Golden Hour

Photographers talk about the golden hour, that hour before sunset and after sunrise, when the light is rich and often golden.
Last night looked promising so off I went.
Called into Cawfields Quarry, it's haymaking/silage making time and fields are being cut literally from dawn to dusk while the weather holds.
I love the patterns made by the cut grass, left in lines to dry.

 Field that carries the Hadrian's Wall Path from Great Chesters Farm east to Cawfields

( well if you're walking w-e that is)

Light on the Cawfields Quarry face was lovely, we don't have many easily accessible bodies of water of the Hadrian's Wall Path but this is one. It was here I saw a Little Owl, managed a grabbed picture otherwise I would just have marked it down as a Tawny Owl. I'm hoping to get a better shot, using my 'big' lens, tried tonight but while the owl was in the same spot it was camera shy tonight. I was getting eaten alive by midges so I made a dignified retreat, Round 1 to the Little Owl.

Cawfields Quarry Lake

Some nice clouds in the sky so I went off to Sycamore Gap, while the sun doesn't actually set behind the tree I hoped the cloud to the east would colour up to make a nice background.

It takes 20 minutes from parking the car to the tree and by the time I got there all the cloud had gone from the bit of sky I needed it in.

Took a photograph looking towards Winshields Crag from Highshields Crag, than another looking towards the east and Hotbank Crag, strange how often the sunset colour is better in the east than in the west.



View west to Winshields Crag from Highshields Crag with the Hadrian's Wall Path snaking through the view.

Looking east over Hotbank Crag and Crag Lough, from Highshields Crag

Then the sun went down and it was nearly all over for another night, on the way back to the car I stopped at one of the other areas of water on this bit of Hadrian's Wall, Crag Lough.

You've probaby seen this view many times but it makes a nice full stop to my outing.

I had a few hours sleep then I was out again for sunrise but I'll save those pictures for another time.

Oh and here's the grab shot of the Little Owl,  massively cropped as it was taken with my 18-200mm lens a fair distance away. Challenge is now to get a 'proper' shot of it.

as always the photo's used in the Blog are copyright of Joan Thirlaway and can't be used without written permission.

No Contest

It's been a strange day, weatherwise.
I was out this morning but any light quickly disappeared and even the grey clouds weren't very interesting so  when the light began to improve as it got nearer to sundown I thought maybe a trip out would be an idea.
Of course it would mean me missing 'Britain's got Talent' and 'So you think you can dance' but really it was no contest, I went off to Crag Lough.
The clouds were amazing, bold and beautiful and I was hoping the wind would drop enough so the sky would be reflected in the Lough.It's a rare day when there isn't wind on this part of Hadrian's Wall and this wasn't a rare day so I took a couple of photo's and then headed up onto Highshields Crag.

Crag Lough

You climb up to the top of Highshields Crag through woods and as I went through the sun was dappling through the trees and a wren was singing it's heart out, magical.

At the top were some of the Hotbank Black faced ewe's with their lambs, I had intended to go along as far as Sycamore Gap but there was nowhere for the animals to go but ahead of me and I didn't want the lambs going over the edge of the crag. They were quite small and very bouncy.
I took a few photographs of the sheep and as the sun was setting headed back down to the water side.

Blackfaced Ewe's and their lambs on Highshields Crag.

The big red sky I didn't happen tonight but here's a shot of the sun just before it sets over the Hadrian's Wall Path

Hadrian's Wall Path on Highshields Crag

Clear skies tonight so tomorrow might be a good morning to be out and about early, off to set my alarm for a 5am start.

All photographs used on this blog are copyright of Joan Thirlaway and cannot be used without written permission.

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

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

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

Hadrian's Wall : Winshields Crag part 2

I promised yesterday that I'd upload the photographs looking east, and here they are.
It's worth mentioning that you are walking through fields on this bit of the Hadrian's Wall Path and soon there will be lots of lambs. If you have your dog with you, please, keep it on a lead.

The view east from the highest point on Hadrian's Wall, Winshields Crag

The just mist wasn't clearing, but in the sunshine it was beautiful, larks singing and a hawk circling above my head.

Walkers come out of the mist

A couple who had walked from Housesteads appeared through the mist, they stopped to take off their coats it was so warm. They are walking the Pennine Way in segments, this path has a dual purpose, both Hadrian's Wall Path and part of the Pennine Way.

From Winshields Crag to Highshields Crag

Two high parts of the Hadrian's Wall Path and vastly different weather conditions, sort of sums up how unpredictable this part of Northumberland is.

Always wear clothing in layers so you're always prepared.

Coming to Steel Rigg with the Bradley Farm ewe's waiting for their lambs to arrive.

And back to Steel Rigg

Met a man called John Miles in the car park, he wrote a book about birdwatching in Dumfries and Galloway, the Solway bits of  Hadrian's Wall.

He just said he'd written a book and was now doing another with updates, good old Google gave me the information.

It's currently out of print but I shall track a copy down!

Good job he didn't mention what it was about when we met or he'd still be there  answering my questions :)

You just never know who you're going to meet.

If you double click the pictures you can view them at a larger size.

All photographs on this blog are copyright of Joan Thirlaway and cannot be used without written permission.