Eddie Leonard Photoblog

Thursday, 27 March 2014

Operation Joint Warrior 27/3/14

The first of the 2014 Joint Warrior exercises takes placed over the next two weeks.

Warships from the participating navies are on their way to the exercise.

Most of the ships are expected to gather in the Clyde, with the first of them already here.

An early trip to Rhu for HMS Bulwark's arrival was followed by a couple of pictures of HMS Kent and the Dutch frigate HNLMS Van Speijk anchored off Greenock.

L15 HMS Bulwark approaching Rhu narrows

L15 HMS Bulwark

Aft deck of HMS Bulwark

F78 HMS Kent at anchor off Greenock

Frigate F828 HNLMS Van Speijk of the Royal Netherlands Navy

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Argyll Flyer

I took a run down to Gourock for a change of scenery. Argyll Flyer presented an opportunity for a couple of pictures as she crossed the Clyde.

The Argyll hills aren't yet ready to shrug off their covering of winter snow but the nights are starting to lengthen and we are now past the spring equinox.

Saturday, 15 March 2014

Bianco Venture

Bulk carrier Bianco Venture passing Greenock on her way to Shieldhall Quay in Glasgow with a cargo of animal feed.

Sunday, 2 March 2014

A trip up-river

With the hope of seeing Renfrew's bascule bridge open, we took a trip last Sunday morning, but when we got there, there was no sign of activity.

After waiting around for a while we learned that plans had changed and that the bridge would be staying down.

The day was not wasted as another opportunity arose for us to get some pictures of dredging work taking place slightly further up the River Cart.

At one time the River Cart was dredged regularly as the river had shipyards as far up as Paisley. That industry is long gone, but the river is sometimes used by barges bringing finished goods from the manufacturing units in the background.

This is apparently the first time in around twenty years that this section of the river has been cleared.

On our way back down the road we stopped at Erskine Bridge to see the bulker Graig Rotterdam making her way up to Glasgow.

Saturday, 1 March 2014

Cape Elise

After an eventful journey, bulk carrier Cape Elise has come to Greenock where she is expected to undergo repairs to damage caused in the winter storms.

She lost some of her control systems and had to be towed from off the west coast of Ireland to Hunterston where her cargo was unloaded before making her way to Greenock

Some of the damage can be seen on the rear of her superstructure and the railings around her deck.

Sunday, 16 February 2014

Electric Glen

Now in its second year, East Renfrewshire Council have created a spectacular winter light display at Rouken Glen Park.

One of their woodlands walks has been transformed with the help of clever lighting displays and music.

The event was attended by thousands over the space of two weekends.

The large crowds sometimes made it difficult to capture clear images. I'm sure that in more than one picture you will find ghostly images of passers-by.

Thursday, 23 January 2014

Monte Carlo Historique Rally

One of the starting points for the 2014 Monte Carlo Historique Rally was Paisley. The cars gathered at Abbey Close, where a large crowd came along to view these beautiful cars.

The rally started shortly before 6pm with cars departing at 1 minute intervals. By this time darkness had fallen which caused problems with the sharpness of some of my pictures.

I have only added a few of my pictures below. More can be viewed on my Picasa gallery