Catch-up part 5

Nearly there just a few more photographs then I'm upto date.
By then I'd like to think it will have stopped raining so I can get out for a few sunrises.

Cuddys Crag June 2010 (grid ref: NY783686)

Cuddys Crag June 2010 (grid ref NY782686)

View to Housesteads July 2010 (grid ref:NY783682)

Kings Hill August 2010 (grid ref: NY795692)

Hotbank Crag June 2010 ( grid ref: NY774683)

Walltown Quarry July 2010 (grid ref: NY669659)

Playing Catch-up part4

Well I'm getting through the backlog, trying to mix them up so you don't get bored and fall asleep in your coffee.
It's still changeable weather here in Northumberland but Hadrian's Wall looks good whatever the weather.
Earlier in the year there was a dig at Birdoswald, to preserve archaeology and hopefully await advances in detection technology, only one site is given dig permission every ten years so it was quite a big thing.
It was the site of a Roman burial ground and once the dig was completed the land was ploughed, using a horse plough and sown with wildflower seeds.

I was there on Wednesday and it looks stunning, I used a slow speed to capture the movement of the flowers in the wind, with thoughts of ghostly Romans enjoying the flowers. So there are seven pictures today

Roman Burial Site at Birdoswald August 2010 (NY611659)

Crag Lough July 2010 (NY769680)

Pre-dawn at Cawfields May 2010 (NY669654)

View west from Hotbank Farm June 2010 (NY772682)

Kings Hill August 2010 (NY797692)

Kings Hill June 2010 (NY797692)

Walltown Crags June 2010 (NY675663)

If you click on the pictures you will be able to see a slightly larger version.

More later.

Hadrian's Wall in lights

Just two days to go until the Illuminating of Hadrian's Wall.

I hope that by now you've all worked out where your going to be for this unique event.

There are car parks at Once Brewed Visitor Centre, Cawfields and Walltown to cover the cragys bit of Hadrian's Wall. 
Alison's 'Walltown Cafe' will be open this weekend for snacks and drinks.

Steel Rigg, Housesteads, Birdoswald and Brocolitia Car Parks are accessible to ticket holders only.

 

From Kennel Crag looking towards Housesteads

I'm still exploring possibilities and went out to Housesteads earlier in the week.
I went up the track east towards Sewingshields Crag. This is a nice 'bumpy' bit of landscape with the line of the Wall snaking across the curves.

The Curvy bits of Hadrian's Wall looking east to Sewingshields

While it's not a big wide chunky Wall it is nevertheless Hadrian's Wall.

The view west from Kings Hill

Sewingshields Crag

As I've said in previous blogs, I was put off photographing the event actually on Hadrian's Wall because of the way those bright green HiViz jackets seemed to dominate my pictures.

Shining green jackets - very distracting I think.

Today I wanted to see what the view was like from the footpath that goes through the gate at Kings Wicket and then turns back west parallel to the Hadrian's Wall Path.
Nice views but very, very muddy underfoot.

View from  footpath, access via Kings Wicket but very muddy

It's also a long way from the car parking area.
Nevertheless with the correct gear, waterproof boots and a strong torch (bring spare batteries) it's a viewpoint that has possibilities.

I'm still in favour of the viewpoint from Barcombe Fell and if you're undecided I'd urge you to consider it.

At Bowness on Solway a contigent of Roman Soldiers will be firing flaming arrows over the Solway - now that'll make a great photograph.

Wherever you go have a great time, park safely, please don't climb on the ancient monument and I look forward to seeing some of your photographs on the  Official  'Illuminating Hadrian's Wall' Flickr site.

Please be aware that big chunks of this area don't have mobile phone coverage - don't take unnecessary risks

Guidlines from Hadrian's Wall Heritage.
As the Line of Light will span 84 miles there will be many other

opportunities for people to view this spectacle across the country.
There are many parts of the countryside from which the Wall can be seen.
Please be aware that anyone travelling to view the Illumination of
Hadrian's Wall does so completely at their own risk. As such we would
urge people to behave responsibly and to take utmost care for the health
and safety of themselves and other members of the public. Please do not
park on roadside verges or trespass onto private land. Please take care
when crossing roads, especially in the dark. For health and safety
reasons our advice is that visitors are strongly advised not to try and
access the Wall at any point other than the designated viewing areas, or
to wander onto the Hadrian's Wall Path National Trail or adjacent land.

Sorry about the copyright notice across the photo's, people have been pinching them to use on their own websites - very naughty.

catch you later.
Joan

Sewingshields

Nice sunny day on Tuesday so I took the chance to get out in the fresh air and headed off to Sewingshields Crag.

It's coming to the end of the school holidays and everyone seems to have headed up here to Hadrian's Wall at the first hint of sunshine, the car park at Housesteads was completely full, fortunately I know of a space not to far from Sewingshields and managed to park.

It's a steady climb up to Kings Wicket, the hay had been baled up in rolls and I spent some time trying to get a picture against the blue sky, but the angles were wrong. Grass hay doesn't have the same wow factor that a nice straw roll has does it?

Once up on the Hadrian's Wall Path I was amazed at the numbers of people about, this is usually one of the quieter spots, but in an hour I must have been passed by thirty or forty people.

Great news for the local economy.

(But here comes the grumpy bit!)

I was, however, dismayed by the numbers of people climbing over the Wall, it seems the signposts at Kings Wicket and Kennel Crag by the wicket gates need to be clearer. Folk were going through these gates, which are for the Penine Way, discover they're on the wrong side of the Wall and instead of retracing their steps they climb over.

At this point the Wall is also a field boundary and I wonder how these folk would feel if someone went climbing over their garden fence -I'm sure they'd object.

Of course if they'd been watching the Look North programme the other night they'd have seen Paul Paxton on one of his 'great short journeys' out at Cawfields and standing on the Wall - not setting a good example.

A real autumnal feel in the air now, where has the year gone?

Soon my season for sunset shots will begin as the sun moves back around towards the line of the Wall.

It's a lovely season with low light and gorgeous colours, already the trees are laden with berries, are we in for a snowy winter I wonder?

Catch you later.

Mist and more mist

Up early for the sunrise - that's a 3.30 alarm call.

Sky was clear and, yet again, I was hoping for some mist to brighten my shots.

Drove along to Sewingshields, I park opposite Moss Kennels and make the climb up to the Wall, for a change I had some company. Not much conversation on the way up mind you, it's a steep climb and about half way up I'm wondering if there's some way I can have my ears adapted to take in extra oxygen.

It wasn't my intention to climb up to the trig point on Sewingshields this morning, Kings Hill is todays destination.

Lat: 55:01:06N (55.01838)
Lon: 2:19:01W (-2.31692)

What I like about this spot is there are views east and west always a good idea. I've lost count of the mornings when I'm out for a sunrise and facing east when all the colour is in the west, but there's not a view to put with it

Plenty of mist about and while waiting for the sun to rise I spent time stalking Stuart's sheep, they don't want to be stars in my shots and amble off, showing their bottoms, not the most photogenic part of the animal.

Eventually the sun came up and so did the mist, not the nice whispy stuff I like, but great big grey clouds of the stuff.

I did my usual running back and forward hoping that there's be a better view somewhere else but no the whole lot was hidden behind the fog.

We decided to head back down to the car and after a minute or so descended into a lovely bright morning - typical.

A stop off at Steel Rigg just to check and a few shots of Crag Lough with rising mist then back home for an early breakfast.

The long range weather forecast is grim so it looks like the bad weather we've had in July is set to continue into August.

I'm sure they'll be wrong - if you 'll just all say after me, August will be a lovely month, it WONT rain!

That should do it :)

Catch you later.

May

What wonderful weather were having. For a change bank Holiday Monday was a scorcher. It was the day of the Northumberland Show and thousands of people turned up, including my better half. I had planned to go but caught a bug and was too ill, I missed a great day I was told. Agricultural Shows are a great day out for all the family, each of the farming communities have them and there's something for everyone.

I might have missed the show but I've been out and about on the Wall with my camera and nature has been putting on a show, just for me it seems.

I went out to Kings Hill the other night hoping for a sunset. I love the names of the places along this section of Hadrian's Wall between Housesteads and Sewingshields, there's Kennel Crag, Clew Hill, Kings Hill and Kings Wicket and I always wonder why they have those names. I know the King is King Arthur, yes the 'round table' one, he was actually a Northumbrian King!

To the North of Kings Hill we have Kings Crag and Queens Crag, a lovely area to walk with masses of history attached. If you look at the OS map you'll see markings for standing stones and bronze age burial sites along with a few Roman remains like fish ponds. NY791693

The view from Kings Hill is one of my favourites, it's looking west along the line of all the crags, past Housesteads, Cuddys Crag, Hotbank Crag and all the way to the high point at Winshields Crag. It's open access land so I went through the gate at Kings Wicket and follwed a sheep track alongside the north face of Hadrian's Wall, hoping to catch the sun on the stones of the Wall and I wasn't disappointed.

Sewingshields isn't one of the busiest spots but it has some lovely walks AND it has the Old Repeater Station to call in for coffee and a generous piece of cake. This was once a BT Telephone Repeater Station and it's now a B&B run by 'the laconic Les' as one journalist referred to him. He's one of the characters and a visit to his establishment should be on your must do list.