Photography tour – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Kenmure Hill Temple, Castle Semple Collegiate Church, Calder Mill…

South West Scotland 2021: Part Ten

13 September 2021

Having driven until late and stopping in the dead of night, the parking I managed to find at Castle Semple was a complete unknown to me before I woke up. When I eventually rose and looked out of the window, I found myself beside a loch, with another van parked up a couple of spaces to my right. Loads of ducks, geese and swans gathered noisily by the waters edge and vehicles were arriving with both dog walkers and parents dropping off older children for what was apparently going to be a water sports day. This area looked like it was going to be pretty interesting!

Today I hoped to capture a picture of Kenmure ‘castle’, only on further investigation, there was no castle as such, just a small tower (mislabelled on the Web, although corrected today). This was actually called Kenmure Hill Temple, and although built in late 1700’s, no one seems to know its actual purpose. It may have been an actual temple, a folly or a hunting lodge for the gamekeeper to keep watch over the white deer they had here at the time. However it’s also been suggested that it might have been a nursery for sick children, or a ladies room for taking tea and enjoying the view. Basically, with so many suggestions bouncing around, it could have been pretty much anything, or a place used over time for a variety of uses. Who knows eh?! These days its an empty ruin/folly for tourists and photographers like me to hike to instead so I’m not complaining!

River and I took the long walk to it, with River stopping, as she always does, at every puddle for a mud bath. When we approached the last bit of the hill, the sun beamed down on it, and really picked the tower out on the lonely landscape. I grabbed a couple of shots from where I stood (see header), then continued up the hill, finally stopping at the top for lunch – without re checking the sky. When I was nearly finished, I suddenly noticed the looming cloud about to engulf the sun. I quickly grabbed my camera and managed one shot of the temple in sunlight before it dimmed and the view went flat (Gagh!!! Why did I eat first?!!) Fortunately it looked like it might be temporary as I saw a big patch of blue behind and to the side of me, so I decided to just wait it out, hoping…. Sadly, the blue came 3 quarters of the way to the sun’s position, then changed direction, the cloud winning out and growing instead. Clearly there would be no more pretty light today. I explored the top nonetheless, and had a good look around the structure both inside and out, noting a probable fireplace up on what seemed to be a first floor area. It was quite intriguing, and blessed with a wonderful view regardless of what the weather decided to do.

Kenmure Hill Temple, no one seems to really know what it was built for.

As I came back to my camera bag I spotted River rolling around in, and thoroughly enjoying, a huge fresh cow pat next to me… She was covered! I yelled at her to stop, and with a happy grin she came back to me, tail wagging – but I could smell her well before she got close. This wasn’t good, and it was clear that this young lady was definitely going to need a wash down!

After it was clear the cloud was building and not receding, I decided on a different route back, this one via the old church that gives the name of the area here, Castle Semple Collegiate church. The church was interesting to visit, although I found it hard to photograph. Part of its curiosity was not simply that it was a derelict building, but that it has gravestones INSIDE the nave. The outside was a small grassy area, without any further tombstones, and sadly, to one end, I found barriers around parts of the building due to dangerous masonry in the windows. The church was founded in 1504, but beyond this fact, there is very little information available on it. I have no idea when it fell out of use. The roof was apparently removed sometime in the 1800’s so I assume it was well before that. I didn’t get my main camera out where I failed to see any pleasant viewpoints, but I did snap a few images on my phone just for memories sake. River and I went back to the main path, and continued the walk back to the visitor centre.

I have no idea what caught her attention, but on the route River kept diving nose first into several gaps/holes in the tall grass. A dog came past and for the first time she didn’t seem worried by it where she was so absorbed in whatever she was sniffing here. Instead she dived nose first into yet another leafy area. I called her over to tell her what a good girl she had been for not barking, and she came back straight away, with a leaf over one eye. She didn’t even seem to notice it as she looked up at me with the happiest expression. I laughed, took some photos, and we eventually moved on. When we got back to the lochs edge, I gave her as best a rinse as I could, but she turned green with the staining from the cow pat. I wasn’t altogether sure this was an improvement at all, and when other people walked passed, I had no option but to smile apologetically about my stinky green dog.

Covered in cow poo, muddy puddle debris and now a leaf – Happy River!

I decided that as we were here, I would check out the waterfall nearby. I wasn’t full of high hopes given the low water situation during this trip so far however. On the other hand, it did occur to me that as I had a bar of 100% natural ingredient shampoo soap in the van, maybe the running river water might help wash my stinky dog a little better. Even though I wasn’t expecting too much, when I turned up at the fall, I was SOOO disappointed!! This was as much a dribble as Blairskaith had been, and although I tried to take a few photos, it was really quite pathetic. I KNOW it can look so much better, so I decided that I would mark this waterfall as one to come back to. I sat instead at the waters edge, and gave River a proper wash. She was most disgruntled that all that ‘lovely scent’ she had worked so hard to get into her coat, was now gone, but there was no way I was going to let her anywhere near the van smelling the way she did!!

Looking pretty pathetic today, Calder Mill Waterfall

Finished here for now, we then left to have a little drive past nearby Barr Castle to see if there was any parking to explore here. There was none, so disappointed, I continued driving round to the other side of the Loch to see if it was a possible reflection location. Nope. There wasn’t a good reflection view either. This left me a little frustrated and disappointed so I continued round to the RSPB bird place at Lochwinnoch, parked up and went for a short walk to try a bit of bird watching instead. My app told me there were a large number of birds here.. But could I see any?!! Clearly I was too inexperienced at this so I gave up and went back to Castle Semple. Interestingly, the loop I had driven took me through a small town by the name of Beith. This was my grandmothers maiden name, and through her is my blood link to Scotland. I regret not pulling over and having a look here, although the family, as far as I am aware, came from Ayrshire rather than here. It might have been interesting to see the town though.

As soon as I pulled up back at the car park, it started raining and it didn’t stop all night. Looking at the map as I waited, I could see there was a walking route to Barr Castle from here. Maybe I could do this one tomorrow. For now, I could do little but settle for the evening listening to the rain pattering on the roof. It was such a relaxing sound, sleep came easily.

UPDATE. I did indeed return to this location after attending Emily’s Graduation in December and boy, oh boy, was this now worth it, and MUCH more what I had originally hoped for! I was able to find the park up quickly, and the walk to the falls told me straight away that there was a major difference here. I could hear the thunder clearly from the road, well before I descended down through the trees to the waters edge. When I arrived I was greeted with the awesome sight of water crashing over the edge to the rocks below and and flowing away with an incredibly strong current. No way was I able to stand anywhere near where I had washed River just a couple of months earlier! What an amazing revisit, and so worth retrying. I was over the moon capturing the fall this time!

What a difference some rain makes! Calder Mill Waterfall in the December

My Adventures

Whitelee Wind Farm and Lochgoin Monument

South West Scotland 2021: Part Eight

11 September 2021

Wind farm day… Only when I woke up early hoping for the sunrise shot I dreamed of, the cloud was SO thick you couldn’t see out of the window!!

I went back to sleep.

I eventually woke up to rain a couple of hours later. With the view still quite restricted, I simply took things easy and waited the weather out. The predictions were looking a little more promising as the day went so on I felt there was no rush today. The cloud lifted a little eventually, and it made for some nice shots from the camper window… Was that cheating?

Grim view from the window as the last downpour finally headed off

Eventually the rain stopped down to a light drizzle, and the clouds were above the turbines, so I decided to go on a long walk with River to gauge some nice moody compositional spots. I headed in the opposite direction to yesterday, walking past turbines 40, 24, 9, 8, 78 and down towards the Lochgoin Monument (see yesterdays map). This monument commemorates John Howie the author of The Scots Worthies, a book from 1775 that documented notable Covenanters and ministers. (Covenanters were a group of people in Scotland who had signed a petition against the interference of the Stuart kings in the Presbyterian church affairs, back in 1638. What followed was over 50 years of horrific persecution, violence, torture and murder)

I took some photos there, but I was sure that I could get nicer pictures in better weather and/or light. For now however, at least this documented my visit. After I had taken photos from a few different positions I realised that this exact spot was no longer in East Renfrew, but actually in East Ayrshire instead. This meant that, after all that walking, I couldn’t mark this spot off the East Renfrew leg of my county challenge … Oh well. One in advance…

As I took the pictures, I noticed a couple of breaks in the clouds, dancing small pockets of light across the Eaglesham Moor. While the light danced, it hit the occasional turbine. This looked SO pretty that I hoped to maybe capture one lit up against the grim grey sky as I turned to continue my walk around. For now, the walk ahead had no breaks in the cloud, so I aimed instead to get to a good viewpoint as soon as I could.

I started towards the Lochgoin Reservoir, only to realise several minutes later, that I was heading down to the farm by mistake. I walked back as quickly as I could and continued the hike round past the water and towards a marked lookout spot near turbine 43. My destination was Blackwood Hill.

I confess to feeling a little tired by the time I got there, and realised that it was pretty close to where I had ended at last night. Here River and I finally stopped for a good long sit down, some fluids and a lunchtime snack. It was a wonderful position. I could see for miles, and the distant hills and towns were bathed in glorious sunshine. Above us, the heavy skies remained. I saw more and more patches of sunlight come across the fields right over to me now however, so I positioned myself looking at a group of turbines, hoping that 3 of them might catch the light at once. I took loads of pictures of them all individually catching the sun, but for one patch to hit my complete grouping in one go, proved annoyingly elusive – then suddenly, after what seemed an age of trying and waiting – it happened!! I was over the moon, but realising the composition wasn’t quite right, tried to re adjust the shot. I was too slow though – the light had already gone off two of them. I waited, but it didn’t happen again, so I re-evaluated the shot I had captured and decided that I might be able to crop it to help it work better.

Light breaking through to hit some of the turbines

After this I wandered back and as I did, I spotted the Lochgoin monument in the far distance. I realised that from near where I stood, it would be perfectly positioned to sit in the middle of the silhouette of Ailsa Crag even further away, so I walked a few paces over to my left get the best view. I put my long lens on, zoomed to the max, and rattled off a few shots, moving an inch this way, half a foot that way until the position was perfect. The image on the back of the camera was really pleasing to my eye. I chuckled to myself…was this technically a 3 in one county shot? I was standing in East Renfrew, shooting the monument in East Ayrshire, against Ailsa Crag that was in South Ayrshire. How do I mark this one off?! Satisfied I’d gotten the best shot that I could, we finally headed back to the camper for a much needed rest. I’d ponder that question later if I really needed to.

As the hours passed, the heavy clouds cleared quickly so I made the call to head back out for either a clear sky sunset shot, or even a colourful one if I was lucky. Either one would do! River was exhausted (well we had just done 6.5 miles) so I left her behind to rest up while I trotted back to the spots I wanted to try for sunset…

As I walked, I spotted a lone tree on the horizon some distance away. With a lovely evening light bathing it, the blue of the sky behind, and a pink tinge to the cloud above, it looked lovely to my eye, so I hastily set up and tried to take a few photos. I needed to zoom in to the max, but even with an extender trying to help, it still looked small in the frame. (see Header) I felt it was still worth stopping for though, even if it did cut the time to sunset considerably closer than I was comfortable with.

Since I hadn’t picked a nice spot yet – and I only had a rough idea at that – I quickly headed on my way but soon found myself stopping a second time. This time it was to photograph the sun dipping below the hill, with a delightful starburst in the making. This spot proved rushing any further would be a waste of time, since I now realised I was in the wrong place to actually see the sun dip below the horizon itself. As I positioned myself for this shot, I saw the one I would have loved to have taken… but sadly the water level in the reservoir was far too low. I think that maybe a reflection in the water would make a strong image and that this would be much better after a period of rainfall. For now, I concentrated on trying to get the best angle for the sunburst.

Once I’d managed this one, I saw that I still had 5 mins to the actual sunset. I suspected it might be worth re-trying the monument shot I’d taken earlier, but I realised chances were going to be slim once I spotted that the sun was now behind a cloud. Any colour there a few minutes ago was already fading to a dull blue and quickly at that. I tried the shot however – gotta be in it, to win it, right?! Unfortunately the lens extender (which slightly restricts the amount of light that can get to the shutter) and the rapidly fading daylight, made it very hard to focus. Eventually I had to admit to myself, that I wasn’t going to get this one. Maybe I could just cheat the earlier shot, and put the colour that I was now looking at, into the image when I edited it…

Matching the bit of colour I saw in the sky later on, this was taken earlier in the day.

I walked back towards the wind turbine I had photographed and used my phone to take a quick snap of the severely depleted reservoir. This was to remind me that when full, it might be worth coming back to try a good reflection shot. Finally, completely exhausted, I plodded back to the camper for a well earned rest tonight!

My Adventures

Pollok Country Park, Linn Falls and Whitelee Wind Farm

South West Scotland 2021: Part Seven

10 September 2021

After a good nights rest, a reset, and a gentle morning, I left Emily at mid day with a clearer plan of action.

I was hoping to finish Glasgow, but rather than take shots of the city proper, I turned to two country parks just on the city outskirts – still technically in the Glasgow City ‘county’ so these can be counted as valid locations in my county challenge! My first port of call was Pollok country park, recommended by Emily’s flatmate. Parking was easy to find, and free, so I got there quickly, and walked towards the river, gauging a couple of extra shots as I walked along. It was as lovely as I hoped here. The most surprising discovery of all though, was the fact that THIS was the exact spot that I had actually tried to find two days ago!! The river I followed along here was White Cart Water (this river was clearly longer than I checked!), and the spot I had seen in the photo was the weir and old saw mill along the river right here! Clearly the original photo I used for reference had been slightly mislabelled as Renfrew when it wasn’t, or the poster thought that this spot was within the Renfrew boarder. Either way, I was overjoyed, and took no time at all setting up and taking multiple images of this beautiful location. It was still very cloudy, but it didn’t rain so I was really happy. I am determined to come back here at some point, and capture this image in prettier weather. I bet it will look really lovely with a bit of sun to bring this scene alive!

The old Sawmill by White Cart Water at Pollok country park

River entertained herself around me, and decided to rub herself in … muuuddd???. It could have been anything actually, so I didn’t take any chances and took her down to the water to wash it all back off again (much to her annoyance – she’d worked hard at getting that all in there!!) As I did this, I saw a chap taking photos of some bottles with the weir as a backdrop. I had a brief chat with him, and he explained that he was trying to take some advertising shots with his mobile. I asked how they were coming out and he said he was just an amateur and that the photographer he had hired couldn’t do it until October, adding softly ‘are you interested?’ Now, somehow I missed this question, only hearing it later, but I continued the chat, mentioning that I had seen shots like these before, that I bet the box was heavy, and further random conversations. It was only when I walked away a few minutes later, that I heard the question and I wondered if he had been serious, and whether I had missed a chance to earn a few pennies, and try my hand at still life and promo photography. Ahh, when you hear things back in your head after the event right?!

I went on my way, stopping to photograph the weir and old buildings from under the bridge (see header) then looked at Pollok House from the path. It was closed for the day due to Covid restrictions, but the view from here was really nice and super symmetrical which appealed to my sense of order… well apart from the gate being slightly oddly opened. I darted up the steps and evened the opening out before running back down to grab a quick shot with my phone. The lands here were the family seat of the Stirling-Maxwell family, and they lived here for 700 years in various castles before this house was built in 1752 (with a few extensions since then) In 1931 it was here that the first discussions were had to form a new National Trust for Scotland with the then owner, Sir John Stirling Maxwell 10th Baron of Pollok. He died in 1957, and the property was handed to the City of Glasgow by his daughter Dame Anne Maxwell MacDonald in 1966, and then to the National Trust for Scotland to care for in 1998. The family have retained the rights to still reside in parts of the house when they visit Glasgow, which I was really pleased to hear -it means that its still a living residence for this long line of lords and barons.

Satisfied with what I could get with my limited light for now, I marked Pollok Park as one to come back to at another time of the year or when I am next up here, and I then left and went to Linn Park, not terribly far from here. This was recommended by Emily herself, ‘its gorgeous there Mum, we went last summer, and you’ll love the waterfall…’ I duly listed this, and headed over with some hope that perhaps this waterfall might be as impressive as she suggested… but no, the water here was a fraction of the flow as I had secretly assumed. I sent her a jokey text with a photo, asking if there was more water when she was here (knowing full well there was) and she replied with a shocked face at seeing the levels. I wasn’t put off however. I did what I could, and actually really liked just focusing on one part only. The water that was falling here, had gathered to one side and formed a smaller section of falls that was in its own right, still fairly pretty. I really enjoyed this shoot. The low river levels allowed me to step a little further out into the water so I could get a better view. Photos online I have seen since, suggest that this isn.t normally possible! Once this was done, I was pleased to be able to mark yet another county off my list.

From here I decided to go to East Renfrew. I wasn’t sure about doing another park, a waterfall, nor long walk, so decided to go to Whitelee wind farm instead. This was going to be an unusual one to do, and I was very uncertain as to what I could expect here – but as the prediction was for 24% cloud at sunset, I considered that maybe a turbine silhouetted and reflected in some water would look nice…? That was the thinking anyway. I arrived, saw a few spots to park up and then went for a brief walk to gauge the place. I totally surprised myself by really enjoying it here. It truly was far more fascinating than I was banking on. Where I was expecting a bit of an eyesore location, with some interesting/different features to possibly photograph, I found myself in a very well thought out location, designed to be practical, preserving of nature, AND a pleasant place to spend some time walking or learning about these rather awesome structures. This place genuinely had it all worked out really well! I only did a short walk to begin with, just to gauge the lay of the land… wandering around past turbines 40, 41, 54, 55 and around to turbine 43 (see map below) I spotted a possible sunset spot, and headed back to the van for some supper to wait the cloud’s departure before I aimed to go out a little later.

map of part of the huge Whitelee Wind Farm

The sky however, hadn’t read the same forecast as me, and I watched as the cloud got heavier and heavier until it was clear there wasn’t going to be any sunset, and that instead heavy mizzle would be the order for tonight! I moved the van to a safer spot, after seeing another motorhome move, and spotting a sign mentioning gates being locked. With miserable weather here now, I decided that I would stop for the night , and have a full and proper look at this site tomorrow… this was WAY more interesting than I initially expected it to be, and you never know, perhaps the sunset sky was slightly off by a few hours, but maybe the sun RISE would be the glorious chance I hoped for.

My Adventures

Dovestone Reservoir, The Trinnacle and serious difficulties.

Greater Manchester 2021: Part One

17 November 2021

The day started off well, once ready I got myself together for a serious hike day – happily sending a video to the family telling them where I was aiming to get to, then huffing and puffing my way up the hill in my regular fashion. Today I was going to try my hand at taking some proper vista shots, and I was really going to focus on the correct composition to try and make this type of shot successful. So far I had mostly failed at these, having had a few successful shots usually by pure luck. When I reached the top I suspected I was the wrong side of the river flowing between two parts of these crags, separating me from the one I was initially aiming for (good start!) This didn’t end up being an issue however, as I spotted a nice rock formation to the left I thought was worth exploring, and the views from here were stunning regardless. Whilst here, the cloud treated me to some really pretty bursts of sunshine, which brought the landscape alive. Sadly it was the only short period of these for the whole day, and in the wind up there, they moved really fast across the landscape. I just hoped my attempts at these vista shots came out as I fired shots off at some speed to capture the light in time. Even if they didn’t though, it was still very exhilarating up here, being blown about by sharp gusts, and then rained on intermittently. I forgot how much these little random flurries of variable of weather brought me joy.

Although not technically perfect (the focus went a little off in the wind) I am not unhappy with this one

Encouraged with the shots so far I continued along the craggy edge and kept looking at a variety of options. Most didn’t quite work when I checked on my phone, but it was fun clambering over the rocks to see if any would.

Eventually I found a second spot, but without the sun, I wasn’t altogether convinced of the shot, although I did try to capture some light rays (see pic below), and even a very misty distant Manchester City (that shot didn’t work out). When the wind got too cold, and it was clearly evident I wouldn’t get any more sun, I stepped away from the edge and got moving to warm up. I following the Google map trail along the ridge to find the highlighted Trinnacle formation. In good light, this can be quite a feature, but for me it was quite flat. I shot it anyway because the colours of the rusty ferns and grasses still looked good against the stark grey and greens of the rock (lower photo). Realising the sun would be setting soon (not that I would see much of it!) decided I had better get to a safe spot before it got too dark. Looking at the map, it looked like I could loop round and join the road that headed back to the car park. The trail didn’t look too far either, so I headed on forward. Even if I did the last bit in the dark, I mused, it would be fine, since it was really just one flat road around the reservoirs. After a little while the route started to descend and got very boggy. Most of it I managed to miss, but then my foot suddenly sank to my knee and something from behind, gave me a hefty shove forward, forcing me to faceplant into the bog. Much later on, it happened again, and I realised what it was. The sudden jolt of getting my foot stuck, forced all my camera bag to continue the movement forward from behind me, creating the sensation of being sharply pushed. I pulled myself out, wiped myself down, laughing at the stupidity of how I looked, and then continued forward to have exactly the same thing happen again a few minutes later. This time I didn’t faceplant, but it was deeper and the bog oozed right down into my boot. Yuk!

By now I was dropping down well, and not far from the river. I was able to wash hands and face clean, and then I crossed over to follow the route along the other side. I saw the sky change to a pink in the very high clouds, and considered quickly climbing back to see if a shot could be had up there. I didn’t, being very mindful of the timing with the light, and continued to follow the thinning footpath, which hugged the river closely. The path, stones, and boggy bits got really tricky, so I tried walking a little higher until I realised I was no longer following a path and that I couldn’t even see where the lower one had gone. Concerned now the light was really fading, I tried to push on in the hope of picking the path up, but I only found myself getting stuck in heather. I tried to push through it, convinced the path would reveal itself soon, since it was still very clearly marked on the map I was following, and I was (apparently) right there. Then I suddenly slipped and with nothing under foot, slid down a few feet. Clearly the sides of where I was walking were turning into a steeper gorge, so overgrown I hadn’t noticed that I was now basically walking on rockfall. Shaken, I tried to carry on, only for it to happen again. Now really rattled, I decided this was getting too dangerous, so I very carefully made my way directly down, back to the river.

The light rays over Dovestone reservoir that I just managed to capture

According to the Google map the trail should have been here, but I couldn’t see it, and more, it was supposed to cross back over the river somewhere near here, but I couldn’t see the path the other side either. I couldn’t carry on this side, so I had no choice but to cross the river now, before all visibility went. At least if I was the other side, I would be on the correct side for the final road around the reservoirs. Luckily for me, the spot I had descended to seemed to have a route across the fast flowing water. I gingerly started across, but halfway slipped on a slimy rock, and went right down, crunching on my shin. I got up and carefully tried again, slipping and going down a second time, cracking my knee this time. I tried moving forward a third time, and this time jammed my walking pole into pebbles just under the water and wedged my right foot against it before stepping forward. This seemed to work, and once over, I stopped to breathe, and to contain the growing panic. The light (or rather lack of) was now becoming a serious issue. With my thinking head on, I got out my head torch, and turned it on, only to find it continually being temperamental, working, not working, flickering, dimming. In my hand it worked, on my head it flickered each time I jolted. I tried to keep myself calm and collected. This could become a serious issue if I can’t get this going, but I had to work with what I had on me for now. I needed my hands, so using my phone torch was out of the question at the moment.

By now I had company in my head. Two very clear voices had taken control of my thinking. A calming voice, and a clear authoritative one. The calming one kept telling me that everything was OK. “It’s fine, it’s fine. There is no hurry. Take your time and don’t rush. Each step you take is closer to the road, its not a race, we can do this. We will get there” It was really effective in calming me down! The authoritative voice gave me clear direction. “Over there, check down, look to see any route. Check for drops with your pole. Only step if its safe. Stop here adjust the head light. Its stopped working? Stand still – You have to stop too. Sort it out, while it works, we move”. And so it went until it was clear there was no further I could go. A huge set of boulders blocked the direction I was going, and by the sounds of it, a waterfall with a good drop on it. I couldn’t see down in the now, pitch black. and my torch light showed no end to the smooth line of the boulders. No grips, no steps – there was no way I’d try and attempt that in the dark when I couldn’t see a bottom. I was stuck.

All the remaining options came to the fore in heated quick discussions between Calm and Authoritative. Scared Sandy just sat quietly in the background being a mouse and waiting for instruction. Options – Stop here for the night, and move again in daylight – see if the phone could get a signal through to call for help – retrace my steps back… (in the dark. Ha ha, nice one!!) That option was immediately discounted. I checked my phone to see where I was, and it looked like I was at the bottom of a gorge. The sides were covered (as far as my torch reached) with thick heather, and it looked very high in the dark…but I could just make out that there was a top. With the early moonlight beginning to peek out over the hill on the other side of the gorge, Calm remained positive. “well at least there IS moonlight. Any extra light might help. That’s a bonus”. I went through the options again, feeling stupidly embarrassed to call for help, I seriously considered just staying put for the night, before another option jumped in my head. I could try and climb directly up. Silence. Who said that?

Suddenly there was a unanimous call from all the voices. Go up. Climb. Up, Go UP! You can do this. Go slowly. A little at a time, but go UP, find the original path and retrace your steps back that way.

I looked up and fearfully tested a clump of heather with my weight. It held.

OK then, lets do this.

I moved my feet up accordingly until I found sound footing, checking thoroughly with my walking pole and then grabbed another clump of heather. The weight I was carrying on my back, made balance extremely difficult, at points I literally had to crawl on my knees, and wait until my balance had settled before I could use my thigh muscles solely to force myself into a standing position. It didn’t take long for them to start screaming at me. Likewise, pulling all the weight up using just my arms, quickly made my upper arms, shoulders and pecs worn, painful and highly fatigued. I had no choice but to take it super slow for my safety- it wouldn’t take much for this to become a disaster. Regardless of my physical condition each clump of heather I reached for held. It amazed me. This stuff is rooted so well!!! After every step I checked to see if I could see a route through, following sheep paths if I could, or simply following the shapes of the edges of fallen rocks. “One step taken, will be one step closer to where you want to be”. Calm never ceased to boost me and keep fear contained. “Just one more”. I could stop anytime to catch breath, rest my shaking legs – but then – “Just one more”. Slowly I climbed. Everything was black around me with exception to the small patch of light highlighting the next clump of heather, or the next bit of rock or clearing I could safely stand on.

Finally, some 40 minutes, later I found the heather slowly turning to grass, and then 5 minutes after that what seemed to be a black boggy path. I checked my position on my phone, and sure enough I had made it! I contained the immediate need to cry with relief, and from my knees, pushed myself to a standing position one last time. I was safe!

I immediately followed the path back to the Trinnacle, and then wedged my phone just behind the buckle of the waist band on my camera bag. I focused the phone torch on the trail in front of me, and the established path came clearly into view. My legs and knees felt very weak, so I walked slowly, but the route was clear and easy to see at my feet. Once I hit the downward stretch back to the main pathway around the reservoirs, I allowed myself some moments of humour singing ‘wibbly wobbly’ to the tune bubbly bubbly by Sean Paul, out loud to the open moor. Anyone hearing that must have thought I was loosing it! Slowly the main pathway came into view and I excitedly noted cyclists moving along it. With 5 more minutes, I set foot on it myself heaving a huge sigh. The internal voices, I realised had gone, so I just walked the slow, painful walk back to Fred alone. Yep. I told myself later, might be more cautious when relying on google maps in future!

As far as my day trying vista shots, I learned quite a bit on reviewing the photos. I realised a number of errors that I had made during the trip. Mostly my focus was a little off and I neglected to try multiple focus points for a photo merge on the shots that had a foreground interest. (which was a real shame, because one with a foreground was a really well composed shot) This resulted in photos that weren’t totally crisp front to back sadly, or, on the ones without the foreground, just a bit soft on the focus all the way through. I suspect this was due to the wind, and me not being careful enough to check them each time. I had been just that bit too keen and quick I think. For a smaller image, it was undetectable so not a huge issue for a tester run of vista photography. On the whole however, I was pleased that I did seem to be getting ‘it’ and the vistas were, I felt, fairly well balanced and composed visually. I am quite excited to try some more of this type of photography now.

Hopefully without all the drama next time!