Snapped in Suffolk

Last May I spent a few days walking in Suffolk, in 'John Constable country'. Much of the walking was over fields, on unmarked tracks, and single carriageway country lanes. Some photos from my walk are here. It is really beautiful countryside, nobody to be seen, just cattle, wildlife and birdsong. A car was so rare that I could hear this one coming well before it appeared, so stepped out of its way into a field entrance, and at the last second noticed it was a Google camera car. I've seen these in the city before but couldn't imagine what it might be doing in this quiet backwater. At this point I was on an unmarked lane, to the west of the B1068, a couple of miles north of the village of Nayland. I couldn’t believe it would be taking photographs but rather smartly I noted my position on the map. This morning, as Google launched Street View, I’ve been able to find myself – ‘unblurred’ as well (which I’m happy with).

I wonder what Constable would say, his beloved Dedham Vale and Stour Valley snapped for all the world to see on its pc’s – amazing developments.

You’ll find me if you click on this, and here as well.

News, 12 March 2009: Google has today launched its expanded Street View feature to cover “almost all” of the roads in the UK, 360 degree images of 238,000 miles of public road and thoroughfares, from Cornwall to the Shetlands. Google launched Street View in the UK two years ago, and has since been working to expand the service, stitching together more imagery collected by its camera-equipped cars. By increasing availability to cover 96 percent of the country’s roads and thoroughfares, the UK is catching up with Spain, France, Italy and the US, which already have nationwide coverage. Google deploys a fleet of cars and tricycles fitted with cameras. The pictures often include people, although Google employs special technology to blur faces and license plates in the pictures it captures.

A Google camera car, photo Daily Mail