Some more aerial shots

I can never understand why people would ever request an aisle seat on an aircraft as the best entertainment is generally from looking out of the window.  These are a selection of the photographs taken on some recent flights, they certainly provide inspiration for some future kayak trips.

A rather bumpy departure from Jersey, we were quickly into the cloud, re-appearing just before landing at Gatwick.

 My first flight into London City, with the descent taking us close to Dungeness.  A superb example of a cuspate foreland.

 Approaching London from the east, passing over the River Medway, close to Rochester.  One day I must try to visit this area to go sea kayaking.

 Flying over the deserts of the Middle East.  This was on a Qatar Airways A380, which is a great aircraft but not the best for taking photographs from.

 Sunrise over the Loire.  I have paddled on the white water of the Upper Loire but never on this section which is more famous for its Chateaux.  This was an interesting flight as we climbed to 34,000 feet after take off from Toulouse and then dropped down to 24,000 feet just north of Bordeaux and stayed at that height all the way back to Heathrow.  There was no announcement as to why we were flying back at such a low level.

 Late afternoon approach into Warsaw.  The River Vistula is the longest river in Poland.  In the early 1980's I visited one the Canoe Exhibitions at Crystal Palace and came across the International Long River Canoeists Club, an organization run by Peter Salisbury.  He used to produce numerous expedition reports, the first one I bought was his report of paddling down the River Vistula in the 1970's.  I still have it somewhere and must dig out for a read.

Some seats just aren't great for photographs, descending in Jersey we passed over Guernsey with Lihou just visible off the west coast.  I am looking forward to another weekend of paddling off this delightful island in June.

Cowes, on the Isle of Wight.  There were great views as the plane banked as it turned south towards the Channel Islands.