A stile with an Ordnance Survey benchmark, near Ilkley. The brass rivet above the arrow is at 202.899m asl according to the OS Benchmark Archive. But why is there another benchmark on the left upright on the other side? @lakesstiles.bsky.social
John Altringham
@johnaltringham.bsky.social
Scientist, conservationist (emeritus professor), mountain-lover, artist. Happiest outdoors. Climate change and biodiversity crises are real. Live in northern England. Often in Scotland. All photos and other artwork mine. https://johnaltringham.co.uk
On #YorkshireDay - Scar Close and Ingleborough, Whitestone Cliff and Goremire Lake, Kettlewell in Wharfedale, the view north from Ilkley Moor.
Common Carder Bumblebee. There's one in almost every nasturtium.
Swifts circling around their nest entrances under the eaves of the houses in our street, repeatedly landing and taking off. Why do they do this? Does it facilitate social bonding? Does it help them remember where the nests are when they return the following summer?
"The average hottest day of the year has warmed by over 4.5°C in a swathe from Kent to Lincolnshire for the most recent decade, 2016-2025, compared to 1961-1990" From the State of the UK Climate in 2025, first published yesterday.
Down by the river - grey wagtails busy foraging to feed their young.
Afternoon walk along the riverbank. Plenty of butterflies, including this small skipper, and a few garden 'escapees' among the wild flowers.
Part of a small flock of starlings catch yesterday evening's light as they turn above me, tails fanned in synchrony.
Wednesday evening walk along the River Wharfe. Goosander, oystercatcher and common sandpiper with young, sand martins in and out of their nests in the bank, curlews calling in the adjacent fields, blackbird, song thrush and mistle thrush competing from the trees, the flash of a kingfisher to end.
My afternoon art buddy, a ~6mm jumping spider examining the quality of the watercolour paper and inspecting the water jar.
Watercolour sketches started yesterday and finished this morning. Changing light over the Sound of Sleat from Isleornsay, Skye. #watercolour #landscape #mountains #Scotland #art
For those who need a little light relief today - the garden in June. A young robin, azure damselfly, wood mouse, zebra jumping spider. Best not to think about their feeding habits.
Three wood engraving prints selected by the Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk, for their summer exhibition, 11 July - 29 August. www.zillahbellgallery.co.uk
Wood engraving, Cir Mhòr, Arran. Printed in three graded ink layers to enhance the aerial perspective I failed to capture in the engraving! Time-consuming but I learned a few things. 150x100 mm. #art #prints #printmaking #mountains #Scotland #landscape
The geologist James Hutton was born in Edinburgh 300 years ago tomorrow. Two slices of Scottish geology I (an ecologist) have enjoyed studying. The Moine Thrust Mylonites at Faraid Head, Balnekeil Bay and lichens on a basalt dyke in Lewisian gneiss, Raasay. #geology #JamesHutton #DeepTime #Scotland
In case you missed it: interactivemaps.uk/os-benchmark... The OS Benchmark Archive - memorials to how survey/mapping used to be done. If you have access they are on OS Maps Desktop too. There is a benchmark on the wall at the bottom of our garden. #maps #mapping #OrdnanceSurvey
In case you missed it: interactivemaps.uk/os-benchmark... The OS Benchmark Archive - memorials to how survey/mapping used to be done. If you have access they are on OS Maps Desktop too. There is a benchmark on the wall at the bottom of our garden. #maps #mapping #OrdnanceSurvey
A hot Bank Holiday. A day when the locals find a quiet, shady nook to escape the record-busting heatwave and the visiting hordes who fill the river hotspots with noise and the smells of barbecues and hot sunscreen. Halcyon days.
Swifts over the moon, part 2. Another attempt. Conclusion: I cannot get an in focus moon AND swift in one shot. I thought perhaps stopping down might just do it... no. Here's a fuzzy swift flying between me and the moon.
Just spent a happy 40 min trying to photograph swifts crossing the moon. Futile. Here's the moon. They are still out there, crossing it.
