Shadow Shot Sunday:Ellie at Windy Harbour

Yesterday on Hyde Daily Photo I posted Hightailing it on Werneth Low.

As I explained there

Last week a friend, who regularly walks her dog on Werneth Low, took me up to Windy Harbour on the Eastern edge of the Low.

so here today is Ellie and her shadow.

Hereabouts a "Low" is a "high" place (compare with the Scottish "Law") and usually refers to a hump-backed ridge. Windy Harbour is indeed a windy place. "Harbour" means a place of shelter. Alas the old buildings here which afforded refreshments for a couple of centuries were demolished in 2000 and despite plans for a new building, it remains desolate.

For more shadow shots, visit Hey Harriet.

ABC WednesdayF is for Füssen

We visted Füssen in 2002 on our 9-day tour of Europe by coach.


Day 6 was an included tour to Germany and Neuschwanstein Castle. Along with the Glacier Express, this was one of the things that had attracted us to this particular tour. Christine was familiar with the castle via a 3D computer jigsaw puzzle. Having spent many hours completing the jigsaw and exploring the inside of it in virtual reality, we were anxious to view it in actual reality. We were aware that the castle was accessible only via numerous steps, so we didn't expect to take the grand tour. Nonetheless we had expected to see the outside of the building and its grounds. It turns out that you cannot visit the castle at all except on the guided tour. Those of us who elected therefore not to go to the castle, spent five hours free time in the relatively flat town of Füssen.


We were dropped off on the outskirts of the town by the bus and railway station. We walked down two streets and crossed over the main road. An alleyway led into the old-town. At the end we found the Café Rosengärten. A sign outside proclaimed the availability of menus in English, French, Italian and Spanish. It sounded welcoming. We ventured inside. For a nice mid-morning snack we decided to try the pancakes. They were like Dutch pancakes — full plate size, topped with fruit, syrup and ice-cream — filling and delicious.


The old town consists of two or three long pedestrianised streets. It was thronged with people; not just tourists but also older locals walking their dogs. There were benches at regular intervals so we could take our time and wander around slowly, stopping frequently. Many of the buildings are four or five storeys high, brightly painted and often ornately decorated.


By the time we'd wandered around the streets and shops for a couple of hours we were ready for something to eat and sat down at one of the pavement cafés. We tried to order one pizza between the two of us, but the waitress was reluctant. So we went back for the second time to Café Rosengärten, where we were welcomed. I had a sausage and potato salad. Germany has a reputation for sausages. This was slightly larger than what passed at home for a "jumbo sausage". It was perfectly cooked and tasted gorgeous — even better than some of the best Cumberland sausages I've ever consumed. The salad was full of a variety of vegetables and was a super accompaniment. Christine had a different salad and Swiss sausages which came sliced. The café toilets were downstairs but spotlessly clean.

For more F posts visit ABC Wednesday.

Friday Bench (32):Audenshaw Trough

This week's bench is a circular bench wrapped around the concrete base of a transformer pillar built about 1900.

It stands behind the Audenshaw Trough on the junction of Manchester Road and Audenshaw Road. It is of cast iron and consists of a circular pillar on a 20th century concrete base topped by a street lamp. The face is split vertically into panels and horizontally into three stages. On the front it bears the Manchester coat-of-arms and a plate records the maker: the British Electric Transformer Company. Another plate records the restoration by Norweb in 1983. Enriched cast iron panels are on the top stage. The conical top is above a bead and reel band. The structure is topped by a hexagonal lamp on a decorative spindle. At one time it had three lamps which used to the light the way for trams.


You can see the full pillar in all its glory on sithenah, or in the opposite direction on Geograph.

My favourite benches discovered recently include Mo's lichen-covered seat in London, Aileni's at Newport Beach, Kitty's in Prospect Park and Aonghais's in Brooklyn.

ABC Wednesday:E is for Euston Express at Edgeley

This is a Virgin Express train at Stockport.

Stockport station used to be known as Stockport (Edgeley) to distinguish it from Stockport (Tiviotdale). The latter was on a no longer existing line whose route has been largely claimed by the M60 motorway.

All trains passing over the famous Stockport viaduct must stop at the station. The only other stops on this route from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston are usually Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent.

For more E posts visit ABC Wednesday.

ABC Wednesday:D is for Doubtful Sound

Doubtful Sound is in a remote corner of New Zealand. It is reached by taking first a ferry across Lake Manapouri to West Arm. There you transfer to a coach for the drive over the Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove.


At Deep Cove you leave the coach and board a catamaran for a cruise on Doubtful Sound. Although given its name in 1773 by James Cook, the fjord was unexplored until the Italian navigator Malaspina commanded a Spanish scientific expedition in 1793. His name is remembered in Malaspina Reach, the area between Hall Arm and Crooked Arm. It was here that we were joined by some bottlenosed dolphins who sailed with us and provided a spectacular show jumping out of the water and somersaulting back.


As you approach the Tasman Sea, there are clear views of the Nee islets, named after a Spanish botanist. On the southern entrance, beyond Febrero Point are two rocks known as the Hare's Ears.

You can read more of our 2001 journey to New Zealand on The Land of the Long White Cloud.

For more D posts visit ABC Wednesday.

A brief hiatus

My computer crashed yesterday and it will probably be the middle of next week before I get it back.

I don't have any scheduled posts ready so won't be updating or posting new photographs until my own computer is back up and running again.

Guess I'll have to read a few books and watch TV for a while.

Hope to back before too long.

Friday Bench (31):Tenerife 2006

Four years ago we escaped the beginning of February and went to the warm climes of Tenerife.

This bench was in one of the shopping plazas in Playa de Los Americas. I have to admit now that it was the cactus I was taking a photograph of and I've cropped it so you can see the bench and the plant. I did a different crop excluding the bench but including a shop window on the other side when I published the photo Shopping Plaza Cactus along with others on my account of Tenerife & La Gomera.

My favourite benches discovered recently include Inverness Daily Photo's on Ness Islands, Misfit's in Liberty, Daryl's in Battery Park City, Steffen's in Stuttgart and AB's in Saarland.

ABC Wednesday - C is for Cycling in Copenhagen

These are just a few of the cyclists we encountered when visiting Copenhagen in 2006.


Cycling is so popular in Copenhagen that there is a blog Copenhagen Chic specifically devoted to the activity.


For more C posts visit ABC Wednesday.