Blog A Pic – Sunrise On The Malverns, The Longest Day

It has long been a wish of Mrs P to see the sun rise on the Malvern Hills on the longest day but she is a sleepy head and the actual deed  had eluded her. But of late our mission is to turn dreams into realities and this was one of those wishes that needed to be addressed. The Sumer Solstice this year was on a Saturday morning and the weather forecast was perfect, so the plan was hatched. We would take a selection of French breakfast pastries and a flask of Bellini to see in the day, and a blanket to sit on

Having discovered that Sunrise was in fact 4.48 and dawn was about 45 minutes before that, we decided to get up at 3.45, drive to Black Hill car park on the other side of the hill and make our way to the crest of the hills in time for sunrise.

We had panned to sit at our regular picnic place but once there, we were not sure quite where the sun would rise and if we were in the wrong place we would not have  had time to move, and to miss the sunrise having got up so early would have been dreadful. So we walked a little further up the hill and sat and waited. It was quite light and the horizon was tinted orange with no real idea of where the sun would rise. But as the minutes passed it soon became obvious, and a shaft of light lit the sky upwards from where the sun would later emerge. Then followed a pool of orange light stretching along the ground in the far distance, where the sun had already risen. Then finally we saw the tip of the sun peep over the horizon. It was quite exhilarating and it seems quite reasonable to worship the sun as the giver of life when you sit and watch it rise.

Despite the beautiful weather it was very cold and windy on the hills so by this time we were both wrapped in the blanket, snuggled together toasting the sun on its new day with our Bellini cocktail. It took a very short time for the sun to be fully above the horizon, it moves quite fast when you have something to measure it by.

We bade farewell to the sun and walked back down the hill to the car, for a quick blast home on an empty road. Once home we made a cup of tea and took it back to bed. Job done and we were both very pleased that we had made the effort to see this wonderful sight. We were quite pleased with these photos as we feel we have captured some of the sun’s awe and the epic qualities of a truly wonderful sunrise.

People of The Mille Miglia

We have been fortunate enough to be able to watch the famous Mille Miglia Road race in Italy back in May of this year. You can see more of this adventure by looking back through the blogs from our Mille Miglia and Dolomites Adventure category. You can also see more of our photos from the event on our sister website AutoBeast.  This event from a photographic viewpoint though, is a street event and a wonderful opportunity to get some great street photography and to capture some of the characters that make up this  wonderful and somewhat surreal event.

The Drivers were real characters, ranging from the wonderful Gallic caricature driving a Bugatti, through the suave Goodwood drivers in their well tested overalls, to the glorious goggle attired lady we see below.

It is not just the drivers though that make this event the occasion it is. There are people there promoting cars and goods or making a living having their photo taken with you, such as this pretty girl with her wooden car cut out.

And finally it is the characters in the crowd that also make the event so wonderful, such as the chap here keenly watching the rally cars drive by, or the young budding photographer here, who is almost as cute as the car she is leaning on.

There is no better weekend to be out on the streets of Brescia!

Weddings Italian Style

Weddings Italian Style in Verona and Venice.