This view greets the walker on the summit of Challow Hill, the final height on the path across Nine Barrow Down, stretching from Ulwell to Corfe Castle.

12”x8” Fine Art Print: available on request, with mount: £95

When walking along Knoll Beach or around Studland Bay, it’s difficult to ignore Handfast Point or The Foreland, the wide chalk outcrop which separates Old Harry and his wife from the Point. It’s a focal point from the top deck of the “Purbeck Breezer” as it bounces along Ferry Road between between Swanage railway station and the Sandbanks Ferry

20”x16”; oil on canvas; distressed grey/silver frame, with slip £650

It’d be easy to lose your bearings along the Heather Walk but the Old Harry Rocks provide a useful reference as you explore the ancient trees that separate views of Studland Bay and Little Sea

20”x16”; oil on canvas; distressed gold frame, with slip SOLD

The view towards Ballard Point is often of a sparsely-populated stretch of beautiful sand: perfect for a family cricket match or a long, undisturbed snooze under a blue sky

22”x16”; oil on canvas; grey/silver frame, with slip £650

There’s evidence of pottery being made on Brownsea Island in the 5th Century but, in the middle of the eighteenth century, the island was bought by an ex-Indian Army officer, Colonel William Petrie Waugh and bigger plans were afoot. Waugh’s Branksea Clay & Pottery Company built a village called Maryland, added new church and renovated the island’s crumbling castle. It employed 200 people and built a large pottery on the south shore, with engines, brickworks and a horse-drawn tram to bring clay from the north of the island

Colonel Waugh and his wife had thought that Brownsea Island clay was highest quality china clay. Tragically, this didn’t prove to be the case. Plans for producing high quality china had to be abandoned after five years’ effort and the couple were declared bankrupt. They left England for a new life in Spain but the Colonel’s legacy of bricks, pipes and rubble lives on along the southern shore

24”x16”; oil on canvas; distressed grey/silver frame, with slip £695

This view from the coast just beyond Encombe, shows the dark scar of the Kimmeridge ledges in the distance. Beyond lies Portland

24”x16”; oil on canvas; distressed grey/silver frame, with slip £650

The ravens returned to Corfe Castle in 2003, their absence said to be a warning sign to local inhabitants of troubled times ahead. Taking flight above the ruins, they create a stirring spectacle on a fine day

20”x16” or 10”x8” fine art print, with mount, available on request £125 or £95

Passengers eagerly await the arrival of the steam train to Swanage, even on a wet summer’s day

16”x12” Oil on canvas; grey/silver gilt frame with slip £545

A blue sky reflects a hot summer’s day beneath the blasted remains of Corfe Castle, with sheep competing for the coolest spot under a tree that seems likely to have survived Cromwell’s near-destruction of Lady Bankes’ royalist stronghold

36”x24” Oil on canvas; Black wooden frame, gold slip £950

A turbulent sky and wind rippling through the fields bring to mind van Gogh's final works in the wheatfields near Auvers

(20"x16") oil on canvas; black frame - £465

Preparing for Launch

Duncan Youngs is sitting in the forward starboard (right hand) seat in the wheelhouse, preparing for the mission by interrogating the radar systems display and assessing its impact on the Exercise ahead. Behind him, in the coxswain’s seat, Roydon Woodford checks the radio and intercom functions through controls contained within his armrest. 

The wheelhouse of the RNLI George Thomas Lacy might seem claustrophobic and disorientating, especially on a cold, dark night in midwinter. But it can be almost cosy; reassuring in its exclusion of the dark night and the black sea: a sense reinforced by the need to focus the mind on the mission ahead. Its suspension seats offer protection against the worst rough seas. Air conditioning reduces the incidence of sea sickness. Both enable the crew to remain fully productive even in the worst weather conditions. As does the knowledge that the boat will automatically right itself if turned over.   

This haven is called the “wheelhouse” but the helm doesn’t grip a wheel, straining against surging waves and wrestling the craft through an uncompromisingly rough sea. Here, in the front portside seat, a touch on the joystick is enough to steer the George Thomas Lacy, even though this Shannon Class vessel weighs 18 tonnes and, when required, can accommodate 79 survivors. There is a second, more conventional steering position on top of the wheelhouse. This does incorporate a wheel, although, like the joystick, this is also digitally-controlled. Its position, affording an elevated 360-degree view in the open air, is useful when visibility is unimpaired and close manoeuvring is required.

Training night in January. A full moon and freezing weather. Someone has to oil every single wheel on the slipway to ensure a smooth launch and retrieval. This is a training night but it’s no different to a call-out launch. A “shout”.

Launching the vessel, an 18 tonne Shannon Class (shown here) with six crew on board or the smaller D class inflatable Inshore Lifeboat with a crew of three or four, down a slope into a black sea that might not even be visible from the boat house is a serious business. Especially when every second counts. The smallest oversight or unforeseen event can be catastrophic. Even before the boat has hit the water.

In the wheelhouse, the illuminated screens and the streams of data that they process, reconfigure and present, are the crucial tools. The priority, especially on a bone-chilling, coal-black night, is Situational Awareness. The George Thomas Lacy is expertly configured to carry an extraordinary range of systems and equipment. Kit that provides the means to search and rescue in all weathers, night and day: sensors and scanners, cameras and other visual aids, communication systems: all part of the boat’s Systems and Information Management System (SIMS).  

SIMS enables crew members (helm, radar operator, mechanic, navigator and coxswain) to co-ordinate their actions and control the boat from their seats, positioned either side of a central aisle, with a sixth crew member operating as an auxiliary, independently of the SIMS and seated at the rear of the wheelhouse

In common with all RNLI lifeboats, the George Thomas Lacy has a unique identification number. A Shannon class boat is just over thirteen metres long and Swanage’s vessel was the thirteenth of its class to be built. Hence the ID number painted on each side of its bow is 13-13.

The Swanage Lifeboat has a range of 250 nautical miles and missions can last for three hours or more. The sentiments of returning crew members have been captured by various forms of news media but the Station’s onshore team will be fully alert to the risks posed by possible crew fatigue and some form of emotional disturbance as the vessel is winched back up the slipway, inspected, antennae lowered and stowed back into the Station slowly and safely.

A debriefing and discussion process follows every exercise: Safety, People, Equipment, Performance. It is structured and formal but all know that this is never used in a negative way: it’s a crucial learning opportunity for everyone. To speak up, to praise good performance and behaviour, to look for improvement. An important part of the culture.            

Like a number of fellow crew members, Gavin Steeden and his brother Matt  come from a family of those who have served the Swanage Lifeboat Station. In Gavin and Matt’s case, the line extends to both their father and grandfather. Growing up with the expectation that one day, they would volunteer to become part of the service.

Gavin has featured in news media on a number of occasions. Understandably, most of these show him in action in or immediately after a serious incident at sea. He looks stressed, fatigued, relieved, exhilarated, pensive. When asked if he is ever scared, Gavin stressed that he had “confidence in the kit and the guys around me” to be able to overcome almost anything.

This painting shows a genuine sense of joy and of belonging during a pause at the end of a training mission on the aft deck of the George Thomas Lacy. It proved infectious to the crew members around him but all remained attentive, serious and focused on the job in hand. As well as clearly thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.    

Lucie Aggas is one of three family members of the 2025 Swanage Lifeboat Station team. She doesn’t have three right hands as shown in this painting but she accepts that it could be useful, even though Lucie is a consummate multi-tasker.

The painting aims to reflect the detached but focused attitude that Lucie adopted whilst attending to a number of issues: some possibly trivial, most offering the potential to be extremely urgent and significantly consequential: possibly life-saving.

As an RNLI Launch Authority, she is responsible for authorising the launch of lifeboats during rescue operations and decides which boat - or boats – to assign to the mission, ensuring that the crew are in position, briefed and prepared. The LA is the sole point of contact with the coastguard, continuing to relay information to the lifeboat crew at sea, responding to any developments or changes during the operation.

All this requires several tasks to be executed quickly, some of which will be updated, amended or cancelled in very short order. Observing her for a few minutes involved seeing Lucie writing, filing, reading typewritten and handwritten messages, consulting three computer screens and communicating via two mobile devices and two fixed line telephones. Plus speaking to colleagues who popped their heads around her door. All in a calm, respectful and reassuringly authoritative manner.

The job sounds likely to be both intense and frenetic at times but every shout is informed  by an Exercise Plan; its preparation – by the LA in “real time”- ensuring that, in spite of the urgency, every mission is carefully considered and planned: Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration, Command, Communications & Confirmation are the five components on the checklist.

Starting as a stream from high in the fells at Esk Hause and fortified by numerous becks on its descent, the River Esk reaches its fullest potential here at the foot of Hardknott Pass. It continues its journey to the sea through woods of Cumbrian oak , watched over by the brooding presence of Scafell Pike

24”x16” Oil on canvas Distressed grey/silver frame - £525

The view from the Three Shires in Little Langdale. The view appeared similar to those celebrated by the work of Welshman Kyffin Williams. rendered in oil paint using palette knife

12”x10” Oil on “Purbeck Press” canvas paper; limewashed framed, with mount and glass - £425

A shaft on sunlight illuminates a lone sheep returning to the flock beneath the heights of Rannerdale Knots above Buttermere

20”x16” Oil on canvas Unframed - £295

For today’s visitors, the rear of the Palace is called the East Front. Added over 150 years after Henry VIII’s demise by William III and Queen Mary, its southern wing accommodates the Kings chambers, designed by Christopher Wren. Turn right on passing through the East entrance and the Broad Walk leads towards the Thames, with a wall separating the gravel path from the Royal Gardens. Looking back, this view of William’s living quarters appears above a profusion of the exotic and native shrubs and flowers

(30”x20”) oil on canvas; distressed gold frame - £795

The Privy Garden stretches out between William III’s Royal apartments and the River Thames. Whilst the planting of shrubs and flowers has been consistent with the Palace’s reputation for style and glamour, the Hampton Court gardening team are thinking hard about the future: how to combine exuberant style and colour over the seasons whilst water conservation and other environmental concerns come to the fore

Though this imperative for change may be different, it won’t be the first time that the Garden’s style has been revised. In 1727, George II entrusted Queen Caroline with making a number of alterations at Hampton Court (as well as to the entire Richmond Estate). She followed the contemporary taste for more natural “landscape gardening”. The Privy Garden thus became a simpler “parterre a l’Angloise” - a garden of grass and evergreens

This scene captures the garden at the end of a hot, dry spring followed by unusually heavy rainfall. The small conifers are a little “hairier” than usual, the grass bank in the foreground shows uneven new, vigorous growth with faint traces of reddish earth beneath. A handful of small rose bushes in early bloom and lavender in the foreground are the main sources of vibrant colour

36”x24” Oil on canvas board Private commission

Prominent in this scene is All Saints Church, a link to one of Hampton Court’s famous architects. Whilst its Kentish ragstone tower and some foundations date back to the 14th century, the building was redeveloped in 1706, guided by with the help of plans devised by Sir Christopher Wren

Van Gogh lived in Isleworth in 1876, employed as a schoolteacher, first by William Stokes and subsequently by the Reverend Thomas Slade-Jones. Religion became increasingly important to him during this time and he preached at Isleworth’s Wesleyan Methodist Church. This moved him to write to his brother, Theo, describing his deepest wish “to be bound to Christ with unbreakable bonds and to feel those bonds. To be sorrowful, yet always rejoicing”

To some, this scene from Kew - across the relentless flow of the river Thames’ dark waters, with grey clouds permitting only streaks of sunlight to catch the bright coloured walls of Church Street - adds some substance to Van Gogh’s words

12”x8” Oil on canvas Unframed - £245

Cross the bridge from Hampton Court and walk along the towpath past Molesey lock. Stay on the towpath through Hurst Meadow and you’ll see this structure on one of several islands along this stretch of the Thames: Platt’s Eyot

Osiers (willow rods) were grown here for basket-making until around 1884 before, in the early 20th century, the island became famous for building boats: first, as Immish & Co., then, as Thorneycroft, fast naval vessels. It became so successful that it moved production to Southampton. This dilapidated building remains a much-loved part of the scenery between the Molesey and Hampton river banks but is sadly sinking rapidly into a new landscape stripped of trees and reminders of past maritime success

20”x16” oil on canvas, teal wooden frame, mount and glass - £650

Stepping into the Swanage Bay Fishmonger's premises says a lot about Julia. It's clearly her world. Busy, full of interest and multi-task-ready, it exudes knowledge, passion and warm good humour. Fish of all kinds, in freezers with blue-tinged glass doors and on piles of crushed ice, draped with faux green foliage. Cash machine, calculator, scales - the fishy kind as well as those that weigh - paper and plastic bags, shiny pots, a self-assembled angel fish (?), post-it notes, certificates, photos and various artworks .. even a flag. Julia stands behind the counter, filleting, wrapping, offering advice, making notes. A cautionary note is captured in large blue letters: “Please don’t lean on the glass” suggesting a past calamity that's it's probably wise not to mention …

David Hockney would enjoy entering Julia’s place. He doesn't like scenes with a "fixed-point perspective". "It pins you down" he says. "If the focal point is fixed, so are you. Your eyes, your gaze, can’t move freely." Julia's domain provokes a wandering gaze. But wherever you look, it's full of energy, full of character.

A celebration of the harvest as autumn approaches. A chance for an ale or two, accompanied by singing, cheering, laughter ... and strange attire at the Square & Compass

12"x10" oil on board; silver gilt frame, with slip - £425

Work started on building the Tiltyard at Hampton Court in 1537, with Henry’s plans ensuring that it would be larger than the lists at Greenwich, Hampton Court’s rival as the monarch’s “Palace of Pleasure”. Whilst it seems that Henry never saw jousting at Hampton Court, enactments of this spectacular sport regularly take place on the Course in the Great Fountain Garden at the Palace’s East Front

16”x12” Oil on canvas Distressed gold frame, with slip - £585

It took Giles Daubeney several years to persuade the Knights Hospitaliers to grant him an extended lease on Hampton Court, then a comfortable manor house. He wanted to transform it into a residence more suited to his role as a Privy Councillor and a key man in Henry VIII’s court. A place where, in particular, he could entertain the Monarch. The Great Kitchen and a series of adjacent food storage and preparation rooms are reminders of his work and of his desire to entertain the royal family and their courtiers

14”x10” Oil on board Distressed gold frame - £585

Today’s top international Real Tennis professionals are well-represented at Hampton Court, home of the Royal Tennis Courts. As well as being among the world’s best performers, they also carry out the duties first performed by Oliver Kelly in 1540 as Master of the King’s Tennis Courts, and his “markers”: looking after the courts on a daily basis: organising tournaments, arranging matches for members, coaching and teaching aspiring players and promoting the game worldwide

20”x16” Fine Art print, with mount, available on request - £195

The original painting can be seen in the Royal Tennis Club rooms adjacent to Hampton Court Palace’s East Front entrance

A Sunday evening concert featuring Mick’s brother draws a thirsty audience to the Square & Compass, converted to a pub from a pair of quarrymen’s cottages in 1776. It’s been run by members of the Newman family since 1907 and Charlie serves some of the best pasties in Purbeck

10”x8” Limited edition print; limewashed frame, mount - £195

The Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace is one of the few surviving locations where William Shakespeare performed in person over 400 years ago

Elizabeth I was Queen when the “Lord Chamberlain’s Men”, an acting company that included Shakespeare, was formed in 1594. The Master of the Revels was the member responsible for ensuring that the content, characters and style of the plays performed were suitable for royal enjoyment. When language or content deemed “inappropriate” could mean the company’s disbandment, imprisonment or worse, this was not a particularly safe job!

An unmarried and ageing Elizabeth faced war in Ireland, the threat of an imminent Spanish invasion and civil unrest at home stirred by religious division. Without a clear successor, Elizabeth’s rivals were circling the throne. As Shakespeare and his colleagues fully understood, the theatre was a major and hugely popular source of information and commentary on life in England at that time. Yet in this feverish political climate, Shakespeare decided to reject the bawdy, slapstick and populist performances of the day and instead used stories and historical events to reflect on contemporary England … including, by implication, the behaviour of its leaders

The Chamberlain’s Men ultimately became the King’s Men when James I came to the throne in 1603 and Shakespeare emerged with Royal Patronage intact and his reputation, popularity and wealth hugely enhanced

For which the Master of the Revels must take enormous credit

12”x9” Oil on canvas Distressed gold frame, with slip - £545

Empty glasses suggest that waiting for Mick’s brother to perform is thirsty work … trouble is, nobody seems willing to risk losing their seat by returning to the bar for a refill!

20”x16” Oil on canvas; burnt umber wood frame, gold slip - £650

Cattle are free to roam the slopes of Ballard Down, where deer descend into neighbour’s gardens at night, meeting the odd badger on the way and feeding on the shoots of young fruit trees and shrubs

(20”x16”) oil on canvas, distressed gold frame with slip - £650

On an early summer's evening near our cottage, just above Whitecliff Farm, I saw a herd of cows returning from grazing on top of the hill. The effort to negotiate the descent without slipping on the chalk path cut into the hillside is a feat of concentration for anyone, let alone the leader of a herd of cows. Here, the task was complicated by my group of walkers appearing ahead of them to climb past them up the hill. The leader has stopped, unsure of what next. Her followers start to assess the terrain either side of the path or simply nuzzle the cow in front, wondering why progress has been halted

We thought it best to leave the path and give these lovely animals room to focus on the task in hand

Fine Art Print available on request

Walk along Priest's Way, towards Worth Matravers and the promise of ale at the Square & Compass, sheep and a variety of breeds of cattle will watch your progress. In the distance, towards the sea, the coastguard cottages, the chapel at St Aldhelm's Head and the dry stone walls are often the only signs of civilisation in view

(16”x12”) oil on canvas; limewashed frame - £375

It was one of those stunning bright winter days and this group looked at us as if we were uninvited guests. They had such full coats that it was difficult to see where one sheep ended and another began!

(24”x18”) limited edition fine art print, with mount - £225

According to Langton Matravers Council, the Priest’s Way follows an ancient track taken by a local medieval priest as he travelled between the churches at Swanage and Worth Matravers. It passes between the Purbeck stone quarries and across open fields with spectacular views of the sea and the hills inland along the way

Much of the land is grazed by sheep and cattle, including this lady, caught scratching an itchy chin against the rough edge of a Purbeck stone wall

(22”x16”) limited edition fine art print, limewashed frame, with mount & glass - £465

Drive along the road from Studland to Corfe Castle and you’ll pass the golf club once owned by Enid Blyton. Continue for a few hundred metres and, in the spring, some curious heads will peer at you from above

Partly hidden by a hedgerow of brambles, red campion, water-dropwort, hogweed, beech ferns plus the odd daffodil, looking down from their elevated idyll on the north flank of Godlingston Hill, are some of this year’s offspring from Currendon Farm. Like young Tom

(22”x16”) limited edition fine art print, limewashed frame, with mount & glass - £465