But getting back to the blog – when I say we didn’t travel much, I don’t mean at all. We did have the fortune and pleasure to have go on an Iceland weekend escape in 2019. It left us wanting more. Because we had so little time at our disposal, we drove a lot, back and forth, to try to capture as many interesting sights as we could.

It was January, and the reason for our Iceland weekend escape was to catch the Northern Lights. It’s been a dream of mine for some time – to sit under the Aurora, and watch it dance across the sky. We even picked a place from which to enjoy it – Kirkjufell mountain. Sadly, the lights never showed that night. We did capture some nice photos, but no Aurora that time.

We ended up visiting Seljalandsfoss waterfall, Reynisfjara Beach as well as Sólheimajökulll Glacier – the first glacier we’ve ever seen. There really was no time to visit more sights, so we made the best of what we had. The weather was fickle so we didn’t get to capture any breathtaking sunrises. On our last day though, before we boarded our flight back to UK, the weather was perfect, so we ended up driving around Hvalfjörður fjord and taking some pretty amazing pictures.

We spent 3 days in Iceland. We definitely didn’t have a lot of time and we did feel the need for a drone. There’s only so much you can do with just your camera. Iceland is amazing and deserves more exploration. In January the day was short though. We only had a few hours of sun, from 11am to 4pm. The day was so short that the sun barely rose that it set immediately after. Or so it felt. The light, when it wasn’t too cloudy, seemed to always be golden. As if the whole day was one long sunrise. I think that was the most impressive thing of all.

We will definitely go back. We’d like to travel there this year, this summer even. I want to see more and I want to hike there too. Hopefully we’ll be able to. Until then, here’s a few shots that we love:

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post Iceland weekend escape appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

To get the perfect shot, it takes an hour and a half of preparation. It includes brushing teeth, making coffee, sandwiches, grabbing the camera and drone. Not to mention driving to the location, and a short 10-minute hike. This allowed us to reach Cave Dale at just the right moment when the sun was peeking through the clouds. The plan sounded perfect, especially after last week’s cloudy sunrise attempt. But this time, there were very few clouds that only added to the mood and gave us wonderful colours. Additionally, we were fortunate enough to get some low hanging mist. It added to the mysteriousness of Castleton and tricked our eyes into believing we were on top of the world.

Despite the early wake-ups, tiredness, and cranky boys, as long as I can capture shots like the one below, I am willing to take on all the challenges. Nothing compares to the joy of witnessing a perfect sunrise like this. All worries disappear, and I can safely say it’s a form of mindfulness. It forces me to be present at that moment, and nothing else matters.

A perfect Cave Dale sunrise ? Checked off my list! Stay tuned for next week’s adventure. I wonder where it will lead us…

The post Cave Dale Sunrise appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

We weren’t lucky enough to get a spectacular inversion, like we did on the last day of 2020 ( you can view the photos here ). But we did get to photograph the gates along the ridge. I’ve been eyeing them and meaning to photograph them for a long time. And I’ve finally had my chance. So now I get to cross this off my list. Just like I crossed off the list a perfect Winnats Pass sunrise, last week (you can view the photos here) . It’s such a great feeling of accomplishment to get the shots you’ve been hunting.
 

Next up? Well a hike of course, on Sunday. And as for photos? I don’t know! There’s so many spots in Peak District. Maybe next week we’ll stray a little further from the popular spots. For now I’m very happy to cross off the list a perfect Mam Tor Ridge Sunrise. Stay tuned!

The post Mam Tor Ridge Sunrise appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

 
We began our walk facing Mam Tor. After we had previously stopped at Winnats Pass to capture a fantastic sunrise, of course. ( you can view the pictures we took here.) But unlike the usual path we take up Mam Tor, this time we turned around and walked the opposite way, towards Lord’s Seat. We’ve found this route to be much less crowded, but still incredibly scenic. Mam Tor behind us, the sun rising slowly and steadily, we made our way across the moor, walking towards Chapel-en-le-Frith. Edale Valley, covered in snow like I’ve never seen it before, was sprawling at our feet, as we walked on.
 

Soon we made a right turn and followed the path, on Toot Hill , passing Horsehill Tor and Brown Knoll towards Kinder Scout. As the sun was rising so was the temperature. Luckily we arrived at Jacob’s Ladder before the sun melted away all the snow. It was now around 11am, and many walkers were making the climb on the Ladder towards Kinder Scout, not knowing just how much snow there had been around, in the early hours of the day.
 

We were now at the bottom of Edale Valley and there was only one way to go: up. Towards Mam Tor and our car. It took us some time to get back up top, and by the time we got there, the landscape was unrecognisable. What started off as a frozen morning, with snow glistening on all hills and valleys, had now turned into a sunny afternoon, the lush green grass glinting in the sun. We reached Mam Tor some time after noon, and checking my phone I noticed we had walked about 22km. I felt tired, but I wasn’t expecting to have walked so much. Despite this, the walk was one of the best I’ve experienced, merely because of the perfect weather and the snow.

The post Mam Tor to Jacob’s Ladder and back via Edale Valley appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

We woke up at 4.45 on Sunday. With no idea what to expect. All we knew was that the weather app said it would be partly sunny. What a surprise it was when we got there that our Winnats Pass sunrise photography suddenly turned into Winnats Pass winter photography! Never had we thought we’d be so lucky! I absolutely love winter in Peak District. So a winter sunrise here is a fantastic bonus!

We climbed the hill as fast as we could. Everything turned out to be amazing. The sky was fantastic, with a few wisps of clouds here and there. Perfect enough to offer a variety of colours. Even before the sun had shone its first rays above the hills, the sky was amazing. We captured a few landscapes and portraits, but soon enough, the light became too harsh so we packed up our things and left. Our next destination was Mam Tor, more specifically the bridleway towards Lord’s Seat. More of that in this article here

The post Winnats Pass winter sunrise appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

We reached the car park at around 8:10 am, and began climbing to the little summit, as the sun began to rise. I could tell it was rising by how pink the atmosphere became. There were no other tells, because we couldn’t see the sun or anything around us. The whole hill was covered in mist. It seemed like a fast moving cotton candy cloud that diffused the light of the rising sun. We could tell something special was brewing.

As we hit the summit, we saw many people enjoying what seemed to be the most wonderful sunrise of 2020. Many of them were taking photos, some were just standing around, taking everything in. It was pretty wonderful. The mist was moving fast above us and around us, and off the face of the cliff toward the sun. I hope I managed to capture the magic of it. As usual, using my family as the centre of focus.

We’ve been on that exact spot many times, in the spring and in the summer, but I think this Mam Tor Winter Sunrise was the most spectacular. After we were happy with the shots we got, we went a bit further toward the Mam Tor Bridleway to try to capture it, and Lose Hill. They looked amazing as well, as the mist was sweeping across them. We didn’t spend a lot of time here as we didn’t have any food with us, and couldn’t do a proper hike. So we decided to go back to our car.

Easier said than done, as the weather was cold, but so wonderful that I didn’t even want to leave. Instead of going towards the car park, we climbed down Mam Tor and climbed up towards Lord’s Seat. We’d caught of glimpse of Edale and Kinder Scout from the top of Mam Tor and it looked wonderful, all shrouded in clouds and mist. So we wanted to get a little closer. Lord’s Seat was the easiest way. The sight became otherworldly, as you can see in the pictures below.

Such a great sunrise. On the last day of 2020. I hope 2021 will be at least as wonderful as this morning was! Happy New year dear reader. We’ll see you next year!

The post Mam Tor Winter Sunrise appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

I’m actually very glad how things played out. I think we got some amazing shots. Things didn’t look very positive right before the sun rose and I was a bit disappointed. I guess I was still hung up on the Mam Tor idea. As the minutes passed though, the sky became more and more alight. The hills started to come alive. The best part was the mist that was all around and the lack of clouds. The sky was clear and the sun was shining on the mist and trees, making the landscape look very milky and surreal. Some perfect conditions that we’ve never captured before.

All in all, I’m extremely happy we didn’t get to go to Mam Tor. We managed to capture some amazing shots with the mist and trees that we had no chance to capture there. The Surprise View sunrise photography session was a fantastic success! Alex was an amazing model as usual and managed to keep up with me as I ran through the hills to try and hit as many spots as I could. I’ll let you see the photos now and I’ll see you in the next post!

The post Surprise View sunrise appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

We left home at 4 am, and parked our car at around 5am in the Binn Green Car Park. It was pitch black so we were definitely happy to have our head lamps with us. We’ve never had the chance to do a night hike before and I’d like to say we were happy to do it, but honestly… None of us were very keen, haha. It’s could be quite creepy and all of your senses are so heightened it almost hurts. Now that I look back, I think we should have done a night hike on a trail we were familiar with. This was an unfamiliar trail, so it was definitely more difficult than I thought.

Thankfully we didn’t have to wander through the darkness for too long. The sky started to lighten after around 20 minutes, just as we reached the path alongside Yeoman Reservoir.  Removing our head lamps we started our climb towards Saddleworth Moor along the concrete waterfall in Dove Stone Clough. The sun started to rise just as we reached the top.

I knew we had to walk some more before we got to The Trinnacle, and it seemed like we were against the clock, as the sun was rising fast. The light was mellow and the sky was awash with lovely shades of pink and purple. The few clouds on the sky were lines with gold and everything looked wonderful. But as the sun was rising the light was becaming stronger and whiter. I definitely wanted to reach The Trinnacle and capture it in mellow golden light so the hike turned into a run.

We didn’t end up reaching the Trinnacle. The path became narrow and was right on the edge of Moor. It had rained recently so it was a bit muddy too. I loved it but Stefan said it was too risky to continue. He’s not keen on heights sadly. Everytime he saw Alex get too close to edge he’d have a small panic attack. I decided to spare him and we turned back. I can’t help but feel like I failed though. My one goal for that day was to reach the Trinnacle and I didn’t. Maybe sometime later… When it’s dry. We’d definitely take a different path, one that crossed the Saddleworth Moor and isn’t right on the edge.

It was a great hike though. Even if we didn’t reach the end. We took some pretty amazing pictures, and we all felt tired but fulfilled. The climb is not easy, so that made the challenge all the more sweet. On our way back we took loads of other photos, even with the strong sun. And we met so many people out and about. When we started our hike there was no one around. Now there were people everywhere.

I can wait to go back there. I’m sure Dovestones Reservoir, Yeoman Reservoir and all the surrounding Moors and Edges look amazing in the autumn!  Until then, here we go: our first Northern Peak District photos. I hope you like them as much as I do! Also, remember to follow us on Instagram, we post all of our adventures there. Including the amazing sunrise we captured at Winnats Pass.

The post Dovestones Edge and Saddleworth Moor Sunrise appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

Last weekend, we finally captured the Winnats Pass photos we had wanted since discovering the spot online four years ago. It’s silly, but I genuinely never thought about the possibility of climbing on the other side. Once I saw the other people climbing there, I couldn’t wait to wake up my family at 5 am for a photo session.

We woke up at 4:30 am and climbed the left side of the pass starting from the top. It took less than 10 minutes. We were delighted to find several people there already, confirming that it was a popular spot. We could also see many people waiting on Mam Tor for the first rays of sun. When it finally appeared, it was glorious. For just five minutes before a huge grey cloud covered it. Gone was the warm golden light that makes this spot so special.

Despite the grey cloud, we held out hope for another chance. After a while the clouds cleared, and we got some beautiful shots. Although the light became strong quickly, we were happy with our photos. I was thrilled to have finally captured the Winnats Pass photos that I had been dreaming of. Our next goal is to capture a cloud inversion, which would be pretty exciting!

I made a twitter account here the other day. Instagram is pretty slow to grow, and I bet the famous “algorithm” has a part to play in that. Drop a follow and I’ll follow back!

The post Winnats Pass photos at sunrise appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.

Day 1:
_

The North Coast 500 starts and ends in Inverness but we definitely didn’t adhere to that. We started with Glencoe where we spent the night at a camping. The most surprising thing that almost made us turn around was the midge infestation. Maybe we were just unlucky, maybe it was mating and baby making season. But we’ve never seen so many midges, before or since. There were actual clouds of midges in the air. They were getting in your eyes and your mouth. It was just impossible to breathe. We bought some net hats, similar to the bee keeper’s hats, just to be able to walk around. Needless to say, it was a horrifying night.

Day 2:
_

We left the next morning and headed north towards Isle of Skye. We’re been there a few times, but this was our first time on the island. We caught a glimpse of Old Man of Storr. First time seeing that too. We even gave the hike a little try. It defeated us that time. We were very unfit at the time. But we persisted and conquered it in the end, a year later. Most of our time though we spent in Portree.

Day 3:
_

The next day we began by taking a drive to visit the Dunevegan castle. It’s one of the most popular castles in Scotland and boasts being one of the fewest castles continuously inhabited. It is the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Clan MacLeod, who have lived on the site for over 800 years. The castle sits on the shores of Loch Dunvegan and is surrounded by beautiful gardens. I don’t think there’s any connection between the real clan MacLeod and the fictitious clan MacLoud from The Highlander, but it’s a neat tidbit to mention.

Day 4:
_

Once we left Isle of Skye we headed even further north. It had been raining since we started our road trip and continued to rain until we got home. But we didn’t let that stop us. We visited Ardvreck Castle on our way Durness our next camping spot. It’s a castle ruin located on the shores of Loch Assynt. It dates back to the 16th century and was built by the MacLeods of Assynt. It later became owned by the Clan MacKenzie before falling into disrepair in the 18th century.

There is also a legend that surrounds the castle. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of Alistair MacLeod, who was murdered by his cousin in the castle in the 17th century. The ghost is said to haunt the castle’s ruins to this day, but we weren’t lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it. We did enjoy a stroll around it as it sits in a beautiful setting.

Once in Durness we set up camp and spent the day on Balnakeil Beach. A remote and stunning beach located on the edge of a large sand dune system, featuring truly dramatic views, crystal clear blue waters and white sand. It was really one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. We actually liked it so much that we went back the next day to spend some more time there. The only thing I regret is that it was raining the whole time, and it was pretty cold. Meaning we couldn’t really chill on the beach the way you would in a hot country. It was still incredibly beautiful and I would recommend this beach to anyone visiting that part of the world.

Day 5:
_

The following day we visited Smoo Cave, located nearby. It is a fascinating sea cave formed by a combination of erosion from the sea and underground streams. The entrance to the cave is located on a rocky beach. Before heading in we donned helmets , and we visited an impressive waterfall that drops into a large pool. There were still several smaller chambers to be seen but they were accessible by boat, so we didn’t get that chance that day.

Researching Smoo Cave I’ve discovered that it also has a rich cultural history, with evidence of human habitation dating back thousands of years. The cave was used as a shelter by early humans, and it was also a hiding place for smugglers and pirates in the 18th and 19th centuries. We didn’t know this at the time, but it was amazing learning about it.

Day 6 and onward:
_

Balnakeil Beach was the northern most point we’d ever been. So naturally, from there on, it was all southward. We spent the night at a camping site on Sango Sands, another beautiful location with rugged coastline and pristine beaches. The next day we continued eastward and didn’t stop until we reached the village of John o’ Groats. A thing that makes it famous, apart from the stunning coastal scenery is that it’s an end of the popular long-distance walking and cycling route known as the “End to End” or “Land’s End to John o’ Groats.” This route spans 874 miles by road and could span even 1200 miles by footpaths. Plenty of people have walked on it. All the way from Land’s End in the south of Cornwall to John o’ Groats in the North of Scotland. We have been to John o’ Groats on this occasion, but fun fact is, we’ve also been to Land’s End ( you can see that in our YouTube video here)

Once we visited John o’ Groats we continued our way southward, stopping only on the shore of Loch Ness. We didn’t take anymore pictures there, but there was no point as we didn’t even see the Loch Ness monster, the only reason we stopped there.

I’m happy we started North Coast 500 on the west coast. There were many beautiful sights to see and we took many beautiful pictures. We made great memories there and I’ll cherish them forever. We made our way back on the east coast though which was far less interesting in my view. The landscape wasn’t as dramatic, and we were pretty tired by that point. So I definitely avoided taking any more pictures. But even so, this was our first time in Scotland and Alex still says it was his favourite road trip. So I guess it was a massive success.

We made our way back there a year later. That’s how much we loved it. You can read all about here

The post North Coast 500 / Our first trip to Scotland appeared first on Landscape photography in UK.