So Sarah and I looked at the weather forecast for the week in Keswick and it didn't look too good. Rain every day and a tiny, tiny bit of sunshine. Oh dear. But we weren't going to let that stop us! The first day took us to the bottom of Derwent Water, so we could walk from the village of Grange, past the Bowderstone, through Watendlath, then on to Lodore falls and catch a bus back into Keswick.
Bowderstone.
The Bowderstone is a 2000 ton stone, 300 feet high, carried here by glaciers of the Ice Age. Quite impressive! Having climbed onto the stone (I say climbed, I mean walked up the steps...), we walked on for a fairly long time, taking in all the wonderful views, until we came to the beginning of the Lodore Woods. We spent a while working out which way was the right way to go and we were on our way again. We then came to a part of the river that feeds Lodore Falls, which was very fast flowing. I made my first exposure of the holiday here. I also used the 5x4 for the first time at this location. It took me a while to set up, and for my trouble I got attacked by bugs!
Up from Lodore Falls.
The next mountain that Sarah and I conquered was Skiddaw, the fourth highest mountain in the lakes. The day started off fairly warm. It was a good day to climb to the top, and the views were spectacular!
The views from the ridge on the way to Skiddaw.
Unfortunately, when we finally made it to the top of the summit the weather turned and within 10mins of reaching the top, we were in the middle of a cloud! It wasn't all bad though, before the cloud covered us, we could see such fantastic views! We could see all the way to Scotland! Even though I didn't manage to get any photos at the top, I did manage to get some on the way up, and it was still a very enjoyable walk.
The third walk that Sarah and I did, was the Threlkeld Railway walk, followed by a trip down to the lakeside. This was an easy walk compared to the previous walks that we had completed, but the old railway line offered views and scenery as spectacular as the views from the mountains! Along the way there some information boards. These boards had info about how the railway line was constructed, the towns it went to and came from, and it also pointed out interesting things to look out for along the way, including mile markers, old level crossing gates and signal posts.
The Threlkeld Railway.
Having completed the Railway walk, we went to the lakeside. Here I tried lots of compositions, trying to incorporate the rocks in the lake, Derwent Isle, and other things that I found interesting. I found some interesting posts that were jutting out of the water. These must be the remains of an old pier or jetty. Having made some exposures with my 7D, I decided to set up the 5x4. Whilst I was setting up, a photographer who sitting down the beach noticed the camera I was using and came over to have a conversation about equipment, approaches to photography and other things.
Derwent Water
The fourth and final walk that Sarah and I completed, was the Ashness Bridge walk. The weather was perfect for walking. It was sunny and warm, with a nice breeze over the tops of the fells. We got a bus to the bottom of Ashness Bridge, and walked up the lane to the bridge. We stopped to rest and cool off, and for me to do some photos.
Ashness Bridge.
I felt that this view warranted me to use the 5x4, so I set up and shot one slide of film here. After I had packed up, we walked up and over to Walla Crag. On the way, we had some stunning views across Derwent Water, to Catbells and Maiden Moore.
We carried on over to the top of Walla Crag, stopping for lunch on the way. At the top of Walla Crag, I shot images to stitch into a panorama. I also set up The 5x4 here too, and had another photography related chat with some fell runners. We set off again, down from the top, down to the river that runs through Springs Wood. We then walked through town back to our flat, where we soaked our feet in cold water!
The 5x4 on Walla Crag.
Later that evening we headed down to the lakeside for the last time this holiday, and we were greeted by an amazing sunset. This was the perfect end to a perfect holiday. Sarah and I were very lucky with the weather. The days we decided to walk we had lovely weather; sunny and warm, with some cloud cover which suited us both! I like the clouds for my photos, and Sarah like the sun! The days that we decided not to walk, there was some light rain, but it was still warm.
Sunset over Derwent Water.
The gorgeous Sarah and I.
I would just like to say thank you to Sarah for being so patient with me when I was in the 'zone' taking photographs, and for all of your support and suggestions of what to photograph when I had one of my many 'photography blanks'! And I would also like to say thank you for an awesome holiday!
Thats all for now, I'll have the film developed when i'm back at uni and share the results on here. More photos from the holiday can be seen on my Flickr page
Enjoy!
G
