Nottingham Eye

Nottingham Eye
Originally uploaded by Scouse_and_Jules

Okay, so some days you have to do the tourist bit even in your own neck of the woods.

So with it being the last weekend of the Eye in Nottingham we toddled over from Derby to the den of iniquity on the other side of the M1. It was a cold and breezy ride and some great views despite the weather.

All said and done it would have been better in Derby, somewhere, as we would have been able to see the Dales :) But the Castle, and the Windmill made good things to view, and the unusual views of the roof tops of the varied buildings of a depressing utilitarian architecture that surround the market square like a concrete noose ,brightened many of them up in our eyes.

Red Marley Freak Hill Climb 2008

Easter is notoriously boring , even more so than the long holiday that is Christmas.

So this year for a change we went to see the wonders of Worcestershire and Herfordshire... or more to the point to see the famous Red Marley Freak Hill Climb!

Now combined with a Pre '65 Trial on the Sunday, the ressurected Hill climb is THE place to be on Easter Monday.

Air redolent with burnt methanol and CastrolR, bikes who's riders have an average age of 55, spills and thrills a plenty I can't think of a better way to lose 6 hours for a fiver.

Okay the snow flurries and the biting North Wind put a damper on it this year , but we will be back again!

Have a look at what we saw on Flickr

And some clips from the hours of video we ended up shooting ...

Lichen

Is the air getting cleaner or is it to do with where things are ?

This photo was taken walking along a footpath just below the very busy slip road onto the A52 at the Wyvern in Derby.

Lichen cannot grow in any form of polluted air , but this is thriving while 5 metres above it lorrys and cars trundle past day in day out.

I like this little oasis between Sainsburys and the A52. Often I must get taken for a potential mugger or deviant as I stop and "loiter" to gaze at nature there.

In the past month I have seen pairs of Wrens,Goldcrests,Great Tits,Bearded Tits and Robins looking for nest sites and/or food. Added to the usual Blackbirds, Starlings and Sparrows that universally get ignored by the shoppers and staff who use this path.

I sometimes wonder if the folk who always moan and complain about the effect on nature of road building ever stop to see what happens in the little enclaves that these developments create. Me I find they can often raise the spirits on a dull day. I would love to hear of your opinions.