Early to rise

Alarm was set for 5am and it seemed I'd only just got to sleep when it was waking me up again.
Not much cloud in the sky and frost on the ground, thinking it was about time I got back into the swing of early mornings, I got up and off I went. The thermometer in the car was reading 0 degrees and it was a bit nippy on the ears and fingers, fortunately I had hat and gloves in the carand I was glad of them.
I was suprised there was no mist, I thought conditions would have been ideal, but then what do I know?
Working on the premise that it was the weekend and, after all the people who were out on the Hadrian's Wall Path yesterday, some of the more popular spots might have other photographers, I went to Caw Gap.
I have absolutely no objection to other photographers out in the morning it's just I always seem to need to stand in front of them or at least within their picture frame.
Caw Gap was empty, just me and the birds, there is something so evocative about the call of the Curlew.

Hadrian's Wall at Caw Gap, it might look as if I'm standing on the Wall but I'm in a gap.

Hadrian's Wall is an ancient monument and I try to treat it with respect climbing on it is frowned on and knowing my luck I slip and break something.

My favourite viewpoint is just a bit further west of this spot so off I went, I like good value for my outings and high up on this point of Cawfield Crags you get views in all directions, so if something interesting is happening away from the sunrise you're well placed to capture it.

View towards Winshields Crag, the highest point on Hadrian's Wall.

The sun appears along with some contrails to add interest to the sky.

There was a 10 mile hike over these Crags today for the British Heart Foundation, apparently they filled all the available places in double quick time, I hope people were well prepared for the tricky bits. At least the frost should have gone before they started.

As is my habit I called into Cawfields Quarry, I wanted to see where the sun was in relation to the peak there, and to see if any birds were on the lake. The contrail sky make a nice reflection in the water and then it was back home for a warming bowl of porridge.

Cawfields Quarry Lake

as usual all photographs are the copyright of Joan Thirlaway and cannot be used without written permission

http://www.joanthirlaway.co.uk/

07 02 11

Another horrible day in Gilsland.
I took my camera out into the garden, wrapped up in a plastic bag but the light was too low for a decent photograph.
So it was back to my files and I have 'bookend views' to share with you today.

Back the the area around Caw Gap, with a sunrise over the highest point on Hadrians Wall, Winshields Crag.
I'd been to Steel Rigg but it was thick with fog there and if you look at the highest point, in this picture, you can see the fog is still lingering there.
Looking west the first hill on the skyline is the strangely named Bogle Hole where I stood to take the sunset picture below.

I said yesterday that the best views on Hadrian's Wall were those you see west to east, well there are exceptions and this is one of them.

It's the view west from Bogle Hole, just before you reach Caw Gap, taken at sunset on a September evening.

From here you can see the line of the Hadrian's Wall Path as it passes over Cawfields Crag, crosses to Great Chesters Fort and ontowards Mucklebank Crag and Walltown Crags.

No doubt it was a great spot for those signal fires the Roman's used.

By the time I was packing up to go home the full herd of cows was on the footpath but they just moved to one side when I came past.

Double click the photograph if you'd like to see a larger version.

All photographs on this Blog are copyright and cannot be used without my written permission.