Southsea: South Parade Pier (from the east)

A wonderfully bracing (and long) walk on Southsea beach (from Portsmouth Harbour station, via Southsea's King's Theatre and back along the beach, via Southsea Castle (closed til March) and a double day of tick lists - Portsmouth Cathedral (first time ever been inside there) and here, the wonderfully elegant and long, South Parade Pier, Southsea.

One of two piers (the other is the awfully crass, rather ugly and themed ride Clarence Pier, which is not open as a pier), South Parade Pier was the epitome in Victorian chic. What you don't get in this photo is just how long it is - it goes right out the same length again. I did take a number of pics, from zoomed right in to the whole length but the latter it just looked so small in the frame (height-wise) that I went for a compromise.

Unfortunately, South Parade Pier has fallen into neglect so badly that it is closed and boarded up. The distance I've taken this from doesn't reveal this, which is good, of course. There are plans to at least keep it from declining further but the current economic climate does not bode well for its commercial future. Sad.

You can just see a workman on the pier in LARGE

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Lens is Tamron SP 70-300mm VC

Those expecting street photography from me, plan changed as I had a sudden plan to meet my friend Des (down from London) for a day out in Portsmouth. Unfortunately, in the end he couldn't make it and so I had to change plans again.