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Then and Now – York Minster

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. I quite like those Then and Now comparison photographs that you see in books or on the Twitter or Facebook.  The first of the posts in this series was of a council building in Manchester.

I always thought I should give then and now photographs a go. However what I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart.

On a recent visit to York in April 2026, walking the city walls I took this photograph of York Minster with an iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Checking back through some older photographs I had taken back in June 2024 I had taken this similar shot with an iPhone 13.

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Then and Now Take Two Again – More Fountains Abbey

his is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart. Now this has come to my attention I have started to intentionally take photographs of the same place.

On my recent visit to Fountains Abbey I decided I would intentionally take photographs that replicated some photographs I had taken back in 1993.

This photograph was taken in 1993, I think it was with a Canon SLR film camera, later it was scanned in as a digital file.

This shot was taken with an iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Some of the photographs I had taken were quite difficult to recreate, as I couldn’t always work out what they were of.

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Back to Stourhead

Back in February I visited Stourhead and did a behind closed doors tour, however the house’s state rooms weren’t open, since I had always planned a repeat visit to see these rooms.

After visiting King Alfred’s Tower I headed off to Stourhead. I parked the car and set it to charge. I then had lunch and had a disappointing ploughman’s lunch.

I went around the house twice. Lots of impressive paintings as well as incredible rooms. I am glad I made the effort to make a return visit.

Stourhead

One of the first grand Palladian-style villas to be built in England, with a carriage entrance leading to the piano nobile, or main floor. World-famous landscape garden with a lake set among lawns and classical temples, surrounded by trees and with sweeping views.

Current saving £194.30
One adult £23.00
Parking £4.50
Total saving £27.50
Cumulative saving £317.80
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £221.80

When the weather is better I might make a return visit to walk around the grounds and the lake.

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King Alfred’s Tower #50places2026

When I visited Stourhead back in February I saw that King Alfred’s Tower was close by, but was also closed. It is only open at weekends from April to October. I had always planned to revisit Stourhead, so it was a simple decision to also go and see King Alfred’s Tower as well.

I arrived just after 11am, the car park was very busy, but I think that’s more as people use the car park for walking in the woods.

The tower is a short walk from the car park. It is just a tower, one of the corners continuing the spiral staircase. There are 205 steps to get to the top of the 180ft high tower. There are no floors or rooms in the tower apart from the ground floor entrance.

The views from the tower are fantastic.

Walked slowly down the 205 steps. Made me slightly dizzy.

King Alfred’s Tower

This triangular tower, two miles north-west of Stourhead garden, was designed by Henry Flitcroft for Stourhead’s second owner, Sir Henry Hoare II. The Tower is named after King Alfred who raised his standard here in 878. The tower commemorates the accession of George III in 1760 and the end of the Seven Years’ War.

Current saving £187.30
One adult £7.00
Parking Free
Total saving £7.00
Cumulative saving £290.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £194.30

I would probably go again, but in the autumn when the leaves on the surrounding trees are red, orange and yellow.