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Monte Clérigo is near Aljezur on the west coast of Portugal. It consists of a small residential area on the hills above the beach. The views of the cliffs and the sea as you drive down towards the beach are stunning. I arrived just before sunset, but alas, being Portugal, there weren't many clouds at this time of the year for good sunset.
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Llanddwyn Island (Ynys Llanddwyn) is a magical place. Located at the far end of a pleasant beach near Newborough Warren. Its rolling dunes, large rock outcrops and mixture of historic buildings makes it an ideal place for an afternoon of exploration. Llanddwyn is not quite an island. It remains attached to the mainland at all but the highest tides. It provides excellent views of Snowdonia and the Lleyn Peninsula and is part of the Newborough Warren National Nature Reserve. A beacon, called Tŵr Bach, was built at the tip of the island to provide guidance to ships heading for the Strait. Another more effective lighthouse, Tŵr Mawr, which was modelled on the windmills of Anglesey, was built nearby in 1845. The older lighthouse has now returned to service after a modern light was placed on top.
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Behind me was a pretty spectacular blue leaded glass window, which cast against the right wall. There's a small entrance fee for the cathedral, but it's well worth it and as a bonus they made no issue about tripod use. Chester cathedral is a Grade I listed building. The cathedral, typical of English cathedrals in having been modified many times, dates from between 1093 and the early 16th century, although the site itself may have been used for Christian worship since Roman times. All the major styles of English medieval architecture, from Norman to Perpendicular, are represented in the present building.
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I think the Toucan is my favourite bird, probably more to do with the colours than the shape of its beak.
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Situated by the sea, this castle (Forte de São João do Arade) was erected in 1640 after the Restoration of independence, in order to replace Ferragudo Castle. This castle was among the few not devastated by 1755 earthquake, because it was built in massive rock. The tide was out fortunately for this shot, I'm not that happy about taking my tripod into the sea! Other angles tend to make the castle look a bit flat. Last I heard the castle is now a privately owned home.
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The Sychnant Pass is one of Conwy's best kept secrets and the northernmost pass in the Snowdonia National Park. Sychnant means "Dry Valley" and it falls steeply from Allt Wen to meet the Valley of the Afon Gyrach that comes in from the left, lower down. There's parking in for this walk in the pass, once up here you can see Anglesey to the right of this picture and behind me views over to the Great Orme and Llandudno. If you go here I highly recommend the Fairy Glen inn! especially after a walk like this! Apparently the heather had just turned a week before I arrived, some patches were still amazing but I was only left to image how nice it could of been.
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I took a mini bus tour from Funchal, the capital of Madeira into the mountains. The tours are excellent for tourists and a good source of information if you then decide to revisit the areas for golden hour shots. The tour took us to this view point then along to one of the highest shear cliffs in the world, before rising to the mountains to see the channels, levants, which transport the water from the mountains to the towns. Unfortunately all I can remember of this trip was the pleasant mountain miss and coolness as I was down with the flu and high fever :/
