Thanks everyone for the encouraging response to the idea of introducing the new feature of ‘Picture of the Day’, and so here is picture number 2. As I did in the first one, the location will gradually emerge as I provide clues along the way. The answer will be at the end of the post, so if you want to guess the location, it’s best to do the detective work first before reading the whole post.

Those of you who follow my posts will already know that I write about locations dotted around the UK and Europe, so that will be the limit to any of the pictures you find here. The first one was in the UK, and so I think it’s only fair to give our European friends a better chance of knowing where this one is.

There’s no doubt that this is a famous location, but not necessarily for the view that you’re looking at. Most people will come here to view the Duomo’s campanile, but there are also a couple more buildings that are of historic importance in the Piazza del Duomo that make up this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The buildings were constructed in the 12^th century from marble extracted from a nearby quarry which has become famous for its quality throughout the world.

Even if you haven’t guessed the exact location yet, you should have at least worked out what country we’re in, and if I tell you that the city sounds a bit like a well-known dish from this country, then you’re practically there.

The picture shows the river that runs through the city to the Mediterranean Sea, but if you want a real slice of the action, then you need to head to the Piazza del Duomo where people are often photographed holding up the Campanile.

Location – Pisa, Tuscany, Italy

Date photograph taken – April 2006

POSTED – AUGUST 2024

Anybody who writes blogs that include a lot of pictures will know only too well how time-consuming it can be, and so I thought I’d try introducing a new feature called Picture of the Day. The idea is to allow myself more time to rummage through a large backlog of photos that need sorting out while still finding an opportunity to include a short post in between my usual ones. I won’t be posting a pic every day, but each one will be accompanied by a short bit of information that will eventually lead to where it is. Obviously, I’m not sure how this is going to pan out, and so it would be helpful if you could please let me know your thoughts.

The format for each picture will follow the same as the one here, where I will gradually add clues in the information in order to give those of you who want to try and guess where it is can play along. I’ll reveal the location at the end.

I’m going to kick off with a fairly easy one for any English people who are taking a look. The white cliffs are a bit of a giveaway but they’re not those of that famous wartime song because anyone who knows this part of the country will tell you that there are a lot of chalk cliffs along the south coast. This cliff though at 531ft above sea level is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, and the nearest town, which is just a 3 mile walk away, is popular with older residents and holidaymakers.

It’s not recommended to go for a walk along these cliffs though if you’re feeling a bit down because it’s a well-known suicide spot, and according to the Wall Street Journal, is the third most common suicide spot in the world, and the reason why there is a chaplaincy team that constantly patrol the area.

One person’s ashes that are scattered here though were requested by the man himself – the revolutionary socialist and close friend of Karl Marx – Friedrich Engels.

If you haven’t guessed yet where the location is, I can tell you that its name comes from the French word Beaucheif meaning ‘Beautiful Headland’.

Some useless Information – Returning to my car from the headland, a beat-up old car came and parked right next to me, and so I offered them my ticket which still had some time left on it. I didn’t recognise him at first, but the driver turned out to be Norman Bowler, the English actor known for playing Chief Inspector Harry Hawkins in Softly Softly and Frank Tate in Emmerdale. He thanked me for my generosity but on closer inspection realised there was only 10 minutes left on the ticket, just enough time to get to the cliff edge. Thankfully he saw the funny side of it and went and bought his own ticket.

Location – Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, England

Date photograph taken –  June 2009

POSTED – AUGUST 2024