beach & tideline

Hover over water.

/ Andy Finnegan / Leave a comment

Hovertravel is the world’s longest-running commercial hovercraft service and is the only scheduled passenger hovercraft service in Europe. The service runs across the Solent between Southsea, Portsmouth and Ryde, on the Isle of Wight. 

I have never traveled on a Hovercraft until today. Hovertravel has been running a few trips from Lee on the Solent, so I booked a 10-minute trip across the Solent.

Current craft operated are Griffon Hoverwork 12000TD

The Hovercraft began its life in 1955 when inventor Sir Christopher Cockerell tested out his idea for a floating/flying craft by putting a cat food tin inside a coffee tin. To test his ‘hover’ theory, the inventor then blew a jet of air through the gap between the two tins to create a cushion of air, and the Hovercraft was born.

Watering Hole.

/ Andy Finnegan / Leave a comment

As our heatwave continues, another hot walk across the open plain in the New Forest: a 4-mile round trip to Whitten Pond.

Cows drink 60 to 120 litres of water a day. Some of the ponds dry out in the summer, but Forestry England says there are up to 1000 ponds in the New Forest.

As we walked over Holmsley Ridge, Whitten Pond came into view, and a large herd of cows was also heading to the water. We arrived about the same time.

Ring Plover, which I am more used to seeing on the coast, were at the pond, and a small family were around the edge. They are one of our coastal birds that will breed inland.

A juvenile Pied Wagtail.

Stonechat {Male}.

Fun in the Mud .

/ Andy Finnegan / 2 Comments

Hampshire Fire & Rescue mud rescue training on the mud flats at Calshot Point this morning. Mud rescues are undertaken by several agencies in the UK. Fire Service, The Coastguard and The RNLI.

We stumbled across this training exercise and took up a vantage point to watch.

Watching, it becomes evident how hard work walking through the mud is, with each step requiring immense effort as feet sink into the thick, slippery mud.

Recovered from the Deep.

/ Andy Finnegan / 6 Comments

The Mary Rose was Henry VIII, flagship, built in 1511. She famously sank in the Solent in 1545 in full view of Southsea Castle. She took most of her crew of 500 souls with her. She was rediscovered in 1971 and raised in 1982. The part of the wreck that had become buried in the silt survived, and thousands of recovered Tudor artefacts, including personal items and weapons, were recovered.

In 1982, at the age of 22, I watched the raising operation of the Mary Rose live on TV with my grandfather. I remember his comment at the time. “What a waste of money to get a load of firewood off the seabed”!

The museum in Portsmouth Dockyard demonstrates that the salvage of the Mary Rose was a unique opportunity to snapshot into Tudor history. Over 19000 artefacts, along with the remains of the ship and crew, were recovered from the wreck site.

Archaeologists recovered 137 whole longbows and 172 part bows. There were also 3,500 arrows. Before the recovery of the Mary Rose, there were just 5 surviving longbows from medieval England known to exist.

link to the Museum,

About the Trust

Worming.

/ Andy Finnegan / 8 Comments

The Curlew is one of my favourite waders. I never tire of watching these large waders, whether on our coast in winter or on the moors during their nesting season. Not only are they a pleasure to see, but their call over the mashes is also a joy to hear. Just one picture today, and a video – something I have not captured before, a Curlew catching a Ragworm.

Reed Bunting.

/ Andy Finnegan / Leave a comment

A pair of Reed Buntings. The male bird sports a striking black head in the breeding season, but as we are now in winter, this has become duller. Females are brown, making them harder to distinguish from females or other brown birds. Note the female bird in my picture is ringed.

Grey Plover.

/ Andy Finnegan / Leave a comment

Spotted a few Grey Plovers on Keyhaven Marshes near Lymington, Hampshire yesterday. I also see them regularly on the mud on the River Hamble. I have only seen them in their winter plumage; usually, I find them fairly difficult to photograph decently due to how far off they are.

In summer, they have silver and black spotted upperparts, a black face, neck and belly. In winter, they lose the black feathers and take on a grey look.