Random UK 2014 pictures

I've been back for 3 weeks now and its cold, windy and snowing, so revisiting my pictures is a nice break from the howling (literally) wind.

Paxton's Folly from the Welsh Botanical Gardens. I posted a different picture of this before. We visited some
beautiful and impressive ruins in Wales, England and Scotland. They were built for shelter, fortification or worship.
This was built just for fun, for outings, to see from the mansion.

New telephone box, old post box. I took this the day we walked "The Gower", in southern Wales. That
day we saw surfers off one remote beach and lifeboats in the nearby town. The next week 2 people
drowned trying to save a young surfer which bought home the power of the sea and the need for the
lifeboat system.

Fountain base in Harrogate. Are they mermaids? Cherubs? Cherubic mermaids?
Whatever they are they don't look happy about linking arms and holding up the fountain.

I love the little English Robins but also enjoy the Magpies as they have striking colouring and are quite
prevalent. This one was in the gardens in Harrogate and I had to chase him around to get close enough
for a photo.

Bolton Abbey was the most photogenic place we visited, aided by a lovely sunny day. The
setting, in a green valley surrounded by rolling hills, is on the southern edge of the Yorkshire
Dales. In a field, full of sheep, next to a manor house, it is quiet and peaceful. It is easy
to imagine how impressive and intimidating it must have been when it had the roof , windows and
religious order and what a contrast it would have been to the farm families close by.

This young lady fetched her horse from a field next to where we parked the car. She didn't want his picture
taken because he was all muddy. I love the shot of them walking towards the moors. We saw horses everywhere
but although I intended  to ride on this trip, it didn't work out in Wales or in Scotland. Mind you, I didn't
really push it beyond a few calls to riding stables.