Monday 21 November 2016

New Website for StarBed Hideaways

Just launched a new website I've done for StarBed Hideaways at Buckland Abbey.  They provide THE most luxurious glamping experience you could imagine.  It's just been reviewed in the Sunday Telegraph.  A couple of photographs and a link to whet your appetite:


Luxury Glamping
StarBed Hideaway Luxury Glamping
Halcyon StarBed Hideaway
Star Watching by the Firepit

Monday 14 November 2016

Dartmoor Autumn Landscape Photographs - Part 4

Popped up the back of Sheeps Tor a few days ago, initially in haze.  By the time I got to the top, having explored the Bronze Age four concentric stone circles at Yellowmead, the air was achingly clear.  The views and colours were superlative.

Leather Tor Viewed from Sheeps Tor, Dartmoor

Sheeps Tor, Dartmoor

Dartmoor Panorama from Sheeps Tor to Leather Tor

Friday 11 November 2016

Dartmoor Autumn Landscape Photographs - Part 3

Yes, more orange and green pictures.  The Autumn has been THAT good.

This time, near the ruins of Deancombe Farm near Burrator, Dartmoor.  Ambled up from Norsworthy Bridge, by Deancombe and then up the back of Sheepstor (that'll be Part 4).

Dartmoor Autumn Colours Near Deancombe, Burrator

Dartmoor Autumn Colours Near Deancombe, Burrator

Dartmoor Autumn Colours at Norsworthy Bridge, Burrator

Dartmoor Autumn Colours at Norsworthy Bridge, Burrator

Monday 7 November 2016

Dartmoor Autumn Landscape Photographs - Part 2

I walked Cosmo around Cullever Steps near Okehampton Camp for a quick fix of dog exercise and sanity-preserving wilderness.  Tucked away in nooks on the moor are beautiful clusters of natural aesthetic, showing off in particular this Autumn.  Backlit grasses in a low sun, misty sunlight straining through yellow ferns and dew clinging to Rowan berries and hawthorns.  These little wonders can lift the soul just when you need it.

Anyway, a few more photographs from the delights of Cullever Steps on Dartmoor.

Dartmoor Black-a-ven Brook in Autumn
Dartmoor Black-a-ven Brook Pool near Cullever Steps in Autumn
Dartmoor Black-a-ven Brook near Cullever Steps in Autumn

Thursday 3 November 2016

Dartmoor Autumn Landscape Photographs - Part 1

I don't think I can remember an Autumn like this one.  At all.  Usually a Dartmoor Autumn is typified by brown soggy leaves that turn swiftly into mush in the rain with frantic winds that cannot move them.  Not this Autumn; this one has been absolutely glorious.  We have bathed in warm sunny days with little wind for weeks.  Instead of the leaves turning brown and being whipped off their branches by a series of storms, we have been given a display by Mother Nature, like Gaia's very own firework display in slow motion.  (As an aside, I actually met Professor Lovelock who originally proposed the Gaia Hypothesis back in the 1070s - an incredible man and gentleman scientist across all fields.)

The leaves stop producing chlorophyll which makes them green.  This let the other pigments show, like carotenoids (yellow and orange) and anthocyanins (red, pink and purple).

The beech trees seems to be particularly good with their carotenoids I must say.

Here are a few photographs from a Burrator Walk.

Dartmoor - Burrator Beeches in Autumn
Dartmoor - Burrator Beeches and wall in Autumn

Dartmoor - River Meavy at Burrator in Autumn

Dartmoor - River Meavy at Norsworthy Bridge, Burrator in Autumn