City of Bath

8.15 am on 16 August 2010. A sunny morning in Sydney Gardens, Bath. FGW have re-engined these sets to extend their life. The new MTU engines are much quieter than the original Paxman screamers, and moving off from standstill is not the ear-splitting excitement of yore. They nevertheless remain a wonderful sight.

Michael Forsyth believes that Laura Place is ‘one of the most impressive of all Neoclassical urban set pieces in Britain’. It consists of four blocks of houses around an irregular quadrangle at the end of Pulteney Bridge and was built by Thomas Baldwin and John Eveleigh between 1788 and 1794. The quadrangle is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, daughter of Sir William Johnstone Pulteney and Frances Johnstone Pulteney. The fountain at the center of the quadrangle was not part of the original plan; it was added in the late 19th century. After completion of the main street in 1877 local residents petitioned and successfully raised significant funds to build a grand column. However, as construction of the column started, the residents realised that the addition would tower over the area (it would be half as high again than the houses), and so they then petitioned for it to be cancelled. After some negotiations, the column was pulled down and the much smaller fountain added instead.

Nikon D50 + 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 G lens.

9.00 am. Bath Abbey from the east.

AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens on a Nikon D50. 95mm (35 mm equivalent: 142mm)

Westgate Street, Bath, Somerset. 7.30 am, early August.

Michael Forsyth believes that Laura Place is ‘one of the most impressive of all Neoclassical urban set pieces in Britain’. It consists of four blocks of houses around an irregular quadrangle at the end of Pulteney Bridge and was built by Thomas Baldwin and John Eveleigh between 1788 and 1794. The quadrangle is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, daughter of Sir William Johnstone Pulteney and Frances Johnstone Pulteney. The fountain at the center of the quadrangle was not part of the original plan; it was added in the late 19th century. After completion of the main street in 1877 local residents petitioned and successfully raised significant funds to build a grand column. However, as construction of the column started, the residents realised that the addition would tower over the area (it would be half as high again than the houses), and so they then petitioned for it to be cancelled. After some negotiations, the column was pulled down and the much smaller fountain added instead. Nikon D2Xs and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP lens. 22mm. 100 ISO. Shutter-priority, 1/25th sec. f/15.

Nikon D2Xs and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP lens.

Michael Forsyth believes that Laura Place is ‘one of the most impressive of all Neoclassical urban set pieces in Britain’. It consists of four blocks of houses around an irregular quadrangle at the end of Pulteney Bridge and was built by Thomas Baldwin and John Eveleigh between 1788 and 1794. The quadrangle is named after Henrietta Laura Pulteney, daughter of Sir William Johnstone Pulteney and Frances Johnstone Pulteney. The fountain at the center of the quadrangle was not part of the original plan; it was added in the late 19th century. After completion of the main street in 1877 local residents petitioned and successfully raised significant funds to build a grand column. However, as construction of the column started, the residents realised that the addition would tower over the area (it would be half as high again than the houses), and so they then petitioned for it to be cancelled. After some negotiations, the column was pulled down and the much smaller fountain added instead. Photographed in Bath with a Nikon D2Xs and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP lens.

Photographed in Bath with a Nikon D2Xs and Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP lens.

Photographed with a Nikon D2Xs and Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 lens.

Early morning light and shade, August. The Abbey church yard framed by the unfluted Ionic columns of the North Colonnade in Stall Street.. Tamron Di II SP AF Zoom 17-50mm f/2.8 XR LD Aspherical (IF) lens on a Nikon D2Xs SLR.

A shop in Old Orchard Street, Bath, Somerset: a quiet part of a busy city. Photographed with a Canon EOS 30D and a tired old Canon EF35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 lens.

Bath. Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro.

Bath, Somerset: a wet day at the start of August. Nikon D50 + AF Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 lens.