03/04/2011

Peel Crags and that tree

It seems to be taking me ages to shake this cold bug I've picked up and when the weather is bad I sit at home feeling sorry for myself.

A chink of blue in the grey cloud and I'm picking up my gear and heading off along the Wall, the cloud was changing so quickly that it was hard to decide where to go but eventually I settled for Steel Rigg.

The climb up to Peel Crags is one I hate, no make that HATE! the steps are all sizes and if you have big feet like me and you're carrying a lot of gear, like me, then balance is a precarious thing.
I arrived at the top and all the blue sky had disappeared, typical.
Still I did feel better for the fresh air so I kept on going and taking pictures along the way.
Waste of time as I well know, if there's no "light" there's no picture, it doesn't have to be sunlight just that sort of brightness that makes a world of difference.

Of course I was telling myself that I could Blog that Hadrian's Wall is beautiful no matter what the weather, and it really is, but a bit of light makes it just that little bit better.


A little bit of light over Steel Rigg

To add to my woes the footpath men have been out reseeding the worn bits of the Hadrian's Wall Path and then sticking little green posts in with a white label telling people what they're doing, very photogenic!
The HW Path does take a battering, especially during the wet winter months, all our feet carving great gouges out of the grass, as we tramp along enjoying the view.
The two guys, who look after the outside part of the path, do a sterling job of keeping it fit for use.

The line of green sticks climbs up the path above Castle Gap

Sunlight appears just catching the top of Highshields Crag ( taken a few steps away from the last photo but looking east)

Amazing number of people out walking along the path on Saturday considering the way the Tourism people were worrying about how their funding and lack of advertising would affect visitor numbers this year. I think it will be a good year for business along the Wall, I even heard a few foreign accents (including Scottish )


The Sycamore Tree in Sycamore Gap as you see it coming down from Castle Gap

Just as I arrived at Sycamore Gap the light disappeared so I set up my tripod and waited for it to come back, and waited , and waited. People passed me by apologising for 'spoiling' my shot and I explained I was "waiting for the light" and I thought that could be the story of my life.
Eventually just as I had dismantled my set up the light came again and, fortunately, it waited for me to take the shot before going off again.
The man in the picture climbing to the top of Highshields Crag was telling his companion loads of interesting facts about the Wall, they came back past me just after I heard him saying that the Wall in Sycamore Gap was a great place to see exactly how thick Hadrian's Wall would actually have been.
When he got to me he asked me if I knew what sort of tree it was and I wish I'd got a picture of his face as I said 'Sycamore Tree' and he realised how daft the question was, happens to us all sometimes.

All photographs are copyright of Joan Thirlaway and cannot be used without written permission

1 comment:

David Richardson said...

Joan don't worry the pics are fine and you captured the essence of the wall. Keep snapping!!