A brief break in the clouds
04th January 2014
The day had been dark. The sort of dark you only get in the North. The sort of dark you only get in the mountains. The distinction between day and night is subtle as the black lid lightens to dark grey.
The weather was still not condusive to head for the higher mountians so headed for Black Crag and Holme Fell. The tops of these relatively modest fells stood just under the foreboding roof of leaden cloud. The route to the tops were wet and slippery due to the recent heasvy rain.
On my way up I encountered two Buzzards who, in weaving, aerial dance, circled no more thsan 30ft above me. Their intermitant cry echoed around the surrounding mountains. Their plaintive song seemed to acentuate the barren nature of the fells and the dark atmosphere of the day.
By late afternoon the cloud started to break up from the west, revealing a deep red sky that extended across the horizon. With only the company of coots and ducks I was fortunate enough to experience this sunset from the now quiet and very tranquil shores of Coniston Water.
The weather was still not condusive to head for the higher mountians so headed for Black Crag and Holme Fell. The tops of these relatively modest fells stood just under the foreboding roof of leaden cloud. The route to the tops were wet and slippery due to the recent heasvy rain.
On my way up I encountered two Buzzards who, in weaving, aerial dance, circled no more thsan 30ft above me. Their intermitant cry echoed around the surrounding mountains. Their plaintive song seemed to acentuate the barren nature of the fells and the dark atmosphere of the day.
By late afternoon the cloud started to break up from the west, revealing a deep red sky that extended across the horizon. With only the company of coots and ducks I was fortunate enough to experience this sunset from the now quiet and very tranquil shores of Coniston Water.