The Gad Cliff

The Gad Cliff, a photo by julian sawyer - Purbeck Footprints on Flickr.

The view across Brandy Bay to Gad Cliff as the mist draws in. Access to this whole area is limited and it aches to be explored!

kimmeridge Bay

This is a wonderful place for many reasons. The geology is incredible, the snorkelling is wonderful and the views are stunning! if that's not enough, release your inner child and go rock-pooling!

That Friday Feeling

Don't get too excited, but it looks like we may have a bit of Sun over the weekend! So, after you get the Swanage Lifeboat to wash your car and, after you eat your bacon sandwich, get out and enjoy the weekend!

A Message From Swanage Lifeboat

"We just wanted to let those of you in Swanage and in the surrounding area know that we will be holding a charity car wash again this year. We have a change of venue though, this year we''ll be in King George''s Car Park, Victoria Avenue, Swanage on Sat 26 Jan.

You can get your car washed by the lifeboat crew in return for a donation to the RNLI''s SOS Day Appeal. We''ll be open from 09:30 to 16:00. There''ll also be tea, coffe and bacon sandwiches available while you wait.
Thank you for your support"

Now, I don't know about you, but I will be taking my car down! It hasn't been washed in weeks so it may be better if you beat me to it!

The Last Of The Snow

Well, the snow has almost gone and I didn't manage to get those 'beautiful, blue sky' shots! On the plus side, provided we don't get washed away, the weather is set to improve and I can get out to play again. It sounds strange, but I need to work on the pictures for my 2014 calendars!
Anyway, as a celebration of all that is good about snow, here is a traditional 'Robin in the snow' shot from a couple of years ago.

Still no Sun today, which meant that I couldn't get the shots that I wanted but I needed to get out. A wander to St.Aldhelm's Head is always a good idea and today, with hundreds of Redwing and Fieldfare flying overheadm it did not disappoint. It was incredibly cold though and at one point I couldn't take a picture until my hands had warmed up. Not great for quick shots....

Not Enough Sun

We have had the snow, I just need some sunshine instead of the gloomy, grey clouds that have accompanied it!
Maybe tomorrow....

Say Cheese

Say Cheese, a photo by julian sawyer - Purbeck Footprints on Flickr.

Our local Roe Deer are a bit special. There are not that many on the Purbeck and are more difficult to find than the Sika. Once you have found them getting close is not easy, they are very shy and will quickly run if upset! Once you have found them, got close and waited for them to relax, making them say cheese when you take the photograph is almost impossible!

Red Skies

this mornings sunrise was quite amazing. Leaving the Isle of Purbeck for work every morning is difficult enough, on days like this, it is a lot worse.
Snow has been forecast for Dorset on Friday which might be interesting! We are never really sure how to react to snow because it is such a rarity! One thing is for sure, if it does snow and I get half a chance, the camera will get well used!

Snowfall on the Purbeck.

We don't get snow on the Isle of Purbeck very often and so, when it does arrive I need to get a photograph.
This is not a great shot, the Sun had barely started to climb from the sea and I didn't have time to wait, Within a few hours this would all but disappear and leave just a trace on the north facing slopes. Always good to see though and perhaps we shall get a few more flakes soon.

Blue Skies and Broad Beaches

The north end of Swanage beach is another one of my favourite places. Even on a beautiful blue sky day with a very low tide, this part of the bay is always quiet. As the sun started to drop behind the town we walked back along the sand, feeling the air becoming increasingly cold.
Blue skies have been rare over the last few months, and I have really missed days like these!

Antidote

Antidote, a photo by julian sawyer - Purbeck Footprints on Flickr.

We have a particularly friendly Robin in our garden. This morning, he looked absolutely nothing like this one!

It's Raining, Must Be Saturday

It's Raining, Must Be Saturday, a photo by julian sawyer - Purbeck Footprints on Flickr.

Yesterday was a beautiful blue sky day and I was at work! Today we have less favourable weather and, of course, I am not at work.
Very high tides and more heavy rain is still causing problems around here and more importantly, is making me grumpy!

Stormy Weather

The weather isn't great at the moment and that, coupled with work and dark evenings means that I can't get out with the camera until the weekends. That is, unless I manage a few drive-by pictures like this! It is always good to see the local Sika deer and even better when they hang around to pose for a photo.

It's The Wrong Boat!

If only the Swanage Sea Rowing Club had been using 'Old Harry' instead of 'Dancing Ledge', this would have been a better photo!

The Purbeck Footprints Calendars

The Purbeck Footprints Landscape & Wildlife calendars are still available from Durlston Country Park near Swanage and Farwells newsagent in Wareham.

Jurassic Rainbows

Jurassic Rainbows, a photo by julian sawyer - Purbeck Footprints on Flickr.

The Isle of Purbeck is well known for its geology and wherever rock breaks the surface you see all manner of natural patterns and colours.
Looking at the limestone that is being tormented by landslips you can see millions of years of fossilised history.

Big, Grey Skies

Big, Grey Skies, a photo by julian sawyer - Purbeck Footprints on Flickr.

The Isle of Purbeck didn't get too much Sun again today, with the low cloud barely lifting from the hills. Swanage Bay was calm though with plenty of birds on the water. Apart from the usual Shags and Gulls, there was a flock of passing Scoter and a single Great Crested Grebe!

I was walking with a rather lovely couple from Lancashire last year and was reminded of the old saying: "there is no such thing as the wrong weather, just the wrong clothing!"
Today was a little like that but, by the time we reached Peveril Point, the clouds started to rise and it dried of for a little bit.

Sunshine & Dirty Boots

It was good to get out and about yesterday after all the bad weather we have had, but it was very difficult to keep my boots clean. Luckily, where mud is concerned, I am just a big kid! The muddier the better.
I also managed to have a play with a Gigapan unit to take photographs of Swanage Bay in order to monitor the land slips that are causing trouble here! The detail you can with these can be quite incredible, although I haven't posted any photographs on their website, www.gigapan.com is well worth a look!
I have also been trying panoramic shots using separate photographs that I stitch together. I ended up with a picture that was 50MB in size, made up of sixteen separate photographs! Great fun to do, but I need more practise and a lot more Sun!
The weather looks like it will improve at the weekend, so I might be able to get out again.

2013

As this is the first day of, what I hope, will be a very productive year I have decided to post my favourite picture of 2012 and one of my most popular. Swanage Bay often has these sailing ships sheltering over night and catching it on a choppy, misty day was fortunate.
This year I will be conducting a photographic survey of the bay and the neighbouring Durlston Bay, both of which are suffering from erosion and land slips.
Although this will take quite a bit of my spare time I hope it won't impact on what I really want to do and that is to make this blog more interesting. I will still post photographs, of course, but I want to put more effort into writing and making it more informative.
We shall see if I can manage this without confusing myself too much!!
Any way, all the best for 2013 and all that it brings.