The Athabasca Glacier is a large, accessible glacier located in the Canadian Rockies, part of the Columbia Icefield. It's one of the most popular glaciers to visit in North America and is known for its accessibility, with tours offered to walk on the ice. The glacier is currently receding at a rate of about 5 meters per year.

 

'Angelic Waves of Light' kicks off a second mini-series on the 'Great Ocean Road', due to more recent work trips in Autumn 2023 to Melbourne (the capital of the State of Victoria, Australia). The first mini-series was in late 2019, while on holidays.

 

The Great Ocean Road is 240-kilometres (150 miles) long. Starting just west of Melbourne, it runs along the south-western coast of Australia. Thus, highly accessible to Melbourne and easy to undertake weekend trips.

 

Now a prime Aussie tourist attraction, it has extensive Pacific and Southern Ocean views; also of beaches, limestone and sandstone cliffs, and rainforests. Its landmarks include the renamed 'Twelve Apostles' stack formations, and many more (see this gallery on the end of p.3 & p.4 re earlier trip).

 

The road also passes the 'Surf Coast' (really good surfing) and, later, the 'Shipwreck Coast'; with approx. 638 known shipwrecks due to gales, human error and, in some cases, foul play (Wikipedia), mainly during the sailing ship era.

 

It was built through tough terrains by returned WW1 soldiers, from 1919-1932 and dedicated to Aussie soldiers killed in the fighting. It's the world's largest war memorial. Perhaps this was why some stacks were renamed the 'Twelve Apostles', with my photo inadvertently called 'Angelic Waves of Light' perhaps also relevant; and of course to the festive season!

 

All the best and good luck for 2025, have a great one! :-) 🎉

 

Explore, December 30, 2024 #5

 

Samsung S23 Ultra 5G Camera

 

[Also pls note, this mini-series, like others, is bound to be interspersed with other unrelated shots, as determined by the photographic gaze and processes].

Roaring Bay is a special scenic area on the south coast of the tip of Nugget Point that is home to a small colony of Yellow-Eyed Penguins (Hoiho). The area is accessible via a short 20 minute return walk from a small carpark that is 800m before the main Nugget Point carpark. Follow the track to a bird-viewing hide where you can watch the penguins as they move from the sea to their nesting places amongst the coastal vegetation. These shy birds are best viewed late in the afternoon when they come ashore after fishing at sea. Yellow-Eyed Penguins (Hoiho) are one of the rarest penguin species in the world and are unique to New Zealand and the sub-Antarctic islands.

 

United Kingdom, Northumberland, Lindisfarne, Spring 2024

  

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne in Northumberland is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England. It is accessible, most times, at low tide by crossing sand and mud flats which are covered with water at high tides. These sand and mud flats carry an ancient pilgrims' path, and in more recent times, a modern causeway. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century. It was an important center of Celtic Christianity. After Viking invasions and the Norman conquest of England, a priory was reestablished. A small castle was built on the island in 1550, Lindisfarne Castle.

Sigirîya (Sri-Lanka) - Cette photo a été prise à proximité de mon hôtel. Les éléphants sont présents pour les touristes. La famille propriétaire de deux pachydermes a installé une haute plateforme en bois, accessible par un escalier pour que les touristes puisse monter sur les éléphants, sans le moindre effort. J’ai sympathisé avec les cornacs, mais j’ai refusé de faire « un tour d’éléphant » car je suis contre l’exploitation des animaux sauvages. Même si je suis conscient que c’est le gagne-pain des cornacs. Malgré les chaînes je n’ai pas eu le sentiment que les éléphants aient été maltraités, mais je ne peux rien assurer. En revanche, j’ai accepté l’invitation d’un cornac, pour faire une série de photos sur le bain et la toilette des deux pachydermes.

  

Elephant Bath

 

Sigiriya (Sri Lanka) - This photo was taken near my hotel. The elephants are there for tourists. The family that owns two pachyderms has installed a high wooden platform, accessible by a staircase so that tourists can climb on the elephants, without the slightest effort. I sympathized with the mahouts, but I refused to take an "elephant ride" because I am against the exploitation of wild animals. Even though I am aware that this is the mahouts' livelihood. Despite the chains I did not have the feeling that the elephants were mistreated, but I cannot guarantee anything. On the other hand, I accepted the invitation of a mahout, to take a series of photos on the bathing and washing of the two pachyderms.

 

Even at the end of a long winter there are so many beautiful views in this earth. Love this falls in County Durham the walkway to the base is beautifully laid out and makes this falls accessible to most.

 

Please enjoy the wonderful details in Large.

Thank you so much for your visit!

 

Peeblespair Website ~ Instagram

Explore April 18, 2023 #15

Aspens and Dome, Eastern Sierra. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

 

A line of autumn aspen trees in front of a rocky dome, Eastern Sierra Nevada.

 

This photograph comes from a morning of Eastern Sierra exploration into an area that I would not typically go to for fall color photography — not because there is no fall color there to photograph, but because it isn’t exactly the most accessible place to find it. For sure, there are easier places to find the color nearby. We put the 4Runner in 4WD and slowly tracked up toward the base of the range, eventually gaining enough elevation that there were aspens, the sort that live in harmony with surrounding high desert foliage of rabbitbrush and sage.

 

It was a beautiful morning of the sort that you’ll only find here in autumn. A weak storm has been through a few days earlier, and there was a dusting of snow on the highest Sierra crest peaks and behind us, across Owens Valley, on the White Mountains. Despite the recent storm the morning warmed nicely, and the sunlight was warm as we photographed. Here a small row of aspens, midway through the color change process, stood against a small, rocky dome, and beyond that in the haze-obscured distance were higher hills rising toward the summit of the range.

 

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Nassau, an independent island nation is the capital of the Bahamas. Nassau lies on the island of New Providence, with neighboring Paradise Island accessible via Nassau Harbor bridges. Print size 8x10 inches. HFF.

Fate, Character And Life - Fate Is Leveler

 

Fate like Tsunami, like Egyptian drought of seven years

like the nuclear explosion in hiroshima-nagasaki

also similar to the darkness of the world economy today

Turns everything upside down

And proves to be cruelest ever leveler;

Sparing almost none.

 

But if unswerving-character, grit and foreseeing-wisdom (as of Prophet Joseph) join hands

They can build securest-ever embankments and dams

Not only to avert imminent fate-ravages

But to turn potential energy (of drought and Tsunami)

Into more gold (accessible water) , diamonds (aquatic life) , rubies (agriculture) and all that

And turn home on globe into

A lovelier place for life to exist.

 

by Shahid Saleem Butt

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Fairfield is a hamlet south of Appledore on the northern fringes of Romney Marsh. The late 12th century church sits on an islet in a field; only accessible by wooden bridges.

Sentinelles (Tours d'Allos, Val d'Allos, Mercantour National Park, juin 2026)

 

Lake Allos is a glacial lake located in the Mercantour National Park (France). It is a magnificent site at any time of day, easily accessible on foot. It is also well-known to astrophotographers for the quality of its night skies.

 

Kachina Point, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest National Park

 

Arizona's Painted Desert is a surprising land of contrasting colors, light and textures, accented with occasional tree fossils leftover from the ancient forest which flourished here 200 million years ago. These badlands are especially enchanting when washed in moonlight, as seen here.

 

To see this desert past sunset however, plan well ahead of time. The Painted Desert is actually part of Petrified Forest National Park, and as such is only accessible to the public after sunset in certain viewpoints, and that only with a controlled permit. This is primarily to lesson the likelihood of people freely taking fossils ("petrified wood") from the park. You need to reserve very early in the day as not many permits are available.

 

This worked to our advantage that night, as my son and I were the only ones there at Kachina Point. We had the park all to ourselves, with a full moon, a gentle breeze, and the happy peace of nature all around.

 

Selected for FLICKR Explore January 26, 2024

# 46

 

Single long exposure processed in Capture One.

 

*Press L or left click on the photo for best viewing.

 

Link to ~My best photos~

 

*** All my photos are © All Rights Reserved. ***

  

Watched National Geographic's "Into The Grand Canyon" (on disney plus) last night and was really taken with it. It’s about two journalists that walk the entire length of the canyon- not rim to rim, or floating down the river, but actually walking along the entire length of the landforms that make up the National Park. What they see is amazing- there are deeply remote spots in the canyon that are pure wilderness and don’t look like the rest of the canyon; they look more like Zion or even Antelope Canyon. The documentary also covers the story of the Navajo National fighting back against the proposed Escalade project that would build a tramway down from the rim to the confluence of the Colorado River. The CEO of the company said that his goal was to give everyone a “deep canyon experience” and to make it accessible. While I always crave accessibility for the National Parks… and while I always want to see as much as I can… this rubbed me the wrong way. Accessibility that robs the landscape of its purity and silence isn’t accessibility, it’s hubris. Sometimes, places are meant to be hard to get to. Everyone should be able to have an experience at the Grand Canyon but not at the expense of the canyon itself. That’ll probably mean that I never get to see the amazing vistas that this documentary showed me. And you know what? That’s fine. They’re protected. I know they’re out there. And protected. And that’s more important than me getting to see it.

Here is a view down the accessible dock at the Buell Lake County Park, October 6, 2022. Disabled fisher persons have fishing stations that give them a good view of sunrise. Sometimes, the light can give the "ordinary" a crisp look, as what I thought was the case here. I thank Russ Burden's work on Outdoor Photography for giving me insight as to light and the ordinary. And, my friend Paul Sisul, for schooling us all on the composition of lines.

The Hull History Centre is an archive and local studies library in Hull, England, that houses the combined collections of both the Hull City Council and Hull University archives and local studies resources. This collaboration between Hull City Council, Hull University, and the Heritage Lottery Fund made Hull the first city in the UK to unite local council and university collections under one roof

The building itself was designed by architectural firm Pringle Richards Sharratt with the goals of providing a highly accessible and visible structure, as well as a focus of local pride. The design of the upper floor features an environmentally controlled repository while the ground level features public spaces adjoined by a linear arcade overlooking a new park....

From the Jubilee Bridge in the gathering evening light under grey skies.

Castle Stalker (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal an Stalcaire) is a four-storey tower house or keep in the Scottish county Argyll. It is set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich, an inlet off Loch Linnhe. It is about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.5 kilometres) north-east of Port Appin. The islet is accessible with difficulty from the shore at low tide. The name "Stalker" comes from the Gaelic Stalcaire, meaning "hunter" or "falconer". The island castle is one of the best preserved medieval tower houses to survive in western Scotland.

Thanks to Wikipedia

 

...is no lighthouse...

 

The Lighthouse in Glasgow is Scotland's Centre for Design and Architecture.

 

One of the key features of The Lighthouse is the uninterrupted view over Glasgow's cityscape available from the Mackintosh Tower at the north of the building, which is accessible via a helical staircase from the third floor.

(Wikipedia)

For the last part of the LoweproUK competition...Theme - Accessibility. How do I see it? We have access to pretty much everything here. Supermarkets on every corner, too much food in fridges, the internet plugged into so many of our houses and on our phones..we have access to the world at our fingertips while people in third world countries might think something like flickr is the devil's work with so many images and faces staring back at them. For them, there is no access..not to the internet, electricity, fresh running water. Stop. Do not pass go. Do not know whether you will get a meal tomorrow while we think nothing of wasting 3.6tonnes of food a year that we didnt really need in the first place.

 

Stop. Think. Is accessibility everything? Or do we have too much.

Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Valley_station:

 

Don Valley (formerly Science Centre) is an underground Toronto subway station and mobility hub on Line 5 Eglinton in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Flemingdon Park neighbourhood at the intersection of Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue.

 

On April 10, 2019, the Ontario government announced that Don Valley station would be the northern terminus for the proposed Ontario Line, construction of which began in March 2022.

 

This station's main entrance is located at the southwest corner of the intersection with Don Mills Road. A secondary entrance is on the opposite northeast corner, with a new bus terminal stretching beyond that to Gervais Drive. The TTC bus terminal will have seven bus bays as well as on-street bus connections. An underground, accessible passage will link the bus terminal to the light rail transit concourse level, which will have retail spaces. The station will provide 30 outdoor and 30 indoor bicycle parking spaces.

 

The underground Don Valley station was built using cut-and-cover method. The station is between two surface sections of the line. To travel under Don Mills Road, the line dips underground, passes through the station under the middle of Eglinton Avenue and re-emerges to the surface at the other side. To the west of Don Valley station, there is a facing-point crossover just beyond the ramp descending to the station's west portal. To the east of the station, there is a double crossover on the ramp descending to the station's east portal.

 

As part of a program to install artworks at major interchange stations along Line 5 Eglinton, Don Valley station features an artwork titled Total Lunar Eclipse by British-American artist Sarah Morris. The artwork is a mural consisting of porcelain tiles that were silkscreened by hand. According to the artist, the artwork is a "wall painting" that "invites reflection on concepts of light, scale and motion through space".

 

The station's main entrance has louvres in the glass panels above the doors. Metrolinx predicts that the louvres "will be a well-known and a distinctive part of the transit destination's look".

Uttakleiv Beach is located on one of the Lofoten Islands and is considered to be the most photogenic Norwegian beach. Here (usually during winter sunsets) people can watch borealis.The best Uttakleiv Beach views can be seen from the mountain Mannen. From all Lofoten Island's beaches the Uttakleiv Beach is the most unusual. Creamy white sand, green grass, emerald-hued water and tides polished silver stones on the rocky shore attract photographers from all over the world.

The beach is easily accessible to visitors. It will take 20 min by car to get to the area from Leknes, not wasting time for walking. Convenient parking is waiting for guests near the beach. Many thanks to everyone who took the trouble to view comment or fave.

This sign is close to the edge of the car park and the coastal path at Senhouse Roman Museum. The fort here was set at the Western edge of Hadrian’s Wall. The path of the wall today is taken as running from Wallsend, Tyne and Wear in the East to Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria. Alauna, or Senhouse was the location for a forst and civilian town at a strategic cliff and port to ensure that troops, travellers, traders and even tourists could not out flank Hadrian’s Wall across the mud flats and tidal river mouth.

 

If you have a chance to see this sign and to visit the museum and the Promenade that stretches out along Hadrian’s Cycleway all on wheelchair accessible paths then do enjoy the amazing museum and the natural wonders around the visible Roman fort and town that is still being excavated and studied as well as Mary Port that is still home to many people to this day.

 

© PHH Sykes 2023

phhsykes@gmail.com

  

Senhouse Roman Museum

www.senhousemuseum.co.uk/

 

Excerpt from www.visitniagaracanada.com/do/niagara-city-cruises/:

 

Niagara City Cruises catamarans, Niagara Wonder and Niagara Thunder, feature on-board amenities including tiered decks for 360-degree unobstructed viewing, dry viewing areas, on-board passenger washrooms and audio commentary during the tour. The 100-passenger Niagara Guardian vessel is powered by twin 350-horsepower jet-drive engines and is available for private charters. All boats are ODA compliant for accessibility.

We saw a couple of fields full of poppies in Rutland. We were on our way to Norfolk, where we were hoping to see...poppies. The fields were fairly accessible with a handy stile. No barbed wire fences this time!

Excerpt from www.cbc.ca/arts/a-kind-of-order-band-gallery-union-statio...:

 

A new public art exhibition is inviting commuters in Toronto’s busiest train station to slow down and reflect.

 

A Kind of Order is part of Union Station’s year-long commitment to promote BIPOC creatives and to accessible public art. Presented in partnership with BAND Gallery, the exhibition features four contemporary artists — three local, one international — whose collage art embodies themes of movement and transformation.

 

These words came to mind when Joséphine Denis, BAND’s Director of Curatorial Initiatives, thought of the type of art she’d like to see in a station like Union. “[Union Station] is a place of coming and going that promises beginnings and marks the ending of journeys and of relationships,” says Denis, “I take that train a lot and it's been a sort of symbolic meaning of a lot of things in my life… but it's also a marker of these very daily quotidian lifestyles and rhythms.”

The art is spread throughout the station, ensuring that commuters can engage with the art no matter where they’re headed, even if it’s just a passing glimpse. “This is not a white box where people come and sit and look, [we had to think about] what people are able to get out of just a glimpse… just walking and turning their head and seeing something.”

 

Excerpt from the plaque:

 

A Kind of Order, Cross Section by Timothy Yanick Hunter

 

Cross Section (2026) looks downward to the subsurface as a shared field of circulation, where what is treated as extractable keeps rerouting relations. Across six prints and a monitor, the image field is built from magnified soil, larvae, pebbles, and cropped fragments of scientific language. Halftone grain and visible seams make the surface feel reproduced, sampled, and reassembled, like knowledge that arrives in pieces. Pixelation suggests the work is constantly re-tuning its own frequency to the motion it tracks. The grain reads like recalibration: information coming into focus, slipping out again, brewing in motion rather than settling into certainty. What appears as life and death here is not an event but a remainder, the visible residue of cycles: metabolism, labour, decay, renewal. Rectangular insertions behave like core samples or windows of study, while page margins and white gaps read as a refusal of total access, a reminder that extraction can measure, classify, and remove, but it cannot take hold of the whole field.

 

Across the series, the ground is not a backdrop but a system: brood chambers, pebble collections, bundled cables, and clipped captions offering different languages for how matter is organized and made to travel. Timothy Yanick Hunter’s ongoing research treats migration as more than the movement of bodies. Migration appears as ongoing circulation: fragments carried forward, reassembled, and re-tuned, moving through archives, infrastructures, and informal networks of passage. Extending from projects first developed for exhibitions at Cooper Cole Gallery and Bradley Ertaskiran, Cross Section asks what becomes legible as “resource” and what kinds of relation keep gathering at the edges of extraction. It asks not simply what lies beneath, but who gets to name what is underneath, and what refuses to be given over to ownership, enclosure, or the “complete” account.

Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine:

 

Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, Itsukushima-jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.

 

The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it.

 

Excerpt from itsukushimajinja.jp/en/route.html:

 

East Corridor: The corridors are 3.9 meters wide and about 270 meteres long. The distance between the pillars is about 2.4 meters. There are eight floorboards between the pillars and small spaces between the floorboards.

Today's edition of "armchair traveling during the Coronavirus lockdown" takes me back to our trip to Monterey earlier this year. Remember back when we could just decide impulsively to take a quick trip somewhere? We usually stay in Pacific Grove where in the Monterey area, because the coastline is so stunning and accessible there.

After jumping over the Wisconsin River in town, a quick set out and pick up at the Rhinelander paper mill is completed before pulling into the yard and beginning the return trip to Bradley. The mill completes their own switch, which is sad to see given the trackage back there is relatively accessible and there are some cool scenes including an old coal yard (with rusting DRG&W and IC hoppers)

Enchâssé dans une des vallées de la Sûre de l'Éislek, le village d’Esch-sur-Sûre se trouve dans un méandre de la rivière, au pied du plus vieux château du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. Les ruines du château féodal, libres d’accès, offrent une superbe vue sur le village et ses étroites ruelles, qui n’ont guère changé depuis le Moyen Âge.

 

Nestled in one of the valleys of the Sûre de l'Éislek, the village of Esch-sur-Sûre is located in a meander of the river, at the foot of the oldest castle in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The ruins of the feudal castle, freely accessible, offer a superb view of the village and its narrow streets, which have hardly changed since the Middle Ages.

Most of my late night beach visits are lonely. It's hard to believe when such a brilliant coastline is so accessible, but I'm not complaining. Long after the sun had set , I thought I'd take one last shot on the way back to the car. The beach can be so beautiful just before the light fades. Lonely night is by Richard Hawley

The Manor house has been through a few owners over the past one hundred years. As a result there is no original furniture left in the building.

In the West facing drawing room there was an art exhibition on, in the upper floors (only accessible with a guided tour. some of the fixtures from previous owners remain.

 

2016 02 19 134606 Worcestershire Croome Court PM1

Mandvi (Inde) - Cette partie du chantier n’est accessible qu’à marée basse, si on ne dispose pas d’une embarcation.

Ce boutre sur la photo est très avancé dans sa construction. La coque est terminée. C’est la raison pour laquelle il y a quelques mois, il a été remorqué à marée haute à l’entrée du chenal. Il ne craint plus l’eau. Comme on peut le distinguer sur cette photo, les ouvriers s’affairent désormais sur le pont supérieur, les pieds bien au sec. D’autres travaillent dans la cale.

Pour la construction de ces navires marchands, propulsés par des moteurs diesel japonais, l’Inde a longtemps utilisé le tek. Lorsque l’importation de cette essence précieuse a été interdite et que son prix a fortement été revu à la hausse, les chantiers se sont rabattus sur le bois de « sal » (ou sala). Un bois très dense et imputrescible, importé du Sud-Est Asiatique et plus particulièrement d’Indonésie.

 

Ce bois provient d’un résineux qui atteint 30 à 35 mètres de haut lorsqu’il est parvenu au maximum de sa croissance. Il présente un grain grossier qui n’autorise pas un ponçage efficace, de sorte qu’il est inadapté aux travaux de menuiserie. Il est donc utilisé comme bois de charpente dans la construction navale. Sur certaines unités en construction on peut voir que du bois récupéré sur des bateaux voués à la casse a été recyclés par mesure d’économie.

Tout est utilisé dans le « sal », notamment son fruit et ses graines transformés en huile pour les lampes. Il n’est pas rare qu’aujourd’hui encore dans les familles les plus pauvres, on s’éclaire toujours à la lampe à huile ou à la bougie. Quant à sa résine particulièrement odorante, elle est recyclée en encens pour les cérémonies religieuses hindoues.

 

Sur la photo ci-dessus, j'ai choisi d'intégrer un premier plan avec ce bateau destiné à la récupération des matériaux. Ce qui a l'avantage de remplir et fermer le cadre inférieur.

Pour obtenir cette vue plongeante je suis monté sur la passerelle d’un autre navire en construction.

  

Sal wood for the Indian dhows

 

Mandvi (India) - This part of the site is only accessible at low tide, if you do not have a boat.

This dhow in the photo is very advanced in its construction. The hull is finished. This is the reason why a few months ago it was towed to the entrance of the channel. It no longer fears water. As can be seen in this photo, the workers are now busy on the upper deck, their feet dry. Others are working in the hold.

For the construction of these merchant ships, powered by Japanese diesel engines, India has long used teak. But when the importation of this precious species was banned and its price was revised upwards, the shipyards fell back on “sal” (or sala) wood. A very dense and rot-proof wood, imported from Southeast Asia and more particularly from Indonesia.

This wood comes from a softwood that reaches 30 to 35 meters in height when it has reached its maximum growth. It has a coarse grain that does not allow for efficient sanding, so it is unsuitable for carpentry work. It is therefore essentially used as structural timber in shipbuilding. On some units under construction, we can see that wood salvaged from scrapped boats has been recycled to save money.

Everything is used in the "sal", especially its fruit and its seeds which are transformed into oil for the lamps. It is not rare that today still in the poorest families, one always lights with the oil lamp or the candle. As for its particularly fragrant resin, it is recycled into incense for Hindu religious ceremonies.

 

In the photo above, I chose to include a foreground with this boat intended for the recovery of materials. Which has the advantage of filling and closing the lower frame.

 

Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod

 

Cape Cod

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the area of Massachusetts. For other uses, see Cape Cod (disambiguation).

For other uses, see Cod (disambiguation).

 

Coordinates: 41°41′20″N 70°17′49″W / 41.68889°N 70.29694°W / 41.68889; -70.29694

Map of Massachusetts, with Cape Cod (Barnstable County) indicated in red

Dunes on Sandy Neck are part of the Cape's barrier beach which helps to prevent erosion

 

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is an island and a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States. It is coextensive with Barnstable County. Several small islands right off Cape Cod, including Monomoy Island, Monomoscoy Island, Popponesset Island, and Seconsett Island, are also in Barnstable County, being part of municipalities with land on the Cape. The Cape's small-town character and large beachfront attract heavy tourism during the summer months.

 

Cape Cod was formed as the terminal moraine of a glacier, resulting in a peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1914, the Cape Cod Canal was cut through the base or isthmus of the peninsula, forming an island. The Cape Cod Commission refers to the resultant landmass as an island; as does the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in regards to disaster preparedness.[1] It is still identified as a peninsula by geographers, who do not change landform designations based on man-made canal construction.[citation needed]

 

Unofficially, it is one of the biggest barrier islands in the world, shielding much of the Massachusetts coastline from North Atlantic storm waves. This protection helps to erode the Cape shoreline at the expense of cliffs, while protecting towns from Fairhaven to Marshfield.

 

Road vehicles from the mainland cross over the Cape Cod Canal via the Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge. The two bridges are parallel, with the Bourne Bridge located slightly farther southwest. In addition, the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge carries railway freight as well as tourist passenger services.

Contents

[hide]

 

* 1 Geography and political divisions

o 1.1 "Upper" and "Lower"

* 2 Geology

* 3 Climate

* 4 Native population

* 5 History

* 6 Lighthouses of Cape Cod

* 7 Transportation

o 7.1 Bus

o 7.2 Rail

o 7.3 Taxi

* 8 Tourism

* 9 Sport fishing

* 10 Sports

* 11 Education

* 12 Islands off Cape Cod

* 13 See also

* 14 References

o 14.1 Notes

o 14.2 Sources

o 14.3 Further reading

* 15 External links

 

[edit] Geography and political divisions

Towns of Barnstable County

historical map of 1890

 

The highest elevation on Cape Cod is 306 feet (93 m), at the top of Pine Hill, in the Bourne portion of the Massachusetts Military Reservation. The lowest point is sea level.

 

The body of water located between Cape Cod and the mainland, bordered to the north by Massachusetts Bay, is Cape Cod Bay; west of Cape Cod is Buzzards Bay. The Cape Cod Canal, completed in 1916, connects Buzzards Bay to Cape Cod Bay; it shortened the trade route between New York and Boston by 62 miles.[2] To the south of Cape Cod lie Nantucket Sound; Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, both large islands, and the mostly privately owned Elizabeth Islands.

 

Cape Cod incorporates all of Barnstable County, which comprises 15 towns: Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. Two of the county's fifteen towns (Bourne and Sandwich) include land on the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal. The towns of Plymouth and Wareham, in adjacent Plymouth County, are sometimes considered to be part of Cape Cod but are not located on the island.

 

In the 17th century the designation Cape Cod applied only to the tip of the peninsula, essentially present-day Provincetown. Over the ensuing decades, the name came to mean all the land east of the Manomet and Scussett rivers - essentially the line of the 20th century Cape Cod Canal. Now, the complete towns of Bourne and Sandwich are widely considered to incorporate the full perimeter of Cape Cod, even though small parts of these towns are located on the west side of the canal. The canal divides the largest part of the peninsula from the mainland and the resultant landmass is sometimes referred to as an island.[3][4] Additionally some "Cape Codders" – residents of "The Cape" – refer to all land on the mainland side of the canal as "off-Cape."

 

For most of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, Cape Cod was considered to consist of three sections:

 

* The Upper Cape is the part of Cape Cod closest to the mainland, comprising the towns of Bourne, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Mashpee. Falmouth is the home of the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and several other research organizations, and is also the most-used ferry connection to Martha's Vineyard. Falmouth is composed of several separate villages, including East Falmouth, Falmouth Village, Hatchville, North Falmouth, Teaticket, Waquoit, West Falmouth, and Woods Hole, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Davisville, Falmouth Heights, Quissett, Sippewissett, and others).[5]

 

* The Mid-Cape includes the towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis. The Mid-Cape area features many beautiful beaches, including warm-water beaches along Nantucket Sound, e.g., Kalmus Beach in Hyannis, which gets its name from one of the inventors of Technicolor, Herbert Kalmus. This popular windsurfing destination was bequeathed to the town of Barnstable by Dr. Kalmus on condition that it not be developed, possibly one of the first instances of open-space preservation in the US. The Mid-Cape is also the commercial and industrial center of the region. There are seven villages in Barnstable, including Barnstable Village, Centerville, Cotuit, Hyannis, Marstons Mills, Osterville, and West Barnstable, as well as several smaller hamlets that are incorporated into their larger neighbors (e.g., Craigville, Cummaquid, Hyannisport, Santuit, Wianno, and others).[6] There are three villages in Yarmouth: South Yarmouth, West Yarmouth and Yarmouthport. There are five villages in Dennis including, Dennis Village(North Dennis), East Dennis, West Dennis, South Dennis and Dennisport.[7]

 

* The Lower Cape traditionally included all of the rest of the Cape,or the towns of Harwich, Brewster, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. This area includes the Cape Cod National Seashore, a national park comprising much of the outer Cape, including the entire east-facing coast, and is home to some of the most popular beaches in America, such as Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach in Eastham. Stephen Leatherman, aka "Dr. Beach", named Coast Guard Beach the 5th best beach in America for 2007.[8]

 

[edit] "Upper" and "Lower"

 

The terms "Upper" and "Lower" as applied to the Cape have nothing to do with north and south. Instead, they derive from maritime convention at the time when the principal means of transportation involved watercraft, and the prevailing westerly winds meant that a boat with sails traveling northeast in Cape Cod Bay would have the wind at its back and thus be going downwind, while a craft sailing southwest would be going against the wind, or upwind.[9] Similarly, on nearby Martha's Vineyard, "Up Island" still is the western section and "Down Island" is to the east, and in Maine, "Down East" is similarly defined by the winds and currents.

 

Over time, the reasons for the traditional nomenclature became unfamiliar and their meaning obscure. Late in the 1900s, new arrivals began calling towns from Eastham to Provincetown the "Outer Cape", yet another geographic descriptor which is still in use, as is the "Inner Cape."

[edit] Geology

Cape Cod and Cape Cod Bay from space.[10]

 

East of America, there stands in the open Atlantic the last fragment of an ancient and vanished land. Worn by the breakers and the rains, and disintegrated by the wind, it still stands bold.

“

”

Henry Beston, The Outermost House

 

Cape Cod forms a continuous archipelagic region with a thin line of islands stretching toward New York, historically known by naturalists as the Outer Lands. This continuity is due to the fact that the islands and Cape are all terminal glacial moraines laid down some 16,000 to 20,000 years ago.

 

Most of Cape Cod's geological history involves the advance and retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet in the late Pleistocene geological era and the subsequent changes in sea level. Using radiocarbon dating techniques, researchers have determined that around 23,000 years ago, the ice sheet reached its maximum southward advance over North America, and then started to retreat. Many "kettle ponds" — clear, cold lakes — were formed and remain on Cape Cod as a result of the receding glacier. By about 18,000 years ago, the ice sheet had retreated past Cape Cod. By roughly 15,000 years ago, it had retreated past southern New England. When so much of Earth's water was locked up in massive ice sheets, the sea level was lower. Truro's bayside beaches used to be a petrified forest, before it became a beach.

 

As the ice began to melt, the sea began to rise. Initially, sea level rose quickly, about 15 meters (50 ft) per 1,000 years, but then the rate declined. On Cape Cod, sea level rose roughly 3 meters (11 ft) per millennium between 6,000 and 2,000 years ago. After that, it continued to rise at about 1 meter (3 ft) per millennium. By 6,000 years ago, the sea level was high enough to start eroding the glacial deposits that the vanished continental ice sheet had left on Cape Cod. The water transported the eroded deposits north and south along the outer Cape's shoreline. Those reworked sediments that moved north went to the tip of Cape Cod.

 

Provincetown Spit, at the northern end of the Cape, consists largely of marine deposits, transported from farther up the shore. Sediments that moved south created the islands and shoals of Monomoy. So while other parts of the Cape have dwindled from the action of the waves, these parts of the Cape have grown.

Cape Cod National Seashore

 

This process continues today. Due to their position jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape and islands are subject to massive coastal erosion. Geologists say that, due to erosion, the Cape will be completely submerged by the sea in thousands of years.[11] This erosion causes the washout of beaches and the destruction of the barrier islands; for example, the ocean broke through the barrier island at Chatham during Hurricane Bob in 1991, allowing waves and storm surges to hit the coast with no obstruction. Consequently, the sediment and sand from the beaches is being washed away and deposited elsewhere. While this destroys land in some places, it creates land elsewhere, most noticeably in marshes where sediment is deposited by waters running through them.

[edit] Climate

 

Although Cape Cod's weather[12] is typically more moderate than inland locations, there have been occasions where Cape Cod has dealt with the brunt of extreme weather situations (such as the Blizzard of 1954 and Hurricane of 1938). Because of the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, temperatures are typically a few degrees cooler in the summer and a few degrees warmer in the winter. A common misconception is that the climate is influenced largely by the warm Gulf Stream current, however that current turns eastward off the coast of Virginia and the waters off the Cape are more influenced by the cold Canadian Labrador Current. As a result, the ocean temperature rarely gets above 65 °F (18 °C), except along the shallow west coast of the Upper Cape.

 

The Cape's climate is also notorious for a delayed spring season, being surrounded by an ocean which is still cold from the winter; however, it is also known for an exceptionally mild fall season (Indian summer), thanks to the ocean remaining warm from the summer. The highest temperature ever recorded on Cape Cod was 104 °F (40 °C) in Provincetown[13], and the lowest temperature ever was −12 °F (−24.4 °C) in Barnstable.[14]

 

The water surrounding Cape Cod moderates winter temperatures enough to extend the USDA hardiness zone 7a to its northernmost limit in eastern North America.[15] Even though zone 7a (annual low = 0–5 degrees Fahrenheit) signifies no sub-zero temperatures annually, there have been several instances of temperatures reaching a few degrees below zero across the Cape (although it is rare, usually 1–5 times a year, typically depending on locale, sometimes not at all). Consequently, many plant species typically found in more southerly latitudes grow there, including Camellias, Ilex opaca, Magnolia grandiflora and Albizia julibrissin.

 

Precipitation on Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket is the lowest in the New England region, averaging slightly less than 40 inches (1,000 mm) a year (most parts of New England average 42–46 inches). This is due to storm systems which move across western areas, building up in mountainous regions, and dissipating before reaching the coast where the land has leveled out. The region does not experience a greater number of sunny days however, as the number of cloudy days is the same as inland locales, in addition to increased fog. Snowfall is annual, but a lot less common than the rest of Massachusetts. On average, 30 inches of snow, which is a foot less than Boston, falls in an average winter. Snow is usually light, and comes in squalls on cold days. Storms that bring blizzard conditions and snow emergencies to the mainland, bring devastating ice storms or just heavy rains more frequently than large snow storms.

[hide]Climate data for Cape Cod

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °C (°F) 2.06

(35.7) 2.5

(36.5) 6.22

(43.2) 11.72

(53.1) 16.94

(62.5) 23.5

(74.3) 26.39

(79.5) 26.67

(80.0) 25.06

(77.1) 18.39

(65.1) 12.56

(54.6) 5.44

(41.8) 26.67

(80.0)

Average low °C (°F) -5.33

(22.4) -5

(23.0) -1.33

(29.6) 2.72

(36.9) 8.72

(47.7) 14.61

(58.3) 19.22

(66.6) 20.28

(68.5) 15.56

(60.0) 9.94

(49.9) 3.94

(39.1) -2.22

(28.0) -5.33

(22.4)

Precipitation mm (inches) 98

(3.86) 75.4

(2.97) 95

(3.74) 92.5

(3.64) 83.6

(3.29) 76.7

(3.02) 62.2

(2.45) 65

(2.56) 74.7

(2.94) 84.8

(3.34) 90.7

(3.57) 92.7

(3.65) 990.9

(39.01)

Source: World Meteorological Organisation (United Nations) [16]

[edit] Native population

 

Cape Cod has been the home of the Wampanoag tribe of Native American people for many centuries. They survived off the sea and were accomplished farmers. They understood the principles of sustainable forest management, and were known to light controlled fires to keep the underbrush in check. They helped the Pilgrims, who arrived in the fall of 1620, survive at their new Plymouth Colony. At the time, the dominant group was the Kakopee, known for their abilities at fishing. They were the first Native Americans to use large casting nets. Early colonial settlers recorded that the Kakopee numbered nearly 7,000.

 

Shortly after the Pilgrims arrived, the chief of the Kakopee, Mogauhok, attempted to make a treaty limiting colonial settlements. The effort failed after he succumbed to smallpox in 1625. Infectious diseases such as smallpox, measles and influenza caused the deaths of many other Kakopee and Wampanoag. They had no natural immunity to Eurasian diseases by then endemic among the English and other Europeans. Today, the only reminder of the Kakopee is a small public recreation area in Barnstable named for them. A historic marker notes the burial site of Mogauhok near Truro, although the location is conjecture.

 

While contractors were digging test wells in the eastern Massachusetts Military Reservation area, they discovered an archeological find.[citation needed] Excavation revealed the remains of a Kakopee village in Forestdale, a location in Sandwich. Researchers found a totem with a painted image of Mogauhok, portrayed in his chief's cape and brooch. The totem was discovered on property on Grand Oak Road. It is the first evidence other than colonial accounts of his role as an important Kakopee leader.

 

The Indians lost their lands through continued purchase and expropriation by the English colonists. The documentary Natives of the Narrowland (1993), narrated by actress Julie Harris, shows the history of the Wampanoag people through Cape Cod archaeological sites.

 

In 1974, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council was formed to articulate the concerns of those with Native American ancestry. They petitioned the federal government in 1975 and again in 1990 for official recognition of the Mashpee Wampanoag as a tribe. In May 2007, the Wampanoag tribe was finally federally recognized as a tribe.[17]

[edit] History

Cranberry picking in 1906

 

Cape Cod was a landmark for early explorers. It may have been the "Promontory of Vinland" mentioned by the Norse voyagers (985-1025). Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 approached it from the south. He named Martha's Vineyard Claudia, after the mother of the King of France.[18] The next year the explorer Esteban Gómez called it Cape St. James.

 

In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold named it Cape Cod, the surviving term and the ninth oldest English place-name in the U.S.[19] Samuel de Champlain charted its sand-silted harbors in 1606 and Henry Hudson landed there in 1609. Captain John Smith noted it on his map of 1614 and at last the Pilgrims entered the "Cape Harbor" and – contrary to the popular myth of Plymouth Rock – made their first landing near present-day Provincetown on November 11, 1620. Nearby, in what is now Eastham, they had their first encounter with Native Americans.

 

Cape Cod was among the first places settled by the English in North America. Aside from Barnstable (1639), Sandwich (1637) and Yarmouth (1639), the Cape's fifteen towns developed slowly. The final town to be established on the Cape was Bourne in 1884.[20] Provincetown was a group of huts until the 18th century. A channel from Massachusetts Bay to Buzzards Bay is shown on Southack's map of 1717. The present Cape Cod Canal was slowly developed from 1870 to 1914. The Federal government purchased it in 1928.

 

Thanks to early colonial settlement and intensive land use, by the time Henry Thoreau saw Cape Cod during his four visits over 1849 to 1857[21], its vegetation was depauperate and trees were scarce. As the settlers heated by fires, and it took 10 to 20 cords (40 to 80 m³) of wood to heat a home, they cleared most of Cape Cod of timber early on. They planted familiar crops, but these were unsuited to Cape Cod's thin, glacially derived soils. For instance, much of Eastham was planted to wheat. The settlers practiced burning of woodlands to release nutrients into the soil. Improper and intensive farming led to erosion and the loss of topsoil. Farmers grazed their cattle on the grassy dunes of coastal Massachusetts, only to watch "in horror as the denuded sands `walked' over richer lands, burying cultivated fields and fences." Dunes on the outer Cape became more common and many harbors filled in with eroded soils.[22]

 

By 1800, most of Cape Cod's firewood had to be transported by boat from Maine. The paucity of vegetation was worsened by the raising of merino sheep that reached its peak in New England around 1840. The early industrial revolution, which occurred through much of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, mostly bypassed Cape Cod due to a lack of significant water power in the area. As a result, and also because of its geographic position, the Cape developed as a large fishing and whaling center. After 1860 and the opening of the American West, farmers abandoned agriculture on the Cape. By 1950 forests had recovered to an extent not seen since the 18th century.

 

Cape Cod became a summer haven for city dwellers beginning at the end of the 19th century. Improved rail transportation made the towns of the Upper Cape, such as Bourne and Falmouth, accessible to Bostonians. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Northeastern mercantile elite built many large, shingled "cottages" along Buzzards Bay. The relaxed summer environment offered by Cape Cod was highlighted by writers including Joseph C. Lincoln, who published novels and countless short stories about Cape Cod folks in popular magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post and the Delineator.

 

Guglielmo Marconi made the first transatlantic wireless transmission originating in the United States from Cape Cod, at Wellfleet. The beach from which he transmitted has since been called Marconi Beach. In 1914 he opened the maritime wireless station WCC in Chatham. It supported the communications of Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, Admiral Byrd, and the Hindenburg. Marconi chose Chatham due to its vantage point on the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded on three sides by water. Walter Cronkite narrated a 17-minute documentary in 2005 about the history of the Chatham Station.

 

Much of the East-facing Atlantic seacoast of Cape Cod consists of wide, sandy beaches. In 1961, a significant portion of this coastline, already slated for housing subdivisions, was made a part of the Cape Cod National Seashore by President John F. Kennedy. It was protected from private development and preserved for public use. Large portions are open to the public, including the Marconi Site in Wellfleet. This is a park encompassing the site of the first two-way transoceanic radio transmission from the United States. (Theodore Roosevelt used Marconi's equipment for this transmission).

 

The Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport was President Kennedy's summer White House during his presidency. The Kennedy family continues to maintain residences on the compound. Other notable residents of Cape Cod have included actress Julie Harris, US Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis, figure skater Todd Eldredge, and novelists Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut. Influential natives included the patriot James Otis, historian and writer Mercy Otis Warren, jurist Lemuel Shaw, and naval officer John Percival.

[edit] Lighthouses of Cape Cod

Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown (1876)

 

Lighthouses, from ancient times, have fascinated members of the human race. There is something about a lighted beacon that suggests hope and trust and appeals to the better instincts of mankind.

“

”

Edward Rowe Snow

 

Due to its dangerous constantly moving shoals, Cape Cod's shores have featured beacons which warn ships of the danger since very early in its history. There are numerous working lighthouses on Cape Cod and the Islands, including Highland Light, Nauset Light, Chatham Light, Race Point Light, and Nobska Light, mostly operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The exception is Nauset Light, which was decommissioned in 1996 and is now maintained by the Nauset Light Preservation Society under the auspices of Cape Cod National Seashore. These lighthouses are frequently photographed symbols of Cape Cod.

 

Others include:

 

Upper Cape: Wings Neck

 

Mid Cape: Sandy Neck, South Hyannis, Lewis Bay, Bishop and Clerks, Bass River

 

Lower Cape: Wood End, Long Point, Monomoy, Stage Harbor, Pamet, Mayo Beach, Billingsgate, Three Sisters, Nauset, Highland

[edit] Transportation

 

Cape Cod is connected to the mainland by a pair of canal-spanning highway bridges from Bourne and Sagamore that were constructed in the 1930s, and a vertical-lift railroad bridge. The limited number of access points to the peninsula can result in large traffic backups during the tourist season.

 

The entire Cape is roughly bisected lengthwise by U.S. Route 6, locally known as the Mid-Cape Highway and officially as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.

 

Commercial air service to Cape Cod operates out of Barnstable Municipal Airport and Provincetown Municipal Airport. Several bus lines service the Cape. There are ferry connections from Boston to Provincetown, as well as from Hyannis and Woods Hole to the islands.

 

Cape Cod has a public transportation network comprising buses operated by three different companies, a rail line, taxis and paratransit services.

The Bourne Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal, with the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge in the background

[edit] Bus

 

Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority operates a year-round public bus system comprising three long distance routes and a local bus in Hyannis and Barnstable Village. From mid June until October, additional local routes are added in Falmouth and Provincetown. CCRTA also operates Barnstable County's ADA required paratransit (dial-a-ride) service, under the name "B-Bus."

 

Long distance bus service is available through Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway, with regular service to Boston and Logan Airport, as well as less frequent service to Provincetown. Peter Pan Bus Lines also runs long distance service to Providence T.F. Green Airport and New York City.

[edit] Rail

 

Regular passenger rail service through Cape Cod ended in 1959, quite possibly on June 30 of that year. In 1978, the tracks east of South Dennis were abandoned and replaced with the very popular bicycle path, known as the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Another bike path, the Shining Sea Bikeway, was built over tracks between Woods Hole and Falmouth in 1975; construction to extend this path to North Falmouth over 6.3 miles (10.1 km) of inactive rail bed began in April 2008[23] and ended in early 2009. Active freight service remains in the Upper Cape area in Sandwich and in Bourne, largely due to a trash transfer station located at Massachusetts Military Reservation along the Bourne-Falmouth rail line. In 1986, Amtrak ran a seasonal service in the summer from New York City to Hyannis called the Cape Codder. From 1988, Amtrak and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation increased service to a daily frequency.[24] Since its demise in 1996, there have been periodic discussions about reinstating passenger rail service from Boston to reduce car traffic to and from the Cape, with officials in Bourne seeking to re-extend MBTA Commuter Rail service from Middleboro to Buzzards Bay[25], despite a reluctant Beacon Hill legislature.

 

Cape Cod Central Railroad operates passenger train service on Cape Cod. The service is primarily tourist oriented and includes a dinner train. The scenic route between Downtown Hyannis and the Cape Cod Canal is about 2½ hours round trip. Massachusetts Coastal Railroad is also planning to return passenger railroad services eventually to the Bourne-Falmouth rail line in the future. An August 5, 2009 article on the New England Cable News channel, entitled South Coast rail project a priority for Mass. lawmakers, mentions a $1.4-billion railroad reconstruction plan by Governor Deval Patrick, and could mean rebuilding of old rail lines on the Cape. On November 21, 2009, the town of Falmouth saw its first passenger train in 12 years, a set of dinner train cars from Cape Cod Central. And a trip from the Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts on May 15, 2010 revealed a second trip along the Falmouth line.

[edit] Taxi

 

Taxicabs are plentiful, with several different companies operating out of different parts of the Cape. Except at the airport and some bus terminals with taxi stands, cabs must be booked ahead of time, with most operators preferring two to three hours notice. Cabs cannot be "hailed" anywhere in Barnstable County, this was outlawed in the early nineties after several robbery attempts on drivers.

 

Most companies utilize a New York City-style taximeter and charge based on distance plus an initial fee of $2 to $3. In Provincetown, cabs charge a flat fare per person anywhere in the town.

[edit] Tourism

Hyannis Harbor on Nantucket Sound

 

Although Cape Cod has a year-round population of about 230,000, it experiences a tourist season each summer, the beginning and end of which can be roughly approximated as Memorial Day and Labor Day, respectively. Many businesses are specifically targeted to summer visitors, and close during the eight to nine months of the "off season" (although the "on season" has been expanding somewhat in recent years due to Indian Summer, reduced lodging rates, and the number of people visiting the Cape after Labor Day who either have no school-age children, and the elderly, reducing the true "off season" to six or seven months). In the late 20th century, tourists and owners of second homes began visiting the Cape more and more in the spring and fall, softening the definition of the high season and expanding it somewhat (see above). Some particularly well-known Cape products and industries include cranberries, shellfish (particularly oysters and clams) and lobstering.

 

Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, also berths several whale watching fleets who patrol the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Most fleets guarantee a whale sighting (mostly humpback whale, fin whale, minke whale, sei whale, and critically endangered, the North Atlantic Right Whale), and one is the only federally certified operation qualified to rescue whales. Provincetown has also long been known as an art colony, attracting writers and artists. The town is home to the Cape's most attended art museum, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. Many hotels and resorts are friendly to or cater to gay and lesbian tourists and it is known as a gay mecca in the summer.[26]

 

Cape Cod is a popular destination for beachgoers from all over. With 559.6 miles (900.6 km) of coastline, beaches, both public and private, are easily accessible. The Cape has upwards of sixty public beaches, many of which offer parking for non-residents for a daily fee (in summer). The Cape Cod National Seashore has 40 miles (64 km) of sandy beach and many walking paths.

 

Cape Cod is also popular for its outdoor activities like beach walking, biking, boating, fishing, go-karts, golfing, kayaking, miniature golf, and unique shopping. There are 27 public, daily-fee golf courses and 15 private courses on Cape Cod.[27] Bed and breakfasts or vacation houses are often used for lodging.

 

Each summer the Naukabout Music Festival is held at the Barnstable County Fair Grounds located in East Falmouth,(typically) during the first weekend of August. This Music festival features local, regional and national talent along with food, arts and family friendly activities.

[edit] Sport fishing

 

Cape Cod is known around the world as a spring-to-fall destination for sport anglers. Among the species most widely pursued are striped bass, bluefish, bluefin tuna, false albacore (little tunny), bonito, tautog, flounder and fluke. The Cape Cod Bay side of the Cape, from Sandwich to Provincetown, has several harbors, saltwater creeks, and shoals that hold bait fish and attract the larger game fish, such as striped bass, bluefish and bluefin tuna.

 

The outer edge of the Cape, from Provincetown to Falmouth, faces the open Atlantic from Provincetown to Chatham, and then the more protected water of Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds, from Chatham to Falmouth. The bays, harbors and shoals along this coastline also provide a robust habitat for game species, and during the late summer months warm-water species such as mahi-mahi and marlin will also appear on the southern edge of Cape Cod's waters. Nearly every harbor on Cape Cod hosts sport fishing charter boats, which run from May through October.[28]

[edit] Sports

 

The Cape has nine amateur baseball franchises playing within Barnstable County in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Wareham Gatemen also play in the Cape Cod Baseball League in nearby Wareham, Massachusetts in Plymouth County. The league originated 1923, although intertown competition traces to 1866. Teams in the league are the Bourne Braves, Brewster Whitecaps, Chatham Anglers (formerly the Chatham Athletics), Cotuit Kettleers, Falmouth Commodores, Harwich Mariners, Hyannis Harbor Hawks (formerly the Hyannis Mets), Orleans Firebirds (formerly the Orleans Cardinals), Wareham Gatemen and the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Pro ball scouts frequent the games in the summer, looking for stars of the future.

 

Cape Cod is also a national hot bed for baseball and hockey. Along with the Cape Cod Baseball League and the new Junior Hockey League team, the Cape Cod Cubs, many high school players are being seriously recruited as well. Barnstable and Harwich have each sent multiple players to Division 1 colleges for baseball, Harwich has also won three State titles in the past 12 years (1996, 2006, 2007). Bourne and Sandwich, known rivals in hockey have won state championships recently. Bourne in 2004, and Sandwich in 2007. Nauset, Barnstable, and Martha's Vineyard are also state hockey powerhouses. Barnstable and Falmouth also hold the title of having one of the longest Thanksgiving football rivalries in the country. The teams have played each other every year on the Thanksgiving since 1895. The Bourne and Barnstable girl's volleyball teams are two of the best teams in the state and Barnstable in the country. With Bourne winning the State title in 2003 and 2007. In the past 15 years, Barnstable has won 12 Division 1 State titles and has won the state title the past two years.

 

The Cape also is home to the Cape Cod Frenzy, a team in the American Basketball Association.

 

Soccer on Cape Cod is represented by the Cape Cod Crusaders, playing in the USL Premier Development League (PDL) soccer based in Hyannis. In addition, a summer Cape Cod Adult Soccer League (CCASL) is active in several towns on the Cape.

 

Cape Cod is also the home of the Cape Cod Cubs, a new junior league hockey team that is based out of Hyannis at the new communtiy center being built of Bearses Way.

 

The end of each summer is marked with the running of the world famous Falmouth Road Race which is held on the 3rd Saturday in August. It draws about 10,000 runners to the Cape and showcases the finest runners in the world (mainly for the large purse that the race is able to offer). The race is 7.2 miles (11.6 km) long, which is a non-standard distance. The reason for the unusual distance is that the man who thought the race up (Tommy Leonard) was a bartender who wanted a race along the coast from one bar (The Cap'n Kidd in Woods Hole) to another (The Brothers Four in Falmouth Heights). While the bar in Falmouth Heights is no longer there, the race still starts at the front door of the Cap'n Kidd in Woods Hole and now finishes at the beach in Falmouth Heights. Prior to the Falmouth race is an annual 5-mile (8.0 km) race through Brewster called the Brew Run, held early in August.

[edit] Education

 

Each town usually consists of a few elementary schools, one or two middle schools and one large public high school that services the entire town. Exceptions to this include Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School located in Yarmouth which services both the town of Yarmouth as well as Dennis and Nauset Regional High School located in Eastham which services the town of Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown (optional). Bourne High School is the public school for students residing in the town of Bourne, which is gathered from villages in Bourne, including Sagamore, Sagamore Beach, and Buzzards Bay. Barnstable High School is the largest high school and is known for its girls' volleyball team which have been state champions a total of 12 times. Barnstable High School also boasts one of the country's best high school drama clubs which were awarded with a contract by Warner Brothers to created a documentary in webisode format based on their production of Wizard of Oz. Sturgis Charter Public School is a public school in Hyannis which was featured in Newsweek's Magazine's "Best High Schools" ranking. It ranked 28th in the country and 1st in the state of Massachusetts in the 2009 edition and ranked 43rd and 55th in the 2008 and 2007 edition, respectively. Sturgis offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in their junior and senior year and is open to students as far as Plymouth. The Cape also contains two vocational high schools. One is the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School in Harwich and the other is Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School located in Bourne. Lastly, Mashpee High School is home to the Mashpee Chapter of (SMPTE,) the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. This chapter is the first and only high school chapter in the world to be a part of this organization and has received much recognition within the Los Angeles broadcasting industry as a result. The officers of this group who have made history are listed below:

 

* President: Ryan D. Stanley '11

* Vice-President Kenneth J. Peters '13

* Treasurer Eric N. Bergquist '11

* Secretary Andrew L. Medlar '11

 

In addition to public schools, Cape Cod has a wide range of private schools. The town of Barnstable has Trinity Christian Academy, Cape Cod Academy, St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, and Pope John Paul II High School. Bourne offers the Waldorf School of Cape Cod, Orleans offers the Lighthouse Charter School for elementary and middle school students, and Falmouth offers Falmouth Academy. Riverview School is located in East Sandwich and is a special co-ed boarding school which services students as old as 22 who have learning disabilities. Another specialized school is the Penikese Island School located on Penikese Island, part of the Elizabeth Islands off southwestern Cape Cod, which services struggling and troubled teenage boys.

 

Cape Cod also contains two institutions of higher education. One is the Cape Cod Community College located in West Barnstable, Barnstable. The other is Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Bourne. Massachusetts Maritime Academy is the oldest continuously operating maritime college in the United States.

[edit] Islands off Cape Cod

 

Like Cape Cod itself, the islands south of the Cape have evolved from whaling and trading areas to resort destinations, attracting wealthy families, celebrities, and other tourists. The islands include Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, as well as Forbes family-owned Naushon Island, which was purchased by John Murray Forbes with profits from opium dealing in the China trade during the Opium War. Naushon is one of the Elizabeth Islands, many of which are privately owned. One of the publicly accessible Elizabeths is the southernmost island in the chain, Cuttyhunk, with a year-round population of 52 people. Several prominent families have established compounds or estates on the larger islands, making these islands some of the wealthiest resorts in the Northeast, yet they retain much of the early merchant trading and whaling culture.

Excerpt from www.discoverhongkong.com/ca/explore/discover-sha-tau-kok....:

 

Located in Hong Kong’s North District and right next to Shenzhen’s Yantian District, Sha Tau Kok was designated as part of the Frontier Closed Area in 1951. Since then, Sha Tau Kok has been accessible only to individuals with a closed area permit. Back in the days when Sha Tau Kok was closed to non-residents, visiting the border town also required a guarantee from a local resident. As it begins to open gradually, Sha Tau Kok has become a great choice for weekend getaways.

 

The first phase of the opening of Sha Tau Kok began in June 2022, followed by the second phase starting January 2024. Visitors can board a kaito ferry to explore Sha Tau Kok and enjoy the area’s beautiful scenery, unique attractions and local delicacies, either independently or through local tours. You can also take a ferry to nearby islands and areas, such as Lai Chi Wo, Kat O, Ap Chau and Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark.

 

The opening of Sha Tau Kok

•The daily quota of visitors with the Tourism Closed Area Permit is set at 2,300 individuals, and 700 group visitors on weekends and public holidays. There is no quota limit for groups on weekdays.

•Individual travellers must enter Sha Tau Kok by public transport, with the addition of ferry services to Sha Tau Kok from Lai Chi Wo/Ap Chau/Kat O. Private cars are NOT allowed.

•Area: Sha Tau Kok (excluding Chung Ying Street).

•Opening hours: Every day from 7am to 9pm.

À 20 minutes de Rouen, le Centre d’art contemporain de la Matmut - Daniel Havis propose 4 expositions par an d’artistes d’envergure nationale et internationale.

Avec la volonté de rendre accessible l’art et la culture au public le plus large, le Groupe Matmut développe depuis plusieurs années une politique d'action culturelle dynamique, notamment grâce au centre d'art. Elle accompagne et cherche à promouvoir des artistes et structures dans leur démarche de création et de diffusion. Chaque exposition de trois mois environ est accompagnée d’une édition et d’une programmation culturelle (visites commentées, ateliers pour enfants et scolaires, partenariats avec différentes structures, événements) à destination des petits et des grands.

À l’intérieur d’un château néo-Louis XIII du XIXème siècle, le Centre d’art contemporain - Daniel Havis vous invite à découvrir l’histoire et l’architecture de ce lieu. Vous pourrez ainsi apprécier à l’extérieur l’ouvrage de l’architecte Lucien Lefort, les ferronneries de Ferdinand Marrou ou la taille de pierre d’Edmond Bonet. Le château de style néo-classique arbore fièrement sur son fronton la devise « Omnia pro arte » (Tout pour l’art) inscrite par son bâtisseur Gaston Le Breton et aujourd’hui plus que jamais vivante grâce au Groupe Matmut.

Le château se situe dans un parc de 6 hectares avec des univers différents qui évoluent au rythme des saisons : jardin à la française, jardin japonais, jardin de l’Evolution, jardin du Dédale, arboretum, la roseraie, le tout peuplé de sculptures monumentales de célèbres artistes (Peter Briggs, Norman Dilworth, Quentin Garel, Vera Molnar...).

 

20 minutes from Rouen, the Matmut Contemporary Art Center - Daniel Havis offers 4 exhibitions per year by artists of national and international stature.

With the aim of making art and culture accessible to the widest possible audience, the Matmut Group has been developing a dynamic cultural action policy for several years, particularly through the art center. It supports and seeks to promote artists and organizations in their creative and dissemination efforts. Each exhibition of approximately three months is accompanied by an edition and a cultural program (guided tours, workshops for children and schools, partnerships with different organizations, events) for young and old.

Inside a 19th century neo-Louis XIII castle, the Contemporary Art Center - Daniel Havis invites you to discover the history and architecture of this place. Outside, you can appreciate the work of the architect Lucien Lefort, the ironwork of Ferdinand Marrou or the stone cutting of Edmond Bonet. The neoclassical style castle proudly displays on its pediment the motto "Omnia pro arte" (Everything for art) inscribed by its builder Gaston Le Breton and today more alive than ever thanks to the Matmut Group. The castle is located in a 6-hectare park with different universes that evolve with the seasons: French garden, Japanese garden, Evolution garden, Dédale garden, arboretum, rose garden, all populated with monumental sculptures by famous artists (Peter Briggs, Norman Dilworth, Quentin Garel, Vera Molnar...).

Two cats and a dog ago, we went to Quadra Island. It's one of those uber-West Coast places Mike and I like so much... easily accessible, close to civilization and yet... once you're there... a world unto itself.

 

We had our time, did our thing, explored forests, farms, beaches... laughed at our cats getting wild in the woods. And then caught the ferry back to the big island.

 

It was late fall. November I think. Storm season. And we had a massive storm.

 

The ferry couldn't dock. It turned back eventually. But only after an hour or so of trying trying trying.

 

During that hour.... as the ferry rose and fell... and rocked and swayed and heaved and rolled and nearly overturned... as our poor little girl cat barfed in the backseat... we saw the world differently.

 

On the crests of waves, we had an almost aerial view of Campbell River (the town where the ferry docks) - high high above it all. Deep in the troughs, we were so far down we could only see the concrete and timbers that support the dock... the part that's normally well submerged and should definitely not be at human-eye level.

 

On those crests, it felt like we could soar straight home - or anywhere, for that matter.

 

In the troughs, it felt as though the ocean would swallow us; as though we'd never see the sky or land again.

 

I think I'm in a trough, photographically. I just can't get it up, you know? I look at other people's pics... They snap and leap and sparkle. Then I look at mine. Dull dull dull. Boring. Quotidian. Flat. Featureless. Lifeless. Grey. Completely uninteresting.

 

That's okay. It's probably a phase. Something to be gotten through. I'll just keep on trudging the path and see what might be waiting up ahead. If you don't hear from me, I may be lost. And that's okay too.

 

67019 lead 1Z15 Acton Canal Wharf to Bournemouth (67013 rear) test train past Holton Bay on 3rd April 2006. This spot was accessible via an old railway bridge that served the old Royal Naval Cordite Factory at the site. This bridge was demolished so it's possible that this spot is now cut off.

 

67019 was stored in March 2015 and believed to have been broken up at Kingsbury in 2025.

  

Mamiya 645 Scan

© Neil Higson

Italien / Südtirol - Pralongià

 

Pralongià High Plateau

 

The flower meadows of the Pralongià, the “Amphitheatre of the Dolomites”, are accessible by funicular from Corvara.

 

Between Corvara, La Villa and San Cassiano there’s a special natural highlight at 2,100 m a.s.l. - the Pralongià High Plateau known as the “Amphitheatre of the Dolomites” for the stunning panoramic views it offers: it includes the Fanes Group with Mt. Piz Cunturines, the Puez Group with Mt. Sassongher and the mighty glacier of Mt. Marmolada. In between there’s the homonymous mountain hut (2,157 m a.s.l.), dating back to 1932, which also offers overnight stays.

 

The high plateau invites both in summer and winter to beautiful snowshoe tours, MTB rides and hikes: the Alta Badia High Route (6 days) as well as the Dolomite High Route no. 9 pass here. From the wide and easy paths of the highland you can ascend to the peak of Mt. Piz Sorega, the Col Alto and the Piz la Ila. The Pralongià High Plateau is accessible by the homonymous funicular (2 sections) starting near the Alta Badia Golf Club in Corvara.

 

(alta-badia.org)

 

Hochebene des Pralongià

 

Die Blumenwiesen der Pralongià, das “Amphitheater der Dolomiten”, sind von Corvara aus mit der Seilbahn erreichbar.

 

Zwischen Corvara, Stern (La Villa) und St. Kassian befindet sich auf rund 2.100 m Meereshöhe ein ganz besonderes Ausflugsziel: das “Amphitheater der Dolomiten”. Die wunderschöne Hochebene des Pralongià bietet einen Rundumblick auf die majestätischen Gipfel der Dolomiten, u.a. auf die Fanesgruppe mit der Cunturinesspitze, auf die Puezgruppe mit dem Sassongher und auf den beeindruckenden Gletscher der Marmolata. Mitten auf dem Hochplateau befindet sich seit 1932 die gleichnamige Schutzhütte (2.157 m ü.d.M.), die auch Übernachtungen anbietet.

 

Die Pralongià-Hochebene lädt Sommer wie Winter zu ausgedehnten Schneeschuh-Touren, MTB-Touren und Wanderungen ein: Hier führt der Alta Badia Höhenweg (6 Tage) und der Dolomiten Höhenweg Nr. 9 vorbei. Von den breiten und leichten Wegen der Hochebene aus geht es zudem weiter zum Gipfel des Piz Sorega, zum Col Alto und Piz la Ila. Erreichbar ist Pralongià mit der gleichnamigen Seilbahn (2 Sektionen), die nahe des Golfplatzes in Corvara startet.

 

(alta-badia.org)

Tanah Lot is located along a scenic coastline of Bali in Indonesia with the temple accessible only during low tide. Stroll along the beach to visit the temple and have dinner in a nearby restaurant with a fabulous view of the setting sun.

Grand Canyon, Blackheath,

Blue Mountains, Australia.

 

I read on the internet that the Grand Canyon was going to be closed for a long period of time for maintenance.

So I headed down from Evans Lookout late in the arvo for a photoshoot.

The plan was to head off-track into the canyon slot and also scramble down to Beauchamp Falls.

The main part of the canyon is quite stunning and one of the few canyons in the Blue Mountains that is accessible without abseiling gear.

 

At the bottom of the descent from Evans Lookout, the Grand Canyon track heads right, but if you detour to the left, the track takes you to Beauchamp Falls.

Since the landslide happened a few years ago, this part of the Rodriguez Pass track is quite a rough scramble with some exposure.

There is also a nice campsite before the descent to the falls, and a great camping cave which I’ve used in the past - no tent required.

 

Where the main canyon track starts to climb out towards Neates Glen, its possible to scramble down into the canyon slot for about 20mins until you hit a deep pool.

There is the remnants of an the track, but its also necessary to get your feet wet in the canyon slot, also known as The Cathedral.

I don’t understand why this part of the track has not been maintained and has been removed from the walk as its one of the most beautiful parts of the canyon.

Nowadays, the only people that get to see it are canyoners.

 

I spent quite a bit of time in The Cathedral area taking photos, so unfortunately ran out of time for Beauchamp Falls.

It started to get dark while I was still in the canyon, so the time had come to make the steep climb back up to Evans Lookout.

As I head up thru the rainforest into a narrow gully, I was greeted by an amazing & magical light display.

The walls of the gully were lit up by a myriad of glow-worms and I felt like I was on the set of a Lord of The Rings film.

I switched my head-torch off and allowed my night vision to kick-in, and picked my way along the track slowly, taking the surreal experience in.

 

After about few minutes, I got a little careless, and was paying too much attention to the light display, and not enough to where I walking.

I ended up going for a bit of a tumble and slid a few metres down an embankment off the side of the track.

I dusted myself off and continued up thru the gully, until it got so dark that it was time to switch the head-torch back on.

To my horror, I discovered that the headlamp slipped off my beanie during my fall.

So I had to descend back down to try to find it.

I used my tripod to feel for the ground and steps just like a blind man.

I was hoping that I’d recognise where my fall happened.

I had a long ascent in front of me & it would’ve been quite dangerous in the dark.

I found what looked like the spot, and switched my iPhone on to light the area.

The phone didn’t have enough charge to last the walkout.

There was no sign of the headlamp and a mild panic started to creep in.

Eventually to my relief I found it nestled in some ferns. Phew!!

 

Feeling a lot more relaxed I climbed slowly back up to the lookout and to my car.

My thoughts now turned to a nice meal washed down with a cold beer!

A view of conception bay from Bristol's Hope / Hr. Grace, NFLD. It was a very nice day for November, with a few showers moving in as the day progressed. This location is accessible by a couple of trails, and it is easy to enjoy this scene on your own.

Os Passadiços de Vizela oferecem um percurso pedonal linear de aproximadamente 5,5 a 6 quilómetros (11 a 12 km, ida e volta) ao longo do rio Vizela, ligando a Ponte Romana à Cascata de Rompecias. A estrutura de madeira, acessível a todos e com iluminação LED, integra-se na paisagem, atravessando zonas urbanas, rurais e florestais, incluindo o Parque das Termas. Este projeto, de dificuldade fácil, visa a valorização do património natural e paisagístico, inserindo-se numa iniciativa mais vasta de criação de ecovias na região. A arquitetura dos passadiços proporciona uma experiência imersiva na natureza, promovendo o contacto com a biodiversidade local e a preservação do ecossistema ribeirinho, permitindo o usufruto sustentável do espaço sem prejudicar o ambiente.

 

The Vizela Footbridges offer a linear pedestrian route of approximately 5.5 to 6 kilometers (11 to 12 km, round trip) along the Vizela River, connecting the Roman Bridge to the Rompecias Waterfall. The wooden structure, accessible to all and with LED lighting, is integrated into the landscape, crossing urban, rural and forest areas, including the Parque das Termas. This project, of easy difficulty, aims to enhance the natural and landscape heritage, being part of a broader initiative to create eco-routes in the region. The architecture of the walkways provides an immersive experience in nature, promoting contact with local biodiversity and the preservation of the riverside ecosystem, allowing the sustainable use of the space without harming the environment.

This sign is close to the edge of the car park and to the coastal path at Senhouse Roman Museum. The fort here was set at the Western edge of Hadrian’s Wall. The path of the wall today is taken as running from Wallsend, Tyne and Wear in the East to Bowness-on-Solway, Cumbria. Alauna, or Senhouse was the location for a fort and civilian town at a strategic cliff and port to ensure that troops, travellers, traders and even tourists could not out flank Hadrian’s Wall across the mud flats and tidal river mouth.

 

If you have a chance to see this sign and to visit the museum and the Promenade that stretches out along Hadrian’s Cycleway all on wheelchair accessible paths then do enjoy the amazing museum and the natural wonders around the visible Roman fort and town that is still being excavated and studied as well as Mary Port that is still home to many people to this day.

 

The starry night backdrop is a Photoshop addition that I have edited rather dramatically.

 

© PHH Sykes 2023

phhsykes@gmail.com

  

Senhouse Roman Museum

www.senhousemuseum.co.uk/

 

2 Bloor Street East

Toronto, ON

Located in the heart of the city, the Hudson's Bay Centre sits at the intersection of business and pleasure in midtown Toronto.

The Hudson's Bay Centre comprises a 535,000 square foot office tower at 2 Bloor Street East, The Bay department store, Marriott Hotel, apartments, condominiums and an extensive retail concourse with a variety of retail shops and services. Directly above the intersection of two subway lines at the corner of Yonge and Bloor Streets and in close proximity to the Don Valley Expressway, HBC offers excellent accessibility.

This accessibility coupled with the dynamic surroundings of the Bloor-Yorkville shopping and entertainment district makes the Hudson's Bay Centre a favoured destination for office tenants seeking modern office space in a leading edge location. The area is home to creative industry firms like software development, media and advertising as well as more traditional banking and insurance companies who have recognized the area's unique character.

 

Taken on 17 November 2017 and uploaded 20 January 2025.

 

Shot from the Tilbury landing stage on my way back to Gravesend via the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry...

 

Kotug Smit tugs used to moor on the west end of the landing stage (Boluda tugs, now) while the ferry and Port Of London Authority vessels used the other end: the landing stage is a large pontoon (or array of pontoons...) with a wood surface, light fencing and bollards. It's no longer accessible since the ferry service ended and I don't know if Tilbury residents can use it. At the time I took this, while much of the area was used for parking cars, you could wander around the east part of it at will. The area housing the Cruise Terminal was always barred as it was 'bonded' or whatever the term is !

 

[DSC_3011g]

photo rights reserved by B℮n

 

Auttiköngäs is one of the best places to visit in Rovaniemi for nature lovers. From dense forests to spectacular waterfalls, this area boasts breathtaking beauty. Auttiköngäs is a perfect destination for a day out. Here stands a rocky observation tower that offers a stunning view of the surroundings, including a beautiful winter's vista over the snow-capped peaks. The Kuusamontie Nature Tower is located 70 km east of Rovaniemi. The main attraction of the area is the 16-meter-high Auttiköngäs waterfalls. The forest in the Auttiköngäs area is so ancient that it can be considered a primary or pristine forest. The massive nature tower sits atop the rocky peak along the Auttiköngäs Nature Trail, 200 m above sea level. Accessible via a staircase and a platform, you can reach the observation deck. The tower is roofed and surrounded by a stunning ancient forest atop a hill, offering a magnificent view of the surrounding hills and the snow-capped peaks. Tables and benches are placed beside the nature tower. The location is equipped with a campfire pit, benches, a woodshed, and an annex. The annex features a natural stone fireplace, perfect for roasting sausages and brewing coffee. It also includes a large table and benches. Firewood is available in the nearby woodshed.

 

Auttiköngäs is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Finland, surrounded by the tranquility of the taiga forest. The Auttikönkä nature trail takes you over the waterfall, into the primeval forest, and towards the rocks. An interesting and diverse nature trail begins on the premises of the wooden café-restaurant Pirttikahvila. The popular Auttikönkää nature trail can be traversed on foot even in winter. Please be aware that especially stairs and hills can be very slippery, as there is no winter maintenance on the route. Photo of BieJee walking towards the Kuusamontie observation deck.

 

Auttiköngäs is een van de beste plaatsen om te bezoeken in Rovaniemi voor natuurliefhebbers. Van dichtbegroeide bossen tot spectaculaire watervallen: dit gebied herbergt adembenemende schoonheid. Auttiköngäs is een perfecte bestemming voor een dagje uit. Hier staat een rotsachtige uitkijktoren die een prachtig uitzicht biedt op de omgeving, inclusief een prachtig winter's uitzicht over de besneeuwde toppen. De Kuusamontie-natuurtoren ligt 70 km ten oosten van Rovaniemi. De belangrijkste attractie van het gebied zijn de 16 meter hoge Auttiköngäs-watervallen. Het bos in het Auttiköngäs-gebied is zo oud dat het als primair of ongerept bos kan worden beschouwd. De enorme natuurtoren staat op de rotsachtige top langs het Auttiköngäs-natuurpad, 200 m boven zeeniveau. Via een trap en een tussenplatform bereikt u het observatiedek. De toren heeft een dak en is omgeven door een prachtig oud bos op een heuveltop, met een schitterend uitzicht over de omliggende heuvels en de besneeuwde toppen. Er zijn een tafel en banken naast de natuurtoren geplaatst. De locatie is uitgerust met een kampvuurplaats, banken, een houtschuur en een bijgebouw. Het bijgebouw heeft een natuurstenen schouw, perfect voor het braden van worstjes en het zetten van koffie. Het beschikt ook over een grote tafel en banken. Brandhout is beschikbaar in de nabijgelegen houtschuur.

Not sure if it was me or the rays from the sinking sun that was doing most of the dancing. The sea was lively and I had to dodge some significant 'splashes'. Managed to avoid a soaking though. Lovely to finally get out for a few minutes!

 

Portwrinkle is a small coastal village in south-east Cornwall. It is at the western end of Whitsand Bay. It was traditionally a fishing village and the old 17th century walls of the pilchard cellars are still standing, although they have been incorporated into housing. The village has two beaches that are accessible from it, one of which has a harbour.

www.visitcheshire.com/things-to-do/walks-for-all-ashtons-...

 

Off the Old Warrington Road, Northwich, Cheshire, CW9 5LH

 

About Us

 

Grade: Easy

Distance: 3.5 km-5km/2-3miles

Time: 1-2 hours

Start; Off the Old Warrington Road

Map: OS Explorer 267

Terrain: Easily accessible

 

These reclaimed lime beds provide an excellent area for short walks and bird watching.

 

The industrial past of the area creates unique conditions that allow many unusual species to thrive. The presence of salt has enabled many seaside plants to establish and the recently used lime beds provide ideal conditions for the rare Dingy skipper butterfly.

 

There is a choice of small/ large circular walk or figure of eight combination. There are several bench and resting points around the site and two wheelchair accessible bird hides.

 

Further paths lead to other parts of the Northwich Woodlands, but these often have more uneven surfaces and gradients greater than 1:10.

  

Visitor Information

  

The site can be accessed from the Old Warrington Road; secondary access is from the lay-by on the B5705.

 

There are no toilet or refreshment facilities on site but these are available in the nearby Northwich town centre.

 

Car parking is free, open from 9.00am-8.00pm (summer), 9.00am-5.00pm (winter). There are no dedicated disabled parking bays and vehicle height restrictions of 2.2m apply.

 

Taken on Sunday, October 21, 2018 during a quick "escape" from Athens with my wife Theresa Jane Brown to visit friends.

 

LIMNI - ΛΙΜΝΗ

Limni, on the island of Evia, is a small port, beach and tourist resort, which is beautiful the whole year round. It is located 80 km NW of Chalkida and about 150 km from Athens.

 

The island of Evia lies along the Eastern coast of Central Greece, and is accessible to the mainland via two bridges, an old wooden bridge and a contemporary suspension bridge. There are also frequent ferries to several parts of the island. It is 175 km long and is the second largest island in Greece, and the third largest in the Eastern Mediterranean.

 

Thanassis Fournarakos - Θανάσης Φουρναράκος

Professional Photographer, Athens, Greece

(retired in 2011, born in 1946).

 

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

None of my images may be downloaded, copied, reproduced, manipulated or used on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission. THANK YOU!

 

This photograph has achieved the following highest awards:

* THE GALAXY - HALL OF FAME

* THE GALAXY STARS - HALL OF FAME

Antelope Canyon is a popular location for photographers and sightseers, and a source of tourism business for the Navajo Nation. Private tour companies have been permitted to offer tours since 1987. It has been accessible by tour only since 1997, when the Navajo Tribe made it a Navajo Tribal Park. Photography within the canyons is difficult due to the wide exposure range (often 10 EV or more) made by light reflecting off the canyon walls.

.

Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, "the place where water runs through rocks" by the Navajo. It is the most frequently visited by tourists for two reasons. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams (shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings in the top of the canyon) are much more common in Upper than in Lower. Beams occur most often in the summer months, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Winter colors are a little more muted like the photo displayed here. Summer months provide two types of lighting. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 20 and disappear October 7 each year.

Ephesus was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital, by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the Ionian League. The city came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC. Today, the ruins of Ephesus are a favorite international and local tourist attraction, being accessible from Adnan Menderes Airport and from the resort town Kuşadası. In 2015, the ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Source: Wikipedia)