Summer Tour......... — Steve Chivers Photography

Here in the UK summer has definitely arrived. Temperatures have been soaring into the 30’s and yes, for a country where it rains for 300 days a year, we already have a water shortage and hosepipe bans are now being issued by local authorities. Normal service is resumed!

Enough of my grumbling, it’s summer, the weather is beautiful ( as is Mrs. C ) and we are off on our “Summer Tour”. First stop is a visit to our dear friends Cathie and Nick, whose home is situated in that beautiful part of the U.K. known as The Cotswolds. So we fired up Bucephalus, Mrs. C dialed Carterton in to the sat-nav and we headed off up the A38.

My regular readers will already know that Cathie and Nick were out in Dubai with us. We always have such great times when we are together so no excuse was needed to plan this current visit. Note: readers may wish to read about our last meet-up in my blog of 1st June 2024 entitled “Stourhead”.

On arrival, a bottle of red was un-corked (important things first) and Cathie laid out our itinerary for the visit. It was certainly going to be an exciting couple of days.

In order to capture proceedings I had my Leica Type 246 Monochrom, (one battery only as Leica are unable to supply any batteries and are unable / unwilling to provide any alternative solution - don’t get me started as this is a subject for a whole blog) the superlative Leica 50mm Apo Summicron and for the wide angles, the Leica 28mm Elmarit.

Day one helped me tick-off one of my bucket-list destinations; a visit to the beautiful University town of Oxford. Oxford is steeped in both academia and history. As a photographer who particularly enjoys the monochrome genre, the architecture and lighting of this wonderful city meant that I was definitely in my happy place.

A tip for visitors to Oxford is that it is definitely not built for cars. There is an excellent park and ride service located on the outskirts of town which enables you to leave the car and be shuttled into the town centre for just a few pounds.

Now whilst visiting Oxford there is so much to see. So where to start? Our route was to head toward the famous Bridge of Sighs, taking in the Bodleian Library, The Radcliffe Camera, in order to end up at the Church of St. Marys. From there we would head to the Botanical Gardens.

The High Street dominated by the University Church of St. Mary The Virgin.

I suppose that every town you visit has what I term as “cliché shots and during our visit to Oxford there were plenty. The Bridge of Sighs definitely falls in to that category although I did my best to try and capture it from a different perspective.

Its formal name is the Hertford Bridge and is a skyway joining two parts of Hertford College over New College Lane. It was designed by Thomas Graham Jackson and was completed in 1914. It is commonly referred to as The Bridge of Sighs due to its similarity to the famous other “Bridge of Sighs” in Venice.

Legend has it that many decades ago, a survey relating to the the students of Hertford College indicated that its students were indeed rather over-weight, resulting in the bridge being closed off, forcing them to take the stairs for much-needed exercise. However, I am assured this legend is false and that if the bridge is not used, the students would actually climb fewer stairs. So that’s cleared up that myth then!

The Bodleian Library was founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley. It is the main research library of the University of Oxford and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It is the second largest library in Britain, containing over 13 million printed items.

The building is very striking and was designed by the architects Giles Gilbert Scott & Thomas Holt and is a rather excellent example of English Gothic architecture.

For those whose interests exclude academia and architecture, the Bodleian’s Divinity School was used as a filming location in “Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone” and in subsequent films was transformed into the Hogwart’s Infirmary.

Next to the Bodleian is the Clarendon Building, a rather stunning Neoclassical design by the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor.

During the 1800’s I believe that the building housed the Oxford University Press. However, it now provides offices and meeting spaces (albeit rather on a rather grand scale) for the Bodleian Library.

The Radcliffe Camera is another of Oxford’s iconic landmarks, being part of the central Bodleian Library complex. It was designed in the English Palladian style by the architect James Gibbs and was completed in 1749. It is home to the History Faculty Library.

For those of us who have let our colloquial latin fall in to decline, “camera” in the building’s name has nothing to do with photography but is derived from the Latin meaning “room”.

The building is open to the public but only as part of a pre-booked guided tour.

For me the challenge was to capture this wonderful building whilst including the stunning All Souls College. I think I managed this quite successfully in the following three images.

The Radcliffe Camera - a different perspective.

Radcliffe Camera flanked by All Souls College.

Facing the Radcliffe Camera is the rather magnificent University Church of St. Mary The Virgin. Once I stepped inside and left the hustle and bustle of Oxford, I was able to take a moment for reflection and then try and capture both the beauty and solemnity of this wonderful Church.

The University Church of St. Mary The Virgin.

The internal architecture is, in my opinion, quite magnificent.

This is an Anglican Church, founded circa 1490, is situated on the north side of the High Street and is the centre from which the University of Oxford grew. It was built in the English Gothic style and its steeple rises to a height of 58 meters.

Famously, or should I say infamously, St. Mary’s was the site of the 1555 trial of the Oxford Martyrs, when the bishops Latimer and Ridley and Archbishop Cranmer were tried for heresy and subsequently burnt at the stake. Justice was rather brutal back in the day.

Separating the two main halls of the church is a classical organ, built by the Swiss firm of Metzler Orgelbau in 1986. The only other organ by this famous Swiss organ maker in the UK is located in the chapel of Trinity College Cambridge.

Capturing imagery inside churches is notoriously difficult. Generally the lighting is very poor yet interspersed with bright light via stained glass windows. With the Leica Monochrom Type 246 I have to be so careful not to blow out the highlights.

As I mostly capture images in manual mode, I generally expose for the highlights and bring back the shadows, where appropriate or necessary, in post. With the Leica Monochrom Type 246 I am more than comfortable using ISOs of 6400 up to 10,000.

The following image is my favorite of the entire trip. I believe it captures the peacefulness of the church, embracing the dark shadows with subtle accents from the highlights, which focus on the pipes of the beautiful Metzlar organ. Well that’s what I see but you the reader must be the ultimate judge.

My favorite image from our day in Oxford. A moment of reflection as I embraced the shadows, protected the highlights and enjoyed the tranquility.

Our final stop of the day was a visit to the Oxford Botanical Gardens. As you would expect, the University of Oxford Botanical Garden is the oldest botanical garden in Great Britain and one of the oldest scientific gardens in the world.

The garden was originally founded in 1621 as a physic garden, growing plants of medicinal research. I am told that today it contains over 5,000 different plant species on a site measuring 4.5 acres.

My first job when entering the garden was to find some shade and a cup of coffee. This delightful food truck provided both.

Caffeine was the first order of the day.

Now I am the first to admit that flowers and plants are not always at their best when captured in monochrome. However, I am always up for a challenge. Within the greenhouses there were all sorts of tropical plants that would have been at home back in Jurassic times.

The Botanical Gardens in full bloom with Magdalen Tower in the background.

The Botanical Gardens are bordered by the River Cherwell and as can be seen below is frequented by those who enjoy the gentle pastime of punting. For about 15 seconds I thought about having a go myself. Of course, Mrs. C brought me back to the real world by suggesting that with my poor sense of balance and carrying my precious Leica kit, what could possibly go wrong? Well quite a lot actually so we have made a note to bring the young people next time and have them do all the heavy lifting!

That seemed a most appropriate way to end our day in Oxford. I so enjoyed the visit although I believe we barely scratched the surface of this wonderful city. Memo to me to plan another visit as soon as possible.

Day two involved a visit to Waddesdon Manor. As readers will know, we are huge fans and members of the National Trust and Waddeson Manor is a country house located in the Buckinghamshire village of Waddesdon, owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation.

This really is a superb property and everywhere we went we could see the influence of the Rothchilds who continue to do everything with a touch of class.

Once you park you have the choice of taking an air-conditioned shuttle bus to the house of taking the 15 minute walk to the house. We chose the latter as the weather was beautiful and the grounds of the house simply delightful.

As always suitable walking shoes, a hat, sunscreen and some water are highly recommended.

As we climbed the steep path at the end of our walk we were blessed with our first view of the house.

The Grade 1 listed house was built between 1874 and 1889 in a mostly Neo-Rennaisance style, for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild. The design copied a number of features from several French Chateaux and was used by the Rothschilds as a weekend residence to entertain their guests and as a place to house the family’s extensive collection of arts and antiquities.

The Manor and its estate have passed through three generations of the Rothschild family before the house and its contents were bequeathed to the National Trust by James de Rothschild in 1957.

Unusually for the National Trust, the family of James Rothschild continue to manage the house and the Rothschild Foundation, chaired by Dame Hannah Rothschild, continues to invest in the property.

The are extensive collections housed at Waddesdon including art by Gainsborough and Reynolds, a selection of 18th century French carpets and tapestries, ceramics, enamels, books and many other Renaissance treasures.

Being someone who enjoys a glass of red I particularly enjoyed the wine cellar, which is modelled on the private cellars at Chateau Lafite Rothschild. More than 15,000 bottles are stored in the cellars, the majority from the Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Mouton Rothschild estates. It is the largest private collection of Rothschilds wine with some bottles being valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, just above my price limit!

IF you enjoy Chateau Lafitte Rothschild then this is surely heaven.

The gardens are beautiful and extremely well maintained. I particularly enjoyed The Aviary, which was lovingly restored and contained a selection of exotic birds.

Before taking the shuttle bus back to our car we walked down the main drive in order to capture this grand view of the house. It really is a fantastic property and a testament to the partnership of the National Trust and The Rothschild Family.

The Grand Drive and main entrance to the Manor.

Our visit would not have been complete without a team photo.

Team Eagle and Chivers - Always a joy to be together.

Our holiday was pleasantly interrupted by a short visit to London as I had some work to take care off and of course it was an opportunity to take some calories with the young people.

We then headed back down the A3 to the New forest to visit my brother. It was Ladies Day at Salisbury Racecourse and we had decided to put together a family trip, with our beautiful ladies, in order to join in the celebrations.

Unfortunately Simon and Kitty were unable to attend but Kitty, our family advisor on all matters equine, did her research and provided a few recommendations as to potential winners.

“La Famille” testing out the track - with all the heat the going will be firm.

Having tested the track, which due to the recent hot weather was “firm” we headed off to the bar for some light refreshments.

Our stylish punters enjoying the atmosphere and some light refreshments.

Now I am not a betting man so I handed over some cash to Anna and Matthew and trusted them with “investing” said dosh with the expectation and indeed promise of a significant return on my investment.

Unfortunately the investing front was not going well. As we came to the last race I asked Matthew for an update only to be told that it was “a work in progress” and that our last horse was a 40/1 certain winner! Now where I come from 40/1 does not equate to a certain winner.

As we were watching the horses for the final race parading in the paddock they all looked super fit and raring to go, except one……. There was one horse which was crazy-eyed, had flaring nostrils and was frothing at the mouth and was clearly unhappy about participating. I jokingly said to Matthew that I pitied the poor punter that had put his money on that particular nag. Silence ensued which was when I realised that we were the poor punters that had put our money on that absolute cert!!!

All the other horses had left the paddock and were making their way to the start. Meantime our horse, who to avoid being sued for libel we shall name “No Hope” (after Bob Hope’s brother), continued to create a fuss as they had trouble unhitching the cart!

Eventually “No Hope” reached the starting gate and as you have probably guessed was not keen to go in to the stalls. First in and last out and it was clear that our money was on shaky ground. As the winner thundered over the line I timidly enquired where “No Hope” had finished. Matthew pointed down the track and our horse was still en route to the finish line.

I explained to the young people that this was a lesson in life, that the house always wins, that you will never meet a poor bookmaker. Pointing to the bar, I indicated that mine was a large one please!

The final race as they head off to the start…..but where is our horse?

The finish line of misery and unfortunately our horse was not in the frame - I think they forgot to unhitch the cart!

We spent out final couple of days with the Chappels. Our dearest friends and Dubai family were over for a summer holiday. We had a great time walking along Bournemouth beach, a game of crazy golf (more crazy than golf), a fish and chip lunch at Harry Ramsdens and some pictures of the boys to record them continuing to grow up.

The “Cheeky Monkeys” on the Monkey Bars.

We also had a visit to Salisbury. It is one of our favourite cities. Unfortunately we had a bit of an incident with the car and I spent most of the afternoon on the phone to the insurance company. I did manage a couple of images, one of Salisbury Cathedral (see my previous blog of 24th August 2023 entitled “The Tower” ) and the other of the beautiful interior of The Church of St. Thomas Becket. However, with a significant insurance claim in progress and bits hanging off of Bucephalus, my nerves were frazzled and creativity was at a minimum.

The Church of St. Thomas Becket - Salisbury

Our final morning involved taking Claire and Horatio for a morning out at Lymington. The sun was out, there was a gentle breeze and it was the perfect way to end our Summer Tour.

Horatio and Claire watching the wildlife.

What a fantastic ten days we had. We visited some beautiful parts of the country and above all spent precious time with the people we love the most.

Ah yes, as you know no blog would be complete without the “Bench of Contemplation”. I have chosen this image of Mrs. C in Oxford’s Botanical Garden.

Mrs. C found a “Botanical Bench of Contemplation”.

So there we have it. For those of you who have made it this far may I thank you and wish you all an enjoyable summer. More adventures to follow later in the year.

With love and best wishes to you all from a sun-baked Plymouth U.K.