Fortunately, I got the opportunity to visit a couple of friends up in the Lake District and Lancashire Area. Hill walking has never been a main ambition of mine with the idea of walking up the hill means the inevitable walk back down. But I did it. Here is my January Ambleside Amble
My friend and I went to an exhibition at the Aberystwyth Art Centre that was about a man’s experience with the hills in Wales, and his search for what Wales really meant within the vast and changing landscape. Certainly an entertaining exhibition with the thoughts of the artist betwixt the beautiful graphite drawings of the mountains and hills of the different areas of Wales. This came as a warm welcome to our trip to the Lake District the following week and an inspiration almost to really look at and enjoy the landscape we had around us.
January Ambleside Amble
On the day of our hill walk however, did not behold the clear blue sky and brisk wind we were expecting but instead were given a thick layer of white fog and complete stillness. This was very eerie but at the same time highlighted the usually hidden beauty of the winter-struck landscape. After driving through Windermere and Ambleside we settled on the hill on which we would walk.
Up the Mountain
With the hill above us rising out into the unknown mists, the climb revealed the brown bracken, musty greens of the moss and grass, and the mud-trodden paths up and across its face. With the fog, it was something out of a horror film with distant figures being silent and just within eyesight muffled by the heavy fog and dense foliage.
Once at the summit, our weather luck had changed and a break in the clouds meant you could see a snippet of the hills opposite and the towns and lakes below.
I don’t normally commit to black and white photography straight off. But there was something about this day that drew me to sticking to the monochrome monotony which I associate with the usual black and white photograph. The gradients created by the fog just seemed to work a lot better with less colour and also increase the darker winter mood we were all feeling.
I can’t wait to come back in the Summer.
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