Category Archives: Landscape

The summit of Howes

Thursday 8th September 2016, 7.05am (day 1,841)

Howes summit, 8/9/16

When I came back and reflected on my climb up Kilimanjaro last summer, one thing I was pleased about was the thought that ‘at least I got a decent bloody photo of the summit’ (I mean this one). After all the effort, physical, financial and more, that it had taken to reach it, I would have been rather irritated had I not managed to match all that with a decent picture. But I feel I fulfilled that photography brief.

The same thing applies today. From starting walking at 11.30am on Wednesday morning to finishing at 10 this morning I have tramped through a lot of rather dreary and boggy moorland, spent last night three miles from the nearest other person using facilities that were basic to say the least and, from about 8am this morning anyway, got very wet. But I hope you like this photo, because to me it makes it worthwhile. How many times do we get the chance to be somewhere like this, and 1,930 feet above sea level, at 7am on a Thursday morning? Make the most of it…. that’s what it’s all about isn’t it. Making the most of it.

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September sunset

Thursday 1st September 2016, 8.00pm (day 1,834)

Sunset, 1/9/16

September 2016’s first day was not an eventful one but it was perfectly decent — and ended very well.

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View from Old Town

Sunday 28th August 2016, 2.50pm (day 1,830)

View from Old Town, 29/8/16

Moody skies are the linking feature of this weekend’s shots. Is it autumn already? Taken from the beer garden of the Hare and Hounds pub, and looking generally westwards.

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Summit of Thornthwaite Crag

Friday 5th August 2016, 1.05pm (day 1,807)

Thornthwaite Crag summit, 5/8/16

A decent day of weather (it was nice to see blue skies for a change); I’m still off work so no reason not to go on a walk. Thornthwaite Crag was one of seven summits reached today, and has what is probably the tallest summit cairn in the Lake District.

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Vasco da Gama bridge

Sunday 31st July 2016, 4.20pm (day 1,802)

Vasco da Gama bridge, 31/7/16

Last day in Lisbon, and this was the last thing seen in it, in the first few moments of the plane’s ascent away from the airport. The Vasco da Gama bridge crosses that wide bit of the Tagus estuary that I mentioned yesterday, and at 7.8 miles (12.3km) it is the longest bridge in Europe. Barely a quarter of its length, at a guess, is seen in this shot.

Farewell to Portugal — coming back here has reminded me why I used to like it so much. A fine country, with a lot of characteristics that some more self-important places could learn from (but refuse to).

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The sacrifice awaits?

Wednesday 13th July 2016, 12.30pm (day 1,784)

Sacrifice awaits, 13/7/16

In need of distraction from the various (minor) personal and (major) political and institutional cock-ups afflicting my life at the moment — so I did what I usually do in these circumstances, took a book to read on the way and got myself up a mountain. On the top of Dollywaggon Pike (2815 feet, or 858m, above sea level), this tableau awaited…. is the stone on top of the bear a kindness, to keep it there until its owner returns? Looks more like a sacrificial altar to me. Still, there are worse places to be exposed to the elements.

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Pike o’Stickle and Bowfell

Tuesday 21st June 2016, 12.05pm (day 1,762)

Pike o'Stickle and Bowfell, 21/6/16

After over a week of it raining every day, today — the summer solstice — while not exactly sunny, was at least dry. I had a book needing reading for work, I took it on the trains and went for a short but rewarding walk around the head of Great Langdale. Bowfell, in the background, is 2,960 feet high, and not on the itinerary today, but I did get to the sugarloaf summit of Pike o’Stickle about half an hour after this picture was taken. Note the walkers on the top at this point.

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The Duddon Estuary and Black Combe

Saturday 4th June 2016, 5.10pm (day 1,745)

Duddon Estuary, 4/6/16

One of England’s best-looking, and also hardest-to-reach corners. I have been doing this blog long enough to have photo locations recur even though it feels like quite a while since I was there, and this is true here — the slopes of Black Combe (the 1970′ above sea level mountain in the background), the Duddon Eastuary, and local fauna, featured on this decent shot taken back in October 2013. Today’s shot was taken from near Foxfield station on the long train journey home: not a bad picture for one taken from a moving train through glass, although there are some reflections visible near the centre if one knows where to look.

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Gibson Mill

Monday 30th May 2016, 1.10pm (day 1,740)

Gibson Mill, 30/5/16

Gibson Mill, buried in the heart of the woods of Hardcastle Crags about 2.5 miles from Hebden Bridge town centre, has in its time been a mill, a roller-disco (honestly) and, now, the visitor centre for this National Trust property. This is something of a stock Hebden Bridge shot, but one that has as yet been unseen on this blog. (And seeing as I’m still trying to avoid repetition after 1,740 days, I guess that means it will now be unseen in the future. So make the most of it.)

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Climbing Blencathra

Monday 23rd May 2016, 12 noon (day 1,733)

Climbing Blencathra, 23/5/16

My weekend was Sunday and today. I still seem willing to get up to the Lake District when I can — it’s been six weeks since my last visit, I was getting itchy. Probably I’ll still be doing it when I’m this guy’s age. After all, with a backdrop like this for one’s life — how can it be wrong? The lake is Derwent Water, the town Keswick, the mountains are all worth the time, if I haven’t convinced you yet to visit this part of the world then you really haven’t been paying attention. (See my other blog for the details of today’s walk, and all the rest of them too.)

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