Exmoor day 1 - heather, tunnel, waterfall & bog monster

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I took another visit to one of my favourite places a couple of weeks ago, namely Exmoor National Park on the northern coast of Devon, for a few days of photography.

I was camping so had my fingers crossed for decent weather, as it turns out my crossed fingers don’t hold much sway with the weather gods, it seems they were intent on chucking down a good amount of the wet stuff, despite my humble orison.

But on the plus side, changeable conditions do favour the courageously valiant photographer, assuming courageously valiant means willing to get a bit damp, and I was. As it happens, between the rain showers there were patches of warm sunshine to light up the landscape, along with some superb cloud formations, so not all bad.

On the first morning I was up for sunrise without delay, I wanted to get over to a little lane I happened to know that curves and meanders over the moorland, and to a spot where it traverses a trickling brook, for what I hoped would be a bucolic view into the park.

North East coast day 4 - Pennine Waterfalls

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While I was up north I took the opportunity to visit the Pennines, as I had never visited them before. I had a plan to do a bit of waterfall photography, because I can’t resist a good waterfall, and the Pennines have them in abundance, seeing as they form the main watershed in northern England, dividing east and west.

Often described as the ‘backbone of England’, the Pennine Hills form a more-or-less continuous range stretching northwards from the Peak District, into the South Pennines incorporating parts of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, through the Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines past the Cumbrian Fells up to the Tyne Gap, which separates the range from the Cheviot Hills.

I was concentrating on the North Pennines, which is classified as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is afforded much the same protection as a National Park. Lying just north of the Yorkshire Dales, it rivals the National Park in size and includes some of the Pennines' highest peaks and some of its most isolated and sparsely populated areas.

South Wales Day 1 - Waterfalls, waterfalls & more waterfalls

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My first morning in South Wales and I was presented with a deluge of water, unfortunately I wasn't at the waterfalls just yet, I had woken up and was watching the bedroom window being thoroughly doused with rain. Needless to say, a sunrise shoot was out of the question, the sky was a pewter cloak over a sallow landscape. So I went back to bed and hoped conditions would improve.

Once I had re-emerged, the torrent had reduced to a drizzle, so I grabbed my gear and headed up to the Brecon Beacons to visit those waterfalls.

North Yorkshire Day 4 - A tardy sunrise & a stylish waterfall

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West Pier at sunrise.

I had planned to go to Robin Hood's Bay for sunrise, but after I turned my alarm off I promptly fell back to sleep, and by the time I woke up again, it was too late to get there. I got up anyway and headed into Whitby, and as it tuned out I didn't miss much as it was the worst sunrise of the week. Thankfully my inherent laziness had saved me some wasted effort, it's a steep path down to the beach at Robin Hood's Bay, so it would have been doubly arduous on the return journey with nothing to show for it.

Instead I drove up to the abbey while the light was still low, I was going to get a shot of it lit up, unfortunately by the time I got there the lights had been turned off, it was obviously not my morning.

South Wales Day 3 – A walk among the waterfalls

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My alarm was set for 4 am but thanks to my lack of sleep I just couldn't face getting up for sunrise, and I turned it off almost involuntarily, before quickly disappearing back into unconsciousness. Woke up again at 8 feeling slightly guilty for not making the most of day, but not too guilty, and made a quick escape back to Waterfall Country to do the Four Falls Walk I didn't have the time to do previously.

There were already a handful of people about when I arrived at the Cwm Porth car park, it was a Saturday, so I wanted to get started before the crowds arrived. Shortly after setting off, I took a short detour down to where those who have a penchant for potholing can access one of the entrances to the River Mellte as it thunders through an underground passageway, to get a few pictures of a rather fetching woodland scene.

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.

South Wales Day 2 (Part 1) - Waterfalls

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With the night slowly succumbing to a muted and lacklustre dawn, the chance of a sunrise shoot was out of the question, but by eight o’clock it was brightening up a treat. I was off to waterfall country today, so as I jumped in the car I was in a chipper mood, and in short order, I was motoring up to the Vale of Neath to get me a torrent of goodness.

Arriving in Pontneddfechan about an hour later, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, but I didn’t mind, the woodlands would provide me with shelter, and I was soon making brisk time to my first stop, Lady Falls.

After a 20 minute walk alongside the swift flow of the Afon Pyrddin river, past trees fresh with spring green foliage, and the occasional gleaming clusters of bluebells. I arrived at Lady Falls, or Sgwd Gwladus, a picturesque 20 foot cascade from a lip of sandstone to a broad pool below.

A view of Lady Falls in all her splendour.