December 12 2012

I’m now back in Montreal following my trip across the pond to the old homeland where I mainly spent time visiting family and friends in Leicestershire and Essex. Although the Montreal in Pictures blog is primarily focused on Montreal, I thought I would exploit the ‘pictures’ aspect to share some of my favorite shots taken during my short visit – and proof I managed to keep up with the 365 project.

Day 335: November 30 – Arrival at Heathrow

I knew I would have little time to be taking photos later in the day, and since I had a few hours to kill at Heathrow while waiting for my bus to arrive to take me to Leicester, I decided to grab a few shots around Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

For the day’s picture I decided to take a multi-exposure shot of a plane taking off over the illuminated sign at one end of the exterior concourse.

Terminal 5 is my favorite terminal at Heathrow, not only does is never seem to be over-crowded, but the design really begs to be photographed. Unfortunately, being an airport and security sensitive, it’s not always easy getting the shots I would really like to get, but I did manage to grab a few discrete shots.

Day 336: December 1 – The Starr Restaurant, Great Dunmow

I didn’t have much opportunity for taking pictures during the day, but managed to walk down to the center of Great Dunmow in Essex and get a shot of the Starr Restaurant. The image didn’t really do justice to the 4 Tiffany lamps in the upstairs windows, so I decided to process in a sepia tone. The spot light on the building didn’t help, but in the end I quite liked the star burst, given the name of the restaurant.

Day 337: December 2 – The Manor Estate little Easton

The next day I wanted to go and re-shoot a lonely tree in a field near the Manor Estate and lakes in Little Easton that was actually the photo of the day all the way back on January 28th when I was last visiting the area.

Rather than select an almost identical picture for the daily image on this visit, I decided to go for a shot looking down the tree lined path

I guess I should still share the shot of the lonely tree though…

There’s a wonderful church at Little Easton. Unfortunately, even though it was Sunday, it was closed. Next time I’m visiting I will try to get a shot of the modern stain glass window that was added to commemorate the pilots of WWII. This visit I had to be content with a shot of the church and graveyard.

Day 338: December 3 – A few shots around Kibworth Harcourt

The next day we headed back up to Leicestershire and my old home village of Kibworth Harcourt. Kibworth was recently put on the map following a TV documentary by the BBC entitled The History of England by Michael Wood.

Despite it having rained pretty much all day, the clouds had cleared by nightfall so I popped down the road to get my pic for the day. There are some great old homes and cottages in the village, but I decided to get a shot of The Old House (also locally known as General Jack’s House) down on Main Street. I liked that there is still an old iconic English red phone box down the street and was a shame it wasn’t a little closer to be more evident in the photo.

Just around the corner in The Old House garden is a great dead tree and with the really clear night and Jupiter visible, I attempted to get a shot.

Day 339: December 4 – A few shots around Leicester city center

The next day I visited Leicester town center. There is some great architecture around the city and I could spend a year photographing the town – Maybe if I ever move back that will be another 365 project 😉

Day 340: December 5 – Landscapes of Leicestershire

Being a beautiful day, I decided after lunch to drive to the other side of Leicester and go for a short walk around Bradgate Park. Bradgate is Leicestershire’s largest and most visited National Park, covering 830 acres. Although I didn’t photograph the ruins on this visit, within the park grounds is the Birthplace and early home of Lady Jane Grey – 9 days Queen of England.

The park is home to hundred’s Red and Fallow deer. Red deer are the largest British land mammal and are descendants from the stags and hinds that crossed from Europe after the Ice Age. The Fallow deer were introduced to Britain by the Romans.

In the morning I had taken a drive around The Langton villages that are close to Kibworth. The landscape in south Leicestershire is quite different to that which is found in the north of the county – the south being rolling farm land, while the north is more hilly and rugged. On a nice day like this, Leicestershire is a hard place to beat for wonderful landscapes.

Day 341: December 6 – St Giles Church, Blaston

The following day I took another little drive out around some local villages. I pulled up on a small country lane just outside the tiny hamlet of Blaston to get a shot of St Giles church which I thought would make a picturesque shot with the rolling fields in the background and the sheep in the foreground.

Day 342: December 7 – Market Harborough

The nearest town to Kibworth is Market Harborough, a small market town in south Leicestershire. In the center of town is the Old Grammar school which stands on wooden stilts located next to the church. The building dates back to 1614.

Day 343: December 8 – Beacon Hill landscapes

Another popular park to visit in North Leicestershire and adjacent to Bradgate Park is Beacon Hill. Formed around 600 million years ago, Beacon Hill was in fact a volcano and the rocks are some of the oldest in England and Wales.

 

 

Day 344: December 9 – The Thames Barrier, London

I always try to plan to go down to London when I’m over in the UK, but never seem to be able to make it. At least on this visit I managed to see the Thames Barrier on a visit to see my nephew who lives in East London. We made a little detour to stop at the barrier on the way and get a couple of shots.

Day 345: December 10 – Foxton Locks, Leicestershire

Somewhere that I always manage to visit when I’m back in the UK is Foxton Locks which is just north of Market Harbough and is a major tourist attraction in the area for the long flight of lock gates. Unfortunately on this occasion they are doing major renovation work to the locks and so I was restricted in the shots I could get.

Day 346: December 11 – Heathrow Terminal 5

I tried to get a picture out the window as we approached Montreal to land. Unfortunately I messed up on my focusing 🙁

Well that’s it for my UK trip highlights. Hope you enjoyed a little taste of England.

To view images in gallery format, simply click on one of the images below.

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time.

– Martin

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