A-Z Challenge 2018 - British Rivers: 'B' Blyth, Bovey

When I chose the River Blyth in Northumberland I had no idea that there was another of the same name in Suffolk.

Their Old English name means gentle, cheerful, quiet or merry. I'll let you judge the truth of that.

River Blyth in Humford Woods, Northumberland

It has a tributary, the River Pont which at 11 miles long is only just less than half the Blyth's 27 miles as it wends its way through south Northumberland to enter the North Sea at the port of Blyth.

The River Blyth in Suffolk enters the North Sea much further south than Northumberland

Boat moorings on the Suffolk River Blyth, looking downstream from the Southwold-Walberswick footbridge.

River cruises are run on the Blyth Estuary which is a haven for birds like the marsh harrier, herons and cormorants The cruise lasts about 3.1/2 hours and stops off for a pub lunch.

River Bovey at Bovey Tracey, with Tracey Mill Park on the left.

The River Bovey rises on the eastern side of Dartmoor in Devon; it is a tributary of the River Teign which enters the English Channel at Teignmouth

It gives its name to the Bovey geological formation, the source in Roman times of ball clay which they used for ceramics. Later these clays were also used to make tobacco pipes.

Photo attributions:

• River Blyth at Humford Woods, Northumberland: 5 Nov 2006 ex geograph.org.uk by George Burrell - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence
• Boat moorings on the Suffolk River Blyth: 7 Dec 2008 ex geograph.org.uk by Bob Jones - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence
• River Bovey at Bovey Tracey: 13 Feb 2010 ex geograph.org.uk by David Hawgood - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence

A-Z Challenge 2017 - Houses, some real, some not - 'I'

I - Ickworth House

For a while I thought that I would have to resort to an igloo to cool down after the usual hectic start to the Challenge.

Then I discovered:

Ickworth House, near Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk
(16 June 2004; ex geograph.org.uk - by Chris Downer - CC BY-SA 2.0)

Round the building, modelled on the Pantheon in Rome, below its 100 ft high dome is a finely carved frieze of scenes from Homer.

The rotunda and its pavilions for his art treasures was designed by Frederick Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol in the late 18th century. Unfortunately for him, while he was in Rome, Napoleon occupied the city and seized his art collection. Frederick died in 1803 before the house was finished.

The layout of the house may be seen in this plan:

Ickworth House - ground floor plan
(Plan drawn by user Giano - in Public Domain)

1 Library 2 Drawing Room 3 Dining Room 4 Entrance & inner Staircase Hall 5 Smoking Room 6 Pompeian Room 7 Orangery & West Wing 8 East Family Wing 9 Portico 10 Topiary Garden

The West wing remained unfinished until early in the 21st century - it is now an hotel and conference centre. The house is owned by the National Trust and  open to the public.

A - Z Challenge 2015 - Butterflies 'T''

T - Tortoiseshell butterflies.

Of the two Tortoiseshell butterflies  it's the Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urtica) that is the most common and found throughout the British Isles,

It's one of the first butterflies to be seen each summer. We saw the first one this year on 5th April.  The buddleia is a favourite plant.

Two Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies in our garden

Small Tortoiseshell

Its orange colour with brown, black, yellow and blue markings are unmistakable.

It will quite happily share a flower with a bumblebee.

From the underside there is no hint of its colourful appearance.

The Large Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis polychlorox) is similar in appearance but is usually only seen in Suffolk and north Essex. There is little chance of my getting to photograph one.

Love is like a butterfly
As soft and gentle as a sigh
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

I feel it when you're with me
It happens when you kiss me
That rare and gentle feeling that I feel inside
Your touch is soft and gentle
Your kiss is warm and tender
Whenever I am with you I think of butterflies

Love is like a butterfly
The multicolored moods of love are like its satin wings
Love makes your heart feel strange inside
It flutters like soft wings in flight
Love is like a butterfly, a rare and gentle thing

Your laughter brings me sunshine
Every day is spring time
And I am only happy when you are by my side