Whitebeam rooted in the cliff-face Veils of fog began to spread over the Lyth Valley, grew dense and rose up the cliff-face to flow over Scout Scar, and thicken. It was swift and enveloping.
'It's daunting, walking above the cloud,' someone confided.
I found it thrilling but I know this place in all weathers. Seeing a whitebeam rooted in the cliff face and leaning out into the fog I know where I am. I've photographed it often. Each autumn I look for those red fruits and admire the way these trees are anchored in the cliff-face.
'It's daunting, walking above the cloud,' someone confided.
I found it thrilling but I know this place in all weathers. Seeing a whitebeam rooted in the cliff face and leaning out into the fog I know where I am. I've photographed it often. Each autumn I look for those red fruits and admire the way these trees are anchored in the cliff-face.
There was a ground frost at sunrise and the morning began with bright sunshine. Someone reported seeing a green butterfly, a brimstone. I reached Scout Scar escarpment to see thin trails of mist down in the Lyth Valley and hanging over the woods. Often, the sun burns off the mist but not this morning. After an hour or so the sun was blotted out, the mist swelled and rose up to spill over the cliff edge and to flow out across the Scout Scar ridge. I may not choose to set out in thick fog but I like the mystery and solitude of being in this close- focus world. Weather-watching is fun and so ls being within the fog.
As I walked south toward Morecambe Bay the calls of fieldfare and redwing rose from the fog and birds flew sunlit above me. A moment of magic. Hearing ducks, I knew their pond was in the wood below. A pheasant called and a buzzard mewed as it flew unseen above the wood.
Fog forces you to be in the moment, the here and now. All you have to guide you is the soundscape and a circle of ground at your feet. Fog demands attention to detail, it's micro-navigation and a close-reading of landscape; a hint of contour, rafts of limestone clitter, outcropping rock and well-known trees. The escarpment runs north to south but it's a wavering edge, so beware. I love the subtle colours of late autumn woods and the way whitebeam and yew grow in the cliff-face whilst other trees cannot. I'm interested to see what my camera makes of fog. Daunting, she said. Exciting, I say, but there's an edge of danger when you know the cliff is close, cannot see it clearly, but can infer where it is from the quacking of ducks down in their pond below.
Fog forces you to be in the moment, the here and now. All you have to guide you is the soundscape and a circle of ground at your feet. Fog demands attention to detail, it's micro-navigation and a close-reading of landscape; a hint of contour, rafts of limestone clitter, outcropping rock and well-known trees. The escarpment runs north to south but it's a wavering edge, so beware. I love the subtle colours of late autumn woods and the way whitebeam and yew grow in the cliff-face whilst other trees cannot. I'm interested to see what my camera makes of fog. Daunting, she said. Exciting, I say, but there's an edge of danger when you know the cliff is close, cannot see it clearly, but can infer where it is from the quacking of ducks down in their pond below.
There were folk out walking this morning, lured by the sun. Perhaps we were surprised at the sudden coming of fog but I wasn't alone in finding it exciting. A seasonal novelty, this mix of early frost and sunlit mist. Whilst the light was good I could make out a trail of mist low over Windermere. To the west the tops of fells peep through the mist and farmhouses down in the Lyth Valley look ghostly.
Ist December sees the beginning of meteorological winter and, descending from the Scar it felt colder and colder as the fog grew thicker. With Climate Change patterns of weather are unpredictable. There are seasonal specials, weather effects which we've become familiar with over a lifetime, and relish. I think it was 2012 when there was a good covering of snow on Scout Scar and fog too. That was fun.
Ist December sees the beginning of meteorological winter and, descending from the Scar it felt colder and colder as the fog grew thicker. With Climate Change patterns of weather are unpredictable. There are seasonal specials, weather effects which we've become familiar with over a lifetime, and relish. I think it was 2012 when there was a good covering of snow on Scout Scar and fog too. That was fun.
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