The Swelle Life

Glasgow: On the Train Through Northumberland

Last weekend I went to Glasgow. This post really has nothing to do with Glasgow except for the fact that this is what I saw out the train window on the way! But I have too many photos of Glasgow to post at once, so we'll start the tour here. Northumberland, the county that borders Scotland in the east, is absolutely stunning country - you can see other trips to various sites here - and is the reason that when people invariably say to me, on a weekly basis for the past nearly 8 years, "Canada is beautiful, what are you doing here?" I reply, "Have you SEEN your country?!" Yes, Canada is beautiful, but it's massive and therefore not beautiful everywhere. And the UK pretty much is, you're never very far from breathtaking scenery. One of the first observations my husband made when we took our first trip through Northumberland when we moved here, is how all of the land is used for something, and so you don't have the wastelands you see in North America. All of this land has been owned for hundreds of years by someone, taken care of and given purpose, and it's easy to see why it inspired so many landscape painters over the centuries. You can be so tired your eyes are burning in their sockets but it's almost impossible to look away when travelling through areas like this. And if you like sheep, you'll get your fill and then some. Somehow none of my pictures have any. But I swear they are everywhere up here. Really.

The rapeseed fields (worst name ever!) create wonderful, bright yellow, massive colourblocks on the landscape. 

Pretty painted houses dot the coast of Berwick-upon-Tweed, the last town in England before you cross into Scotland. 

We saw rainbows along the way for about 20 minutes, and when I exclaimed, dumbfounded, that we kept seeing them I was made fun of for not understanding how rainbows work. I have now reminded myself by reading about it (it's been a long time since grade 7 science class!). I still think it's a little bit of magic happening there. 

More to come on actual Glasgow...

Photos © The Swelle Life

Painted Houses: Portmeirion, Wales

For no good reason at all, I've neglected to do a Painted Houses post in longer than I'd care to admit (so don't go checking, eh?).  Since the last, I've had some great reader submissions that absolutely must be shared, and so I'm getting back into the colourful houses and buildings theme starting with Portmeirion in North Wales, thanks to reader Pixie who introduced me to this vivid, fantastical place.

In the seven years I've lived in England I've never been to Wales - the closest I've gotten is Bristol and Bath - but it is on our list of UK places to visit, and now that I've had a peek, Portmeiron has become a must-see. Pixie provided a link to  their tourism site and I noticed this: "Portmeirion is open every day of the year from 9.30am to 7.30pm." And you need tickets. I was very confused until I read this:

"This unique village is set on its own private peninsula on the southern shores of Snowdonia. It was created by Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis (1883-1978) to demonstrate how a naturally beautiful place could be developed without spoiling it. Portmeirion is made up of about 50 buildings, most of which are used as hotel or self-catering accommodation and surrounded by 70 acres of sub-tropical woodland gardens. On the main driveway is Castell Deudraeth, a Victorian mansion recently restored as a brasserie style restaurant and hotel."

And the late 1960s TV series The Prisoner was filmed there. (I wonder if they got kicked out at 7:30?)

Here are Pixie's photos from her visit, followed by some screencaps from the incredible 360° panoramic views of the village which I had great fun playing with.

These 'window' frames are decorated with clam shells

I love the pale turquoise of the fence; this particular shade highlights so much of the village's features. Below, Pixie shares a photo from inside her suite which was in its own private building:

These two images (above and below) are taken from a panoramic view of Portmeirion's Battery Park, by Ralph Ames

The panoramic angles and the vivid colours remind me of the slides I used to look at as a child through my View-master!

There seems to be a religious theme in this part of Battery Square of the Christian persuasion. I can't see the detail of the painting on the arch of the white building on the left, above, but it appears to be in the style of the Mannerist era. And below, I think that's Jesus saying hello on the balcony! Shot by Billy Hepburn

 

 

The Portmeirion Beach,  Traeth Sands. By Billy Hepburn:

The Bristol Colonnade is...making me want to book train tickets!

A magical name for a magical house - Unicorn Cottage:

And we'll end with the Village Green before I explode with enthusiasm:

Thanks, Pixie!

Interiors & Exteriors: Saltburn-by-the-Sea

  

Now I love our beach, the aptly named Longsands that spans Tynemouth to Cullercoats, and the neighbouring idyllic King Edwards Bay with the Priory Castle overlooking the North Sea from its beautiful, craggy cliff. But last weekend I really fell hard for the beach and seaside community of Saltburn-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire. We were visiting our lovely friends in their new home in Yarm for the first time and they spoiled us in all kinds of ways, and one of them was taking us to their local beach to share the beauty.

Not only was the beach gorgeous and expansive with an impressive look-out pier, there were all kinds of charming little shops, restaurants and ice cream stands, and of course anything one needed to surf (no, I didn't, that would look ridiculous).  It was a clear, sunny day and people from all over had come to pretend it was spring. I have never seen a queue so long for fish and chips, and in England that's saying a lot.  (It was worth the wait!)

This post  is for this week's Interiors & Exteriors feature and it's long enough sticking to the theme, so I'll post the beach shots separately. Are you craving fish and chips now? I am.

In the town, just a quick uphill walk from the beach, there were some great shops. I was already lagging behind and we needed to eat lunch so I didn't go in, but I wanted some photos of the wonderful window displays of Northern Lights Interiors

As I was snapping away I saw a woman smiling from inside - you can see her below! and I smiled and waved. As I headed down the road she came out after me and asked if I'd take photos of the storefront, they'd been having trouble getting them without cars in the way and I was happy to oblige. I even had a man ham it up for me!

 

We passed a random rusted-out door that appeared to lead to nowhere with a keypad right in the middle. I'll bet if you pushed the right numbers it would transport you to another dimension. Prove me wrong!

  This photo would have been so much cooler if I'd waited just 10 more seconds...

 

On display at Arts Bank were lamps and tables in vibrant patchwork by Jane Atkinson and a metal sculpture by Ray Lonsdale. Each contains a 'secret meaning' in the form of an object placed in the head. Now, if I'd read the brief beside this life-size contemplative man instead of taking a photo and reading at home, I would have looked and been able to tell you what was in his head! 

 
   

Photos by Denise Grayson

The Painted Houses Project: Around the World

Capetown, South Africa

Thanks to a quick response to the call for photo submissions to the Painted Houses Project which only launched five days ago, we've already got our first feature! These great photos sent in by readers are from cities all over the world which is what I was hoping the project would offer. In addition to seeing how colour dramatically enhances the landscape, we get a look into the diversity of aesthetics as they range from country to country, city to city.

Zendra has given us an intriguing look at Lesoto, Capetown and Norway:

Lesota, Africa. This appears to be a street scene with vibrant murals and people to match, one of the most beautiful things about Africa. I've never seen adornments on the ankles like this.

These brick red boat houses in Norway look especially striking against the backdrop of fresh greenery and blue, open skies:

 

Amy from Real Life Amy is originally from England and now lives in Australia. She took these lovely photos on her travels. Beautiful painted doors are part of the charm of Bath, England:

The buildings in Trier, Germany are so uniquely detailed and here we see a use of soft and earthy colour to create an warm, inviting feel in what appears to be the city centre. It would be enough to get me to sit down and have a beer, and I hate beer!

Angela Hooker contributed a photo as well, she's the talented textile designer for Felder Felder.  You can see her gorgeous work here. This building is near Marseilles in the south of France and Angela tells us that the house opposite was the same yet all painted green, with a green bike parked in front. Hearing that you do have to wonder if they painted their bikes to match the shutters, or vice versa!

A big thank you to Zendra, Amy and Angela for their fantastic contributions. If you have a photo you'd like to share you can email it using the Contact tab in the banner menu.  Tell us where you took it and anything else we might like to know about it!

For more about the Painted Houses Project you can have a look here

Introducing the Painted Houses Project!

If you've been to The Swelle Life before you've surely noticed things look a little different around here! This is a very visual, colourful blog and I wanted to present it in a way that makes the most of that look and feel while giving profile and easy access to my favourite features, many of which are new as you can see in the far sidebar.

One of these new features is the Painted Houses Project. It's a collaborative project that relies on your submissions, so I'm calling on fellow colour lovers to send in photos of beautiful, out of the ordinary hues in their world, whether it be in your neighbourhood or from your travels. It can include houses, doors, buildings, shops, cars, whatever you may find outside in a public place that has been made special with extraordinary colour.

Colour is not something to be afraid of, it's to be celebrated!

My new banner image is based on a photo I took in Bristol last April, shown below. I played with the hues to get the pinks, blues and purples. And yes, I know, it's very colourful! You know how I love my blues. Following are other photos taken around Bristol, a vibrant, beautiful city with so many gorgeous pastel painted houses in the Clifton area. I posted most of these last year but am including them again to kick off this project.

To submit your photo to the Painted Houses Project you can email me by clicking the Contact button in the banner menu, and be sure to tell us where in the world it is! Original photos are preferred and they will be posted as they come in.

Feel free to spread the word so we can put a great collection of 'street colour' together!

Mr. Swelle would never go for it, but how I would love to live in a pink house!

 

 

What a difference a little bit of pink can make on a street!

 

Pretty painted doors are wonderful!

What a difference this bold red door (in Bath) makes on this very old stone building:

 

An adorably bright restaurant or boutique counts for the project!

Seing an old car with a perfect retro paint job in the street will brighten anyone's day:

I hope that inspires you to submit your own photo!