Framedlight

  Last weekend I went on a two day work shop based near Cambridge looking at 'Fens at Risk'. On both days we had a lecture in the morning, and on the Saturday we were let loose in the Fens to do a little photography. We went to Adventurer's Fen, an area owned by the National Trust close to Burwell. The area didn't look 'at risk', although, with global warming and rising sea levels I am sure it is. I took some pictures to try and illustrate the landscape. The Fens is an area heavily formed by man and a very important agricultural producer at a time where we are trying to be more self sufficient. The loss of this land by inundation would be very serious and also threaten major conurbations such as Cambridge and Peterborough. The above picture shows the National Trust area with Highland cows grazing and a large solar array in the background. The Fens are festooned with pylons and those carrying power away from the array just add to the existing ones. Burwell Lode B

  Last January Alan fancied a couple days staying near Filey and Bempton so that we could see the sea birds on the cliffs. We stayed in some rather odd accommodation and arrived late in the afternoon so that when we took the dog for a walk on the beach in Filey the sun was already going down. Early the next morning we got to Bempton and walked down to the cliff edge to look at the birds. The light was glorious but it was absolutely freezing and we couldn't stay out long before we lost the feeling in our hands. When the RSPB centre opened we warmed ourselves with much needed coffee and buns.

 We had some lunch in Browns Canyon and then left to drive north to a small place called Evergreen, not far from Denver, where we would be spending our last night in the US. The afternoon sky was stormy as we rolled through the miles. Evergreen had a large lake next to it where we walked the next morning, killing time before we drove into Denver for our flight home. It was very cold and part of the lake was frozen over. We relinquished the Ford at the airport and spent some time in an open lounge area from where we had a view over the arrivals and departures. Finally as the sun was setting we boarded and took off for Manchester and home. And that was it. Six weeks in the USA was over and only the diary to create! Coming in to the UK Over London

  Moving on from Salida we were driving north to our next destination and last night in the US. The road followed the Arkansas River for some way. Looking for a walk Alan found a place called Brown's Canyon not far from Salida. As we turned off onto a track to the canyon we saw a snow storm coming across the mountains. Luckily it did not venture on to lower elevations but did look very dramatic. The canyon has been carved out by the Arkansas River and is fairly high, the base lying at 7,300 ft and the park rising to 10,000 ft. The geology is mainly granite but we found some chalky outcrops. It has only recently acquired National Monument status under Obama's presidency. It was a good place to shake off the morning cobwebs.

We had had some lunch looking at the sand dunes then we set out to drive across the Saint Luis Valley and on north towards Salida. The valley floor was very flat but we stopped by an irrigation ditch to look back at the dunes and mountains. It was 86 miles to Salida and we finally arrived in the late afternoon. We were staying in a little motel so drove down into town to try and find something to eat. There was nothing we fancied, and we ended up going into a supermarket and buying some bread and frankfurters as there was a microwave in our room. Oh the glamour of travel!