Whilst in the Lake District at the end of August I experienced 2 sunrises which were both beautiful but different. On the last full day I set the alarm for 4.15am in order to give myself time to drive over the Kirkstone Pass to Ullswater and arrive an hour before sunrise. It wasn't a dramatic dawn but the light was varied and the reflections on the lake were lovely and as usual it was a delight to be on the shoreline and witnessing the start of a new day.
The last time I visited Glencoyne Bay was pre-wellies and I stayed quite close to the car park but this time I wandered up the shoreline where there were a lot of trees and rocks which added foreground interest. I also waded out into the water go get a better view of the lightshow at the far end of the lake. This provided technical challenges as I have self inflicted rules about what I can do with the camera when I am out in the water. These include no changing of equipment, (especially lenses), as I know the odds of my dropping something expensive in the water are extremely high. I am also more like to slip on a submerged hazard so I move extremely slowly at all times. This is difficult for me as I may be getting older but I am still very quick to set off from a standing start.
Everything went to plan until the end of the light when a huge bank of cloud drifted in from the north east and no sunlight got to Place Fell. This was a disappointment but nonetheless I had a great morning on the lakeside.
On the day of departure, as I was drawing back my curtains, I noticed a bank of cloud over Grasmere and this caused me quite a dilemma. My tripod and wellies were already packed at the back of the car boot so could I really summon up the willpower to rearrange my packing and get them out? YES!!!
The next concern was where to go as I knew that the low fog wouldn't last for long as the sun was already out and I wanted somewhere easily accessible from where I parked Benny (my car). I decided to go to the twisted tree at the south end of Rydal water and that is where these photographs were taken. I love watching early morning mist burn away and I had a fun 30 minutes watching it all unfurl. The only snag was that my left trouser leg came adrift from my wellie so I had a wet leg for much of the morning! (I usually tuck my trousers firmly into my socks as they ride up when I'm scuttling about).
Also visit the Lake District gallery for more photographs
