Look up!

Welcome once again to another edition of our monthly Photo Challenge. You'll remember last month I put a call out for chimney pots and chimney stacks. And as you were all looking up you certainly didn't let me down. You came back with some terrific chimney action! As ever, I can't thank you enough for your continued support. My email inbox overfloweth.

So, let's make a start. Rol, what have you got? 

"Hi John, hope you're well. A couple of seagulls on chimneys taken in Whitby, 2012.  Take care." I know that view of the Abbey well, Rol. Thank you, and what a great start.

Miss Turner next: she saw these whilst stuck on a red light near Lady Bay Bridge in Nottingham.

"From the window of the Fox & Grapes in Sneinton." Not the only chimney shot this month taken in a pub!

"You told me to look up! This is the roof of my chemistry lab..."

"...and then I had an idea that doesn't involve looking up but still involves chemistry. It's a bunsen burner in a fume cupboard - the top bit is called a chimney." I'd like to say I knew that, but of course I'd be lying!

"Sunset view from the decking in my garden." Looks idyllic! Thank you, Miss Turner. Great photos!

Pete Zab is constantly looking up. I've seen him in action. "An unusual perspective of the chimneys at Woolaton Hall."

"A shadow on a house in Sherwood."

"And, finally, a street in Whitby." Cheers, Pete. And another great Whitby shot.

David Cooper has more stamps in his passport than I've had hot dinners: "Hi John, a couple of photos from my travels on the subject of ‘Chimneys’. Firstly a few beverages from a trip to Leipzig last year." 

"The second photo of a steam loco reaching its destination on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway from earlier this year. David." Thanks, Coops. I'm rather hoping that when I announce September's challenge you'll find an Indian entry!

Jo-Shreeve lives in a beautiful part of the world, as is evidenced by these beautiful pics. "The Northern Lights over the rooftops of Stithians. My mum there giving me a wave! She's 76 and housebound. This was taken at 3am. I had to wake her up - it's been her dream her whole life to see them!"

When I first told Jo the theme for this month she replied quick as a flash: "I live in Cornwall - that's an easy one! This is Botallack Mine."

"And these two are Wheal Coates Mine in St. Agnes, my favourite place to walk x." Thank you, Jo. I googled this one straight away and think I need to get down there...

My friend Matthew next - "A possible chimney submission. I took it on Richard's (Riggsby) camera. He wrote on the back: 'Nr. Tholos, Rhodes 25.9.87'. He also noted the negative number!" Thank you, Matthew - Riggsby did indeed corroborate your story when he sent me the self same photo & the tale he tells reads like something out of PG Wodehouse: "This picture was taken on Rhodes many years ago. Soon after my travel companion and I arrived and found a hotel, I noticed the chimneys and said 'I've got a T-shirt like that!'. The chimneys were quite a way off, and I got my travel companion to walk towards them to get a photo. This is as far as we got before my travel companion said he didn't want to go any further." Priceless! Thank you both.

The current Mrs. Medd pinged me this one: "Reflection in The Abdication's front door." (A view I know well!)

Khayem from the Kotswolds with a terrific trio next: "This is an alley in Stroud town centre. I like the way the angle and perspective likens the chimneys to weeds, straining skyward and trying to get that little bit higher than their neighbours, the one in the foreground especially!"

"On a similar note, here’s a tall, impressive chimney in the heart of Gloucester, inevitably eclipsed by the main structure of the cathedral beyond. The chimney belongs to the Monk’s Kitchen, just off the west walk of the Cathedral cloisters and worth a stop for coffee and cake if you’re visiting." 

"I think this used to be Stroud Auction Rooms, immortalised on TV shows such as Flog It!, Bargain Hunt and Crap Cash In The Attic. Long since abandoned, its prominent chimney suggests a deeper, industrial past, which I’ve made no effort whatsoever to research!" Thank you, K! Research? It's overrated.

What can I say about our next happy snapper - it's Ernie! Wot ya got, Ernie? "Hi John, this month's theme gives me the excuse to share a favourite photo. It's from my Martin Parr period, taken in Gravesend looking across the Thames at Tilbury Power Station. The chimneys were demolished about three weeks after the photo was taken, spoiling the year forever." A recurring theme I'm afraid, Ernie.     

Charity Chic ventured into his back garden: "Before and after shots of our chimney cum plant pot - I was shamed into tidying it up!" Cheers, CC.

C at Sun DriedSparrows has got a brace for us: "Hi John - something from lovely Newcastle. Whilst crossing the (iconic!) Tyne Bridge I was struck not just by the view of the castle and cathedral in the distance but especially by this appealing clutter of rooftops and chimneys below us, all the different shapes, sizes and angles. Zooming into the full size photo later on I counted at least 67 chimneys/pots. Lucky for me then that you picked this theme! C x." Lucky indeed! Thank you, C.

"And two (of several similar chimneys) on a 16th century almshouse up the road. I just like their jaunty angle x." Perfect, C. I feel as if I should know what that jaunty angle is in relation to chimneys. Thank you!

Tim has really gone for it this month: "Hi John, the first two are the best chimneys ever (in my opinion) just over the field at the back of our house is the old Watnall Brickyard. The chimneys were a beacon from the M1. Blown up without notice when we were on holiday. I was gutted! A somewhat younger Tim in the bottom one." These came down in 2009 and, as with Ernie (above), I feel your pain. But thank you for documenting them while they were still upright.

"The Nottingham incinerator chucking out some healthy(!) fumes. A bit blurry (but atmospheric) - taken from a window seat in my old office."

"Great building & strong chimney game: Ye Olde Flying Horse, Nottingham."

"More industrial heritage - the old Basford Soap Works - captured from my morning train." Great photos, Tim. It's nice to see other people's take on the buildings you know so well yourself.

Swiss Adam - "The chimney pot was removed from our chimney by a roofer and has been repurposed as a flower pot in our front garden. All gardening is credited to Mrs. Swiss it has to be said. Church pew from a neighbour, sleeping cat from next door." The cat looks like he's on to a good thing there. Cheers, Adam.

Alyson from the Highlands - "Here's a photo of the really tall chimney at Salts Mill in Saltaire, West Yorkshire. It's now a gallery, shopping centre & restaurant complex. But back in the day it was opened  by Sir Titus Salts as a cloth factory, with the village of Saltaire built to house his workers. Well worth a visit." Thanks, Alyson. I may well have to give it a coat of looking at.

Martin sent me this beautiful specimen: "I shouldn't admit to having a favourite chimney, but here's mine - it's the boiler house on campus at Norwich University." I love it, Martin. If my blog has done nothing else in its fourteen years of existence, I'd like to think it's shone a light on everyone's favourite chimney from all over the UK (and beyond).

I've got a couple to bookend proceedings. And yes, of course I've got Battersea in there - it is the law when entering any chimney photo challenge! (Everyone knows that.) But first we go to Tadcaster, home of John Smith's.

Newark is only half an hour up the road and this is the building next to The Flying Circus, one of my favourite Newark hostelries.

The chimney is a mere sideshow in this one; I'm not really sure what's going on here and I took the photo! It was taken outside The Lincolnshire Poacher in town - can you see a theme developing here?

Another stack on a university campus - this one can be found just up the road from me at Nottingham Uni.

A distillery in Dublin. And yes, not just a distillery, but a distillery opposite the Guinness factory!

Birmingham canal. A chimney on a narrowboat in front of two chimneys on a roof.

Taken in Hull's Old Town. Yes, I know, another pub.

And finally, Battersea Power Station. Nothing more to add, really.

As ever, a big thank you to everyone who sent me their snappy snaps. Keep 'em coming. See you next time. (I'll post September's theme in the comments section below.)