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Ouse Valley Viaduct

by skyadmin December 7, 2021 in Photo Blog0 commentstags: england, heritage, railway, sussex, viaduct
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The Ouse Valley Viaduct (or the Balcombe Viaduct) carries the London-Brighton Railway Line over the River Ouse in Sussex. It is located to the north of Haywards Heath and to the south of Balcombe. Known for its ornate design, the structure has been described as “probably the most elegant viaduct in Britain.” Construction of the Ouse Valley Viaduct commenced by the London & Brighton Railway company during 1839. It was designed by the principal engineer for the line, John Urpeth Rastrick, in association with the architect of the London to Brighton railway, David Mocatta. The viaduct is 96 feet (29 m) high and is carried on 37 semi-circular arches, each of 30 feet (9.1 m), surmounted by balustrades, spanning a total length of 1,480 feet (450 m). Each pier contains a jack arch with a semi-circular soffit, which had the benefit of reducing the number of bricks required. The roughly 11 million bricks required for its construction were mostly shipped up the River Ouse (via Newhaven and Lewes) from the Netherlands. On 12 July 1841, the viaduct was officially opened to train services, although the structure was not fully completed until the following year. I have another shot of part of this railway line here.

Lewes

by skyadmin November 29, 2021 in Photo Blogtags: boat, cliffs, england, river, sussex, town, tunnel
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Lewes (/ˈluːɪs/) is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of the Lewes local government district and the seat of East Sussex County Council at East Sussex County Hall. A traditional market town and centre of communications, in 1264 it was the site of the Battle of Lewes. The town’s landmarks include Lewes Castle, Lewes Priory, Bull House (the former home of Thomas Paine), Southover Grange and public gardens, and a 16th-century timber-framed Wealden hall house known as Anne of Cleves House. Other notable features of the area include the Glyndebourne festival, the Lewes Bonfire celebrations and the Lewes Pound. I took this photo from the side of the golf course to get the view of the tunnel going through the cliff.

Clayton Tunnel

by skyadmin November 13, 2021 in Photo Blog0 commentstags: castle, england, heritage, railway, sussex, tunnel
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Clayton Tunnel is a railway tunnel located near the village of Clayton, West Sussex between Hassocks and Preston Park railway stations on the Brighton Main Line. This tunnel is notable for its turreted and castellated north portal with a single-storey cottage on the top, as well as for being the site of a serious accident in 1861 which was influential in the adoption of a robust signalling system in the UK and elsewhere. At 1 mile 499 yards (2,066 m) the Sussex Clayton Tunnel is the longest tunnel on the route. Construction of the tunnel commenced during 1839, although aspects of its design weren’t approved until 1 October 1840. The accomplished tunnel builder William Hoof was the prime contractor on its construction; Clayton Tunnel was completed in 1841 after three years of work. I took this shot by walking down the track and flying over a hedge as otherwise it would not be possible to get the angle.

Beachy Head Lighthouse

by skyadmin September 21, 2021 in Photo Blog0 commentstags: cliffs, coast, heritage, lighthouse, sussex
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St Andrew’s Church, Alfriston

by skyadmin September 20, 2021 in Photo Blog0 commentstags: church, england, sussex
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St Andrew’s Church is the parish church of Alfriston, East Sussex, England. This Grade I listed building was built in the 1370s and is also known as the ‘Cathedral of the Downs‘. It sits on a small, flint-walled mound, indicating that it was the site of a pre-Christian place of worship, in the middle of ‘the Tye’ (the local village green), overlooking the River Cuckmere, and is surrounded by the flowered graveyard. It is built in the form of a Greek cross. I took this shot on a Sunday from the village green after the daily service.

Seven sisters Cliffs

by skyadmin September 17, 2021 in Photo Blog0 commentstags: cliffs, coast, england, sussex
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The Seven Sisters cliffs are a series of chalk cliffs by the English Channel. They form part of the South Downs in East Sussex, between the towns of Seaford and Eastbourne in southern England. They are within the South Downs National Park which is bounded by the coast, the Cuckmere and the A259 road. They are the remnants of dry valleys in the chalk South Downs, which are gradually being eroded by the sea. I took this photo of Seven Sisters cliffs during a storm, you can see that the sea as turning chalk white as the waves batter the cliffs. I have another photo of nearby Beachy Head here and it lighthouse.

DuckWeed

by skyadmin September 15, 2021 in Photo Blog0 commentstags: canal, england, sussex
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Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweed, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Also known as bayroot, they arose from within the arum or aroid family (Araceae), so often are classified as the subfamily Lemnoideae within the family Araceae. Other classifications, particularly those created prior to the end of the twentieth century, place them as a separate family, Lemnaceae. I shot this on Chicester canal, I was surprised the ducks could move at all as there was so much weed.

Beachy Head

by skyadmin September 12, 2021 in Photo Blog0 commentstags: cliffs, coast, england, lighthouse, sussex
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Beachy Head is located within the administrative area of Eastbourne Borough Council which owns the land, forming part of the Eastbourne Downland Estate. The cliff is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 metres (531 ft) above sea level. The peak allows views of the south east coast towards Dungeness in the east, and to the Isle of Wight in the west. Its height has also made it one of the most common suicide spots in the world. I shot this photo 1 minute before a storm hit Beachy Head, you can see the approaching storm cloud dropping it’s rain in the distance. There is a another close up of the lighthouse here and of nearby seven sisters here.
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