Once again I find myself on a Monday evening reflecting on the weekend I’ve had. Some can be epic in terms of photography others are epic in terms of the family with photos often a second thought unless someone is demanding I click their pose. Other times I am full on dance Mum with camera phone in hand or sometimes its me and the washing pile. This one was different.
We had gone away for our anniversary, somewhere nice, Another Place on Ullswater. A beautiful hotel with great food and gin, a lovely pool and roaring fireside. The weather was manky, driving wind and rain. It was a weekend to stay indoors. As usual for me, after a day sat on my backside and messing in the pool I began to feel restless. I don’t do sitting down for too long. After a mad hour of snow, hail, rain the hills around us looked stunning even under grey skies. I had my camera kit with me and suggested to my other half, snoring gently beside me on the sofa that perhaps we should have a drive out. He agreed.
With Kirkstone Pass shut we paid a brief visit to the hamlet of Hartsop before heading back down to Glenridding then taking the Dockray road. There is a lovely view up Ullswater along here but no parking spaces. On a miserable March day however the road is not too busy so stopping on the side was trouble free. We watched the sunlight breaking through the clouds, in and out, playing across the fell side and the lake. The day began to look more promising and felt less lethargic for it. I was still having a lazy photography day though. The open car window served as an impromptu tripod. Mine would blow over anyway out there, it really isn’t that heavy.
Ullswater from Park Brow. Light rays moving in over the fells
Light on Silver Point, Ullswater.
After about 20 minutes of opening and closing the window due to snow showers the light flattened out and we moved on. Onward through Matterdale and eventually we stopped near Rookin House. There is a splended view of Blencathra all along this road, alas today was not the best day for that. However there are some lovely views towards Clough Head and Great Dodd which sit at the northern end of the Helvellyn range and these drew my attention. I ventured out of the car this time having found a safer stopping place. I found a bit more height on the hillside and managed to stay upright and hold my camera in the wind. Again my tripod wouldn’t have stood up to it so I opted for higher shutter speeds. Since I was taking telephoto shots I decided that f11 was practical at this point which got me a higher shutter speed and let me keep the iso setting sensible.
The wind was bitter, I was hardly dressed for the fells having being inside for so much of the weekend and I felt it. In between fleeting moments of shots I headed back to the car to warm up and on occasions use the door as a makeshift tripod. Again in that space of time the light changed so much as did the wind. At times the spin drift on the top of Clough Head looked immense and blended with the wispy clouds that appeared. Then for a few strange minutes the sky turned darker and the snow was cast purple. I wondered if my camera and my settings would do it justice. Blencathra too almost appeared a little later, Sharp Edge just about visible through the clouds. Once again the light flattened out and it was time to move on.
Spindrift and clouds over Clough Head.
Sharp Edge, Blencathra emerges for a few moments.
Blencathra Edges, monochrome image.
Purple light over Great Dodd.
After a coffee in Keswick we took the route back to Carlisle. Along Bassenthwaite then out skirting the top of the northern fells. The weather was wild, the light fading. We skirted round Binsey then through Ulldale, over Aughertree then on to Faulds Brow. Here we had a view down the Eden Valley though it was about to be engulfed by a huge snow storm which we drove into and through. Out the other side and the Solway Firth was before us. I grabbed a shot of the mast at Waverhead, again dodging the hail blown in all directions by that wind. It was an epic day to watch the weather allbeit feeling a mix of being a wuss and grateful for the warm car all at once. Part of me wanted to be out in the thick of it, but waterproof camera cover and thermals were at home, foolish without the right kit. For me though this is what its about, making the best of where you are and what you have at that particular moment in time.
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