Bright light through the fog on Hadrian's Wall

Woke up yesterday to a beautiful morning, just a light frost with a clear blue sky.
As soon as I was able, I got my camera and headed off to Hadrian's Wall, there's a certain point on the road out of Gilsland where Walltown Crags appear much closer than they actually are, don't know why but they do, anyway yesterday I could see some mist swirling about the tops of the Nicks.

Could be interesting conditions, a couple of years ago I was out in similar conditions and took a photograph that won me a DSLR.

Yesterday the interesting mist turned into thick fog, I called into Cawfields Quarry just in case something inrteresting developed but no, fog it was, just two people appearing alongside the Wall like ghostly centurians of long ago.

Mist at Cawfields

Reluctant to go home I set off to visit the good folk at Saughy Rigg Farm, one of  the Hadrian's Wall B and B's, beautifully situated for visiting the best bits of the Wall.
 
Brad was in the middle of extensive refurbishment works so I didn't stay long but headed down to the Northumberland National Parks Authority Visitor Centre at Once Brewed. 
The best place ever for information on Hadrian's Wall!
It only opens at the weekend during the winter months and Pam was on duty yesterday, I hoped she might have some leaflets about the Illuminating Hadrian's Wall event, I keep meeting people walking along the Wall who have heard nothing about this event.
I thought I'd have a few leaflets in my bag to hand out to people who express an interest in the night of lights.
Guess what, there are no leaflets it seems all the information is online.

Had a word with Peter, he was one of the NNPA Wardens and has recently retired, he told me the fog only started at Housesteads and that the local hunt was meeting at Limestone Corner. I set off east, saw the hunt gathering through the fog which had obviously moved east since Peter travelled the road and decided that I should just give up on photographs and head home.

As I drew level with Winshields Farm Campsite (tel 01434 344 243) I noticed a chink of blue appearing through the fog.

I turned up towards Caw Gap and then headed up the Hadrian's Wall Path towards Cawfields. This is one of my favourite stretches of Wall, the views are lovely yet it still has that feeling of bleakness.

Cawfield Crags

Cawfield Crags looking towards Walltown

The sun broke through, catching the stones of Hadrian's Wall and the mosses and lichens that grow on it.
(My challenge this year is to photograph the various plants growing on and near the Wall)

Cawfield Crags above Thorney Doors

I took some shots, including a group of four walkers, enjoying the fresh air and not at all put off by the varied weather conditions.

A walk on Cawfield Crags

After ten minutes the sun disappeared and the fog returned, never mind I had a couple of photographs to share with you and I went off home happy that my excursion had been fruitful.
It's almost a year since I started this blog and I'd like to thank those few who have followed my ramblings from the beginning.

Catch you later,

Joan

An amazing day

Saturday didn't start too well but by 10am it was brightening, I happened to the twitter site and found a posting saying there was mist on the Wall.

Within 15 minutes I was up at Crag Lough, then onto Hotbank Crag with a final stop at Sycamore Gap.

It was very, very muddy after all the rain but along, with several dozen other people out enjoying Hadrian's Wall, I didn't care, it was just great to be out there.

Not going to write much tonight just post up extra photo's so you can see for yourself.

Catch you later.

Crag Lough

Hotbank and Crag Lough

Hotbank panorama looking east

Hotbank to Sewingshields

Hadrians Wall Path passing Hotbank Farm

Mist in the valley looking south from Hotbank

Highshields Crag

Mist  coming through Sycamore Gap

Sycamore Gap in the mist

Walking through the mist

Birds and brightness

A 5.50am alarm call saw me up and checking the world outside.

Deciding it wasn't going to amount to much I went back to bed.... for all of 5 minutes, It's always the same,I dither over going out, it's really too dark to be able to properly tell what the day's going to be like so I'm saying 'I will', 'I won't', 'I will', 'no I won't', but this morning the 'I will's' won and I was soon on my way to Steel Rigg car park on Hadrian's Wall.

I was hoping for a nice coloured sky, we'd had one on Wednesday but I wasn't out then.

At this time of the year the sun rises well to the south of Hadrian's Wall so the crags are in deep shadow, but if you stand to the north of  Sycamore Gap there's a chance of colour behind it.

The sun never rises or sets directly behind the Gap but I was hoping for a bit of overspill.

There was some colour but it was a very gentle sunrise, pretty pastel colours and as I stood there I heard the peregrine calling as the sun rose then huge flocks of fieldfare went flying past.

Early in the morning there's not enough light to give a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the movement of the birds which is a shame for what would sunrise be without a dawn chorus?

As I stood to the north of hadrian's Wall I noticed two people actually up on the Wall footpath.

One was a runner, obviously someone very fit to take on the ups and downs here, the other was a photographer I think, someone brave enough to try and capture the early morning views without a tripod - hope their shots came out okay.

I'm never without my tripod, I can't hand hold a camera steady enough to get nice sharp shots these days.

It was too wet to cross over and climb up onto the Wall path so I headed off back to the car I was planning to stop in at Cawfields on the way home to see if there were any wildfowl on the lake there.
As I made the Cawfields turn a couple of cars pulled out of the Cawfields car park so any ducks that had been there overnight would be long gone now.

I stopped to take a photo of the footpath finger post with milecastle 42 in the background.

Then it was home for my slice of toast and honey, my treat after an early start.

Catch you later.

Walltown with the sheep

Sunsets on the Wall.

At this time of the year the days are short, sometimes it's overcast all day then an hour before the sun is due to set it clears.

So it was the other night and I grabbed my gear for a trip to Walltown.

I got to the parking area at the foot of Walltown Crags just as everyone else was heading home, still a lot of people enjoying days out here in Northumberland.

I wanted to go up to Mucklebank Crag so I walked along the farm track that passes Walltown Farm.

The collies didn't run out to greet me as they normally do so they must have been out working with William the farmer.

Just past the farm I turn left up the watery track and over the stile.

I paused for a moment to enjoy the view to King Arthur's Well, the two trees on top are colouring up nicely and a few wispy clouds in the background had me clicking the shutter button.

Fungi are beginning to show, we get lots of brightly coloured waxcaps on Hadrian's Wall and I tried to take photo's on a particularly nice orange specimen using my 17-55mm lens. Couldn't quite get the focus but it made a nice record shot and I'll go out again with a macro lens when we get a good day.

Onward and upward, the stone path that climbs Mucklebank is brilliant, I used to dread the slipping and sliding on my bottom that seemed to accompany every trip up or down before the path went in.

The sun at the moment is directly in line with Hadrians Wall at Walltown and the cloud had disappeared meaning every photograph I took was filled with those little flare circles.

I decided to wait until the sun got further down and a little less bright and wandered away to the other side of Mucklebank Crag.

The views here are lovely, to the east you look towards Cawfield Crags and to the south across the North Pennines ( as shown in the picture with the sheep). One day I'm going up there with a flask of coffee to just sit and enjoy the views, a great way to lift the spirits I imagine.There are always sheep on this crag and I wanted to get a shot with them in the foreground. They played 'lets show the photographer our bottoms' and eventually we both gave up and I wandered back to the setting sun.

Not the blazing sunset I'd have liked but hey, it was just nice to get out in the fresh air and clamber about where not only Roman soldiers walked before, but King Arthur and his knights gathered.

We have sunshine at the moment but metcheck is showing horrible weather for the next week, let's hope they've got it wrong.

Catch you later.

Joan

Fresh air and exercise

Wednesday started clear and fresh.

I was on my way to Cuddys Crag, hoping some mist would rise but in all honesty just happy to be out on a lovely morning.

The air here is top quality, you only have to look at the mosses and lichens growing on Hadrians Wall to know what's going into your lungs is probably amongst the best in the UK.

This thought comforts me as I puff and pant my way uphill, some mornings it's okay, but others I really struggle, don't know why.

Eventually I reach to Rapishaw Gap and cross the ladder stile. At this time of the year these stiles are slippery beggars, the wood is usually wet, so you have to take care going over them.

I got upto the point on Cuddys Crag that looks towards Housesteads, and waited. It does feel like cheating somehow to be standing there at 7.15am waiting for a sunrise, not so long ago it was 4.15am, soon the clocks will be changing and I'll be able to head out after breakfast.

The sky was clear and while it was cold, there wasn't any frost.

Then the sun rose, just a big yellow ball slightly to the right of the Wall now, no clouds to diffuse it and no mist either. On Wednesday morning there didn't seem to be many birds about so even the dawn chorus wasn't much of a twitter - the cockeral was 10 minutes late with his crow, he must have had a lie-in.

Cows made the most noise and I could hear the occasional car on the Military Road, as people headed off to work. Thought again how lucky I am to be retired and able to take advantage of these good mornings, I really do appreciate it.

I stood for a while just enjoying being out there, until eventually the sun rose enough for the light to catch the Wall stones, and put a bit of life into the view, it's amazing how much difference it does make to a scene.

I was back home by 8.15 and blow me, Longbyre was shrouded in mist and Gilsland was white with frost, I suppose all that upping and downing of the land makes for little pockets of microclimate. Pity I can't move it around to where I need it to be.

I was speaking to one of the Rangers the other day and he thought I should look for 'different' angles on the Wall, something that hasn't been done before. History is against me on that one, there have been so many Hadrians Wall photographers before me, that every concievable angle has been covered. Not sure that people really want arty photographs of a historic monument anyway.

My excuse is that I rely on Mother Nature to add that unique factor for me.

Nature has the X factor

Have a good weekend, catch you later,

Joan

http://www.joanthirlaway.com/

Could that be sunshine

October arrives in a blaze of sunshine. I'd looked at the long range forecast and the sunshine was going to be a one day wonder so off I went.

The morning had been foggy, if I'd had transport I would have been out for sunrise - seems funny calling 7.15am sunrise but that's when it rises at this time of the year.

I was wondering if the sycamore tree in Sycamore Gap was showing any autumnal colour yet and thought with a lovely fluffy sky today might be the day to find out.

I called into Walltown Quarry to drop off some of my calendars for Allison in the shop, and bumped into a couple of the Rangers, then I saw fellow photographer, Barry Turnbull and stopped for a chat so by the time I was ready to go I'd left myself short of time.

(Took a photograph of the crag face and lake at Walltown, the tree in the centre of the picture, on top of the crags is the one featured in the black and white photograph from last weeks blog.)

A change of plan then, I'd go to Cawfields. By now the clouds were building and the crags at Cawfields were dappled in light bands, quite beautiful.

I pulled into the car park, nice reflections of clouds in the water so I took a couple of photographs before heading west up past Burnhead B and B and on towards Great Chesters Farm.

Still lots of walkers around, not so many from overseas now but lots of folk from this country taking an Autumn break, everyone's welcome.

The rowan trees and briar rose are covered in shining red berries ( or hips in the case of the rose) it's a bright colour and I guess once it gets coder the berries will soon be eaten by the birds.

I took the footpath that joins the access track to the farm,(NY707668) I like the view just to the north of the great ditch here.

Sheep were grazing and I stood watching them while waiting for the light to move around.

As usual once I was ready the sun went in behind a cloud, but I had some time and hanging around in our beautiful Hadrian's Wall countryside isn't an onerous task.

Eventually the sun came around and caught the crags at Cawfields.

I moved around, noticing the tups are back in with the ewe's again so the cycle begins once more.

Texel tups have to be the ugliest critters and there's one at Great Chesters farm that's even uglier than usual. I took a photograph but once I got the pictures on the screen here I noticed the poor creature had a real 'snotty' nose and didn't look too well. Didn't want to put you off your dinner.

I noticed a walker up on the crags, I always think having a person, or sheep, in the shot gives it a sense of scale, todays picture has both. When the photograph is large you can see the whole length of Hadrian's Wall, as it climbs up the crags to Winshields, is full of walkers enjoying the fine day. Hope they made the most of it because gale force winds are due tonight!

Catch you later,

Joan

www.joanthirlaway.com