A collection of photos taken at Westonbirt Arboretum, near Tetbury in Gloucestershire. It is managed by The Forestry Commission, and there are two main areas, Silk Wood and The Old Arboretum. Our visit to see the autumn colours was perhaps a couple of weeks too late in the season, as many trees had shed leaves, but there were still sufficient left to provide attractive views. These photos are of The Old Arboretum, as time precluded moving on to Silk Wood, but it will be well worth a return visit

A two-part visit to Potsdam - firstly, Sanssouci Park where in 1744 King Frederick the Great ordered the construction of a residence where he could live sans souci ("without worries", in the French spoken at the court). It hosts a botanical garden and many magnificent buildings, including the New Palace and Sanssouci Palace. Then into Potsdam itself, where amongst the famous landmarks are The Brandenburg Gate [the city is the capital of the federal state of Brandenburg] and the two-street Dutch Quarter (Hollandisches Viertel), with about 150 houses built of red bricks in the Dutch style between 1734 and 1742

We had nowhere nearly long enough to fully explore Poland's capital city of Warsaw, but the size of the collection of photographs taken indicates just how much there is to see. The "Old Town" was destroyed in WWII and is still being rebuilt in something like the original style, whilst there is a profusion of exciting new buildings to see. The old Communist Palace of Culture and Science is the stand-out landmark, and the trip by lift to the viewing platform on the 30th floor was well worth a few zloty

Just over a mile from Auschwitz I is Auschwitz-Birkenau (Auschwitz II) concentration and extermination camp facility, established by order of Heinrich Himmler in 1940. It became the killing centre where the largest numbers of European Jews were killed during the Holocaust. Some estimates run as high as three million eventually killed through gassing, starvation, disease, shooting, and burning

Auschwitz was the largest of Nazi Germany's concentration and extermination camps, operational during World War II. The town of Oswiecim was annexed by Nazi Germany and renamed Auschwitz. The three main camps were Auschwitz I, II, and III. Auschwitz I, the original concentration camp, served as the administrative centre for the whole complex, and was the site of the deaths of some 70,000 people, mainly ethnic Poles and Soviet prisoners of war. It now operates as a Museum site. Unfortunately the complex itself nows seems somewhat sanitised, although the story which it tells remains horrific

A collection of photographs taken during our short stay in Poland's second city, Krakow. Like Wroclaw, the centre of the old town has a main "Rynek" (Market Square) in the middle of which is a Cloth Hall - Krakow's is undergoing a lot of rebuilding work so it's currently a bit of an eyesore. The jewel in Krakow's crown is Wawel Hill which is home to the Royal Castle and Cathedral

First stop on our visit to Poland was Wroclaw, the former German city of Breslau which was largely destroyed by the Soviet Red Army in 1945. The focal point in the centre of the city, Rynek (The Market Square), has been rebuilt with colourful old-style facades to the premises around the square. Wroclaw is situated on 12 islands connected by 112 bridges, and is often referred to as ''Lower Silesian Venice". Since 2005, an added attraction has been the influx of diminutive statues of "Dwarfs" in various guises, and we managed to locate quite a few on our walks around the city

For the first part of our holiday, we spent a full day in glorious weather in Berlin, which continues to be a major building site despite the progress made so far. There's a fine mix of old buildings, some of which have been partially or completely rebuilt since being destroyed during WWII, and the most modern of structures such as Potsdamer Platz. There's a lot of Berlin still to be seen and hopefully a further visit will not be too far away

The redundant of St Mary's, Islington, is a landmark well-known to travellers on the A47 between Wisbech and King's Lynn. Its 15th century tower survives but the 13th century nave is now roofless. As is common with churches that were slowly abandoned, most of the furnishings were destroyed by a combination of vandalism and neglect, but the two bells survived, and now ring out over Histon in the suburbs of Cambridge. The chancel is still roofed and is bricked off with its own entrance, but is no longer in use

work-in-progress . . .

work-in-progress . . .

One of Warwickshire's most famous landmarks is the windmill at Chesterton, alongside the Roman Fosse Way 5 miles south-east of Warwick. It was built in 1632-1633, probably by Sir Edward Peyto, who was Lord of the Chesterton Manor House, and possibly to a design by Inigo Jones. Although it was thought that the tower was originally built as an observatory, the estate accounts at Warwick Record Office show that it has always been a windmill, making it the earliest tower mill in England to retain any of its working parts

A mainly sunny Saturday morning was spent in South Warwickshire, in the North Cotswolds villages of Great Wolford, Little Wolford and Barton-on-the-Heath, and driving back along the old A34 (now the A3400) I stopped in the pretty village of Tredington, which is dominated by the spire of St Gregory's Church, the tallest in the county

Whilst we were at Birling Gap, we spent time enjoying a display set up by "1066 Falconry" from Battle in East Sussex, with a variety of birds on show

A return visit to one of our favourite locations, Birling Gap in East Sussex, between The Seven Sisters and Beachy Head. When we arrived the sky was overcast - the tide was out so there were many families busy investigating the rock pools - but eventually the sun broke through and sky (and the sea) became bright blue

After a first visit some six weeks ago, I promised myself a prompt return to this wonderful venue - here are the results of my second visit, and once again I was not disappointed

Port Lympne also houses the world's largest gorillarium, "The Palace of the Apes", home to a family group of Western Lowland Gorillas

A wonderful day out on safari - in deepest Kent. This is Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, set in 600 acres around the stunning Mansion House. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Dave, our guide, and Ian, our driver, for helping to make the visit such a success

A selection of photos taken on a visit to The International Centre for Birds of Prey (formerly the National Birds of Prey Centre) at Newent in Gloucestershire - certainly well worth a second visit before too long

Another hot, sunny day in East Sussex, and some more colourful gardens - this time, we were at Sheffield Park Garden, laid out in the 18th century by Capability Brown, with four large lakes. It is also famous as the site of the first ever England v Australia cricket match

A short weekend break in Sussex, in glorious sunshine - first off was a visit to Herstmonceux, a magnificent moated castle, set in beautiful parkland and superb Elizabethan gardens. A touring exhibition of Zimbabwean Sculpture was on show in the gardens

Whilst watching the moto cross event at Airfield Farm, Market Harborough, I had been aware of some aerobatic displays taking place over towards Foxton, so I was caught on the hop when this plane (call sign G-ZIII), which I found out later is a Pitts S-2B Special biplane, started performing right overhead - I just managed a few very snatched shots of this

Airfield Farm, Market Harborough, was the venue for the "Spring Scramble" motocross meeting, presented by the Midland Social Motor Cycle Club. The welcome hot sunny weather created very dusty conditions for my first-ever visit to this type of motor sport, and I was therefore reasonably pleased with the photo output in the circumstances

On a beautifully sunny day, some genealogical research took me into Northamptonshire and Rutland where I was able to record a few shots of a number of delightful villages - an area well worth a longer visit

Born 11.34pm, 24 March 2009, The Horton Hospital, Banbury, to proud parents Helen and Ben - weighed in at 9lb 3oz

For our final full day in Switzerland, we again travelled around the Graubünden canton, making stops at the famous resorts of Davos and Klosters

Today's railway photographs may be viewed at http://railphotosbycliffjones.fotopic.net/c1650915.html

Our excursion today took us on The Bernina Express from Chur to the delightful town of Poschiavo, which despite its Italian name, language and architecture, is in the Graubünden canton of Switzerland

Today's railway photographs may be viewed at http://railphotosbycliffjones.fotopic.net/c1650328.html

On arrival at Zermatt, there seemed little hope of seeing The Matterhorn from the summit of The Gornergrat, but nevertheless we decided to take the railway up to the top - thick cloud and heavy snow greeted us, but once again patience was rewarded when the cloud slowly disappeared and the sun emerged to provide superb views of The Matterhorn and the surrounding peaks

Today's railway photographs may be viewed at http://railphotosbycliffjones.fotopic.net/c1647726.html

Having visited the area twice on summer holidays, we were keen to see the Bernese Oberland in winter, and we stopped off at Wengen where the cloud was low and the snow falling - this did not augur well for the climb to Kleine Scheidegg, but we were very lucky when the skies cleared and the sun came out, so that we could enjoy the views of The Eiger and the snow-covered slopes

Todays' railway photographs may be viewed at http://railphotosbycliffjones.fotopic.net/c1646110.html

A small collection of photographs taken on a visit to Locarno via the Centovalli Railway from Domodossola - the weather was mainly dull and overcast, and Locarno seemed very quiet, but it is surely a beautiful and busy spot during the summer months

Today's railway photographs, including the return journey via a snow-covered Andermatt, may be viewed at http://railphotosbycliffjones.fotopic.net/c1645526.html

The world's most famous passenger liner, "Queen Elizabeth 2", sailed into the River Mersey for the final time to visit Liverpool as part of her farewell tour of the U K. The QE2 is to be retired and converted into a hotel in Dubai after more than 40 years in service. We were able to take a close-up look at her from one of the Mersey Ferries, which also gave us some fine views of the Liverpool Waterfront and some of the other traffic on the river

Our last two nights were spent in Biarritz, the world-famous holiday resort on the Basque coast of south-west France. Visits were also made to La Rhune, although the mountain was shrouded in cloud throughout our time there), and to the pretty fishing port of St Jean de Luz

We also visited Lourdes which, following claims of apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, has developed into a major place of Christian pilgrimage. With these claims still widely disputed, critics argue that the Lourdes phenomenon is nothing more than a money spinner for the area, which thus has a strong vested interest in maintaining the flow of pilgrims. The overall impression is one of a tacky tourist location, with probably the worst public toilets ever experienced

Next stop on our French break was Toulouse, known as The Pink City because of the distinctive architecture. The capital of the Midi-Pyrenees Region, the main focal point of the city is Place du Capitole, with the fine Capitole de Toulouse building which houses the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) and The Theatre du Toulouse (Opera House)

Latour de Carol is a small Catalan village in the Pyrenees, about two miles from the railway station which bears its name and which uniquely is the terminus for three lines of differing gauges - La Petit Train Jaune, operated by SNCF and the Spanish and French state railways. Is has a population of under 400 and is in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of France

Collioure is an historic coastal town and fishing harbour just south of Perpignan, between the foothills of the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. It was a popular haunt of and inspiration to many famous artists, including Matisse and Picasso

The first part of our trip to southern France and the Pyrenees took us to Perpignan, the capital of Rousillon. In the 13th & 14th centuries it was under the control of the kings of Majorca and Aragon. It is still very much a Catalan stronghold and local traditions are maintained today

After a last minute change of booking, we decided on a Great Rail Journeys break in the Pyrenees. However, travel arrangements were somewhat affected as a result of a fire in the Channel Tunnel, and on our outward journey this meant we had an extra hour in Lille where we were due to change trains from Eurostar to TGV, so it gave an opportunity for a handful of photos in this fine French city

In 1998, "Superlambanana" was commissioned for the Tate Transpennine Art initiative. Designed by Japanese artist Taro Chiezo, it was said to exhibit the Liverpool sense of humour and the dangers of genetic engineering. As part of the celebrations for Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture, over 100 smaller superlambananas (the original is 15ft tall and the smaller ones about 4ft tall) decorated the city centre and beyond until the end of August, subsequently to be auctioned, with profits going to The Lord Mayor's charity appeal, which includes the Marina Dalglish appeal and the Heart and Chest hospital in Broadgreen

From Brighton Marina, I took the delightful Volks Electric Railway to Brighton Pier and then walked back along Madeira Drive - here are just a few photos taken around Brighton Pier and on the walk along the seafront
(see my Railway Photos gallery for the Volks Railway)

Brighton Marina, opened in 1978, is the largest in the United Kingdom, with over 1600 berths, and has developed over the years with the addition of shops, restaurants and residential property. I spent a couple of hours here, taking a walk along the east breakwater to admire the views of the Marina and the variety of craft to be seen

In addition to the main collections of photos during my break in Sussex, here are a few "odds 'n' ends" from around the area, including several windmills

A selection of photographs of Kittiwakes, taken as they flew around Splash Point, Seaford

This collection of photographs features a walk along the seafront at Eastbourne, followed by a boat trip out to the lighthouse at Beachy Head, and finally a walk around Eastbourne Pier

First evening of a short break in Sussex, and I journeyed to Brighton to take a look at what remains of the famous West Pier - this looks such a sad sight when compared with its glorious days in the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century. There was a brief interlude in my walk as the local fire brigade attended a small fire in a waste bin on the promenade

Just to the east of Newhaven are the remains of Tide Mills, a village which consisted of a tide mill created in 1761 and many workers' cottages. The mill stopped c1900 and the village was condemned as unfit for habitation in 1936, the last residents being forcibly removed in 1939. In addition to the remains of the village, there are also a disused railway station (Bishopstone Beach Halt, closed in 1942) and the remains of Chailey Heritage Marine Hospital, which was founded in the 1920s but became a casualty of wartime defence works

Hailes Abbey, near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, was a Cistercian house founded in 1246 by Richard of Cornwall in thanksgiving for being saved from being shipwrecked. It was dissolved in 1539 and granted to one of Henry VIIIs wives, Katherine Parr. Over the centuries, it has suffered severe destruction, but after excavation in the 19th century onwards, remains of the impressive cloister arches can be seen

Here's a selection of photos taken during a most enjoyable walk around Hidcote Manor Garden. Set in deepest Gloucestershire and somewhat off the beaten track, the garden at Hidcote is nevertheless a celebrated and popular venue, specially designed in the first quarter of the 20th century by Major Lawrence Johnston, a reclusive American horticulturalist

The present Mrs Jones achieved one of her ambitions when she took a flight in a Hot Air Balloon, courtesy of a birthday present purchased from Virgin. It meant an very early start to get to Stanford Hall in Northamptonshire, from where the balloon took off. Although all went smoothly (and apparently the flight was very smooth), there was a not a great deal of wind, meaning the flight didn't actually go as far as one might have hoped, also visibility from the air was not brilliant. This collection of photos shows the preparation and take-off and also the packing away after landing

This is a small collection of people I observed and photographed during my sojourn around London - just to illustrate the ordinary folk going about their Saturday in the Capital in their different ways

After the customary photos of Eros, I walked up Shaftesbury Avenue and cut through into Gerrard Street and Chinatown - after this I wasn't really sure where to head for, but in the end I followed the crowds through some narrow streets and came out opposite Covent Garden Station. The area around the Market was absolutely packed, and, tiring fast, I decided to call it a day and made for Strand to pick up a return red bus to Euston

Trafalgar Square was bustling with people on this hot Saturday, and from there I walked past St Martin's in the Fields into Leicester Square - after a short break, I moved on through the busy streets and into Piccadilly Circus

This collection features The Houses of Parliament and the sights around Parliament Square, from where I walked down Parliament Street and Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. Along the way there are plenty of attractions and distractions - The Norman Shaw Buildings, Downing Street, The Cenotaph, Horse Guards Parade, to name a few

From Lambeth Pier, my journey took me across Lambeth Bridge and into Victoria Tower Gardens towards The Houses of Parliament and Parliament Square - look out for the man up a ladder, cleaning a flagpole high above one of the blocks on Millbank!

I finally got around to making a visit to London in decent weather with a camera - quite a long-held ambition to do a "photo-walk" around parts of the Capital. Having landed at Euston Station, I and my new bus-pass took a ride to Waterloo Bridge, to begin the walking tour. This first collection features the walk along the Thames embankment to Lambeth Pier, which takes in The London Eye, County Hall, Westminster Bridge and St Thomas' Hospital

A prolonged period of rain left many areas under water - when I ventured out into Warwickshire, I took a few photos of some places affected

A selection of the many photographs taken during our Christmas holiday to the Tyrol in Austria.
Courtesy of Great Rail Journeys, we travelled from St Pancras International to our base in Jenbach, and during our stay we visited Alpbach, Kufstein, Rattenburg, Salzburg and Innsbruck ; we took a sleighride through the forest above Pertisau on Achensee ; and we travelled on the Zillertalbahn to Mayrhofen

(for photos of the Zillertalbahn Railway, see http://railphotosbycliffjones.fotopic.net/c1433575.html)

Nearly trod on this poor chap on the way out to the car this morning - fortunately I caught sight of him in time and also had my camera with me (Rana Temporaria = Common Frog)

An interesting stop on our journey to North Yorkshire was at Bridlington, where we were able to watch a fishing boat arrive and its catch unloaded - a most enjoyable hour spent at this seaside location, resulting in this set of photos which have been kept separate from the rest of our Yorkshire collection

An overdue return to North Yorkshire was the venue for our August Bank Holiday long weekend - on the way we visited the Humber Bridge and Beverley, and our journey also took us to Bridlington Harbour (see separate collection). Here's a selection of photos taken at Whitby, Rievaulx Abbey, Mount Grace Priory and Hutton-le-Hole - for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, see my Rail Photos Gallery

I photographed this biplane as it flew low over Toddington, Gloucestershire, on 5 August 2007 - thanks to Mark Worsdell for advising me of its identity. It is a Stampe SV4-A belonging to Tiger Airways with the registration G-NIFE and is powered by a Renault 4PO5 engine. The aircraft was built in 1946 and has the serial number 156. Prior to the aircraft's British registration it was registered in France as F-BBBL

Belgium's National Day is 21 July, the anniversary of the swearing-in ceremony of the first King, Leopold, in 1831 - we were fortunate enough to be in Brussels this year on the day, so our main aim was to see the wonderful Stiltwalkers of Merchtem along the Rue de la Regence, and just enjoy the celebrations along with the enormous crowds

A welcome return visit to Brussels, although the weather varied between very heavy, prolonged rain and long, hot sunny spells - visits to Antwerp and to Luxembourg, plus a bus-ride out to see the Atomium close to (but we didn't go in) - see the next collection for the Belgium National Day celebrations

The Millenium Stadium, Cardiff, was again the venue for the British Grand Prix of the FIM Speedway World Championship - an excellent choice, given the atrocious weather, as the meeting took place in perfect conditions - with the roof closed

The Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club held their Annual Concours and Rally at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire - towards the end of the final day, there was a display by The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, featuring a Lancaster Bomber, a Hurricane and a Spitfire. For photos of the wonderful Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars [in their hundreds] have a look at my Heritage Cars Gallery at http://motorcargallery.fotopic.net/show_group.php?id=5135

A hot June day spent on the East Sussex Coast - starting at Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne, we ventured to Beachy Head, then to Birling Gap, then finally to Seaford and Seaford Head - see the affluence of the boat owners and Marina dwellers, and the sheer beauty of the cliffs between Eastbourne and Seaford, and the classic shot of the Seven Sisters and the Coastguard Cottages

A handful of photos taken during a brief visit to Worthing in West Sussex

4 miles west of Ripon in West Yorkshire are the ruins of Fountains Abbey, founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks who later became Cistercian monks - today they are Britain's largest monastic ruin and together with the Fountains Estate and Studley Water Gardens form one of the most popular sites in the country, one that now enjoys World Heritage status

On the banks of the River Aire near Shipley, West Yorkshire, stands Saltaire. Built between 1851 & 1876, it was the brainchild of wealthy mill owner Sir Titus Salt who wanted to create a slice of paradise for his workers. Salts Mill (1853) dominates the area, but recession caught up with the business and it closed in 1892. After years of neglect, the area was saved by a Leeds entrepreneur, and it now has World Heritage status

A few photos taken in the small West Yorkshire town of Haworth, situated on the edge of The Pennines in what is known as "Bronte Country"

Situated between Ludlow and Craven Arms in Shropshire, Stokesay Castle is probably the finest and best preserved 13th century fortified manor house in England. Set amid peaceful countryside near the Welsh border, Stokesay Castle forms an fine group of picturesque buildings with its timber-framed gatehouse and the parish church

Opened in 1888, Queen's Park was a gift to Crewe from the London & North Western Railway, and was for many years a real gem. Over recent years the quality of the park has deteriorated, but now a multi-million pound scheme to restore it to its former glories is under way. Although fenced off because of the work, I was able to grab a handful of photos around the park lake

Six days after the 18th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, floral and other tributes still adorn the Memorial and The Shankly Gates at Liverpool FC, Anfield - and the fight for justice for the 96 who failed to return from that fateful FA Cup Semi-Final in Sheffield in 1989 carries on

Easter Sunday and a visit to Llandudno in glorious sunshine, with a walk along the promenade, then to the end of the pier, with a chance to sit (and photograph) the world going by. Later on it clouded over during a trip on the Great Orme Tramway
For photos of the tramway go to
http://busesandtramsbycliffjones.fotopic.net/c1256234.html

A sunny Easter weekend spent in North Wales - here are a selection of photos taken in and around Conwy, and also of St Margaret's Church, Bodelwyddan (The Marble Church) and Rhuddlan

Bodnant Garden spans 80 acres and is situated above the River Conwy in North Wales. The upper garden around Bodnant Hall consists of the terraced gardens and informal lawns, whilst the lower section (The Dell) is formed by the valley of the River Hiraethlyn and contains the wild garden

"Another Place" consists of 100 cast-iron, life-size figures spread out along two miles of Crosby Beach and looking out into Liverpool Bay. They are the work of sculpter Antony Gormley, who also created "The Angel of the North"

A family celebration took us to Millets Farm Centre at Frilford, near Abingdon, in Oxfordshire. There is a farm shop, restaurant, garden centre and a farm zoo - here is a selection of photos taken at the zoo

Between Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick is Charlecote Park, home to the Lucy family for over 800 years. Charlecote House is Elizabethan, having been built in the 1550's. The parkland, created by Capability Brown, is home to Fallow Deer and also Jacob Sheep

Upper Arley is an estate village in the Severn Valley near Kidderminster in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, a short walk down the hill from Arley station on the preserved Severn Valley Railway

On an unexpectedly bright sunny February afternoon, I took a brief stroll around the Staffordshire town of Tamworth, and came away with a selection of photographs showing the Norman Castle and its grounds, the Parish Church of St Editha and the Town Hall, as well as the two rivers which flow through the town, the Tame and the Anker

Having worked in Market Harborough for a number of years, I have always had a high regard for this Leicestershire market town, and now I have had the opportunity to revisit it and to record on camera some of the fine buildings of which it can be very proud

Views of sunsets over Coventry taken from Nettle Hill, Ansty, and at Church End, Coventry

Surprisingly mild conditions attracted us to a walk through our local Brandon Woods - a surprising amount of colour still about and some interesting fungi - but no sign of any animals

Jordie the Boxer belongs to Ben, who is not a bad fella although he supports the Mancs - how on earth Helen came to be friendly with one of those is beyond me!

A selection of photos taken during a most pleasant walk through Coombe Abbey Country Park - Coome Abbey, near Coventry, is a house on the remains of a Cistercian Abbey, with park and garden

A collection of photographs taken in Berkshire, showing a variety of colours in the trees and the hedgerows

"Monkey Forest", on the Trentham Estate just south of Stoke-on-Trent, is home to around 140 Barbary Macaques, in 60 acres of forest which allows the monkeys a natural habitat

A series of sunsets which have all been viewed recently from our balcony, looking towards Coventry

A pleasant sunny morning, so I headed for Stratford-upon-Avon, essentially to catch sight of "The Shakespeare Express" steam railtour, but also to take some photos of this famous Warwickshire town

Heard a plane continually circling overhead, so grabbed the camera and took some shots from our balcony of Air Atlantique Douglas DC6 which was doing some trial runs around Coventry Airport

Our 2006 vacation was spent in Switzerland, based in Interlaken - our first return there since 1982. In a period of extremely hot weather, we enjoyed the wonderful scenery of the Jungfrau Region and the Bernese Oberland, and also visited Lucerne

Our garden is frequented by a lot of grey squirrels, and many people consider them to be vermin - but I couldn't resist taking some shots of this chase across the garage roofs!

One evening during the heatwave we've been experiencing, an evening storm suddenly blew up, and I took these shots of the skies over towards Coventry - including one the next morning when the clear blue skies returned

I took a week's holiday to Cumbria, staying at Ravenstonedale, basically for a first visit to the Settle Carlisle Railway. The scenery around the Dales and the Lakes is truly wonderful - if only the weather had matched! (for Settle Carlisle Railway images, see my "Rail Photos" Gallery

Coombe Abbey, on the outskirts of Coventry, was originally a 12th century Cistercian monastery - it is now an 83-bedroom hotel and banqueting complex, set in 500 acres of parkland

Rupinder (Rups) and Bicky were married at Coombe Abbey, just outside Coventry - and afterwards a reception was held at the Indian Community Centre Association, Cross Road, Coventry - they're a lovely couple, apart from the fact that Bicky is a ManU supporter

The night sky across towards Coventry caught the eye with the vivid colour

We travelled to Cardiff for the 2006 FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain, at the wonderful Millenium Stadium (Anfield South, to LFC fans!). On a blazing hot day, we enjoyed the delights of the Welsh capital, including the waterfront at the newly developed Cardiff Bay (for the Speedway images, see my "Sporting Photos" Gallery)

Orsett Hall in Essex was the setting for Anna Swarbrick's marriage to Chris Sasse. It was so lovely to see Anna so happy on her big day, after all her health issues - just a pity the weather was not as good

We'd seen Chris Rea twice before, but after he'd announced that, due to ill health, this was to be his final tour, we were very keen to see him one more time, when he visited Birmingham's Symphony Hall - and we were not disappointed (look out for his DVD and CD of the tour due out in October)

An Easter break to the south coast included a visit to Bodiam Castle at Robertsbridge, East Sussex - the castle was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, not as a defence against the invading French but merely to emphasise his wealth and status as a knight of the realm

A Good Friday visit to Arlington Stadium for an Elite League speedway meeting between Eastbourne Eagles and Poole Pirates - unfortunately the lighting was not good enough for more than a couple of action shots

Interesting cloud formations at sunset made for some colourful shots from our balcony, over towards Brandon Wood, south of Coventry

A fleeting visit to Warwick allowed time for a couple of photos with the remnants of snow around the Castle

The attraction was the sunset, but I was unaware that overhead was a Dakota DC-3 which had been celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the aircraft at Coventry Airport, and it would fly through my shot

A drive through the Welsh forests and hillsides took us around Lake Bala and across to Lake Vyrnwy - enjoy this selection of photos

At the south-west tip of Anglesey is this wonderful peninsular known as Llanddwyn Island - the scenery is top notch, and for birdwatchers, walkers or beach lovers, it's just the ticket

A day visit to Blackpool, and again the weather came up trumps - here's a taster (to see the trams, go to my "Buses & Trams" Gallery)

A few photos of England's 1st Innings in the memorable Ashes Test Match at Edgbaston against Australia

Our summer holiday base was Zell-am-See in Austria, with excursions to the Grossglockner, Krimml, Berchtesgaden and Mooserboden - a busy time but what wonderful scenery (and so was the weather!)

During a day on the West Somerset Railway, I took a short break at Watchet, and in glorious sunshine took just a few photos to record my visit

Our break in North Wales included a visit, on a miserable day weather-wise, to Caernarfon, where the castle dominates the town. On the way back to our hotel, we endeavoured to take some photos of the famous bridges across the Menai Straits between North Wales and Anglesey

We took a short visit by Eurostar to Brussels, with excursions to Ypres, Bruges and Amsterdam - here's a selection of photos

Wild and wet - that summed up the weather over Southport when we ventured there - just look at the colour of the sky!

Avignon and the region of Provence is so easily accessible now by rail - here's a selection of the many photos taken on our short visit which included trips to the famous Pont du Gard and Nimes

A taste of the French capital city from photos taken during our weekend visit which coincided with a severe heatwave

England met South Africa at Edgbaston in a One-Day International - here are a couple of photos

During our Christmas break, we journeyed into Snowdonia along the Llanberis Pass - the weather was very drab, but did not distract too much from the enjoyment of the scenery (although a return visit in the sun is considered desirable!)