Vanishing views and faded footpaths

I made two trips up to the North York Moors this week, hoping to make the most of some lovely evening light. On the first occasion, I had two locations I wished to visit. One was new to me - a small circle of ancient standing stones on Nab Ridge, knows as the Bride Stones. There are a number of stones so named in Yorkshire, but I only became aware of this particular set a few weeks ago and thought it sounded an interesting location. My goal was to do a little recce during late afternoon light, hoping conditions would be favourable for some successful images and then move on to Boltby Scar to make an image I'd been planning a little while.

Looking at the OS map, there seemed to be a choice of two reasonably direct routes. After finding somewhere to park, I opted for a track that went past some houses and then up onto the ridge. Except it didn't or, if it did, someone had gone out of their way to make it impossible to find. The footpath signs disappeared and every potential route seemed blocked by private signs or locked gates. In addition, there were cattle grids galore, with no alternative option for those on foot. Carrying two dogs over cattle grids when already weighed down with camera gear is quite an art to master! After going round in circles and getting increasingly bad tempered, I abandoned my recce, knowing that my temper would not improve if I then made myself late for my evening location. 

By the time I reached the path to Boltby Scar, the light was gorgeous and the clouds were forming beautifully. I had a print of a photo taken with my little LX5 last time I'd been up at the Scar - I was pretty sure it would make a super image in the right conditions. As I'd left myself plenty of time, I allowed myself a couple of stops on the way to take advantage of the lovely sidelighting on the fields below.

I knew from experience how hard it can be to recreate a composition, so I had brought a print with me - also to help me find the exact spot overlooking Boltby Scar. What I had not taken into account was just how much the vegetation would have grown in the three weeks since my last visit. My view was nowhere to be found! Anyone watching would have wondered what on earth this strange person was doing, desperately rushing back and forth, getting precariously close at times to a rather steep drop! I'm pretty sure I found the exact spot but it was almost unrecognisable and certainly would not have made a good image in its new guise.

I was now tired and even more irritable but knew I had to pull myself together very quickly before the opportunity to find a compromise was also lost. This is where being able to see and react quickly is such an important part of being a photographer - it's not always about meticulous planning and waiting for the light - sometimes you just have to react and get on with it! The result, in this case, was an image that I very much like, even if it's not one of which I am immensely proud!

Of course the show is often not over when the sun has gone down and I was lucky to enjoy some gentle light and colours as I walked back to the car in the fading dusk. A rather lovely, but scruffy, group of pines just next to the old barn had long caught my eye and I was glad to be able to set them off against the evening sky and to go home reasonably fulfilled and happy!

As for the stone circle up on Nab Ridge? I thought I'd try the other footpath a couple of days later. At least the signs were there but it didn't seem to have been used in anger for a long time. After negotiating a bed of nettles - better for me in my long trousers than for the poor dogs! - I then faced a battle, fighting my way through waist high bracken and heather up a steep hill, helping the dogs as best I could! It was incredibly tough going but again I was rewarded with some lovely evening light and some decent clouds.

I made a number of images, with light and clouds changing all the time. The one at the start of this article is my favourite, with just enough sunlight to pick out the shape of the circle and the foreground heather showing at its best in the evening shade. East and West Bilsdale are clearly visible below. What a lovely spot! I'm surprised it's not more visited but glad I made the effort. I'm not sure the dogs were equally appreciative but they were at least suitably tired when we got back down to the car!