Trip to the Cotswolds

Last weekend I went on a trip to the Cotswolds with my family, where we stayed in a cottage on a working farm. Friday was our first day: on our way to the cottage we stopped off in Gloucester for some lunch and to have a look around. My mum had read on Trip Advisor that Gloucester was a bit of a dump but the areas that we went to were actually really nice. First we walked around the cathedral, which is very imposing and has some very intricate detailing in the stone work:

After checking out the cathedral, we carried on walking down to the docks. I definitely didn't expect there to be docks in Gloucester but it was a really nice area that has been done up with a new shopping centre and restaurants. All of the old warehouses are now really nice apartment buildings and there are lots of boats on the water to look at. 

On our second day, we drove to the Cotswolds Water Park where we did some kayaking. We then went on one of the walks from the park to a nearby village and then back. 

That evening, we had found out that the Severn Bore was going to be happening. This is when a tidal surge goes up the estuary of the River Severn creating waves and raising the water level. Sometimes the waves can be that strong that people surf and kayak on the water, however on Saturday it wasn't that strong. It was still really interesting to see the water come in so quick from the river being so low and we definitely saw waves on the water which was very weird to see. Also, because it had been a nice day, there was a really nice sunset to accompany the Severn Bore.

On Sunday, we visited the Forest of Dean, in particular a place called Puzzlewood where a lot of tv programmes and films have been shot. The area is very fantastical and is said to have inspired J.R.R Tolkein for Lord of the Rings. This was somewhere I was really excited to photograph as I really enjoy landscape photography. At first I had some problems as it was a dull day so there wasn't much light coming through the trees. I had to up my ISO and make sure I kept my hands steady to get good shots. I tried to shoot from different angles and vantage points than I usually would, but it was quite hard as there were quite a lot of people there and I had to make sure I didn't get in the way. I also had trouble trying to get shots without people in them but I think I got some really successful ones.