Northumberland Day 2 - A hidden waterfall & windswept coasts

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Out for sunrise at Bambrugh again and the conditions were a lot more promising than the morning before. There was very little cloud in the sky apart from a gossamer ribbon lying across the horizon, ready and willing to be illuminated beautifully by the rising sun.

I got a few shots of the castle with some grass covered dunes in the foreground, their lush thatches trembling and shuddering under the whims of the boisterous breeze. All too quickly though the sun ascended the cloud bank, its glaring rays penetrating directly into the lens, which made continuing to shoot towards the castle a pointless exercise.

Northumberland Day 1 - Castles at dawn, and dusk.

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A rather overcast start to the day at Bamburgh.

Up early on the first morning of my short visit to Northumberland, and it was chucking it down with rain. I went out anyway as you never know what the weather will bring, and drove from the cottage I was staying in, through the small, twisty lanes to Bamburgh.

By the time I pulled up at the seafront, the morning light was just arriving, but it wasn’t heralding the promise of better conditions. I sat there for a little while looking at the choppy surf and listening the raindrops thrum on the roof of the car, in the hope that the weather might improve.

After around 20 minutes, the constant tattoo of falling water began to subside to a barely audible fizzle, it was time to get on with the day. Standing on the beach I couldn’t believe how mild the temperature was. Considering a month earlier I had been on a beach in Dorset, struggling to stay warm.

Dordogne Day 3 - Bustling markets and deserted villages

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We began where we had left off the day before, by visiting another château, this one was slightly different from the rest though. Château de Commarque is a ruined castle deep in the Perigord forest. We arrived well before it opened, so once we had taken the 20 minute walk through dense woodland to get to it, we had the place to yourselves.

Dawn at Minster Lovell Hall

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Minster Lovell Hall

Yesterday morning I decided to head over to Minster Lovell Hall for sunrise, I thought there might be some autumn colour in the magnificent trees that stand behind the ruins, and I wanted to see if I could complement them with a bit of early morning colour.

I'd never had much luck photographing the ruins themselves before, either because the light wasn't suitable or I couldn't find a composition I liked, or more usually, both. So I wasn't holding out a great deal of hope, but I still wanted to give it another go. They should, in theory, should be a good place to get some decent shots, they are interesting to look at and are set in a picturesque spot next to the River Windrush, so I when I think of them it's always with a sense of frustration at my inability to do them justice.