Isle of Wight – Nature Journeys

Totland Pier

03/2003/20Posted in Isle of Wight, Landscape PhotographyTagged Isle of Wight, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Totlabd Bay Pier, Totland8 Comments

Totland Bay Pier was completed in 1880, with a small shelter at the pier head and a small amusement arcade at the shore side. It is a 450ft (137m) long cast-iron girder construction. The funds to build it were raised by the nearby Totland Hotel which has since been demolished. During the Victorian era it was used to allow paddle steamers to dock, enabling tourists to visit the area.

Sadly the bulk of the pier has now become derelict and closed to the public, but a nice little cafe has replaced the arcade shore side, and I had coffee there on a bench outside. The last time I visited here was back in the ealy 1990s, and an artist had bought it and used it as his studio. The pier aside, I really like the green-cloaked rocks on the beach.

Not of This World …

09/19Posted in Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Photography, PlacesTagged Alum Bay, Alum Bays Sands, Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography23 Comments

… ah, but it is … on the third rock from the sun, planet Earth.

Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight is quite famous for its different coloured sands, and a craft tourist industry has grown up around it since early Victorian times.

Here are cliffs of sand of varying hues. The sands are coloured due to oxidised iron compounds formed under different conditions, and look great layered in shaped glass ornaments. There are usually 21 shades of sand available.

Turning your head away from these magnificent cliffs towards the sea and you will see the Needles as featured in the previous post.

September 2019 © Pete Hillman.

The Needles

09/1909/19Posted in Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Photography, PlacesTagged Alum Bay, Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, The Needles20 Comments

Of 2 photos. Alum Bay, Isle of Wight. September 2019 © Pete Hillman.

Turnstone

09/19Posted in Animals, Animals (Vertebrates), Birds, Coast, Isle of Wight, Nature Photography, Photography, Places, Wildlife PhotographyTagged Birds, Coast, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Turnstone Arenaria interpres, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography25 Comments

Also called the Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres), this was another first for me. There were many of these little birds on the seashore bulldozing the seaweed out of their way with their heads in search of invertebrates hiding underneath it.

Feel free to click the images to enlarge and click again to get even closer …

East Cowes, Isle of Wight. September 2019 © Pete Hillman.

When The Tide Goes Out

09/1909/19Posted in Animals, Animals (Vertebrates), Birds, Coast, Isle of Wight, Nature Photography, Photography, Places, Wildlife PhotographyTagged Birds, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography24 Comments

When the tide goes out to reveal shallow pools and masses of clumped seaweed it is time for the waders to come and feed.

This Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) does an odd little dance to agitate the water to stir up small fish and invertebrates on which it feeds.

Feel free to click the images to enlarge and click again to get even closer …

East Cowes, Isle of Wight. September 2019 © Pete Hillman.

Sunset At Yarmouth

09/19Posted in Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Photography, PlacesTagged Isle of Wight, Landscape, Landscape Photography, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Sunset, Yarmouth44 Comments

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. September 2019 © Pete Hillman.

Keeping Balance

08/18Posted in Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Photography, Places, ShanklinTagged Isle of Wight, Ocean, Photography, Sea, Seashore, Shanklin, Shanklin Beach11 Comments

On a stroll across a quieter section of beach where the tide had gone out I came across this little arrangement of rocks. They kind of reminded me of the remains of a prehistoric cairn, although this is most likely child’s play.

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Shanklin Beach, Isle of Wight, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.

Mysterious Sea Mist

08/1808/18Posted in Elements, Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Mist, Photography, Places, ShanklinTagged Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Luccombe Bay, Ocean, Sea, Shanklin, The Fog14 Comments

This mysterious sea mist drifted in from Luccombe Bay. As soon as it appeared it disappeared. Memories of John Carpenter’s ‘The Fog’ came to mind. It had quite an eerie quality to it.

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Isle of Wight, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.

Pots

08/1808/18Posted in Isle of Wight, Photography, Places, ShanklinTagged Architecture, Buildings, Chimney Pots, Chimneys, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight, Rylstone Manor Hotel, Rylstone Manor Hotel Shanklin, Shanklin25 Comments

Something a bit different here, I know. I have a thing about ornate chimney pots, and couldn’t help but feature these here. They are from Rylstone Manor Hotel at Shanklin, but a stone’s throw from Shanklin Chine and set in beautiful gardens. Rylstone Manor was originally built as a gentleman’s residence in 1863 and remained a private residence until 1923. The Manor is of Victorian proportion and incorporates a blend of Gothic, Tudor and Georgian influences. I only took photos of the chimney pots for there was a dark SUV parked out the front of the main buildingt and the image just would not have worked.

I was quite taken how much detail and artistry was put into these tall chimney pots, and how varied the patterning was. They may have had a red glaze on them at sometime in the distant past.

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Isle of Wight, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.

Shanklin Rockpools

08/1808/18Posted in Isle of Wight, Nature Photography, Photography, Places, Shanklin, Wildlife PhotographyTagged Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight, Nature, Nature Photography, Ocean, Photography, Sea, Seashore, Seaweed, Shanklin, Shanklin Beach, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography18 Comments

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Shanklin Beach, Isle of Wight, England, August 2018 © Pete Hillman.

As The Sun Sets

08/1808/18Posted in Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Photography, Places, ShanklinTagged Culver Down, Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight, Keats Green, Landscape Photography, Ocean, Photography, Sandown Bay, Sea, Shanklin11 Comments

This photo was taken during a pleasant evening’s walk along Keats Green at Shanklin. In the distance, across Sandown Bay, we can see the white chalk cliffs of Culver Down. We can just make out a tall edifice on its top. It is called the Yarborough Monument, erected in memory to Charles Anderson-Pelham, the 2nd Baron Yarborough (later first Earl of Yarborough and also Baron Worsley), founder of the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes.

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Sailing Amidst The Blue

08/1808/18Posted in Coast, Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Photography, Places, ShanklinTagged Isle of Wight, Isle of Wight, Landscape Photography, Ocean, Photography, Sandown Bay, Sea, Shanklin31 Comments

Coming In To Land

08/18Posted in Animals, Animals (Vertebrates), Birds, Coast, Isle of Wight, Nature Photography, Places, Shanklin, Wildlife PhotographyTagged Bird, Birds, Coast, Herring Gull Larus argentatus Juvenille, Nature, Nature Photography, Ocean, Photography, Sea, Seashore, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography40 Comments

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Spot The Little Fishy

08/1808/18Posted in Animals, Animals (Vertebrates), Coast, Fish, Isle of Wight, Nature Photography, Photography, Places, Rockpools, Shanklin, Wildlife PhotographyTagged Fish, Nature, Nature Photography, Ocean, Photography, Sea, Seashore, Shanny, Shanny Lipophrys pholis, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography19 Comments

I believe these are Shanny (Lipophrys pholis), also called Blenny. As the tide pulled out it left these crystal clear pools of water and in them they teemed with these young fish which moved nimbly through the shallow water. They are so well adapted to their environment you would hardly notice them until they moved.

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Underwater

08/18Posted in Abstract, Algae, Coast, Isle of Wight, Nature Photography, Photography, Places, Rockpools, Seaweeds, Shanklin, Wildlife PhotographyTagged Beach, Coast, Gutweed, Gutweed Ulva intestinalis, Isle of Wight, Nature, Nature Photography, Photography, Sea, Seaweed, Shanklin, Shanklin Beach, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography21 Comments

I love how the sunlight sparkles and shimmers within the rippling movement of the waters on the coast. These are abstract worlds which I would like to glimpse more often than I do, full of the richness of life and wonder. These images feature what I believe is a seaweed called Gutweed (Ulva intestinalis).