The Great Orme

Posted on September 10, 2024 Posted in Memories, UncategorizedTagged bronze age, cable cars, chair lift, copper mines, Great Orme, History, Llandudno, Road, Steam engine, summit, Town, Trains, victorianLeave a comment

The mountain by the sea

A pier stretches out into the water, a grand hotel sits behind it on the shore. Drive round the coast and rise up to the summit by road, or use the tram service, which takes you past a bronze age copper mine. Or up the cable cars to the summit cafe. There is a small nature reserve at the top where indigenous plants are encouraged to grow. The mountain stands above Llandudno in North Wales. The town itself has grand terraces of three and four storey houses, hotels and apartments. Many of them from when the town was a Victorian resort and tourists arrived on steam engines. A good place for a day out.

Town or City

Posted on November 12, 2022 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged Architecture, Art, City, Drawing, History, Industrial archaeology, Life, Sad, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Town, Town planning2 Comments

Town/City full of buildings sketch. There are many historical buildings in Stoke on Trent but a lot of them are derelict and falling down. Where places like Manchester have had investment old buildings are refurbished and turned into apartments or restored to their former glory. Here in Stoke they languish, are bought up by out of town businesses that allow them to fall down, get broken into or in some cases have unexplained fires. Severs properties in the North of our city have had fires over the last few months. Is it wrong to be suspicious about that? I do wonder and worry that one of the most important areas of industrial and vernacular architecture is not being cared for. We could use the better properties even if we only keep the facades. But our local leaders seem hell bent on stripping back the past, losing a heritage that could be supported. You only have to look at Etruria Industrial Museum to see somewhere that has worked. But I despair for so much of our surroundings.

Town

Posted on September 25, 2022 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Black ink pen, Drawing, Felt pens, Imagination, Life, Sketching, Town, townscapeLeave a comment

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was town. Well, as I haven’t been out much I decided to imagine a town scape. It’s on a river and is hilly, so the main buildings are on a high street backing on to the river and the smaller buildings and houses are on the sides of the tree lined hills. Fine line pen with felt pen drawing over the top.

The seagull

Posted on October 21, 2021October 22, 2021 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cheeky, Fun, graceful flight, Gull, Hotel, Naughty, Sea, Seagull, theif, Town, WindowledgeLeave a comment

Apparently they are gulls, not seagulls. They have migrated inland and live off waste food in towns, and also rubbish dumps. This one was on a friends windowledge when she stayed overnight at a hotel. If she opened the window it might have come in! She said she was glad it didn’t tap on the glass! I think gulls are handsome birds, the shape and colours of them and their graceful flight. That doesn’t stop them from being cheeky. Swooping down and stealing food, or flying over and releasing droppings onto you! But even with their naughty attitude I ike them.

Rainbow

Posted on September 26, 2019September 26, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Clouds, Photos, Rain, Rainbow, Town, Washed, WritingLeave a comment

Saw a bright rainbow after a sharp rain shower today. Colours in the sky, split into a spectrum. Broken down town illuminated. Life watered / world renewed.

Reflections

Posted on July 3, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blue, Bricks, Brown, Daily life, Evening out, Photo, Reflections, Town3 Comments

I took this photo in the pub tonight, it was of a picture of old terraced houses and factories, but the reflections on the glass make it look odd, almost like an alien invasion.

Imagine the world a century or so ago. Electric light was just starting to be used although many people still used gas light. Someone trips a switch and bright blue light shines out… Amazing.

In actual fact there was an arc light on display in Blackpool when electricity was introduced and people came for miles to see it. (I may have got this wrong ! Don’t quote me).

Anyway it’s funny what you find interesting.

Canal boats

Posted on April 7, 2019April 7, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Canal, Canal boats, Countryside, Etruria, Industrial landscape, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Town, Trent and Mersy canal9 Comments

Pictures of the Trent and Mersy canal, these photos are by a friend. The painting is up in the warehouse next to the summit lock ,number 42 on the canal at Etruria.

Canal boats allow you to travel around the countryside without having to use a car except for going to your departure point and parking up. Canal cruises are usually circular so you travel around or along a route and return to your starting point. There are famous routes like the Cheshire ring which can be done over a few days. There are also hotel boats where you have a cabin but all the chores are done by a housekeeper.

There are apparently more canals in Birmingham in the English Midlands than there are in Venice.

Some canals and rivers run either side by side or into one another. The landscape can either be countryside, industrial or town buildings, it just depends where you travel. There is much more information available from the Canal and Rivers Trust.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Town