Braemar 2020

Clunie Water – Braemar

A Winter Break in Braemar, Aberdeenshire

Tired if the damp cold of the North East of England I headed up to Braemar Aberdeenshire for a real feel of winter! Nestled on the East side of the Cairngorm National Park it affords some wonderful views of the mountains. Some low level hiking was very much the order of the week plus the weather was reasonably kind to me. Apart that is until I tried the walk up Morrone which is a Corbett in the heart of Braemar. The weather was bright and sunny but more than halfway up it changed for the worse with a very brisk wind and lots of snow. So much that it was blizzard conditions by the time I reached the summit.

The following images illustrate the general area.

The River Dee

Braemar Fields and Lone Tree

Stormy Morrone

Storm Clouds from Morrone

View of the Cairngorm National Park from Morrone

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The Old Carriageways of the Cragside Estate

A gentle stroll around the Old Carriageways of the Cragside Estate starting at Rothbury afforded several good views of the Simonside Hills and surrounding countryside. First off a nice cup of coffee at one of the several tea/coffee shops along with several early motorcyclists.

Rothbury with the Simonside Hills Above

The route was very moderate with easy paths to find and walk on. Climbing out of the valley and Rothbury was possibly the most difficult part after that it was easy walking. We passed the entrance way into Cragside House which is a significant National Trust property with a very interesting history.

The Lake and Entrance to Cragside House

The Woodland Path

Simonside Hills Leading out to The Cheviots

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Beverley, The Historic Market Town

Beverley was originally known as Inderawuda and was founded around 700 CE by St. John of Beverley during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. Beverley was once the tenth-largest town in England, as well as one of the richest, because of its wool and the pilgrims who came to venerate its founding saint, John of Beverley. After the Reformation, the stature of Beverley was much reduced.

Beverley Minster

Beverley Minster

The town best known for Beverley Minster, Beverley Westwood, North Beverley means beaver stream (beavers were once common in Britain). Bar (a 15th-century gate) and Beverley Racecourse.

North Bar Within (15th-century gate)

Within the market area of the town is a wonderful bandstand. Possibly used in the many festivals and street entertainment held in the market town over the years.

Beverley Bandstand

To the East of the market town you have the River Hull which leads all the way toHull and the Humber River. Beverley Shipyard opened in 1884 and continued to build ships until the yard closed completely in 1977. Ships were launched sideways into the river Hull.

The River Hull near Weel

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A Walk Around Masham

Easter Sunday 2019

Masham is a small market town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. The market days of the area are Wednesday, Saturday and Bank Holiday Monday with a Farmers’ Market every first Sunday of the month from April to September. Although a relatively small town Masham has two working breweries, Black Sheep Bewery and Theakstons, situated a few hundred yards from each other.

The walk was to be a circular walk using parts of the Ripon Rowel long distance footpath which in its entirety is a 49 mile path around Ripon. This is a 13 mile walk using parts of the walk and ending back at Masham Market Place. The weather was very warm 23 degrees with full blue skies and little or no breeze, not ideal hiking conditions!

St Mary the Virgin church

It was a gentle drop down into the valley, across several fields heading all the way towards Leighton Reservoir. At this point we took a turn and headed towards the Druid’s Temple, High Knowle and Ilton with grand views over to Healey.

Healey

Old Barns and Dry Stone Walls

After several climbs many of them steep to get us back out of the valley we eventually headed back towards the River Ure via Nutwith Common and Oak Bank woodland. Then followed the River Ure back to Masham.

All in all an enjoyable day walking and photography in several different habitats.

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Swaledale

Swaledale

Beautiful Swaledale on a spring day with intermittent sunshine and no rain, what could be more enjoyable. There are several waterfalls in the Keld, Upper Swaledale area and on a short 2.5 mile walking route. Which is probably fine for myself as it has been several months since I last exercised my hiking boots!

Not a great deal of water flowing in the river but enough to give a gentle, milky flow to the images of three main waterfalls. Wain Wath Force was just gently tumbling over the rocks but looked good with the blue cliffs which overshadow it.

Wain With Force

Then we have a waterfall which I couldn’t find a name for on my map. It was next to a house and looked very much as if it should have had a waterwheel attached to it. Being set next to the house and the Scots Pines growing beside it, it certainly added to the visual beauty of the scene.

After a short walk we then had Catrake Force and Kisdon Force to photograph. Each spectacular in it’s own right. Catrake certainly had the edge on Kisdon with it’s height and the way the water fell over the rocky face of the waterfall.

Cat Rake Force

Kisdon Force

All in all a very enjoyable day, easy walking and a few images to remember the day by!

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Bamburgh

Arrived too late for sunrise but the sky was still clear and the light was good. Tried a different angle on getting images of the castle, from the righthand side there is a large pond which when I arrived was still and clear. The reflection was excellent but there were too many bushes and reeds to get what I wanted. Onto the sand and as the tide was on it’s way back in the sand was very nice and reflective with a good image of the castle in the wet sand.

Bamburgh Castle on the Northumberland Coast

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A Hike up Ingleborough – North Yorkshire Dales

Up early and a friend drove us both down to Ingleton for a full day’s hiking up Ingleborough then over to Twisleton and onto Scales Moor for the return journey back to the car park. Total distance of the walk was 18 miles with lots of image possibilities.

The weather was fair with lots of sunlight and blue sky to begin with, once we reached the summit of Ingleborough the cloud moved in and added some well needed atmospherics to the vista below.

Illustrated here is possibly the best image of the day, taken on the route back down from the summit.

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Cornfield Sunset

It certainly pays to take the camera for a walk, along with the dog. This local sunset was captured on such an occasion and when all the elements came together perfectly including a “light pillar” from the dying sun.

www.davidlewins.co.uk

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Autumnal Woodland

A local woodland scene of mostly beech trees in autumnal colour.

Autumn by William Morris

Laden Autumn here I stand
Worn of heart, and weak of hand:
Nought but rest seems good to me,
Speak the word that sets me free.

www.davidlewins.co.uk

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New Pro Website

Just to announce that my new professional website for photography is now viewable at: www.davidlewins.co.uk

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