Italy part 5

Pic - inside Duomo di Siena

May 9. I'm currently in Sienna, and I have been here for 2 days.. Tuscany is everything I expected, beautiful rolling hills and ornate trees lining roads - almost every house is worth photographing. There are olive groves and vineyards, farm lands and just everything fits like it had been placed there.

Italy part 4

When in Rome...

Pic - tourist taking a photo of St Peter's Basilica from a bridge on the Tiber.

It's my last evening in Rome - tired legs and feet - I'm having a rest, and it's well earned. I've been busy for the last two days and I've given the car some well earned rest.  In Rome they have the Metro which is an underground train that takes you around the city - only two lines though. There are plenty on other modes of transport including Tram. Bus, Boat and a good number of more tourist options.

Italy part 3

A couple of days have passed so I thought I'd write down some notes. Firstly Naples or Napoli - I decided it best to get the train in from my hotel in Caserta and see the city from my feet.  I finally got to Central Station because the first time of asking I missed the stop! So here's the news, its called Piazza Garibaldi for my train - Central Station is the level above - noted!

Pic - Piazza del Plebiscito

Italy - Driving

Ok so I've decided it best I dedicate a post to driving in Italy. Now to be honest I'm a fairly aggressive driver anyway - this means I go for it rather than dither - not full of road rage! So I picked up my car at the airport in Catania - it was late and dark so I'm losing the game already..

Italy part 2

Pic - Corigliano Calabro

Moving on then I'm in my room in a place called Rossano - It's basically perched on a hill as are many of the towns / villages in these parts.  Finding your way around in a car is not easy - narrow streets and mostly one way. Still i'm here now.

Italy part 1

May 2017 - I've taken a few weeks out to tour Italy starting from Sicily and driving up to Turin. My first stop is Catania, which is a beautiful city and is seen well from the top as well as below at ground level..

Pic - Catania at sunset

Part one of Italy is complete, I'm now waiting on a ferry to the Italian mainland. This is a beautiful place but spoiled by the rubbish, it's everywhere! Today I hiked Mount Etna and there was lots of roadside rubbish on route.. Dumped stuff, it's a shame and hopefully the rest of the country will be better than Sicily, I will let you know! So Etna was the highlight for me so far, and it was good to get the hiking boots on.. plenty of photos obviously!!

Pic - Hike up a crater near Mount Etna

Yesterday was bank holiday here so I toured the island getting some shots on route, so nice seeing houses on the tops of hills and wondering how they got there.
The roads are awful too, so much so that driving is making me feel sick, not the norm! Ferry has arrived so I must dash… got to find a place to stay for one night over on the mainland.
update..
I’ve found a B&B in Palmi - hopefully get a good night's rest here and head towards Naples tomorrow - the plan (in my head) is to stay there for a few days just outside the city.  :)

Next Part - https://ray-wise.blogspot.com/2017/05/italy-part-2.html 

London Hikes - Epping Forest (south)

This is a relatively short walk (8km / 5 miles) through the lower half of Epping Forest. To get to the start you will need to take the 123 Bus and get off at Beacontree Ave going north or Hillcrest Rd going south. The 123 is accessed from many Tube stops for example - Tottenham Hale, Turnpike Lane and Wood Green.

London Hikes - Dollis Valley

My Dollis Valley hike starts at West Finchley Tube, however when I walked it, the Tube was not working and I got a bus. Online you will find references to the Dollis Valley Greenland walk - this is part of my trail but starts over near the M1. All my route is recorded by GPS and saved on Strava HERE.  This trail is about 10 miles long.

From the station find your way to Dollis Brook - which runs alongside the Golf Course at the end of Fursby Ave. At the end of the golf course you need to tackle the B1462 for a very short distance - however here is an interesting point on the walk - Dollis Hill Viaduct. Worthy noted as the highest point of the Tube network standing at 18 meters tall.

From here it is easy to follow Dollis Brook as it winds its way alongside a beautiful path laden with trees and other shrubs. I saw herons and a kingfisher on the route and only a few other people out for a walk in these parts.

The walk takes you under the A1 and then under the north circular as well - both extremely busy roads and although noisy at these points it is still very rural underneath on the walk. Just before the North Circular the brook divides and goes on to form the Brent. We turn left at this point and follow the stream which is now called Mutton Brook.

When Mutton Brook goes under the A1 we turn right and cross Addison Way and into Little Wood, then we head toward Big Wood - there are a number of routes through here. On exiting Big Wood you are in Hampstead Garden Suburb. It's a beautiful place and if you want to read more please click HERE. In a nutshell, it was the invention of a husband and wife team back in 1906 although built for all classes it is really only enjoyed by the wealthy these days. A point of interest here and just of the trail is St Jude's on the hill. From here you are walking over to Hampstead Heath and all the way down it whichever way you think best.

Past the Royal Free Hospital and down Haverstock Hill you will eventually arrive at Primrose Hill with its beautiful views over London.  In my mind one of the best views of the City. You are also close to London Zoo at this point which you walk towards as the last leg of our walk takes us through Regents Park.

Lastly, then we take a stroll through Regents Park. When I walked it was May and a warm day - the trees and flowers were in full show and it was very delightful - I think this walk would also be nice in Autumn.  It is also worth noting that from the top of Hamstead Heath it is possible to get a Tube if you want to duck out (Golders Green).  But then again in London, you are never far from a Bus either. My walk finishes on Euston Rd at the exit of Regents Park - I hope you enjoy this walk as I did.

More walks found from my homepage - https://ray-wise.blogspot.com/

Charity Shoot at St Paul's Cathedral

My friend Annah got in touch to do a charity shoot to raise money for not one but three charity's - Great Ormand St, Sands and Sport Relief. She got the idea when she met Dermot O'Leary while he was raising money by dancing for 24 hours - how do you beat that I asked??

River Thames at Low Tide - a view from the foreshore.

One of my favourite places to get original images in London is the River Thames at low tide. It's a dirty, dangerous but amazing and I have been doing shoots there for quite a few years now... You certainly get a different perspective of the city from down on the foreshore. So I thought I would give a little foresight as to what makes shots like the following possible...

Hadrian's Wall Walk

I've left kings cross and am heading north, as leave London behind me fields of rapeseed replace the city towers. It's a blue sky and fluffy cloud morning, I know the weather won't be the same on my walk but the sight of it is boosting my moral.

Hadrian's Wall - attack plan!

Monday 18th (May 2015) is the big day... Sunday I'm travelling up to Carlisle via Newcastle. I'll be staying in Carlisle and getting a bus to the start point first thing in the morning - the start point is Bowness-on-Solway. From there I'll be following the Hadrian's Wall National Trial back down through Carlisle and out again towards Walton which is approximately where I  will spend my first night.

Hadrian's Wall Challenge 2015

So another year another challenge - however this year has a particular ring to it as I will be 50 years old in March.. Yes -  you can't beat time and there is certainly no slowing it down so you have to glide along with it enjoying its ups and riding the downs.. Which is pretty much like the challenge I have set myself here..

Enterprise - Car Hire, Are you insured?

When you hire a car - you are insured.. right? Well with Enterprise you appear not to be... How do I know -  well they are taking me to court for the cost of a car which I apparently caused. So to be clearer I must give you a bit more information....

Rocky Mountain National Park - Twin sisters Hike

The Twin Sisters hike is a moderate climb up some 800m (2,600ft) - Enter the Rocky Mountain National Park and head for Lily Lake. There is a road opposite called Serenity Lane - take that and you can park at the trail-head - please see my GPS details on Strava .

Lee Valley Velo Park - Track Cycling

Lee Valley Velo Park is open.. It opened to the public at the start of April 2014.. You can enjoy road cycling, BMX and mountain biking. However, I am going to concentrate on the track.  This 250m oval track was one of the stars of the 2012 Olympics so it's great to ride around that for a start -  let alone the thrill of track cycling anyway.. Here's how you go about it.

Albert Bridge - London

Albert Bridge - London

Originally uploaded by Ray Wise
Evening all.... Tonight I went down to Chelsea - on the South side of the River Thames (close to Battersea Park).. I accessed the river at two locations to get some shots off. This one was taken near the end of the shoot looking down river a the mighty Albert Bridge.

The Millennium Footbridge - London

The Millennium Footbridge - London

Originally uploaded by Ray Wise
A calm sunrise on the River Thames with the Millennium Bridge in the frame leading towards the shard and other famous landmarks which are also reflected in the still water.

Second Place!

I'm very pleased to say I got a second place at the Thames 21 Photographic competition this year. This was a great bit of news especially as the other entrants were all of a very high standard. My entry is called Autumnal Fantasy and here it is.

The scene was shot at Kew Bridge (you can see it in the background) about 2 years ago and is one of my favourites.. So I'm really glad it's got some recognition.

China 2012

At the start of June 2012, I travelled around China for 3 weeks. Not a lot of time in such a big country. Visits had to be picked carefully and time used wisely while I was there. So the main attractions had to be covered - this meant remaining on the Eastern side moving from city to city using various forms of transportation.