Amelia's photos

SC59 - post August 20 - Transparency This photo is taken through the top of a fluted container in which I keep small beach stones, washed sea glass and small shells.

World Photography started off by being very murky and by the time we had driven the 10 miles to our destination, the fine mist had turned into a steady drizzle and then heavier rain. So we had a coffee and decided to wait for some improvement. Sure enough it eventually stopped raining for long enough to get the camera our of the bag and take a couple of shots. The aqueduct is part of the World heritage Site which includes the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, both aqueducts were designed by designed by civil engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop.

We are away from today until next Thursday. Enjoy the holidays and I hope the weather is good for you all. The Helix Park is The Home of The Kelpies - the largest equine sculptures in the world. Located between Falkirk and Grangemouth, it was created as a space for the communities in the Falkirk area to come together. The Kelpies go a step further in bringing together not only from different parts of Scotland and the UK, but from all over the world. The Kelpies have transformed the area into a five-star tourist destination. Standing at 100ft tall and weighing more than 300 tonnes each, the magical Kelpies are a man-made wonder and a feat of engineering. The works of art, created by artist Andy Scott, have become iconic on the landscape after being modelled on real-life icons of times gone by — Clydesdale horses Duke and Baron. The Kelpies represent the lineage of the heavy horse of Scottish industry and economy, pulling the wagons, ploughs, barges and coalships that shaped the geographical layout of Falkirk. The PiPs are of The Kelpies taken from the Forth and Clyde Canal.

The tour boat has been lifted from The Falkirk Wheel Basin and has entered the Union Canal.

This is taken at the top of the Falkirk wheel on the Union Canal, just before the canal enters the Roughcastle Tunnel. Any narrow boat owners who do not wish to use the Falkirk Wheel boat lift can use this area as a winding hole .

An early morning walk, dodging the showers, around Roath Park Lake.

The Roughcastle Tunnel was built as part of the Millennium Link project to carry the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal beneath the Antonine Wall, and it forms the southern approach to the Falkirk Wheel. The tunnel is short, straight and of circular section. The sides have been formed by sprayed concrete, and both entrances are of simple form. There is a railed footpath on the East side of the waterway. The 180m long tunnel links the Union Canal onto the aqueduct, providing a dramatic moment along the canal network. Naturally a dark space, the new lighting design provides an immersive experience, with dynamic and responsive lighting. The standard lighting mode is deliberately set to low, with only selected fixtures on the towpath side illuminated to a low level. When a person approaches (by boat, foot or cycle) a light scene is activated to suit the time of day, year or occasion – this is energy, safety and environmentally aware. A vibrant wash of colour ripples across full length of the tunnel in a rhythm that connects visually with the ribcage structure of the Wheel hoops further along the aqueduct. The result is a very flexible, dynamic and autonomous installation, which can also be tailored to suit specific events or occasions. Courtesy of: www.lightalliance.com/post/the-roughcastle-tunnel The above PiP shows the transition from the top of the fFlkirk Wheel through the 'hoops' and eventually into the Roughcastle tunnel canal. I found the colour changes very exciting and dramatic.

Both strange and beautiful, the Pineapple has always amazed and inspired visitors. It was built in 1761 by the Earl of Dunmore as a summerhouse where he could appreciate the views from his estate. At this time, pineapples were among Scotland’s most exotic foods. The intricately carved stone pineapple, which is situated between the two bothies, forms an elaborate cupola atop an octagonal pavilion, with sash windows topped with Gothic ogee arches on seven sides and a door, topped with an ogee transom, on the eighth. The pineapple is around 14 metres (46 ft) high and constitutes a stunning example of the stonemason's craft, being a remarkably accurate depiction of a pineapple. Each of the curving stone leaves is separately drained to prevent frost damage, and the "stiff serrated edges of the lowest and topmost leaves and the plum berry-like fruits are all cunningly graded so that water cannot accumulate anywhere, ensuring that frozen trapped water cannot damage the delicate stonework." Courtesy of Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunmore_Pineapple It is possible to rent part of this building for a vacation.

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project. The two canals served by the wheel were previously connected by a series of 11 locks.[With a 35-metre (115 ft) difference in height, it required 3,500 tonnes (3,400 long tons; 3,900 short tons) of water per run and took most of a day to pass through the flight. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Tamfourhill, Falkirk, in central Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. It reconnects the two canals for the first time since the 1930s. It opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project. The two canals served by the wheel were previously connected by a series of 11 locks.[With a 35-metre (115 ft) difference in height, it required 3,500 tonnes (3,400 long tons; 3,900 short tons) of water per run and took most of a day to pass through the flight. Courtesy of Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel

The world’s only rotating boat lift, The Falkirk Wheel links the Forth & Clyde Canal to the Union Canal 35 metres above, allowing vessels to sail through the sky thanks to a unique fusion of art and engineering – and the same power it would take to boil eight kettles. It really is a wonderful piece of engineering. The first PiP shows the wheel just starting to lift a tour boat on the left and lower another tour boat, which is almost at the top level, on the right. The second pip shows the tour boat on the right being lowered down and the the other tour boat being taken to the top.

SC56 - Post July 30 - Text, number or characters A short stay in Cardiff for the weekend enabled us to visit Aerospace Bristol, the home of Concorde. The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). The first prototype flight took off from Toulouse on 2 March 1969. Concorde entered service on 21 January of 1976 with Air France from Paris-Roissy and British Airways from London Heathrow. Transatlantic flights were the main market, to Washington Dulles from 24 May, and to New York JFK from 17 October 1977. On 25 July 2000, Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take-off with all 109 occupants and four on ground killed, the only fatal incident involving Concorde, and commercial service was suspended until November 2001. Concorde aircraft were retired in 2003 after 27 years of commercial operations. Courtesy of Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde