Been out taking photos so much barley had time to do anything with them. So here are a few I have taken over the last month up to the snow pictures today.
Hove Lagoon slow pan at sunset
I recently got a device for slow panning my camera. In no way sponsored or an endorsement but I ended up getting the Star Adventure Mini (SAM) from Sky Watchers for just over £250. One of the sites I was looking at said it was a good entry level device and it should be ok with the weight of my heaviest camera and lens.
For these shots I used the app to manually rotate the camera and it seems to do about 180 degrees in about 12minutes or so. It’s fairly easy to set up if you have a modular tripod. Unscrew the head and pop the motor between the head and tripod and you are good to go.
The plan ultimately is to try and get some nice very slow pans from the top of the hills around town.
Nature sped up
Over the last few months I’ve shoot some long bits of video. I’ve pulled together some of the better shots and sped them up a load. So you can see the clouds racing across the skies and accelerated movement of the things in the scene.
I’m currently looking at planning attachments so in the future I can have these planning across the landscapes over time.
Here are a few pictures I’ve taken recently
Waterhall and Green Ridge Dew Ponds
I decided to go and visit the Waterhall dew pond but rather than going there directly I jumped on the 46 bus to Hollingbury and walked down via Withdean Park. As it was autumn there were some lovely colours in the suburbs, parks and surrounding area.
The hill up from London road was quite steep, as was the hill down from the bridge over the motorway. If you don’t like high bridges over many lanes of fast moving traffic then this is probably best avoided.
When I got to Waterhall the sun was starting to set and I almost had the place all to myself. So set up the camera and let it roll for a bit. Then did the same at the Green Ridge dew Pond on the way back. Though did not have that all to myself but got a nice shot between people passing.
The other dew ponds are as follows and I must check them out.
Bevendean Down, Ditchling Beacon, Foredown Ridge, Hangleton and Wild Park
A dew pond is an artificial pond usually sited on the top of a hill, intended for watering livestock. Dew ponds are used in areas where a natural supply of surface water may not be readily available.
Mid Sussex Link part 1
Shoreham harbour to Devils Dyke
This trip was quite an endurance exercise in this direction. Almost all up hill for 9km. I imagine it’s much easier the other direction. Would make a good day out getting the bus to the top of the dyke (mostly only runs weekends and holiday) and then walk back to Hove. You can jump on a bus once you get to Mile Oak area or wander all the way down to Hove Lagoon.
The route start seems to be a bit inconsistent depending on where you look. Either at the coast by Hove Lagoon or at this corner of St Richard’s Road and Wellington Road.
If you want a nice cuppa before heading off there was a nice looking cafe next to the station just up the road. Though I did not try it this time as I started later in the day than I would have liked.
The first leg of the path is a rather nice walk out of town up a footpath alley with plenty of trees, hedges and walls that provide cover on a blustery day. The main roads you have to cross have fairly good crossing points. The local shop over the bridge from the station will be the last shop you will pass for a while, so grab anything you need here.
Towards the top of the path before hitting the open countryside it can get a bit muddy underfoot if there has been rain recently.
As I burst out into the countryside by the electrical pylons all you could hear was the chatter of the small birds perched along the wires. This is one of my favourite walks as the views of Mile Oak on the right and the rolling hills towards Shoreham never seem to fail to make stunning vistas.
Once again can get a bit muddy in places if it had rained but mostly fairly easy along this little hill… Though you do have to watch out for rabbit holes as there are quite a few around here. Also watch out for slugs as I’ve seen some quite large ones around these parts. As well as plenty of birds, mostly pigeons, crows and gulls but there are a few birds of prey too.
If you stick to the trail it will take you down a fairly steep and sometimes slippy bridleway down to just above the farm. Though you can also take a slight detour from the path down a very short but steep hill down to the cafe for a pit stop. As the next leg is quite gruelling this could be worth the detour.
The path up from the farm starts off very steep and it’s a bit of a slog but if you run out of breath just stop for a bit and take in the stunning views. After the initial steep bit the path levels off to a more easy climb up the hell… But the climb is fairly continuous all the way up till you get near Fulking Hill.
There was quite a puddle next to the gate at the top of the path. At this point the path once again bypasses the pub at the top of the dyke and caries on to Patcham but for me I called it a day and headed toward the pub for refreshment and calling it a day as the sun was setting within the hour. So I took the old railway route back to Hangelton and jumped on a bus back to town.
My thoughts on this part of the route is that I think it would have been a lot easier in the other direction as you would have instead been going downhill most of the way. Also there are not many places to stop and rest except the farm cafe and pub at the top of the dyke. Though if you do try it this way then at the top of the steepest hill up from the farm, if you turn right there is takes you back down to Foredown tower. After that you are fairly committed to pushing on to the dyke.
Was most certainly a good workout and took me a good 4 hours to get to the top and another hour to walk back to the nearest bus stop… Though there is a bus that run up to Devils Dyke but it mostly only runs on weekend and bank holidays. So you can catch that back.
If you want the easiest way to do this walk I would say get the bus to Devils Dyke and walk down to the coast. It will be an easier walk but you will have the sun in your face most of the way down, if the sun comes out that is. Also remember the weather at the top can change quickly and can be quite different to what it feels like at ground level so make sure you have the right clothes with you and plenty of water if it’s hot.
Next part I will attempt to do the bit between Devils Dyke and Ditchling
Falmer to the coast
To complete my trips around Brighton I walked from Falmer stadium to Rottingdean. This means I have now walked all the way around the Brighton metropolitan area from the costal path between Rottingdean and Shoreham, From Shoreham inland to the South Downs way. Then inland from there over the top of Southwick, Mile Oak, Devils Dyke, Patcham, Stammer, Falmer and now finally back to Rottingdean.
Not in one go mind you. Mostly in 2-4 hour chunks.
On the way I found some public footpaths that were almost impassable, some very steep hills, amazing views and got to explore regions of Brighton I had not visited before even after living here for about 20 years.
There is one tool that made this much easier and that is Open Street Maps, along with the spin offs Open Route Service and OsmAnd the mobile app version. These tools help to plan my routes and keep me on track.
The next plan is to put together some guides with ideas, hints and tips about getting around the area. I’ve started with the area I’ve explored the most in the Shoreham area. As well as hopefully getting out and about a bit more.
All Things Fungi Festival 2024
This was my first trip out of town with the new camera in a lovely location the Chiddinglye estate just south of East Grinstead. Hopefully I’ll get to do a lot more of this sort of thing next year. Here’s some footage of the festival and the lovely area.
Round Mile Oak
For this day out I headed from the Aldrington Station area and cut across to Benfield Valley Nature Reserve. Up a short but steep hill to Foredown and over the A27. Up here I saw the birds in the field you can see in the video. Started down the main path towards the Dyke but it was fairly busy as it was the weekend.
So doubled back and explored down the path running along the top of the A27, quite close at times. This path was had a lot less foot fall. It takes you past some farm buildings that don’t clearly show the route but the obvious one is usually right. There are a few underpass’ that you can use to cut back to town along the route but I stayed on the path until the tunnel.
At the tunnel you can climb another short but steep hill that takes you up onto the Downs. Once that road is underground you suddenly realise how loud it is! Quite a feature round the outskirts of town. Must explore more up in that area.
From there I walked downhill all the way to Portslade and then jumped on the bus back to town.
Summer Beach Sunset – Hove UK
Shot on the 2nd August 2024.
It’s always windy on the beach so as it had been quite still all day… I headed down at sunset to see how the camera feels in those conditions. By the time I got there the wind had picked up again, hey ho.
I’m still finding my feet with how to get the best results but I’m a firm believe in trial and error with a little outside help only when needed.
Some came out better than other and all have a slight grade applied to them to bring out some of the detail,
Stanmer Park to Patcham
After having to go near Stanmer Park I decided to head into the woods and see where it took me. Ended up walking all the way to bottom of Patcham. About 8km over a leisurely 4 hours with a few stops to take photos and video. Did not bother with the audio as it was mostly wind and car noise.
A street in Hove
I love the streets around Hove at the moment. The council decided to save money and not cut the grass around the trees a while ago. I believe some of the schools got children to adopt some of these little nature reserves and plant things. There are quite a variety around town and I think it’s so much nicer than boring green grass kept artificially short. I’ll try and capture more as some of them are stunning little spaces.