Photo albums

Eventually, I've decided to publish some of our large collection of photos. Some of them are family pictures, some are more general interest as we visit different places.

I'm using Picasa from Google to manage the photos. I tried using Digikam on Linux but it mucked up the web page export so much (all to do with tags) I gave up. Picasa does what it says on the tin and it's quite a nice interface.

Around Stratford on Avon in a narrowboat
Our 2006 summer holiday was taken cruising around Stratford On Avon in a 62ft narrowboat - Silver Crest from Anglo-Welsh. We covered parts of the south Stratford canal and the Grand Union main line between Knowle and just north of Hatton flight.

Butterfly House
Just off the A57 between Sheffield and Worksop - South Anson to be precise (I think), you'll find the Butterfly House. I went for the first time on 15th July 2006. Daniel and Caroline have both been before. It's a lovely place with lots of other things to see and do as well as admire the beautiful tropical butterflys.

Shropshire Union
In June 2006, I did an Inland Waterways Helmsmans Certificate with TR Boat Handling on the Shropshire Union. Whilst out and about, I grabbed a few pictures...

Brighouse March Contest
2005 and the first timethe Band had ever competed in this contest. It was great fun and a good day was had by all. We finished 10th overall from memory.

Cleethorpes
Every so often, Daniel and David take a train trip to Cleethorpes for a day out. August 2005 was the day. I photographed a Hertfordshire Railtours special in the station and we had a ride on the little Light Railway beyond the Leisure Centre. A nice day out.

Gullivers Kingdom
Spring 2005 - what started off as a really lousy day with torrential rain. We paid our first ever visit to Gullivers Kingdom at Matlock Bath. It turned out a nice day and the park was practically deserted - no more than a 50 or so punters including us in the park - or that's how it felt.

Keadby
Late August '05 - in fact, the day after Cleethorpes (above). We'd gone over an odd-looking bridge over a canal and I was determined to find out a bit more about it. The Sunday was a nice day, so off we went in my convertible with the roof off! Here are some of the pictures. There's also a page with a bit more about the bridge and some other links. The Keadby trip also provided the inspiration for our October trip on a narrowboat - but we've not got there yet!

Kyle of Lochalsh
Whilst in Ullapool in April '05, Mark thought it would be nice to go down to Garve and catch the train to the Kyle of Lochalsh. It was the first time Daniel and David had ever made the trip and the first time Mark had done it by train. The scenery is out of this world and Kyle is a beautiful location. One of the pictures shows the bridge across to the Isle of Skye.

National Railway Museum
We'd spotted that Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - the car - the real car - was billed to be at the National Railway Museum at York, and as Daniel had just gone through a phase of constantly watching the film, it seemed like a recipe for a good day out. Virgin Voyager from Sheffield to York - top day. We also got probably one of the best pictures of Dan we've ever had. We were also experimenting with the new Olympus camera.

Owlerton
We often visit Owlerton for the stock car racing. So far this year, we've had three trips including one to see Scott Mayes Stunt Show. There's a visit planned for later this year for the 5th November stock car racing and firework extravaganza.

Ullapool 2005
The 2005 Ullapool holiday was special (if that's the correct word) for a number of reasons. Firstly, it just after my Dad had died, so his memory was with us all. It also snowed, giving rise to some of the best pictures we've had there. the Kyle trip (above) was taken during that week.

Winter Gardens (Sheffield)
The largest temperate glass house in Europe, a fantastic bit of architecture and winner of several awards sinces its opening. It also contains a great deli - Zooby's - who do superb sandwiches with a different character. The Winter Gardens will also be the focal point of the new MacDonalds (not the burger chain) hotel once open and of the new St Pauls Square (or whatever it's going to be called when finished). Either way, it will look great in that area, once you get over the fact that they've built severl dirty great big hotels next to the glasshouse and obscured the view and light.

Stockholes Farm
Would you like a 7" gauge miniature railway in your back garden? Ivan and Barbara have. They both play with the Band and throw their back garden open to the public on Bank Holidays. Daniel (and me for that matter) love going to ride on the "little trains" as Dan calls them. The railway is great - two different circuits, each taking I'd guess at least five minutes to travel. It's a big back garden.