Working late on Flickr.
Winnat’s fields on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
At the end of Hope Valley, Winnat’s Pass climbs sharply up from the village of Castleton through craggy hills criss-crossed with dry stone walls made from the lumps of limestone that are scattered across the landscape.
Across Loxley Valley on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
Quick bike ride yesterday evening, circling up through Worrall and Oughtibridge and back through Bradfield. It was lovely and cool and clear, the sky almost completely clear above but with enough cloud on the horizon to give the sky some texture.
I didn’t stop for a proper shoot, just hopped off my bike here and there to take the odd snap. Perhaps it’s that (along with my cracked rib) why I was having trouble focusing, although I suspect the mechanism on my Sigma 28-70 mm is going. Or maybe I just want to think that as it would give me an excuse to fork out on one of those proper Canon landscape lenses I’ve been drooling over…
evening clouds over Edale on Flickr.
Kinder Scout on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
At the head of the Vale of Edale, where the River Noe has its source, sits Kinder Scout, a moorland plateau which includes the highest point in the Peak District National Park, indeed I think in all England except for the North York Moors and the Lake District (the latter has many peaks half again the height or more).
The Pennine Way, a walking route that goes all the way to the Scottish border, begins in Edale and crosses Kinder Scout. It was also the site of the famous mass trespass in 1932, where workers (principally from Manchester and Sheffield) converged in opposition to the heavily enforced exclusion of the public from large parts of the British countryside, which were maintained by wealthy landowners, often for pheasant hunting. This action saw the birth of the Ramblers Association and lead directly to the founding of the National Parks and, ultimately, The Countryside Rights of Way Act in the year 2000.
In the lower centre of the picture you can see the small village of Barber Booth.
cloud shadows over Mam Tor on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
The view back from Rushup Edge. Despite the wind it was lovely up there, warm and summery with the cloud shadows moving across the land in stately ballet. Even sitting or kneeling it was difficult to keep steady, so I laid down on the soft grass at the edge of the ridge.
glorious summer on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
I had a wonderful afternoon cycling around the Hope and Edale valleys in North Derbyshire. The views from Rushup Edge into the Vale of Edale were particularly stunning. I’d hoped to be there for the magic hour, with the sun going down right at the end of the valley, but was a bit early and thought if I hung around for another three hours I’d struggle getting back, so headed toward home via the bridleway past Mam Tor.
I took around 600 photos so will be going through them over the next couple of days, but thought I’d upload a few that caught my eye just as they are, straight from the camera.
This was looking back across Edale from a ways past Mam Tor. The sun wasn’t yet low enough to pick out the texture of the landscape as well as it would later that evening, but looking in toward it slightly I loved the softness that the glare gives the shot, and the lens flare really captures how summery it was - although not the wind that always seems to blast along the ridge.
silence on Flickr.
clouds over the valley on Flickr.
Via Flickr:
At the moment this overlook with a view out over Broomhead Reservoir is one of my favourite places. I’d gone out on my bike, really hoping to catch the magic hour later (the direction of sunset would be pretty much straight down from the head of the valley) but just as I arrived these swirls of vapour formed off the surface of the water and danced up the valley. I hadn’t yet set up my tripod so just grabbed the camera from my bag and started shooting.
Another evening out to get some photos. I went out earlier than planned (after a busy day I’d gone suddenly tired and lost the ability to read a 24 hour clock!), but as it turned out this was rather fortunate. The warm, moist air kept forming small clouds or banks of mist above the reservoir and woods, which would change shape in the gentle eddies of wind before dissipating as quickly as they had arrived, like shy elementals or sprites. Later cloud began to descend from the head of the valley, obscuring first the hilltops, then the skyline, and then slowly softening and then hiding the hills and fields toward me. By 9 p.m. I decided the clouds were here for the count so thought I’d head for home before darkness fell.
These images from my phone, ones from the camera to follow.
(The plaque on the bench reads:
IN MEMORY OF
ERNEST WM. BRAMMALL
FROM ALL HIS FAMILY
‘BIDE A WHILE’
Thank you, Mr Brammall and family)
