Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: catbells

Showing posts with label catbells. Show all posts

Early Morning, Derwentwater

An early morning visit to the shores of Derwentwater, timing it perfectly to get the sun starting to illuminate Catbells and The North Western Fells. Most photos were taken from the bit of shoreline between the landing stages and Friars Crag. Also a few were taken from Strandshag Bay.

The reflections were disturbed as the lake started to come to life; a group of canoeists were first to appear and then the launches kicked in to life. I don't have a problem with that, the lake is for everyone to enjoy.

Also a slight breeze developed and my stomach started to rumble so I headed back to base, stopping of at the lovely little community cafe in Threlkeld for a sausage sarnie and a cappuccino. I think I earned it.

Looking Down Borrowdale

Castle Crag, Borrowdale

Derwent Isle Boathouse

Cloud on Maiden Moor

Sunlight Hitting Catbells

Derwentwater

Sunlight Hitting Catbells

Strandshag Bay

Friars Crag

Friars Crag From Strandshag Bay

Memorial Flowers, Strandshag Bay

Sunlight on Reeds

Towards Lord Isle

Early Morning on Derwentwater

One of the benefits of winter is that you don't have to get up at some unearthly hour to get sunrise photos. These were taken between half seven and half eight on a still Derwentwater morning. Some were taken from Crow Park looking down the lake and the others were taken from Isthmus Bay which is further round from Crow Park. Some were taken hand held and some using an ND64 filter, slowing the shutter speed by 5 stops.

Met a couple more photographers down at Crow Park and one at Isthmus Bay, all were very excited about the conditions!

Derwentwater from Crow Park

Isthmus Bay

Derwentwater from Crow Park

Looking towards Catbells

Grizedale Pike

Derwent Isle

Making Waves

Derwentwater Sunrise

I hadn't been out early with the camera for a couple of years now, maybe its because I'm getting a bit lazy in my retirement. I set of not having decided which lake to make for, should I head for Ullswater which is nearer or should I head for Derwentwater which never seems to let me down no mater when I visit.

I quickly came to the conclusion that Derwentwater was more photogenic and had better viewpoints than Ullswater. Also the fells edging the eastern edge of the Lake were lower than Ullswater's so the sun broke through sooner and with much more impact.

The first few photos I took were from the Crow Park shoreline and then I quickly made my way through the woodland to the boat repair yard where, nearby, there is an old ruined stone pier. These were the best photos I took as the sun had risen above the fells by then and it was illuminating The North Western Fells beautifully.

On my return to Crow Park, blanket cloud was just starting to creep in but I still managed to get a few more photos before the moment had gone and the cloud cover was complete. I then quickly drove down the Borrowdale Valley for a couple of miles to Ashness Landing in the hope of getting some more photos but the conditions weren't good at all so I finally had to admit defeat and return to Keswick for a delicious coffee in Booth's Coffee Shop. Result!

Boy was I glad I had opted for Derwentwater because I was treated to the most perfect of sunrises and one I will remember for a long time to come. Hopefully the success of that photo shoot will expire me to get off of my backside and get out a bit earlier in future.