A musical instrument powered by tides

I saw this High Tide Organ in Blackpool in Lancashire in UK on the South Promenade.

High Tide Organ, Blackpool

This instrument plays as the swell of water at high tide pushes air up its eight pipes attached to the sea wall which causes the eighteen organ pipes to sound. The organ must be about 80 feet high. As the tides occur twice a day at an interval of about 12.5 hours duration therefore the high tides are at different times each day. The organ starts playing couple of hours before the high tide and continues till a couple of hours after high tide. Rougher the sea higher the organ sounds therefore the high tide organ is the manifestation of the sea. It has been designed by Liam Curtin and John Gooding.

Blackpool is a seaside town in North West England known for its beaches, trams, pebbled streets and night life. I will write more on Blackpool later.

London Eye at Night

This 135 meter high giant ferris wheel was the highest observation point in London after its erection in 1999 till it was surpassed by the Shard built in 2013.

London Eye at Night

Located on the south bank of the river Thames it is known by various names like the London Eye, Millennium Wheel or the British Airways London Eye. The obvious function of the wheel is to give a bird’s eye view to tourist of the sights of the city of London.

London Eye with Palace of Westminster and Big Ben and the Thames river

The above photo was taken from the 24th floor restaurant of a building located right on the Thames giving me a perspective of not only the river Thames and its traffic but also in one frame itself the London Eye ferris wheel, the Palace of Westminster and the Big Ben.

London Eye During Daytime

What is interesting is the view of the ferris wheel itself from various angles and times of the day.

Reflection of the London Eye on the Thames

It looks the most beautiful at night as it is lit by blue and orange lights and the reflection of the same in the water of the Thames is just fantastic.

Another view of the Millennium Wheel 

Also read:

The Shard of London- Tallest or Ugliest?

I used my finger. Did you?

I was among the first ones to go out to exercise my right to choose the most suitable candidate in my constituency to become a Member of Parliament. 

Power of the finger (the indelible ink is put so that someone does not vote more than once)

I suggest that if you have not already voted then do so as there is still time (voting goes on till 6 PM) and make a difference. Do not consider it as a mere holiday but a holiday where you can make the difference.

Voters at one of the booths

Choose the candidate who is educated and can make the saner voiced be heard in the Parliament. Chose the one who thinks about development of the country instead of 'development of the self'.

Voters at another booth

This time the voting for the Indian Parliament would be a nine phase one and it has already started on the 7th of this month and continues till mid-May. That is when all the results would be announced. Let us hope that we get better Parliamentarians this time.

Jaisamand Lake near Alwar, Rajasthan

The Jaisamand lake is an artificial lake near Alwar in Rajasthan that has been built to store water from the overflow of the Ruparel river and to use the water during the parched summer months.

Jaisamand Lake, Alwar

The lake is about six kms from Alwar on the way to Silserh lake and Sariska Tiger Reserve. There is a minor village road leading to this place. As I had driven from Delhi therefore connectivity was not an issue with me. I had stayed at the Silserh Lake Palace Hotel from which point the Jaisamand Lake is not very far. There is almost no traffic on this road either of the tourists or of the locals so if you want some solitude amidst beauty then this is the place for you. Do not expect any eatables etc to be available here. If you want to spend some time here then bring your own water and eatables.

View of the embankment from one of the Cenotaphs at Jaisamand Lake

What is interesting here is that instead of a drab embankment normally found on such lakes the Jaisamand lake embankment has beautiful chattris (cenotaph) made all along its 1.5 km stretch adding immense beauty to the place. The reflection of the chattris on the water is beautiful. The central cenotaph is the largest of them and much more work has been done on this compared to the other chattris.

The central cenotaph and other smaller ones in the background

Though at one time this lake was considered to be amongst the largest artificial lakes in Asia sadly now it is nowhere its original size as the water now is very less and most of the land has been taken over for cultivation. I saw locals using inflated tubes of truck tyres as dinghies in an innovative way and collecting fish and weeds and some water vegetables.

Jaisamand lake and the cenotaphs

Also read stories of places in and around Alwar –

Siliserh Lake near Alwar, Rajasthan
Cenotaph of Bakhtawar Singh of Alwar
Water Tank at City Palace, Alwar
Bala Quila – Alwar’s Way of How Not to Promote Tourism

A Walk Along the Glasson Waterway in Lancashire, UK

The last time I was in Lancashire I was able to go for a walk along one of the inland network of British waterways.

Galgate Marina

UK has a good network of waterways and normally there is a path next to them to walk along. I went for the walk on the Glasson branch, which is a part of the Lancaster canal of the British waterways.

Galgate to Lancaster waterway

While walking from the Galgate towards Preston side and then further taking a detour towards the Thurnham Hall side I observed that there are lot of Britishers who love to do boating or just to laze around in the sun where they have moored their boats. And in the evening either they play with their dogs or open a wine bottle and enjoy the scenery.

A house along the waterway

From Galgate one can walk till the Lancaster town which is about five miles along the waterway and is a beautiful trek to do. Else one can go in the opposite direction towards Garstang which is seven and Preston 24 miles from Galgate.  Another route that one can take is the Thurnham Hall upto Glasson Basin which is about 3 miles from Galgate.

Glasson Branch towards Thurnham & one of the six locks

The Glasson branch has six locks and a tidal sea lock to control the flow of water. You would be surprised that Galgate not only has berth holder facilities that are available but even  laundry is available. Galgate is just couple of miles from Lancaster University.

Also read other posts on Lancashire:
Lancaster to Morecambe Trail
Ashton Memorial - The Taj Mahal of the North
Lancaster Castle or Her Majesty's Prison
Clitheroe Castle, Lancashire
Spotting a Seal in Morecambe
Lancaster University Seen From a Different Angle
The Hidden Gem of Lancaster University

Skywatch Friday - Sunset at McLeodganj, Himachal

This is my first post under the Skywatch Friday. These photos were taken at McLeodganj in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.

Sunset at McLeodganj

McLeodganj is the seat of the Tibetan Government in Exile. Both the photos were taken on the western side of the market and are very close to the Tsug-La-Khang complex.

Sunset at McLeodganj

And what a beautiful sunset it is! This post is part of Skywatch Friday.

Water Tank at City Palace, Alwar

The water tank is located next to the City Palace and the Cenotaph of Bakhtawar Singh, also popularly known as Moosi Rani ki Chattri in the city of Alwar in Rajasthan.

Water Tank, City Palace, Alwar

I believe the tank used to serve the needs of the palace though most of the water needs were met by the Siliserh Lake from where the water was brought to the city in channels to meet the requirements of the city. Also the tank was meant, probably, to provide cooling effect to rooms in the Vinay Vilas palace as I saw rooms facing the water tank had jaalis (grills) for passage of cool air. The palace in the city was the living quarters of the king during the peace times but in times of war they used to move to the Bala Quila (fort) which is high up on the nearby hill overlooking the city and the palace.

Water Tank, City Palace, Alwar

What is interesting is the fact that the scenery is pleasing to the eyes and more so the pictures that come out what with the green tinge of the water and the reflections of the surrounding hills and the chattris (cenotaphs). The green tinge is of course due to the fact that the water is stagnant leading to the growth of green algae and there is no cleaning of the tank. I even saw some poly-bags lying in the water tank.

Water Tank with Moosi Rani ki Chattri and the City Palace

There are two floating boats meant to act as fountains with lights but I found them non-functional during my visit.

Also read:
Bala Quila – Alwar’s Way of How Not to Promote Tourism
Cenotaph of Bakhtawar Singh of Alwar
Siliserh Lake near Alwar, Rajasthan