Frosty Ride from Sonning Common

On Tuesday I went out in -4 degrees of frost, hoping for bright sunshine, but it turned out to be generally overcast, with only a few glimpses of the sun. As I drove through Dunsden I was considering abandoning the ride as there was a lot of ice around on the country lanes. However, I decided to change my route somewhat, to avoid the narrow country lanes I had planned to do at the start of the ride.

My route started at Sonning Common, took in Stoke Row, Ipden, Goring & Checkenden. 23 miles, according to my cycle computer. However the route below says 21. I prefer 23.

Here is my ROUTE 

There was plenty of interest along the way with the frost and also some interesting monochrome subjects.

Beecwoods near Checkenden.

Berrins Hill

Berrins Hill

Ipsden

Farm at Ipsden, which always strikes me as mini Tuscany. 

Different view of the farm.

The Thames near Goring, at the Leathern Bottel, now Rossini Restaurant

Another view from the Leathern Bottel

From the bridge at Goring.

The bridge at Goring.

Pigsville

Beechwoods near Stoke Row, with the frost melting on the leaves. A magical place when the light is good.

More at the Beech woods near Stoke Row.

Cycling in Monochrome

Last week I went out cycling on Wednesday & Thursday. I think it must be the onset of winter, because I couldn't help but see monochrome compositions everywhere. Winter strips things back to bare structure & form and all those gates helped. There was some good colour with the bright sunshine, but this blog is all about Mono. The scenery is mainly around the Hambleden area, which is a real favourite of mine.

To Goring for Mince Pies

Today we cycled from Sonning Common to Goring, with the intention of having seasonal mince pies with our cup of tea. The trip took in Checkendon, Ipsden & Goring. 23 miles. It was very cold with a NE wind, so plenty of layers & hats & gloves.

The Beech woods near Checkendon. 

Near Checkendon

Near Checkendon

Early morning light at Ipsden 

Couldn't resist this as a mono scene.

More Ipsden

Lone tree at .....Ipsden

Farm near Goring (Tony is the blue dot in the centre)

The Thames at the Leathern Bottle (Now Rossini) just north of Goring.

And so we arrive at Goring, but no mince pies. They said it was too early? It's only 3 weeks away! I managed to get the last Eccles cake whilst the others had Christmas Crumble. This cafe makes the best pastries in the Home Counties (or anywhere else).

My Eccles cake.

Cheers!

Pig farm near Goring with rusty water tank.

The flying club at Ipsden. They tried to get us to join by telling us that cyclists make good pilots?

This small plane was coming into land on the grass runway, when it decided to go around at the last moment.

Another good mono subject.

Lovely light near Checkendon on the way back to Sonning Common.

Near Sonning Common. More lovely light, with some late autumn colours still showing in the trees.

Cycling in the Hambleden Valley

We set off from Wargrave in really murky conditions and the forecast didn't suggest any improvement.....
20 miles completed in a round trip that included Rotten Row, Freith, Fingest and tea at the village store at Hambleden village

Crossing the weir at Hambleden and a glimpse of sunlight appeared near the old mill. We had just passed some workers on the weir who were repairing the gearing for the weir gates with a very large hammer 

Backlit wire fencing, water droplets (OK macro is not the little Fuji's forte)

Shooting party at Rotten Row

And now the sun really does make a welcome appearance.

These trees are still showing some late Autumn colour.

Some interesting shapes, lines & shadows

Down a seriously steep hill to Fingest.

Footpath to Fingest

Lone ridge tree near Hambleden village.

I asked them to get close for this photo, but they are probably looking slightly awkward!

Back over the River Thames. This shot has been done a thousand times before, but it's still difficult to resist.

The Thames at Hambleden lock - it's starting to get rather high and there are warning signs on the lock about the strength of the current.

On the way back to Wargrave, some nice shadows and colour.