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North Wales ...The Mach Loop is a set of valleys, situated between Dolgellau in the north, and Machynlleth in the south (and from which the Mach Loop gets its name), which are regularly used for low level flight training, with flying as low as 250 feet (76 metres) from the nearest terrain.

Wow that looks like a leather suit of armour almost !  Great detail again Mik 

Do you think all that  pollen makes it sneeze ? !!

It's a lovely town isn't it Fogey ...  I  go there regularly ... we shall have to meet up some time .....

Oh my word that first image transported me immediately back to the sixties  and how as 17 year olds, my boyfriend  ( and husband a year later !) and I invested in a pillarbox red Vespa and toured the  coastline  for 10 days from Scarborough all the way around to Bournemouth  with a 6 foot ridge tent and two sleeping bags packed on the back of it !! I can't remember how many mirrors were attached to it  but it was a lot !!  It was our first form of  transport that didn't involve pedalling and we loved it ! 

The last pic looks like the cloisters  of a church or monastery... are they ?

Wow ... fabulous isolation Monkey ... Mach loop was famous for being such a great place to capture images like this ... given the right skills ... I love that !

Love the  colours on this veteran  ... despite it's slightly " battered " appearance !

Nicely composed there Fogey ...and unusual to have strong shadows in the foreground with that mist behind ...an ethereal atmosphere as a result ...

Yeah I  like the shadows on the first pic too!

It resembles a young foal  with gangly legs that looks completely out of proportion  to the body size doesn't it?

I imagine  it is ....

That's a cracking image Mik ... Terrific bokeh makes a stunning background ...and clicking on twice to enlarge the image shows it up beautifully .. 1st class  stuff Mik !

Absolutely...and critically endangered with only 125 counted in Russia and 46 in China  in 2022 !!  Shocking innit? Lovely shots  Monkey ... I think #2 is my favourite ...

What magnificent beasts eh ? ... tragic that they are seriously endangered now with only about 400  out in the wild now .. Sickening that  they are still killed  illegally  for Chinese medicines   and body parts for huge sums of money.  Their habitat is shrinking at an alarming rate because of human interference along with   their natural prey of sheep, deer, goats and pigs. It  is tragic ... it really is ...     Beautiful set Monkey ... they will be a rare sight for our grandchildren and great grandchildren   probably.

Never seen one of these before Monkey ... what long legs they have !!!

Wow ... they are huge... ! They seem to be in peril now in their own habitat  don't they with Arctic sea ice melting and we could  see them extinct  by 2050 apparently !!

I think it's Yorkshire Wildlife Park....

Fabulous Image there Strav ....I really like that .. The red  really give the  whole image a certain dynamism ... 

 I love the fact that you have the tickets still John  from 17 years ago ... Makes me feel better about all the sentimental stuff I have kept over the last 60 years  .... all these little things trigger memories as well as the photographs we keep . 

So there was a hospital  there in the vicinity  before .....  and this church was  an integral part  of the site ?

They are striking  birds aren't they ?  Nicely isolated  too !

Lots of great detail Apatchy... Think I like the  2nd image best ... it's so hard not to get distracting branches  in the way isn't it....?

Thats a beautifully executed   video Paul... Your editing skills are   brilliant ... I felt a great sense of history too  and  Enya always provides such atmospheric   soundtracks.  A job well done  Sir !

Do tell us a bit more about this church Paul .... It looksa fine building and  apart from  some broken windows appears in  fairly decent repair ... it doesn't seem derelict so what is the story ....?

 Love the great control you seem to have with the drone  now too ...

I also love the nonchalant  demeanor of the  Canada Geese in the background, imagining them saying ... " Just ignore  him .. he's just showing off  again !"

Love the apparent  simplicity of this shot    and the D O F really helps the separation and consequently  makes the Curlew really stand out!  Well crafted shot Mik ... I really like this .