These photos were taken an hour or so after the last lot, after a lovely cup of tea and slice of cake with a friend Rachel at Longshaw Estate Education Centre. The snow dusted the ground and stuck to the trees making it all a little Ansel Adamsesque. For me, high contrast black and white portrays the silent, ancient mood of the padley woods perfectly.
Once again, a part finished millstone rests amongst the old, higgledy piggedly trees, covered in a two layer blanket of moss and snow.
The peaks in winter are highly photographed, with people out and about with tripods on the hill tops at all hours of the day. For me, it's the little details that appeal the most. A warm, spring fed stream flowing through a cold, crisp, calm valley creates an amazing winter wonderland of drips and drops to play with.
Water vapour condenses onto the frozen grass and stems like some weird, cryogenic preservation from a sci-fi film. The coating thickens until the temperatures get too high and then it starts to drip, drop away.
Icicles form on most objects that are close to the water and their shape and style depend on the position and shape of the object and the type of water flow past it. Long, thin icicles near fast flowing waterfalls and short fat droplets on branches that skim the water's surface.
The water's motion is captured using long exposures and small apertures on a tripod - this blurs the movement of the water until just the silky smooth flow is left. This collection was taken along Padley Gorge above Grindleford.
Time to wander in the cool, dark, mossy woods surrounding the gorge, before the snow starts to fall and cover it all up again.
An incomplete Millstone in the woods. These can be found scattered around the whole area in various states of completion from industrial times past.
Wandering up the path back to the warmth of my car. It was a bitterly cold and damp day, but worth every minute of swinging my arms around to get the blood back in my fingers.
Well, it's been some time since the last post and I think it's about time for a bit of catching up. What an interesting winter so far - my first in the UK since 1998. Living next to the peaks has its upsides when the snow is falling and the ground crisp underfoot. Blue skies have been rare however, and I'm still waiting for Spring to peak it's head around the corner.
As January started ticking along I couldn't help myself and felt a sneaky little weekend back in the area was in order. We stayed at one of the most amazing spots in the alps - a group of three little "mazots" near the top of the resort of Crest-Voland. As to how and why, let's put it this way, it's not what you know.....
This was our sleeping accomodation - picture perfect and as close to the pistes as you can get. As you can see, the trees were smothered in a glistening blanket of snow and powder runs were the order of the day!
The resort sits under the shadow of two beautiful mountains, Mont Blanc (see earlier post in September!) and this, Mont Charvin, the most beautiful mountain in the Alps (according to a reliable source...) A great time in an awesome spot.
And bonny it was indeed - when heading north of the border for 5 days in November I'd usually expect at least a few days of rain and wind and typical autumn weather. Nope. None of the above. Mirrored lochs, mountains glowing in autumn colours, what more could you ask for (apart from another week of the same!)
Peace and quiet on Rannoch Moor
High above Glen Etive
As the sun sets on a wonderful trip, I'm back in the peaks watching autumn disappear as winter creeps back in to take over for a few months.
27 Medics on an Expedition Medicine Conference - a few days of lectures and training sessions followed by a trip up Mt Toubkal - at 4167m, the highest peak in North Africa. A trekking peak with two or three options for ascent routes it's always a great trip and very "do-able" in a few days (I flew out monday and back thursday because of other work commitments!)
The Kasbah de Toubkal at Imlil, 1800m
We cover various training subjects on the way - navigation, group management, rope skills, river crossings and others - making it a useful part of the expedition training for a medic.
The next day we split into groups and head up the big hill. This can be a long day with lots of adventures on the way but it's a beautiful ascent through volcanic rocks as the sun gets higher in the sky.
The summit is marked with a metal pyramid that we had to ourselves after taking a slightly later start than many from the hut.
Imlil Village
The last few steps to the Kasbah
A great bunch of people and another amazing place to visit. Morocco is such a friendly country it's always a pleasure to spend time there. As for what next for me? Watch this space....
