Baptism Weekend

A few months ago I finally took the decision to be baptised. It was an opportunity for me to stand up in front of my church family (and visiting friends and family) to publicly commit myself to the Lord. I've been a Christian for about 15 years or there about and one of the things that stopped me over the years from being baptised was my stage fright. But this year I finally took the plunge, literally.

You might wonder why I'm telling you this? Well because it was also an opportunity for my parents to spend the weekend with me in Wiltshire. And I had plans. On Sunday evening we drove up to the Westbury White Horse to watch the sun set. As I didn't have my camera with me last time, I wanted to go back up there and get some photos and as sunsets are my favourite time of day, it seemed the perfect opportunity (especially since I didn't want to walk from Trowbridge again!).

When we arrived the clouds had taken over the sunset possibility but I didn't lose hope. It was windy so it was always possible the clouds would move a bit and allow the sun to clothe them in colour...

When we had had our fill of watching, we turned to the other side of the hill where Long Barrow stands on Bratton's Roman Fort.

A lone centurion? No, just dad, picturing the fort as it would have been back in Roman times with it's wooden palisades, and buildings keeping out the chill wind. Don't forget the mud that would have been thick on the ground as men trampled the grass too much for it to grow. It must have been such a dreary place for those soldiers used to the sun and warmth of Italy and the East.

The sun trying it's best to peek through the clouds obscuring it.

Looking out to Westbury and beyond.

And I can't leave you without a picture of the white horse now, can I?

After my first Monday sleep-in for a long time, we went off to Lacock to view the 15th Century village. Parts of Lacock Abbey were used for the inside castle scenes in Harry Potter and the village was used for Hogsmeade in some of the other films. Unfortunately the Abbey was a bit too expensive to go into, so we bypassed that for the village.

Inside Lacock's church.

Oo, look. The Tudor Rose. Henry VII really did get his new insignia everywhere!

A few of the Abbey over the wall.

Within the Visitor's Centre they had a photography exhibition and some historical stuff on one of the founders of modern photography, William Fox Talbot.

This is what he wrote:

Some old cameras.

All in all a good weekend. It was nice to get my camera out again. I know during the next few weeks/months there won't be much opportunity because of work but I'll do what I can.

Dunkery Beacon - Exmoor

A couple of weeks ago I set off after school for a weekend of camping and walking in Exmoor once again. Last time it was for my training as a coastal and countryside walking leader, this time it for my assessment. I left with some trepidation knowing I had not had enough time to get the walking experience I really did need for this.

But of course I didn't need to worry.

I spent the Saturday night in my newly acquired tent, having been for a night walk in fog that gave us 10m (that's metres not miles!) visibility. We had set up the tents in a nicely sheltered place with natural banks on 3 sides and a hill so any rain would not drain into our tents! It's strange how a hill suddenly seems a lot steeper when you're lying down. I spent a lot of the night pulling myself and my sleeping bag back up to the fleece that was acting as my pillow.

On Sunday the three of us who were being assessed sat down to plan our route which had to take in Dunkery Beacon (the highest point in Exmoor). It was a potentially good route, taking in a river walk and then of course the view from the top of Dunkery Hill. The river was a little trickle with no wildlife for me to photograph. Following this was a steep and difficult hill which proved a challenge for me. I hoped the view would be worth it at the top!

Our first bit of wildlife was a cute little exmoor pony with it's mum - mum was staying decidedly out of shot!

We stopped to get a group photo once the pony had disappeared. Thankfully the weather was warm!

The last bit of the walk was the easiest. Just follow the path to cross the road and then up to Dunkery Beacon which came into view when we were nearing the road. As we came nearer, there was a riding group on the top of the hill, getting photos taken. I took the opportunity to get some interesting silhouette photos. Of course if the sun had been behind them it would have made better photos. But the sun is shy of Exmoor and was hiding behind lowering clouds.

The group setting off down the hill again.

In the far distance, just beyond the clouds is Wales. Why is Wales always obscured by cloud from England?

We stopped at the top to take a snack break and look at the scenery.

And to appreciate that we had made it to Dunkery Beacon!

The view was very pretty. Imagine what it must look like on a cloudless day!

The way home.

Oh and if you were wondering... yes, I passed.