Ideally at the weekend when I am working in a new location on the Saturday like to explore a new town or city and the Sunday do a long walk in the countryside somewhere.  This Saturday I wanted to explore Cheltenham town and then take a detour and do a recon on top of the nearby Cleeve Hill.

Cheltenham Regency

Interestingly I nearly rented a flat in Cheltenham on a 6 month contract in the regency montpellier area with me working in nearby Tewkesbury.  With Cheltenham being voted one of the best places to live in the UK.

Spareroom

But on short notice rented a studio in Pershore through spareroom, the advantage being often the rentals you can find on Spareroom are all inclusive of bills and no agency fees etc.  I hate paperwork and snail mail.  Its not just rooms for rent on Spareroom, you can also find studios, 1 bed flats etc again the landlords also want to avoid agency fees.

Being a freelancer compliments my hobbies of amateur photography and walking. Hopefully every 6 to 12 months will move into a completely new area and I have found renting off Spareroom to offer the best short term options.

Where I am in Pershore is very quiet, if the contract was to be extended for another 6 months or to get another in the same proximity would have opted for a complete change and moved into Cheltenham or Gloucester city center.

Canon Compact

I really dont like to draw attention to myself while walking around a busy town center like Cheltenham in Gloucestershire so just go out with my canon compact S120 camera.  These compacts though are like a dlsr in compact form including raw capture and full manual override. They take some great photos too.  I always take a pocket mini tripod too in case there are opportunities for some long exposures.

Cleeve Hill

After having a good wander around Cheltenham town center and a couple of coffees drove to Cleeve Hill the car park near the Golf course and club house.  Watch out for stray golf balls walking around the periphery, its a shame Cleeve Hill has been made into a giant golf course in the center.  I usually avoid Golf courses but made an exception for Cleeve Hill.

The views of vale and the distant Malvern Hills are fantastic from Cleeve Hill,with Cleeve Hill being the highest in the Cotswolds region.

Being mid afternoon it was more a recon along Cleeve Hill with the intention coming back sunrise or sunset with my DLSR and tripod. The sun was high and the view of Cheltenham was completely bleached out.  But towards the Malverns there were some good shots.  The empty park bench above  gives great foreground interest and acts as an anchor point into the frame.

A good walk on top of Cleeve hill, getting some good photos with my canon compact.  I not do the whole circuit but intend to return to Cleeve Hill sometime soon and maybe move into Cheltenham town center into a regency flat.