The rarities of Teesdale

  We are blessed here in Teesdale with not only wild and remote landscapes but also with some finer details. The geology and environment of the dale gives us dramatic locations such as High Force but thanks to the altitude and climate there are some rare species of plants which exist in these harsh conditions. Some of these species are found here and in very few other locations.
 Picking the right day with a bit of brightness in the sky I headed up to Upper Teesdale and the area around Cow Green. The plant that I was looking for today was the Spring Gentian, it flowers only for a few weeks of the year and the bright sun helps to open the blooms. Today I was acting as a sort of guide for Alan Fentiman who wanted to obtain footage of the flowers.
We were in luck, there were a good number of the gentians dotted amongst the short cropped turf as well as a few other low growing plants.

Spring Gentian.

The bonus to the day was not only finding the selection of unusual palnts but also the bonus of a complete weather change as we returned through the dale. From bright sunny skies to thunderstorm and hail in a matter of moments, really dramatic stuff at both ends of natures scale.

Storm gathers over Langdon Beck.

The rest of the photos from this set can be viewed on the website: www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk and click on the On Location section.