Brighton, East Sussex

Plenty of information about this pier and its history online so I won’t bore you all with that, but here’s a very brief summary…

The pier was constructed during a boom in pleasure pier building in the 1860s, and was designed to attract tourists to Brighton. It was designed by Eugenius Birch and opened in 1866 and the first pier to be Grade I listed in England.

It was the town's second pier, joining the Royal Suspension Chain Pier that opened in 1823. The West Pier was extended in 1893, and a concert hall was added in 1916. The pier reached its peak attendance at this time, with 2 million visitors between 1918 and 1919. Its popularity began to decline after World War II, and concerts were replaced by a funfair and tearoom. A local company took over ownership of the pier in 1965, but could not meet the increasing costs of maintenance and filed for bankruptcy.

The pier closed to the public in 1975 and fell into disrepair and gradually collapsed. Major sections fell into the sea during storms in late 2002, and two separate fires, both thought to be arson, in March and May 2003 destroyed most of the remaining structure, leading to English Heritage declaring it beyond repair. Some structured demolition took place in 2010 to make way for the i360 observation tower; further structural damage from storms has occurred since.

The West Pier Trust owns the remains and has proposed various renovation plans over the years, but none have come to fruition.

Tags:   West Pier Brighton Grade I Eugenius Birch 1866 derelict collapse

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The Brighton Beach Bandstand

This is Mrs R’s first break and first week off this year so rather than waste a week a home, we decided to spend a couple of days down in Brighton. We’ve never been and always wanted to visit if just to see what all the fuss is about.

It’s certainly a different way of life down here and nothing like the seaside towns of the North West. I hate Blackpool with a vengeance, it’s so well past it’s “sell by date” with stag and hen parties staggering all over the place. Southport isn’t much better… a geriatric seaside waiting room where all the shops have bi-focal windows. Brighton appears different, yes, it has it’s far share of traditional tat, but so much more.

We stayed at The Grand, mainly because its central to everything (the marina is cheaper, but a hell of a walk into the centre). Staying at the Grand was more of a bucket list tick than anything else really as we were both expecting it to be grand (obviously!) but a little tired and out of touch with the modern trendy set associated with the town.
How wrong could be have been… we loved it, from the moment we pulled up at the front entrance and the valet parking team greeted us – out with the old stuffy etiquette and a witty banter I was not expecting, but more of the hotel in another posting.

I’ve gone with this image as my opener as it sums up the place. No more than a couple of hundred metres from the Grand is the Bandstand. Not frequented by drunken youths wasting time but people of all ages and walks of life meeting up to enjoy the sounds of Big Band and Swing music. It was simply great to stand and watch.

Tags:   Brighton Brighton Beach Bandstand The Grand hotel beach seaside Big Band Swing dancing music people watching

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The Lowry Theatre, Salford Quays

Not the best trip down to the Quays I’ve had weather wise. But a Saturday night outing with fellow togs Mark Waidson and Geoff Moore didn’t put us off. Mark and Geoff have only visited once or twice at tops here before so I was more focused on them maximising the location hotspots.

However, it’s always nice to find something a bit different… I’ve thought of this viewpoint many times before but never actually got around to trying it out at night. Glad we made the effort to try it out!

Tags:   Salford Quays MediaCityUK The Lowry Theatre The Alchemist bar restaurant people nightlife night shoot lights rain Adagio sculpture viewpoint

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Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

A cliché image but a major change to my processing workflow thanks to a tutorial with Mark Waidson and Geoff Moore last week. A few things quite not right, but a vastly improved image than I would have produced my normal way. I’m treating it as the starting point on a new journey.

Tags:   Chatsworth House Canal Pond Emperor Fountain Derbyshire more to Nik than meets the eye

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Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

The original cascade, designed by Monsieur Grillet, a French hydraulics engineer with experience in decorative waterworks for Louis XIV of France, was built in 1694 and took two years to construct (completed in 1696).

The version we see today is a longer and less complicated construction than the original, which is shown on Kip and Knyff’s illustration. It was remodelled and extended a few years later. The Cascade House was built at its summit, to designs by Thomas Archer.

The remodelling was largely completed by 1708, and work on the supply pond, the Cascade Pond, which lies a little higher up the hill, continued until 1712. The new Cascade was nearly twice the length, and substantially wider, than the original.

Tags:   Chatsworth House The Cascade waterworks Monsieur Grillet 1694 Cascade House Thomas Archer 1708 Derbyshire long exposure

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