Milky Way at Rye Harbour (Part 2)

I need to begin this blog post by saying we are currently having our old windows replaced at home. I’m shut in the study and front room with our twelve cats, while noise and chaos goes on all around. It’s not a day for thinking and so I will keep it brief.

Last week was looking clear and with a new moon approaching, I firmed up plans to return to Rye Harbour to photograph the Milky Way. We had tried two locations near Birling Gap the previous month, but nothing went to plan. The famous coastguard cottages were surrounded by metal fence panels, presumably due to further erosion of the cliffs. It was a very long and dark walk along the coastal path and I doubt I will try again. It’s a shame.

My back up had been the Belle Tout lighthouse just a few miles along the coast, but as we approached, we could see the parking was blocked off. In fact, it wasn’t the only parking area to be closed along that road, as the closest spot to Beachy Head lighthouse was also surrounded by cones. Some online research the following day revealed this had been done on police advice about nine months earlier. Safety concerns perhaps, although you can still park at Birling Gap and do the full coastal path walk. It was too far that night as time was running out to get the Milky Way in the right position. I will have to spend some time finding new locations, but these were some of the most iconic.

We arrived at Rye Harbour earlier than expected and it didn’t take long to walk to the new discovery centre. With last month’s problems still on my mind, I had been fretting that they may not have turned on the lights, but a glow in the distance allayed any fears.

In fact, everything went according to plan. I set up my tripod, manually focused on a distant light and took a few bracketed shots. Looking through the images the following afternoon, I was able to find one that worked for both the foreground and the stars.