Lone sailboat on Derwentwater

I took this from one of the Derwentwater launches, as we crossed the lake in August last year. I love how the lake looks on dark, cloudy days. The mountain in the background is Skiddaw, usually standing out in bright green and purples at that time of year, but dark and shadowy on this particular afternoon.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/320s, -1step exp bias, 20mm, hand held.

Heather-covered mountain slopes.

This is a view of the lower slopes of Hall's Fell on Blencathra, photographed on the way down the mountain in August this year. The village of Threlkeld is just visible in the background. The green streaks of heather-free grass on the slopes caught my interest - I wonder why the heather doesn't grow on them?

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/80s, 35mm, hand held.

Slipway at Morecambe Bay.

This one's from September last year. You can see the shapes of the Cumbrian mountains on the far side of the bay.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/18, 1/200s, 24mm, hand held.

Sunlit Blencathra viewed across Derwentwater.

Here's a view I never get tired of, made slightly different every time by the changing weather conditions. This one's from August last year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 32mm, hand held.

Low clouds on the fells around Ullswater.

I took this one on a walk along the shores of Ullswater, from Howtown to Glenridding, in August this year. We'd been under the trees for quite a while, then reached this craggy clearing which opened this lovely view up to us.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/800s, -0.7 step exp bias, 35mm, hand held.

Slopes beneath the summit of Blencathra.

This is the view back up towards the summit when descending Blencathra via Doddick Fell, photographed in August this year.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160s, -0.7step exp bias, 35mm, hand held

Sheep perched on the lower slopes of Blencathra.

Here's another one from last week, on our way down the mountain Blencathra. This photo shows the lower slopes of Doddick and Scales Fells and Scaley Beck, which runs between them. It was a dramatic but knee-shaking descent!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160s, 35mm, hand held.

Fallen tree and exposed roots on Derwentwater shore.

I'm back from another week in the Lake District with more photos. I took this one yesterday morning at Hawes End beneath Catbells. The mountain in the centre background is Blencathra, which we climbed earlier in the week. This was my first time trying out a new lens and filter that my husband gave me for my birthday. The conditions were a bit too bright to get maximum effect from the filter, but it still blurs the clouds and water a little.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 13s, 20mm, Lee Big Stopper, tripod & cable release.

Sunlight on Low Raven Crag and Buttermere's shores.

This is the crag above Gatesgarth Farm at the end of Buttermere and at the foot of Honister Pass. The sun was putting on quite a show for us on that day in August last year, lighting up different sections of the mountains in turn as the clouds passed in front of it.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/200s, 32mm, hand held.

River Greta with Blencathra in the background (2)

I last posted a photo of this view not long after starting my blog on 15th Nov 2014. In that photo you could clearly see the mountain Blencathra in the background - this photo shows it hidden under low clouds. In the bottom of the valley, beside the river, is the holiday village where we stay in Keswick - a perfect location (although it suffered greatly in the floods last Christmas, when the River Greta broke its banks and washed several caravans away).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/200s, 24mm, hand held.

Low clouds surrounding the summit of Harter Fell.

We were back in the Lake District this weekend for another fell race - this time in the Duddon valley, an area I've never visited before. The race was up the Walna Scar track above Seathwaite - I was standing near the under 14s age-group finish line waiting for them to arrive when I took this photo. We were lucky with the weather - it was throwing it down as we drove up the valley, but it dried up before we parked and just left some atmospheric low clouds on the mountain tops.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/8, 1/500s, 35mm, hand held.

Looking up Warnscale Beck towards Haystacks, at Buttermere.

This is the beck that flows into Lake Buttermere at Gatesgarth. I was standing on the little bridge where the path around the lake crosses it when I took the photo in August last year. There were a few other people on the bridge at the time, all photographing the view towards the lake, but I preferred this one. The ridge up to the right of the beck is Haystacks - I've climbed it before, but in thick cloud. I'm considering giving it another go on our holiday this year, hoping to actually see the view from the top this time!

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/200s, 22mm, hand held.

Path winding down the Coledale valley beneath Grisedale Pike.

This one's from August last year, photographed from Coledale Hause. We'd just climbed Grisedale Pike (on the left) and were about to walk back down the valley along the path in the photo. You can also see the Beck winding its way off into the distance at the point the path straightens out.

The mountains in the background are Skiddaw and Blencathra.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/200s, 18mm, hand held.

Metal farm gate reflected in a puddle in the Newlands valley.

I took this one in August last year on a walk around the Newlands valley. We'd just walked alongside the river and were crossing the valley bottom approaching Portinscale. This view is back up the valley towards Stair.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/250s, 18mm, hand held.

Rain clouds on Grisedale Pike, viewed from Whinlatter Forest.

This is from last August in Keswick. We'd been climbing steadily higher in Whinlatter Forest and I was getting quite frustrated at the lack of opportunities to see the view, so I was thrilled when the trees opened up at this point and I saw the approaching rain clouds. They only stayed this vivid for a few moments, getting thicker and less defined as they got closer to us.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/200s, 18mm, hand held.

Looking across Derwentwater towards Blencathra on a cloudy day.

This one's from our holiday to Keswick in August last year. I love dramatic skies like this one - particularly in the Lake District with the mountains and lakes beneath them. On the far horizon in the centre is one of my favourite mountains - Blencathra; to the left of it is the little wooded hill, Latrigg; behind and to the left of Latrigg is Skiddaw.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/160s, 18mm, hand held.

Sunlight touching the water and shores of Lake Buttermere.

Here's another from our holiday to the Lake District last August. This was a lovely day of cloudy skies with shafts of sunlight breaking through like spotlights on the lake and mountain slopes. It really brought out the colours in the water and made the surface sparkle.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 400, f/11, 1/200s, 24mm, hand held.

Lake District peaks viewed across Sail from Grisedale Pike.

This is another view from Grisedale Pike in the Lake District, from a bright, sunny day in August last year. It's looking in the same direction as the photo in my post on 7th Sept last year, but taken from nearer the summit. That means you can see much more of the other distant, hazy peaks beyond Sail.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/200s, 32mm, hand held.

Looking across Derwentwater to low clouds and sunlight on Blencathra

This one's from our holiday to Keswick in August this year. We'd just cruised across the lake on one of the launches and were starting to walk along the shore towards Portinscale. The mountain lit by the sun is Blencathra, also known as Saddleback due to the shape of its main ridge (which is obscured by clouds on this photo).

Camera/lens settings: ISO 100, f/11, 1/200s, 55mm, hand held.

Sunshine, dark clouds and ducks on Grasmere.

This one's from our holiday to the Lake District in August this year. On this day, we walked from Grasmere village, along the lake to this point, then along the length of Rydal Water. The weather was switching from heavy rain to bright sunshine, leading to some great contrasts within the sky, land and water.

Camera/lens settings: ISO 200, f/11, 1/160s, 18mm, hand held.