Sea Mist

A day of sea mists last week - here's the wispy stuff...







.. rolling in up the cliffs at the north coast.





Lots of people taking photos here as well as me.

The kart people would have you believe that no-one ever comes to the Ronez loop road - I'm sure the coach-loads of tourists would disagree! It would be a sad day for the island if a minority manage to take over this area for their own use and keep us motorists out. They say that their takeover plans include a parking area still, but that's around the corner with no good view of the other islands. It's not the same to make us get out of the car and walk around to this excellent viewpoint (the only place where you can see so much of France and all the way around to the south of Guernsey) because many people can't walk very far and those of us who can may not really want to on a cold day when the view would be better enjoyed from the comfort of the car - as we have been able to for many years.

But enough despairing about people selfishly wanting to grab a slice of valuable COASTAL AREA for a hobby that could be enjoyed elsewhere more easily (if only another load of selfish NIMBY people would let them!).........


The mist rolled in along the 5 mile bay...








.. closer...







.. and closer.




It was asking a bit much of my "cheap glass" (photographers' lens-speak!) to get a clear shot from this distance, but here's the "chateau" shopping place which seems to have closed now - the canopy which was over the entrance is now lying forlornly in front of the doorway.



That's what has replaced the old bar the Relais des Mielles.







Watching the mist obscure the tower...







.. La Rocco Tower.







People still managed to enjoy the beach amongst the misty gloom.






Only the very top of the lighthouse could be seen.







No problem seeing the tower from La Pulente though...







.. the fogbank was behind it from here...







.. as a number of other camera owners had found too...







.. I saw at least 3 others taking pictures around the time I was!






Zooming in to La Braye...






.. and the trees at La Pulente that mark the start of the drive along by the dunes.

Another photo-blog

At last, someone else is doing this kind of thing! heritageyear.blogspot.com/ seems to be a Jersey Heritage affair with Rob Bryans. Makes a change from my type of photography too - mine is wide angle along with closeups from afar, trying to keep things looking "as is" for realism. The new blog is far more artistic, with punchy colourful photos getting in close, background out of focus, vignetting (darkened corners) etc. for that classic photography look.

I'm puzzled why the report on CTV last night made it sound like anyone could join in and they were looking for more contributers, whereas it seems to be a normal blog from what I can see. Perhaps someone can clear that up for me, please!

Rare Coast: La Saline / Mourier Bay

Without a boat you won't have much luck trying to reach this one (map) - there are no easy routes down. It's below La Saline Quarry, in Mourier Bay - part of the larger St.John's Bay according to the phone book map.





.. closer - observe what looks like a path... we'll come to that later :)






So many landslides, no wonder there's no cliffpath along here yet.







So, the most reliable way here is by boat...








.. and it's worth a visit if you like to step upon parts of Jersey far from the maddening crowd :)






Old granite steps from what must be many years ago - fishing origin or tourism, I wonder?







The path leads to a ladder bit...






.. and a then steep climb with rope for assistance.

It's probably one of those anglers' routes - they're a dedicated bunch. The path ends up behind a locked gate near the usual footpath - so it's not a path to try from above if you like sticking to society's rules! I wonder who owns this land though?



View west from up here...







.. and the coast to the east...







.. closer.

Goodbye Condor 10

1 week ago, Condor 10 left St.Helier for the last time...







.. to the sound of hornblasts from other ships, the old bell ringing from Port Control, and fond farewells on the VHF radio.




In the 'small roads' one last time...






.. after many years faithful service.







(closer)







Anglers oblivious.






Fairwell old friend...






... many a happy journey. Good Luck.

Staring at the birds

A new bird hide has been created, by the side of the hill near the top dunes car park...






.. a gap in the bank by the roadside...








.. called GaP after Gerard and Pete (Le Claire and Double)







Let's head inside...






.. to the right...









.. left...







.. ahead...







Towards the coast..







.. and inland.







Sandy pits.








Let's go.






Meanwhile, a different bird hide has been demolished, and is scheduled to be replaced with something better...







.. just south of St.Ouen's Pond.







Hello.