Goldsborough glow.

  Following the rather nice sunset on Tuesday I took a drive out this evening to give the dogs a bit of a leg stretch up onto Cotherstone Moor. I timed it in the hope that we may get a repeat of the colours of the setting sun as we did the night before. A short walk across the moor took us up to the Millstone grit outcrop that is Goldsborough, this is one of my favourite places in the dale with excellent views across the wide landscape. just as I got there the sun dropped below a layer of cloud and lit the crags with a golden glow.

Goldsborough.

I am hoping to do a bit of work up here in the near future so this was a good chance to check out some of the crags of this outcrop (is that a witches face in the photograph? lol)

 As I headed home the sun did indeed put up a last touch of rich colour so i just had to take a shot or two.

Late sun

  Whilst working in the studio this evening I looked out across the fields to see the glow of the evening sun lighting the landscape. As my view is to the south I needed to take a walk out along the lane to give me a clear view to the west to see if the setting sun lived up to expectations. It was well worth the little effort as from the lane there was a clear view. At this time of the year the sun goes down behind Mickle Fell which at just over 2500' was formerly the highest point in North Yorkshire.

The time was a little after 9.45 when I took this shot, still plenty of light if you were out on the hills. Now there's an idea!

Poppyular

 After my trip out to the poppy fields on Tuesday the response to the images has been really amazing, many thanks to all who left comments or likes on forums, photo-hosting sites, emails and Facebook. It seems that despite the fact that I was drawn to the mass of poppies in the main field the photo which has had the most reaction is this.

A splash of red.

The threatening clouds, the light on the tree, the tracks in the crop and the brilliant colour of the poppies all came together to make such an appealing scene. It just so happened I was there at the right time. Needless to say I will be producing prints of this image, in fact they are being printed now and hopefully we will have copies here at the gallery by the end of the week. more information on the website shortly.

A mass of red.

  Teesdale is an area not reknowned for arable landscape but when I got a tip-off about a stunning flowering of poppies in a field of Oilseed Rape then I thought I would go and take a look. The weather was just about right with sunshine and some cloud which brought out the intense colour of the flowers. The field was well away from public footpaths so I had to get special permission to visit the site and the difficulties of walking through waisthigh nettles and thistles on the field edges was well worth while.

Of course I took loads of photos, some of which can be viewed on the website: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/Teesdale%20gallery%2021.6.11.htm

Teesdale in bloom.

 Following my recent post about the hay meadows in Swaledale I took another look at the meadows here in Teesdale. We are doing a bit of work at the minute on an exciting new project so these visits to the meadows were really part of the research for this idea. Mind you, I dont really need and excuse to get out and visit these places right on my doorstep.
 I incorporated this visit with a walk around one of our small reservoirs here in Teesdale, Blackton. It was a beautiful morning and a joy to take in the sights and sounds of Baldersdale, a branch valley of Teesdale in which the reservoir sits.

Hay Meadows above Blackton.

This route is also a good opportunity to visit the Durham Wildlife Trust reserve of Hannah's Meadows which once were worked by Hannah Hauxwell. These meadows have been kept free from artificial fertilisers and are an ideal habitat for a wide variety of meadow flowers. The full set of photographs from this walk can be found on the website: http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/Teesdale%20gallery%2020.6.11.htm

A Swaledale wander

 Late afternoon was a good time to set of with the intention of having a good walk in Swaledale. The light was still good and this time of day means that there is usually less people about. Late June or early July is the best time to see the Hay Meadows near Muker at their best. The controlling of the use of artificial fertilisers and chemicals in these fields means that the herbage is how most meadows in the dales would have looked in days gone by.

Hay Meadows at Muker.

The flowers were looking at their best with a fine show of Buttercups, Red Clover, Cranesbill and other species adding to the colour mix. This display is spread over serveral pastures on the valley bottom. Once through these meadows I decided to continue my walk up towards Keld.

Kisdon Force.

The route is fairly straight forward and makes for a pleasant hour or twos walk. The photos from the walk are now on the website which will show how you can follow the route to take in the meadows, the falls and the industrial landscape of Swinnergill. http://www.theteesdalegallery.co.uk/On%20Location%2014.6.11.htm

Down the lane.

 Only time for a short walk this morning so I took the dogs along the lane from the house. This is quite a regular leg stretch for us as it avoids using the car and very sledom do we see traffic along the way. Plenty of life in the adjoining fields but by keeping to the lane I can let the dogs run a bit free but still keep a close eye on them. The verges and hedgerows are a good hiding place for young birds such as Pheasants, Partridge etc so I have to keep both of them under fairly close control.
 Less than half a mile from the house we have a couple of hay meadows which are currently in full colour and on such a nice day the sight of the meadow really is a wonderful sight.

Just as I was down getting this photograph the dogs who were sitting close by me were watching something along the lane intently. There sitting on the grass verge about 10m away was a young hare casually going about his business. As soon as I moved he crept into the longer vegitation. Making the dogs sit and stay I crept up to see if the hare was alright and to get a better view. He was fine so I quickly took a couple of photos before retreating back to the dogs.

We walked off in the other direction and left the hare to enjoy the summer sunshine.

Teesdale Meadows

 We took ourselves off to Middleton in Teesdale this morning to check out the hay meadows which lie adjacent to the River Tees in that area. It was not only a good excuse for a walk but also an opportunity to walk a short section of the Pennine Way for part of an idea which I am working on at the minute.
 It was a bright sunny morning and the meadows were looking rather good but I think it will be a week or so before they are at their peak. There were even still a few patches of late Bluebells which added that extra colour to the flowering vegetation.

 This is really a pleasant 6 mile walk and the full set of photographs will be up on the Teesdale Gallery website shortly, worth a look if ever you are up in the area. Even when out of season it is a nice route.