Rainbow Over Roding

Even the rainy days have their rainbows. This photo was taken in the Roding Valley, and shows a double rainbow over the wet meadows and fen of the Nature Reserve that runs along the River Roding near Loughton and Chigwell, Essex, England. The reserve follows the river for roughly a mile and a half, and in addition to providing a place for the Roding to flood (thus alleviating some of the flooding pressure downstream) the reserve also contains a number of important plant and animal species. The nature reserve contains the the largest remaining area of water meadows in Essex, according to Essex Wildlife Trust. I like the warmth of the late light here bathing the bare trees and shrubs, and picking out the sere grasses in the background.

Tor View

The Dartmoor landscape as seen from the ancient rocks of Sheeps Tor

tor  (tôr)

n.

1. A high rock or pile of rocks on the top of a hill.

2. A rocky peak or hill.

(thefreedictionary.com)

This photo shows the view over Burrator Reservoir from Sheeps Tor, Dartmoor, Devon. The ancient granite rocks of this Tor were formed hundreds of millions of years ago as magma slowly cooled beneath the Earth's surface. These rocks have since become uncovered by erosion, but being more resistant to erosion themselves, they are left standing like silent sentinels upon this hilltop and many others in the Dartmoor National Park. Dartmoor has the largest area of granite in Britain and is full of these tors, or "rocky peaks".