Herb Riddle's photos

Over the past ten years the face of my closest city has changed dramatically. Looking like downtown Manhattan these skyscrapers are going up at an alarming rate. To the left is the side of our Bridgewater Hall concert venue (where I am just going). Of course the local Bee service trams whizz around here everywhere. Enjoy the day

A local scene that I have photographed many times but in this kind of weather comes into its own. As can be seen, recent storms have blown down quite a few trees around here completing a rather nice frame :) Best full screen Enjoy the weekend.

Another shot from our super walk up to Tarn Hows. Tarn Hows is a famous, man-made beauty spot in the Lake District National Park, known for its stunning, picturesque lake, easy circular walk, and majestic fell views, located between Coniston and Hawkshead and managed by the National Trust. Created in the 1860s by James Garth Marshall, it transformed three small tarns into one scenic lake with surrounding woodlands, offering accessible paths for walkers, popular with artists, photographers. Essential full screen

This is the Burges escritoire, also known as the "Great Bookcase," a famous piece of Victorian painted furniture designed by architect William Burges and made by William Gualbert Saunders between 1865 and 1867. Painted wood escritoire with brass fittings and ceramic tiles. The architectural design influenced by French Gothic styles with its gabled roof and arched recess. Painted decoration includes two central allegorical figures representing Historia (history) and Poesia (poetry and five men representing the five occupations in medieval society: a peasant (Rusticu), a knight, king and bishop, and mercator (a merchant). The cabinet also deals with the passing of time, featuring a boy with his tutor (left hand side), an adolescent, a man in the prime of life (virilitas) and an old man. The mounted clock has the Latin inscription "The clock warns of the passing of time, let everything that is written beneath it, Be an offering to the peace of God" Enjoy full screen

A visit to Manchester Art Gallery and museum reveals to me some interesting pieces. This is the Captive Andromache by Frederic Leighton is one of the galleries largest and best known paintings. It took Leighton around a year to complete but we also know that the idea for the painting was germinating in his mind for more than ten years: an early sketch of the subject exists and dates back to the beginning of the 1870s. The finished painting was exhibited in 1888 and purchased by the Gallery in 1889. The PiP shows another exhibit: This is the Burges escritoire, also known as the "Great Bookcase," a famous piece of Victorian painted furniture designed by architect William Burges and made by William Gualbert Saunders between 1865 and 1867. Enjoy full screen 2nd Place Jan 2026, CWP: 'Views in the museum'

A local robin that came down from a tree to say hello on my snow walk. It was so cold (-6C) that like all robins it has fluffed its feathers up as much as possible to retain body heat underneath. It may have hoped that I had some food for it but alas only a camera to hand. Enjoy full screen

Come along with me on one of my local walks only 15 minutes waking from my house and enjoy the best of our winters. In fact the first real downfall of snow we have had this winter. Not very much but in this -6C temperature and sun it looked quite wonderful. Best full screen. Enjoy the day

Another Coniston Water view of flooded seats. One gets a good idea of the extra height of this water with this capture, as the bench would normally be some way from the waters edge. Have a perfect day

Taking a detour above Ryday Water in the Lake District we come across this wonderful cave. Quite unexpectedly big. I am here near the back after walking along stepping stones through the water. Rydal Cave is situated on Loughrigg Fell and is actually a man-made cavern, which was formerly known as Loughrigg Quarry. The cave has been hollowed out of a rocky outcrop which overlooks picturesque Rydal Water. Over two hundred years ago, Rydal Cave was a busy working quarry supplying excellent quality roofing slate to the surrounding local villages. Enjoy the day

The name Wells-next-the-Sea is a bit misleading nowadays since it is a mile away from the North Sea, beyond the trees you see in the distance. Just before that (out of sight) on the left is the harbour that we have yet to visit. As can be seen fishing and pleasure boats still ply these waters landing their sea harvest here. For the towns many visitors a walk along the earth bank passing the white stilted hut is a must. (See photo below). Once a horse-drawn tramway ran along the top bringing goods from the harbour/port to the town and from 1976 - 2021 a narrow gauge passenger train ran along there towards the beach. See PiP for opposite view. Best full screen. Enjoy the weekend

As we walk up the road from Hawkshead towards Tarn Hows, I find a track that doubles back into the trees. From a clearer spot on there I get this easterly view of the early morning mist inversion over what I am sure is Esthwaite Water. The fence attracts me but the lighting brings out all the earthly colours of this wintery foreground. Only minutes later the sky was to become almost cloudless clear blue as we come to Tarn Hows itself (PiP) Best full screen Enjoy the weekend.

Just four years ago we visited this museum, as a Christmas present. Our few hours here was nowhere near enough to see even a small selection of the exhibits but for me this stood out the most as I was reading some Egyptian based novels at that time. It is the most famous object in the museum. The Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous archaeological artifacts in the world. It is a granodiorite stone slab dating to 196 BC, created during the reign of King Ptolemy V of Egypt. It is important because it was the key to deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, a writing system that had been a mystery for nearly 1,400 years. Its discovery allowed scholars to finally understand ancient Egyptian language, history, and culture. The same inscribed text appears on the stone in three different writing systems: Hieroglyphs – used for religious and ceremonial texts Demotic – the everyday script of ancient Egypt Ancient Greek – the language of government under the Ptolemies Because scholars already understood Greek, they could use it to decode the other two scripts. Discovered in 1799 by French soldiers in Rosetta (Rashid), Egypt and found during Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egyptian campaign Jean-François Champollion, a French scholar, successfully deciphered the hieroglyphs in 1822. He proved that hieroglyphs were a combination of phonetic (sound-based) and symbolic signs How it came to the British Museum : After the British defeated the French, the stone was acquired under the Treaty of Alexandria (1801). It has been part of the British Museum collection since 1802 and is one of the museum’s most visited and iconic objects. Physical details: Height: 112 cm (3 ft 8 in) x 76 cm (2 ft 6 in), Weight: about 760 kg (1,680 lb). The artifact sits in a glass case, hence the light and reflection oddities. Enjoy full screen.

Looking back, just a week today, the Lake District in December is perhaps not the wisest place to take a short holiday. On this trip biblical rainfall accompanied us but today we had a few hours of dry calm again. Here we are on the southern side of Rydal Water, looking west towards Grasmere and White Moss. To our left and well above us is the famous Rydal Cave, of which more shall be revealed later. Enjoy full screen. Wishing A HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my Ipernity friends here. I wish you good health and many exciting photo opportunities in complete happiness.

After posting a photo from Wells-next-the-Sea (PiP), just some days ago on here I was reminded of a gem of a windmill just a short 12km from here at Cley. Cley next the sea is described as an 18th-centary landmark village and this mill holds special memories for me as a) I have actually stopped here for a night, long ago now and b) have attended my niece’s wedding in the same windmill just 12 years back. This was taken on that occasion whilst waiting for the ceremony to begin-I think! The mill was built in the early 19th c. It is a five-story tower mill with a fixed cap that no longer turns in the wind. Originally posted on Panoramio With this, on the last day of 2025, I Wish all my viewers here a Happy New Year 2026

After 48 hours of torrential rain the sky turned blue and so we walked up to this wonderful scene from our cottage. We managed to walk the 3.3 km circular path here but it took some time, as having to stop so many times to compose and take photographs. Described as a stunning, man-made beauty spot in the Lake District National Park, famous for its picturesque lake, gentle circular walk, and views of the Coniston fells, created by James Garth Marshall in the 1860s from three smaller tarns and managed by the National Trust. Enjoy full screen.

After seeing our first picnic spot under water in Coniston Water (PiP) we ventured a short distance to our second choice –here it is. ~ Enjoy with me this stunning shot of water reflections and the husky reds of wintered stemmed ‘Dog Wood’ plants. Best full screen Have a perfect day.

A re-visit after twelve years, to this wonderful historic harbour town brings back happy memories. Here is a retro looking view looking down the quay. The PiP shows a photo from my last visit in somewhat different conditions. Enjoy full screen

Christmas afloat, is a reality for many people each year. In this photo we were ourselves taking a Christmas Cruise to Scandinavia. Here we are in the atrium of the ship on Christmas day 2012 listening to and singing Christmas Carols with the ships crew. I wish you all A Very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year.