Birthday presents

As part of his birthday present , he received a Sat Nav. So we thought we had better try it out, just for fun. So we programmed for the shortest route to Lacock Abbey. We had also treated ourselves to membership of the National Trust and decided to make use of that at the same time.

So we duly set off from home, Picnic lunch in the basket, and plenty of hot coffee, following the Sat Nav, implicitly to reach our destination. Just around the corner from our humble abode, we came across this wonderful sight, literally just down the lane. This particular family arrive every year, and camp in the same spot.

Sorry image is a bit blurry, but the photo was taken from a moving car. The gypsies had gone by time we got back home. They had 4 horses, which were grazing happily in the morning. Do feel sorry for them this year, as behind the hedge is a building site for a new college campus....... wonder if they will be back next year?

We left home in sunshine, and were surprised by the route the SN decided to send us on. I did not know we had a level crossing just 2 miles from home. It was down a very narrow country lane. This was the shortest route we had programmed, it seemed to be as the crow flies. Must remember in future that -short ( in Sat Nav vocabulary) =scenic=drive with care=narrow one lane, country roads.

Unlike the gypsies and their horses, we did have to stop for petrol. Did wonder what Sun tuning was? Apparently it is some thing real not just a spelling mistake. I seem to be obsessed with yellow again, buttercups in fields, yellow signs.

This is a field of buttercups and in the far distance the cows grazing. True rural life. We travelled along single track inclines and lanes, we turned into lanes that were not even signposted. We saw three different " Postman Pat" vans delivering mail, so we knew there had to be life out there somewhere.

The Sat Nav did get us to the correct destination, ( we were beginning to wonder) we arrived in Lacock with the rain!

Lacock, besides being famous for film sets is also famous for the place ( allegedly), where the first photograph was taken by Fox Talbot .We started by visiting the Fox Talbot Museum, as we are both interested in photography. Great exhibition at the moment on the upper floor, which we enjoyed. Then we looked at the invention of Photography exhibition on the ground floor.

This is Fox Talbot's version of the Oriel window at the Abbey. This is the first photograph that was printed. Here is my digital version of the same window.

It struck me when I was reading about his experiments at the exhibition (he took watercolour paper, soaked it in salt, then painted silver nitrate over the paper) that we prepare fabric with chemicals to transfer our images from computer through printer onto fabric. There is nothing new in this world is there?

The House that Fox Talbot lived in has also featured in many films. Harry Potter was filmed in the cloisters of the Abbey above. Lackock village itself has been the setting for many period films and plays.

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Isn't this sheep georgeous? Her lamb was bleeting over the otherside of the meadow, she just shouted back and then ignored it! Motherhood?

A lot of these images were taken from under my umbrella........... it was raining the whole time! We had a great day out though.

We arrived back in the rain, to find the workmen were digging up the lane, near our home.