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

It's actaully stopped raining!

Today I started the Christmas shopping, heading off to Carlisle (a lovely, unhurried place to shop) just after ten o'clock this morning.

Somewhere around lunchtime, I realised that the skies above were bright and blue, something we haven't seen in Cumbria for ages, it had actually stopped raining.

Home again by 2.30pm and feeling optomistic,  I headed upstairs to check out my old faithful website, Metcheck, to see what time the sunset was, 3.50pm - goodness it's early isn't it?

I had a quick look at the sun position site to see where the sun would be at sunset and decided that, the best place for my outing today would be Walltown Crags.

The sky was clearing as I climbed up to Hadrian's Wall, sheep scattering before me. I paused to catch a photograph looking east featuring the ewe's, some nice light but it was already very low.

At this time of the year it doesn't get very high at all, giving lovely long shadows.

The cloud that was left in the sky covered the sun, wouldn't you know it, but I set up shop with the gnarly hawthorn tree in the foreground and Walltown Quarry as it's backdrop. Hadrian's Wall runs through the picture but not in a dramatic way, still it is there.

The temperature was dropping and I was facing into the wind, made me think about sorting out my winter woolies.

I'd tried on one of those Russian trapper hats, in Carlisle but when the lady behind me almost fell over laughing I put it back.

Time was passing and the sun managed to break through the clouds just long enough for me to get a photograph, then it disappeared for another day.

Saw several walkers out making the most of a nice evening, we must all be going stir crazy, it's so nice to be able to get out again and not get soaked!


Hoping for a frosty morning tomorrow,
Catch you later,
Joan

overflowing

We had some sunshine today between the deluges so I decided to go down to the River Irthung at Willowford and see how the water was flowing.

As I turned into to track to Willowford Farm I could hear the waterfall roaring, I've not yet managed to find a safe way down to this fall and today definately wasn't the one to try it.

Lots of repair works to Hadrian's Wall going on and much of the Wall is covered with tarpaulin while the traditional lime mortar fixes.
Essential work but no good for photographs.

The sun was shining as I headed down the steps towards Willowford Bridge, at this time of the year the sun is low and today at midday it was shining directly down towards the bridge.

I headed south and tried some different shots, trying to get some long exposure shots without any real success.

Typical of the day the rain started and in the darkening sky in front of me a rainbow appeared.

I hadn't brought an umbrella and the filters were getting covered in raindrops. I was frantically trying to dry them off to catch a photograph of the rainbow over the bridge. Managed one with just a few rainspots that I was able to clone out.

The cloud covered the sun so I moved to the north side of the bridge, the water there was showing whitecaps.

I just got set up when down came the rain again. This time I was facing diretly into the rain and had to cover the camera, shame because the light was lovely. Eventually I managed to take a photograph, then two walkers crossed the bridge but alas by then my filters were covered in rain again.

Spent a little bit of time seeing how many fossils had been washed down by the torrent of water, some very large stones had sea shell fossils but they're too big to move.

Amazing to pick up something that was a sea bed millions of years ago.

Apparently I missed the canoeists coming down the River Irthing, at least someone is glad of all this water.

Eventually I wandered back home, stopping at the House of Meg in Gilsland for a warming cup of coffee. Andrew has just won an award in the Cafe section of the Ethical Good Food Awards 2009, congratulations to him and his team. Wonder if the resident ghost Meg Teasdale (Walter Scott's Meg Merrilees) helped influence the judges :)

Take care and stay safe