Days Out - Bluebell woods

It may be a little early but this is the time of year when bluebells should be carpeting woods with their ultraviolet colours.

Having lived in Marlborough for several years I was spoilt by the local West Woods and enjoyed many early morning walks, midday picnics and evening strolls amongst these flowers contrasting beautifully with the vibrant green beech leaves.

The Woodland Trust have a great website with suggestions of woods around the country and list their top ten.

Ashridge Estate in Buckingham;         Calke Abbey, Derbyshire;

Garston Woods, Dorset;                    Heartwood Forest, Hertfordshire;

Burroughs Wood, Leicestershire;       The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire;

Hardcastle Crags W Yorkshire;           Glen Finglas, Trossachs National Park;

Coed Cefn, Powys;                          Carnmoney Hill, County Antrim.

And for other suggestions try the National Trust, Woodland Trust or RSPB.

Day trips - 50 things to do outdoors

Climbing trees, building dens and flying kites were all once common childhood pleasures.  And each year the National Trust put together a list of 50 things kids should try before they're 11 and three quarters.  

How many have you done?

Climb a tree

Go fishing

Roll down a hill

Build a den

Fly a kite

Walk in the rain (and jump in puddles!)

Hunt for fossils.

Trivial Pursuits - Nature Photographer of the Year

   

I've always harboured a passion for photography and regret trading in my Pentax K1000 SLR camera for a digital one.  Although I'm sure my new one is capable of everything the film version did, the old one was so straightforward to adjust the shutter speed and F-stop!  

The Society of German Nature Photographers have just published the results of their annual competition, so I thought I would share some of the finalists should you be in need of some inspiration.

All images (c) GDT

Meet the Maker - Kate Lycett, Artist

I love discovering new artists - well new to me that is.  And it's not difficult to see what attracted me to Kate Lycett's work.  The vibrancy of her work is stunning.

Her textile design background is clear from the way she paints.   She see patterns in everything: the hills adorned with houses and washing lines, rows of flower pots and stripes of brightly painted drain pipes. 

Kate works with acrylics, inks and gouache and uses lines of gold thread to trace lines through the landscape and gold leaf to change the surface of my pictures with the changing light of day.

As well as selling her work online, prints and paintings are available at Heart in Hebden Bridge and she sells cards and lanterns at Radiance.

Kate lives in Hebden Bridge with her husband and three small children and she takes inspiration from the warmth, colour and community in which she lives.

All images (c) Kate Lycett

Meet the Maker - Jake Winkle, Artist

I'm lucky enough to own one of Jake Winkle's watercolours.  Well, perhaps not lucky so much as canny because I bought it for my husband for Xmas one year!  Win, win!

Although the image above is not mine, ours is also of chickens.  The colours are stunning and really work, even though you wouldn't find them on a real hen.  And the shadows ... well I'm no critic but I just love them.

I had originally thought that horse-racing was Jake's trademark as I had seen them at several exhibitions but he paints much more than animals.  There are scenes of Venice, Africa, cafe life and coastlines too.  

A panaromic view of his and my home town, Blandford, is on public display and can be viewed any time in a sheltered spot near the Church in the town centre.

All images © Jake Winkle

He runs courses too and if these are anything to go by, he's clearly good at explaining his methods.

And you can find out more about his art and workshops on his website.

Trivial Pursuits - Margo's photo collection

I have no idea who Margo is, but I stumbled across her by chance on Facebook one day.

Her philosophy reads 'Wherever I lay my hat, that's my home' and she obviously searches the internet much as a bibliophile might trawl through book shops looking for images that catch her eye.

It is a truly ecletic mix, with only a few of the images she posts shown here today.

I recommend that you  visit her Facebook page and LIKE as stunning images will float through your news feed like confetti will bring you a moment of calm and time for reflection.