To the heights

Well when the alarm went off at 3.25 and I looked out of the window I could see mists over Walltown Crags.
Today's destination was Winshields Crag, the highest point on the Hadrian's Wall Path at 1132 ft, strangely enough it's not a particularly strenuous climb and it has some magnificent views in all directions.
I always think it's a shame that so many people walking the Wall from East to West are so 'heads down let's get this over with' that they forget to turn around every now and again and enjoy the scenery.
Masses of mist at Cawfields yet when I got to Steel Rigg there was just a tiny wisp on Crag Lough.

Dawn at Steel Rigg

I headed up the footpath on Winshields Crag, it's been kept cropped by walkers and of course the ever present sheep so it's a nice surface to walk on. It's also dry, going through the longer hay fields, full of dew soaks the feet.



Heading up Winshields Crag

At the top there's a trig point, it's badly in need of a coat of paint but I suppose trig points are obsolete now with satellite mapping and GPS.

The mists over Sewingshields Crag were pretty impressive, the smaller hill on the right of the picture is Kings Hill where I blogged from last.

Morning mists over Sewingshields Crag

The sun started to come up way to the north of my position and with it came mists from Greenlee Lough, a nature reserve maintained by Northumberland National Parks Authority.

I've heard that on Sunday there was an Osprey fishing on the Lough, I don't know if it's a regular visitor or just passing through but I shall be going there hoping to see the bird in action.

Greenlee Lough hidden by mists

Another morning of bright light with next to no cloud to diffuse the sun, it seems I can't get enough of those rays though.

I'm using the new Nikon D7000 for these shots, it's a very suprising camera, the exposure is awesome and I'm finding that I don't need to use my ND Grad filters at all. I was waiting for the D300s upgrade but then of course the earthquake in Japan threw all plans out of the window and I decided to buy the D7000 in the interim.

If this is anything to go by the D300s replacement will be amazing.

View from the top of Winshields Crag to the east over Crag Lough

And another of those 'Golden Hour' shots to finish off with.

 From Winshields Crag

On the wooden fence next to the trig point is a small brass plaque in memory of a young man called Darryl

(Daz to his friends) who died fighting in Afghanistan aged 26 so today's blog is dedicated to him.

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

The other Golden Hour

As I said yesterday we get two bites at the 'golden hour' cherry.
Today's Blog has pictures taken up on Kings Hill at sunrise.
Kings Hill is between Housesteads Crag and Sewingshields Crag, kit's a fair old hike but, I hope, worthwhile.
When I set out there was no mist about, I thought conditions were right but when I arrived at Kings Hill there were just a few wisps rising from Broomlee Lough over the top of Sewingshields.

 Mist starts to rise from Broomlee Lough and drift across the peak of Sewingshields Crag

I was suprised at the position of the rising sun, in my mind I see Hadrian's Wall running east to west in a straight line but, common sense tells me that's not the case.

I do have a great programme the Photographer's Ephemeris which will show you exactly where the sun, sunrise, sunset or moonrise is at any point of time. Very useful I find.

As the sun started to rise it get very cold, I could see the breath of the Aberdeen Angus cattle keeping me company with their version of the dawn chorus.

Mist increased and it was a constant battle to keep my ND grad filter clear, it's always the same you wait around for ages not doing much and then it's a mad rush to capture images before the moment passes.

My head swivels about checking to see what's happening around me.

Sewingshields Crag

 

Light changes quickly and I zoom in and out trying to find the best composition.

 

 

Leaning across a low point on Hadrian's Wall I catch the sun and the line of the Wall.



Please do not climb on or over Hadrian's Wall, I know it's tempting but it can loosen the stones damaging the Wall and you might fall, one visitor was killed when he stepped back on the Wall at Birdoswald, and fell hitting his head.
I rush back and forwards trying, not always successfully, to stay upright

The Hadrian's Wall Path isn't even and stray bits of rock peak through the grass catching the unwary toe now and again.

Like Excalibur the camera is held aloft while I take the bruises.

The view west along the line of Hadrian's Wall

Couple of years ago I was on Kings Hill at the same time of year. Then the mists were wreathed through the gaps in the crags all the way to Winshields Crag and with the rising early morning sun catching the mist it made a beautiful sight.

I've been hopoing to retake something like that shot but not on this occasion.

The Golden Hour, looking SE from Kings Hill

As I've said in the past I'm useless with Photoshop and try not to do anything other than levels, contrast and sharpening on my photographs (and sometimes I forget the sharpen bit of the process) So colours are as the camera recorded them. I thought this shot was a good example of why it was called The Golden Hour.

Hadrian's Wall as it heads down from Kings Hill and heads up to Sewingshields Crag

I came down to the Pennine Way stile that crosses the Haddrian's Wall Path at this point, making my way up onto the other side of the Wall just for a change of view.

It's a bit of a mad scramble but I hoped it would be worth it. Mother Nature had other plans and hid the sun behind a generous bank of cloud so my efforts came to nothing on this occasion.

Never mind there's always another day.

Thanks for getting this far

As always the pictures are copyright and cannot be used with my written permission.

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.

Birds on the Farne Islands

As promised some of the bird photographs I took on Inner Farne and on the Serenity II boat trip.
It's an amazing priviledge to be able to get so close to these wild birds and my only regret was that I didn't go earlier in the season then I could have made a few more visits.
The boat trip cost £13 and it's £6.20 to get onto the Island, free if you're a National Trust member so it's not an expensive day out.
I ended up with a short list of 49 photographs and I've selected a few for you here, the rest I'll be loading onto my Flickr page if you'd like to see more Puffins.

 Puffin, the Puffins breed in burrows and seem to stand 'on guard' at the entrance.

 Puffin in a mass of white Campion flower

 Puffin portrait

Classic fish shot of a Puffin

 Another Puffin with fish shot, they seem to land with their catch then watch a while to make sure it's safe to go down into their burrow to feed the chick.

Puffin with fish

Shag grooming on of the fluffy chicks

Razorbill

Tern

Bobbing around on a boat

I've been waiting ages for a spell of good weather so I could head off to the Farne Islands and try my hand at photographing the Puffins and other sea birds.
It's an hour and a half from Gilsland to Seahouses on the Northumberland coast, travelling along the A69 and then up the A, not a bad run.
It was perfect weather and I'd arranged to go with Serenity, the skipper Andrew is @thefarnes on twitter and he kept me updated with all the information I needed for the day.
Got there early and explored the coast, saw some Eider Ducklings with female Eiders.
I love these Cuddy Ducks and had hoped to photograph some males who look very splendid in their mating plumage but alas, most of the drakes I saw were moulting and looked very bedraggled.

Eider Duckling stepping out.

The boat Serenity II, a catamaran, was leaving at 12.15 and I was on board and eager to get underway, I'd taken some pills to avoid sea sickness and it wasn't particularly rough.

View to Bamburgh Castle from Seahouse Harbour

There's a tour around before you land on Inner Farne and to be honest I got on the boat thinking that was going to be a waste of time, but it was brilliant.
We sailed around the Pinnacles, great towers of rock, absolutely covered in nesting sea birds.

The Pinnacles

The smell on a hot day was eye watering, lots of guano giving the rocks a white hue and encouraging lots of flies too, but the birds don't seem to mind it, building nests in tiny cracks or shelves in the rock.

Nesting birds fill every ledge

Andrew and his first mate Keith took us in really close and pointed out the various nesting birds.
Then off past Staple Island and the Longstone Lighthouse with a bit about local heroine Grace Darling.

Longstone Lighthouse with a Grey Seal or two watching the boat.

Northumberland has a population of Grey seals on these islands and as we approached the Island they popped their heads up and posed for photographs.



Grey Seal

Inner Farne

 Then it was on to Inner Farne and time for my big lens, but more from that tomorrow, but for now here's a Puffin shot hopefully to whet your appetite.

Hotbank

At last, a morning worth setting the alarm for.
Out of practice as I am, it was a struggle to get up when the alarm went, but it was a lovely clear morning so I was up and  off to Hadrian's Wall.
I was initially planning to go to Sewingshields Crag but I wanted a misty morning for the photographs I have in mind, and, while it seemed conditions were right for mist, there was non about.
A change of plan then and I headed for Hotbank Crag with the idea that when the sun got to bright for east facing photographs, I might be able to move west a bit and take some shots over Crag Lough.
It takes me 20 minutes to get from the car park space up to the Wall, every step of the way I was serenaded by Sky Larks, what a grand way to welcome the day.
Sky was clear with just a wee bit of colour, as the sun came up clouds started to form, catching the light and helping to fill those blank bits of sky.
I pottered around and then started to head west just as a bank of fog descended, thinking that was it for the morning I turned around and saw the sun light coming underneath the fog bank and some lovely light on the land.
Eventually I realised that it wasn't my filter misting up (wish someone would invent some non misting filters),  I was becoming enveloped in fog, so I headed back to the car, stopping once to take a photograph towards Housesteads.
Home by 6am to a welcome cup of tea.

Sunrise from Hotbank Crag on the Hadrian's Wall Path

Light on the turf of Hadrian's Wall

 The fog bank closes in

Power of light as it reflects in Broomlee Lough

Light over Housesteads Fort.

as always the photographs in this blog are copyright of Joan Thirlaway and cannot be used without written permission

Poppies

Not many landscape photographs of late, weather hasn't been playing ball.
I've been sitting in my hide, in the rain, taking photographs of the birds that come into my garden but you, my fine followers, don't seem to be all that keen on bird shots.
However, yesterday I was meeting people for lunch at the Lion and Lamb in Horsley and, thanks to Twitter I knew I'd be passing some of the Hexhamshire Poppy Fields.
Twitter is a great place for gathering information and two fellow twits kindly sent me maps with "x marks the spot" for the best displays.
TT was driving and we meandered around Hexhamshire, the ones near the Brockbushes roundabout, (take the B6530 towards Bywell) are the easiest to access but we stopped at Chollerford and on the A68 north of Broomhaugh where the yellow Rape flowers are still out.
It looked like jelly and custard with the red and yellow stripes.
As you drive along the A69 you keep seeing great swathes of red and what a magnificent sight they are.
Here are some of the shots I took, including one that was shown on Look North Weather last night.
Oh! by the way the food at the Lion and Lamb at Horsley was excellent, we shall return.

Poppies on the road towards Bywell and Corbridge.

A sea of red

View across the Tyne Valley from the A68 north of Broomhaugh

Poppies and Oilseed Rape near Chesters Fort at Chollerford

Near Chollerford.

While I'm featuring flowers I'll include one I took today at Washington WWT of the Bee Orchid -thank goodness for these flowers, I got nothing worth having from my bird photographs so the Orchid at least saved the day being a total disaster.

Bee Orchid at Washington WWT.

As usual all photo's are copyright of Joan Thirlaway and can't be used without written permission.

Someone's out there

Wednesday morning, the alarm went off and, for a change, there was a clear sky with a bit of colour.
Twenty to four and I'm heading out to Caw Gap, one of my favourite spots for sunrise (okay I know, they're all my favourites - it just depends where I am when you ask).
On the way there I saw a Barn Owl flying over, that made getting up early worthwhile before I'd even taken a photo - big smile on my face at that sighting.
Caw Gap is one of the nice and easy to get to spots, still a bit of up and down but not one of those steam out of the ears clambers and soon I was set up and ready for action.
The sun is way over to the north of Hadrian's Wall at the moment and I just have to hope the sky has enough of a colour spread to make the bit I'm pointing at worthwhile.
I'd been there about ten minutes when over the crest of the hill came a walker, now that's something I don't often see at 4 oclock in the morning.
He told me he'd been wild camping (I'm sure that must be frowned upon by the Hadrian's Wall Heritage people)  and couldnt sleep so, he was getting an early start to the day, as rain was forecast for later he probably made the right decision.

Clouds were coming and going at great speed so the view was constantly changing, I'll upload shots in the order they were taken so you can see how much things change in a short space of time.
Once sunrise happens the camera is shooting away twenty to the dozen then it all stops so I'm normally out of the house for less than two hours.
Occasionally I'll visit more than one site but the conditions have to be exceptional after all I'm lucky enough to be able to go he next time it's promising light.
Before you ask, I do have a few hours sleep when I get back, at my age I need the rest :)

An almost clear sky as I set up to wait for sunrise at Caw Gap (4.06am)

A much better sky with clouds to catch the colour of the rising sun (04.40am)

The 'golden hour' light as the rising sun catches the peaks at Caw Gap. (04.54am)

View across to the North Pennines from Cawfield Crags, gives you an idea of

what a great defencive position this was for Hadrian's Wall

The view west towards the Thirlwall Nicks and Walltown beyond.(04.55am)

Hoping to get out one morning this weekend, the weather forecast mentioned mist and my ears pricked up, while since I've been to Sewingshields so that's next on my list, watch this space.

As always the photographs in the blog are copyright of Joan Thirlaway and cannot be used without written permission.