Kimmeridge Perfection

Surfed Kimmeridge today with bro. Swell was forecast to be good size with light winds. When we got there it was a lovely glassy 4-5' with only a handful out. Caught some nice lefts on the Magic Carpet and had a real workout as the waves were breaking way out. Only complaint was as the tide dropped the peaks seem to break further and further out with less shoulder. All in all a great days surfing in fairly mild conditions. Although we surfed the Ledges, Yellows and the even the bay were showing form. The Bench was red flagged and we were serenaded by gunfire throughout the session!

Southerndown Surf Session

Surfed Southerndown alone today on outgoing tide about 2 hours after high tide. Started off 3' dropping to 2' as tide dropped out over rocks. Easy little session. Wind cross SE. Not great considering swell was forecast 7.5' for South Wales with light winds. Checked out Ogmore rivermouth first but tide was starting to race out and rip up the righthand peak across the river. When I got to Ogmore it looked a good 4' and offshore with plenty of longboarders out. I waited for 15 minutes and was glad I didn't get kitted up and paddle across the brown river as the surf started to deteriorate rapidly. Should have got there an hour earlier.  Massive high tide in early hours had spoilt the morning as none of the other breaks further East were working. Had to take my son to footy in the afternoon so morning it had to be.

Bos Vegas Surf - Surf Trip to South Coast

With a macking swell closing out most of North coast went surfing to today with bro and Rich W to South coast. Checked out Highcliffe which was headhigh at times and pretty wild. Watched a few guys struggling paddling out with no sign  of any definable rips to assist. Very few waves going down. Went to Avon Beach at Christchurch which looked great for SUPs. Wind light offshore with 3' fat waves peeling down the outer bank but just not enough for surfing. Ended up on the West side of Boscombe pier. It was not big but the swell direction was driving a current down the beach so it was hard work and a case of catch a wave then walk up the beach. Not great conditions but the sun was out and it was mild for the time of year. Artificial reef looked unsurfable! Swell was from the west about 10' with a 15 second period, the wind started light W and picked up throughout day.
On way home just past Ringwood thought we had seen a White Tailed Sea Eagle cross above us. Very big bird of prey with pale head. Apparently one has been seen in the area. Despite detouring off the main road we were unable verify.

Starlings at Filton

My son George and me decided to put a little edited Starling sequence together after enjoying their shows at Rolls Royce, Filton this Winter. This was taken all in one evening. I can't say I enjoyed the cold weather before Christmas but it has certainly made birding round here more interesting. Takes me back to when I was a boy, on the way home from school, waiting for the bus at Temple Meads and seeing the Starling roost in the middle of Bristol.

New Years Day on the Levels

A family day on the Somerset Levels at Shapwick and Ham Wall. Kids took their bikes and we managed to do a bit of birding. Stayed for the Starling roost at 16:00. Started fairly mild but got colder as afternoon went on. Usual selection of wildfowl with the added attraction of a Great Egret, not to be confused with the commoner Little Egret. 100,000's Starlings congregated within minutes, some of the small flocks displayed but most came in huge waves and descended tornado like into the scrub and trees between the wetland. Must have been a crowd of 50 strong waiting for the display. Great start to the new year.

Kimmeridge Surf - 4ft Clean

Surfed today. First time since end of October. Kimmeridge, the Ledges, was a glassy 4 foot with hardly any wind. Went with bro Rich and friend Tom. Surfed for 2.5hrs high tide going out. About 20 guys out at any one time, pretty relaxed session. Temperature about 10 C which is a heck of lot warmer than it has been of late. Took Magic Carpet out. Caught some lefts and then mainly rights that were basically drops with fat shoulders. Good to work off some of that Christmas flab and get motivated again. Not a big swell but from the South with 12 second period. No photos as Kimmeridge and most of the Country was shrouded in a a light misty, murky rain.

Day out on Avon and Nadder

Crisp cold morning for a days fishing in Wiltshire. On the way stopped off at the canal near Seend to take a few shots. Mist was lifting off the water and the early morning sunshine was wonderful. Arrived at my brothers, Rich, to discuss the options for the day.

First stop Hampshire Avon North of Salisbury. Not much rising so fished a nymph under the dry. First few runs nothing doing but managed to spook a number of small Pike basking in the sunshine. Found a nice deep bend where Rich caught a lunker of a Brownie. It must have been all of 2.5lb. On its return I managed to get some lovely underwater shots. From the same bend we both caught Grayling and Dace on the nymph. On upstream and a tightly packed shoal of at least 20 Grayling, some in excess of a 1lb, outwitted us but I managed to hook into a decent Brownie of about 1.5lb in amongst them.

Next stop the Nadder in Salisbury. The usual shallow runs failed to produce so moved downstream to the deeper holes. Between us we caught a mixed bag of small Brownies, some reasonable Grayling and Rich had some chunky Chub. Most fish falling to the nymph but an occasional rise to the Klink. The cold weather had certainly kept the fish down but it was an eventful day nevertheless in the glorious Autumn sunshine. Water levels were about the lowest I have seen it.