I love walking in the countryside, and I usually try to fit in at least one ramble of a reasonable distance each week. This can be more difficult in summer than winter, partly because I spend more time at work, partly because there are a lot of cows about, and they can be very feisty … More The Cheviot and Simonside
February has arrived, and with it the first snow of the winter. We’ve missed it so far, so I guess we were due a few flakes. At the moment, it’s enough to look pretty, without causing too many problems. Let’s hope it stays that way.
For me, December has been a month of short days, beautiful low afternoon light, and spectacular sunsets. I find the days of late autumn can be quite gloomy and oppressive, especially here in the north of England, where it starts to go dark in early afternoon on overcast days. This year, however, we’ve been lucky … More December Landscape: Winter Light
A couple of weeks ago, we bought a new book of local walks, Walking the Old Tracks of the Cheviots, published by Coquetdale Community Archaeology. It’s slightly unusual, in that all of the walks take in historic or archaeological sites. We’ve been keen to try some of the routes, but frustratingly the weather has been wet … More A walk from Alnham
We have had a few bright days this month, but on the whole it’s been a grey, damp, misty November. The forecast for the next few days is for more of the same, so I decided that this photograph summed up November for me. I can’t decide whether the sheep looks fed up, or just … More November Landscape: Mist and Sheep
Autumn colour has really taken hold of the landscape now that we’re nearing the end of October. The bracken in particular is looking gorgeous, especially against a blue sky. The weather has been mixed lately, so I was fortunate to get a beautifully sunny day to walk up to the Drakestone from the village of … More October Landscape: The Drakestone
Finally, some sunshine. It seems to have been grey and wet so often over the past fews weeks. Winter has been slow to release its grip this year, but finally it looks as though we’ve seen the back of it. To celebrate, we headed off for a walk around the village of Alwinton, a little … More Around Alwinton
January hasn’t been all snow, but we did have a couple of quite heavy falls, the second of which lingered for several days, so I feel justified in choosing this picture as my January landscape. I’d been walking a new route in the countryside around the house, and was nearly home, when I managed to … More January Landscape: The End of a Snowy Day
We’ve had a fair bit of snow over the past few days, which has made for some lovely photo opportunities. The landscape has been completely transformed, and made unfamiliar. The light has been fascinating, from clear skies and sunshine, through dramatic clouds, to steel grey horizons. The weather is due to change and grow milder … More Snowscapes
Walks in the countryside around our house are usually fairly quiet affairs. Once out of the village, I often don’t see a soul, unless you count the rooks and sheep. Other than the wind, they are often the only sound to be heard too. I went for a walk in the snow this afternoon, and … More Silence
