The Bristol Queen

This is The Bristol Queen, not The Bristol Queen which was a paddle steamer operated by the Campbell White Funnel fleet.

This Bristol Queen was originally called Leven and was part of the Caledonian Steam Packet Navigation Fleet.  She was bought from Jersey and renamed by Martin Woolls.

I took this from Knightstone Island where she is moored in the mud.

Close up #1

I also have a thing about close-up/ macro photography! This was taken at Uphill Boat Yard, with a 200mm lens, not a macro. and is the detail at the end of a boat. I just like the feel of shots like these with a very shallow depth of field.

The Invisible Cafe

The Invisible Cafe... Except it plainly isn't!

I am going to have to go and investigate this place, why are they invisible?  Is it because nobody goes in? Why Why?

Ok, it is also called Cafe La Mer, I can understand that...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Back on the beach, this time almost underneath the pier looking down towards Uphill.

I couldn't believe the amount of debris on the beach.

The Boat, Afloat

The boat I captured in the mud the other day, only this time it is looking a little happier.

Beer Under the Pier

When I was in Taunton I posted a picture of a beer can pushed into the branches of a tree but this one taken under the pier has really got me thinking.

Someone has tied these cans of 'Probably the Best Beer in the World' together.  Was it done here?  Did they come here with the tide & just get caught up?  WHY would you tie them together in the first place?

I did once wear a belt made from beer cans, but that was a long time ago and probably the less said the better...

Weston-super-Mud

Ok, I know it is muddy out there... I thought I'd be alright, how messy can it be only a few hundred metres away from the promenade?

I'll wear wellies next time!

I think it was worth it though to get a view of the boat with Steep Holm behind disappearing in the fog.

View from Knightstone Island

A lovely day in Weston-super-Mare, makes a bit of a change right now but if it is a sign of what Spring might bring I am all for it!

This is taken from knightstone Island, not really an island but a really great location to live.  I will look into the history of the place so I can write with a bit more authority next time!

Do Not Go!

Pretty much to the point...

This sign is on the beach, but it was pointing out to sea, so exactly WHO was it advising not to go on?

Lorrain's tea bar

Winter in any seaside town is strange, but especially in one that can appear quite run down even in the summer months. I love the tatty old signs blowing in the wind, and the tackiness of any graphics - a contrast which seems even more stark on a grey dreary winter's day. This is Lorrain's tea bar, a snack bar and bucket and spade shop which opens in the summer and is just an empty shell in the winter. I often wonder if she is really Lorrain without an 'e' or if the signwriter got it wrong!

West Street Butchers

This shop frontage on West Street deserves a better photo, in better light and using a shorter lens.

I couldn't believe it when I first saw it, hidden away down a quiet little street.

The scrolls read AD 1869 Aries & Taurus.  The animals heads & butchers tools, knives & saws are amazing carvings and the geometric patterns match other buildings in town, a large building opposite the Odeon in particular.

Uphill Windmill

On top of Uphill hill, there is a church and an old windmill apparently built in 1729. You wouldn't recognise it as a windmill, and I think it is used as a beacon nowadays, but it is nonetheless, quite impressive.

Inland Jellyfish!?

On our walk through Uphill Boat Yard yesterday, I found this sign which I couldn't resist! Can jellyfish live in fresh water?? Or is it a cunning ruse to scare off would-be swimmers??

Uphill Boat Yard

A cold and grey day in Weston-super-Mare.

This was taken at Uphill Boat Yard, Uphill is on the southern side of Weston at the 'bottom' of the main tourist beach area. It has a great grassy hill area with a tower built on it, that will be a good photo at some point.

A lot of the boats were displaying stickers from Weston Bay Yacht Club, I guess the club, like the beach, gets a lot of mud!

Royal Crescent

The balconies on Royal Crescent.

I walk past these glorious houses when I am walking to the sea front from my house.  Very grand.  Weston super Mare is full of fantastic buildings, but then it has its fair share of stinkers too!  I think we will try to show a fair share of both!

Another view here from someones Flikr photostream.

Derelict building

I have a bit of a thing about photographing old derelict buildings, so I couldn't resist this one! They always seem so full of texture and their decay makes them more interesting. I love pushing the colours in Photoshop, although had to do this more than usual thanks to the grey weather. Not sure what it was for, but it is situated on the road at the top of Birnbeck Pier.

The Winter Gardens

Weston-super-Mare's Winter Gardens by night.

Built in 1927 and refurbished in 1989 the Winter Gardens are now a 'green' conference & event facility.

Steepholm

As the weather and an injury have stopped any prolific photography so far, I literally went on a drive by 'shooting' in the misery of a wet grey day. The results weren't amazing, the damp air and greyness giving rise to very flat pictures that lacked contrast. Although I can be a purist about photography, I say hooray for Photoshop on occasions like these (cue a discussion about traditional vs digital photography). I like the distinctive shape of Steepholm, and by playing with Photoshop, I hope I have maintained the integrity of Steepholm's shape whilst making a dull flat image a tad more interesting!

The Two Colleges

Just a quick post tonight - The same building from yesterday and its neighbour the 'new' Knightstone Campus.  

Not sure if they are actually the oldest & newest college buildings in WsM but I know which my money is going to be on to be standing longest!

Hans Price Gallery/School of Science and Art

This is a detail from the north elevation of the Hans Price Gallery, the former School of Science and Art on Lower Church Road.

It would appear that Weston-super-Mare college can trace its history back to paining & drawing classes offered by Henry Stacy (1829-1898) of Oriel Terrace, Lower Church Road in 1892.

The School of Science and Art was designed by Hans Price (1835-1912) in 1892.  Mr Price helped develop much of Victorian Weston-super-Mare, I imagine his buildings will appear here frequently.

The Hans Price Gallery seems to be out of use right now, although the council approved some work there in October of last year.  It appears it is getting a two floor extension to the west, a two floor staircase on the south and a lift on the west.  I am just glad it will not be allowed to stay unused much longer.

Birnbeck Pier

Well, I have been invited to contribute my images of the area to the blog too! What a privilege! I currently only have one photo of the area in digital form, so better get myself out there with my camera. This was taken about 3 years ago on the way to nightschool as the sun was setting. I couldn't resist stopping and taking a photo of the sun setting over the old Birnbeck Pier.

Note from Mountainboy - I didn't realise when I saw this photo last night (or when I look at it every day because it hangs in my room!) that Birnbeck Pier is the only pier in Britain that links the mainland to an island.  Every day is a schoolday.

Oh and would you believe it, Hans Price designed the toll house & pier head.  The Old Pier Society is determined to save this, the 'old' pier.

Cold Snap

Well, I have returned!  I have been here a few months now so it really is time to start taking some photos of my new town!

This was taken on the sea front a couple of nights ago, it was really strange to see the beach a couple of inches deep in snow.