure and waste of time, and just took a few shots of the bridge over the canal and the locks beyond. Just over the bridge is evidence of an old water meadow.

I packed my gear and took myself off to Wilstone Reservoir, hoping for something better over there. The clear skies remained, which was at least some consolation.

Sunset and the End of the Day

The day was slowly dying as we left Luton and headed for the Tring reservoirs; a frequent destination of mine, but a completely new experience for the girls. I had already received an enthusiastic “When can we go back to the Discovery Centre, Bumper?” so I was on a roll for the trip to Tring.

On the way they recognised the Pitstone Windmill where two summers ago we had enjoyed some time taking individual multiple images of each of the girls at different places in the same picture. I had shown them how to paint through masks in Photoshop and each had created their own composite pictures on my Mac, and taken away a small print at the time. We soon came down the hill and into Bulbourne where they had a fleeting glimpse of the Grand Union Canal.

In Tring, we turned off to Marsworth, over a humpback bridge and parked by the kissing gate entrance to the Marsworth and Startopsend reservoirs, but just before we entered I took them across the road to see the Tringford reservoir and the Trout Stream.

We walked along the banked path between the two reservoirs, and along the canal towpath, with a stop for creating ripple patterns in the water with small branches, making eyes and eyebrows (an eyebrow activity!)

I thought barge families were supposed to be ‘green’ but a Greenpeace-bannered narrowboat was chucking out great gouts of blue smoke as we walked along the canal. We were having a very peaceful end to the day as the sun set over the water, and ducks flew in overhead, to land on the lake.

Tringford Pumping Station Equipment

Arriving at Tringford Pumping Station in dismal drizzle is far from disappointing for two reasons; that I shall be working inside being one, but for a few of the shots, I do not have to fight with the sun’s high contrast to get some of the shots.

I met up with Ricky Tyler, the engineer responsible for controlling the routing of the water to and from the reservoirs under his control. I was amazed at just how complex the decisions he has to make were, when faced with the various needs of different parts of the canal. In summer these needs are driven by the popularity for one portion of the canal over another and how many times the lock gates are used. In winter, it might be which gates required maintenance, or which reservoirs needed more or less water, yet keep disruption to a minimum. This pumping station is the link to the four Tring Reservoirs: Wilstone, Tringford, Startopsend, and Marsworth (Click 'Tring Reservoirs' in the line above, for zoomable Map). None of these provide drinking water, they are devoted entirely to support the preservation of water supply to the summit of the Grand Union Canal.

The machinery is not in its first flush of youth, so needs constantly watching and given attention. The financial situation for British Waterways brings added pressure, putting financial constraints on what can be repaired or replaced as well as increasing the overall workload on the diminishing workforce. I found it sad to see the overall dilapidation of the premises which is both a grade listed building and a vital workhorse in the maintenance of the Grand Union Canal.

I wanted very much to see these pumps and learn something of their roles, and record as much in the short time available. What is very obvious is just how much change has been wrought to the building during its lifetime. At one time it had a full extra storey; this was in the time of the steam-driven beam-engine. That was replaced by diesel-power, prior to the current electric pumps. An electrician visiting today would have to be coming towards retirement to recognise the power supply controls!

I hope that the photographs I have taken give some idea of what lies beyond the closed doors of this fascinating building, but more than that I hope it can see a new lease of life – it needs a heart transplant to maintain circulation in the canals it supplies.

Tringford Pumping Station

Unlike many reservoirs the Tring trio of Startops, Marsworth and Tringford serve to ensure that the Grand Union Canal has enough water at its highest point, so the three reservoirs are used for storage and Tringford Pumping Station supplies the canal.

Originally the means by which this was done was by a Beam Engine, later supplanted by a diesel engine and now by electric pumps. There is therefore a large volume of free space within this Grade II listed building which British Waterways plans to use to house free standing offices that do not rely on any structural support from the original structure. I felt that photographs of the interior prior to the installation would be a worthwhile record, and am hoping that this can be arranged, so today I took the first of some external shots.

I then took a stroll to the nearby end of the Tringford reservoir and at the hide took some shots of a typical pastime for the lake, the walking of dogs, and a view from the hide before returning to my car parked at Little Tring bridge, where I took a quick shot from a tender belonging to one of the moored narrowboats of the bridge itself, over the Wendover Arm of the canal.

Whilst in the area, I met up with Billy the Baker, and Bob the Bailiff who was fishing from the bank and was able to record the catching of two rainbow trout, both of which were returned to the lake. Although showers were forecast, it was simply very windy with fast scudding clouds, and no rain.