It’s just started to rain here. The sky is a strange mix of blue to the north and black, grey and white clouds to the south. The blue is currently winning and pushing the dark clouds southwards, and the hills are being illuminated by heavenly spotlights as the sun shafts through the clouds in almost perfect circles. It’s constantly changing through my picture window.
Tharg, the Osprey was probably heading back to Credenhill barracks (Hereford) where the SAS are based. It’s 20 miles due West and I believe it’s the preferred aircraft for their travel these days.
Two weeks ago I watched a Chinook circling and hovering over two large fields about a mile and a half East and below my house. It was there for about ten minutes in which time it descended to hedge level three times without landing. I’ve got a pair of 25×70 binoculars which are tripod mounted, but the Chinook is so big and was close enough on a very clear day to view it in all it’s glory with just the ‘mark one eyeball’, lol. I’ve seen other smaller helicopters using the same fields for hovering practice (they must have an agreement with the farmer). It’s entertaining to watch them fly sideways and backwards in patterns.
As I said in an earlier post the military do a lot of aircraft and helicopter training flights around here due to the topography and the rural aspect.
As I’ve typed this post the sky has now totally cleared and the Severn valley is bathed in full sunlight. Nature at it’s best.