Solent Scenes

Yesterday we had a visit from two old friends who were in Southampton for the weekend: not everybody's choice of location for a couple of days away, but then we're close to plenty of places that are. So, as we were having a calm day between violent storms, we went down to Titchfield on the Solent. I don't think I have ever seen the sea there so calm, although things must have been pretty rough in the week during storm Éowyn, as the beach was littered with oyster shells, many torn up from the sea bed in compacted lumps. Apparently there has been a project to reintroduce oysters to the Solent, for various environmentally beneficial reasons, so I hope these were just fragments of a much greater and more resilient whole.

Since the power station with its landmark tall chimney was demolished a while ago the refinery seems much more prominent on the horizon on the other side of Southampton Water – four miles away, as is the Isle of Wight, although both seem much closer than that – with its suspiciously immobile puff of cloud anchored overhead. A chilly and dull January afternoon with an overcast sky and a listless sea at low tide is not the most auspicious scenario for photography, but a late afternoon glow added a picturesque touch of ruddy light to the scene as we headed back to the car for the drive home and a nice hot cup of tea.