Aberdeen to Portsmouth - South England - quick trip

The tripping around the UK really ended in Aberdeenshire and was followed by a quick trip down to Portsmouth for our crossing to France for the World Equestrian Games (WEG).   Staying the first night in the Northumberland area.

Kath here taking a short break in Corbridge on 24 August not far from our overnight B&B and also Hadrian's Wall. Look up Google for its history or our 2011 blog.

The countryside in that part of Northumberland  is generally sheep and cattle grazing, some more intensive than others with the occasional crop.

 Sometime just rough pasture.

 While other times more intensive farming.

As seen here and above.

It was then south through Lincolnshire and Norfolk where we had not previously traveled.  More industry and population requires more electricity where there is more reliance on coal (or maybe gas) fired plants.

 While not far away near Kings Lynn intensive crop production on fertile flats.

Crops vary depending on demand and price. Above a cereal and this view sugar beet.

Some hot house crop just seen in the picture.

Also isolated horticulture with a small area of flower production spotted.

 This picture to show "monoculture" as well as crop side by side.

 Brassica seed crop, probably rape seed for oil.

Pig hutches in the grain growing area.

Harvesting under way, the last row in this field. We stayed at a B&B at Bradford Combust, a short distance south of Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk.  They specialized in Strawberry growing, with some apple orchard but also leased some land out for cereal grain cropping.  From here it was a relative short trip skirting around the east of London to Portsmouth where we returned our rental car (or rather left it at the hotel car park for the company to collect) and stayed over night and boarded the ferry to France next morning.