Sunday 30 August 2009

Pre-Pride of Bilbao (Westport Lake and Portsmouth)

Well, we all have to come back home from holidays at some point.

But before all that. During the previous Saturday, in amongst all the Ashes-winning glory, was a trip over to Westport Lake in Stoke to have a look at a Ring-Necked Duck.



At the time I thought the bird was ok, then later on came a few murmerings of the bird possibly being a Ring-Necked/Tufted hybrid. My personal opinion is, due to the tatty state of the bird's moult I don't know how anyone could confirm it as a hybrid yet. Innocent until proven guilty.

Onto the Monday then. On arrival in Portsmouth there was a bit of time to explore before heading to the ferry terminal. Some of the famous sights including HMS Warrior:



HMS Illustrious:



HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar:



And here's Horatio himself:



A more recent addition is the Spinnaker Tower, adjacent to the Gunwharf Quays shopping centre:



Seven quid for a view? Time to get to the ferry terminal! Unfortunately the Pride of Bilbao was about three hours late. Apparently due to a woman giving birth on the ferry and developing complications, so the ferry had to return to Bilbao. Unless it was premature of course, why on earth would anyone in that condition embark on a 30 hour ferry journey?

No comments: