Rydal Water Photo Walk
Queueing Up For The Picture by Mike Halstead
The first Photo Walk of the new season took place on Saturday 16th October. A group of 11 dedicated photographers arrived at 9.00am in White Moss car park kitted out for whatever the weather may have in store for us.
Drizzle was in the air and, as the low cloud lifted, we were treated to pockets of mist drifting across the hills. After climbing a short distance up Loughrigg Fell we traversed the fell taking images of Rydal water as we progressed.
It’s amazing what sights you see on a photo walk. On a plateau of slate outside Rydal caves we came across a bride and groom having their wedding pictures taken! I must admit the photographer had selected an idyllic spot with the bride in her white wedding dress and the groom in his suit complemented by a backdrop of trees, Rydal water and Nab Scar. Certainly a stunning picture, I just dread to think how much the dry cleaning bill for the beautiful white dress would be!
After the distraction we continued to the shores of Rydal to take images of the lake and boathouse on the far shore. The walk is as much about the social side as capturing images and it was nice to see people discussing compositions etc. After crossing the busy A591 we entered the grounds of Rydal Hall to have our packed lunches and take images of the waterfalls in the grounds.
Having run out of time we quickly returned to the car park. Whilst we’d had drizzle for much of the day it didn’t really matter, you could say it added atmosphere and contrast to the already spectacular Lake District.