A trip to the seaside and forest

I took a trip this morning to the beach, Lepe to be precise. I know a little place where I can park up for free (if there is room, only space for 3 or 4 cars at most!) and walk to the beach in a minute or so. For those of you who know Lepe, you will appreciate the emphasis on free nowadays…

It was a crisp morning, 4 degrees when I arrived, but the sun was blazing. I took my favourite M65 jacket and decided, perhaps stupidly, to also use the liner. I packed my gear and this trip involved just one lens being used, my 18-135mm. 

I got a good lot of shots. The sea was extra calm, and was only disturbed by the odd passing boat or canoeists. The sun shone the whole time, and my jacket gently cooked me.

After the beach trip, I made my way back to the car, and as soon as I was off the beach the chill became noticeable again. I decided to do my usual trip back, but instead of turning right I kept straight on towards Exbury. I happened to notice two old fuel pumps just gently rusting away by the side of the road. I’d been that way many times before, but I have no recollection of seeing them until now.

I stopped and took some shots before heading on and going back towards Holbury. I wasn’t able to get a good position to get a decent shot of the refinery, so resigned myself to going back home, when I saw a lot of white in the distance. As I drew closer, I saw it was a huge herd of white cattle. I stopped and gently approached one cow that was nursing a calf. She gave me a funny look but I managed to get to a reasonable enough distance to get one or two shots off.

Then it was back to the ranch to download and see if any of my 198 shots worked out…