Oxford Inciter Pictures

Exeter College Chapel spire

2007-09-29T00:28:00.001Z

The spire of Exter College Chapel viewed in the gap between the Bodleian and the Sheldonian

A flock of birds over Wytham

2007-09-26T23:54:00.000Z

Hundreds, if not thousands, of birds suddenly appear, fill the air for a short time, and disappear again.

Swans at sunset on Port Meadow

2007-09-24T00:00:00.000Z

These swans look like decorations floating in liquid chocolate. Port Meadow, looking west into the evening sun.

Herons opposite Binsey on Port Meadow

2007-09-13T23:47:00.001Z

There are 7 or more herons on Port Meadow at the moment, together with some egrets. When they move, it is often to displace another heron from a good feeding spot.

A narrow boat on Port Meadow

2007-09-11T23:52:00.001Z

The canal barge looks as if it is beached in a field. It is, of course, on the River Thames, viewed across Port Meadow.

Small dog sees off big swans

2007-09-09T20:28:00.001Z

I was composing a shot this morning of a placid group of swans sitting in a pool on Port Meadow. As I looked in my viewfinder, all hell broke loose as a small dog appeared.

Running deer near Oxford

2007-09-08T00:29:00.000Z

You do not have to go far out of Oxford to find deer. This one seems to have been practising classical ballet

Birds flock at evening on Port Meadow

2007-08-29T00:44:00.001Z

The silver cloud just discernible between the trees is a large flock of birds which rose suddenly and noisily as the light faded across Port Meadow. I would tell you what they were if I knew.

Old and young greys on Port Meadow

2007-08-27T23:55:00.000Z

They still make those films where the wise old Native American elder takes the young warrior to a lonely spot, makes him look across the tribal plains and urges him to grow strong and defend his birthright. I think that is what is happening here on Oxford's Port Meadow.

Evening sky towards Wytham

2007-08-14T23:07:00.001Z

Sunset reflects in the foreground on the marsh which was left when the floods receded and, in the middle distance, on the River Thames

A motley pony on Port Meadow

2007-08-10T00:43:00.001Z

You could spend hours trying to get such a patchwork pony to stand in such classic style against a patchwork background. Or you could just point and shoot, as I did. In the foreground is Port Meadow, a large inland sea only a week ago. Beyond the River Thames is Binsey, with Wytham Hill behind it.

Blue boat on the Oxford Canal

2007-08-07T00:38:00.000Z

This pretty boat is at the bottom of a garden in Kingston Road. The canal water was clear and the sun shone.

Scaffolding reflected in Oxford Canal

2007-08-04T23:40:00.000Z

The floods have made the waters of the Oxford canal very clear. The scaffolding is rather more attractive than the building it conceals.

Port Meadow cattle brave the floods

2007-08-01T21:03:00.000Z

After days hemmed in at the south end of Port Meadow by the floods, the cattle and horses needed food. They gathered nervously at the brim before plunging in, then followed the river to Wolvercote

Cattle stranded on Port Meadow

2007-07-31T22:34:00.001Z

The cattle had tried to move to the north end of Port Meadow but were defeated by the floods. It was several days before they could get up to Wolvercote

Trap Grounds Allotments gate in floods

2007-07-30T23:23:00.000Z

Most of the allotments at the Trap Grounds were under water - scenic for a photographer, heart-breaking for those who had slaved to bring them to the height of the growing season.

The gate onto flooded Port Meadow

2007-07-27T00:54:00.001Z

The water just beyond the gate comes over my wellingtons. This is the bottom of the Aristotle Lane entrance to Port Meadow in Oxford. Port Meadow is usually a plain of browning grass by this time of year. The River Thames lies this side of the distant trees, but you cannot now see where Port Meadow ends and the river begins.

Wet cow at Binsey, Oxford

2007-07-25T10:37:00.001Z

Binsey is on low-lying land beside the River Thames near Oxford. The cattle looked distinctly mournful on Saturday, when this was taken.

Artichokes and Hollyhocks

2007-07-19T00:36:00.000Z

Artichokes and hollyhocks make a contrasting array on the Trap Grounds Allotments next to Port Meadow, Oxford

Heron and canal barge at Port Meadow

2007-07-13T00:37:00.000Z

The canal barge looks as if it is floating on grass. I do not remember a year when Port Meadow did not dry out by July

Hercules and swift over Port Meadow

2007-07-09T00:06:00.001Z

This was one of two Hercules transport planes which I photographed over Port Meadow. I did not notice the swift until much later.

Clouds over Wytham

2007-07-07T23:20:00.001Z

Across Port Meadow to Wytham Hill as evening clouds mass above

Coot nests in a tyre at Medley

2007-07-06T00:13:00.000Z

An old tyre makes a good nesting place for this coot. I found her here, at Medley beside Port Meadow, Oxford, two days running at the same time of day, stretching her legs and preening herself.

Boats and cranes on Port Meadow

2007-07-03T00:35:00.001Z

Developers rule here in Oxford, thanks to compliant planners and spineless councillors. Their cranes lie between the spires and domes of Oxford and the boats and picnic parties on Port Meadow.

Henry Taunt bridge on Port Meadow

2007-06-30T15:59:00.001Z

A site called Catholic Ponderer reproduces an old Henry Taunt picture of Port Meadow and kindly provides a link to my Binsey tag for a post about Gerard Manley Hopkins' Binsey Poplars.

The bridge he shows still exists - this photograph was taken last Winter. It stands at the south-east corner of Port Meadow near the Walton Well car park. So, not at Binsey (and not poplars either, but willows), but not far away.

Evening sky across Port Meadow

2007-06-28T13:13:00.000Z

Taken from Burgess Field, across Port Meadow and the Thames, towards Wytham Hill on an evening in April

Summer party on Port Meadow

2007-06-27T00:32:00.001Z

Port Meadow parties range from genteel affairs like this one to large teenage gatherings after dark. Read more about the latter here.

Scarecrow on Trap Grounds Allotments

2007-06-24T22:45:00.001Z

The Trap Grounds Allotments lie at the end of Aristotle Lane in Oxford, abutting Port Meadow and Burgess Field. This is the best scarecrow this year, by a long way.

Heron and cow on Port Meadow

2007-06-23T08:27:00.000Z

A heron and a cow eye each other up on Port Meadow in Oxford

Snow over Port Meadow to Binsey

2007-06-21T00:15:00.000Z

Midsummer's day is a good opportunity to recall what Port Meadow looks like under snow. This view is the same as several more pastoral shots across Port Meadow to Binsey on this site and was taken on 8 February 2007.

Sunset across the Thames

2007-06-18T23:40:00.000Z

A view from Port Meadow across the River Thames at sunset. Taken in September 2006.

Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford

2007-06-17T00:22:00.001Z

The rough beauty of Port Meadow lies a few minutes west of my house. A few minutes east takes me to the more formal University Parks. Could one ask for more in the way of contrasting places to walk?

This view of the Radcliffe Observatory and the University cricket pitch was taken at the end of Summer 2006.

Trees across the Thames at dusk

2007-06-15T00:30:00.000Z

I like the contrast between the neat row of trees across the River Thames towards Wytham and the ragged ones on Burgess Field

Summer Sunday on Port Meadow

2007-06-13T00:01:00.001Z

Horses and cattle rub shoulders with sailing boats. A couple sun-bathe on the far bank of the Thames. A pair of walkers rest and take in the view. Sunday on Port Meadow in summer.

Oilseed rape above Binsey

2007-06-11T22:38:00.001Z

Oilseed rape was not intensively grown in Britain until the mid-1960s. I can remember almost a shock at finding a bright new colour in the palette of the fields around my school. They grew it last year on Wytham Hill above Binsey. This photograph, across Port Meadow and the Thames and Binsey, was taken last May.

Red Arrows over Port Meadow

2007-06-10T00:51:00.001Z

Regular visitors will know that we get a variety of aerial activity over Port Meadow - a Red Kite, a Falcon and a Heron this week, for example. Today, by way of variety, the Red Arrows passed overhead. I missed them. I took this photograph of them on 23 August 1969 at RAF Chivenor in Devon.

Kestrel over Burgess Field, Oxford

2007-06-09T01:04:00.000Z

A kestrel hovers over Burgess Field, Oxford, at dusk. Below, the same bird in silhouette.

Crow sees off Red Kite

2007-06-07T23:48:00.001Z

I have not previously seen a Red Kite on Port Meadow save at a great height. This one was first taken on by a lapwing, which scarpered when a crow joined in.

The crow shadowed the kite, who affected unconcern, cruising above the shallow water until the moment shown in the final picture, when the crow spread its wings and tail-gated the kite.

Port Meadow Pigeon

2007-06-06T22:59:00.000Z

A pigeon sits on the fence on the track down from the Aristotle Lane railway bridge onto Port Meadow. Much closer, and he would have pecked at the lens.

St Barnabas from Burgess Field

2007-06-05T23:59:00.001Z

The tower of St Barnabas Church, Jericho, Oxford, seen from Burgess Field, Port Meadow

Reflections at Hayfield Wharf

2007-06-04T23:28:00.000Z

The offices on the former Hayfield Wharf, by Aristotle Lane on the Oxford Canal, look more attractive reflected upside down.

Reflected Duck Pieces

2007-05-31T22:44:00.001Z

This started as a routine shot of a mother duck and her brood in a ditch on Port Meadow, and looked less interesting as a picture than it did in real life. Pieces of reflected duck look much more interesting.

Contrasting images of Oxford

2007-05-30T23:53:00.000Z

In the foreground Oxford more or less untouched since the Iron Age - actually Port Meadow. In the background, Oxford more or less as it has appeared since Wren's day - a series of stately towers, spires and domes. At right, Oxford as it will be - two of the many cranes which tower over the place. Catch the view while you can, before the planners stamp their own image on the place.

The Thames at Binsey

2007-05-30T00:54:00.000Z

Still waters - the Thames at Binsey, Oxford, seen from Port Meadow

Beating the Bounds on Port Meadow

2007-05-28T23:37:00.000Z

The Parish of St Margaret's in North Oxford extends on to the Aristotle Lane Allotments and the corner of Port Meadow. On Ascension Day a party from the church sets out to beat the bounds, that is, to tour the perimeter of the parish. They stop occasionally for a sing and a prayer.

Binsey Buttercups

2007-05-28T00:20:00.001Z

Buttercups at Binsey, seen from Port Meadow across the River Thames. What you cannot see is that much of the Perch Inn, behind the trees to the right, was destroyed by fire a few days earlier.

The Perch at Night

2007-05-25T00:22:00.000Z

It was dark when this was taken apart from the moon behind and the lights of the Perch and a couple of canal barges on the river. The woods of Wytham Hill beyond are blue and mysterious and it looks as if the Perch is on fire. A week later it was.

Sun on Port Meadow trees

2007-05-20T23:12:00.000Z

The three surviving old trees across the Thames are belatedly turning to green, a month or so after everything else on Port Meadow. This is the northernmost of them.

A fly on cow parsley

2007-05-19T23:11:00.000Z

This photograph was meant to be of the cow parsley head below. The resident fly did not appear until I magnified the picture. Taken on Burgess Field, Port Meadow, Oxford

Heron effect

2007-05-18T23:38:00.001Z

I have a loosely-enforced, self-imposed rule not to tamper too much with the photographs published here. I may crop bits out, alter the contrast and so on but, on the whole, what you see is what I saw. I make an exception for this heron.

Pterodactyl on Port Meadow

2007-05-18T00:39:00.000Z

Port Meadow is ancient, and evidence of Iron Age occupation is commonplace there. This photograph suggests that the Iron Age is pretty recent history. I did not realise I had photographed a Pterodactyl until I looked closely at the image. I thought at the time that it was a heron.

Port Meadow cranes in silhouette

2007-05-17T00:30:00.000Z

The work which these cranes are doing will ruin the southern view of Port Meadow for ever. The cranes themselves, however, are strangely beautiful

Thrush on Burgess Field, Oxford

2007-05-15T23:20:00.000Z

A thrush is a rarer sight on Port Meadow than heron, which are almost commonplace. This thrush was on Burgess Field.

Chimney-pots in Jericho

2007-05-15T00:39:00.000Z

These chimney-pots sit on the north side of Juxon Street, in Jericho, Oxford.

Coastal Command Heron over Port Meadow

2007-05-13T23:38:00.000Z

We have had geese as Lancaster bombers on this site and heron as Battle of Britain dog-fighters. Now we have heron as Coastal Command Catalinas, scanning the waters below for something to attack.

Yellow dusk across Port Meadow

2007-05-13T00:24:00.000Z

Wytham Hill in the background, framed by the old trees across the River Thames hidden in the blackness below. A view from Burgess Field across Port Meadow, Oxford.

The Perch Inn at Binsey, Oxford, on fire

2007-05-08T19:41:00.000Z

The Perch Inn at Binsey, Oxford, was on fire this evening

More Aerial Combat over Port Meadow

2007-05-07T21:25:00.000Z

The heron coming up from behind had already chased another heron off Port Meadow before turning on this one. He tailed the enemy from behind and below (see second picture) then suddenly accelerated upwards. The top one escaped, leaving the aggressor in command of the air.

We have already had Dambuster geese on this site. Now we have Battle of Britain herons.

Aerial combat over Port Meadow

2007-05-06T23:10:00.000Z

A tern chases a crow across Port Meadow, presumably after whatever it is that the crow is carrying.

Blossom on Burgess Field, Oxford

2007-05-06T00:20:00.000Z

Burgess Field is a former rubbish tip, lying between Port Meadow and North Oxford. The dustcarts still rolled over Port Meadow when I first came to Oxford. These places have to have administrative labels these days, so it has become a "Nature Reserve".

Across Port Meadow to Binsey

2007-05-05T00:12:00.000Z

The Perch pub lies between the trees, with the River Thames and Port Meadow between us and it.

Willows by the Thames near Medley

2007-05-04T00:57:00.000Z

These Willow trees are on the west bank of the River Thames as it runs south from Medley and Port Meadow towards Oxford.

Chaffinch on the fence at Aristotle Lane

2007-05-02T23:33:00.000Z

A chaffinch sits on the fence at the bottom of the Aristotle Lane path on to Port Meadow, Oxford

Oxford Planners and Port Meadow

2007-05-02T00:04:00.000Z

Most of the photographs in this collection show either beautiful things on Port Meadow or beautiful buildings in Oxford city.

Between them lies the contribution which Oxford's planning officers and councillors make to the city. The Radcliffe Camera, the University Church and the spire of Lincoln Library disappear behind a crass block of flats which will dominate the southern end of Port Meadow.

Heron and Swan land on Port Meadow

2007-04-28T23:54:00.000Z

The herons always come to Port Meadow as the Winter waters subside. Every so often one picks itself up and flaps a few yards to a new feeding spot.

Like the next plane onto the runway, a swan lands in similar pose but makes more of a splash.

A horse kicks up the ducks on Port Meadow

2007-04-26T23:56:00.000Z

This horse was the last of a group to come across the water at dusk. The aerial creatures look more like bats in this light, but were in fact mallards.

Impressionist view across Port Meadow to Binsey

2007-04-25T00:18:00.000Z

I must confess that this grainy view was accidental, caused by leaving the camera settings used for a gig at the Market Tavern the previous night. This was the heron's first day back here this year.

Duck and Ducklings on Port Meadow

2007-04-23T23:52:00.000Z

Orange sauce and Ophelia come to mind for some reason. The pond at the end of the Aristotle Lane track on to Port Meadow is, as always, nursery to the next generation of ducklings.

Old Elms across the Thames

2007-04-22T22:16:00.000Z

These Elm trees are the survivors of a fine row which stood on the west bank of the Thames opposite Port Meadow at Oxford. One day I will find the photographs which I took of them in the mid-1970s. The next generation of trees are catching up behind them, but have a long way to go.

Dambuster geese over Port Meadow

2007-04-22T00:49:00.000Z

This looks like a re-run of the Dambusters, with Wolvercote Bridge standing in for the Mohne Dam.

Boats reflected at Medley

2007-04-20T18:30:00.000Z

Traditional river and canal boats reflected in the water at Medley. Port Meadow stretches beyond to Wolvercote Bridge

Swan and dead tree on Port Meadow

2007-04-17T21:04:00.000Z

I took the photograph for the swan. In fact, it is the dead tree which catches the eye, attended on each side by the wooden frames in which the next generation of trees is growing.

Canal Barge on the Thames at Oxford

2007-04-13T22:30:00.000Z

Canal barges seem to shrink when in open water out of the confines of the canal.The River Thames at Port Meadow, Oxford, is particularly wide at the moment.

Across Medley Weir to Cumnor Hill

2007-04-08T00:30:00.000Z

Weir Cottage at Medley Weir on Port Meadow, Oxford with view across to Cumnor Hill

Horse and swans on Port Meadow

2007-04-06T15:00:00.000Z

A horse and swans on Port Meadow, Oxford, as the winter waters recede

Christ Church from South Park, Oxford

2007-04-04T21:24:00.000Z

Christ Church - dining hall, Cathedral and Tom Tower with St Aldates' Church spire, seen from South Park, Oxford

Boats reflected in the Oxford Canal

2007-04-02T23:42:00.000Z

Boats reflected in the Oxford Canal

Horses wade in Port Meadow sunset

2007-04-02T00:25:00.000Z

We have not seen the horses at the south end of Port Meadow since the waters rose. At sunset on Sunday they waded across the shallow flood.

Destroying Oxford's Skyline

2007-04-01T10:52:00.000Z

Isn't this beautiful? An old-fashioned canal barge potters past ancient Port Meadow on the fringes of Oxford. The view has been cherished and preserved by generations of those who love and appreciate the value of the landscape.

But here come the City of Oxford Planning Department - crass and architecturally-illiterate, indifferent to the appearance of the city, too idle to consider the impact on the view, plodding through their form-filling.

A big developer can make millions by dumping a huge block of flats bang in the middle of all this beauty. Standing in their way means work. It is much easier just to let them have their way. The residents have no right of appeal, so they can be ignored, and most of the councillors will do as they are told - just hint that an appeal will cost money out of their budget and they will approve anything.

This is what the man on the barge is looking at.

The man in charge of planning at Oxfrd City Council is called Michael Crofton-Briggs. Let him know what you think by sending him an e-mail at mcrofton-briggs@oxford.gov.uk

The councillors and planners will not stop here. For more on the plans to turn Oxford into Gotham City see Oxford plans its ruin on our sister site.

The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

2007-03-31T22:46:00.000Z

The Radcliffe Camera, Oxford

Port Meadow tree reflection

2007-03-26T23:07:00.000Z

The tree at the end of the Aristotle Lane path to Port Meadow, Oxford

Worcester Place, Oxford

2007-03-23T01:28:00.000Z

Brickwork and street-sign at the junction of Walton Street and Worcester Place in Oxford

Radcliffe Camera and Brasenose chimneys

2007-03-21T01:18:00.000Z

The dome of the Radcliffe Camera and the chimneys of Brasenose College, Oxford

Sun on the Taylorian Institute, Oxford

2007-03-20T00:49:00.000Z

Afternoon sun through the St Giles gate of the Taylorian Institute, Oxford

Weir at Medley, Port Meadow, Oxford

2007-03-18T15:49:00.000Z

The Thames weir at Medley, Port Meadow, Oxford with Weir Cottage reflected in the water and the base of the old bridge visible

Snow at Medley, Port Meadow, Oxford

2007-03-18T00:30:00.000Z

Boats at Medley, Port Meadow, after snow on 8 February 2007

St Barnabas reflects on the Oxford Canal

2007-03-14T23:55:00.000Z

St Barnabas Church in Jericho, Oxford, reflected in the waters of the Oxford Canal on 7 March 2007

Port Meadow Tree at Sunset

2007-03-14T09:46:00.000Z

The tree by the gate from Aristotle Lane to Port Meadow at sunset on Saturday 10 March 2007

Noah on Port Meadow

2007-03-13T10:22:00.000Z

As the flood-water recedes from Port Meadow, one can imagine what Noah felt like as grass begins to show through the surface. Taken this morning.

Port Meadow Sunset

2007-03-11T00:05:00.000Z

Port Meadow, Oxford at sunset this evening.

Castle Mill Boatyard on the Oxford Canal

2007-03-10T17:09:00.000Z

Castle Mill Boatyard on the Oxford Canal. Property developers British Waterways Board (previously best known as the statutory guardian of Britain's canals) has turned the boatyard business out and wanted to throw up a tacky development with the help of a down-market volume house-builder. This is what it looks like whilst rival plans are discussed.

See Oxford Inciter article about this stretch of the canal

Microlight on Port Meadow

2007-02-06T00:51:00.000Z

Port Meadow in Oxford is home to a wide variety of airborne creatures, not all of them natural.

If I need justification for carrying a camera out there most days, I found it on Sunday 4 February 2006 when a rare species made a couple of turns in front of me.

The purists would no doubt object to this on more than one ground - the ornithologists certainly did as birds scattered in every direction. I thought it wonderfully cheeky - a confusing hybrid of ET, Heath Robinson and Geri Halliwell, all out of their usual context.

Cranes over Port Meadow

2007-01-15T01:43:00.000Z

The photograph serves as a motif for Oxford Inciter.

In the foreground is Port Meadow, 374 acres of open land which lies between the River Thames and North Oxford. A canal boat moors on the Thames. Behind are trees and, invisible beyond them, a railway line laid down in 1846 and Oxford Canal, opened in 1790.

In the background are the tower of Magdalen College, the Radcliffe Camera, the University Church, Exeter College Chapel and Lincoln College Library.

In between, and looming over all of it, is a pile driver, two cranes, and a vulgar new red building bringing us rudely into the 21st Century.

Oxford Inciter's Logo

2007-01-15T01:27:00.000Z

Oxford Inciter's logo showing a crane looming over the towers and spires of Oxford.

The visible ones from left are the Radcliffe Camera, the University Church, Exeter College Chapel, Lincoln College Library, St Aldate's Church, Tom Tower at Christ Church, St Barnabas Church in Jericho and Nuffield College.

Since this photograph was taken, three enormous white cranes appear in this view. They are strangely beautiful. The luxury flats which they are building will not be.